July 9, 2026 • 37 mins
Pretend that you are Phil Castellini and you have a decision to make on Nick Krall
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Damn straight, what's up? Five after three? This is ESPN
fifteen thirty. I'm Moweger. Thank you for listening today. I
hope you're having an awesome Thursday afternoon. My thanks to
Chad Brendle for pinch hitting yesterday. Yesterday, And I know
no one cares about this, but just for the record,
yesterday was not a vacation day. I had a professional
(00:28):
commitment that the people that I work for asked me
to make and it took place during this show, So
you know, I get a will give you a heart.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I don't know why.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I don't know why anybody gives anyone a hard time
for taking their allotted vacation days that they have earned and.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
That are part of their employment agreement.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
And I'll just say this if you I don't know
how many vacation days you get. I've worked for this
company for twenty nine years, so I get a few.
I don't know how many vacation days you get, But
however many you get, it take them all, use them, all,
all of them. Every single day I've done. There's very
little things I could like boast of during my time
(01:09):
working for this company. But every single year that I've
worked here, I've taken every vacation day given to me
because that's what you should do. So you know, I
make a big we make fun of load management weekend,
and yeah, I take.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
A lot of time off during the summer. You know why,
because I just grind away.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
During basketball and football season. Anyway, My thanks to ched Brendel.
I don't know why I got into that. My thanks
to a Jed Brendel for filling in yesterday. There was
a lot to get to yesterday and I got a
chance to hear most of the show and enjoyed it.
We've got a lot to work through today. We are
going to spend some time on the Soresby thing because
it has taken a little bit of a different twist,
and I think there's a distinction that we have to
(01:47):
make for some some people will do that a little
bit later on show preview is available if you want
to watch it, which why don't you? At Moager Thanks
to a Share Facts Credit Union, there are tons of
memory membership benefits. Share Facts Credit Union tons of branches
all across the tri State. Learn about the benefits of
membership and become a member just like me. Got a
(02:08):
share facts dot org to learn more. Last night was fun.
This Red season, at least beyond the first couple of weeks,
has not been fun the last two plus months. If
you're a Reds fan, I think you would agree have
not been fun. But on national television, to watch them
cruise to a win last night, to watch them win
(02:30):
a laugher, to watch him take advantage of what the
Phillies put on the mound, to see Sal Stewart and
Elie Delacruz star, to see Noelve Marte have a big night.
To see Chase Burns pitch and find a way to
keep his control issues from dooming the start and dooming
the team. Were a lot of fun. Would be a
(02:53):
lot more fun if it was a win that didn't
push their record to forty two and forty nine, but
a fun win nonetheless. And there's there's still so much
to like about Sal Stewart, and there's still so much
to love about Ellie Dela Cruz, and there's you know,
(03:16):
I'm more skeptical that others when it comes to Noelve Marte,
But when he has a big game like that, you
start to think big things for Noelve Marte was fun
to see himin a game and fun to see HM
win a game as handily as they did in front
of about twelve different broadcasters that ESPN had working last night.
It does not distract from the fact that right now
it feels like we are in the middle of a
(03:37):
countdown to a teardown. And maybe the Reds can change
that between now and the end of the month, but
they've got their work cutout for him. Another home game
tonight against Philadelphia than the Cubs this weekend long road
trip after the All Star break. The clock is ticking,
time is dwindling, and barring a complete and total plot twist,
total change of the trajectory of the season, the next
(04:00):
few weeks are gonna feel like a countdown to a teardown. Now,
you might go tear down this tear down a team
that's seven under five hundred, tear down a last place team. Yes,
tear it down and start fresh and start another rebuild
and give Nick Krawl, I guess, another opportunity to find
(04:21):
ways to achieve results that have been unattainable for this
organization for a very long time. I want you to
pretend that your Phil Castellini, like do it right now.
Whatever you're doing. Pretend you're Phil Castellini. You're sitting in
Phil Castellini's desk. Your Phil Castellini, by the way, not
(04:43):
a bad place to be, right. A bad day for
Phil Castellini is probably better than a good day for
most folks, you know, maybe even you. So pretend you're
Phil Castellini and you meet regularly with Nick Krawl and
you're just sort of a asking where things stand as
we approach the All Star break. We have crossed the
(05:03):
midway point of the season, and fans are angry. I'm
not sure there's complete and total apathy they had. I
went to the game on Tuesday. They had more than
thirty one thousand people at the ballpark, which great, awesome, fine, whatever,
But there are some fans who have become apathetic. And
I think there's a real sense of hopelessness and despair
out there because it feels like the Reds are on
(05:25):
this just you know, NonStop hamster wheel cycle of mediocrity,
not winning and sameness for lack of a better way
of putting it. And so you're Phil and Nick Caral's
standing in front of you, or maybe he's sitting across
from you. You give him a chance to sit down, and
you have to be like saying to him, like, all right, man,
(05:49):
you've had a chance to be at the top of
the flow chart for a baseball operations department. This is
year number six, and you've had a chance to be
the guy in charge now for a while. You've had
a chance to essentially build a team from the ground up,
you know, starting with what they did in twenty twenty one,
in twenty twenty two, trading away a bunch of players,
(06:11):
and you've had the benefit of us drafting early. And
we've we've let you like we've let you spend our money.
We've we've let you say goodbye to Mike Mustakas even
though we still had to pay him. And we've let
you say goodbye to Jamer Candelario, even though we had
to continue to pay him. And yet, you know, six years,
this is all we have to show for it, like
(06:31):
a team that's seven hundred five hundred fan anger, fan apathy.
We've we've given you a chance to go and find
a new manager, and you went and got like the
best available guy in Terry Francona. So you've got a
Hall of Fame manager. You've had a lot of time.
You've had a lot of time, and this is this
is this is what we get for all your work.
(06:53):
This is what you've achieved. Why why should I allow
you to continue in your capacity? Aren't you asking that?
If you're Phil Castellini. By the way, I saw this today,
I admit I am not a subscriber to Baseball America
because I can only subscribe to so many things. But
(07:13):
I do know that Baseball America's farm system rankings came
out this week. They may have come out today. I
saw this written about on redleg nation dot com. Baseball
America ranks. Our farm system is twenty fifth, And I say, oh,
I'm pretending I'm Phil Castellini. So I'm going, hey, man,
just like we're forty two and forty nine, you do
have some very good players worth building around. You know,
(07:35):
You've you've got Sal Stewart, You've got Elie Dela Cruz,
and well, Chase Burns is on your team right now.
And you know you've you've got that core of guys
that we thought we're gonna build around in twenty twenty three.
Some of those guys are still here. Some of those
guys are still here and not performing. But you've had
six years. Our major league team is forty two and
forty nine. We got a Hall of Fame manager that
(07:57):
hasn't changed our fortunes. We are nineteen games under five
hundred in our last four hundred and eighty seven games,
which is three full seasons plus last night. And now
our farm system is ranked twenty fifth by Baseball America.
Now those are subjective rankings, and the farm system is
not totally barren by any stretch of the imagination. And
(08:19):
for what it's worth, you will find some who have
ranked the Reds farm system fifteenth, Kyler McDaniel of ESPN
are seventeenth, Keith Law of the Athletic. That's a ranking
that goes back to February. But nobody viewsed it as
one of the best. Nobody views it as one of
the most filled with prospects. It's like, Nick, what is
(08:40):
going right? What have you done right? What have you
done that is a success? What can you hang your
hat on? And I don't know that he would have
an answer that would satisfy me. I don't know that
he would have an answer that would make me feel
like this is something that we should keep going with
(09:01):
I mean, I'll put it on you. You're Phil Castellini.
