2025-06-05 LEACH REPORT

Tom talks with Jack Givens, Jay Bilas, and Parker Earlywine.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello everyone, and welcome in do the Leach Report, presented
each day by Bobcat Enterprises. NBA Finals get started tonight
and there's a little Kentucky flavor on both sides, but
especially on the OKC side with NBA MVP Shay Gildess,
Alexander and Cason Wallace and the Indiana hasaid Jackson but

(00:27):
he has been injured. But Kentucky guy and on one side,
two on the other. And we will get into a
little bit of that today and more with Jay Billis,
who will be our first guest. We'll get his take
on the finals and also a little bit about Mark
Pope's second team at UK the Goose. Jack Gibbons will

(00:47):
join me and we'll talk with the young man who
is a from his family is from my hometown and
he's a huge Reds fan and has done some radio
work with analysis of the Reds. So where do you
give Parker Early one a shot to dazzlus with his

(01:09):
Reds expertise on the show today. So that's the lineup.
Wildcat News of the Day a service of Juseppes of
Lexington saw a note somewhere and reading about the NBA
Finals that the last time player won MVP for the
regular season and in the finals as well, was Lebron
James twelve years ago. So shake Elchess. Alexander has an

(01:31):
opportunity to do that. He's the guy for OKC, so
we'll see how it goes. He was obviously, he's been
very good in these playoffs, and we talked a little
bit about him yesterday with Mike de COURSI will get
into that with Jay Billis as well. Kind of Chay's
career arc. OKC is the former Seattle SuperSonics franchise. I

(01:55):
think the last title they won was in nineteen seventy nine,
my senior year of high school. And in those days,
the NBA Finals were such a big deal that they
were on tape delay and they came on after the
eleven o'clock news, and I stayed up and watched because

(02:16):
Kevin Greevy was playing the former Wildcat, one of my
favorite players was playing for Washington against Seattle, and the
same two had matched up in seventy eight and the
Washington had won, and then the SuperSonics got even in
seventy nine with Slick wattson Downtown, Freddie Brown and Jack
Sikma and others, and I think this would be the

(02:38):
first title for that particular franchise, which is now in
Oklahoma City, if the thunder get the job done against
Indiana and Pacers looking for their first NBA title, but
they won several of them in the ABA, and that's
the team that the Kentucky Colonels beat fifty years ago
to win their only inn ABA title. They took down

(02:58):
their big rival, the Anna Pacers. While we're talking a
little bit about the NBA, there's a story in The
Athletic on the Houston Rockets plans for next season, and
the writer cites team sources who say Reed Shepherd is
quote slated for a vastly expanded role. The Rockets apparently
are high on Red as a player with a very
high ceiling, and they like the basketball IQ that he

(03:22):
brings to the court and also his ability to space
the floor with his shooting. He didn't get as many minutes,
maybe as Kentucky fans would have hoped in year one,
but it turns out that's just that's not any reflection
on what Houston thinks of Reed Shepherd. So they'll be
exciting if Reed's role does indeed expand next season. In Houston.

(03:46):
Baseball is moving into the transfer portal phase for everybody
except the teams that are involved in Super Regionals and
then onto the College World Series, and that of course
includes Kentucky. And there are reports that have added infielder
Kias gargattin outfielder Griffin Cameron to the transfer portal list
for Kentucky. We told you about James McCoy yesterday. They're

(04:09):
a handful of other names on the list. It's fewer
than ten at the moment. Speaking of baseball, the High
School Baseball Tournament and the High School Softball Tournament are
both being played on the fields over at the University
of Kentucky Kentucky Proud Park and John Crop Stadium, So

(04:29):
good luck to all the teams that are involved there,
and if you are a fan of high school baseball
or softball, you'll see some of the best in action
over the next few days. Be a fun thing to
get out and take advantage of in some nice weather
until the rain comes tomorrow night. Apparently, hopefully it won't

(04:50):
mess things up too badly. Links to the stories that
we talk about each day, you can find those on
the Bud Light Leach Report page at Tom Leachky dot
com Our opening segments presented by Joseppies of Lexington, and
it's a place that has been in business for almost
thirty years with a tremendous commitment to just outstanding quality

