1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,520
Speaker 1: Fifteen thirty.

2
00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,000
Speaker 2: All right, here we go, eight after four. This is

3
00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,960
Speaker 2: ESPN fifteen to Foager. Thank you for listening. We are

4
00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:09,040
Speaker 2: late to the hour because I.

5
00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:10,119
Speaker 1: Don't know how to read a clock.

6
00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:14,320
Speaker 2: We're at Oakley Greens in Oakley, the home of your

7
00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,479
Speaker 2: office workplace, holiday happy hour. There's no better place to

8
00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,760
Speaker 2: post up and have a cold one. In fact, our

9
00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,360
Speaker 2: favorite bartender in the city is a young lady by

10
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:27,720
Speaker 2: the name of Lauren, who is walking towards us, and

11
00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:29,800
Speaker 2: she knows she reads my mind. I'm ready for a

12
00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,040
Speaker 2: cold one right now, right, it's a short show. We're

13
00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,520
Speaker 2: done at five point thirty. I'm ready for a cold one.

14
00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,560
Speaker 2: That's the staff here is so good, it's almost telepathic.

15
00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:40,800
Speaker 2: They don't need to ask you could I get you

16
00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,760
Speaker 2: a beer? They just they know. So Lauren's gonna bring

17
00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:45,839
Speaker 2: one over. Maybe Drew By's gonna have one. We'll see.

18
00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,599
Speaker 2: We're done at five thirty. UK basketball, let's get right

19
00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,360
Speaker 2: to it. Kyle Schwerber is not going to be a Red.

20
00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,200
Speaker 2: He's re signing with the Phillies five years, one hundred

21
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,360
Speaker 2: and fifty million dollars. Jeff Carr locked on Red's podcast.

22
00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,480
Speaker 2: You know it's it's because I was on your podcast week.

23
00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,160
Speaker 2: I really late last week started to think, you know what,

24
00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,280
Speaker 2: this may happen. So I kind of blame you for

25
00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:06,240
Speaker 2: feeling disappointed.

26
00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:09,959
Speaker 1: No, I agree with you. I started to feel this

27
00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,400
Speaker 1: way because you started to see a whole bunch of

28
00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,279
Speaker 1: things come together, albeit none of them were the most

29
00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,080
Speaker 1: important thing, which was the one thing that the Reds

30
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:20,240
Speaker 1: just didn't want to offer up.

31
00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:24,280
Speaker 2: So he signs with the Phillies. Re signs with the

32
00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,880
Speaker 2: Phillies reportedly five years, one hundred and fifty mil. Now

33
00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,119
Speaker 2: it's being reported Ken Rosenthal had this. The Reds offer

34
00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,640
Speaker 2: was five years, one twenty five. What's your reaction to that.

35
00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,240
Speaker 1: I feel like the Reds were bidding against some sort

36
00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:42,920
Speaker 1: of ghost, or they didn't feel as though they were

37
00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:45,560
Speaker 1: bidding against teams with a lot of money, because all

38
00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,240
Speaker 1: reports that I had seen were looking at about thirty

39
00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:51,040
Speaker 1: million dollars a year, And so the Reds looked at

40
00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,840
Speaker 1: that and said, okay, we'll go twenty five. And they

41
00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:58,760
Speaker 1: come in almost an entire year's worth of money, less

42
00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,840
Speaker 1: than what the Phillies offered. And we said all along,

43
00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,559
Speaker 1: we're like local. Yes, love the team growing up. Yes,

44
00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:11,480
Speaker 1: obvious connection. Yes, but the money's got to make sense,

45
00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,400
Speaker 1: and in this case, the dollars just didn't make sense

46
00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,720
Speaker 1: because reportedly even the Baltimore Orioles had matched the Phillies offer,

47
00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:19,640
Speaker 1: and yet the Reds were unable to.

48
00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:23,360
Speaker 2: If you make that kind of offer five years, one

49
00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,240
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty five mil, are you really being serious

50
00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:27,720
Speaker 2: about your pursuit of Kyle Schwarten.