You're looking at Nick Crawl. You've made this guy the
baseball ops guy, or your family made this guy the
baseball ops guy. After the twenty twenty season, which feels
like forever ago. Man like forever Ago, look at it.
Who was on the twenty twenty Reds versuses on it? Now?
There's been almost entire roster turnover, Like, Nick, what are
(09:26):
we good? I've asked this question a bunch, Nick, what
are we good at? As an organization? What are we
doing well? We're not winning at the major league level.
Our farm system seems to have holes, and that might
be putting it mildly. We have no real organizational identity.
We haven't gotten nearly as much as we needed to
for the guys that we did trade away, and.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
You've made me eat.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
The contracts of players who are no longer here that
we're still paying for. There's a large, large swath of
fans who belie it might make sense to do the
exact same thing with Key Brian Hayes, Like Nick, you're
spending my money, I'm not getting any results. I'm giving
you time, and I'm not getting any results. I'm looking
for an area where your baseball operations department is successful
(10:15):
and I can't find one. I don't know, dude, if
that's If that's Nick Crawl sitting across from my desk,
we're not really having a conversation about what he's going
to be doing next with my team.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
How about you?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Five point three seven four nine fifteen thirty is our
phone number? Eight six six seven oh two three seven
seven six works as well, and you can also tweet
me anytime at Moeger thanks to Delta Dental. Delta Dental
is building healthy and smart and vibrant communities for all
good adulta dentaloh dot com. The inevitable has happened at
(10:53):
the University of Cincinnati. We'll get to that next on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
From the UC Health Traffic AH Heart Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
You know, anything you may miss on this show, even
if it's when I'm not on, you can go find
on the iHeartRadio app, which is a service of long
neck sports Grill and I don't know about you. Cold
one sounds pretty good for me, and sitting outside not
a bad night to sit outside. It's not like oppressively hot.
(11:29):
It's nice and pleasant, and so if the rain stays away.
Great place to post up outdoors. They've got a great
beer selection, they've got awesome wings, they've got a great menu.
Long Neck Sports Grill has three locations excuse excuse me,
each one of them in northern Kentucky. You got Wilder,
you got hebren you got Richwood. Long Neck Sports Grill.
More on the Reds coming up a little bit later on. Also,
(11:50):
NKU has a new director of Athletics. Will chat with
him in the five o'clock hour. Wise money sports as well.
There is lots to get to between now and six.
And maybe something happened earlier today that might be the
first time it's ever happened in the history of this show.
We will get to that in just a bit. We
found out yesterday morning it has been reported, at least
(12:14):
from an official, credible source, that the NCAA had sent
a notice of inquiry to the University of Cincinnati over
the Brendan Sorosby situation. And I know Chad talked about
this yesterday and he's made this distinction and it's worth
(12:35):
making again there's a difference between an inquiry and an allegation.
Ask your human resources director or wherever you work if
they understand the difference, and if so, they'll outline it
for you. And if they don't understand the difference, then
chances are you have a bad HR director. Inquiry means
(12:56):
ask means we're asking questions, and Sherman, we've all asked
the same questions about Brendan, Soresby and UC. When this
story first went down in April we first found out
about it, It's the very first thing most of us
wanted to know, like, all right, hope Brendon is okay,
solves his addiction issues, probably should never play college football again.
(13:18):
But here in Cincinnati, at least among those of us
who love UC sports, it's what we cared about most.
Is this going to negatively impact UC? And the only
way it does is if we find out that somebody
at UC knew that Brendan was breaking NCAA rules, and
if they did, well, that's probably going to mean the
end of their career, and it's probably going to mean
(13:39):
the heavy hand of the NCUBA is going to come
down on the school. In the athletics department, there was
always going to be. I mean, it would be shocking
to me, like beyond shocking, maybe the most shocking development
ever if this whole thing unfolds and we find out
the NCUBLEA didn't ask people at U see what they.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Knew when they knew it, who knew? To what extent
did they know?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Like of course, so I look on social media, and
of course this is a social media thing. I saw
a lot of like wooooo, here we go, John Cunningham,
and it's like, not really, now that could change. If
there's a notice of allegation, then then it's a problem.
Then it's oh time, and it's oh time for a
(14:23):
lot of folks at you See. So this step to me,
if it wasn't taken was it was always going to
be a shock. I have maintained all along, I'm going
to take the people that you see at their word,
and I know I'll have it thrown back and Homer, No,
(14:43):
I'm going to take them at their word because I
can't tell you how many times I've talked with folks
at you See who are adamant, without reservation, without hesitation,
that the folks there did nothing wrong, broke no rule,
covered up no wrongdoing, and I'm going to believe them
(15:05):
until I have compelling reasons not to. You know, we
brought this up a couple of weeks ago, Brendan Soresby's
agent pointing the finger at u SEE. And my response
then is similar to what it is here. Show me proof,
Show me evidence, Show me something concrete that suggests that
somebody at u SE did something that rises to the
(15:27):
level of an NCAA violation. If that happens, if we
see it, of course those folks that you see and
the athletics department itself should be held accountable. I don't
care where your rooting allegiances are. I think that's a
statement we would all agree with. If there is an
(15:48):
official finding that folks at you see knew that Brendan
Soorsby was breaking NCUBA rules, there should be punishment levied
against the school and the folks involved. Their careers are
probably over. And that's one of the reasons why I'm
going to believe what you see says, because I cannot
(16:10):
believe and I could be proven wrong about this, but
I cannot believe that anybody working in college athletics would
sacrifice their entire career to protect Brendan Soorsby. That's no
knock on Brendan the player, But come on, this is gambling.
(16:31):
This is probably the thing right now that the NCAA
cares about most. You're going to jeopardize your ability to
ever be hired again, maybe ever work in football again,
maybe ever work in sports again, certainly ever work in
college athletics again, because you're because you're trying to protect
(16:57):
and shield Brendan Soresby. I just it is implausible to
me that that would happen. If I am proven wrong.
Number one will not be the first time. Number two
we'll be happy to admit it. Number three will be
among the many who says that, well, those folks should
be held accountable. And now the school faces NCAA punishments,
(17:20):
and they're deserving of those punishments. But until I see evidence,
to strong evidence to suggest that UC did something wrong,
or until someone you know comes out and says, yeah,
I'm the person that you see who knew what Brendan
was doing and he was breaking NCAA rules, and I
knew he was doing it, and I tried to cover
it up. And here's the position that I've been in.
(17:41):
And okay, fine, that's something else. Everything to this point, though,
has been fingerpointing, hearsay, conjecture, speculation, very little of it.
I don't think any of it actually has been evidence based.
So I know, Oh, there are folks specifically in Texas
(18:02):
but elsewhere who desperately want this to end with UC
in trouble with the nc doablea, maybe to pass the blame,
maybe to get the heat off of them, whatever. But
the NCAA notice of inquiry was always going to come.
I think all of us expected, like, yeah, the NCAA
is going to want to know, like, hey, we've got
(18:23):
this high profile case involving a guy who admits to gambling.