(05:10):
with the food and just the ambiance there. If you
sit in the lounge area and they've expanded it because
it's so popular, delictit to Dave Hall and the live
jazz music while you enjoy a fantastic meal from Giuseppes
full wine and bourbon selections one hundred and thirty seven
different types of bourbons. Scott the bartender makes a fantastic
espresso martini, so check that all out at Giuseppe's and

(05:33):
go to open table and make your reservation. Today We're
going to head to a break and come right back
with j Billi Sudden Leach Report. Come it to here
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new loyalty rewards program and return, refresh and refuel at Clark's.
Headed to the Club Bluenil dot com hotline to bring
on ESPN's Jaybillis and we know him best from his

(05:55):
work on covering college basketball, but he covers the NBA
as well. And Jay, this is a finals matchup that
was expected to include OKC but maybe not the Pacers.
So what kind of finals are you thinking we're in for.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
Well, I think Oklahoma City is the best team. I mean,
they won sixty eight games during the regular season. They're
an extraordinary defensive unit. They rally to the ball, their
ball pressure, their rotations, their rim protection, it's truly elite.
And so if any team, including Indiana, thinks they're going to,

(06:34):
you know, take on an isolation, you know, sort of
make individual dribble moves, they're going to be swarmed upon
by that defense. But the good news for indianas they
do a really good job. Their flow offensively is very good.
They move the ball, they're a good cutting team, and
that's what it takes to do well against Oklahoma City.

Speaker 3 (06:57):
And Indiana is very good defensively well. They pick up.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
Ninety four feet and they can be disruptive themselves. But
they're going to have to have a really good plan
against Shay Gilts Alexander because he's special. It's not just
his ability to get to the free throw line. You
net out his free throws. He's still the leading scorer
in the playoffs. He's a big time player, so they're
going to have to deal with him, and that's no

(07:21):
easy task.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
What is it about Shay's game that has enabled him
to elevate to where he is in the league.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
He is an excellent ball handler and driver, like he
gets these what I call chest down drives where he
can get into the defender's body and draw contact and
still finish, and he's very difficult to stay in front of.
He's got strength. His range game is elite at a

(07:51):
time when people say, you know, it's either take a
three or get to the rim. He gets to the rim,
but he can also keep defenders off balance, and when
he gets them off balance, he gets into their body
and then draws fouls and gets to the foul line.
I found it kind of curious that, you know, I
understand how opponents fans will complain about it, but generally

(08:12):
people might complain about how many free throws he shoots,
that somehow he's gifted those, but he earns those and
uh and and does an extraordinary job at it. You know,
you saw him firsthand, but when when he came out
of Kentucky, I knew he was really good and thought, hey,
lottery pick and figured he would be an outstanding player

(08:34):
in the league. Did I think he was going to
be an m v P this soon. I couldn't say
that I foresaw that, and I'm not sure who did.
But but he's proven it, you know. He I think
he was second in MVP voting last year.

Speaker 3 (08:47):
This year wonted. And when you can.

Speaker 2 (08:50):
Take that away from Nikola Jokic, who I consider to
be one of the best players I've ever seen, Uh,
that's that's pretty impressive stuff.

Speaker 1 (08:58):
I got. Like Rondo from here at Kentucky turned out
to be a better pro than a lot of fans
maybe thought he was going to because of not being
a great shooter. And I remember something Rick Patino said
after Rondo had torched Yu of l and he said, look,
he's going to be a great pro because you can't
keep him from going where he wants to go. And
with Rondo a very intelligent player, but also just you know,

(09:22):
very fast and quick first step with Shay doesn't seem
like he's quite doing it that way, but he also
has that ability to as kind of you were saying,
to be difficult to keep from keep him from going
where he wants to.

Speaker 2 (09:36):
Go, Yeah, great change of pace and direction, and he
is he doesn't.

Speaker 3 (09:42):
Look like he's really strong, but he's strong.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
But I think the key for him is he's got
a great sense of how to get the defender off balance,
Like he always remains on balance, and then he gets
the defense off balance. And then when when you're in
any way out of position or off balance, it's over
because he's going to get into your body and he's

(10:06):
a body seeking driver. He's gonna he's gonna seek out
that contact and then draw the foul. And that's Uh,
that's extraordinarily difficult for for any really great defender to
deal with. And when you look at it, his body
of work over the last couple of years especially, but
but but specifically.

Speaker 3 (10:25):
This year, you know, he doesn't have down games very
few times.