51
00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,079
Speaker 1: No, because I don't believe that that was ever going

52
00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:33,520
Speaker 1: to be on the table. I think that there's a

53
00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:39,639
Speaker 1: very high likelihood that the Pirates were about the exact

54
00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,440
Speaker 1: same offer. And we all know when we hear that

55
00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,760
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Pirates are in on a player, we know

56
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,760
Speaker 1: this is posturing. This is them showing their fans that

57
00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,840
Speaker 1: they're trying. Kind of feels like we're looking at the

58
00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,080
Speaker 1: exact same at the Cincinnati Reds team. I get it.

59
00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,799
Speaker 1: They understood. They say that, you know, we only have

60
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,160
Speaker 1: X amount of dollars all this other stuff, but this

61
00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:06,200
Speaker 1: was an opportunity to change the narrative, to make yourself legitimate.

62
00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,079
Speaker 1: And they scoffed at it and they said, Nope, it's

63
00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:10,840
Speaker 1: too rich for our blood. We got to move on.

64
00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:13,720
Speaker 1: And they said, this is our offer, take it or

65
00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,800
Speaker 1: leave it, and of course Kyle Schwarber got better offers.

66
00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:23,600
Speaker 2: In your opinion for the Reds understanding their financial way

67
00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,560
Speaker 2: of doing things. For lack of a better way of

68
00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,360
Speaker 2: putting it, would five years on one hundred and fifty

69
00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:30,720
Speaker 2: million dollars for Kyle Schwarber been worth it?

70
00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,480
Speaker 1: I think so, because you're definitely getting at least two,

71
00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,320
Speaker 1: maybe three of those years of elite performance in the lineup,

72
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,320
Speaker 1: something that the Reds have not had, especially in the

73
00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,480
Speaker 1: power realm. I mean, we're talking about a guy, you know,

74
00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,360
Speaker 1: former manager Dusty Baker said that he could have hit

75
00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,920
Speaker 1: seventy two in Great American Ballpark. I don't doubt that

76
00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,600
Speaker 1: there's some validity to that, but he certainly would have

77
00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,880
Speaker 1: hit fifty, probably would have hit sixty. And we're talking

78
00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,840
Speaker 1: about a guy whose pursuit of career home run marks

79
00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,880
Speaker 1: that would put him near the five hundred mark by

80
00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,960
Speaker 1: the end of this this this tenure. So I just

81
00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,760
Speaker 1: don't understand why they're going to kind of turn their

82
00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,880
Speaker 1: nose up at five million dollars more per year. This

83
00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,440
Speaker 1: is actually very similar to the reports that we heard

84
00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:19,400
Speaker 1: that the Reds had an offer on the table with

85
00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,080
Speaker 1: the Diamondbacks back at the trade deadline to get a

86
00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,360
Speaker 1: Euhenio Suarez, and the reason that they chose not to

87
00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,960
Speaker 1: pursue the offer anymore is because the Diamondbacks wanted somewhere

88
00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,920
Speaker 1: around four million dollars more in cash back in the deal.

89
00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,560
Speaker 1: And so it feels as though the one thing that

90
00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,039
Speaker 1: is untouchable in this organization is money.

91
00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,280
Speaker 2: So no, Kyle Schwarber, what's planned B? I guess the

92
00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:47,719
Speaker 2: question is what should be planned B.

93
00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,120
Speaker 1: What should be planned B is Pete Alanzo. But what

94
00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,720
Speaker 1: isn't planned B is Pete Alonzo, Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker,

95
00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,479
Speaker 1: the top shelf, right, the top shelf is just it's

96
00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,039
Speaker 1: a foreign concept to the Cincinnati Reds. And in fact,

97
00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,799
Speaker 1: I think keing Rosenthal even reported in that same article

98
00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,039
Speaker 1: where he mentioned what the Reds offer was that the

99
00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,160
Speaker 1: Reds are not in on any of the other big

100
00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,560
Speaker 1: free agents. I think that there was a report that

101
00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,000
Speaker 1: said that the Reds are linked to Cody Bellinger. I

102
00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,800
Speaker 1: think the Reds are linked to Cody Bellinger like I

103
00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,680
Speaker 1: am linked to the owner of Skyline, because I was

104
00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,719
Speaker 1: just there the other day to get me a chicken giledo.

