7/11/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now your chance to win one thousand dollars. Enter this
nationwide keyword on our website green. That's greed.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Enter it now you've found Cincinnati, right, Yes, what's up?

Speaker 3 (00:12):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty. That lady just said that,
mamo Egar. Thanks for listening. I hope your weekend is
already started, and I hope it's off to an awesome start.
And I thank you for making us a part at
the start of your weekend. And if your weekend hasn't started,
hopefully at some point between now and six o'clock it
gets started. And it's a good one. Show previews available.

(00:36):
It's on Twitter right now. That's right. I still call
it Twitter. I got an email from Kim Kim mad
at me because I still I'm calling it Twitter. Real
people call it twitter. Okay, there are certain things that
just real people do. Real people call it Twitter. It's
Twitter at Moeger thanks to Emery Federal Credit Union. By

(00:56):
the way, it's coming up here very very soon, just
a little bit over five weeks away. The Emery Federal
Credit Union Golf outing join us at four Bridges Country Club.
It's gonna be awesome. Sign up, register learn more. EMORYFCU
dot org. We're gonna learn more in just about thirty minutes.
The MLB Draft is coming up. It starts on Sunday,

(01:18):
and the MLB Draft I think has a little bit
more punch than it did just a few years ago, because,
let's face it, it feels like these guys get to the
big leagues more quickly. Just a year ago, the Reds
were choosing to draft Chase Burns, and we've had a
chance to watch Chase Burns this season. They took him
with the second overall pick. We're gonna watch Chase Burns
pitch tonight against the Colorado Rockies anyway in just about

(01:40):
thirty minutes. Our guy, Aaron Layton from jess Baseball dot com.
This guy knows everything about the draft. He knows everything
about all the guys that maybe the Reds are gonna
be sifting through and trying to make decisions about. He's
gonna tell us who you and I should want the
Reds to take a number nine overall, providing that player
is available at number nine overall. Aaron is a great guest.

(02:01):
We've had him a number of times over the years,
and he's going to join us coming up at three
thirty five, we'll preview FC Cincinnati versus Columbus. The hell
is Real rivalry makes its way to Cincinnati, these two
teams meeting for the second time this year. The first
match was a draw. FC Cincinnati is playing really well
right now. Four points though separate FC Cincinnati and Columbus

(02:23):
in the Eastern Conference, and there's a couple of teams
in between them, So this is a huge match tomorrow.
The dude who's gonna call it for MLS, he's in
pass on Apple TV. Keith Costikin's going to join us
in four to twenty plus. We've got more tickets to
give away, upper deck golf, Dirk Spentley, and so much more.
Let's begin with this. You know, five and two is
still doable. Five and two is still on the table.

(02:47):
By the way, after the Reds lost the second game
against the Marlins, I threw a poll question out there
on Twitter. That's right, I called it Twitter again at
Moeger thanks to United at Heartland Insurance. And the pole
question was can the Reds still go five and two
on this Homestand because that's what I think, we all
agreed they had to do bare minimum five and two. Right,

(03:09):
you're playing the Marlins who are bad, the Rockies who
are wretched. You gotta go five and two, ninety one
percent of you, And I understand why ninety one percent
of you, after the Reds lost those first two games,
said the Reds will not win the next five. Maybe
they will, maybe they won't. I think they need to,
but they're still in a position where they can go
five and two on this homestand because of the back

(03:31):
to back wins over the Miami Marlins. Now, yesterday we
spent a lot of time talking about Andrew Abbott, and
understandably so, A, he's an All Star. B he's an
All Star after being excluded in the initial selections, and
see he came up big in a game that the
Reds absolutely had to have on Wednesday. That's what a
staff ace does. That's what an All Star pitcher does.

(03:54):
That's what a guy who you know. I'm sure his
feelings were hurt at least a little bit. He acknowledged
after the initial selections were made he wasn't very happy.
He can't blame him. He ends up getting to go
to the All Star Game anyway. But that's what a
guy does if he wants to prove that he shouldn't
have had to wait until Tuesday to find out that
he is an All Star. So Andrew Abbot's having a

(04:15):
great year this season. He has been the staff ace.
He's going to the All Star Game. He's got a
chance to pitch in it, and if he does, I
hope he does great. Nick Lidolo is not an All
Star and isn't having an All Star caliber season, and
nobody would say that he is the staff ace. But
that's okay. He is still an asset to this team

(04:38):
and he certainly was yesterday. Now they scored a bunch
of runs for him. Spencer Steer hits a home run,
they get the four run sixth inning, the Gloves came
up big, and the seventh inning with Graham Ashcraft a
really nice slide and catch by Will Benson, they turned
a key double play. Right what it felt like? Maybe
that six to nothing lead was kind of tenuous. The
rest of the bullpen did their job. Terry Francona had

(04:59):
a pitching change and that I th inning with two
outs and a guy on up by six that I
didn't quite understand. I think that was to give the
band that played the post game show, maybe more time
to uh get their voices ready. I have no idea,
but the star yesterday was Nicolodolo. Six shutout innings, not
six necessarily dazzling innings. Although the line score is certainly fine.

(05:19):
Six innings of shutout baseball, didn't walk anybody, only three
hits struck out. For the main thing is gave his
team a chance to win. Here he is talking about
that performance after yesterday six nothing went over Miami.

Speaker 4 (05:38):
A little problem with.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
No, it's good.

Speaker 5 (05:44):
It's just a little maintenance, a little maintenance out there.

Speaker 3 (05:47):
But no, it was good.

Speaker 5 (05:49):
Yeah, I mean it happened in the first inning, but
you know, I was good, good to go, So it
wasn't the first time it's happened this year.

Speaker 4 (05:55):
So all in all seasons together today, like you.

Speaker 5 (06:01):
Want close, you know, there was definitely some things that
I actually didn't think my change up today was as
good as it's been. But I was able to spin
the ball and I was able to elevate it pretty well.
So and I think the main thing was I fell
behind a couple of guys with some guys on, but
able to get back into count and get some outs.

Speaker 4 (06:19):
So it was good. How it was for you guys
to kind of read the first two games this series
and yourselves about five honor making plush. Where did you
think about the response the.

Speaker 3 (06:30):
Games?

Speaker 5 (06:31):
Yeah, for sure, you know it was we knew coming
in it was a big homestand definitely not the way
we wanted to start the first two games, but a
good response.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
You know.

Speaker 5 (06:42):
Offense yesterday got going early, and Abbott did his thing,
you know, and just tried to go out there today
and give us another other chance at it like that.
And uh, like I said, the boys swung it well today.
We played great defense all around. So you know, uh
take that into tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
All right, meeting today Reds and Rockies Tonight, Chase Burns
makes his fourth big League start against a team that
is tracking to have the worst record in history. We'll
get to that here in just a second. I know
I did this a little bit, maybe two weeks ago,
talking about Nicoladolo. Look, the depth of a staff is
measured by the number of pitchers that you feel like,

(07:24):
when you give the ball to, are gonna give your
team a chance to win. And I know this is
something this is a ground that I have covered before,
but it's worth repeating I think that the best Red
staffs didn't have five all Stars. The best Red staffs
didn't have five cy young candidates. The best Red staffs
didn't have five ass Maybe they had an All Star,

(07:44):
maybe they had a couple of All Stars, maybe they
had a couple of guys who have been All Stars before.
But they had four or five pitchers who when they
took the mound, you felt like we got a damn
good chance to win because of that picture. Now pitching
has changed. We're not asking these guys to carry the
same workload that the guys you know fifteen, twenty, twenty five,

(08:06):
fifty years ago did. But still and so you know.
To me, the quality of a rotation is measured by
its depth. And its depth is not about the guy
who's the staff ace, not about the opening day pitcher.
It's about the guys in the middle of the rotation,
the guys in the back end of the rotation. How
reliable are they? Nick Lodolo is damn reliable. I say this,

(08:27):
and I think some take it as an insult. I
guess that he is the perfect middle of the rotation starter. Now,
maybe you know he can continue to get better and
establish himself as like a top of the rotation type guy,
and he's an All Star one day, and I hope
that happens. But for this team this season, I think

(08:48):
he has been better and at times more reliable than
many would realize or in some cases many would be
willing to admit. And he gets overshadowed this season by
Andrew Abbott, And he gets overshadowed to a degree by
the presence of Hunter Green, although right now there is
no Hunter Green presence because he's in Arizona. More than anything,

(09:09):
the guy is reliable. He is pitched into the sixth
inning in fifteen of his nineteen starts. Now, pitching into
the sixth inning in fifteen of nineteen starts in twenty
twenty five is to me like pitching into the seventh
inning and fifteen of your nineteen starts fifteen years ago.
He has gotten through six innings in eleven of his
nineteen starts, and perhaps most important, he has given up

(09:30):
three runs or less in sixteen of his nineteen starts.
They haven't won all of them, but they win yesterday,
and more often than not, way more often than not,
he at least gives his team his hitters and his bullpen,
a puncher's chance. That's exactly what you want in a
middle of the rotation guy, and maybe that ends up

(09:51):
being what he is for the rest of his career.
And then at the end of it, we'll judge whether
or not it was a success. And you could certainly
make an argument that well, relative to or he was
drafted and what everybody's hopes were, we thought he would
be closer than just a reliable starter. I'll worry about
that later. I'm looking for guys that I can count
on on this team. I'm sure Terry Francona is too,
but as a fan, you're just looking for guys that

(10:14):
you can count on. For the most part, you can
count on Nickolodolo, even like he had a not so
great start in his last outing against Philadelphia, wasn't terrible.
And the reason why the Reds lost that game wasn't
nick Ladolo is the fact that their bats started to
go silent and continue to be silent deep into that
Miami series. So it's worth mentioning because I feel like

(10:38):
I feel like him in particular, and maybe there are others,
maybe this is just an isolated social media thing, but
when the guy does have one of his clunkers. It
feels like people make it out to be a bigger
deal than it is. And I think people hold against
him the fact that, Okay, you know, he's not an
All Star caliber pitcher. That's fine. He is a reliable pitcher.

(10:58):
He is a picture that more often than not gives
this team a chance to win, and in a game
they had to win yesterday, he did even more than
that quarter after three on ESPN fifteen thirty five point
three seven four nine fifteen thirty is our number eight
sixty six seven oh two three seven seven six. Reds
are playing a team this weekend that is fifty one
games under five hundred, fifty one games under five hundred,

(11:23):
that just lost three consecutive games on the road to
the Boston Red Sox by a combined score of twenty
nine to seven. They are playing a team this weekend
that has a run differential for the entire season of
minus two fifty one. You've got to sweep the Colorado Rockies.
Reds have already swept him once back in April in Denver.

(11:44):
You get him in your building, dude, I mean, come on,
it's the last series before the All Star break. You
have to sweep the Colorado Rockies. Anything shy of that
is a failure. Anything shy of that is gonna feel
really underwhelming going into the All Star Break. But if
they do sweep the Colorado Rockies, this team will be
five over at the break, and I wonder how we're

(12:05):
gonna talk about it. We'll spend some time on that here.
In just a bit, Aaron Layton's gonna tell us who
we should want the Reds to draft with the ninth
overall pick. A little bit later on. We're in a
different era when it comes to the Bengals. Let's apply
that to Zach Taylor having the second best odds and
I don't know if best is the best way to
put it, but the second best odds to be the

(12:26):
first head coach fired this season. I'm not making that wager.
But we got to talk about the era of Bengals
football we are in, and we're gonna give away some
tickets upper Deck Golf and Dirk Spentley, Dirk s Bentley
coming to Riverbend a week from tonight. We'll do that
a little bit later on. Let's talk about this weekend,
both at GABP and at the Soccer Stadium on the

(12:47):
West End. Next on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 6 (12:51):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic from the.

Speaker 7 (12:58):
Uc Health Traffic so you see health as expert trauma
care focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and supporting long term
recovery and rehabilitation. Learn more at UCHealth dot com. Still
got a disabled vehicle on southbound seventy one seventy five
of the Brent Spence Bridge blocking off the right lane.

(13:19):
Also seeing police activity on Harrison near Sheed Road that's
slowing up traffic in the construction zone on at Ezalic
with traffic.

Speaker 4 (13:28):
This report is sponsored by Rapid Radios. Rapid Radios are Instinct.