His college career is over because he gambled. He spent
two seasons here, Like what did you guys know? Were
you aware? And by the way, for what it's worth,
and it might be nothing, But there's a difference between
knowing that Brendan Soresby was wagering on things like horse
racing or UFC fighting or car racing and betting on
(18:47):
stuff like basketball and baseball and doing things that violate
NCAA rules.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
But I just I have refused to.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Believe all along, and I guess we're going to know
at some point soon. I have refused to believe all
along that folks working in college athletics are going to
sacrifice their entire career, probably make themselves not hirable again
because they're trying to protect and cover up for Brendan Sooresby.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
I just I'd be shocked. We will see.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
This step was always going to happen. The step that
many are hoping happens, that I certainly hope doesn't happen,
and that I don't think will happen, is the letter
of allegation, the notice of allegation. And there's a distinction
between asking questions and making allegations. Your wife or your
spouse may ask questions about what you were doing last night,
(19:48):
or what you did last weekend, it's something else entirely
If they make allegations based on what you did last weekend,
it's entirely different. The questions were always going to come.
I still don't believe the allegations will If I am
wrong about that, I'll be the very very first and
I will go out of my way to do this
(20:09):
to admit that I am. But I just I put
myself in the shoes of people in positions that you
see who have a lot to lose, and I cannot
imagine they will lose all of it. For Brendan Sooresby
twenty nine minutes after three o'clock, that's pretty busy college
sports day. We'll get to all of that. In terms
of news, we've got some breaking U see basketball news.
Red's getting set to play tonight. A cool event coming
(20:30):
to the Lender Center. Sports headlines are Next three thirty,
ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Traffic from the uc Health Traffic Center at the uc
Health Backneck and Spine Center, spine Kira is never one
size fits all, from nonsurgical treatments to the most complex cases.
They've mastered what's best for you. Learn more at ucehealth
dot com. Still an accident southbound seventy five after Tylersville
Roade right two lanes are blocked off, about a fifteen
(21:02):
minute delay from State Route sixty three in Monroe, southbound
seventy one seventy five. Another accident that's on the off
ramp to Buttermilk Pike.
Speaker 5 (21:10):
I'm at e Zelik with True ESPN fifteen thirty Sporns
headlines are a service at Kelsey Chevrolet, home of lifetime
powertrain protection and guarantee credit approval from I'm there, family
to yours for life, Chelsea chev dot Com, Reds and
Phillies rubber match tonight at GABP Brady Singer versus heyesus
(21:30):
Lozardos seven to ten.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
The rare.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
I'm assuming it's because of the postgame concert last night.
The rare getaway day night game here in Cincinnati. You're
starting lineup for this evening for the Reds Elliott short
Salad third.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
We're going We're going first name basis.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Apparently JJ is playing left field and hitting third, Spencer's
at first, a uhaneos dhing Tyler is catching. I'm not
gonna do this bit every time we do the lineup.
Noah is playing right field, Edwins at second, and TJ.
Friedel's in center field and batting ninth. Seven to ten
(22:07):
tonight Red's Phil's seven hundred w l W. A full
slate of day games today include the Pirates trailing the
Braves six to five. That game is in the bottom
of the six seventh inning. I sound on shore because
sometimes it takes a long time from my computer screen
(22:28):
to refresh. All the other stuff is happening outside the division.
If you care go find the scores yourself. Florence y'all
is taking on the Washington wild Things tonight.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
This this is cool.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
And I will say the part that I know you're
gonna spit at me as soon as I read this,
because I agree. I wish this was a regular season event.
But the care Source Invitational is gonna take place at
the Lindner Family Tennis Center. It's gonna involve a double
(22:59):
header men's college basketball doubleheader. You see an Ohio State,
Xavier and Dayton. Care Source Invitationals are in their fourth year.
We've talked effusively and extensively on this show about the
work that care Source does supporting mental health awareness, with
a focus on the foundational message it's okay to not
(23:21):
be okay. They're going to transform the Lindner Tennis Center
center court the Cincinnati Open takes place, and they're gonna
transfer into a basketball arena and very cool. Now, Yes,
of course, if Xavier and Dayton are gonna play, it's
more fun if that's a regular season game. And if
(23:41):
you see an Ohio State are gonna play, it's more
fun if it's a regular season game, even though when
they've played recently, you See has lost regular season games
with the Buckeyes but beat them two years ago in
a preseason game. And this era of college basketball is
awesome for a lot of different reasons, not the least
of which is we get we get preseason games. We
(24:02):
get preseason games, and they're often on television and their
name brands against name brands, and it helps prepare teams
for the season and to get a clear idea of
what they are. And it's just it's good. But sure, man,
it's hard to not hear about an event like this
and wonder like, couldn't they get together in games that count?
But nonetheless they do, and it's pretty cool. Keegan Nickoson,
(24:25):
who has been busy today, reports that you See in
Minnesota have agreed to a home and home men's basketball
series starting this coming season. I'm reading Keegan's piece and
I do not see whether the first game will be
in Cincinnati or Minneapolis, but nonetheless, you See and Minnesota
home and home series also MJ. Collins among a whole
(24:47):
class of college athletes who have been given an extra
year of eligibility thanks to a preliminary injunction granted by
Hamilton County Judge Chris Wagner. I'm reading from Keegan's piece
of Bearcat Journal dot com.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
MJ.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Collins from Utah State, along with Colby King, among the
athletes involved in this case. So MJ is going to
be able to play for the Bearcats this coming season.
Averaged seventeen per for the Aggies last year as that
team's leading scorer. A big, big development for UC basketball.
On what has been a big news day for UC
(25:20):
basketball today, twenty one minutes away from four o'clock, this
is ESPN fifteen thirty. My name is Moegar five win,
three seven, four nine, fifteen thirty. By the way, really quick.
So the Brendan Sowersby thing has been the biggest story
in college basketball or college football, i should say, for
a while, and from the perspective of it being a
college football story, it will peter out now that we've
(25:42):
had big twelve media day and Brendan is targeting the
twenty twenty seven NFL draft, and if it gets drafted,
that's fine. The Kerk Creasa story Kerk Cresa, who played
college basketball at UC last year Kentucky. A couple of
years ago, also played at Arizona, played at West Virginia.
Is being indicted by the by the FEDS for fraud.
(26:05):
Easy for me to say, indicted by the FEDS for fraud.
And it's an interesting and somewhat convoluted story. And if
you want to go read about it, if you have
internet access, it's not going to be that hard to
find a place that is reporting on kerk Reesa. So,
like the Soresby thing comes up, and you'll find in
(26:25):
certain corners of the internet like man Bad look for U.
See they had Brendan Sorosby, and they had kerk Crisa.
Let's just make this clear. And this applies to UC,
it applies to Kentucky, it applies to the other schools.
The schools themselves, the athletic departments themselves, the teams themselves,
(26:47):
didn't do something wrong. Every time a player representing one
of those schools does something wrong, Kerkresa may be ruled innocent,
he may be a quit did, he may serve jail time.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
I have no idea.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
But because Kirk Crisa perhaps did what he did and
played college basketball at four different schools, it doesn't mean
that any of the four different schools did anything wrong.
I don't know that I have to point that out,
but looking at certain places where I get correspondence from
(27:25):
people kind of felt like it does. Keep Brian Hayes
had a good night last night for the Louisville Bats
in his return from his back issue. The keep Brian
Hayes question, I don't think has the answer that everybody likes.