105
00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,240
Speaker 1: And I think that that's what we're talking about here,

106
00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:33,680
Speaker 1: Like maybe they came up in conversation a little bit,

107
00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,239
Speaker 1: but I don't think that there's any real interest there,

108
00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,840
Speaker 1: or at least any legitimate interest in giving the money

109
00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:42,320
Speaker 1: that they were going to give to Kyle Schwarber to

110
00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,320
Speaker 1: any one of these other guys. Because the one thing

111
00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,400
Speaker 1: that worried me the most MO is that it felt

112
00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:53,360
Speaker 1: like this connection between the Reds and Schwarbert was due

113
00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,200
Speaker 1: to one reason and one reason only, and it's because

114
00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,000
Speaker 1: he was local. And I think that we will be

115
00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,720
Speaker 1: talking about the red it is it is, But I

116
00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,520
Speaker 1: really don't see any other reason as to why this

117
00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,320
Speaker 1: feels like it was more legitimate than the Reds getting

118
00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:13,920
Speaker 1: any one of the other guys on the top shelf.

119
00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,839
Speaker 1: I think we're going to be topying about a second tier,

120
00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,920
Speaker 1: third tier guy that will hopefully bounce back next year.

121
00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,000
Speaker 2: If you're interested in Kyle Schwarber, I don't understand why

122
00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,200
Speaker 2: you would have no interest in Pete Alonzo, Right, it

123
00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:32,159
Speaker 2: doesn't make any sense.

124
00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,799
Speaker 1: He's younger, first, he's younger, better war wise anyway.

125
00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:43,200
Speaker 2: Right, He's durable as hell. I mean, he's played in

126
00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:45,520
Speaker 2: I think one hundred and fifty two games every year

127
00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,279
Speaker 2: since he became a full time member of the New

128
00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:51,200
Speaker 2: York Mets.

129
00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:53,080
Speaker 1: And plays a defensive position.

130
00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:58,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, plays defense plays. I do not understand for the

131
00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,760
Speaker 2: life of me, why if you are interested enough in

132
00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:05,919
Speaker 2: Kyle Schwarber to at least give him a figure that

133
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,000
Speaker 2: you wouldn't just do the same with Peter Alonzo. Now,

134
00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:13,400
Speaker 2: that may not reflect with Pee Alonzo's serious pursuit, just

135
00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:15,880
Speaker 2: like it might not reflect serious pursuit five for one

136
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,160
Speaker 2: for Kyle Schwarber. I need somebody who is much smarter

137
00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,680
Speaker 2: than me to explain why if you have interest in

138
00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:28,240
Speaker 2: adding Kyle Schwarber to your team, which recognizes not just

139
00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:30,440
Speaker 2: that he's from Middletown, but on some level the fact

140
00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:32,120
Speaker 2: that they could use a guy who could hit the

141
00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,320
Speaker 2: ball out of the ballpark, why would they have no

142
00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:35,800
Speaker 2: interest at all in Peter Alonzo.

143
00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:41,840
Speaker 1: I feel like they absolutely should, and in a apples

144
00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:43,960
Speaker 1: d apples comparison with the other teams in the league

145
00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:45,840
Speaker 1: that are going for the exact same thing that they're

146
00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:49,400
Speaker 1: go for, that's what we should expect as red scenes.

