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Speaker 1: This is the Budweiser reds Hot Stove League.

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Speaker 2: The Red Surround the Radio.

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Speaker 1: architect of the reds Tom's Watchbar. All the sports, all

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Speaker 3: Deep to center Field, going back at the Wall, lived

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Speaker 3: it in Long Gone Ellie Dayla.

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Speaker 2: Cruz, the red Z around the Radio.

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Speaker 1: Now the reds Hot Stove League.

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Speaker 3: Hey, very delightful, good evening to you, and welcome in

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Speaker 3: to the Budweiser reds Hot Stove League presented by you

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Speaker 3: DF and we are live of the bed MGM Sportsbook

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Speaker 3: Back inside Tom's watchbar at the Banks and the band's

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Speaker 3: back together with Jim. Tommie throws. Great to be with

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Speaker 3: you talking Reds baseball for the next hour, and we've

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Speaker 3: got plenty to discuss on the show today. We've got

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Speaker 3: a great lineup of guests. We will have Chris fialaka

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Speaker 3: red Sitting Coach, joining us at the bottom of the

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Speaker 3: hour and coming up very shortly. Red's outfielder TJ. Friedel

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Speaker 3: will be on with us Jim. There were a few

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Speaker 3: things that came out of the news over the last

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Speaker 3: week since the show last aired. Probably most notably is

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Speaker 3: the trade for left handed reliever brock Burke, is part

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Speaker 3: of a three team deal that sent Gavin Lux to

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Speaker 3: the Rays. One of the things that the Reds wanted

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Speaker 3: to do this offseason was improve the offense, certainly, but

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Speaker 3: also make sure that they had a few more weapons

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Speaker 3: in the bullpen. They've done a good job. I feel

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Speaker 3: like this offseason of certainly improving the bullpen. They have

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Speaker 3: certainly done their work in the bullpen. And what this

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Speaker 3: does when you add a brock Burke. Obviously it's a.

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Speaker 4: Left handed arm and the Reds were lacking that, but

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Speaker 4: adding him and Caleb Ferguson and Pierce Johnson. It really

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Speaker 4: lengthens out the bullpen because there are only so many

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Speaker 4: high leverage type guys, so you don't have to rely

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Speaker 4: at least on paper. At least on paper, you don't

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Speaker 4: have to rely on Tony Santion right and Emilio Pagon

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Speaker 4: and Graham Ashcraft every single day.

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Speaker 5: You've got other guys now that have been in high leverage.

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Speaker 4: Situations, have had success in high leverage situations for several years.

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Speaker 4: So it really not only lengthens it out by numbers,

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Speaker 4: but it lengthens out the guys you can trust in

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Speaker 4: high leverage situation.

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Speaker 3: One of the things, and we just had Reds Fest

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Speaker 3: this past weekend, and I'm sure many of you listening

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Speaker 3: today were at reds Fest and had a chance to

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Speaker 3: check in on some of the q and a's. I

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Speaker 3: did one with Nick Crawl, Brad Metter, and Terry fran Conen.

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Speaker 3: One of the things that really stood out to me

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Speaker 3: that that Tito said is, look, having more weapons in

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Speaker 3: the bullpen means that you have the luxury to go

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Speaker 3: out and chase some of those wins when you might

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Speaker 3: be down a run or two, as opposed to just

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Speaker 3: kind of having to punt because there are games and

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Speaker 3: this is one of those things that can be tough

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Speaker 3: to understand because you think, well, why don't you try

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Speaker 3: to win every game? You're only down a run, maybe two,

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Speaker 3: why don't you go for it. Well, because if you're

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Speaker 3: already trailing and you go out and you use your

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Speaker 3: best relievers chase that win and you don't get that

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Speaker 3: run or two to come back, well, now you've just

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Speaker 3: burnt those relievers for.

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Speaker 2: The next day.

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Speaker 3: Perhaps this gives you the luxury to be able to

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Speaker 3: do that, which might be able to net you a

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Speaker 3: couple more wins throughout the course of the season.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, welcome to life as a big league skipper.