And I think there's a very basic, fundamental reason why.
(27:46):
And we'll get to that next on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic from the UC.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Health to Traffic.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Keep Brian Hayes had a home run for Louisville last night,
which has a lot of folks excited.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
But good for him.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Man, if he comes back in the hits, I guess
that that doesn't hurt. Many have said, well, you know,
what are they gonna do with them. They're gonna cut
him loose, They're gonna eat a salary, gonna say goodbye
to him. It's a good piece on this, by the way,
at Redreporter dot com. You know key Brian Hayes when
they traded for him, and I know there were folks
who disagreed then and may disagree now. Trading for Key
(28:29):
Brian Hayes didn't make any sense. The team needed a
bat last year. They instead acquired a guy who's not
a good hitter.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Elite is a third baseman.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
We beat this into the ground before the season and
early in the season. I think great field, no hit
doesn't really play at third base because it's not shortstop.
But some will disagree, but I do think Sal Stewart
and a Uhaneo Suarez have been fine ish at third base.
Maybe defensive metrics will say something different. I don't know,
(29:02):
but the move at the time to trade for Key
Brian Hayes didn't make any sense, especially when you considered
he wasn't a rental he was a guy that you
had for the next four years. He was a guy
who's had back issues. He's also a guy who's gonna
be twenty nine years old like that. When they did it,
I was on the air. I think that day pretty sure.
I was the deadline comes and goes at four o'clock,
(29:24):
and they went and they got me Gahl and uhrr,
and he was helpful down the stretch. But I remember
wondering out loud, like how does this make sense? They
need offense? Key Brian Hayes isn't a good hitter, And yeah, man,
you want guys who are very good defensively at every position,
but you got to hit a little bit. It's a
position typically associated with offense. Like, really, kee Brian Hayes,
(29:48):
I would be really stunned if at the end of
his rehab stint they cut him loose and eat the salary.
Number one, And I asked him before put yourself in
the shoes of Phil Castellini. Nick Crawl has already come
to you and said, hey, we got to cut guys loose,
even while we still owe them millions of dollars. Did
(30:11):
it with Mike mustakas, did it with jam Or Candelario.
From a baseball perspective, those were the right things to do.
But if you own the team, there's only going to
be so many instances where the GM, the head of
baseball operations, comes to you and says, pay this guy
to not play for us, Like there's you're only gonna
do that so many times. So that's number one. Number two.
(30:34):
When the Reds acquired Key Brian Hayes, did they know
he wasn't a good hitter. Now, you could maybe accuse
the Reds of not not making many sound baseball decisions,
or not having all the information they need, or being
downright stupid.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
But I would.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Imagine, even if you believe those things, that they knew.
They have access to Baseball Reference, they have access to
MLB DOC. They have played in games where Keith Brian
Hayes has been on the other team. They knew he
was a bad hitter. So this year, in the last
(31:12):
two months of last season before he got hurt, this
year have been confirmation of something they already not suspected
but new. There was mounds of evidence to suggest this
was not just an average hitter, not just a below
average hitter, but one of the worst offensive performers in
the game. What has happened since he has been one
(31:34):
of the worst offensive performers in the game. Now you
would argue, perhaps that he has taken those struggles this
year to extreme levels. Some will argue his numbers, his
surface numbers, aren't as as bad as the underlying metrics
would suggest they should be, or they're worse than the
underlying metrics would suggest they should be, that he's been
(31:58):
a victim of bad luck, okay, fine, But since he
has been here offensively, he has essentially confirmed what they
had to know, which was he's not a good offensive player.
He's also been very good with the glove. He's been
as good as advertised. He's been so good that whenever
(32:19):
key Brian Hayes makes a play in the field, I
instantly go to social media to see people go overboard
and how awesome the play was. But I he's if
he is what they knew he was, why would they
let him go? What do they think he was before
(32:39):
they traded for him? A guy with a great glove,
a guy with a shaky back, and a guy with
a bad bat.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Over the last twelve months, nearly twelve months, what has
he been?
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Guy with a great glove, guy with a shaky back,
guy with a bad bat.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
I don't know, man.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
I mean, if if a player is what you knew
he was before you got him, I would imagine that
you're not going to cut him loose and then eat
the you know whatever it is twenty eight to thirty
million dollars, you still ow the guy could be dead
wrong about this, But I don't know, especially given the
(33:21):
fact that it feels like if they do make trades
that it's going to be because they're selling, and it's
fair to wonder can they get something for a Euhenio Suarez?
Can they get something for Nathaniel Lowe? If you don't
have those two guys, well, number one, there's room on
the team for Key Brian Hayes. Number two, an option
at first and an option at third go away. One
(33:42):
of the options. The guy at first isn't going to
be there to push, Soal Stewart over to third base.
Euhenius Lorez is going to be here to take reps
at third base when he's not dhing, which this is
going to open up room for Key Brian Hayes and
maybe a room for Key Brian Hayes to put up
or shut up to the degree that if he shuts up,
if he doesn't put up, you're gonna trade him or
(34:03):
not trade him because probably can't get anything for him,
but you're gonna cut loose and eat his salary. But
if the idea is he's healthy and he's back, so
we're gonna cut him loose and eat the remainder of
his salary, I would be on board with that. I
would imagine you would be on board with that. But
if you're holding out hope that that's what they do,
(34:26):
I don't know. I'd kind of tap the brakes because
I don't think he's been that sharp a departure from
what they thought they were getting when they traded for him.
Bad offensive player has him out of disfavor with you
and I, But being a bad offensive player did not
preclude the Reds from trading for him and assuming a
lot of money to pay him. So if we're holding
(34:53):
out hope that the break is gonna come and go
and his his time in Louisville is is gonna reach
its limit, and then they've got to make a decision,
and uh, then they decide to cut him loose and
pay the remainder of his salary for the rest of
the decade. Okay, fine, But understanding what Key Brian Hayes
is also requires an understanding of the kind of player
(35:15):
the Reds were getting when they made the deal for him.
If he has been what you knew he was before
he got here, you really can't express that much dissatisfaction
with him. Jam Or Candelario, they thought was going to
be a far better hitter than he was, and statistically
he didn't come close. They acquired key Brian Hayes knowing
(35:38):
he couldn't hit, So they're going to cut him loose
and eat all of that money because he is confirmed
with we already suspected and what the Reds already knew that. Uh,
I find that hard to believe. I find that hard
to believe. Five point three seven fifteen thirty is our
phone numbers. Still have to come up with a poll
(36:00):
question for Twitter at Moeger thanks to United Heartland Insurance,
the place to find out what you're paying for insurance
and see if you can pay a lot less. Go
to you hi ns dot com, Red's and Phillies tonight,
a lot more on them, Plus something with the Bengals
that I don't think has happened in the nineteen years
(36:21):
of this show, and it's a really it's a really
good thing for the Bengals. It's a really good thing
for you and I as Bengals fans. It's maybe not
such a good thing as a talk show host. We'll
spend some time on that. More on Brendan Soresby as well,
plus Wise Money Sports on a few different things, including
the possibility of a baseball lockout, which unfortunately looms over
(36:44):
the second half of this season. It'll loom over the
All Star Game next week. Say what you want about
the Reds on the field, The Reds Community Fund does
awesome work making baseball available and accessible to kids who
ordinarily might not have access to the sport. There is
a very important event coming up tonight that will benefit
the Reds Community Fund, and we will talk about it
(37:05):
next coming up on four o'clock. My name is Malager.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati sports station.