Speaker 3 (13:33):
Send us tweets during the show at Mogar thanks to
Delta Dental. Delta Dental is building healthy, smart, vibrant communities
for all good at Delta dentel ohhe dot com at Maegar,
we I have in the preparation for the show not
come up with a Twitter poll question. I gotta come
up with one. I'm sure you could still vote on

(13:55):
yesterdays because we post them for twenty four hours, and
we posted yesterday's right around four that was about the
Bengals off season grade from ESPN dot Com being a
C plus, and the overwhelming majority of you believe that
that was, you know, pretty accurate. Uh, not that many
of you feel like the off season grade should be
that higher. I felt like C plus was we clock
did pretty good. Time will tell you know, but it

(14:19):
you know, I go back to the end of last season,
and if if I or somebody smarter than me would
have told you that here's how the off season's gonna unfold,
and then they would have outlined for you a an
off season that ended up being exactly what the Bengals
offseason has been, I think you would have said, eh,
And yet that's where we are. Plus, you still have

(14:40):
two major contract issues looming, and I've talked to a
bunch of people who are really optimistic about Trey Hendrickson
and believe that common sense is going to prevail with
the Shamar Stewart thing, and I understand it, and I hope,
I hope they're right as it relates to both. But
I think if you have followed this team for any
amount of time, there's there's always some degree of skepticism

(15:03):
that training camp will start and the Bengals will be
free and clear of any sort of distraction. More on
that coming up here in just a bit. And by
the way, speaking of the Bengals really quickly, this is
something we talked about a little bit yesterday. We mentioned
this on Sincy three sixty before Tony Pike took off
on vacation. But we're going to do extended Bengals training

(15:25):
camp coverage this year, which we're really excited about, and
so we'll have to put these dates out there. But
for ten different days during training camp, we are going
to start broadcasting at ten am locally, and if you
know anything about this radio station, the local block as
we put it is, you know, twelve to six Tony
and Austin for three hours. Then we do three hours

(15:48):
starting on July twenty third, and then for ten days
during training camp, Tony and I are going to do
the Tony and Mode Training Camp show from ten to
noon at Bengals training camp, and then Tony in Austin
will do since he three to sixty and I'll come
back to the radio station and do my show from
three to six. But I think it's gonna be awesome
and something personally, I am pretty stoked about. I'm stoked

(16:11):
for this weekend against the Colorado Rockies. Like as as
rough as the series in Philadelphia was, as rough as
the road trip was, as rough as the start of
the series against Miami was, and as much as you know,
I certainly don't think the Reds is currently constructed are
good enough to get to the postseason. That said, I

(16:33):
think they're good enough to at least kind of hang around.
If they do what they're supposed to do this weekend,
they're gonna be five over five hundred at the All
Star break. Now that's not great, but you know, we
all said on Monday, they've got to take care of
business on this homestand gotta win five out of seven.

(16:54):
If they do, you know, I think to a slight degree,
at least it'll reignite some of the conversations about what
the Reds could get to help this team get to
the postseason at the trade deadline. I know it's a
major league team they're playing this week. I get it.
The Rockies still have won twenty one games this season

(17:15):
despite the fact that they are wretched. But come on, man, like,
get five over five hundred and take care of business
at home. Against a team you've already swept. Some really
bad pitchers are gonna be on the mound this weekend
for Colorado. Chase Burns has a chance. I think it's
gonna be interesting because he's been sort of thrown to
the Wolves right pitched against the Yankees here, then had

(17:39):
to throw at Fenway Park, and then had to face
that Philadelphia lineup. I hope there's not a such an
exhale because he's not playing, he's not pitching against a
very good team, and he's not pitching in a quote
iconic venue that he exhales so much that you know

(18:00):
he lets his guard down for this game tonight. They
gotta sweep this series against Colorado, and then you know,
at that point it's gonna be four series before the
trade deadline against teams that are better than the Marlins
and better against the Rockies. But they will have accomplished
if they do what they're supposed to do this weekend,
what they said they had to do on Sunday night

(18:21):
or Monday of this week, and that's win many more
games than they lose on this homestand against bad teams
and go into the All Star Break at least in
a position to claim yourself a contender. We'll see on
top of that. FC Cincinnati versus Columbus tomorrow night. This
is a huge game, and it's it's hell is real,

(18:42):
and it's a great rivalry, and it's one of the
best in the sport. It's it's also a chance to
separate yourself a little bit from the Columbus crew. FC
Cincinnati has a four point edge on them. It's a
chance to make a move in the Eastern Conference. It's
a chance to get three points for the fifth consecutive game,
and it's chance to take a step toward the supporter shield.
It's also a chance for Evander to solidify his growing

(19:05):
MVP case, and a chance for us, if they win
this game, to spend more time talking about how they
are the best run major professional sports franchise in this city.
I think that's almost indisputable. Not that the sports are
apples to apples to football or apples to apples, but
base to baseball. But I think that's pretty much indisputable.

(19:27):
Let's be honest. Despite the proliferation of popularity of college baseball,
when it comes to the MLB Draft, we know a
fraction of what we know about you know kids in
the NFL Draft. Fortunately, we have resources like Jessbaseball dot com.
And fortunately the person in charge of that resource is
a guy named Aaron Layton who follows the draft and

(19:50):
follows prospects intently. He joins us next on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 6 (19:56):
Station Cincinnati's ESPNI Traffic.

Speaker 7 (20:02):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. U see health as
expert trauma care focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and supporting
long term recovery and rehabilitation. Learn more at ucehealth dot com.
And southbound seventy one seventy five on the Brent Spence
Bridge right lane is blocked off from a disabled vehicle.

(20:23):
Traffic backed up in the area as well. Southbound seventy
five it's another disabled vehicle on the off ramp to Hopple.
I'm at Ezelek with traffic.

Speaker 3 (20:33):
This We put big weekend for the Reds three at
home against the woeful Colorado Rockies. Meanwhile, the MLB Draft
begins on Sunday, Round one on Sunday, first couple of
rounds on Sunday, and then the rest of it on Monday.
And Aaron Laighton is a guy who has joined us
over the years to talk about the draft, to talk

(20:54):
about prospects. Typically when the Reds are in like when
they're in Selmo and we have to learn about the
guys the Reds got back and return, Aaron comes on
with us, explains who the Reds got or the deadline,
he'll tell us who some of these guys are, or
as he'll do today, he'll tell us who we should
want the Reds to take this year they draft ninth overall.
First of all, it's good to have you. It's been

(21:15):
a while. What's going on.

Speaker 4 (21:17):
It's always fun to be back on and I like it.

Speaker 8 (21:19):
I always love being on. But it's more fun when
it's draft related. So I'm not breaking as much ad
news or more down times.

Speaker 4 (21:28):
This is more exciting times.

Speaker 3 (21:31):
All right, let's just start with the Reds ninth overall,
if if the draft were to fall the way a
Reds fan wants, who's the player they get at nine?

Speaker 8 (21:40):
Yeah, it's funny, unlikely, but I think exactly how they
would hope for it to shake out.

Speaker 4 (21:45):
And it seems like.

Speaker 8 (21:46):
There's always something that you don't expect. I think I've
our cat shorts out from Morgan State. That's the pipe dream,
but unlikely he falls there and then Seth Hernandez, especially
when you just look at the way that the Reds
like to pursue arms.

Speaker 4 (21:57):
He's the top prap arm in the class by a mile.

Speaker 8 (22:00):
And there's always a chance that one of those two
guys could fall to nine, especially with the way teams
operate him, because it's so wide open. I think once
you start to get to the back end of the
top ten of how many different players could go where,
I think those are the two guys that reasonably there's
a pipe dream chance of one of them falling, and
they both seem to be good fits for what the
Reds may want.

Speaker 3 (22:20):
The Reds took Rhet Louder in the first round two
years ago. He pitched in the big leagues. Last year,
they took Chase Brown's Chase Burns second overall. Last season,
he's pitched. He's going to pitch the night, make his
fourth big league start. Are is there a guy at
number nine that you know we could follow his path
and have it end up pretty quickly in Cincinnati.

Speaker 4 (22:41):
I think there's a couple of guys that fit that.

Speaker 8 (22:43):
Bill Jamie Arnold, you know, he got hit a little
bit harder left hander out of Florida State.

Speaker 4 (22:47):
This past year.

Speaker 8 (22:48):
He was a guy that a lot of people had,
and I think myself included, you know, right around the
top three, maybe even some having him at number one
in the class going into this year, and it just
didn't quite come together completely. But he's we got some
shades of Lodolo with a very funky release that I
think gives him a higher floor. Where as long as
he's around the zone that slider is nasty. He's gonna
get weak contact for the most part, and I think

(23:11):
you can figure out how to avoid some of the
hard contact that he ended up surrendering late in the
year because of that deception that he has.

Speaker 4 (23:18):
If the strike throwing gets a little bit better.

Speaker 8 (23:20):
That is a guy that I think could move pretty
quickly and he seems to be a decent fit. Then
you look at a Tyler Brenmer from UC Santa Barbara,
right hander with good command. Seems like a guy that
can move quite quickly as well. And then Liam Doyle.
The only thing with him is I think the secondaries
are further behind the other two. But it's an elite fastball,
good characteristics and a guy that you could move pretty
quickly in that regard as well. One last name that

(23:41):
I do want to give a shout that I think
still one of the more underrated names in the draft
is Kyson Witherspoon, right hander from Oklahoma. Probably the deepest
bag of pitches of the guys that I mentioned, and
that might be the guy that ends up flying quicker
than anybody expected.

Speaker 3 (23:55):
There's been a strong lean in recent years the Reds
have toward college players. Would would the way the draft
may unfold or is likely to unfold, suggest that they'll
repeat that with the ninth overall pick this year.

Speaker 8 (24:09):
It's fascinating because I think that the theme of this
draft this year is high school shortstops. At the top right,
you have several guys in that regard that I think
are gonna go pretty early. Ethan Holidays expected to go
number one or number two. Eli Willits I'd be surprised
to see him drop out of the top seven.

Speaker 4 (24:26):
I think Marlin's pick at seven is the floor there.

Speaker 8 (24:28):
And then Billy Carlson and Jojo Parker are both expected
to go in the top ten as well, and I
wouldn't even rule out, you know, if Billy Carlson's there
the Reds may be excited enough about the tools of
a guy that just can get up to ninety seven
on the mound, could be a plus plus shortstop, and
you hope the bat comes along. So I do think
this is a year where it could come down to
who you can work a deal out with see how

(24:50):
things shake out. But I think draft themes may get
bucked a little bit more, not just with the Reds
but just in general with a draft like this one.

Speaker 3 (24:58):
The Reds have the fifty first overall pick, and I
promise I'm not going to do this with any other round,
but give me a name or two that is likely
to be around there that I should be paying attention to.

Speaker 8 (25:09):
I think Anthony Iinson, and I think you're hoping that
he slips there. But I also think that with the Reds,
I wouldn't rule saving a little.

Speaker 4 (25:16):
Bit of money.

Speaker 8 (25:16):
I think some of the names that I mentioned, especially
some of the pitchers, you could save some money there.
And Anson, the right hander from LSU, put up an
incredible performance down the stretch there, and I think there's
been a little bit of that pipeline where you've just
seen those college arms, and I think even LSU at
points that the sec ACC You mentioned it that they
really do like those college arms in general. But Iinson

(25:38):
could be a guy that ends up moving a little
bit more quickly too, because he throws a ton of strikes,
has a good feel for the secondaries, and I think
there's more to be unlocked there in terms of the
quality of his stuff.

Speaker 4 (25:48):
That's a guy that I think is expected to go
in like the forty to forty five range.

Speaker 8 (25:52):
But if you save some money, you might be able
to buy him down to fifty one. Patrick Forbes is
another one where I think you're hoping you can buy
him down. That would be a little bit more of
a lofty proposition there, but the right hander from Louisville
was fantastic after coming back from injury, and that's another
guy that I could see just being a great option
for them as well.

Speaker 3 (26:10):
Aaron Layton just Baseball dot Com. Since you know about
prospects and you know about farm systems, I have seen
the red system described as quote sneaky good. What is
your assessment of the current makeup of the Red's farm system.

Speaker 8 (26:25):
I think it's been a great year for the Reds
farm system in general, and I do think it's sneaky good.
You've had several guys take a leap, whether a Tector
Rodriguez really now looking like he could be a legit
cornerbat for you. South Stewart just continues to hit and
doesn't get enough love, and then I'm just waiting for him.

Speaker 4 (26:39):
To get more and more love.

Speaker 8 (26:41):
He cracked our top one hundred list this year, and
I think he's been incredibly impressive.

Speaker 4 (26:44):
Tyson Lewis.

Speaker 8 (26:45):
I know it's still just at the complex, but when
you're popping one hundred eighteen miles per hour eggs of
velocities that nobody was expecting as a high schooler from
the second round, I think that's a guy that all
of a sudden has a little bit more helium and
excitement to his profile. Alfredo Duno has done everything that
you've wanted to see. I think this is a system
that is sneaky good, and you have some interesting players
at the lower levels that still haven't gotten a complete

(27:07):
chance to see yet.

Speaker 4 (27:08):
You know, I'm still excited to see what shang En
Lynn can do.

Speaker 8 (27:11):
You've got Adam Sermanowski who's also been throwing the ball
pretty well.

Speaker 4 (27:14):
I think this system.

Speaker 8 (27:15):
Has gotten a lot stronger this year, and I think
it's a lot to do just with the internal performances
you know that they've had.

Speaker 3 (27:23):
We wonder and every fan of a team that's kind
of where the Reds are wonders number one, are they
going to be in a position to quote buy? Number two,
is there a good fit for them? And number three
can they come up with an appropriate package to get
that player to come here? And then we start to
talk about, you know, prospects or younger players who are untouchables?

(27:46):
Are there any who fit that description in the Red
system right now?

Speaker 4 (27:51):
Likes some one you wouldn't trade?