147
00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,240
Speaker 1: But knowing what we know about this organization, for basically

148
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:58,440
Speaker 1: the entirety of my life, unless everything else seems to

149
00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:04,080
Speaker 1: collesse into this perfect scenario to bring a guy to Cincinnati,

150
00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,840
Speaker 1: i e. The King Grify Juniors of the world. I

151
00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:11,280
Speaker 1: just don't understand how the Reds actually do that, because

152
00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,360
Speaker 1: they've never proven that in my lifetime, to go get

153
00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,920
Speaker 1: a guy like pee Alonzo who has no other connection

154
00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,880
Speaker 1: other than we offered him money and he agreed to it,

155
00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,680
Speaker 1: because it should be that way, Mom, and I think

156
00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,200
Speaker 1: the Reds would be able to transform themselves in a

157
00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,720
Speaker 1: very similar fashion if they were to sign pee Alonzo.

158
00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:33,839
Speaker 1: But there's a very good chance that they turn around

159
00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,960
Speaker 1: and they say, we give you five years, one twenty

160
00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,520
Speaker 1: five and the Mets give pee Alonzo four years, one

161
00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,200
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty or one hundred and fifty whatever. The

162
00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,080
Speaker 1: math ends up being that it's you know, closer to

163
00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,240
Speaker 1: thirty million than what the Reds offer, And I think

164
00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:52,400
Speaker 1: that that gets that done, and Pee Alonzo stays with

165
00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,120
Speaker 1: the Mets or goes to the Yankees or goes to

166
00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,400
Speaker 1: the Red Sox or something like that. It just it

167
00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:00,960
Speaker 1: feels as though the Reds continually have this idea of

168
00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,680
Speaker 1: how much a player should cost, and that doesn't have

169
00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,440
Speaker 1: any bearing on how much other teams value players, and

170
00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:09,400
Speaker 1: that makes no sense to me.

171
00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:15,320
Speaker 2: Jeff Carr locked on Red's podcast for another few minutes. Okay,

172
00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,120
Speaker 2: So if it's not Kyle Schwarber, and then it's not

173
00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:24,079
Speaker 2: that next rung of Pete Alonzo Cody Bellinger types, and

174
00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,800
Speaker 2: you're still holding out hope that they acquire a player

175
00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:31,840
Speaker 2: via free agency, specifically, who would make sense who's in

176
00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:32,600
Speaker 2: that next tier.

177
00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:37,559
Speaker 1: So I'm looking at two different guys who would satisfy

178
00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:39,920
Speaker 1: the middle of the order idea, albeit one of them

179
00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:41,880
Speaker 1: is with power and one of them is just a

180
00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,240
Speaker 1: very steady hitter. Ryan O'Hearn, left handed guy, can play

181
00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,040
Speaker 1: first base pretty well, decent in the outfield, but not

182
00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,280
Speaker 1: like really grude, you look at him more as the

183
00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:53,120
Speaker 1: first baseman. But he would be a guy that you

184
00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:55,520
Speaker 1: could put behind Eli de la Cruz and feel good about.

185
00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,199
Speaker 1: And then Reeth Hopkins, so we had seen in Milwaukee

186
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,920
Speaker 1: who has the power, albeit it has health concerns. Both

187
00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:07,160
Speaker 1: of those guys feel like they fall squarely within the

188
00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:10,440
Speaker 1: sweet spot of what the Reds end up doing. I

189
00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,280
Speaker 1: just I really want it to be a ped Alanzo,

190
00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:14,880
Speaker 1: but I just don't think they're going to be in

191
00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:19,160
Speaker 1: that market.

192
00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,760
Speaker 2: There is there a slugger that realistically could be had

193
00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,480
Speaker 2: via trade. And when I say realistically, like if I'm

194
00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:32,720
Speaker 2: trading away a slugger, h I either have a chance

195
00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:34,680
Speaker 2: to win with that slugger and I need you to

196
00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:38,079
Speaker 2: give me something that maintains my chances of winning, or

197
00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,280
Speaker 2: I have no chance of winning with that slugger and

198
00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,719
Speaker 2: you're gonna have to overwhelm me with prospects, Like, is

199
00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,840
Speaker 2: there a like a middle of the order beat that

200
00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,559
Speaker 2: can give this team some pop that realistically would make

201
00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:51,720
Speaker 2: sense as a trade target.