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Damn straight, what's up? Five after three? This is ESPN
fifteen thirty. I'm Moweger. Thank you for listening today. I
hope you're having an awesome Thursday afternoon. My thanks to
Chad Brendle for pinch hitting yesterday. Yesterday, And I know
no one cares about this, but just for the record,
yesterday was not a vacation day. I had a professional
(00:28):
commitment that the people that I work for asked me
to make and it took place during this show, So
you know, I get a will give you a heart.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I don't know why.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I don't know why anybody gives anyone a hard time
for taking their allotted vacation days that they have earned and.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
That are part of their employment agreement.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
And I'll just say this if you I don't know
how many vacation days you get. I've worked for this
company for twenty nine years, so I get a few.
I don't know how many vacation days you get, But
however many you get, it take them all, use them, all,
all of them. Every single day I've done. There's very
little things I could like boast of during my time
(01:09):
working for this company. But every single year that I've
worked here, I've taken every vacation day given to me
because that's what you should do. So you know, I
make a big we make fun of load management weekend,
and yeah, I take.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
A lot of time off during the summer. You know why,
because I just grind away.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
During basketball and football season. Anyway, My thanks to ched Brendel.
I don't know why I got into that. My thanks
to a Jed Brendel for filling in yesterday. There was
a lot to get to yesterday and I got a
chance to hear most of the show and enjoyed it.
We've got a lot to work through today. We are
going to spend some time on the Soresby thing because
it has taken a little bit of a different twist,
and I think there's a distinction that we have to
(01:47):
make for some some people will do that a little
bit later on show preview is available if you want
to watch it, which why don't you? At Moager Thanks
to a Share Facts Credit Union, there are tons of
memory membership benefits. Share Facts Credit Union tons of branches
all across the tri State. Learn about the benefits of
membership and become a member just like me. Got a
(02:08):
share facts dot org to learn more. Last night was fun.
This Red season, at least beyond the first couple of weeks,
has not been fun the last two plus months. If
you're a Reds fan, I think you would agree have
not been fun. But on national television, to watch them
cruise to a win last night, to watch them win
(02:30):
a laugher, to watch him take advantage of what the
Phillies put on the mound, to see Sal Stewart and
Elie Delacruz star, to see Noelve Marte have a big night.
To see Chase Burns pitch and find a way to
keep his control issues from dooming the start and dooming
the team. Were a lot of fun. Would be a
(02:53):
lot more fun if it was a win that didn't
push their record to forty two and forty nine, but
a fun win nonetheless. And there's there's still so much
to like about Sal Stewart, and there's still so much
to love about Ellie Dela Cruz, and there's you know,
(03:16):
I'm more skeptical that others when it comes to Noelve Marte,
But when he has a big game like that, you
start to think big things for Noelve Marte was fun
to see himin a game and fun to see HM
win a game as handily as they did in front
of about twelve different broadcasters that ESPN had working last night.
It does not distract from the fact that right now
it feels like we are in the middle of a
(03:37):
countdown to a teardown. And maybe the Reds can change
that between now and the end of the month, but
they've got their work cutout for him. Another home game
tonight against Philadelphia than the Cubs this weekend long road
trip after the All Star break. The clock is ticking,
time is dwindling, and barring a complete and total plot twist,
total change of the trajectory of the season, the next
(04:00):
few weeks are gonna feel like a countdown to a teardown. Now,
you might go tear down this tear down a team
that's seven under five hundred, tear down a last place team. Yes,
tear it down and start fresh and start another rebuild
and give Nick Krawl, I guess, another opportunity to find
(04:21):
ways to achieve results that have been unattainable for this
organization for a very long time. I want you to
pretend that your Phil Castellini, like do it right now.
Whatever you're doing. Pretend you're Phil Castellini. You're sitting in
Phil Castellini's desk. Your Phil Castellini, by the way, not
(04:43):
a bad place to be, right. A bad day for
Phil Castellini is probably better than a good day for
most folks, you know, maybe even you. So pretend you're
Phil Castellini and you meet regularly with Nick Krawl and
you're just sort of a asking where things stand as
we approach the All Star break. We have crossed the
(05:03):
midway point of the season, and fans are angry. I'm
not sure there's complete and total apathy they had. I
went to the game on Tuesday. They had more than
thirty one thousand people at the ballpark, which great, awesome, fine, whatever,
But there are some fans who have become apathetic. And
I think there's a real sense of hopelessness and despair
out there because it feels like the Reds are on
(05:25):
this just you know, NonStop hamster wheel cycle of mediocrity,
not winning and sameness for lack of a better way
of putting it. And so you're Phil and Nick Caral's
standing in front of you, or maybe he's sitting across
from you. You give him a chance to sit down, and
you have to be like saying to him, like, all right, man,
(05:49):
you've had a chance to be at the top of
the flow chart for a baseball operations department. This is
year number six, and you've had a chance to be
the guy in charge now for a while. You've had
a chance to essentially build a team from the ground up,
you know, starting with what they did in twenty twenty one,
in twenty twenty two, trading away a bunch of players,
(06:11):
and you've had the benefit of us drafting early. And
we've we've let you like we've let you spend our money.
We've we've let you say goodbye to Mike Mustakas even
though we still had to pay him. And we've let
you say goodbye to Jamer Candelario, even though we had
to continue to pay him. And yet, you know, six years,
this is all we have to show for it, like
(06:31):
a team that's seven hundred five hundred fan anger, fan apathy.
We've we've given you a chance to go and find
a new manager, and you went and got like the
best available guy in Terry Francona. So you've got a
Hall of Fame manager. You've had a lot of time.
You've had a lot of time, and this is this
is this is what we get for all your work.
(06:53):
This is what you've achieved. Why why should I allow
you to continue in your capacity? Aren't you asking that?
If you're Phil Castellini. By the way, I saw this today,
I admit I am not a subscriber to Baseball America
because I can only subscribe to so many things. But
(07:13):
I do know that Baseball America's farm system rankings came
out this week. They may have come out today. I
saw this written about on redleg nation dot com. Baseball
America ranks. Our farm system is twenty fifth, And I say, oh,
I'm pretending I'm Phil Castellini. So I'm going, hey, man,
just like we're forty two and forty nine, you do
have some very good players worth building around. You know,
(07:35):
You've you've got Sal Stewart, You've got Elie Dela Cruz,
and well, Chase Burns is on your team right now.
And you know you've you've got that core of guys
that we thought we're gonna build around in twenty twenty three.
Some of those guys are still here. Some of those
guys are still here and not performing. But you've had
six years. Our major league team is forty two and
forty nine. We got a Hall of Fame manager that
(07:57):
hasn't changed our fortunes. We are nineteen games under five
hundred in our last four hundred and eighty seven games,
which is three full seasons plus last night. And now
our farm system is ranked twenty fifth by Baseball America.
Now those are subjective rankings, and the farm system is
not totally barren by any stretch of the imagination. And
(08:19):
for what it's worth, you will find some who have
ranked the Reds farm system fifteenth, Kyler McDaniel of ESPN
are seventeenth, Keith Law of the Athletic. That's a ranking
that goes back to February. But nobody viewsed it as
one of the best. Nobody views it as one of
the most filled with prospects. It's like, Nick, what is
(08:40):
going right? What have you done right? What have you
done that is a success? What can you hang your
hat on? And I don't know that he would have
an answer that would satisfy me. I don't know that
he would have an answer that would make me feel
like this is something that we should keep going with
(09:01):
I mean, I'll put it on you. You're Phil Castellini.
