August 17, 2026 • 31 mins
A former Red offers an Elly critique. Good. Let's thread the Orlando Brown needle and Tony Pike has a training camp update on a day when there's no training camp.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sports Station ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
That's us five minutes after fourth. This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Moeger,
thank you so much for joining us. Hopefully your week
is off to an unbelievable start. We are broadcasting this
time with like actual tennis being played and the fans
being here. We're broadcasting from the Cincinnati Open, which because
it's it's August twenty twenty six in the greater Cincinnati area,
(00:25):
we were in a we're in a weather delay. Pete Holtzman,
media relations director from the Cincinnati Open here to give
us the late We're in a delay, right, We are
in a weather delay.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
We've the players have come off the court, and that's
why you're so popular here at the top deck bar.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
A lot of people up here.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Enjoying some livations and not getting rained on.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So we think this should be hopefully a.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Pretty passing rain shower, hoping to be back in court
bottom of the hour, but we'll see how how long
the rain persists.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
You had a brief delay earlier when we first got here,
and I think there were these two women who I
think thought we were like, you know, fan information or something,
until they started asking me and I said, ma'am, I
don't know, but I'm happy to look online for you.
And the one woman said to me, you're not that useful,
are you, And I said no, No piece of criticism
has ever been more true. So thanks very much. Hopefully
(01:12):
they're enjoying themselves. We will remove I taped, actually said
info booth on the front. So that's on me. We're
just having little joke at your expense. Take me behind
the scenes when something like this happens. What's going on
with the players, with the officials, walk me through it well.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
So actually Bob Moran, or tournament director, was planning on
joining you. We wanted him to get the chance to
chat with you. Unfortunately he's getting pulled into meetings. And look,
first thing is everybody's safety, right short's check out? Is
there lightning in this storm? Do we need to move
people away outside of the outside areas? Obviously a lot
of real estate here. Make sure everybodys safe sites first
and foremost players, you know, they're going to go back
(01:47):
and it's a chance for them to try to stay warm.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
You know they're going to find out.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
What do we need to know if this doesn't look
like an extended break try to stay warm, you know,
get on a bike, do something, just kind of keep
the heart rate up, keep pumping a little bit. You
don't want to do a full cool down and then
come back out half an hour later and get right
back on the treadmill that's going at five speed, you know.
So they're probably looking at the radars just like everybody
else and thinking, okay, quick break, let's stay fresh. If
(02:12):
you're playing next, you're not even thinking about getting ready
yet because you know you've got time before you're gonna
get back on court. So there's kind of different waves
of doing this. And if you have the day off,
you're hoping you practice early and you're back in the hotel,
or you at the movie theater watching the New Spider
Man or something.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
What if if there's any rain at all, do they
call it? Or yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:31):
You know, on this surface, especially the painted lines, it
gets slippery fast.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And we had a little bit of wiggle room today
because we did have some sun. And that's asphalt under
that paint, so it does get hot. So you can
sometimes play through a little bit of sprinkle if it's
not getting the surface wet, but any moisture on those
painted lines, it becomes slippery and you know how hard
they're moving out there. Like, if there's any you spill
water on a basketball court, they're gonna stop playing.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Make sure it's dried out. Yeah, how absorbed? I'm gonna
ask like nerdy questions. Now, how absorbent is that? How
long until it's dry enough for players to play? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
So we actually have this, it's probably four or five
year old technology called the Vaptor machine, which actually can
suck the moisture off the court into a reservoir and
take it off rather than the old squeegees or something.
You're gonna get eighty to ninety percent more moisture just
move off the court.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Can I borrow that from my basement? Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
That might not be quite the weapon you need for
that fight, but well we can lend you on for sure.
So that speeds it up in other conditions. Hey, if
it passes through and then the sun comes out, that's
gonna help.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
If there's a breeze, that's gonna help.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
So with the Vaptor machines, we usually try to get
out there within about thirty minutes of the rain stopping,
maybe forty if conditions are cold and still.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Really damp in the air. You have something very cool tonight,
and the weather's gonna be a factor, so maybe they're
not gonna start at seven o'clock, but you get the
Williams sisters on the court, you know, together her return
to Wimbledon this year on a Tuesday afternoon, I'm gonna
at a bar in Milwaukee. I'm there to see the
Reds playing, and folks who I would imagine don't watch
(04:00):
a whole lot of tennis, we're glued to watching her play,
this young lady from Australia. And she lost the match,
but it was just so cool to see her play again.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
It's so exciting to have it back, the energy around it.
I happened to be at Wimbledon for that and it
was just it really did stop everything else that was going.
I mean, this is in the middle World Cup, by
the way, Yeah, you know, and still that was the
talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And it really is awesome.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
This is actually the first time in ten years they've
played doubles outside of the Olympics or Grand sign Wow.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So it's very cool that it's happening here.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
A lot of energy and excitement and then to be
drawn against Mason's own Peyton Sterrens.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
What a cool local angle on this.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
It's going to be exciting, and I think there you know,
we had a packed house over in the grand Stand
court last night for Coco Goth and again we should
expect it tonight with the Williams sisters over there, and
it just kind of speaks to how much tennis there is,
you know. Yeah, grandstand ticket is arguably as good as
the stannerd Court ticket.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
You know, there's just a lot to see watching Serena
versus Katie McNally in New York in twenty nineteen. If
I'm not mistaken size right, yeahah in that ballpark, Boy,
that was all and she won the first set. If
my memory starts mixed out, wow, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
It's amazing to think about the longevity of the Williams Sisterason,
just how long they've been out here and the way
they truly transcended. They're beyond tennis. You know, I'm Serena
in the Super Bowl halftime show and everything else that
they've done, and it's inspiring to see them here and
it's exciting, you know, and I hope it's for a while.
I hope this isn't just hey, this is a twenty
(05:29):
twenty sixth thing. It'd be great to see them try
to continue to play on.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I became a fan of Serena here watching her interact
with fans, and we talked about that. You joined me
last week, and you know the player interaction, you can
get up close to them, and I mean many years ago,
I watched her go from the practice court to wherever
she had to go next, and she had you know,
people around her security or whoever, but she stopped and
(05:55):
signed and was gracious to people, and that for me,
that goes a long way. And I think that's we
talked about that.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
You know, the players respond to that energy they get
from the fans here in Serena. Look, she's had success here,
she's been to the final and singles, she's won back
to back titles and singles. But she's had a point
in life where she's gonna choose where she goes to play.
And I think she's chosen to come here because she's
had good on and off court experiences here and it's
comfortable for her and it's a great opportunity to get
(06:22):
out and get a few matches on her About.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Speaking to Katie McNally. She is supposed to be on
the court right now. I would imagine that's that's going
to be pushed to the evening. It hopefully will actually
be out pretty soon.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
So the match ahead of her is deep into their
third set, all right, and so they should wrap up
pretty soon and that should get her out. So hopefully
she'll be out maybe in the five o'clock hour, okay, yeah,
So and that's out on court ten. So again, there's
just so many matches going on today. You know, we've
got matches going across seven courts and then all the
practice sessions that you talked about, right, you're not playing today.