Speaker 8 (27:53):
And in general, I would, you know, I tend to
think if you can get a player with control, I
tend to be apprehensive about the untouchable, you know side
of things.

Speaker 4 (28:03):
I do think that you look.

Speaker 8 (28:04):
At a South Stewart and I just keep dreaming about
a guy that you know, hits the ball so so hard.
It hasn't translated into you know, projecting thirty home run power,
but it's a ton of doubles.

Speaker 4 (28:13):
And I think it's gonna.

Speaker 8 (28:14):
Play really well in Grand American Ballpark, where you'll see
that that game power tick up a little bit. So
that's a guy that I'd be clutching onto a little
bit more tightly. Same with Alfredo Dunacuse, the defense has
looked so solid already for a power hitting nineteen year
old catcher.

Speaker 4 (28:27):
Those are two.

Speaker 8 (28:27):
Guys that I just I'd be a little bit nervous
just thinking about what they could ultimately be. But if
you could get a player that makes an impact of
the big league level with a couple years of control,
I don't think there's anybody that I'm not moving. That's
still a prospect if you know we're graduating Chase Burns
in that theory there, But I do think they have
pieces that you can move, and you know you're not
gonna be eager to move them. But Chase Petty, you

(28:48):
assume Ret Louder comes back with the emergence of Burns
and with all the other arms that you've got, Petty
could be a good trade piece that has continued to
show that he can throw at the upper levels and
I think is worthy of some more runway at the
big league level. I think plenty of teams would be
excited to add a Chase Petty with six years of control.

Speaker 3 (29:04):
Where were you on Chase Burns when the Reds took
him number two overall because that did surprise a lot
of people.

Speaker 8 (29:10):
I honestly was a little skeptical as to just whether
it was the best selection at number two, I'll be honest,
and he has really impressed me. And I think I've
been able to shift that a little bit. And you've
got to be able to be fluid and adjust your
evals sometimes. And I still had him clearly, as you know,
one of the top two arms in the class. Anybody
who saw him him pitch had him there. But I

(29:32):
had a little bit of a concern about the home
run side of things. But we saw Hunter Green, you know,
have a home run issue in the minor leagues, improve that.
And we've seen Chase Burns, I think, in large part
through the minor leagues improve that in a short stint there.
And I was a little nervous about how that would
play at Great American Ballpark. But I think that you've
seen the command come along even further. He's been locating
the ball a lot effectively throughout the minor leagues and

(29:54):
this year and the feel for the change up came
along way more than I would have expected it to.

Speaker 4 (29:59):
So think looking back on it.

Speaker 8 (30:01):
You got to be encouraged and happy with the pick
because you don't get arms like that to sign with
the Reds very off and you're not gonna get arms
of that caliber and free agency.

Speaker 4 (30:09):
So this is a guy that still could be a
front line arm.

Speaker 8 (30:12):
I think you're gonna have those days where when he's
missing over the middle, that over the top release will
result in him getting hit a little bit, as we
saw at Fenway, but that was also a great learn
moment for him. I think when you've got one of
the best breaking balls like he's got and you've got
to change up now that's developed and you throw a hundred,
it's gonna be okay most of the time. And to
see where the command is progressed way more quickly than
I expected. I think it's a pick that looks a

(30:33):
lot better now than it did at the time.

Speaker 3 (30:36):
Yeah, I would agree, hopefully looks even better after he
faces Colorado tonight. Jess. Baseball dot COM's an awesome resource,
so is Aaron. I know you have a lot going on, man,
that's a busy weekend for you, so I appreciate you
squeezing usin. We'll talk soon, man, Thanks so much. Always
will make time for your mouth. Thank you one of
the absolute best. Aaron Layton Jessbaseball dot com. The MLB

(30:57):
Draft begins on Sunday. It's a quarter to four ond
ESPN fifteen thirty. Our next guest is going to be
at four to twenty. We have some room five one three, seven,
four nine, fifteen thirty eight six six seven oh two
three seven seven six at Moe Egger on Twitter as well.
Keith Costigan MLS season Pass, Apple TV talking FC Cincinnati
versus Columbus. We'll do uh, we'll do stupid trivia at

(31:21):
four thirty three, Red's Rockies history, and then we'll do
some Bengals Quarterbacks history coming up at five thirty three.
We'll do upper deck Golf in the four o'clock hour
and uh Dirk s Bentley in the five o'clock hour.
More on the Reds as they get said to host
the Rockies this weekend coming up here in Justin Mitt
I'll tell you this sports headlines or a service to
Kelsey Chevrolet Home of lifetime power train protection and guaranteed

(31:44):
credit approval from their family of the Yours for life,
kelseyshev dot Com. Seven to ten. First Pitch tonight Reds
and Rockies on seven hundred WLW. Chase Burns and Harman
mark Kes will be on the hilt tonight. Your starting
lineup for Cincinnati Friedel's and center McLean's at second Eliot
said short Austin Hayeses and left field Gavin lux dh
and Steers at first base. Stevenson catches the bat seventh,

(32:06):
Will Benson and right field Noelve Martin at third base.
He is batting ninth. Also tonaight, the Florence Yaws are
home for Joliet. That game starts a little bit after
seven o'clock tonight, and the Hell is Real Rivalry It's
latest installment Tomorrow, FC Cincinnati hosting Columbus. That match could
be heard on ESPN fifteen thirty starting at seven o'clock

(32:28):
with pregame and kickoff at seven thirty. All right, there
you go. We are in a different era of Cincinnati
Bengals football, different than last year, different than the year before,
different than the year before. That will apply that to
Zach Taylor's odds, the odds of him being the first
head coach fired. That coming up at four oh five
on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 6 (32:49):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic from the.

Speaker 7 (32:57):
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right lane now reopened on southbound seventy one seventy five
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(33:18):
has been cleared away southbound seventy five at State Route
sixty three. It's an accident that's got the left lane blocked.
I'm at Ezelic with Trapp.

Speaker 3 (33:28):
Well, let's see. Jamer Candelario got cut, Alexis Dias got treated,
was with Dodgers, are still in the system, got called
up for a game, then got sent back down. There's
your answer, Garrett Hampson, he's not here anymore. He got cut.
Ryan Valaid got sent to Louisville. That's kind of like
getting cut there you go six away from four o'clock.

(33:52):
We were kind of talking yesterday about like there's certain
things in sports, not to turn into a lance McAllister,
I believe segment, but certain things in sports that we
hold near and dear that we believe, you know, guide
our philosophies, if you will. And we were discussing Zach
Taylor at the end of the Ravens game last year.

(34:13):
Remember he goes for two down a point. It doesn't
you know, it didn't. It was an unsuccessful try. I'm
not successfully talking about this. And I was talking about
how on Quarterback on Netflix, the microphones catch him in
the locker room after the game telling his team, I'll
do that one hundred times out of one hundred, go
for two. And that's something I believe in, right Like

(34:35):
if you if you have cut the lead to one
in the final seconds and you have a chance to
either go for two or kick the pat you should
always go for two. I don't know that there's anything
in sports that I feel more strongly about than not
expanding the NCAA tournament. This has been a topic this week.
The NCUBLEA, the people who decide on such things have

(34:57):
met and they haven't necess necessarily tabled the discussion. But
you know, it came out yesterday that they haven't yet
reached a consensus, but that expansion is still a viable possibility.
I don't know that there's anything right now in all
the sports that I feel more passionately about than the
fact that the tournament should not be expanded. The awesome,

(35:22):
awesome college basketball website the Field of sixty eight dot com.
The person who oversees that site is Rob Dawsterer, who
used to be with NBC Sports. Did a Twitter poll
yesterday and he got over ten thousand responses to his
Twitter poll and it was yay or nay on NCAA

(35:44):
tournament expansion two choices. Ninety four percent said nay. Ninety
four percent. Now those are hardcore. I'm imagining the people
that follow Rob on social media and consume his content
that those are college basketball hardcorees. Sometimes you have to
listen to your hardcorees. Hardcore basketball fans do not want

(36:08):
NCAA tournament expansion. I am a huge college hoops fan.
Most of my friends are as well. I've yet to
talk to one who wants them to expand the NCAA tournament.
They might be going, well, wait a minute, what about
the casuals. I don't think the casuals are going to
watch extra games on Tuesday and Wednesday of the NCAA Tournament.
I don't think casuals are watching the first four I

(36:30):
think casuals like their bracket as is, and they like
the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and Sunday of the first round,
and then they're done. They want nothing more like Sometimes,
sometimes I think you have to listen to the overwhelming
majority of people who consume your product. The overwhelming majority

(36:53):
of people who are consuming the NCAA tournament, casuals and
hardcore fans do not want do not want the tournament
to be expanded at all. And by the way, if
the argument is we're gonna follow the lead of many
pro sports that have expanded their postseason, is that something
you really want to do. I brought up baseball expansion

(37:14):
yesterday and I got some pushback. I'll bring that up
coming up in the four o'clock hour on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station D thousand dollars Enter this nationwide.
Keward on our website. Cash that's cash, Enter it now,
cash cash, he said, what's up, mullegor ESPN fifteen thirty.

(37:34):
Appreciate you listening. Hopefully your weekend is off to an
awesome start. Brendaman and Jones on Baseball later on this
hour plus plus plus plus Keith Costigan of NLS Season
Pass on Apple TV is going to join us talk
about tomorrow's enormous battle between FC Cincinnati and Columbus. He

(37:56):
has the match. We look forward to that, And in
just about thirty minutes we are gonna give away we
have one more set of tickets, a pair of tickets
to go play upper Deck Golf at GABP, which is
happening at the ballpark next Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Your
chance to play around of golf at the ballpark. These
are our last two tickets. We're gonna play stupid trivia

(38:20):
yet again. You know what we're doing, right, and I
know that these are gonna be questions that you just
throw blind answers to, but we're gonna ask them. Nonetheless,
we're gonna play stupid trivia coming up at four to
thirty five. Your chance to win tickets to play upper
Deck Golf at GABP coming up in just about thirty minutes.
Red starting a series at home this week against the Rockies,

(38:43):
with Chase Burns making his fourth big league start against
a team that is fifty one games under five hundred.
You must sweep this series. More on that here. A
little bit later on, I got this email yesterday from
I'm trying to scroll down to find who this is.

(39:03):
This is from bookies dot com, thank you, and it
listed twenty twenty five NFL first coach fired odds, where
Brian Dayball the Giants is the odds on favorite of
plus three seventy five first coach fired. Now, I would
imagine that for because I've never made this wager, I'd
have to look into it that if you made a wager,

(39:26):
let's say you wagered on Brian day Ball, who's the
odds on favorite. I think he would have to be
let go during the season for the tickets to cash.
Maybe not maybe they if he's the first coach fired
and it's not till after the season, he's still win
I don't know. Zach Taylor is number two. Zach Taylor

(39:47):
has the uh the second shortest odds to be the
first coach fired at plus four fifty. And then it's
Mike McDaniel the Dolphins plus five hundred. Kevin Stefanski the Browns,
who's plus five fifty. By the way, I think there's
as good of a job as he has done at
times in Cleveland, and as highly regarded as he is.

(40:08):
I think I take a nibble on that Todd Bowles
at the Bucks plus eight hundred, Shane Stiken of the
Colts plus one thousand, Brian callahand of the Titans plus
one thousand, I hate it for him, that might also
be a pretty good value play, and Jonathan Gannon of
the Cardinals plus fourteen hundred, Zach Taylor plus four fifty.

(40:28):
I don't think Zach Taylor is going to be fired
during the season. I don't think Zach Taylor is going
to be fired at the end of the season because
I believe, and maybe you agree, maybe you don't. I
think the Bengals are going to be a playoff team
this year, and I think that's going to be enough
for Zach Taylor at face value to keep his job.
If they make the postseason, I'm gonna guess they have
more wins than losses. There is a big part of

(40:52):
me that finds it hard to believe that the Cincinnati
Bengals will fire the first ever coach to have five
consecutive winning seasons and then, you know, if they advance
deeper into the postseason. This is not something we discuss.
That said, you know, I think often when it comes
to Bengals and head coaches, we roll our eyes at
the suggestion by outsiders that the head coaches on the

(41:15):
hot seat. And for years we would do this, Like
for years you would read that Marvin Lewis is on
the hot seat. You would read this on cbsports dot com,
or you would read it on ESPN dot com, Marvin
Lewis is on the hot seat. And here in Cincinnati
we would go, no seats, not even warm no. So
at times, what the outside perception has been of the

(41:38):
coach's seats warmth doesn't necessarily match what we know here
or what we think here. And so I think because
of that, there is an inclination that many have to
see something like this and go they're not going to
fire Zach Taylor. Now again, if you think the Bengals

(41:58):
are going to be really good, then you're not even
thinking at all about Zach Taylor being fired. But I
do think we're in a slightly different era. We're in
the and this is this is not an era the
Bengals have ever been in before with any other player.
But they're in a different era right now. They're in
the era of us asking quote, what does Joe think

(42:22):
about this? I guess that's not really a quote. What
does Joe think about this? Like, let's let's let's call
what what what the Bengals did this offseason. Let's call
it what it is. They pivoted because Joe Burrow made
it known. I want T Higgins on my team. I
want to keep playing with him. He's in need pay him.
That's not what their plan was. You and I know

(42:43):
that it changed when Joe Burrow made it known what
he thought of the plan with T. Higgins, and so
they got it done. And they got it done, and
many of us believe, if not most, that what they
did did with T. Higgins is the right thing. But
in doing so, they gave him, Joe Burrow an amount
of power and amount of juice, an amount of input

(43:07):
that no other Cincinnati Bengals player has ever had. I'm
not sure any other Cincinnati athlete has ever had that
kind of input, but I know no other Cincinnati Bengals
player in the history of the franchise has had that
kind of sway, Which is why we've joked about team
president Joe Burrow on this show often since then. So

(43:27):
Joe and Zach Taylor, by all accounts, have a great
working relationship Joe has said a lot of really nice
things about Zach Taylor, and because it would behoop him
to do so, Zach Taylor has said a bunch of
really good things about Joe Burrow. And you could understand why.
But what we also know about Joe, and you know
this has come out in Quarterback if you have watched
any of it on Netflix. I've now watched four episodes.