You're looking at Nick Crawl. You've made this guy the
baseball ops guy, or your family made this guy the
baseball ops guy. After the twenty twenty season, which feels
like forever ago. Man like forever Ago, look at it.
Who was on the twenty twenty Reds versuses on it? Now?
There's been almost entire roster turnover, Like, Nick, what are
(09:26):
we good? I've asked this question a bunch, Nick, what
are we good at? As an organization? What are we
doing well? We're not winning at the major league level.
Our farm system seems to have holes, and that might
be putting it mildly. We have no real organizational identity.
We haven't gotten nearly as much as we needed to
for the guys that we did trade away, and.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
You've made me eat.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
The contracts of players who are no longer here that
we're still paying for. There's a large, large swath of
fans who belie it might make sense to do the
exact same thing with Key Brian Hayes, Like Nick, you're
spending my money, I'm not getting any results. I'm giving
you time, and I'm not getting any results. I'm looking
for an area where your baseball operations department is successful
(10:15):
and I can't find one. I don't know, dude, if
that's If that's Nick Crawl sitting across from my desk,
we're not really having a conversation about what he's going
to be doing next with my team.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
How about you?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Five point three seven four nine fifteen thirty is our
phone number? Eight six six seven oh two three seven
seven six works as well, and you can also tweet
me anytime at Moeger thanks to Delta Dental. Delta Dental
is building healthy and smart and vibrant communities for all
good adulta dentaloh dot com. The inevitable has happened at
(10:53):
the University of Cincinnati. We'll get to that next on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
From the UC Health Traffic AH Heart Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
You know, anything you may miss on this show, even
if it's when I'm not on, you can go find
on the iHeartRadio app, which is a service of long
neck sports Grill and I don't know about you. Cold
one sounds pretty good for me, and sitting outside not
a bad night to sit outside. It's not like oppressively hot.
(11:29):
It's nice and pleasant, and so if the rain stays away.
Great place to post up outdoors. They've got a great
beer selection, they've got awesome wings, they've got a great menu.
Long Neck Sports Grill has three locations excuse excuse me,
each one of them in northern Kentucky. You got Wilder,
you got hebren you got Richwood. Long Neck Sports Grill.
More on the Reds coming up a little bit later on. Also,
(11:50):
NKU has a new director of Athletics. Will chat with
him in the five o'clock hour. Wise money sports as well.
There is lots to get to between now and six.
And maybe something happened earlier today that might be the
first time it's ever happened in the history of this show.
We will get to that in just a bit. We
found out yesterday morning it has been reported, at least
(12:14):
from an official, credible source, that the NCAA had sent
a notice of inquiry to the University of Cincinnati over
the Brendan Sorosby situation. And I know Chad talked about
this yesterday and he's made this distinction and it's worth
(12:35):
making again there's a difference between an inquiry and an allegation.
Ask your human resources director or wherever you work if
they understand the difference, and if so, they'll outline it
for you. And if they don't understand the difference, then
chances are you have a bad HR director. Inquiry means
(12:56):
ask means we're asking questions, and Sherman, we've all asked
the same questions about Brendan, Soresby and UC. When this
story first went down in April we first found out
about it, It's the very first thing most of us
wanted to know, like, all right, hope Brendon is okay,
solves his addiction issues, probably should never play college football again.
(13:18):
But here in Cincinnati, at least among those of us
who love UC sports, it's what we cared about most.
Is this going to negatively impact UC? And the only
way it does is if we find out that somebody
at UC knew that Brendan was breaking NCAA rules, and
if they did, well, that's probably going to mean the
end of their career, and it's probably going to mean
(13:39):
the heavy hand of the NCUBA is going to come
down on the school. In the athletics department, there was
always going to be. I mean, it would be shocking
to me, like beyond shocking, maybe the most shocking development
ever if this whole thing unfolds and we find out
the NCUBLEA didn't ask people at U see what they.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Knew when they knew it, who knew? To what extent
did they know?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Like of course, so I look on social media, and
of course this is a social media thing. I saw
a lot of like wooooo, here we go, John Cunningham,
and it's like, not really, now that could change. If
there's a notice of allegation, then then it's a problem.
Then it's oh time, and it's oh time for a
(14:23):
lot of folks at you See. So this step to me,
if it wasn't taken was it was always going to
be a shock. I have maintained all along, I'm going
to take the people that you see at their word,
and I know I'll have it thrown back and Homer, No,
(14:43):
I'm going to take them at their word because I
can't tell you how many times I've talked with folks
at you See who are adamant, without reservation, without hesitation,
that the folks there did nothing wrong, broke no rule,
covered up no wrongdoing, and I'm going to believe them
(15:05):
until I have compelling reasons not to. You know, we
brought this up a couple of weeks ago, Brendan Soresby's
agent pointing the finger at u SEE. And my response
then is similar to what it is here. Show me proof,
Show me evidence, Show me something concrete that suggests that
somebody at u SE did something that rises to the
(15:27):
level of an NCAA violation. If that happens, if we
see it, of course those folks that you see and
the athletics department itself should be held accountable. I don't
care where your rooting allegiances are. I think that's a
statement we would all agree with. If there is an
(15:48):
official finding that folks at you see knew that Brendan
Soorsby was breaking NCUBA rules, there should be punishment levied
against the school and the folks involved. Their careers are
probably over. And that's one of the reasons why I'm
going to believe what you see says, because I cannot
(16:10):
believe and I could be proven wrong about this, but
I cannot believe that anybody working in college athletics would
sacrifice their entire career to protect Brendan Soorsby. That's no
knock on Brendan the player, But come on, this is gambling.
(16:31):
This is probably the thing right now that the NCAA
cares about most. You're going to jeopardize your ability to
ever be hired again, maybe ever work in football again,
maybe ever work in sports again, certainly ever work in
college athletics again, because you're because you're trying to protect
(16:57):
and shield Brendan Soresby. I just it is implausible to
me that that would happen. If I am proven wrong.
Number one will not be the first time. Number two
we'll be happy to admit it. Number three will be
among the many who says that, well, those folks should
be held accountable. And now the school faces NCAA punishments,
(17:20):
and they're deserving of those punishments. But until I see evidence,
to strong evidence to suggest that UC did something wrong,
or until someone you know comes out and says, yeah,
I'm the person that you see who knew what Brendan
was doing and he was breaking NCAA rules, and I
knew he was doing it, and I tried to cover
it up. And here's the position that I've been in.
(17:41):
And okay, fine, that's something else. Everything to this point, though,
has been fingerpointing, hearsay, conjecture, speculation, very little of it.
I don't think any of it actually has been evidence based.
So I know, Oh, there are folks specifically in Texas
(18:02):
but elsewhere who desperately want this to end with UC
in trouble with the nc doablea, maybe to pass the blame,
maybe to get the heat off of them, whatever. But
the NCAA notice of inquiry was always going to come.
I think all of us expected, like, yeah, the NCAA
is going to want to know, like, hey, we've got
(18:23):
this high profile case involving a guy who admits to gambling.