(06:55):
And I think the other cool thing is they're fans
of everyone out here.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
We just well in the.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Break, so it came up he's rooting for Rinky Hitchikata,
you know. And that the other thing. We have the
college basketball coming here. There's some college tennis players out there. Yeah,
you know, we've got UVA is very well represented today. Rafajodar,
Mma Navarro, Brandon Nakashima won yesterday. Diana Schnader's on court
right now, she's NC State, Arthur Ferries on court from Stanford.
(07:19):
So college tennis is really we're seeing a lot of
players come through the college ranks and play in the program.
We're used to that in the NBA, and that is
not that common in tennis in the last twenty years.
It's kind of coming back having resurgence.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Is that reflective of improved health for the game overall
in the United States? I think it reflects a lot
of things. Honestly.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I may think part of it is we've seen some
examples of it working well. John Isner is probably the
best example, like four years at University of Georgia and
then came out had a long pro career. I think
a lot of players sometimes gets hesitant to think, hey,
twenty three, I graduated twenty three. That's kind of old
on the tennis circuit, you know. But then you talk
to some of these players and they say, I'm so
glad I went Eminavar is so glad you went to college,
(08:03):
and that helped her get ready to do this. Peyton
stearns her years in Texas. That helped her get ready
to be on the pro tour and just learn some
life skills as well. There is a trend to really
in all sports, I think, to get so down the
path of one sport so early and then you commit
to that path. And so the playing junior tournaments gets
you groomed to go play tournaments the rest of your
(08:24):
life rather than pause and go play in college.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Do you You may have a number on this, and
you may not. But I've been here in years where
I've met people from other parts of the planet who
are doing the double dip. They'll come here and then
it's part of their like holiday, They'll go to New York, right,
And so do you are you able to like tally
from where else on earth? People are coming to Cincinnati
to watch this.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Yeah, we had all fifty states okay last year, and
then we also take a buyers from sixty five different countries.
So it really is an international game. And I think
you know, that's one of the great things about this event.
For the region. We're showing off Cincinnati to the world.
We're broadcast in ninety country. Yeah, this is going to
reach far and wide, and it's awesome to be able
to show off the region and you know, the players themselves.
(09:07):
We've got over thirty countries represented in the player field,
some of them for the first time. Alex the al
is playing tonight. The excitement around her from Filipinos around
the world is amazing. You know, we'll see a spike
in web traffic tonight because she's playing, you know, and
that's with the time difference. They're gonna be waking up
on their Tuesday morning and enjoying her match from Cincinnati.
(09:28):
And it's amazing because in a lot of these countries,
tennis is up there is a top three sport. Sure,
I think soccer is probably number one in most countries.
Tennis is two or three in a lot of places.
And so you see these players who come out and
come from these countries and they're the biggest sports hero
from that country. And sure it's awesome to see when
(09:49):
those fans come out with joafon Seka is another one
from Brazil.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
The way the Brazilian fans come.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Out, it's really cool to see the way those nations
just latch onto the players.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
And we see it here.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
I mean, look, we got I'll meet Americans playing well
right now, this is a home game for them.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
They love it. They want that. You know, I lost
last night. Yeah, that was a tough one for him.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
That it's so hard to do that double come off
for Canada and then back it up here. IgA, you know,
did well to get through her match yesterday and then
again today, you know, to be backing up her title
in Canada, it's it's very hard to do.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah. Uh, I can't thank you enough for having us.
We did this last week and it was fine. We
worked with what we had. But to be here with
people around us and tennis being played at least for
much of the afternoon is is just awesome. I love
this event and uh boy, it's it's really cool to
come out here every year.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We appreciate you coming out. There's a lot of tennis
still to be played this week. We are running through Sunday,
the next three today, Tomorrow, Wednesday. Sixteen single matches each year,
so a ton of tennis. Then we get into the
quarterfinals on Thursday and Friday, semifinals on Saturday, and then
finals on Sunday. Finals weekend, we're gonna unveil a whole
new brand, a logo and merchandise. We're trying to really
(11:02):
elevate that experience, make it special. So if you're coming
out here, you're gonna say, wait a minute, this looks
different than what I saw in the first or second round.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
That's intentional. We want to really just have a different experience.
So it really is it's one of the great American
tennis weekends. If you look ahead to semi final Saturday
and final Sunday.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Yeah, and to play back to back, and it's really
there's so much on the line for these players. This
is a massive tournament for them. So it's going to
be an exciting weekend. And here as you look at it, Okay, yes,
we've had some guys not able to play because injury
or to see a Djoko which lose.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
If you're the rest of the field, you're in that
cock room going okay, that's why I was disappointed from
my guy last night, like buddy, let's go, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
And so Zverev now he's got the mantle, he's got
the pressure. The rest of these players, you got thirty
one other guys going uh huh, I could do this
four more match, Yeah, okay, let's go. Let's do this,
you know, And so they're they're trying to build up
that belief that yeah, I could be find in New
York next Monday with a trophy next to me and
it's gonna be awesome to see. And then at the
(12:02):
women's side, you got a lot of Coco sabalancas. I
think so many of those stall where it's still playing well,
we're backing us on court right now. That's gonna be
a great tournament the rest of the way because they're
all playing really well right now and no one's elevated
themselves and separated from the pack, So it's gonna be
I think it's really interesting to see who can come
through this one.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
How much of an expert since you took on this
role in weather radar, have you become.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
I have like seven different apps and I never trust
any of them. So a few of the local meteorologists,
they're they're a couple who are tennis fans. They'll be
back texting me from the stands like, Hey, I'm out
here with my wife today. I think this cell is
gonna be like twenty five minutes and then you guys
can dry it really quick, right, Yeah, we'll be back out,
don't worry. So uh yeah, you're looking at all that,
and we you know, the tours have their weather apps
(12:49):
as well, but at the end of the day, the
best app is you just hold your phone up and say, okay,
are there drops on the screen.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Okay, that's rain, that's most reliable. I know you're swamped.
You have a lot going on. You're always so good
to us.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Thank you again, appreciate being out here and hope to
see a lot more of you through the rest of
the week.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Man, definitely you got it. Appreciate it. Pete Holteman, Cincinnati
Open Media Relations. We continue eighteen after four o'clock. We
are here till six o'clock at the top deck bar
here at the Cincinnati Open. On ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC Health Traffic
Center at Positionion battles to breakout players follow Bengals training
camp as it happens on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Well we ad for four. This is ESPN fifteen thirty.
My name is Melwegor. Thank you so much for listening. Today.
We are under a weather delayed here in Mason at
the Cincinnati Open. No weather impacting the game downtown Cincinnati. Unfortunately,
the Reds lost to two to one, Michael Tolia striking
out looking to end the ballgame. Red's got some solid
(14:01):
pitching work today. They called upon a guy named Ken
Emanuel to make his Red's debut, and he was. Honestly,
he was about as good as you could expect. Alec
Burlison had a two run double in the first inning,
which play did the first two runs, so to speak,
and then the three Reds relievers came in and didn't
give up any runs. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati offense was limited
(14:22):
to a Dane Meyers homer, three hits total, and with
the two to one loss, the Reds will take the
field tonight seven and a half games out of the
last wildcard spot. We had over the weekend a former
Red calling out Ellie Dee La Cruz, which we'll get
to a little bit later on some phone calls coming
(14:43):
up here hopefully in just a bit plus Brennanman and
Jones on baseball. We'll have reaction to today's game from
gavp here in just a while. Brendanman and Jones on
baseball as well. We spend time on Friday talking about
Orlando Brown. Orlando Brown whipping on a block against a
guy by the name of Eric O'Neil who hit Joe Burrow.