Speaker 2 (10:30):
I mean, it's happened once or twice in the playoffs
when you know, Oklahoma City has had a couple of
games where they've gotten torched pretty good, but but those
are few and far between. And most games, most every game,
the overwhelming majority he delivers and uh, and that's the
sign of a of a great player and he Uh.

(10:50):
One of the things I've admired about him, and really
that whole Oklahoma City team is they don't they don't
overreact to a result, so they kind of win the
the off days, if that makes any sense. They they're very,
very even keeled with how they approach winning and losing.

(11:11):
You know, when they win, of course they're happy and
they're close team, and they show it with the way
they handle interviews and all that stuff. But but they
go and they look at, well, why did we win
and what could we have done better? And when they lose,
they're not like discouraged. They look at at their where
they failed in the game, and they seek to correct

(11:32):
it rather beat themselves up or you know this stuff
about blame or anything like that. Uh, it's a really
it's a I think, an amazingly positive approach as a team.
And Mark Degnault their their coach. You know, he started
out at Yukon and UH and he was an assistant
to Billy Donovan Florida before he went into the NBA

(11:55):
coaching the G League team for the Thunder.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
UH.

Speaker 2 (11:58):
He's a really smart guy. Reminds me a lot of
Brad Stevens with his approach, very even keeled, and I
think that really helps the players.

Speaker 1 (12:06):
What's you take on what Bark Pope can accomplish in
his second year at Kentucky having one year under his
belt here.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
You know, it's it's going to be really odd for
him because he's got a few returning players.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
How's he going to handle that new roster.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
I think it's going to be really fun, like he's
got you know, obviously Kentucky lost a lot with Lamont
Butler and Kobe Bray and Jackson Robinson gone and Mary
Williams and I mean it's a long list. Andrew Carr's gone,
but it was great news getting O takea oh way back.
I think Brandon Garrison's also back, but they've got a
lot of really good transfers coming in. And Jaden Quainton's

(12:46):
from Arizona State. Is a long armed defender and rebounder
that gets a lot of deflections with block shots and
offensive rebounds. His offense is still coming, but I think
it's there. He's a very very talented player. And I
think Jalen Lowe of coming in from Pittsburgh is very talented.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
The guy that gets to the foul line.

Speaker 2 (13:09):
I think he can even be more efficient as a
as a scorer. But one of the one of the
really good gets I think was Mohammed Dibatte from Alabama.

Speaker 3 (13:18):
I'm a big fan of his.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
He's a great defender and uh kind of one of
these relentless personalities on the floor. So there's a lot
to be excited about and good freshmen coming into to
blend in some really talented players with I think Jasper
Johnson is coming in h and Malachi Moreno, So you
got a point guard a big guy respectively that I

(13:41):
think can help right away. One of the things that
you always are concerned about is where's the leadership going
to come from? But that was probably a question last
year and uh, and they had great leadership, especially from
from Lamont Butler at the.

Speaker 3 (13:57):
Point guard position.

Speaker 2 (13:58):
So I don't have any doubt that Mark Pope and
his staff it did a great job last year. And
he's done a great job throughout his coaching career of
identifying efficiencies in recruiting and guys that maybe are not
seen as well, you know, maybe not the best player,
but boy, he's really good at this. And I think

(14:19):
one of the things that stood out to me was
Ansley Almanor last year, when you know, Mark was saying, hey,
he grated out as one of the best cutters, even
though he wasn't in the top fifty or top one
hundred of transfers. He really fits what we do and
so he puts pieces together to fit what they want
to do. And so I'm actually really excited to see

(14:43):
what this group of individual players is going to turn
into as a team.

Speaker 3 (14:47):
And given the track.

Speaker 2 (14:48):
Record of how things went last year, it was just
sad that injuries really affected things at the end for Kentucky.
You know, to see if if it turns out to
be as good as the roster suggests it could be,
and I think it will be.

Speaker 1 (15:04):
Last question, why is Mark a good fit here? I mean,
he's a former player, so he knows the lay of
the land. But there's more to it than that. I'm guessing, right, yeah,
I mean, you know, you see it every day.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
I mean, he's really you know, he's really skilled as
a coach.

Speaker 3 (15:17):
He's an excellent teacher.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
I'm very I've been impressed with how he blends, if
you will, the ability to hold players accountable and to
make corrections and to teach and to still be overwhelmingly positive,
and that that's hard to do.