(43:49):
I watched episode four last night and then it was
about nine thirty and I said I could go outside
and smoke a cigar, I could watch TV some more,
and I decided to go somewhere and watch this and
smoke us are But anyway, so we know this dude's
really competitive. We know this guy is driven by winning.
We know that this is a guy who is going
to be ultimately when his career is over, judged by

(44:11):
how much did he win. And the clock is ticking. Man,
Like I've brought this up before, aren't a whole lot
of quarterbacks who have started winning Super Bowls after like
their eighth season. So I feel like if the Bengals
are going to win a super Bowl with Joe Burrow
as the quarterback, it's more likely to happen over these

(44:32):
next three years than to happen for the first time
years nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, et cetera. And by
the way, what happens over these next couple of years
is going to determine greatly whether there's you know, years ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen,
et cetera. So let's say this season doesn't go the
way any of us hope. Let's say that Joe Burrow

(44:55):
has an awesome year himself, puts up huge numbers. Maybe
again he's an MVP candidate, and the Bengals are on
the outside looking in. Now you might go, well, the
organization is just gonna then, you know, can Zach Taylor
move on from him? And maybe they do that without
the quarterback's input. But knowing what you know about Joe

(45:15):
Burrow and knowing what you know about his level of competitiveness,
the standard of excellence that he believes in, knowing what
you know about this guy, do we really believe that
if push came to shove, that if he decided, you
know what, we're better off with a different coach, that
he wouldn't make that feeling known, that he wouldn't express

(45:36):
that to ownership might not do it publicly, might not
go in the public campaign tour for a new coach
the way he did the public campaign tour for keeping
t Higgins around. But I think there's this belief that, like, oh,
Joe wouldn't do something like that, do something like what,
throw a coach under the bus? Do you know how
many star athletes have thrown coaches under the bus? Star

(46:00):
athletes who are good guys have thrown coaches under the bus.
In fact, name me an NBA superstar and I'll show
you somebody who has thrown a coach under the bus.
And Tom Brady to a large degree leaving New England
basically threw the coach under the bus. We don't think Zach.
We don't think that Joe Burrow if he decided, you

(46:20):
know what, this isn't working, this isn't best for me.
We need someone else. Are we entirely sure that he
wouldn't make it known? Yeah, I want a new head coach.
Has nothing to do with what kind of guy he is,
has nothing to do with how he feels about Zach
Taylor now, So I don't necessarily believe that it's worth
betting on Zach Taylor being the first head coach to

(46:41):
be fired, because I do think that even if they
ultimately reached a decision about Zach Taylor that led to
them moving on from him, which by the way, they
have thought about it before, just they may not admit it.
I can tell you conversations have been had in the
past about whether or not it makes sense to me
move on from Zach Taylor. But as silly as it

(47:04):
might seem to think that he's going to be the
first head coach fired, and as much as those of
us who think the Bengals are going to be pretty
good this year aren't at all thinking about Zach Taylor
being let go, I think it would be fascinating if
this season starts to unfold the way we don't want
starts to go south. You saw very pissed off Joe

(47:26):
Burrow express himself often throughout the course of last year.
If you've watched quarterback or you've seen the highlights of
him exploding on the sideline when they were playing the
Titans last year. That is a guy, and we saw
him often last year who wasn't very happy, wasn't very
happy with what was going on around him, wasn't very
happy with what was going on with his teammates, wasn't

(47:48):
very happy with his best efforts being wasted. If there's
another season like that, dude, you really think it's beyond
the realm of possibility that Joe Burrow says, Yes, you
know what, I want a new coach. This guy has
more sway, more power, more juice, more influence than any
player who has ever played for the Cincinnati Bengals. And

(48:11):
I don't know about you, but if I had that
kind of power, if I had that kind of sway,
I would be thinking about when I can next use it.
Hopefully you don't need to, but I'm not sure that
I would dismiss the possibility of Joe Burrow making it
known I want a different head coach if this season
spins out of control, spirals out of control because we

(48:32):
are in the What does Joe think about this era
of Cincinnati Bengals football, which is different than any other
era this franchise has ever endured or enjoyed. Quarter after
four FC Cincinnati endured a stretch in late May where
they didn't play well. They are enjoying a four game
winning streak and they'll try to get three more points

(48:55):
tomorrow against their heated rival, hated rival Columbus crew in town.
Hell is Real. Keith Costigan has the call for Apple
TVs MLS season pass and he joins US next on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (49:09):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (49:13):
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(49:36):
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Speaker 3 (49:46):
Nineteen minutes ten for four o'clock. This is ESPN fifteen
thirty on my leg. FC Cincinnati versus Columbus Hell Is
Real Tomorrow's seven thirty. This is always the most highly
anticipated match of the year, at least the most high
anticipated home match of the year. But you add to
it the Eastern Conference. How tight it is at the
top four point separating FC Cincinnati and Columbus with two

(50:09):
teams between them, and how well the Orange and Blue
are playing with four consecutive victories. Tomorrow night is going
to be rocking at TQL Stadium. You can watch the
match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. The great
Keith cost again with the call and kind enough to
join us this afternoon. Keith, it's good to have you.
Good afternoon. How are you.

Speaker 9 (50:27):
I'm good, I'm good. I'm excited. I'm on the route
right now to Cincinnati. So I think your build up
told it perfectly. Two of the best teams in the
Eastern Conference, Cincinnati playing great at home. The stadium is
going to be rocking. What more could you look for
on the weekend.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
Yeah, it's going to be a blast. This is always
something we are looking forward to. I'm not sure I
was looking forward to it nearly as much. The first
time they played FC Cincinnati was kind of sluggish. It
was a one to one draw, and then subsequent to
that played a stretch of of maybe they're more the
poorest showings of the year. The way they have come

(51:02):
into this match with ahead of steam a lot of
momentum is really encouraging, and I guess it starts with
a vander who I would imagine is going to be
a huge part of the broadcast tomorrow.

Speaker 9 (51:15):
Yeah, definitely. I mean, look, you're looking at an MVP candidate.
He leads the league in terms of goals from distance seven.
Nobody's even close to that. Most teams haven't even got that,
So he's right up there with the best in the league.
But I think gone back to your point on the
first game in terms of how they played, and it
was a little bit sluggish. Bringing in kay Kamara. Bringing
in a forty year rold to play alongside Kevin den

(51:37):
k has kind of taken a little bit of the
burden off him with his back to play, So now
he's free to roam and has a little bit more
of a free role in that final third, and that
has allowed a Vanda to play on the needs. So
it is it's only a small window since the last game,
but we've already seen the team evolve and I think
they're much better now. So if you're Cincinnati, you can't
ask for a better run going in. You can't ask

(51:59):
for your players to be on a better room going in.
And Columbus, although they're only four points behind, I still
think you look at Columbus and you feel their work
in progress in terms of last year with Kucho, how
good he was, they really haven't replaced him. They really
don't know their best group in that final third, and
that's you know, the perfect time to take advantage of
DOT tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (52:20):
Yeah, I think what's kind of fun about FC Cincinnati,
And it's not unlike what you just described with Columbus.
Pat Newman's club was sort of doing something similar early
in the season where they were trying to weave through
new acquisitions, obviously the departure of Lucho Acosta, injuries, players
playing for their national teams, that sort of thing. To
be where they are right now in the driver's seat

(52:43):
for the supporter shield and obviously leading the Eastern Conference
is pretty remarkable to me. And I have felt like
all season long and even now during this four game stretch,
this team's best play is still in front of it.
Would you agree?

Speaker 10 (52:55):
Yeah, one hundred percent agree.

Speaker 9 (52:56):
And again, to be number one in the East, where
you have inter Man, you have Lionel Messi, you have
Nashville on a twelve game on beat and run, you
have Philly, You've returned to form, so you have other
teams playing really, really good football.

Speaker 10 (53:08):
So the fact that you've gone above and beyond.

Speaker 9 (53:10):
That and you're still finding tweaks to get better, signing
a new player for the U twenty two initiative who
can play out wide and be an attacking threat as well.
I think Pat deserves a lot of credit. We always
talk about, you know, MVP candidates. Pat deserves a lot
of credit and should be in the conversation for Coach
of the Year for bringing in big players, finding ways
to get them to tick and be you know, efficient

(53:34):
going forward, and constantly looking to evolve the team.

Speaker 10 (53:37):
I think it's incredible to watch. I still think there's
like maybe a little bit.

Speaker 9 (53:41):
Of respect there from Pat for Columbus because they play
very different styles and Columbus will have a lot more
of the ball. But I do think this Cincinnati versus
the last time they played or more comfortable in their
own skin, and that should hold them well for tomorrow
night's match up.

Speaker 3 (53:56):
Yeah. I was going to talk about Pat noon and
next and you mentioned Kay Kamara. A Kamara has done
everything right. He's played for everybody. He's forty years old
and so a player of that stature and with his experience,
maybe it's a little bit easier for him to get
acclimated to new surroundings. I think the best thing about
watching FC Cincinnati over these years with Pat Noonan as
the head coaches, when they acquire a player on the fly,

(54:16):
it feels like the guy fits in almost immediately. You
could speak to this better than anybody. I'm not sure
that's as common as maybe it we take it for
granted four here.

Speaker 9 (54:26):
No it isn't. And I look at it. I mean,
you name the sport. You look at basketball, football, you'll
see teams just say we're going to acquire a player
because he's available, and then they think about how he's
going to fit in later, and it inevitably ends in
disaster because it's does he fit the profile that we won?
Does he fit the way that we play? I think
Pat noon and Chris Albright have ideas in mind, what

(54:47):
do we need, what style of player do we need?
They obviously have a great relationship, working relationship where they
can discuss that and then they go out and identify
a player that fits their needs, not the other way around.

Speaker 10 (54:58):
And I think, look Kai.

Speaker 9 (55:00):
I hate Kai because he's forty years of age and
he looks like he's twenty. He still runs like a teenager.
Every time I see Kai, I'm like, you're doing this
all at the service, get away from the game.

Speaker 10 (55:11):
We hate you.

Speaker 9 (55:12):
But no, Kai Kai is a proper pro and Pat
Noonan immediately saw the value that he could bring. Now,
he hasn't scored a goal, but what he's done is
given the freedom to den k. He's opened up avenues
for the Vanders. So that for me is clever player acquisition.
And yeah, I'm with you. You don't see it enough
in the game, and you don't see it in other
sports as well. The top teams do it well, and

(55:34):
Cincinnati are a top team.

Speaker 3 (55:37):
You think back to last year, it kind of felt
like and Columbus was in that mix, that the Eastern
Conference in the regular season was a three team race.
It's a lot different this year. And by the way,
that's not how it played out once we got to
the playoffs, but it's how it played out for the
regular season. It feels like the exact opposite this year.
Six teams in the East that are separated by eight points.

(55:58):
How do you handicap that side of the table?

Speaker 9 (56:01):
Wow, it's tough And I was trying to do this
last night when I was doing my research looking at
teams and saying, who is going to like separate themselves.
I look at Cincinnati the runover over the coming weeks,
you play Miami twice. I think after those games, we're
gonna know a lot more about who's the challenger and
who's not. I think Intermami you're in the best form
that they've been in. I think Nashville have been on

(56:22):
a very good run. But they play Miami tomorrow, so
all of a sudden, those teams that you mentioned, they're
all going to start playing each other. I think Cincinnati
are definitely in the mix. I think Intermami or in
the mix. I do think Columbus are this year, maybe
a level below it. I don't think they're going to
be the team at the top or the last team standing.
If I was the handicap it, I would have Cincinnati

(56:44):
and Intermami as the two teams that I feel are
going to battle out for that number one spot.

Speaker 10 (56:49):
Nashville maybe not so far off.

Speaker 9 (56:50):
They've been the surprise, but if I had to pick
my top two, would be since in Intermami.

Speaker 3 (56:56):
All right, Tomorrow's match is going to go a long
way toward determining how the East Conference unfolds. The atmosphere
of tomorrow is going to be incredible. It's a great rivalry.
Hopefully it's a great game, and hopefully you have a
great call. Keith State travels in Cincinnati. Man, thanks so.