(15:05):
Joe Goodberry was with us an hour ago and I
think he encapsulated. I think how you should feel about
that moment. Yes, this is preseason for a guy in
his ninth NFL season, and so you know, maybe you
don't expect these guys to necessarily go through the motions,
but they're not playing the way they would play a
game or a snap that counted. At the same time,
(15:28):
when it's your job to keep people off your star quarterback,
there's no such thing as a meaningless snap. There are
meaningless snaps, maybe for wide receivers, maybe there's meaningless snaps
for quarterbacks. Maybe there's meaningless snaps for guys on No
such thing as a meaningless snap when your job is
to protect Joe Burrow that snap if your Orlando Brown
(15:50):
is as meaningful in mid August as it is in
mid December. I'll try to thread the needle here, because
in this day age of no nuance, it's either stop
talking about it, stop paying attention to it, no big deal.
Orlando Brown is fine, or Orlando Brown's a bum, and
(16:10):
you got to figure out a way to replace him immediately.
For me, it's simply this, I'm filing it away. I'm
filing it away, but it's not a file that exists
by itself filing away Orlando Brown versus Eric O'Neill. It's
joining Orlando Brown versus Cash as how, and on top
(16:31):
of that, I'm filing it in the same department or compartment,
I guess with some of the moments we saw Orlando
author last year. Look, man, here's the reality. Orlando Brown
has never been a superstar. He's had a terrific NFL career.
He's played for a long time, he's helped teams win
by all accounts, wonderful guy, very good career for the
(16:54):
most part, very durable. But like, we're not talking about
a superstar player. We're not talking about a guy who
has ever really been regarded as one of the elite
left tackles in football. He's usually been a guy with
a little bit of a low ceiling, right, So you know,
just giving him the benefit of the doubt and ignoring
(17:16):
what we saw on Thursday, to me, that's something you
reserve for a player who's maybe closer to his athletic prime,
or for a guy who, over the course of his career,
has been a better player. If you look at his
and this is just one metric, his Pro Football Focus rankings,
He's never been rated among the elite left tackles in
the sport, and over the last couple of years there
(17:37):
has been a steady decline in how he has been graded,
which means there is a greater likelihood of moments like
we saw on Thursday manifesting themselves in regular season games
in twenty twenty six, then say in twenty twenty two
or twenty twenty three. But I think the real problem
is you could talk about, well, I don't have a
(17:59):
lot of faith in our Lando Brown. What else, sha God?
At tackle? They're already moving Cody Ford a round. They're
gonna try Jalen Rivers at tackle. I guess swing tackle
is a position that we talked about a lot during
the offseason. We just talked about it with Joe Goodberry.
So it's one thing to express a degree of concern
about Orlando Brown. All I'm gonna do is tell you
(18:22):
that I think there's a world where he's the weak
link on the offensive line. I think that has the
potential to be reflective of how good the rest of
the offensive line is, but also a year's long trend
continuing over Orlando Brown regressing. If that regression continues to
the point that you want to make a move and
play somebody else?
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Cool?
Speaker 2 (18:42):
What else sha got? And I think that's the problem.
It's not just that Orlando Brown whift. It's not just
that he had a bad snap. And maybe by mid October,
Orlando Brown having a bad snap against the Detroit Lions
is a twenty twenty six version of Jamar Chase not
being able to catch passes in preseason and his rookie year,
(19:03):
the sort of thing that you spend a lot of
time on in August and by October everybody's forgotten about
it because the guy is playing really well, but you
just you file it away and you go, okay, maybe
he makes us forget about this, or maybe what we
saw on Thursday reoccurs a little bit more frequently than
you would like, and you know, the year's long regression continues,
(19:26):
and if it does, and if things bottom out for
the player at that position and you want to talk
about playing somebody else right now, it doesn't feel like
there's a viable alternative among the backups. That is a
bigger problem, or as big of a problem at least
as Orlando Brown whipping on a block against a guy
who was undrafted twenty nine minutes after four o'clock, Zach
(19:48):
Cozar called out Ellie de la Cruz yesterday and social
media will spend some time on that. And Tony Pike
with another live training camp report. Where at the Cincinnati
Open today where the sun is not really peaking out,
but my engineer Mike Mills has got himself some ice cream,
so he's a happy guy. I've got a water. I
(20:08):
like water, Maybe would rather have ice cream. Sports headlines
and maybe a phone call or two coming up on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 5 (20:21):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffics Cenneral service of Kelsey's
Chevrolet Home of lifetime powertrain protection and guarantee credit approval
from their family to Yours for Life, kelseychev dot Com.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Reds lose again today at GABP two to one. Cincinnati
got three hits, Dane Myers and Homer representing Cincinnati's only offense.
Ken Emanuel gave up a two run double to Alec
Burlison in the top of the first inning. That was
all Saint Louis needed to won the final score. Reds
now six count them six games under five hundred and
seven and a half games behind San Diego and Philadelphia
(20:57):
for the last wildcard spot. Game two of the double
header tonight, Rhet Louder throws for Cincinnati against Andre Plante.
Six forty is a first pitch of Game two, though
it is I'm told ragning really really really hard. Downtown
saw the postgame show with Brian Geeson's log and Sam
Lecieran behind him, the tarp already on the field. We
(21:17):
will see no Bengals practice today. They're back in the
field tomorrow morning, which means we are back tomorrow morning
with the AE Door and Window Tony and Mode Training
Camp show on ESPN fifteen thirty from ten until noon.
College football ap to Top twenty five preseason poll released
earlier today. The Ohio State Buckeyes number one, followed up
by Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame in Texas one through five,
(21:39):
Indiana sixth, and the Louisville Cardinals twenty fourth. No votes
for my beloved you see Bearcats, and we are under
a weather delay here at the Cincinnati Open, although these
skies to our northeast seem to be clearing. That is
good news. That is good news. Tony Pike again coming
up in just a few minutes, plus Brenneman and Jones
(22:01):
on baseball. We also have to get to the silly,
and it is silly Terry Francona leaving out an important
detail when it comes to Nicolodolo yesterday. But we've got
folks waiting. I don't want to make people wait any longer. Mark.
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty, Mark, good afternoon, How are
you good?
Speaker 6 (22:21):
Thank you. I want to make a comment why the
Castelinis are the luckiest owners in Major League Baseball?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Okay, and the.
Speaker 6 (22:28):
Reason they are is simply because the Claim and De
la Cruz both turned down contracts that they'll never see again.