Speaker 3 (15:39):
And you know he look.

Speaker 2 (15:41):
He he wants to win as much as Anybody's incredibly competitive,
but that positive vibe you have in practice where he'll
like he catches the players doing something right, if that
makes sense, he'll he'll hear him in practice and.

Speaker 3 (15:57):
You hear it all the time. He says, hey.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
I love that.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
Love that when when a player does something right.

Speaker 2 (16:03):
But then when when something's wrong, doesn't love that. You know,
he's not yelling at the guy all the time. He
picks his spots. I think you know when he blows
his stack. Some of the players have said, you always
ask him, right, what does he blow a stack? He's
got to do it sometimes and he'll the answer is inevitably,

(16:25):
you know, in a private setting, is when somebody's late,
or when somebody does something that you know that that
they fail to do something that takes no talent, that
that's when he he jumps on him.

Speaker 3 (16:37):
But I love the fact that he's he's so positive.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
It's such a pleasure to watch their practices because they're
the teaching is great, They get things accomplished, and then
the players respond positively to to his attitude, and his
attitude is just impeccable.

Speaker 3 (16:55):
I mean, you know, he just makes you feel good.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
And then the I mean I'm rambling here, but the
last thing on this time, as you know, when when
his interaction with fans is extraordinary, like I just don't
see coaches doing that, and especially what he did on
the road.

Speaker 3 (17:10):
I can't remember where it was where it was all.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
Missed or something Mississippi State.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
He goes up, Yeah, he goes up into the second
deck to meet with fans that had a disability.

Speaker 3 (17:19):
And couldn't get down to see him.

Speaker 2 (17:21):
And you know, I don't know that that many coaches
do that really incredible and he gets to know their
personal stories, how far they travel, their kids. I mean,
it's really it's next level stuff.

Speaker 1 (17:34):
Jake got to run, appreciate the time safe travels. Thank you.
As Jay Bellis from ESPN, we'll take a quick break,
come right back on the Leech Report presented by Bob
cat Enterprises. Ran all along there with a Jay Bellis segments,
So we're gonna just do a quick reset here and
then Goose will join us to start the second half
of the Leech Report presented by Bob Catt Enterprises for

(17:55):
locations around Kentucky. Give them a call when you need
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Bobcat Enterprises and you'll find the one of the four
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you need their services. We'll be right back late reports
coming to you from the Clarks Pumping Shop studio and

(18:17):
we go to the club Bluenil dot com hotline and
bring on the Goose Jack Gibbits, my broadcast partner from
the UK radio network Goose NBA Finals tonight. Who you
got Okac or the Pacers.

Speaker 4 (18:31):
Well, that's a that's a tough call.

Speaker 5 (18:34):
Tom.

Speaker 4 (18:36):
I like both teams. I think it's great accomplishment by
both of these ball clubs to get here. They were
not picked to get here. They it's new for both
of them. Neither one have won a championship in the NBA.
So A, you know, I mean, I love Shay and

(18:58):
I would like to see him go, but also have
gotten to become a part of the Pacers because of
a good friend of mine, Fine Miles, who invites me
up to games from time to time and get in
this in his suite and enjoy Indianapolis. So I just

(19:20):
I just wanted to continue to be at a great series.
I mean, these playoffs have been wonderful to watch for me.
I mean, I've been around it a long time and
I've gotten bored with it. So I'm just excited to
see two new teams in there and not have to
hear about the same old guys over and over again.

Speaker 1 (19:43):
Yeah, I kind of feel the same way. And I've
been more invested in the Eastern Conference being a Knicks
fan from way back, but I've watched enough of the
Thunder to be obviously oppressed with Shay, but also Cason
Wallace has played well for them. Happy to see how
well he's doing.

Speaker 4 (20:00):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, Tom, because I mean,
I love Case and when he was here, just because
he was a good dude and always fun to talk to,
always positive when I had him for an interview or whatever.
And he has turned into a solid I'm talking about

(20:22):
a solid NBA player, and I'm glad you brought him
up because I think he gets overlooked a lot of
times with what he does. And one of the reasons
they're so good defensively is because he plays a lot
of minutes for them and he defends that other team's
best score in that backcourt position. I mean, he's on

(20:44):
that player, and I think he is a huge reason
why they have been as successful as they are.