Speaker 10 (57:09):
Much, thank you, thanks for having me.

Speaker 3 (57:11):
You got a Keith Costagan MLS season pass. Apple TV
has the match for h MLS season pass. Starts at
seven thirty at the Soccer Venue in the West End
of Cincinnati. Hell Israel FC Cincinnati versus Columbus for the
second time this year and eighteenth time overall. And of course, yes,
you could listen to that match tomorrow night right here

(57:34):
on ESPN fifteen thirty. All right, uh, five, one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. Oh that's right. Yes, we've got sports headlines
coming up Brendiman and Jones on baseball later on this hour.
We got we got stuff to give away, we got
upper deck golf to give away. So, uh, yesterday we
we did play guests the foot. Uh, and then so
it's a one off. It's a one off. Now, that

(57:55):
doesn't mean we're not gonna play guess the foot some
other time. But we have you know, the rads that
fell like that Arland series lasted like a week and
a half. Uh, the Rockies are in town, and so
you know what we got to do, right. We have
to test your knowledge of the shared history of the
Reds and Rockies. And if you are a contestant, and
if if you you pass the test, you're gonna win

(58:16):
tickets to a upper deck golf. Upper Deck Golf gives
you a chance to play golf inside great American ballpark,
including on the field. It's next week Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
If you don't win, or if you just want to
know more, you can go to Reds dot com learn more.
We need contestants. If you want to win tickets to
upper deck golf, five point three seven four nine fifteen

(58:36):
thirty will get you in. That's five one three seven
four nine fifteen thirty. We'll play stupid trivia. We might
have to come up with a better name for stupid
trivia than stupid trivia. Right now, that's what we've settled on.
We'll play it after sports headlines on ESPN fifteen thirty,
Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 6 (58:53):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic Traffic Center.

Speaker 7 (59:00):
You see health as expert trauma care focusing on prevention,
treating injuries, and supporting long term recovery and rehabilitation. Learn
more at ucehealth dot com. Glen Way remains closed stop
in both directions due to a structure fire between Wells
Street and Fairbanks Avenue on southbound four seventy one before

(59:22):
two seventy five. It's an accident causing a five minute delay.
From Alexandria Pike, I'm at Ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 3 (59:29):
This report sports headlines, our service at Kelsey chevred Light,
home of lifetime powertrain protection, and I guarantee credit approval
from their family to yours from Life kelseyshow dot com,
Reds and Rocky Tonight first and three at GABP seven ten.
Tonight's first pitch seven hundred WLW Chase Burns fourth big
league start against Herman Marquez. Your starting lineup for tonight?

(59:53):
Are you ready? Scorecards, pencils, magic markers, crying, whatever, whatever
You're going to be keeping score with tonight? Get him ready?
Stand by? Here we go Friedel's and center, McLean's at second,
Ellie's at short. Austin Hayes is in left field, patting
fourth Gavin Lux and left and Gavin Lux is dhing.
Austin Hayes is in left field, batting fourth, Gavin Lux

(01:00:16):
is dhing and hitting fifth, Spencer Steers at first base.
Stevenson catches and bat seventh. Will Benson in right field.
Noelvee Marte is playing third base and batting ninth. Florence
Yaws are home for Joliet tonight and FC Cincinnati and
Columbus getting set to duel tomorrow on the West end
of Cincinnati. It's the hell is Real rivalry and tomorrow's

(01:00:39):
match takes place at seven o'clock. No, I'm sorry, seven
to thirty. Pre game coverage starts at seven o'clock here
on ESPN fifteen thirty. All right, we are. We're giving
you a chance to win tickets to Upper Deck Golf
at GABP. We have been doing this all week long.
This is our last This is our last set of tickets.
Upper Deck Golf at GABP gives you a chance to
play around at golf in side GABP with upper Deck

(01:01:01):
Golf the events next week Thursday, Friday, Saturday, You'll have
a chance to play around to the ballpark down to
custom greens on the field and there'll be great music,
cold drinks, food, lots of golfing challenges, clubhouse, sports bar,
festival area inside the stadium. It's gonna be awesome. Learn
more at upperdeckgolf dot com. We have with us playing

(01:01:22):
a stupid trivia Brian. Brian, thank you for joining us
today and competing and being a contestant. Are you excited
and ready to go?

Speaker 11 (01:01:32):
Absolutely?

Speaker 4 (01:01:33):
Thanks Mel, You're very welcome.

Speaker 3 (01:01:36):
We're gonna throw you five questions. You gotta get three correct.
They're all multiple choice. If you get three right, you're
gonna have tickets to Upper Deck Golf. If you don't,
we're gonna give them to somebody else. I'm gonna wager
that you are gonna be making blind guesses at these
But perhaps you're the most knowledgeable Reds fan of all time.
We will find out. Brian, Are you ready?

Speaker 11 (01:01:54):
I'm ready?

Speaker 3 (01:01:56):
All right, very good? Here we go, Tary, do you
have these sound effects ready like you do? Question number one?
Two men Brian have played for the Reds and then
gone on to manage the Colorado Rockies. One is Clint Hurdle,
who is the other played for the Reds and then
went on to manage the Rockies. A Buddy Bell, B

(01:02:17):
J Bell or C. Jim Tracy, Hey, Buddy Bell, A
Buddy Bell Tarren. Yes. Buddy Bell played for the Reds
in the mid to late eighties and then went on
to manage the Rockies from two thousand through two thousand
and two. Right, very good, one for one, Off to
a good start, question number two, Brian. On May nineteenth,

(01:02:39):
nineteen ninety nine, the Reds beat the Rockies by a
score of twenty four to twelve. Of course, field special.
This Cincinnati outfielder hit three home runs in that game.
Was it a Greg Vaughan, B. Mike Cameron or C.
Jeffrey Hammonds B.

Speaker 11 (01:02:55):
Jeffrey Hammonds.

Speaker 3 (01:02:57):
Was it C. Jeffrey Hammonds? Yes, very good, Jeffrey Himmon's
a three homer game. Reds hung twenty four in the
Rocks one by twelve, twenty four to twelve. Very good,
You're two for two. You've got to get one more correct.
Here we go. June second, nineteen ninety three was the
first ever regular season game played between the Reds and

(01:03:19):
the Rockies. Colorado won the game five to four on
a walk off hit by this eventual Cincinnati Red Was
it a Ron Gant B Dante Bichette, or Ce Jerome
Walton B. Dante Bichette, Can I get B Dante Bischett,
tarn Yes, three for three. We didn't even have to

(01:03:44):
go to questions four and five. Brian, you are gonna
go play upper deck golf of Great American ball Park.
You are perhaps the most knowledgeable Reds or maybe the
most knowledgeable Rockies fan I've ever talked to. Congratulations, Thank you,
You're very welcome. All right, hang tight, Taran will get
your information. Don Te Bischett with a game winning single

(01:04:07):
off Jeffriardon. Now, I don't know that there's a more
like random, Like wait a minute, that guy pitched for
the Reds. Then Jeff Reardon was a heck of a
pitcher like Montreal Expos for years, and then he was
with the Twins and with the Red Sox and you know,

(01:04:28):
saved probably close to four hundred games, and you know,
it was just one of those if you're ever playing
like the name random players from the eighties game, Jeff
Reardon will always come up. And he was led the
league in saves with the Expos in like eighty four
eighty five. But yes, he pitched for the Reds and
actually pitched a lot of games fifty eight to nineteen
ninety three, but he gain and it wasn't necessarily very good.

(01:04:52):
Ninety three was a weird season. It was the year
that Tony Perez got fired after about forty four games. Yeah,
and Jeff Reardon was on that team, and I think
he saved eight games that year. Yes, Jeff reardn't pitch
for the Reds, And I gotta be honest with you,
I totally forgot about that until I was looking up

(01:05:12):
questions and I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah, Jeff Reard he
was on that team. I didn't realize he pitched in
as many games as he did. But yes, gave up
the game winning hit to Dante Bichett, who obviously played
for the Reds for about four months in two thousand,
if you remember, they acquired Dante Bichett and that was
like the big offseason acquisition for a few weeks, and

(01:05:34):
then they traded for Ken Griffey Junior. I actually had
a Ken Griffy Junior related question question number four, but
we didn't have to get to it. We're gonna give
away Derk Spentley tickets. We're gonna test your knowledge of
Bengals quarterbacks. That's gonna be exciting. That comes your way,
coming up right around five thirty. So we're looking forward
to that. Brendanman and Jones on Baseball is just about

(01:05:56):
ten minutes away. It's twenty minutes away from five o'clock.
This ZESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (01:06:07):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. U see health
as expert trauma care, focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and
supporting long term recovery and rehabilitation. Learn more at UCHealth
dot com. Glenway remains closed off in both directions between
Wells and Fairbanks Avenue. That is due to a structure fire.

(01:06:29):
Now two right lanes blocked from an accident on southbound
four seventy one. That's before two seventy five. I'm at
ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 3 (01:06:38):
You know, it's actually a legitimate question because there is
a game happening right now. America League Action America League's
Central Action Guardians lead to White Sox four to two
in game one of a double header makeup of a
rainout from last night. White Sox are dreadful. Not as
dreadful maybe as rockies who are fifty one games under
five hundred. We got a caller off air. We love

(01:07:00):
off air callers always the best. The people who contribute
most to a radio show are the people who call
it and don't go on the air. I say that
because anybody who's ever produced a radio show can tell
you how annoying it can be when people call the
show and don't want to go on. That doesn't mean
that the person who called our show but didn't want
to go on didn't bring some value to the table

(01:07:21):
because he wanted to know what the other two stupid
trivia questions were Taran, do you want to see if
you can get these right?

Speaker 10 (01:07:29):
Sure?

Speaker 3 (01:07:29):
Why not? All right? April tenth, two thousand, Ken Griffey
Junior hit his four hundredth home run, making him the
youngest player to hit that many home runs. He hit
it at Chorus Field. Who gave it up? Was it
Roland Arroyo, Juli and Tavares or Stan Belinda? It was

(01:07:52):
as rolland Arroyo, who actually was in Colorado. He actually
was a pretty okay rookie pitcher to Tampa Bay Rays.
His career bottomed out went to Colorado. He actually he
and the Rockies won that game. But uh yeah, King
Griffey Junior hit his four hundredth home run. All right,
here's the other one. Just once have the Reds and
Rockies both appeared in the same postseason? When was it

(01:08:15):
nineteen ninety five, nineteen ninety nine or twenty ten?

Speaker 10 (01:08:19):
Crap?

Speaker 11 (01:08:20):
Uh teen.

Speaker 3 (01:08:23):
Ninety five ninety five? The Rockies, in just their third season,
made the playoffs as a wild card and lost to
the Braves in four I think, And the Reds won
the Central and beat the Dodgers in three. And then
the the Reds went on to play the Braves and

(01:08:44):
got swept. And they have not appeared in a National
League Championship series since. But yes, the the Rockies, Rockies,
and Reds both made the postseason in nineteen nine.

Speaker 4 (01:08:55):
Three year old was watching that somewhere.

Speaker 3 (01:08:57):
You were three year old. I was I was a
I was a freshman at the University of Dayton, and
they had this awful thing called the Baseball Network, which
meant you didn't get a chance to watch all they
had playoff games going on at the same time, and
you got like regional coverage and what I remember about
that was as a student at ud The Reds were

(01:09:18):
in the postseason. The Cleveland Indians were also in the postseason.
That great Cleveland team with Kenny Lofton and Albert Bell,
Jim Tomay, Carlos Bierga, Cliff Lee, like just A orl
Hirscheis or Eddie Murray. It was an awesome team went
to the World Series and lost to the Braves and six.
So anyway, the Rads and Indians are both in the postseason,

(01:09:38):
and in Dayton at the University of Dayton there's a
ton of Indians fans and so because of the Baseball Network,
understandably so because Dayton is closer to Cincinnati. The Baseball
Network was a combination of ABC and NBC, whichever network
had games on a particular night. If there were multiple
playoff games going on, you got one. So I remember

(01:10:02):
watching the Reds and Dodgers Game three, which Mark Lewis
hit the Grand Slam and nearly passed Aaron Boone who
was tacking up from first base, and it came off
Hideo Nomo and Jeff Brantley got the save, and it
was the last time the Reds have advanced in the postseason.
It was a Friday night and the Braves are playing

(01:10:22):
the Rockies that night. I think that was Game three.
I think it was in Colorado, and I think the
Rockies actually might have won that game. It was the
one game they won. I could have that detail incorrect,
But what I remember was, you know, as a kid,
and now, well not even entirely now it's a little
bit different, but as a kid, you know, it was
pre Wildcard, so like every playoff game was on team

(01:10:44):
you could watch every playoff game. They didn't have playoff
games opposite other playoff games. So if there was a
situation where like you know, hey, there's a Game six
and a Game seven of different series on the same day,
the Game six would be at four in the afternoon
and Game seven would be that night. That's what we
grew up watching. Suddenly I'm eighteen years old at ud
and there's playoff games on but that you can't see

(01:11:07):
them because they're all being played at the same time
and only being shown on one network. And it was
the dumbest thing of all time, the dumbest thing of
all time. And I remember earlier in that week, the
Reds Dodgers series they started in LA. They were in LA.
It was the same time OJ Simpson got acquitted of
murder on my eighteenth birthday. And the Reds played Game

(01:11:28):
one against the Dodgers, and meanwhile, the Yankees and Mariners
are playing this epic five game series. The Cleveland Indians
are playing in the postseason against the Red Sox with
Mo Vaughn, and you couldn't watch these games because Bud
Seileague and his infinite wisdom decided with the Baseball Network
that all Major League Baseball playoff games are going to
happen at the exact same time, and we're all gonna

(01:11:50):
put them on one network, and that network is just
going to divide it up like they do an NFL Sunday,
And it is the dumbest thing that ever happened. Bud
Seileague oversaw a lot of really stupid things. The Baseball
Network might be at the top of the list. So
that's how I remember Red's Rockies. I have no idea
why it took me four minutes to talk about that,
but that's how I remember the Reds and Rockies both

(01:12:10):
being in the same postseason. And it would have been
the cool if the Rockies would have beaten the Braves,
because then maybe the Reds would have gone to the
World Series. But that didn't happen U five three, seven nine,
fifteen thirty. And yet Bud Ceiling, Bud Ceiling is in
the Hall of Fame, but Barry Bonds isn't. Bud Ceiling
is in the Hall of Fame. But a whole lot
of people who thrived while he was the commissioner not

(01:12:32):
in the Hall of Fame. Bud Seiling, Brandonman and Jones
on Baseball's Next he Road.