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Speaker 4: Because the moves that you make are obviously affecting that game,

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Speaker 4: but it also affects you seven days in the future

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Speaker 4: as well.

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Speaker 5: Particularly with the bullpen.

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Speaker 4: There's no more effect on a long term effect one

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Speaker 4: move can make on a bull than the bullpen. So

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Speaker 4: completely agree. I think there are solid moves and hopefully

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Speaker 4: the Reds have reached their goal. Who knows, they might

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Speaker 4: not be done, but right now the bullpen on paper

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Speaker 4: is a pretty good one.

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Speaker 3: It sounds like there are more moves to be made.

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Speaker 3: They definitely are trying to still improve the lineup. A

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Speaker 3: couple other headlines this week, Ellie de la Cruz has

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Speaker 3: been announced will not be playing in the World Baseball

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Speaker 3: Classic as initially intended. Also a report that he turned

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Speaker 3: down a Reds record offer last spring, which have made

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Speaker 3: him the highest paid Red of all time.

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Speaker 2: But he turned that down.

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Speaker 3: Really, Jim, when you look at it, this is a

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Speaker 3: guy that's eligible to be a free agent after the

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Speaker 3: twenty twenty nine season. It's not a huge surprise, but

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Speaker 3: it also shows the Reds made an effort to try

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Speaker 3: to invest in in Elly long term.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, not a big surprise, and I think a bigger

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Speaker 4: deal is being made of it because I would like

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Speaker 4: to just concentrate on the four years they have him

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Speaker 4: under control, and hopefully they can put a roster around

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Speaker 4: him to win while he is here, and who knows,

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Speaker 4: You don't know what the future holds. He's banking on himself,

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Speaker 4: and if he becomes the player we all think he

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Speaker 4: can be, then he's going to exceed that offer that

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Speaker 4: he got. But we'll see you're banking on yourself.

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Speaker 3: It's gonna be a big bank if he's a big

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Speaker 3: bank pun intended he reaches that potential. Well, we've got

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Speaker 3: TJ Friedel on the line, Red's outfielder as we continue

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Speaker 3: to talk Reds baseball and we welcome in TJ.

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Speaker 2: TJ.

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Speaker 3: Great sceni this weekend. How's your offseason been, my friend?

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Speaker 6: Yeah, great scene you guys, thanks for having me on.

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Speaker 6: I appreciate it. And Sea has been good. Just a

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Speaker 6: lot of family time, just hanging out with my wife

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Speaker 6: and the boys and being a stay at home dad

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Speaker 6: for a short period of time. But you know, I've

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Speaker 6: been ramping up for a while now, and I think

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Speaker 6: having read Fast this past weekend was great because they

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Speaker 6: got everyone excited for spring training, and you know spring

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Speaker 6: trains right around the corner. I'll be heading now in

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Speaker 6: a couple of weeks, so just kind of got everyone excited.

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Speaker 6: You have to see the boys again and everyone got

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Speaker 6: to be together. So all season has been good, but

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Speaker 6: now it's time to ramp up.

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Speaker 3: Well, we'll certainly get into the baseball side of it.

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Speaker 3: But you mentioned the two boys that you are chasing

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Speaker 3: around now. Is parenthood different now that you guys are

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Speaker 3: in a man to man defense as opposed to Yeah,

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Speaker 3: two on one zone yeah, exactly.

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Speaker 6: That's that's so funny, excepts that's like commonly referred to

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Speaker 6: as man and man defense, and it's a lot. Man,

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Speaker 6: you've got a four year old running around at home

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Speaker 6: and he wants to plan it back you already wants

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Speaker 6: to play baseball, and you got to manage the newborn.

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Speaker 6: He's five months old now, so it's like you got

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Speaker 6: to keep an eye on him, can't leave him alone.

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Speaker 6: So it's and then the four year old wants to

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Speaker 6: play with our newborn Jonah all the time, and he's

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Speaker 6: trying to explain to him, hey, you can't really do much,

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Speaker 6: not yet. Soon you guys can play together, but right

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Speaker 6: now he just kind of sits there. So but it's great,

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Speaker 6: it's special and for me getting to have this time

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Speaker 6: with them, I just try and soak it all in,

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Speaker 6: you know, be present as much as I can. It

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Speaker 6: is difficult though, playing the man to make coverage is difficult,

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Speaker 6: that's for sure.