202
00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:56,800
Speaker 1: Looking at there's a guy that I would prefer the

203
00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:58,880
Speaker 1: Reds go for, but I think that this would be

204
00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:00,800
Speaker 1: a guy who would almost go in front of Elie

205
00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,760
Speaker 1: de la Cruz rather than behind them. He's Jared Durant

206
00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:08,440
Speaker 1: from the Boston Red Sox. Not necessarily a slugger per se, like,

207
00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,360
Speaker 1: not a home run guy, but definitely a really good

208
00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,200
Speaker 1: hitter all around. The Red Sox reportedly want to move

209
00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,880
Speaker 1: one of their outfielders. The problem is, I think that

210
00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,680
Speaker 1: will require one of the major league starting pitchers, which

211
00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,520
Speaker 1: once again the Reds have decided that are at least

212
00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,240
Speaker 1: reportedly saying that they don't want to trade from. But

213
00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:29,440
Speaker 1: I believe that you would have to give up somebody

214
00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,319
Speaker 1: like Brady Singer or Nicolodolo or somebody like that in

215
00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,440
Speaker 1: a deal for Jared Duran, which goes back to the

216
00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:38,920
Speaker 1: reason of why we were so excited about Kyle Schwarber

217
00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,320
Speaker 1: and that it required only money and you didn't have

218
00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:46,680
Speaker 1: to get rid of anybody in your organization to do it. Yeah.

219
00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:48,720
Speaker 2: I mean, and look, I don't want to trade any

220
00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,120
Speaker 2: of those starting pitchers because I think the most overblown

221
00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,559
Speaker 2: thing is, well, the Reds have a surplus. Well, if

222
00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:55,200
Speaker 2: they did, they wouldn't have kind of run out at

223
00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,160
Speaker 2: the end of the season last year. But okay, fine,

224
00:11:58,200 --> 00:11:59,719
Speaker 2: if they're not going to pay top dollar for a

225
00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:04,640
Speaker 2: free agent slugger, then they're unless it's just scrape the

226
00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:08,000
Speaker 2: bargain basement, try to turn over stones and find hidden gems.

227
00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:12,440
Speaker 2: Then if it's addressed that area via trade, you're almost

228
00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:14,400
Speaker 2: gonna have You're gonna have to trade from your place

229
00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,040
Speaker 2: of strength. Well, I don't think they have a surplus

230
00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,959
Speaker 2: of starting pitching. Clearly, starting pitching is their strength.

231
00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,760
Speaker 1: Right, And I also think that, I mean, because Boston's

232
00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:26,319
Speaker 1: looking for and it's gonna be at the top of

233
00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,680
Speaker 1: the rotation. Kind of feel like Sunny Grades their number

234
00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,120
Speaker 1: two right now, and they love Garrett Crochet, but if

235
00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:36,480
Speaker 1: they could get themselves another another ace to go alongside them,

236
00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:39,240
Speaker 1: I think that's probably who they're looking for, which then

237
00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,080
Speaker 1: brings in the Hunter Green thing, which Terry Francona shut

238
00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:48,160
Speaker 1: down yesterday. But I think that you're right, like it

239
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,600
Speaker 1: feels as though the Reds have to do one of

240
00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,520
Speaker 1: two things. They need to either go spend money for

241
00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,400
Speaker 1: a marquee bat on the free agent's list, or they

242
00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:02,359
Speaker 1: need to spend the prospects or the player necessarily necessary

243
00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,679
Speaker 1: in trade to acquire that big bat. But it feels

244
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,559
Speaker 1: as though the Reds are telling us that they're not

245
00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,480
Speaker 1: gonna do either one of those things, and that they

246
00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,080
Speaker 1: will continue to look for upgrades the way they always have.