His college career is over because he gambled. He spent
two seasons here, Like what did you guys know? Were
you aware? And by the way, for what it's worth,
and it might be nothing, But there's a difference between
knowing that Brendan Soresby was wagering on things like horse
racing or UFC fighting or car racing and betting on
(18:47):
stuff like basketball and baseball and doing things that violate
NCAA rules.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
But I just I have refused to.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Believe all along, and I guess we're going to know
at some point soon. I have refused to believe all
along that folks working in college athletics are going to
sacrifice their entire career, probably make themselves not hirable again
because they're trying to protect and cover up for Brendan Sooresby.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
I just I'd be shocked. We will see.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
This step was always going to happen. The step that
many are hoping happens, that I certainly hope doesn't happen,
and that I don't think will happen, is the letter
of allegation, the notice of allegation. And there's a distinction
between asking questions and making allegations. Your wife or your
spouse may ask questions about what you were doing last night,
(19:48):
or what you did last weekend, it's something else entirely
If they make allegations based on what you did last weekend,
it's entirely different. The questions were always going to come.
I still don't believe the allegations will If I am
wrong about that, I'll be the very very first and
I will go out of my way to do this
(20:09):
to admit that I am. But I just I put
myself in the shoes of people in positions that you
see who have a lot to lose, and I cannot
imagine they will lose all of it. For Brendan Sooresby
twenty nine minutes after three o'clock, that's pretty busy college
sports day. We'll get to all of that. In terms
of news, we've got some breaking U see basketball news.
Red's getting set to play tonight. A cool event coming
(20:30):
to the Lender Center. Sports headlines are Next three thirty,
ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Traffic from the uc Health Traffic Center at the uc
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dot com. Still an accident southbound seventy five after Tylersville
Roade right two lanes are blocked off, about a fifteen
(21:02):
minute delay from State Route sixty three in Monroe, southbound
seventy one seventy five. Another accident that's on the off
ramp to Buttermilk Pike.
Speaker 5 (21:10):
I'm at e Zelik with True ESPN fifteen thirty Sporns
headlines are a service at Kelsey Chevrolet, home of lifetime
powertrain protection and guarantee credit approval from I'm there, family
to yours for life, Chelsea chev dot Com, Reds and
Phillies rubber match tonight at GABP Brady Singer versus heyesus
(21:30):
Lozardos seven to ten.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
The rare.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
I'm assuming it's because of the postgame concert last night.
The rare getaway day night game here in Cincinnati. You're
starting lineup for this evening for the Reds Elliott short
Salad third.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
We're going We're going first name basis.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Apparently JJ is playing left field and hitting third, Spencer's
at first, a uhaneos dhing Tyler is catching. I'm not
gonna do this bit every time we do the lineup.
Noah is playing right field, Edwins at second, and TJ.
Friedel's in center field and batting ninth. Seven to ten
(22:07):
tonight Red's Phil's seven hundred w l W. A full
slate of day games today include the Pirates trailing the
Braves six to five. That game is in the bottom
of the six seventh inning. I sound on shore because
sometimes it takes a long time from my computer screen
(22:28):
to refresh. All the other stuff is happening outside the division.
If you care go find the scores yourself. Florence y'all
is taking on the Washington wild Things tonight.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
This this is cool.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
And I will say the part that I know you're
gonna spit at me as soon as I read this,
because I agree. I wish this was a regular season event.
But the care Source Invitational is gonna take place at
the Lindner Family Tennis Center. It's gonna involve a double
(22:59):
header men's college basketball doubleheader. You see an Ohio State,
Xavier and Dayton. Care Source Invitationals are in their fourth year.
We've talked effusively and extensively on this show about the
work that care Source does supporting mental health awareness, with
a focus on the foundational message it's okay to not
(23:21):
be okay. They're going to transform the Lindner Tennis Center
center court the Cincinnati Open takes place, and they're gonna
transfer into a basketball arena and very cool. Now, Yes,
of course, if Xavier and Dayton are gonna play, it's
more fun if that's a regular season game. And if
(23:41):
you see an Ohio State are gonna play, it's more
fun if it's a regular season game, even though when
they've played recently, you See has lost regular season games
with the Buckeyes but beat them two years ago in
a preseason game. And this era of college basketball is
awesome for a lot of different reasons, not the least
of which is we get we get preseason games. We
(24:02):
get preseason games, and they're often on television and their
name brands against name brands, and it helps prepare teams
for the season and to get a clear idea of
what they are. And it's just it's good. But sure, man,
it's hard to not hear about an event like this
and wonder like, couldn't they get together in games that count?
But nonetheless they do, and it's pretty cool. Keegan Nickoson,
(24:25):
who has been busy today, reports that you See in
Minnesota have agreed to a home and home men's basketball
series starting this coming season. I'm reading Keegan's piece and
I do not see whether the first game will be
in Cincinnati or Minneapolis, but nonetheless, you See and Minnesota
home and home series also MJ. Collins among a whole
(24:47):
class of college athletes who have been given an extra
year of eligibility thanks to a preliminary injunction granted by
Hamilton County Judge Chris Wagner. I'm reading from Keegan's piece
of Bearcat Journal dot com.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
MJ.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Collins from Utah State, along with Colby King, among the
athletes involved in this case. So MJ is going to
be able to play for the Bearcats this coming season.
Averaged seventeen per for the Aggies last year as that
team's leading scorer. A big, big development for UC basketball.
On what has been a big news day for UC
(25:20):
basketball today, twenty one minutes away from four o'clock, this
is ESPN fifteen thirty. My name is Moegar five win,
three seven, four nine, fifteen thirty. By the way, really quick.
So the Brendan Sowersby thing has been the biggest story
in college basketball or college football, i should say, for
a while, and from the perspective of it being a
college football story, it will peter out now that we've
(25:42):
had big twelve media day and Brendan is targeting the
twenty twenty seven NFL draft, and if it gets drafted,
that's fine. The Kerk Creasa story Kerk Cresa, who played
college basketball at UC last year Kentucky. A couple of
years ago, also played at Arizona, played at West Virginia.
Is being indicted by the by the FEDS for fraud.
(26:05):
Easy for me to say, indicted by the FEDS for fraud.
And it's an interesting and somewhat convoluted story. And if
you want to go read about it, if you have
internet access, it's not going to be that hard to
find a place that is reporting on kerk Reesa. So,
like the Soresby thing comes up, and you'll find in
(26:25):
certain corners of the internet like man Bad look for U.
See they had Brendan Sorosby, and they had kerk Crisa.
Let's just make this clear. And this applies to UC,
it applies to Kentucky, it applies to the other schools.
The schools themselves, the athletic departments themselves, the teams themselves,
(26:47):
didn't do something wrong. Every time a player representing one
of those schools does something wrong, Kerkresa may be ruled innocent,
he may be a quit did, he may serve jail time.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
I have no idea.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
But because Kirk Crisa perhaps did what he did and
played college basketball at four different schools, it doesn't mean
that any of the four different schools did anything wrong.
I don't know that I have to point that out,
but looking at certain places where I get correspondence from
(27:25):
people kind of felt like it does. Keep Brian Hayes
had a good night last night for the Louisville Bats
in his return from his back issue. The keep Brian
Hayes question, I don't think has the answer that everybody likes.
And I think there's a very basic, fundamental reason why.