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Speaker 4: Well, it was great seeing them running around and of

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Speaker 4: course Dad was chasing them all the time at the

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Speaker 4: time that you did have free at Redsfest, So it

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Speaker 4: was great and it's going to be great to see

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Speaker 4: them grow up on the baseball side, We've heard so

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Speaker 4: many guys they trying to learn their major league body,

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Speaker 4: if you will. Some guys were put on weight and

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Speaker 4: they're like, Okay, that didn't work, I'm gonna take off weight.

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Speaker 5: I worked on my legs. Okay, that didn't work.

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Speaker 4: You're kind of deeper into it now, have you figured

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Speaker 4: out what you need to work on to get ready

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Speaker 4: for a season and what is that specifically this offseason?

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Speaker 6: Yeah, I've been. I mean, I put on weight, didn't

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Speaker 6: like it, felt slow, went back down weight. But like

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Speaker 6: I'm pretty consistent with where I'm at now over the

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Speaker 6: last three years. Comes with where I'm at way wise,

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Speaker 6: and being able to keep it on during the season

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Speaker 6: and build strength and then carry that strength throughout the

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Speaker 6: whole season. For me, I kind of like to set simple,

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Speaker 6: realistic goals in the off season. So like hitting wise,

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Speaker 6: for me, I'm not changing anything in my stance, not

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Speaker 6: changing anything mechanically, But for me, I'm working a lot

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Speaker 6: on early count approach and aggressiveness early on in the

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Speaker 6: account and just being more aggressive and honting certain pitches.

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Speaker 6: So it's more approach based than anything for hitting wise.

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Speaker 6: But the biggest focus for me this offseason has been

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Speaker 6: defensively and it's a lot of it's been working on

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Speaker 6: like an imaginary ten foot circle, like a ten foot

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Speaker 6: radius circle around my body, and it's really working on

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Speaker 6: how fast I can explode ten feet in every direction.

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Speaker 6: So it's just like the initial burst off the bat,

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Speaker 6: covering ground in every direction because that's an area that

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Speaker 6: I can improve on in something that will help me

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Speaker 6: with my angles and with the route efficiency. But if

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Speaker 6: I can really explode out of the first ten feet,

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Speaker 6: and this is stuff that means. CC went over towards

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Speaker 6: the end of the year and he's been great. Him

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Speaker 6: and FuMO are string coach. I have been great kind

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Speaker 6: of working with me and giving me drills and things

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Speaker 6: to do in the off season to really maximize my

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Speaker 6: work when I'm doing those kind of things. So it's

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Speaker 6: been good.

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Speaker 3: Is there an element of getting a read off the

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Speaker 3: bat that goes along with that too.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, for sure, and that'll that comes just you know,

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Speaker 6: with experience. A lot of it is just instinct and

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Speaker 6: with experience, and those are things that like you work

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Speaker 6: on that when it's fung goos, they're during BP, right,

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Speaker 6: if guys are out here hitting BP, I'll go out

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Speaker 6: in the center field and I'll shag and that's we'll

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Speaker 6: really get the best work of just getting a true

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Speaker 6: read off the bat. But with that, it is like

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Speaker 6: the intent of how fast can I be out of

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Speaker 6: this ten foot circle? And sometimes there's like when I'm

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Speaker 6: working on it, there's times where I explode too quick

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Speaker 6: in one route and then I got to recorrect. But

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Speaker 6: if I can explode out in that certain direction, it

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Speaker 6: gives me time to make that correction without being late

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Speaker 6: to the ball.