247
00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:17,800
Speaker 1: And that's what worries me the most about the off

248
00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,319
Speaker 1: season moving forward, because it doesn't feel like it feels

249
00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:21,920
Speaker 1: like they're going to go out They're going to sign

250
00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,000
Speaker 1: Scott Barlow, Brett sueterback, and they might even sign Miguel

251
00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,200
Speaker 1: Andrew harback and say, there we go. We had an

252
00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,920
Speaker 1: off season and they just run back the roster that

253
00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,560
Speaker 1: they had from last year. I just I.

254
00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,960
Speaker 2: Worry that on some level we're just going to see

255
00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:43,400
Speaker 2: another revolving door of Will Benson's Jacob Herdabis's new version

256
00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:49,239
Speaker 2: for resigns, like and look, man, they made the postseason

257
00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:55,400
Speaker 2: last year, but offensively they need it was so obvious

258
00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,880
Speaker 2: what they should do. And for me, man like, I

259
00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,280
Speaker 2: get it. It's not my money. For me, it's add

260
00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:05,280
Speaker 2: the slugger, send a message, enjoy the goodwill that comes

261
00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:10,680
Speaker 2: from it, and rebrand by extending your budget and paying

262
00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:15,240
Speaker 2: top dollar for Kyle Schwarber. I've made this point. I've

263
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,240
Speaker 2: done it on your podcast, I've done it on this show.

264
00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,480
Speaker 2: There's a major difference between not having the money for

265
00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,800
Speaker 2: something and not being willing to go outside your budget.

266
00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,080
Speaker 2: This because of all of the tangible pure baseball benefits,

267
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:31,800
Speaker 2: but all of the ancillary benefits. Kyle Schwarber and Pete

268
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,040
Speaker 2: Alonso are the type of players that are worth going

269
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,960
Speaker 2: outside your budget for, and in the absence of that,

270
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,880
Speaker 2: I do not trust them. Despite whatever goodwill they may

271
00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,120
Speaker 2: have built by qualifying for the postseason last year, I

272
00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,240
Speaker 2: do not trust them to solve this glaring issue by

273
00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,920
Speaker 2: doing a piecemeal or doing it with bargain basement guys

274
00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,960
Speaker 2: or even executing trades. And so that to me is

275
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,200
Speaker 2: why this is as unrealistic as it may have seen.

276
00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:01,520
Speaker 2: It's still disappointing for those.

277
00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:06,520
Speaker 1: Reasons, right, and because making the postseason is the opening act.

278
00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:08,840
Speaker 1: I think if you look at it in the way

279
00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,800
Speaker 1: that everybody should, once you make it into the postseason,

280
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,080
Speaker 1: all right, what are you doing next? For us? But

281
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,000
Speaker 1: it feels as though we are hearing from the Reds organization,

282
00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,840
Speaker 1: well didn't you see what we just did? We we

283
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,400
Speaker 1: made the postseedson, Yeah, we did that.

284
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,600
Speaker 2: So made it in game one. Sixty two is the

285
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,800
Speaker 2: last seed when the postseason has never been watered down.

286
00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,160
Speaker 2: I don't want to diminish that as as tangible evidence

287
00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,960
Speaker 2: that what they're doing has worked. But it's not. I

288
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,200
Speaker 2: want to win ninety seven games and run away with

289
00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:41,160
Speaker 2: the National League Central and go into the postseason able

290
00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,040
Speaker 2: to set up your rotation and take a week off

291
00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,600
Speaker 2: before Game one of the NLDS, And until they're in

292
00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,680
Speaker 2: a position to do that, until you can look at

293
00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:52,480
Speaker 2: their team and say that is a bona fide possibility,

294
00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:56,520
Speaker 2: I just don't take them serious as championship contenders. And

295
00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,640
Speaker 2: so maybe next year. Yet it's scrape by, barely get

296
00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,480
Speaker 2: in and they get hot, but scrape by and barely

297
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,600
Speaker 2: get in and then get hot and not be what

298
00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,840
Speaker 2: you're hanging your hat on. And it feels to a

299
00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:08,800
Speaker 2: large degree that that's what they hang their hat on.