(27:46):
And we'll get to that next on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic from the UC.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Health to Traffic.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Keep Brian Hayes had a home run for Louisville last night,
which has a lot of folks excited.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
But good for him.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Man, if he comes back in the hits, I guess
that that doesn't hurt. Many have said, well, you know,
what are they gonna do with them. They're gonna cut
him loose, They're gonna eat a salary, gonna say goodbye
to him. It's a good piece on this, by the way,
at Redreporter dot com. You know key Brian Hayes when
they traded for him, and I know there were folks
who disagreed then and may disagree now. Trading for Key
(28:29):
Brian Hayes didn't make any sense. The team needed a
bat last year. They instead acquired a guy who's not
a good hitter.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Elite is a third baseman.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
We beat this into the ground before the season and
early in the season. I think great field, no hit
doesn't really play at third base because it's not shortstop.
But some will disagree, but I do think Sal Stewart
and a Uhaneo Suarez have been fine ish at third base.
Maybe defensive metrics will say something different. I don't know,
(29:02):
but the move at the time to trade for Key
Brian Hayes didn't make any sense, especially when you considered
he wasn't a rental he was a guy that you
had for the next four years. He was a guy
who's had back issues. He's also a guy who's gonna
be twenty nine years old like that. When they did it,
I was on the air. I think that day pretty sure.
I was the deadline comes and goes at four o'clock,
(29:24):
and they went and they got me Gahl and uhrr,
and he was helpful down the stretch. But I remember
wondering out loud, like how does this make sense? They
need offense? Key Brian Hayes isn't a good hitter, And yeah, man,
you want guys who are very good defensively at every position,
but you got to hit a little bit. It's a
position typically associated with offense. Like, really, kee Brian Hayes,
(29:48):
I would be really stunned if at the end of
his rehab stint they cut him loose and eat the salary.
Number one, And I asked him before put yourself in
the shoes of Phil Castellini. Nick Crawl has already come
to you and said, hey, we got to cut guys loose,
even while we still owe them millions of dollars. Did
(30:11):
it with Mike mustakas, did it with jam Or Candelario.
From a baseball perspective, those were the right things to do.
But if you own the team, there's only going to
be so many instances where the GM, the head of
baseball operations, comes to you and says, pay this guy
to not play for us, Like there's you're only gonna
do that so many times. So that's number one. Number two.
(30:34):
When the Reds acquired Key Brian Hayes, did they know
he wasn't a good hitter. Now, you could maybe accuse
the Reds of not not making many sound baseball decisions,
or not having all the information they need, or being
downright stupid.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
But I would.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Imagine, even if you believe those things, that they knew.
They have access to Baseball Reference, they have access to
MLB DOC. They have played in games where Keith Brian
Hayes has been on the other team. They knew he
was a bad hitter. So this year, in the last
(31:12):
two months of last season before he got hurt, this
year have been confirmation of something they already not suspected
but new. There was mounds of evidence to suggest this
was not just an average hitter, not just a below
average hitter, but one of the worst offensive performers in
the game. What has happened since he has been one
(31:34):
of the worst offensive performers in the game. Now you
would argue, perhaps that he has taken those struggles this
year to extreme levels. Some will argue his numbers, his
surface numbers, aren't as as bad as the underlying metrics
would suggest they should be, or they're worse than the
underlying metrics would suggest they should be, that he's been
(31:58):
a victim of bad luck, okay, fine, But since he
has been here offensively, he has essentially confirmed what they
had to know, which was he's not a good offensive player.
He's also been very good with the glove. He's been
as good as advertised. He's been so good that whenever
(32:19):
key Brian Hayes makes a play in the field, I
instantly go to social media to see people go overboard
and how awesome the play was. But I he's if
he is what they knew he was, why would they
let him go? What do they think he was before
(32:39):
they traded for him? A guy with a great glove,
a guy with a shaky back, and a guy with
a bad bat.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Over the last twelve months, nearly twelve months, what has
he been?
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Guy with a great glove, guy with a shaky back,
guy with a bad bat.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
I don't know, man.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
I mean, if if a player is what you knew
he was before you got him, I would imagine that
you're not going to cut him loose and then eat
the you know whatever it is twenty eight to thirty
million dollars, you still ow the guy could be dead
wrong about this, But I don't know, especially given the
(33:21):
fact that it feels like if they do make trades
that it's going to be because they're selling, and it's
fair to wonder can they get something for a Euhenio Suarez?
Can they get something for Nathaniel Lowe? If you don't
have those two guys, well, number one, there's room on
the team for Key Brian Hayes. Number two, an option
at first and an option at third go away. One
(33:42):
of the options. The guy at first isn't going to
be there to push, Soal Stewart over to third base.
Euhenius Lorez is going to be here to take reps
at third base when he's not dhing, which this is
going to open up room for Key Brian Hayes and
maybe a room for Key Brian Hayes to put up
or shut up to the degree that if he shuts up,
if he doesn't put up, you're gonna trade him or
(34:03):
not trade him because probably can't get anything for him,
but you're gonna cut loose and eat his salary. But
if the idea is he's healthy and he's back, so
we're gonna cut him loose and eat the remainder of
his salary, I would be on board with that. I
would imagine you would be on board with that. But
if you're holding out hope that that's what they do,
(34:26):
I don't know. I'd kind of tap the brakes because
I don't think he's been that sharp a departure from
what they thought they were getting when they traded for him.
Bad offensive player has him out of disfavor with you
and I, But being a bad offensive player did not
preclude the Reds from trading for him and assuming a
lot of money to pay him. So if we're holding
(34:53):
out hope that the break is gonna come and go
and his his time in Louisville is is gonna reach
its limit, and then they've got to make a decision,
and uh, then they decide to cut him loose and
pay the remainder of his salary for the rest of
the decade. Okay, fine, But understanding what Key Brian Hayes
is also requires an understanding of the kind of player
(35:15):
the Reds were getting when they made the deal for him.
If he has been what you knew he was before
he got here, you really can't express that much dissatisfaction
with him. Jam Or Candelario, they thought was going to
be a far better hitter than he was, and statistically
he didn't come close. They acquired key Brian Hayes knowing
(35:38):
he couldn't hit, So they're going to cut him loose
and eat all of that money because he is confirmed
with we already suspected and what the Reds already knew that. Uh,
I find that hard to believe. I find that hard
to believe. Five point three seven fifteen thirty is our
phone numbers. Still have to come up with a poll
(36:00):
question for Twitter at Moeger thanks to United Heartland Insurance,
the place to find out what you're paying for insurance
and see if you can pay a lot less. Go
to you hi ns dot com, Red's and Phillies tonight,
a lot more on them, Plus something with the Bengals
that I don't think has happened in the nineteen years
(36:21):
of this show, and it's a really it's a really
good thing for the Bengals. It's a really good thing
for you and I as Bengals fans. It's maybe not
such a good thing as a talk show host. We'll
spend some time on that. More on Brendan Soresby as well,
plus Wise Money Sports on a few different things, including
the possibility of a baseball lockout, which unfortunately looms over
(36:44):
the second half of this season. It'll loom over the
All Star Game next week. Say what you want about
the Reds on the field, The Reds Community Fund does
awesome work making baseball available and accessible to kids who
ordinarily might not have access to the sport. There is
a very important event coming up tonight that will benefit
the Reds Community Fund, and we will talk about it
(37:05):
next coming up on four o'clock. My name is Malager.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati sports station.
Mo Egger News
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