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Speaker 3: Well, TJ, We've got plenty more to ask you about

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Speaker 3: just getting started here with TJ Friedel. We've got to

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Speaker 3: get to a breakdough, So stick around and we'll have

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Speaker 3: more with TJ. Friedel when we come back. It's the

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Speaker 3: Budweiser reds Hot Stove Lea presented by UDF Live, the

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Speaker 3: bet MGM Sports Book, Inside Tom's Watch, Martha Banks on

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Speaker 3: the Reds Radio Network, Welcome back into the Budweiser reds

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Speaker 3: Hot Stove Lake presented by df Live, the bet MGM

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Speaker 3: Sports Book and Side and Tom's watchbar Ats Banks, Jim Day,

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Speaker 3: I'm Tommy Throw great to be with you and we've

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Speaker 3: got TJ. Friedel on the line talking some Reds Baseball

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Speaker 3: and TJ. You were talking about your offensive approach there

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Speaker 3: a little bit, and there was a point, especially through

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Speaker 3: the first couple of months of the season, where you

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Speaker 3: were one of the best hitters on this team.

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Speaker 2: For you, when things are going.

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Speaker 3: Really good for you offensively, what is it that's working

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Speaker 3: for you and what did you kind of experience when

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Speaker 3: you struggled a little bit.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, I think early on in the especially in the

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Speaker 6: first half, you know, I was able to handle that

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Speaker 6: fastball at the top of the zone, which I know

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Speaker 6: only get a lot, and there was mostly just kind

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Speaker 6: of sticking to that approach of driving the ball to

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Speaker 6: left center, especially whe they're shifted, trying to drive the

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Speaker 6: ball to left center in that area, and then if

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Speaker 6: they come in or they come in with an offspeed,

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Speaker 6: then it's just reactionary for me because I know I

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Speaker 6: could pull the ball, so I'm not going to try

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Speaker 6: and do that. But for me, it's just reacting to

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Speaker 6: that and letting the rest take care of itself. And

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Speaker 6: I think once I kind of got into the second

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Speaker 6: half and I started trying to push the ball that

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Speaker 6: way in a sense instead of just sticking to that

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Speaker 6: approach and letting it travel. I think I tried to

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Speaker 6: overcorrect and do a little too much and trying to

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Speaker 6: go that way and started kind of flaring the ball

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Speaker 6: to left field and getting under especially those heaters at

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Speaker 6: the top of his own I started barrel started dropping

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Speaker 6: just a little bit, and then that's really all it needs,

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Speaker 6: and then it turned into a pop up. So I

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Speaker 6: think for me, like the biggest focus is just having

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Speaker 6: a feel for one hundred and sixty two games for

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Speaker 6: the whole season, where when things aren't feeling the best

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Speaker 6: or maybe my top hands getting a little tired, having

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Speaker 6: certain drills to fall back on and certain things that

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Speaker 6: do and me and Val talked about this at the

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Speaker 6: end of the season, just having some drills and they

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Speaker 6: all season to work on, especially like more top hand

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Speaker 6: dominance of staying on top of the heaters, especially now

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Speaker 6: in the game, because so many pitchers from ninety nine

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Speaker 6: with ride at the top of the zone and that's

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Speaker 6: so hard to handle. Even if your bat drops the

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Speaker 6: tiniest amount, that's all it takes to you is swinging

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Speaker 6: this or pop up. So I've been really like hammering down,

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Speaker 6: implementing top hendrows and doing some Velo machine which is

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Speaker 6: my top hand, and then using that as my feel

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Speaker 6: for July and August once you get to the dog

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Speaker 6: days where maybe the body's a little tired that day,

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Speaker 6: but having a feel to go back to to help

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Speaker 6: simplify the approach.

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Speaker 4: If you guys go into the season with who you

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Speaker 4: have now, it'll basically be about the same group as

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Speaker 4: last year.

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Speaker 5: How do you think you.

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Speaker 4: Individually or even collectively, you guys can score more runs consistently.

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Speaker 5: I know that's a loaded question.

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Speaker 4: It's easy for me to ask, it easy for me

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Speaker 4: to answer, But how.

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Speaker 5: Do you see it?

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Speaker 6: You know? I feel like for us as an offense,

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Speaker 6: I think it's just feeding off of each other. And

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Speaker 6: there were times last year, especially in the second half,

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Speaker 6: where there was a lot of us kind of pressing

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Speaker 6: to get that big home run, to get that big

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Speaker 6: hit instead of just when we play our best, it's

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Speaker 6: just one after another and just keeping the line moving.