300
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:10,880
Speaker 2: See what we did last year, you know what, we

301
00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,240
Speaker 2: won another eighty three, eighty four games. We scrape in

302
00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,520
Speaker 2: and then you know, who knows what's gonna happen. That

303
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:17,720
Speaker 2: shouldn't be the goal, and yet it feels to a

304
00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,680
Speaker 2: large degree for a lot of fans like it is.

305
00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:24,840
Speaker 1: It is, and that's that's what the messaging seems to

306
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,080
Speaker 1: be coming out of. And may I also interest you

307
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,960
Speaker 1: on top of that, they like to break even on

308
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,640
Speaker 1: their budget too. That's another another thing that they're really

309
00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:37,440
Speaker 1: shooting for. And it's beaten. It's beat me down. The

310
00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,840
Speaker 1: last well four hours, I guess is when we've heard

311
00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,160
Speaker 1: the news. But understanding like where the Reds were in

312
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,120
Speaker 1: this process, where we thought they were and where they

313
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,760
Speaker 1: ended up is what has kind of just flattened me

314
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,760
Speaker 1: a little bit. And when you look at everything that

315
00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,840
Speaker 1: the Reds need to do, which isn't much, I don't

316
00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:00,520
Speaker 1: I don't feel like they've got to go get half

317
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,200
Speaker 1: of a team. But if you go get a legitimate

318
00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,760
Speaker 1: slugger man, everybody else in the major leagues takes you seriously.

319
00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,560
Speaker 1: But that legitimate slugger is not Miguelian dr That is

320
00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:15,000
Speaker 1: a savvy footnote of a move, But it feels like

321
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,320
Speaker 1: we're going to be sold that as the feature.

322
00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:23,280
Speaker 2: Frustrated.

323
00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,720
Speaker 1: I want to I want to bring a smile to

324
00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:29,920
Speaker 1: your face about this, but man or man shouldn't.

325
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:35,680
Speaker 2: I shouldn't be as frustrated as I am, because I

326
00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:40,960
Speaker 2: never I never looked at this as the likely outcome,

327
00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:46,080
Speaker 2: but it felt like a possible one. And it's just

328
00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,120
Speaker 2: such a missed opportunity. I've talked about this so much,

329
00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:52,320
Speaker 2: such a missed opportunity to send a surge of excitement

330
00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:54,440
Speaker 2: through your fan base, and I think there's so much

331
00:17:54,600 --> 00:18:00,399
Speaker 2: value to that that you can't necessarily immediately quantify five

332
00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:05,560
Speaker 2: or judge in dollars. And I got to a point

333
00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:07,359
Speaker 2: where I at least allowed myself to think that it

334
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,080
Speaker 2: was possible, even if I acknowledged it wasn't likely. And

335
00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:12,879
Speaker 2: so maybe I'm the full and maybe maybe we're all

336
00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:15,760
Speaker 2: foolish for believing they could get this done and probably are, so.

337
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:22,960
Speaker 1: I don't know what I also know too, you're you're

338
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:27,360
Speaker 1: very much enthusiasm for wearing the name of another man

339
00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:28,840
Speaker 1: on the back of your shirt, and so I know

340
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,840
Speaker 1: you were sizing yourself up for a number twelve Schwarmer jersey,

341
00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:36,000
Speaker 1: and now you have to look at a number four

342
00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:37,399
Speaker 1: noelvi Marte jersey.

343
00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,520
Speaker 2: I like noelve Marte. I would have bought a cop

344
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:44,760
Speaker 2: I would have if that's what it would have taken. Hey,

345
00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:47,879
Speaker 2: you buy a jersey, we sign him. I'd have done it.