Nobody is going to give De la Cruz thirty five
million a year for ten years. I know he's a
potential superstar, but if you look at his stats at
(22:51):
this point, he has done nothing to rate that kind
of money, and there's no indication he's going to turn
it around. And he is terrible defense. I mean, I
go back, I can go back to Roy McMillan, and
I can't think of a worse fielding shortstop than Dale
La Cruz. And he looks like a nervous wreck. Maybe
the money that he turned down is laying on his
(23:12):
mind and he can't focus on the game.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
I think you're wrong about I think you're wrong about
what Elie de la Cruz is going to command on
the open market. I think you're dead on about what
Matt McClain would command, either with the Reds or anywhere else.
Matt McClain, I'm sure, spends a lot of time lamenting
the fact that he didn't sign the contract that the
Reds offered him. I feel very confident in saying that
(23:36):
when Elie de la Cruz hits free agency at the
end of the twenty twenty nine season, when he is
still going to be in his mid twenties, that someone
is going to help him break the bank.
Speaker 6 (23:47):
But what has he done to this point to make
you think that there's a lot of everybody talks about
what a great player is, but he has done nothing. Nothing.
He asked, Look, do I think you go ahead the
batting averages?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Well, Mark, I didn't hear the tail be on the
tail end of what you said. What did you say?
Speaker 6 (24:10):
Okay? I said, basically, in four years, he's a hit
between eighteen and twenty two home runs in two sixty
five to two seventy five batting averages. That is not
thirty five million dollars a year. The Yankees are not
that stupid. The Dodgers are not that stupid. I mean,
if he hit three twenty with thirty five home runs,
that would be one thing.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Well, nobody bats three nobody bats three twenty anymore. I mean,
you know, and I wish they did. Nobody bats three
twenty anymore. So no one's going to care if he
doesn't bad three twenty, I think. I mean, number one, look,
I he could be frustrating on defense, and he is
certainly going through a batting slump right now. Those things
are inarguable. That said, I think there's a lot of
metrics that would point to his market improvement on defense.
(24:56):
He still has moments like we saw yesterday that can frustrate.
And if he truly wants to be one of the
elite players in the game, then the nonchalance we saw
on the throw in the ninth inning, we can't have that.
I think he's become a better hitter from the right
side of the plate. He is on pace to exceed
his career high in home runs. He has this year.
(25:19):
Even with the current slump that he is in, his
OPS is over fifty points higher from his career average.
He has in many ways been a better hitter this
year if you want to look at batting average, and
again this is taking into account the fact that over
the last week he's something like two for his last
twenty seven, he's hitting higher this year than he has
for his entire career. He is a very good player.
(25:40):
Is he a legitimate superstar like PCA or Shohei Otani?
Absolutely not. Do I think most in the sport would,
at the age of twenty four still bet on him
getting to that pantheon of players. Absolutely? You know, mo, I.
Speaker 6 (25:57):
Respect Yeah, I think you're the best Hawkshaw host there is.
I swear I think you're drinking the kool aid I see,
but it is the wings at every first pitch he misses.
He you know, Bench, and I went on, I'm I'm
one of those that lives in the past, Bench Vodou Klezouski.
(26:19):
I can go back as far as you want. They
could put a team on their shoulders and carry it.
They could hit in the clunch clutch. He has never
done that, never been a clutch hitter. When he comes
up in a crucial situation, strike one take the second pitch,
third pitch is called, and the fourth pitches are swinging
a miss. That's been his operation since he since he's
(26:43):
been with the Reds. He's never been able to hit
the clutch, and he's never never been able to carry
the team. Having said that this lineup is so pathetically sad,
it's ridiculous, well.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Again, you'll get in and I appreciate the night's words. Mark,
You'll get no argument from me on how bad the
lineup is. And you're right about Ellie this year in
the clutch. If you look at his late and close stats,
they're not very good. I do think he has made
improvements as a hitter. I think they're reflective by the numbers,
which are better than they've been for the majority of
his career. I do think he has made large improvements
(27:18):
on defense. I no longer hold my breath when the
ball is hit to him. Advanced defensive metrics love him.
You could do whatever you want with those, but look,
he's twenty four years old. Between now and the end
of the twenty twenty nine season, which is when he
could be a free agent. Now, I personally believe the
Reds will probably trade him at the end of the
twenty twenty eight season to get something for him. He'll
(27:40):
be a free agent at the age of twenty seven.
He is an elite athlete. If the improvement continues, and again,
he is a better player this year than he was
last season, taking into account that he is in the
middle of a slump right now, which it'd be cool
if his manager actually gave him a day off. If
the improvement we have seen continues, there is no doubt
(28:01):
in my mind he will have lots of suitors who
want to pay him what the market dictates a guy
like Ellie dela Cruz is going to get, and what
the market dictates a guy like Ellie de la Cruz
is going to get is a ton of money. Tony
Pike Next ESPN fifteen.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
From the UC Health Traffic Center.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
In fifteen thirty with the latest from Bengals training camps.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Trot to you buy Hollywood Casino, Lawrenceburg on.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Your official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. To flip this
PN fifteen thirty, uh Brendan and Jones on baseball Just
a minute away. Tony Pike is with his latest on
Bengals training camp. No practice today, but are back at
it tomorrow morning. This is a big week for a
lot of players, and we talked last hour about some
guys who have things to build on, like Dante Myers.
(28:53):
It's also going to be a big week for a
handful of guys who maybe took a little bit of
a step back in the preseason game. I'm going to
start Tony with Charlie Jones.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
Yeah, and I don't even know if it's Charlie Jones
taking a step back or others just taking a bigger
leap ahead. You know, Charlie Jones is never going to
give you that elite wide receiver production, but he's always
been solid in the return game. But I wonder if
they may have more explosiveness in the return game with
(29:23):
some of these other players that are vying for roster response.
Charlie Jones is a unique one because it's not like
he went out and performed terribly. I just think you've
got a lot of other good skill position players that
are competing for now his roster spot and making bigger
splash plays.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I think it's also an important league for todj Brooks. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
See, now that's the opposite of Charlie Jones. I thought
TODs Brooks hurt himself. I didn't think the burst was there.
I think the vision isn't quite what you want. And
if you want to be a successful running back in
the NFL, especially in the Bengals offense, you got to
be able to catch passes out of the backfield. And
he dropped two opportunities. And I know it, but he
dropped two opportunities that were presented to him in the
(30:03):
passing game as well.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
I thought he was.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
Putting himself in position for a bigger role. Now you
wonder is he playing himself off of the roster completely.