Speaker 1 (01:12:39):
Now your chance to win one thousand dollars enter this
nationwide Keward on our website.

Speaker 3 (01:12:44):
Cram, that's Cram. Enter it now. All right, we'll do
it five oh five ESPN fifteen thirty on Leger. Thank
you for joining us. I hope by now your weekend
is off to an awesome start. It's the michelove ould
Draw five o'clock Happy Hour. No better hour, no better
hour than the Mikelobe Ultra five o'clock Happy Hour on

(01:13:08):
a Friday. Thanks to Mikelobe Ultra superior taste, superior light beer.
I could have done the Ken Brew thing where I
opened the bottle in front of the microphone, but it's
already opened it and to me tapping it. Mikelob Ultra
ice cold, enjoy one, Enjoy one tonight, Enjoy a six

(01:13:28):
pack tonight. Enjoy one this weekend. Whatever the activity is,
round of golf, hanging out with your buddies, going to
the ballpark, family barbecue, whatever, anything. Obviously, besides operating a
motor vehicle, please drink responsibly. Michelob Ultra Superior Taste, Superior
light Beer. We're gonna give away another pair of Dirk
Spentley tickets coming up in just about thirty minutes. This

(01:13:51):
is gonna be Bengals related, So we cannot wait for that.
Some Bengal stuff a little bit later on, because you
said for the MLB draft, what you need to know
coming up in five forty five Reds and Rockies tonight,
Colorado is awful. The Reds need to sweep this series.
So this series they just finished up against the Miami
Marlins is to me a glimpse into why people like

(01:14:15):
me feel the way we do about this team. My
take on the Reds for a while, and I know
there's a lot of folks who share this opinion. There's
obviously some who disagree, but My take has been they're
too good. They're too good to totally fall out of contention,

(01:14:36):
I believe, and part of this is a reflection of
just how water down baseball is. We have an extra
wildcard team. The threshold to make the postseason has never
been easier to clear. The Reds won eighty two games
two years ago and came this close to making the postseason.
They were eliminated in Game number one sixty one. I
don't know if we're going to see something similar this year,

(01:14:59):
but I I have maintained all along, and I may
be proven wrong, but I have maintained all along that
I believe this team has some staying power. I don't
think they're gonna fall out of contention. I think for
the majority of the next two months, you're gonna be

(01:15:19):
able to look at the standings and at least talk
about their playoff chances. You might not love their playoff chances.
They they may never occupy a wild card spot, but
I think they're too good to totally fade from contention.
So my guess is at the trade deadline, you're gonna
have folks who make a pretty compelling case that they

(01:15:42):
should buy. I also think you're gonna have folks who
go realistically. Even if they get someone from outside, they're
not gonna make the postseason. So let's talk about selling.
I think the starting pitching is too good, and that's
without Hunter Green. Now, your guess is as good as
mine is to when Hunter Green is gonna pitch again.
And you know, we'll see what they do with the

(01:16:03):
spot in the rotation that's currently occupied by Chase Burns.
The Reds could use a very good Chase Burns outing tonight.
And you know, let's face the Chase Burns has the
benefit of three starts worth of experience, and they threw
them to the Wolves against the Yankees, and they threw
him in Fenway Park, and they threw them to the
Wolves against that Philadelphia lineup. Tonight is at home against

(01:16:23):
a Rockies lineup that is barely Major League. But I
think this week has been a microcosm of the season
to a degree, and an example as to why people
like me feel the way we do. And I know
there's many who feel the way that I do. This
team's starting pitching is too good to allow it to
totally fade into oblivion. This team's starting pitching is good

(01:16:47):
enough to keep it afloat, to keep it at least
at arm's length from a wildcard spot. Start with Andrew Abbott. Now,
I think it's reasonable to wonder, is Andrew over the
final you know whatever it is thirteen starts? Is he
going to regress to the mean a little bit here?
Is he really as good as he has pitched so

(01:17:07):
far this season? But he has been awesome this year,
deserving All Star And on Wednesday night he delivered I
think the biggest start of the season. Look, man, we
said it on Wednesday Afternoon Show. The team was kind
of teetering on the brink. The season felt like it
was on the verge of slipping away. You lose four straight,
you're back to five hundred, like gets swept by the Marlins.
Who cares then what they do against Colorado? And yet

(01:17:29):
he was awesome, And he was awesome for nearly eight innings.
And the Bats helped, and the Marlins not being a
very good team certainly helped. But Andrew Abbott has been
terrific all season. Along Nickolodolo, I think this year has
been better than a lot of people might realize. Has
been better this year than a lot of people might
want to realize he has been reliable. You know, we've

(01:17:49):
talked about this before. To me, Nicko Loodolo, a starting
staff's quality is not so much measured by who the
ace is. It's measured by depth, and it's measured by
the reliability in the middle to back end of the rotation.
Nick Lodolo this year has been very reliable. He hasn't
been an All Star. You wouldn't even start to make

(01:18:11):
the case that he should be an All star. He
hasn't been an ace. If the Reds play in a
best of five National League Division series, we're not gonna
want to see Nicklodolo pitch Game one, right. But what
he has done is when he has taken the ball,
he has given his team a chance to win. More
often than not. He certainly did yesterday. He was terrific.
Six very good shutout innings. Not overwhelmingly so, not dazzling,

(01:18:34):
but effective, pretty efficient. Again, he got some help from
the bats early tone set with Spencer Steer, they score
four in an inning. They get a great defensive showing
in the seventh inning with Ashcraft on the man. Right
when it felt like the Marlins we're about to close
the gap, terrific sliding catch by Will Benson, very well
turned double play from Elie de la Cruz. But the

(01:18:55):
headliner yesterday was Nick Lodolo. I think this week we
have seen the good. We have seen why this team
has a shot to hang in this race until mid September.
We saw this week why this team cannot completely be
totally counted out. We saw this week why we still

(01:19:16):
discuss what the Reds may be able to accomplish as
buyers at the deadline, because the starting pitching is pretty good.
The starting pitching at times is really good. Starting pitching
is an asset. We also saw this week why it's
hard to take their playoff chances seriously. Offensively, they're not
good enough. Offensively, they're not consistent enough. They'll have outbursts.

(01:19:39):
We saw one Wednesday, we saw one yesterday. We'll probably
see some this weekend against Colorado. But I think we
saw this week why excuse me, folks like me believe
about this team. What we believe even go back to
the two games they lost against the Phillies, where the
starting pitching was mostly good enough. Nicko Lodolo was mostly

(01:19:59):
good enough, Chase Burns was fine. On Sunday, in that
game against the Phillies. They scored one run in each
of those two losses. They scored one run on Monday.
They actually exploded for two runs on Tuesday, and they
scored twelve runs the Marlins did in that game, and
so you know, it wouldn't have mattered how many runs
the red scored, I guess, but I think this week
it's why this team can be tantalizing. I think this

(01:20:21):
week we saw why this team can at times make
you feel pretty encouraged about their chances. And I think
we saw this week why this team can absolutely frustrate
and make you feel like, as much as it's cool
that they'll play some meaningful baseball in all likelihood in September,
they're just not good enough to get to the postseason

(01:20:43):
and have a chance to break the franchisees streak of
thirty consecutive years without advancing in the playoffs. I hope
I'm wrong about that. I think we all want me
to be wrong about that. So it's you know, I
see it on social media. I said this early in
the season, my favorite thing to do on Twitter is

(01:21:04):
follow a Reds game and a Red season on that platform,
because when they win, you can find folks who will
convince you this is a one hundred and five win
team that is just a rung below the big red machine.
And when they lose, you can find folks who believe
this team is a rung below the twenty twenty two
team that lost one hundred games. They'll never win again.

(01:21:27):
The truth is kind of there in the middle. The
middle is really frustrating, and this sport, the middle is
really frustrating, And so I guess the question becomes, over
the final sixty eight games of the season, can they
find a stretch where they play so well and gain
so much ground and hits so well that it offsets

(01:21:53):
the overall mediocrity that we have seen for the first
what has it been ninety five two games night somewhere
in there, ninety two. Yeah, we'll see, we'll see. But
this week to me was a microcosm the starting pitching.
You kind of had a sense this was gonna be
the case ninety four games, thank you. Yeah, you kind

(01:22:14):
of had a sense this was gonna be the case.
Where when they lost those first two games to the Marlins,
and let's be honest, Yasha kind of felt like the
Marlins are going to the Marlins are gonna kind of
Cincinnati and sweep the Reds. But you kind of had
a sense the starting pitching. We'll figure out a way
to keep them afloat. And now here they are back
to two over five hundred, right where they were when
this home stand started and at the beginning of this
homestand we said they had to go five and two.

(01:22:36):
If they win these three games against the team that's
fifty one games under five hundred, they could still go
five and two. And if they do, they'll be five
over five hundred at the All Star break. And then
we'll spend all of next week wondering if they can
play well enough against the teams they take on out
of the break, like the Mets and the Nationals and

(01:22:57):
Atlanta and the Doctors, play well enough to clearly be
buyers on July thirty first, we'll see, we'll see.

Speaker 8 (01:23:07):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:23:08):
I'd much rather talk about them being able to stay
afloat than their chances being completely torpedoed because they got
swept by the Marlins. Five one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty and eight sixty six seven oh two, three, seven,
seven six are our phone numbers at Moegger on Twitter
thanks to Delta Dental. Delta Dental is building healthy, smart,
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(01:23:31):
One more pair of Dirk Spentley tickets to give away
coming up in just about twenty minutes. What we do
will be Bengals related. We're excited for that. And what
you need to know about the Baseball Draft which starts
on Sunday. That coming up in just about thirty minutes.
It's the michelob Ultra five o'clock Happy Hour on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 6 (01:23:50):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty to traffic from the.

Speaker 7 (01:23:57):
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(01:24:18):
at the moment from Memorial Parkway and the left lane
blocked from an accident southbound seventy five before State Route
sixty three. I'm at he sound like with traffic this week?

Speaker 3 (01:24:29):
Three sounds amazing free as this shuns.

Speaker 9 (01:24:34):
Twenty one.

Speaker 3 (01:24:35):
If you chance to call, you knew that already, right
twenty minutes after five o'clock. This is ESPN fifteen thirty
and the michelob Ultra five o'clock Hapy hour. Let's take
a phone call or two while we're at it. Go ahead,
our guy, Mike is on hold. Mike, You're on ESPN
fifteen thirty. Good afternoon, Mike. How are you?

Speaker 11 (01:24:51):
Thank you more? Just in the middle of a sit
of a transmission here with the leg Okay, thanks, I
think a great trivia question which probably you won't agree with.

(01:25:11):
But in two thousand and thirteen or fourteen, I can't
remember which. Here, I was on a job in West
Virginia and I sat on the radio and it was
either before or after, probably after the World Series game.

(01:25:33):
And guess who was on mo Ager on the national broadcast.
And I've asked about this maybe once before, But how
long did you endeavor that national thing? And I wonder
how many listeners know?

Speaker 3 (01:25:52):
How long did I do it?

Speaker 10 (01:25:55):
Yeah?

Speaker 11 (01:25:55):
How long did you try that national thing?

Speaker 3 (01:25:58):
I did it from twenty thirteen through twenty twenty one.

Speaker 11 (01:26:06):
Oh my god, you know you did that walk.

Speaker 3 (01:26:09):
Yeah, yeah, when I.

Speaker 11 (01:26:10):
Heard you, you know, I was laying in my bed
what night in the hotel room, on the on the
job I was working on. I thought, well, I'm gonna
the World Series, you know, I know who won the game.
I'm wanna slipping on the eschn and just go Slater
And there was mo Ainger.