346
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:53,240
Speaker 2: Nobody asked me, But I I just I wonder. I don't.

347
00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:56,080
Speaker 2: I don't want to. I don't want to poo poo

348
00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:58,160
Speaker 2: what they did last year, because again, like you got

349
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,280
Speaker 2: to get to the postseason, you gotta, I mean, was

350
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:01,800
Speaker 2: a big deal and it was fun. It was fun

351
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,760
Speaker 2: watching him play those games in September, was fun watching

352
00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,480
Speaker 2: him play in the postseason, even if those games didn't

353
00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:11,159
Speaker 2: go well. But like my take from from the moment

354
00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,240
Speaker 2: game to an la ended is the next step is

355
00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,359
Speaker 2: the most difficult one. The next step is probably gonna

356
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:22,320
Speaker 2: require a major acquisition to make the offense dramatically better.

357
00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:24,480
Speaker 2: I don't know that it's gonna come from within. That

358
00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,639
Speaker 2: doesn't mean there's not room for players who were on

359
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,080
Speaker 2: the team last year to get better. It doesn't. That

360
00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:31,719
Speaker 2: doesn't mean that a huge reason why the Reds are

361
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,200
Speaker 2: better in twenty twenty six isn't gonna come from improvement

362
00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,840
Speaker 2: from guys who were here a year ago. But and again,

363
00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:39,840
Speaker 2: it's just one guy. But to hear you know, well,

364
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,480
Speaker 2: they're not connected to any of these other dudes. And

365
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:44,679
Speaker 2: then to make the assumption, and I think it's a

366
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,600
Speaker 2: fair one that they were in on Kyle Swarber because

367
00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:48,800
Speaker 2: of where he's from. Like, that's not how you run

368
00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,040
Speaker 2: a legitimate major League baseball team. So if Kyle Schwarber

369
00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:54,760
Speaker 2: was from Illinois, they wouldn't have been interested. Like are

370
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,520
Speaker 2: you kidding me? Like that's that they were interested in

371
00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,800
Speaker 2: because he's from the greatest Cincinnati area. Yeah, I want

372
00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,600
Speaker 2: to tell you that that's totally implausible. But knowing what

373
00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,320
Speaker 2: we know about some of the things the Reds have done,

374
00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:05,720
Speaker 2: I can't.

375
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,720
Speaker 1: And that's what is the most maddening, because the same

376
00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,480
Speaker 1: thing applies from Schwarber to Alonzo is that all you

377
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,400
Speaker 1: have to do is give up some money and then

378
00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:18,359
Speaker 1: you get the guy that you need. It's not the

379
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:21,040
Speaker 1: scenario where we were, you know, a decade ago or

380
00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,240
Speaker 1: twenty years ago or however long ago. Whenever they make

381
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,760
Speaker 1: this big trade or that big signing, but it feels

382
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,600
Speaker 1: like they still need to put pieces around that guy.

383
00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:31,879
Speaker 1: This is the peace that they put around the guys

384
00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,000
Speaker 1: they've got, but they just don't seem to want to

385
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,600
Speaker 1: make that move to get that one piece. Pete Alonzo

386
00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,720
Speaker 1: would make this team a National League Central Division contender,

387
00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,560
Speaker 1: and that is what people thought whenever they were going

388
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:49,919
Speaker 1: after Kyle Schwarber, Miguel and Andrew Harr, Ryan O'Hearn, Reese Hoskins.

389
00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:51,320
Speaker 1: Don't do that.

390
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:55,760
Speaker 2: Awesome as always, Thank you so much.

391
00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,920
Speaker 1: Wats that soon hopefully happier times. No, I appreciate you.

392
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:01,119
Speaker 1: Thank you having you go.

393
00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,720
Speaker 2: Jeff Carr. Check out the Lockdown Reds podcast. We are

394
00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,040
Speaker 2: insanely late. I've been awful with time today. This is

395
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:07,240
Speaker 2: ESPN fifteen thirty