It's a massive week for TODs Brooks.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
And I'll add one more to it. I won't single
in on one guy. We'll talk about a bunch pretty
much every backup offensive lineman not named Brian Parker or
Connor Loo.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
Yep. This to me is a massive week, not only
tomorrow but Thursday with the Bears coming into town. On
having to make a decision within your organization, do you
have the depth necessary if something were to happen on
the offensive line or based on your evaluations and the film,
do you need to go out and find that in
(30:45):
free agency via a trade or those waiver wire moves
that are going to be made that other teams are
going to be releasing offensive linemen. I think tomorrow and
Thursday are your big evaluation days on what you need
to do with the offensive line before now and the
Tampa Bay bucks him into town.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Tony is back with a me tomorrow morning for the
AE Dorn Window Tony and Mode training camp show ten
o'clock from tomorrow's practice Bengals and Bears on Saturday night
on ESPN fifteen thirty with Tony, Dan and Lapp, and
back in about an hour for his final training camp
update of the day. Right now, it's time for Brendaman
and Jones on baseball
Sports Station ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
That's us five minutes after fourth. This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Moeger,
thank you so much for joining us. Hopefully your week
is off to an unbelievable start. We are broadcasting this
time with like actual tennis being played and the fans
being here. We're broadcasting from the Cincinnati Open, which because
it's it's August twenty twenty six in the greater Cincinnati area,
(00:25):
we were in a we're in a weather delay. Pete Holtzman,
media relations director from the Cincinnati Open here to give
us the late We're in a delay, right, We are
in a weather delay.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
We've the players have come off the court, and that's
why you're so popular here at the top deck bar.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
A lot of people up here.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Enjoying some livations and not getting rained on.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So we think this should be hopefully a.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Pretty passing rain shower, hoping to be back in court
bottom of the hour, but we'll see how how long
the rain persists.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
You had a brief delay earlier when we first got here,
and I think there were these two women who I
think thought we were like, you know, fan information or something,
until they started asking me and I said, ma'am, I
don't know, but I'm happy to look online for you.
And the one woman said to me, you're not that useful,
are you, And I said no, No piece of criticism
has ever been more true. So thanks very much. Hopefully
(01:12):
they're enjoying themselves. We will remove I taped, actually said
info booth on the front. So that's on me. We're
just having little joke at your expense. Take me behind
the scenes when something like this happens. What's going on
with the players, with the officials, walk me through it well.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
So actually Bob Moran, or tournament director, was planning on
joining you. We wanted him to get the chance to
chat with you. Unfortunately he's getting pulled into meetings. And look,
first thing is everybody's safety, right short's check out? Is
there lightning in this storm? Do we need to move
people away outside of the outside areas? Obviously a lot
of real estate here. Make sure everybodys safe sites first
and foremost players, you know, they're going to go back
(01:47):
and it's a chance for them to try to stay warm.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
You know they're going to find out.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
What do we need to know if this doesn't look
like an extended break try to stay warm, you know,
get on a bike, do something, just kind of keep
the heart rate up, keep pumping a little bit. You
don't want to do a full cool down and then
come back out half an hour later and get right
back on the treadmill that's going at five speed, you know.
So they're probably looking at the radars just like everybody
else and thinking, okay, quick break, let's stay fresh. If
(02:12):
you're playing next, you're not even thinking about getting ready
yet because you know you've got time before you're gonna
get back on court. So there's kind of different waves
of doing this. And if you have the day off,
you're hoping you practice early and you're back in the hotel,
or you at the movie theater watching the New Spider
Man or something.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
What if if there's any rain at all, do they
call it? Or yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:31):
You know, on this surface, especially the painted lines, it
gets slippery fast.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And we had a little bit of wiggle room today
because we did have some sun. And that's asphalt under
that paint, so it does get hot. So you can
sometimes play through a little bit of sprinkle if it's
not getting the surface wet, but any moisture on those
painted lines, it becomes slippery and you know how hard
they're moving out there. Like, if there's any you spill
water on a basketball court, they're gonna stop playing.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Make sure it's dried out. Yeah, how absorbed? I'm gonna
ask like nerdy questions. Now, how absorbent is that? How
long until it's dry enough for players to play? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
So we actually have this, it's probably four or five
year old technology called the Vaptor machine, which actually can
suck the moisture off the court into a reservoir and
take it off rather than the old squeegees or something.
You're gonna get eighty to ninety percent more moisture just
move off the court.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Can I borrow that from my basement? Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
That might not be quite the weapon you need for
that fight, but well we can lend you on for sure.
So that speeds it up in other conditions. Hey, if
it passes through and then the sun comes out, that's
gonna help.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
If there's a breeze, that's gonna help.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
So with the Vaptor machines, we usually try to get
out there within about thirty minutes of the rain stopping,
maybe forty if conditions are cold and still.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Really damp in the air. You have something very cool tonight,
and the weather's gonna be a factor, so maybe they're
not gonna start at seven o'clock, but you get the
Williams sisters on the court, you know, together her return
to Wimbledon this year on a Tuesday afternoon, I'm gonna
at a bar in Milwaukee. I'm there to see the
Reds playing, and folks who I would imagine don't watch
(04:00):
a whole lot of tennis, we're glued to watching her play,
this young lady from Australia. And she lost the match,
but it was just so cool to see her play again.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
It's so exciting to have it back, the energy around it.
I happened to be at Wimbledon for that and it
was just it really did stop everything else that was going.
I mean, this is in the middle World Cup, by
the way, Yeah, you know, and still that was the
talk of the town.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And it really is awesome.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
This is actually the first time in ten years they've
played doubles outside of the Olympics or Grand sign Wow.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So it's very cool that it's happening here.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
A lot of energy and excitement and then to be
drawn against Mason's own Peyton Sterrens.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
What a cool local angle on this.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
It's going to be exciting, and I think there you know,
we had a packed house over in the grand Stand
court last night for Coco Goth and again we should
expect it tonight with the Williams sisters over there, and
it just kind of speaks to how much tennis there is,
you know. Yeah, grandstand ticket is arguably as good as
the stannerd Court ticket.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
You know, there's just a lot to see watching Serena
versus Katie McNally in New York in twenty nineteen. If
I'm not mistaken size right, yeahah in that ballpark, Boy,
that was all and she won the first set. If
my memory starts mixed out, wow, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
It's amazing to think about the longevity of the Williams Sisterason,
just how long they've been out here and the way
they truly transcended. They're beyond tennis. You know, I'm Serena
in the Super Bowl halftime show and everything else that
they've done, and it's inspiring to see them here and
it's exciting, you know, and I hope it's for a while.
I hope this isn't just hey, this is a twenty
(05:29):
twenty sixth thing. It'd be great to see them try
to continue to play on.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I became a fan of Serena here watching her interact
with fans, and we talked about that. You joined me
last week, and you know the player interaction, you can
get up close to them, and I mean many years ago,
I watched her go from the practice court to wherever
she had to go next, and she had you know,
people around her security or whoever, but she stopped and
(05:55):
signed and was gracious to people, and that for me,
that goes a long way. And I think that's we
talked about that.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
You know, the players respond to that energy they get
from the fans here in Serena. Look, she's had success here,
she's been to the final and singles, she's won back
to back titles and singles. But she's had a point
in life where she's gonna choose where she goes to play.
And I think she's chosen to come here because she's
had good on and off court experiences here and it's
comfortable for her and it's a great opportunity to get
(06:22):
out and get a few matches on her About.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Speaking to Katie McNally. She is supposed to be on
the court right now. I would imagine that's that's going
to be pushed to the evening. It hopefully will actually
be out pretty soon.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
So the match ahead of her is deep into their
third set, all right, and so they should wrap up
pretty soon and that should get her out. So hopefully
she'll be out maybe in the five o'clock hour, okay, yeah,
So and that's out on court ten. So again, there's
just so many matches going on today. You know, we've
got matches going across seven courts and then all the
practice sessions that you talked about, right, you're not playing today.