Speaker 3 (01:26:28):
Completely, so it would have been I did a bunch
of those to twenty thirteen. Twenty thirteen was Cardinals Philly,
the Cardinals Red Sox, which Boston was on after some
of those games, and then twenty fourteen it was that
great Royal Giant series. I was you know, I was lucky.

(01:26:49):
I was on after Game seven of that series. Madison
Bumgardner was awesome. The Royals stranded Lorenzo Caine at third
base in the bottom of the seventh inning. Bumb Gardener's
sort of solidified his status as one of the great
postseason pitchers ever. I was lucky enough to be on
after that game. Yeah, that was in that. I was
on after some of those Astros Dodgers World Series games

(01:27:11):
in twenty seventeen as well.

Speaker 11 (01:27:13):
But you said that didn't appeal to you that much.
After a little while ago, When I asked you about that,
you said, I said, well, why didn't you pursue that USA?
That really wasn't my deal.

Speaker 3 (01:27:24):
I didn't really love it. I loved working with the
people that I worked with, I really didn't love I
didn't love it for a few different reasons, some of
which I'm not going to get into. But I didn't
I didn't love the I like topic driven radio, and
that wasn't necessarily topic driven radio, and when we did
topic driven radio, it was always about the same things

(01:27:48):
I didn't like. At times, I would have to be on,
you know, I would be I would be on that
game night show, and I was doing it from Cincinnati,
and I didn't always have access to some of the
games that we would be reacting to, and so I
felt at times like I was flying blind. I really
didn't enjoy that. I didn't enjoy being on with a

(01:28:09):
partner that I wasn't in the same city as, because
I think you have to develop chemistry and just hey,
you two do a talk show and one guy's in
Minneapolis and the other guys in Cincinnati. I didn't really
enjoy that. I didn't enjoy talking about the same four
or five topics when we weren't reacting to games with
the same four or five people. I respect the hell

(01:28:30):
a lot of people who do it. I'm certainly grateful
that I had the opportunity. It was kind of a
dream come true to say that I did work for
ESPN Radio, But I didn't really I didn't enjoy the work,
and I didn't take on the work thinking that I
was going to be like, you know, the person who
replaced Mike and Mike. I did it because it was
just something I thought would be interesting to do and

(01:28:52):
fun to do, and at times it was. But as
a I like doing the job I have now because
I deeply care about the teams that I talk about,
and I have a little bit more saying what I
do talk about. Where there it was sort of like,
here are the things you're going to discuss, discuss them,
and again I was I was often in a position,

(01:29:12):
we're doing that show at night, you're reacting to games,
and just because of where I was doing the show from,
I would I was at times. I would at times
be asked to talk about a game that I saw
nothing up and that doesn't happen.

Speaker 11 (01:29:22):
Here interesting because you you would share the same and mentalities.
Then with with Dan Patrick and his reasons for leaving ESPN,
He's grateful for ESPN, for his career and everything else.
But that's just that that seems like a bit of

(01:29:46):
a common thread there. Okay, I'll get off that. I
gotta I gotta be a question for you. How many
shutouts king shutouts, not pictures shutouts, keen shutouts and taking
place this year up till today.

Speaker 3 (01:30:04):
Like in the entire sport? How many teams?

Speaker 11 (01:30:06):
Yes, in the entire MLB? How many team shutouts? It's shutouts?
How many?

Speaker 10 (01:30:14):
How many?

Speaker 3 (01:30:14):
How many teams? How many games have ended with a
team scoring zero runs?

Speaker 11 (01:30:22):
I'll just say one hundred, two hundred and eleven.

Speaker 3 (01:30:28):
Two hundred eleven games have ended with Is that abnormally
high or low based on where we are in.

Speaker 11 (01:30:33):
The calendar, Ever, it's way high. It broke the record
since nineteen thirty three.

Speaker 3 (01:30:40):
Really season, So wait a minute, no, no.

Speaker 11 (01:30:46):
Up until now, just up until the All Star break? Gotcha,
two hundred and eleven shutouts?

Speaker 3 (01:30:56):
That seems high. But I I I thought that, but
I subject it.

Speaker 11 (01:31:03):
Uh un once Google's mess up, it seemed like it
was good on expansion thing I do. I'm with you
on the on the on the ncule basketball. I don't
want it either. The only you don't think the NFL
needs to expand, Do you.

Speaker 3 (01:31:26):
To expand the size of the league or the size
of the postseason.

Speaker 11 (01:31:30):
The size of the you know, alien teams?

Speaker 3 (01:31:33):
No, No, look, I I certainly think it's fun those
those that first playoff weekend when you have six games.
But number one, we have more mediocre teams making the postseason,
which isn't good. We've we've taken a buy away from
the two seed because obviously the top two teams in

(01:31:55):
each conference used to have a buye and we have
them playing in Round one in these two versus seven matchups,
which for the most part have been bad football games.
I'm sure I'm leaving out where there was a great
two versus seven game, and so that could be thrown
in my face. But for the most part those two
versus seven games have been pretty forgettable. And so no,

(01:32:19):
and I will say this, I do like the I
do like the fact that, like the carrot is being
dangled off, if you have the best record in the league,
you have this clear advantage over everybody else where, you
get a buy and obviously you're gonna get all your
games at home if you add a playoff team, and
now we're gonna do a one through eight bracket in
each conference. You know, I think there's not nearly as

(01:32:42):
much of an incentive to be the top seed because
you're not going to get the buy And I think
those one versus eight matchups are often going to look
a lot like the two versus seven matchups we've gotten.
So no, I don't if they if they added a
team per conference, you would have exactly half the teams
in the NFL making the postseason, and I don't think
that's good for the NFL.

Speaker 11 (01:33:03):
Now the NCAA tournament, I'm with you. I don't want
to expand anyone like God was it gonna stop. But
the only the only expansion thing that I see that
makes sense more, if you'll agree with me, is the NBA,
And I think, uh, I think Seattle would be a
prime market to get another team and maybe Vegas. Do

(01:33:25):
you think the NBA is good for another two teams?

Speaker 3 (01:33:28):
Yes, I mean, I think there's a difference between expanding
the league and expanding the postseason. Expanding the postseason like
baseball keeps doing it, and I keep hearing about how
it's it's going to drive more interest, and yet at
the same time, they keep adding playoff teams. And yet
every year I hear about how interest is waning in baseball.
So then why are we Why do we keep expanding
the postseason? I know why. It's to give their their

(01:33:49):
broadcast partners more playoff inventory. It's one thing to expand
your postseason, it's another thing to expand your league. And
I think expansion, like expansion in the NBA, really watered
down the lead in the early nineties because they did
it too quickly, and correct me if I'm wrong. They
haven't expanded since the Raptors and Grizzlies were brought into

(01:34:09):
the NBA. I think because of how global the game
has gotten, I think it would make sense to add
a team or two. I would love to see the
folks in Seattle get a team. Selfishly, i'd love to
see the people in Louisville get a team. I'm not
naive enough to think that a team is going to
end up here. I think it would be time for
that league to expand. I wouldn't be opposed to baseball expanding.

(01:34:32):
I wouldn't be exposed to the to the NFL itself expanding.
But when you talk about expanding the postseason, I just
I rarely think there's much of an appetite for it.
I think college football has expanded its postseason and that's
been good because even though the games they added in
the postseason weren't very good last year, now fans of

(01:34:52):
every team, at least at the FBS level, feel like
their team has access to the event. I think expanding
the postseason in the NBA with the play in tournament
has been decent because I think it has created a
little bit more interest towards the end of the regular
season that wasn't there. But let's be honest, there haven't
been that many very memorable play in games. The Warriors

(01:35:15):
and Lakers played in one a few years ago. Baseball
expansion has given us nothing of any consequence in the postseason.
Nobody remembers any of those series. It's watered down the
regular season, and I think the same thing has happened
in the NFL and college basketball. It's just not something
that I think there's a huge appetite for. We don't
need a seventeen and fifteen Ohio State team in the

(01:35:35):
NCAA tournament. We don't need. As much as I'm a
Bearcat fan, we don't need last year's UC team in
the NCAA Tournament. At sixty eight. There's still a level
of exclusivity that was there that I don't think you're
gonna get at seventy two or seventy six. I think
it's going to water down the run up to the
NCAA Tournament selection show, which is a special time. I

(01:35:56):
think it's going to screw up one of the reasons
why people are drawn to this event, which is the
simplicity of the bracket. And I think all we're going
to do are create more games on Tuesday and Wednesday
that are forgettable. The first four as a concept that
we do now in dayton As a concept, it's great, right,
two games on Tuesday, two games on Wednesday. It wets
the appetite for the main course on Thursday. But none

(01:36:18):
of those games, or very few of those games, are rememborable.
Very few of those games are good, and a bunch
of them involved teams that aren't great to begin with.
We don't need more game inventory pitting teams that aren't
that great against teams that aren't that great, which is
all that NCAA tournament expansion is going to accomplish. With
that said, Mike, I got a run. I hope you

(01:36:39):
have a great weekend. I'm sure we'll talk next week.

Speaker 11 (01:36:42):
Excuse me for convoluting the postseason two.

Speaker 3 (01:36:46):
No, no, no, I think they're good topics. I think expansion
of leagues is one thing, and there are markets that
I think would work great for a whole bunch of
different sports. And I'm gonna guess here, soon we start
to see the NBA look at expansion. I think it's
always on the table. In the look sports owners love
expansion because they could charge expansion fees and every team

(01:37:08):
gets a cut of that. So my don't think it's
beyond the realm of possibility. We see the baseball expand
the NFL, the NBA, and I have no issue with that.
Expansion of the postseason is something entirely different, and for
the most part, I'm usually against it. I am completely though,
in favor of giving away Dirk Spentley tickets. And we're
going to have to do this quickly. Bengals quarterback knowledge.

(01:37:29):
We're going to test it. Need two contestants five point three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty and eight sixty six. Excuse me seven oh
two three seven seven six will give you a chance
to go see Dirk Spentley. A week from tonight at Riverbend,
We're going to test your knowledge of the history of
Bengals quarterbacks after sports headlines on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 2 (01:37:48):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (01:37:53):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center U see health
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shoulder northbound seventy one seventy five. It's slow traffic between
US forty two and Florence and the Brent Spence Bridge.
I'm at ezalk with traffic.

Speaker 3 (01:38:25):
Now, we'll do it. Sports Headlines are a service of
Kelsey Chevrolet Home of Lifetime powertrain protection and guarantee credit
approval from their family the Yours for Life, Kelsey chef
dot Com. I don't know why I just did that.
In singsongy voice, sing songy, I said Reds and Rockies.
Colorado is the worst team in baseball, might end up
with the worst record in the history of the sports.

(01:38:47):
Seven ten tonight's first pitch seven hundred WLW it'd be
a Chase Burns against Herman Marquez. Seven ten tonight's first pitch.
I think I already said that. Your starting line at
this evening, Friedel McLean l le Hayes is in left field,
lucks Is dhing Steers at first base, Stevenson behind the plate,
Will Benson, and right Noelve Marte at third base. He

(01:39:09):
bat's ninth. Florence Yaws are home tonight for a tilt
against Joliette's three game weekend set at home for the
Yawls and FC Cincinnati in its final preparations, of course,
for tomorrow's Hell is Real match against Columbus. That game
starts at seven thirty, and you'll listen to it on
ESPN fifteen thirty. All right, we don't even have time

(01:39:29):
to play any Dirk s. Bentley music. We got to
get right to this. George is our contestant. George, I
hope you're excited to do this and not being forced
to do it against your will. Are you.

Speaker 11 (01:39:40):
I'm very excited to do this though.

Speaker 3 (01:39:42):
All right, very good. We're gonna give you a chance
to win tickets to see Dirk Spentley a week from
tonight at Riverben. We're gonna ask you because quarterbacks have
been the news this week due to the Netflix show
quarterback Joe Burrow is a part of it. So we
thought we would throw some dumb trivia questions at you
about Bengals quarterback. Are you ready? You have to get
three out of five correct. They're all multiple choice. Are

(01:40:03):
you ready?

Speaker 11 (01:40:04):
Yeah? I got this?

Speaker 3 (01:40:06):
Very good. I love the confidence. All right, now here
we go, George, question number one. In nineteen ninety nine,
the Bengals took Achille Smith out of Oregon with the
third overall pick in the NFL draft, But they also
took another quarterback that year in the same draft, with
the two hundred and thirty ninth pick. In that same draft,
the Bengals selected which of these three quarterbacks? Was it

(01:40:29):
A Eric Kresser, B. Scott Covington or C. Casey Bramlet,
Scott Covington, B Scott Covington B turn Yes Scott Covington
from the University of Miami Drafted by the Bengals in
the same draft they took Achille Smith and both were
pretty much the equally as good. All right, here we
go Question number two. In nineteen ninety two, David Klingler

(01:40:51):
was drafted by the Bengals and he was teammates that
season with Boomer Asiasin that ended up being boomers last
year until he came back in nineteen ninety six. Boomer
started eleven games that year. David Klingler started four, leaving
one game to be started by another quarterback?

Speaker 4 (01:41:08):
Who was it?