Speaker 1 (20:53):
The ok team is kind of hanging their hat on
their defense, and as you mentioned, it's something that Case
is a big part of, and Shay is a guy
that is I'm guessing you didn't see him being quite
as good as he's trying. I mean NBA MVP level

(21:14):
when he came out of Kentucky, right.

Speaker 4 (21:17):
No, I didn't. I didn't see good. But but I
don't know if I've shared this story with you. I
talk a lot of basketball with the guys I work with,
and uh, my former boss Blevins Bowling as his name.
Uh early in that season, Levins was talking to me

(21:39):
and he says, man, Shay is not going to be
a player. They need to just give up on him now.
And uh we went by. We go back and forth,
I mean we were we still do. And I told him,
I said, now, Blevins, Uh, I know you are opinionated
Kentucky basketball fan, but I said, if you don't listen

(22:00):
to me about anything else I say about Kentucky basketball,
I want you to listen to this because I watched
you know, we watched practice. I have the benefit of
watching them in practice. And this was early in the season.
I said, this kid is going to be a superstar.
And he left that. I mean, he shook his head

(22:22):
and but he's finally by the end of the season,
he said, Okay, I won't argue with you anymore about
about these players. You called this one right, And you know.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
He's done it seemingly a lot of ways with just
the work that he's put in on his craft. And
it started. I remember there were stories of his early
morning workouts with Joel Justice back then outside of just
a regular practice. But you know, that's the thing that
kind of he's known for in terms of his approach
is just that relentless work ethic and good lesson for

(22:56):
young players.

Speaker 4 (22:58):
Well, and that's the different diference, you know, And I
share this story with young people. Everybody in the NBA
is good.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
Everybody.

Speaker 4 (23:10):
I don't care if you're talking about the first guy
or if you're talking about the fifteenth guy on the roster.
They're all good. And I tell them, I say this,
what makes the good players great? The Michael Jordan's of
the of the League and I say, usually when you
look at these guys, they are the hardest workers on

(23:33):
the team. And Shay has always been that he puts
the time in and he I don't know where he
gets the energy to do it. And I hear about
some of the workouts he had when he was here,
and I just know that's multiplied in the NBA because
I see his game and I see his growth and
it just doesn't just happen. You have to put in

(23:57):
that time. And yeah, that is a great lesson for
young players. And that is too you think you've done enough,
time a way to do more.

Speaker 1 (24:08):
We're just talking with Jay Billis about the NBA, and
then also morphed into talking about Kentucky and what the
second year for Mark Pope could look like. And then
we talked a little bit about practice and Jay, you know,
comes in doing games, sees some of them. You see
him on a weekend and week out basis, So you
could even elaborate a little bit on something Jay was

(24:28):
talking about, and it is uh Mark Pope's approach and
he said, he's, you know, amazed constantly at how he's
able to balance correcting and coaching with being positive and
that seems to be. You know, you know, you look
at the NBA, guys, you don't see a lot of
the you know, old school yelling, screaming kind of coaching anymore.

(24:52):
And it's more that approach. Uh, you know, guys still
hope people. You still have to hold players accountable, but
it's a different approach now.

Speaker 4 (25:02):
And yeah, and how Mark does that, I'll never know,
especially been a former player, and then even more so
having played under the coaches he's played under, because he's
played under some coaches who you know, who have some
pretty fiery approach to the game and approach to coaching.

(25:27):
But I think it's partly because guys are they're just
different these days. I mean you you just can't get
on them the way coaches used to get on us.
And I think the reason is is because it's a
player's game even more so than a coaches game now.

(25:48):
And I'm talking about on every level. Man, I see
it when I watch my grandson play and I'm thinking, man,
I would achieved him, chewed him out on that play,
and and the coach is just kind of pat him
on the back and saying, now listen here, you know,
but it's the sign of the times, and it goes
all the way up to the NBA where it is

(26:10):
especially a player's game. When I played, Hube Brown was
my coach with the Atlanta Hawks, and what Hube said
and how he said it didn't matter because it was
all about him. It was all about the coaches at
that time. If you look back and look at some
of the coaches at that time. Now it's about the players,

(26:33):
and sometimes you've got to just figure out a way
to manipulate them without putting them on the spot and
disrespecting me and all the stuff you hear players say
now nowadays. And Mark has mastered that. And for me
it's been fun because when I work with kids now

(26:54):
my grandson, I do it a different way. I don't
necessarily get on them. So I've been able to learn
a lot watching Mark and his staff work with these players.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
It seems to me and you can speak better to this,
but it's you know, because I said so, is not
a way that works anymore. It's about and you know,
it's been going this way for a while, getting guys
to want to do what you need them to do.
However you go about.