(06:55):
And I think the other cool thing is they're fans
of everyone out here.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
We just well in the.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Break, so it came up he's rooting for Rinky Hitchikata,
you know. And that the other thing. We have the
college basketball coming here. There's some college tennis players out there. Yeah,
you know, we've got UVA is very well represented today. Rafajodar,
Mma Navarro, Brandon Nakashima won yesterday. Diana Schnader's on court
right now, she's NC State, Arthur Ferries on court from Stanford.
(07:19):
So college tennis is really we're seeing a lot of
players come through the college ranks and play in the program.
We're used to that in the NBA, and that is
not that common in tennis in the last twenty years.
It's kind of coming back having resurgence.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Is that reflective of improved health for the game overall
in the United States? I think it reflects a lot
of things. Honestly.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I may think part of it is we've seen some
examples of it working well. John Isner is probably the
best example, like four years at University of Georgia and
then came out had a long pro career. I think
a lot of players sometimes gets hesitant to think, hey,
twenty three, I graduated twenty three. That's kind of old
on the tennis circuit, you know. But then you talk
to some of these players and they say, I'm so
glad I went Eminavar is so glad you went to college,
(08:03):
and that helped her get ready to do this. Peyton
stearns her years in Texas. That helped her get ready
to be on the pro tour and just learn some
life skills as well. There is a trend to really
in all sports, I think, to get so down the
path of one sport so early and then you commit
to that path. And so the playing junior tournaments gets
you groomed to go play tournaments the rest of your
(08:24):
life rather than pause and go play in college.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Do you You may have a number on this, and
you may not. But I've been here in years where
I've met people from other parts of the planet who
are doing the double dip. They'll come here and then
it's part of their like holiday, They'll go to New York, right,
And so do you are you able to like tally
from where else on earth? People are coming to Cincinnati
to watch this.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Yeah, we had all fifty states okay last year, and
then we also take a buyers from sixty five different countries.
So it really is an international game. And I think
you know, that's one of the great things about this event.
For the region. We're showing off Cincinnati to the world.
We're broadcast in ninety country. Yeah, this is going to
reach far and wide, and it's awesome to be able
to show off the region and you know, the players themselves.
(09:07):
We've got over thirty countries represented in the player field,
some of them for the first time. Alex the al
is playing tonight. The excitement around her from Filipinos around
the world is amazing. You know, we'll see a spike
in web traffic tonight because she's playing, you know, and
that's with the time difference. They're gonna be waking up
on their Tuesday morning and enjoying her match from Cincinnati.
(09:28):
And it's amazing because in a lot of these countries,
tennis is up there is a top three sport. Sure,
I think soccer is probably number one in most countries.
Tennis is two or three in a lot of places.
And so you see these players who come out and
come from these countries and they're the biggest sports hero
from that country. And sure it's awesome to see when
(09:49):
those fans come out with joafon Seka is another one
from Brazil.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
The way the Brazilian fans come.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Out, it's really cool to see the way those nations
just latch onto the players.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
And we see it here.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
I mean, look, we got I'll meet Americans playing well
right now, this is a home game for them.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
They love it. They want that. You know, I lost
last night. Yeah, that was a tough one for him.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
That it's so hard to do that double come off
for Canada and then back it up here. IgA, you know,
did well to get through her match yesterday and then
again today, you know, to be backing up her title
in Canada, it's it's very hard to do.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah. Uh, I can't thank you enough for having us.
We did this last week and it was fine. We
worked with what we had. But to be here with
people around us and tennis being played at least for
much of the afternoon is is just awesome. I love
this event and uh boy, it's it's really cool to
come out here every year.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We appreciate you coming out. There's a lot of tennis
still to be played this week. We are running through Sunday,
the next three today, Tomorrow, Wednesday. Sixteen single matches each year,
so a ton of tennis. Then we get into the
quarterfinals on Thursday and Friday, semifinals on Saturday, and then
finals on Sunday. Finals weekend, we're gonna unveil a whole
new brand, a logo and merchandise. We're trying to really
(11:02):
elevate that experience, make it special. So if you're coming
out here, you're gonna say, wait a minute, this looks
different than what I saw in the first or second round.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
That's intentional. We want to really just have a different experience.
So it really is it's one of the great American
tennis weekends. If you look ahead to semi final Saturday
and final Sunday.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Yeah, and to play back to back, and it's really
there's so much on the line for these players. This
is a massive tournament for them. So it's going to
be an exciting weekend. And here as you look at it, Okay, yes,
we've had some guys not able to play because injury
or to see a Djoko which lose.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
If you're the rest of the field, you're in that
cock room going okay, that's why I was disappointed from
my guy last night, like buddy, let's go, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
And so Zverev now he's got the mantle, he's got
the pressure. The rest of these players, you got thirty
one other guys going uh huh, I could do this
four more match, Yeah, okay, let's go. Let's do this,
you know, And so they're they're trying to build up
that belief that yeah, I could be find in New
York next Monday with a trophy next to me and
it's gonna be awesome to see. And then at the
(12:02):
women's side, you got a lot of Coco sabalancas. I
think so many of those stall where it's still playing well,
we're backing us on court right now. That's gonna be
a great tournament the rest of the way because they're
all playing really well right now and no one's elevated
themselves and separated from the pack, So it's gonna be
I think it's really interesting to see who can come
through this one.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
How much of an expert since you took on this
role in weather radar, have you become.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
I have like seven different apps and I never trust
any of them. So a few of the local meteorologists,
they're they're a couple who are tennis fans. They'll be
back texting me from the stands like, Hey, I'm out
here with my wife today. I think this cell is
gonna be like twenty five minutes and then you guys
can dry it really quick, right, Yeah, we'll be back out,
don't worry. So uh yeah, you're looking at all that,
and we you know, the tours have their weather apps
(12:49):
as well, but at the end of the day, the
best app is you just hold your phone up and say, okay,
are there drops on the screen.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Okay, that's rain, that's most reliable. I know you're swamped.
You have a lot going on. You're always so good
to us.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Thank you again, appreciate being out here and hope to
see a lot more of you through the rest of
the week.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Man, definitely you got it. Appreciate it. Pete Holteman, Cincinnati
Open Media Relations. We continue eighteen after four o'clock. We
are here till six o'clock at the top deck bar
here at the Cincinnati Open. On ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC Health Traffic
Center at Positionion battles to breakout players follow Bengals training
camp as it happens on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Well we ad for four. This is ESPN fifteen thirty.
My name is Melwegor. Thank you so much for listening. Today.
We are under a weather delayed here in Mason at
the Cincinnati Open. No weather impacting the game downtown Cincinnati. Unfortunately,
the Reds lost to two to one, Michael Tolia striking
out looking to end the ballgame. Red's got some solid
(14:01):
pitching work today. They called upon a guy named Ken
Emanuel to make his Red's debut, and he was. Honestly,
he was about as good as you could expect. Alec
Burlison had a two run double in the first inning,
which play did the first two runs, so to speak,
and then the three Reds relievers came in and didn't
give up any runs. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati offense was limited
(14:22):
to a Dane Meyers homer, three hits total, and with
the two to one loss, the Reds will take the
field tonight seven and a half games out of the
last wildcard spot. We had over the weekend a former
Red calling out Ellie Dee La Cruz, which we'll get
to a little bit later on some phone calls coming
(14:43):
up here hopefully in just a bit plus Brennanman and
Jones on baseball. We'll have reaction to today's game from
gavp here in just a while. Brendanman and Jones on
baseball as well. We spend time on Friday talking about
Orlando Brown. Orlando Brown whipping on a block against a
guy by the name of Eric O'Neil who hit Joe Burrow.