Speaker 3 (01:41:09):
Was it a Donald Hollis? B. Turk Schoener or C.
Paul Justin A Was it a Donald Hollis? Yes, George
two for two. We got some smart folks playing our
stupid trivia games today. Yes, Donald Hollis started the other
game for the Bengals in that awful nineteen ninety two season.

(01:41:31):
Very good, All right, here we go Question number three.
The phenomenon known as Shake and Blake took over Cincinnati
in nineteen ninety four when Jeff Blake took over as
the Bengals starting quarterback with Which team had he played
three games with before he came to Cincinnati? The team
he was with before he came to the Bengals. Was
that A the Eagles, B the Giants, or C the Jets.

Speaker 11 (01:41:58):
I think Jeff was B B.

Speaker 3 (01:42:02):
B Giants, Tarren B.

Speaker 4 (01:42:05):
No.

Speaker 3 (01:42:06):
Jenna Blake had been with the New York Jets in
nineteen ninety two, played three games and Bruce Coslet was
the coach there then and obviously had a relationship with
Jeff and was the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati, and the
rest is history. That's okay, you still have two more
chances to get one question correct. Here we go. In
twenty twenty, George, the Bengals won games with three different

(01:42:29):
starting quarterbacks. One was Joe Burrow, the other was Brandon Allen.
Who was the other A A. J Mccaerron, b Ryan Finley, C.
Jeff Driscoll, is C Jeff Riskell. Is it C Jeff Driscoll.
Ryan Finley won a game as starting quarterback, completing I

(01:42:52):
think seven passes on a memorable Monday night when the
Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. All Right, it all comes
down to this, all comes down to this, George, Question
number five. AJ Green and Andy Dalton both made their
professional and Bengals debuts on September eleventh, twenty eleven. AJ
caught a touchdown pass that day, but Andy Dalton is

(01:43:14):
not the quarterback who threw it to him. Who did?
Was it a Bruce Gradkowski, b J. T. O'Sullivan or
c Ryan Fitzpatrick?

Speaker 11 (01:43:26):
Oh Man, I don't remember.

Speaker 3 (01:43:29):
Let's say a was it a Bruce Gradkowski? Yes, I'll
guess by our guy, George Bruce Gradkowski. If you remember,
Andy Dalton suffered a very slight injury right before halftime
in that game, and Bruce Gradkowski came on in relief

(01:43:51):
and helped the Bengals beat the Browns and actually threw
AJ Green his first ever touchdown pass as a pro.
So there you go, George, Congratulations, hangtime. You're gonna go
see George Bentley a week from tonight at Riverbandmusic Center.
Congratulations to you, Thank you for listening. And if you
didn't win tickets to go see grgs Bentley, you can

(01:44:11):
buy them now at riverbendot org. We'll preview the baseball draft,
which starts on Sunday next on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 2 (01:44:19):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (01:44:23):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center, UCE Health as
expert traumacare focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and supporting long
term recovery and rehabilitation. Learn more at UCHealth dot com.
Found the only one accident that's on westbound Fort Washington
Way before seventy five, off onto the right shoulder northbound

(01:44:46):
seventy one seventy five. It's slow traffic between US forty
two and Florence and the Brent Spence Bridge. I'm at
ezalak with traffic.

Speaker 6 (01:44:55):
This report is sponsored by In fifteen thirty studios built
by made Well Roofing and Exteriors. Rest assured it's made well.

Speaker 3 (01:45:06):
Hey, Alexa, what's the latest on the NBA?

Speaker 2 (01:45:09):
Getting ESPN is fifteen thirty from iHeartRadio.

Speaker 3 (01:45:14):
Cooper Flag went five for twenty one last night, Yet
if you watch the highlights on ESPN, you would think
you were watching Dirt Davitski. Aaron Laton is with us
jess baseball dot com. The Major League Baseball Draft begins
on Sunday. The Reds have the ninth overall pick in
round one the fifty first overall pick in round two.
Aaron knows more about the draft than anybody, so if

(01:45:34):
the first eight picks go the way the Reds won.
Who do they want at number nine?

Speaker 8 (01:45:40):
Yeah, it's funny that unlikely, but I think exactly how
they would hope for it to shake out, and it
seems like there's always something that you don't expect. I
think Ivarcat shorts out for Morgan State, that's the pipe dream,
but unlikely he falls there. And then Seth Hernandez, especially
when you just look at the way that the Reds
like to pursue arms.

Speaker 4 (01:45:58):
He's the top prep arm in the class.

Speaker 8 (01:45:59):
By a mind, And there's always a chance that one
of those two guys could fall to nine, especially with
the way teams like operating, because it's so wide open.
I think once you start to get to the back
end of the top ten of how many different players
could go where, I think those are the two guys
that reasonably there's a pipe dream chance of one of
them falling, and they both seem to be good fits
for what the Reds may want.

Speaker 3 (01:46:21):
The Reds took Rhet Lauder in the first round two
years ago. He pitched in the big leagues. Last year,
they took Chase Brown's Chase Burns second overall. Last season,
He's pitched. He's going to pitch the night make his
fourth big league start. Are is there a guy at
number nine that you know we could follow his path
and have it end up pretty quickly in Cincinnati.

Speaker 4 (01:46:42):
I think there's a couple of guys that fit that.

Speaker 8 (01:46:43):
Bill Jamie Arnold, you know, he got hit a little
bit harder left hander out of Florida State this past year.
He was a guy that a lot of people had
and I think myself included, you know, right around the
top three, maybe even some hading him at number one
in the class going into this year, and it just
didn't quite come together completely. But he's got some shades
of Lodolo with a very funky release that I think

(01:47:03):
gives him a higher floor. Where as long as he's
around the zone, that slider is nasty. He's gonna get
leak contact for the most part, and I think you
can figure out how to avoid some of the hard
contact that he ended up surrendering late in the year
because of that deception that he has.

Speaker 4 (01:47:18):
If the strike throwing gets a little bit better.

Speaker 8 (01:47:20):
That is a guy that I think could move pretty quickly,
and he seems to be a decent fit. Then he
look at a Tyler Brenner from UC Santa Barbara, right
hander with good command, seems like a guy that can
move quite quickly as well.

Speaker 4 (01:47:31):
And then Wiam Doyle.

Speaker 8 (01:47:33):
The only thing with him is I think the secondaries
are further behind the other two. But it's an elite fastball,
good characteristics, and a guy that you could move pretty
quickly in that regard as well. One last name that
I do want to give a shot that I think
is still one of the more underrated names in the
draft is Kyson Witherspoon, right hander from Oklahoma. Probably the
deepest bag of pitches of the guys that I mentioned,
and that might be the guy that ends up flying
quicker than anybody expected.

Speaker 3 (01:47:55):
There's been a strong lean in recent years the Reds
have toward college players. Would the way the draft may
unfold or is likely to unfold, suggest that they'll repeat
that with the ninth overall pick this year.

Speaker 8 (01:48:09):
It's fascinating because I think that the theme of this
draft this year is high school shortstops. At the top right,
you have several guys in that regard that I think
are gonna go pretty early. Ethan Holidays expected to go
number one or number two. Eli Willits I'd be surprised
to see him drop out of the top seven. I
think Marlin's pick at seven is the floor there, and
then Billy Carlson and Jojo Parker are both expected to

(01:48:31):
go in the top ten as well, and I wouldn't
even rule out, you know, if Billy Carlson's there, the
Reds may be excited enough about the tools of a
guy that just can get up to ninety seven on
the mound, could be a plus plus shortstop and you
hope the bat comes along. So I do think this
is a year where it could come down to who
you can work a deal out with see how things
shake out. But I think draft themes may get bucked

(01:48:54):
a little bit more, not just with the Reds, but
just in general with a draft like this one.

Speaker 3 (01:48:58):
The Reds have the fifty overall pick, and I promise
I'm not going to do this with any other round,
but give me a name or two that is likely
to be around there that I should be paying attention to.

Speaker 8 (01:49:09):
I think Anthony Iinson, and I think you're hoping that
he slips there. But I also think that with the Reds,
I wouldn't saving a little bit of money.

Speaker 4 (01:49:17):
I think some of the names that I mentioned especially
some of the pitchers.

Speaker 8 (01:49:19):
You could save some money there, and ianson the right
hander from LSU put up an incredible performance down the
stretch there, and I think there's been a little bit
of that pipeline where you've just seen those college arms,
and I think even LSU at points that the sec
ACC you mentioned it, that they really do like those
college arms in general.

Speaker 4 (01:49:38):
But Iinson could be a guy that ends up.

Speaker 8 (01:49:39):
Moving a little bit more quickly too, because he throws
a ton of strikes, has a good feel for the secondaries,
and I think there's more to be unlocked there in
terms of the quality of his stuff.

Speaker 4 (01:49:48):
That's a guy that I think is expected to go
in like the forty to forty five.

Speaker 8 (01:49:52):
Range, but if you save some money, you might be
able to buy him down to fifty one. Patrick Forbes
is another one where I think you're hoping you can
buy him down.

Speaker 4 (01:49:59):
That would be a a little bit more of a
lofty proposition there.

Speaker 8 (01:50:03):
But the right hander from Louisville was fantastic after coming
back from injury, and that's another guy that I could
see just being a great option for them as well.

Speaker 3 (01:50:10):
Aaron Layton Jessbaseball dot Com. Since you know about prospects,
and you know about farm systems. I have seen the
red system described as quote sneaky good. What is your
assessment of the current makeup of the Reds farm system.

Speaker 8 (01:50:25):
I think it's been a great year for the Reds
farm system in general, and I do think it's sneaky good.
You've had several guys take a leap, whether a Tector
Rodriguez really now looking like he could be a legit
cornerback for you. South Stewart just continues to hit and
doesn't get enough love, and then I'm just waiting for
him to get more and more love. He cracked our
top one hundred list this year, and I think he's
been incredibly impressive. Tyson Lewis, I know it's still just

(01:50:46):
at the complex, but when you're popping one hundred eighteen
miles per hour eggs of velocities that nobody was expecting
as a high schooler from the second round, I think
that's a guy that all of a sudden has a
little bit more helium and excitement to his profile. Alfredo
Duno has done everything that you've wanted to see. I
think this is a system that is sneaky good, and
you have some interesting players at the lower levels that
still haven't gotten a complete chance to see yet.

Speaker 4 (01:51:08):
You know, I'm still excited to see what shang En
Lynn can do.

Speaker 8 (01:51:11):
You've got Adam Sermanowski who's also been throwing the ball
pretty well.

Speaker 4 (01:51:14):
I think this system.

Speaker 8 (01:51:15):
Has gotten a lot stronger this year, and I think
it's a lot to do just with the internal performances
you know that they've had.

Speaker 3 (01:51:23):
Where were you on Chase Burns when the Reds took
him number two overall, because that did surprise a lot
of people.

Speaker 8 (01:51:29):
I honestly was a little skeptical as to just whether
it was the best selection at number two, I'll be honest,
and he has really impressed me. And I think I've
been able to shift that a little bit. And you've
got to be able to be fluid and adjust your
evals sometimes. And I still had him clearly, as you know,
one of the top two arms in the class. Anybody
who saw him him pitch had him there. But I

(01:51:51):
had a little bit of a concern about the home
run side of things. But we saw Hunter Green, you know,
have a home run issue in the minor leagues, improve that,
and we've seen Chase Burns in large part through the
minor leagues improve that in a short stint there, and
I was a little nervous about how that would play
a great American ballpark. But I think that you've seen
the command come along even further. He's been locating the
ball a lot effectively throughout the minor leagues and this

(01:52:14):
year and the feel for the change up came along
way more than I would have expected it to. So
I really think looking back on it, you got to
be encouraged and happy with the pick because you don't
get arms like that to sign with the Reds very often.
You're not gonna get arms of that caliber and free agency,
so this is a guy that still could be a
front line arm. I think you're going to have those
days where when he's missing over the middle, that over

(01:52:34):
the top release will result in him getting hit a
little bit, as we saw at Fenway, but that was
also a great learned moment for him. I think when
you've got one of the best breaking balls like he's
got and you've got to change up now that's developed
and you throw a hundred, it's gonna be okay most
of the time. And to see where the command is
progressed way more quickly than I expected. I think it's
a pick that looks a lot better now than it
did at the time.

Speaker 3 (01:52:55):
Yeah, I would agree, hopefully looks even better after he
faces Colorado tonight, Jessbaseball dot Com is an awesome resource,
so is Aaron. I know you have a lot going on, man,
that's a busy weekend for you, so I appreciate you
squeezing us in. We'll talk soon, man, thanks so much.
Always will make time for you both.

Speaker 4 (01:53:11):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:53:11):
That's Aaron Laighton, just Baseball dot Com. We are done.
Show is over. Bonus coverage Sunday morning. I'm filling in
for Ken Brew Sunday Morning Sports Talk starting at nine am,
so you can spend part of your weekend with me
on Sunday morning. We are looking forward to that. Back
here Monday at three oh five. Have an awesome weekend.
Thanks to Tarren Bland for producing, and of course thanks

(01:53:34):
to you for listening, and we'll talk to you either
Sunday or Monday, or ideally both. This has been the
michelob Ultra five o'clock Happy Hour on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports station

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