Speaker 4 (27:22):
Doing that, and the way you do that is encouragement.
I mean that is the result of what Mark is doing.
If you encourage them, even if they make a mistake,
you figure out a way to find something positive in it.
And you know, as well as I don't know, Marcus
really really good at that. You know, if you can

(27:45):
figure out how to number one, not put the guy
on the spot and put him in a defensive mode
where he has to say something. If not, he's gonna
look bad in front of the guys.

Speaker 6 (27:57):
You know.

Speaker 4 (27:58):
When if you can do that, just figure out how
to get on him. Brandon, Brandon, I'll just use him
for instance, you know, I mean he would play Brandon
Garrison three minutes the first time he comes in because
he would get out of shape. He wasn't in shape,
he wasn't as in shape as he should be. So

(28:20):
you have to take him out. And instead of getting
on him and say get on the line and run
and you know, cheering him out, you gotta go, he
says to him, Now you're almost there. I want to
be able to play you five minutes as opposed to
three minutes. So now you have to figure out, Brandon,

(28:40):
how to get to where I feel comfortable playing you
for five minutes as opposed to just three, which gives
you more time on the floor. Now that's a more
positive way of saying you need to get yourself in shape.
I'm not saying that that's what that's what his message.
I'm just using that as an example.

Speaker 1 (29:00):
And a good one. Goose, Thank you much, Hi Tom,
thanks so much. If you don't have a copy of
they call me Goose Jack's book with he did with
Doug Brounk. Great time to pick that up for Father's
Day which is just around the corner, so you can
get it through all the booksellers and follow at Goose
Givens on X and you'll see if he has any
upcoming book events. It's the Leach Report and we will

(29:24):
be right back guess on the Leach Report come to
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(29:45):
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person will get a T shirt, a membership card, a lanyard,
plus exclusive events that they'll have access to like one
that's coming up with Brandon Garrison Athlete experiences, meet and greets.
You can go to Club Blue Andile dot com and
find out more big things coming soon on this program.
So get your young Cat fan in early, no cost,

(30:08):
totally free Club Blue Kids, where future Wildcats rep the
Blue and White with pride, and we are joined by
Parker Early wine Is families from my hometown and longtime
baseball family and Parker, you're a big Reds fan according
to what your dad tells me, and you have developed

(30:30):
a bit of a friendship with the Red's TV voice,
John Sadak and some players. How's that come about? Park
Are you there?

Speaker 6 (30:42):
Can you hear me?

Speaker 1 (30:44):
Park Are you with us?

Speaker 6 (30:46):
Can you hear me?

Speaker 1 (30:47):
Yeah? We got you. Now tell us how you developed
this friendship with John Sadak and the players.

Speaker 5 (30:52):
So back in November, we reached out to John Sadak
asking him for like tips on how he made it to.

Speaker 6 (30:57):
The major leagues, and uh, it's just kind of.

Speaker 5 (31:00):
Developed from there, you know, just getting more and more
curious of how you make it to the MLB as
a play by play announcer.

Speaker 6 (31:07):
And really it's based off of what.

Speaker 5 (31:11):
Mister Sadak just told me it's just a lot of
time and doing stuff like this, you know, getting to
do stuff for play by play, getting experience.

Speaker 6 (31:23):
That's mainly what we've talked about, and then just talking
about the Reds. It's kind of developed those conversations. As
you know, we're both big Reds fans.

Speaker 1 (31:33):
So, yeah, well, how can the Reds get busy closing
the gap? There? Last that checked a couple of days ago,
they're about four and a half out in the wildcar
They're down to like eight or nine out in the division.
But there's still the second half of the season, so
there's still time. But it is getting a bit late.
So what do they need to do to get going?

Speaker 5 (31:53):
So I think the past two or three years we've
just tried to rely on getting good young teams without
spending money, and you know, but we always end up
getting injured and we just try and wait at the injuries,
and unfortunately.

Speaker 6 (32:06):
Tom, I don't think that's gonna work.