(15:05):
Joe Goodberry was with us an hour ago and I
think he encapsulated. I think how you should feel about
that moment. Yes, this is preseason for a guy in
his ninth NFL season, and so you know, maybe you
don't expect these guys to necessarily go through the motions,
but they're not playing the way they would play a
game or a snap that counted. At the same time,
(15:28):
when it's your job to keep people off your star quarterback,
there's no such thing as a meaningless snap. There are
meaningless snaps, maybe for wide receivers, maybe there's meaningless snaps
for quarterbacks. Maybe there's meaningless snaps for guys on No
such thing as a meaningless snap when your job is
to protect Joe Burrow that snap if your Orlando Brown
(15:50):
is as meaningful in mid August as it is in
mid December. I'll try to thread the needle here, because
in this day age of no nuance, it's either stop
talking about it, stop paying attention to it, no big deal.
Orlando Brown is fine, or Orlando Brown's a bum, and
(16:10):
you got to figure out a way to replace him immediately.
For me, it's simply this, I'm filing it away. I'm
filing it away, but it's not a file that exists
by itself filing away Orlando Brown versus Eric O'Neill. It's
joining Orlando Brown versus Cash as how, and on top
(16:31):
of that, I'm filing it in the same department or compartment,
I guess with some of the moments we saw Orlando
author last year. Look, man, here's the reality. Orlando Brown
has never been a superstar. He's had a terrific NFL career.
He's played for a long time, he's helped teams win
by all accounts, wonderful guy, very good career for the
(16:54):
most part, very durable. But like, we're not talking about
a superstar player. We're not talking about a guy who
has ever really been regarded as one of the elite
left tackles in football. He's usually been a guy with
a little bit of a low ceiling, right, So you know,
just giving him the benefit of the doubt and ignoring
(17:16):
what we saw on Thursday, to me, that's something you
reserve for a player who's maybe closer to his athletic prime,
or for a guy who, over the course of his career,
has been a better player. If you look at his
and this is just one metric, his Pro Football Focus rankings,
He's never been rated among the elite left tackles in
the sport, and over the last couple of years there
(17:37):
has been a steady decline in how he has been graded,
which means there is a greater likelihood of moments like
we saw on Thursday manifesting themselves in regular season games
in twenty twenty six, then say in twenty twenty two
or twenty twenty three. But I think the real problem
is you could talk about, well, I don't have a
(17:59):
lot of faith in our Lando Brown. What else, sha God?
At tackle? They're already moving Cody Ford a round. They're
gonna try Jalen Rivers at tackle. I guess swing tackle
is a position that we talked about a lot during
the offseason. We just talked about it with Joe Goodberry.
So it's one thing to express a degree of concern
about Orlando Brown. All I'm gonna do is tell you
(18:22):
that I think there's a world where he's the weak
link on the offensive line. I think that has the
potential to be reflective of how good the rest of
the offensive line is, but also a year's long trend
continuing over Orlando Brown regressing. If that regression continues to
the point that you want to make a move and
play somebody else?
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Cool?
Speaker 2 (18:42):
What else sha got? And I think that's the problem.
It's not just that Orlando Brown whift. It's not just
that he had a bad snap. And maybe by mid October,
Orlando Brown having a bad snap against the Detroit Lions
is a twenty twenty six version of Jamar Chase not
being able to catch passes in preseason and his rookie year,
(19:03):
the sort of thing that you spend a lot of
time on in August and by October everybody's forgotten about
it because the guy is playing really well, but you
just you file it away and you go, okay, maybe
he makes us forget about this, or maybe what we
saw on Thursday reoccurs a little bit more frequently than
you would like, and you know, the year's long regression continues,
(19:26):
and if it does, and if things bottom out for
the player at that position and you want to talk
about playing somebody else right now, it doesn't feel like
there's a viable alternative among the backups. That is a
bigger problem, or as big of a problem at least
as Orlando Brown whipping on a block against a guy
who was undrafted twenty nine minutes after four o'clock, Zach
(19:48):
Cozar called out Ellie de la Cruz yesterday and social
media will spend some time on that. And Tony Pike
with another live training camp report. Where at the Cincinnati
Open today where the sun is not really peaking out,
but my engineer Mike Mills has got himself some ice cream,
so he's a happy guy. I've got a water. I
(20:08):
like water, Maybe would rather have ice cream. Sports headlines
and maybe a phone call or two coming up on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 5 (20:21):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffics Cenneral service of Kelsey's
Chevrolet Home of lifetime powertrain protection and guarantee credit approval
from their family to Yours for Life, kelseychev dot Com.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Reds lose again today at GABP two to one. Cincinnati
got three hits, Dane Myers and Homer representing Cincinnati's only offense.
Ken Emanuel gave up a two run double to Alec
Burlison in the top of the first inning. That was
all Saint Louis needed to won the final score. Reds
now six count them six games under five hundred and
seven and a half games behind San Diego and Philadelphia
(20:57):
for the last wildcard spot. Game two of the double
header tonight, Rhet Louder throws for Cincinnati against Andre Plante.
Six forty is a first pitch of Game two, though
it is I'm told ragning really really really hard. Downtown
saw the postgame show with Brian Geeson's log and Sam
Lecieran behind him, the tarp already on the field. We
(21:17):
will see no Bengals practice today. They're back in the
field tomorrow morning, which means we are back tomorrow morning
with the AE Door and Window Tony and Mode Training
Camp show on ESPN fifteen thirty from ten until noon.
College football ap to Top twenty five preseason poll released
earlier today. The Ohio State Buckeyes number one, followed up
by Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame in Texas one through five,
(21:39):
Indiana sixth, and the Louisville Cardinals twenty fourth. No votes
for my beloved you see Bearcats, and we are under
a weather delay here at the Cincinnati Open, although these
skies to our northeast seem to be clearing. That is
good news. That is good news. Tony Pike again coming
up in just a few minutes, plus Brenneman and Jones
(22:01):
on baseball. We also have to get to the silly,
and it is silly Terry Francona leaving out an important
detail when it comes to Nicolodolo yesterday. But we've got
folks waiting. I don't want to make people wait any longer. Mark.
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty, Mark, good afternoon, How are
you good?
Speaker 6 (22:21):
Thank you. I want to make a comment why the
Castelinis are the luckiest owners in Major League Baseball?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Okay, and the.
Speaker 6 (22:28):
Reason they are is simply because the Claim and De
la Cruz both turned down contracts that they'll never see again.
Nobody is going to give De la Cruz thirty five
million a year for ten years. I know he's a
potential superstar, but if you look at his stats at
(22:51):
this point, he has done nothing to rate that kind
of money, and there's no indication he's going to turn
it around. And he is terrible defense. I mean, I
go back, I can go back to Roy McMillan, and
I can't think of a worse fielding shortstop than Dale
La Cruz. And he looks like a nervous wreck. Maybe
the money that he turned down is laying on his
(23:12):
mind and he can't focus on the game.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
I think you're wrong about I think you're wrong about
what Elie de la Cruz is going to command on
the open market. I think you're dead on about what
Matt McClain would command, either with the Reds or anywhere else.
Matt McClain, I'm sure, spends a lot of time lamenting
the fact that he didn't sign the contract that the
Reds offered him. I feel very confident in saying that
(23:36):
when Elie de la Cruz hits free agency at the
end of the twenty twenty nine season, when he is
still going to be in his mid twenties, that someone
is going to help him break the bank.
Speaker 6 (23:47):
But what has he done to this point to make
you think that there's a lot of everybody talks about
what a great player is, but he has done nothing. Nothing.
He asked, Look, do I think you go ahead the
batting averages?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Well, Mark, I didn't hear the tail be on the
tail end of what you said. What did you say?
Speaker 6 (24:10):
Okay? I said, basically, in four years, he's a hit
between eighteen and twenty two home runs in two sixty
five to two seventy five batting averages. That is not
thirty five million dollars a year. The Yankees are not
that stupid. The Dodgers are not that stupid. I mean,
if he hit three twenty with thirty five home runs,
that would be one thing.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Well, nobody bats three nobody bats three twenty anymore. I mean,
you know, and I wish they did. Nobody bats three
twenty anymore. So no one's going to care if he
doesn't bad three twenty, I think. I mean, number one, look,
I he could be frustrating on defense, and he is
certainly going through a batting slump right now. Those things
are inarguable. That said, I think there's a lot of
metrics that would point to his market improvement on defense.
(24:56):
He still has moments like we saw yesterday that can frustrate.
And if he truly wants to be one of the
elite players in the game, then the nonchalance we saw
on the throw in the ninth inning, we can't have that.
I think he's become a better hitter from the right
side of the plate. He is on pace to exceed
his career high in home runs. He has this year.
(25:19):
Even with the current slump that he is in, his
OPS is over fifty points higher from his career average.
He has in many ways been a better hitter this
year if you want to look at batting average, and
again this is taking into account the fact that over
the last week he's something like two for his last
twenty seven, he's hitting higher this year than he has
for his entire career. He is a very good player.
(25:40):
Is he a legitimate superstar like PCA or Shohei Otani?
Absolutely not. Do I think most in the sport would,
at the age of twenty four still bet on him
getting to that pantheon of players. Absolutely? You know, mo, I.
Speaker 6 (25:57):
Respect Yeah, I think you're the best Hawkshaw host there is.
I swear I think you're drinking the kool aid I see,
but it is the wings at every first pitch he misses.
He you know, Bench, and I went on, I'm I'm
one of those that lives in the past, Bench Vodou Klezouski.
(26:19):
I can go back as far as you want. They
could put a team on their shoulders and carry it.
They could hit in the clunch clutch. He has never
done that, never been a clutch hitter. When he comes
up in a crucial situation, strike one take the second pitch,
third pitch is called, and the fourth pitches are swinging
a miss. That's been his operation since he since he's
(26:43):
been with the Reds. He's never been able to hit
the clutch, and he's never never been able to carry
the team. Having said that this lineup is so pathetically sad,
it's ridiculous, well.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Again, you'll get in and I appreciate the night's words. Mark,
You'll get no argument from me on how bad the
lineup is. And you're right about Ellie this year in
the clutch. If you look at his late and close stats,
they're not very good. I do think he has made
improvements as a hitter. I think they're reflective by the numbers,
which are better than they've been for the majority of
his career. I do think he has made large improvements
(27:18):
on defense. I no longer hold my breath when the
ball is hit to him. Advanced defensive metrics love him.
You could do whatever you want with those, but look,
he's twenty four years old. Between now and the end
of the twenty twenty nine season, which is when he
could be a free agent. Now, I personally believe the
Reds will probably trade him at the end of the
twenty twenty eight season to get something for him. He'll
(27:40):
be a free agent at the age of twenty seven.
He is an elite athlete. If the improvement continues, and again,
he is a better player this year than he was
last season, taking into account that he is in the
middle of a slump right now, which it'd be cool
if his manager actually gave him a day off. If
the improvement we have seen continues, there is no doubt
(28:01):
in my mind he will have lots of suitors who
want to pay him what the market dictates a guy
like Ellie dela Cruz is going to get, and what
the market dictates a guy like Ellie de la Cruz
is going to get is a ton of money. Tony
Pike Next ESPN fifteen.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
From the UC Health Traffic Center.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
In fifteen thirty with the latest from Bengals training camps.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Trot to you buy Hollywood Casino, Lawrenceburg on.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Your official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. To flip this
PN fifteen thirty, uh Brendan and Jones on baseball Just
a minute away. Tony Pike is with his latest on
Bengals training camp. No practice today, but are back at
it tomorrow morning. This is a big week for a
lot of players, and we talked last hour about some
guys who have things to build on, like Dante Myers.
(28:53):
It's also going to be a big week for a
handful of guys who maybe took a little bit of
a step back in the preseason game. I'm going to
start Tony with Charlie Jones.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
Yeah, and I don't even know if it's Charlie Jones
taking a step back or others just taking a bigger
leap ahead. You know, Charlie Jones is never going to
give you that elite wide receiver production, but he's always
been solid in the return game. But I wonder if
they may have more explosiveness in the return game with
(29:23):
some of these other players that are vying for roster response.
Charlie Jones is a unique one because it's not like
he went out and performed terribly. I just think you've
got a lot of other good skill position players that
are competing for now his roster spot and making bigger
splash plays.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I think it's also an important league for todj Brooks. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
See, now that's the opposite of Charlie Jones. I thought
TODs Brooks hurt himself. I didn't think the burst was there.
I think the vision isn't quite what you want. And
if you want to be a successful running back in
the NFL, especially in the Bengals offense, you got to
be able to catch passes out of the backfield. And
he dropped two opportunities. And I know it, but he
dropped two opportunities that were presented to him in the
(30:03):
passing game as well.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
I thought he was.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
Putting himself in position for a bigger role. Now you
wonder is he playing himself off of the roster completely.
It's a massive week for TODs Brooks.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
And I'll add one more to it. I won't single
in on one guy. We'll talk about a bunch pretty
much every backup offensive lineman not named Brian Parker or
Connor Loo.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
Yep. This to me is a massive week, not only
tomorrow but Thursday with the Bears coming into town. On
having to make a decision within your organization, do you
have the depth necessary if something were to happen on
the offensive line or based on your evaluations and the film,
do you need to go out and find that in
(30:45):
free agency via a trade or those waiver wire moves
that are going to be made that other teams are
going to be releasing offensive linemen. I think tomorrow and
Thursday are your big evaluation days on what you need
to do with the offensive line before now and the
Tampa Bay bucks him into town.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Tony is back with a me tomorrow morning for the
AE Dorn Window Tony and Mode training camp show ten
o'clock from tomorrow's practice Bengals and Bears on Saturday night
on ESPN fifteen thirty with Tony, Dan and Lapp, and
back in about an hour for his final training camp
update of the day. Right now, it's time for Brendaman
and Jones on baseball
Mo Egger News
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.