Speaker 5 (32:08):
So, like you see the Brewers, I was listening on
the broadcast and Sadak said yesterday the Brewers have a
lower payroll than the Reds.

Speaker 6 (32:16):
So in my opinion, what the Reds need to do trading.

Speaker 5 (32:20):
Because it doesn't cost I mean, we don't have much money,
but you can trade without much money.

Speaker 6 (32:25):
So like you see the Yankees, Yes they do.

Speaker 5 (32:28):
Have money, but this offseason they made a lot of
trades and they're doing really good.

Speaker 6 (32:32):
And we never seem to make any big trades.

Speaker 5 (32:34):
Like with all due respect, Conor Joe and Garrett Hampson
aren't gonna turn the season around.

Speaker 6 (32:40):
Like we need to make big moves, you know, take
a risk.

Speaker 1 (32:45):
What's the biggest need they have?

Speaker 6 (32:49):
Probably someone consistent on offense.

Speaker 5 (32:52):
And if I had defined I found someone that would
probably be the perfect fit. Last there's been rumors of
the Red's acquiring him. His name is Saydan Rafaela Boston
Red Sox. He actually had a walk off home run yesterday.
I think just there's two people that I think would

(33:12):
fit our offense perfect him and Ryan McMahon of the
Colorado Rockies. Those who combine have really good feeling, speed
and power. McMahon brings the power and Raphaela brings the
fielding and speed.

Speaker 6 (33:28):
He's just an overall five tool guy.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
No, you know your stuff. It's that those are good leads.
Ask about another topic that sometimes gets knocked around among
Reds fans. Ellie Dela Cruz, great player, so much fun
to watch one of. You know, among the young players
of Reds have a ton of short stops and so
there are other guys that could play that position if

(33:52):
they chose to put Ellie somewhere else. And there's been
some talk among Red's followers that he needs to be
in the outfield instead of a short stuy. Would that
be the right move or not?

Speaker 5 (34:04):
I mean, just looking at it, this fielding value isn't
very high, so you could make an argument about that.

Speaker 6 (34:10):
But in my opinion, I'd say keep them in.

Speaker 5 (34:12):
The infield because a lot of players get injured in
the outfield, Like some of the more injury prone players.

Speaker 6 (34:17):
Like Mike Trout. They had to switch his position in
the outfield because he gets hurt so much. Center fielders
get hurt a lot.

Speaker 5 (34:24):
The Pirates did that with O'Neill Cruz, and he's gotten
hurt quite a bit because he moved from short to
center and it's just because you know, always running into
the walls making those diving plays.

Speaker 6 (34:35):
But I mean, he's not a great fielding shortstop.

Speaker 5 (34:38):
But I think as long as he's healthy, we're fine
and the risk of injury is a lot more higher
in the utfield.

Speaker 1 (34:44):
In my opinion, Parker, that's good stuff because it's opinions
backed up with facts to validate him. So that's well done.
You got a bright future in this. I appreciate the time.
We'll check in from time to time, especially if the
Reds can start to show a little life. But thank
you for joining us.

Speaker 6 (35:03):
Yep, thank you.

Speaker 1 (35:04):
That's Parker early Wine, sharp young man. Uh, it'll be uh,
he'll be around for a while in this business. I
would I would guess I got to have a passion
for it. Sounds like he does. We're gonna take a
quick break, come back, close out this edition of the
Leach Report. In just a moment, we were talking with
Parker early one there about the Reds. You gotta have
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(36:31):
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(36:53):
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So Woodford Legend's Invitational Saturday and Sunday at the Woodford
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orgon you can get tickets. Triple Crown wrapping up this

(37:13):
weekend with a Belmont Stakes and it's at Saratoga for
the second year in a row and a mile and
a quarter. And Bob Baffort telling the Daily Racing for
him yesterday, his horse Rodriguez going to the front. No
matter what they've said, they've tried rating him and quote,
he just doesn't like it. So even though Todd Fletcher
entered a horse so called Croto, that crudo that has

(37:34):
good speed, look for Rodriguez to be on the front.
And Baffort says he thinks journalism quote is the horse
to beats that He's been chasing him all winter and
he just keeps getting better and better. Those top three
look really strong for the Belmont on Saturday, we'll talk
more about that tomorrow with Dick Girardi when he joins
this triple Crown coverage this spring once again presented by
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will see you tomorrow to wrap up our week of shows.
Have a good day, everybody,