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Speaker 6: You know, last year we took a lot of pride

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Speaker 6: and being tough outs, and we wanted to get up

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Speaker 6: in the box and just be a tough out, whatever

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Speaker 6: that meant. But put together good at bat, be a

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Speaker 6: tough out, hit the ball hard, and then I think

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Speaker 6: you know, as once we got in the second half,

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Speaker 6: I think, you know, myself included, I'm guilty of it

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Speaker 6: as well, pressing in some situations and just forcing trying

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Speaker 6: to force that big hit, trying to force that that

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Speaker 6: whatever it may be, and that's hitting's already hard, right

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Speaker 6: and doing that on top of it and trying to

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Speaker 6: force that only makes it harder for us as an offense.

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Speaker 6: Like you said, a lot of us are returning. It's

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Speaker 6: going to be a very similar lineup, plus a few

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Speaker 6: really good pieces that we picked up, and I think

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Speaker 6: it's just going to be keeping the line moving for

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Speaker 6: us offensively. It's not a one man effort, right, But

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Speaker 6: it's thirteen guys. We got thirteen guys, thirteen hitters out there,

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Speaker 6: and it's one through thirteen no matter what. And that's

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Speaker 6: their mindset, and I think that helps take the pressure

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Speaker 6: off individually so that we can all go perform.

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Speaker 3: You touched on something right there, and I want to

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Speaker 3: talk to Chris Valka about it a little bit later

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Speaker 3: on from a coaching perspective, but you talked about, you know,

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Speaker 3: you guys are trying to hit the big home run

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Speaker 3: at times, and I think fans look at this team

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Speaker 3: and they see that this group doesn't hit a ton

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Speaker 3: of home runs. You've talked about it before that you

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Speaker 3: don't look at yourself as a home run hitter. But

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Speaker 3: how difficult is it to avoid the trap of trying

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Speaker 3: to hit a home run in a key moment?

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Speaker 2: Because you can hit home runs. I mean it's not

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Speaker 2: like you can't hit them.

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Speaker 3: You've hit several throughout the course of your career, almost

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Speaker 3: at a twenty home run season a few years ago.

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Speaker 2: But how.

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Speaker 3: Difficult is it to resist that temptation and stay within

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Speaker 3: yourself when you know that's not deep down your game?

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Speaker 6: Yeah, And I can tell you one thing's for certain.

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Speaker 6: I've never hit a home run when I'm trying to

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Speaker 6: hit a home run. And I don't know many baseball

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Speaker 6: players out there that do hit a home run every

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Speaker 6: time they try and hit a home run. But you know,

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Speaker 6: I think, for me, right, especially like you said, I'm

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Speaker 6: not a home run hitter. But it'll come, and I

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Speaker 6: know it'll come. But for me, my home runs come

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Speaker 6: when my approach is hitting the fastball, squaring the fastball

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Speaker 6: up to left center center field, and then anything else

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Speaker 6: that hangs or anything soft. And I can go poolside

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Speaker 6: with it and then the rest takes care of itself.

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Speaker 6: But I think the trap is trying to hit home runs.

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Speaker 6: That's the trap. And I think that's the trap as

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Speaker 6: a baseball player, league wide, no matter if you're young

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Speaker 6: or if you're the MLB. Trying to hit a home run,

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Speaker 6: trying to lift the ball in the ears the hardest

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Speaker 6: thing to do. That's why nobody hits one hundred home

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Speaker 6: runs in a season. That's not But I think if

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Speaker 6: you have a line driver, gap to gap approach, then

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Speaker 6: your homers come, and that's what our offensive identity is.

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Speaker 6: And just let the home runs come.

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Speaker 5: How are your legs right now?

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Speaker 4: At times the coaching staff or the manager said we

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Speaker 4: got to protect TJ a little bit. You've had some

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Speaker 4: injuries along the way. Do you think that some off days,

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Speaker 4: some more off days will help you in that regard?

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Speaker 4: And where are you at right now with I guess

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Speaker 4: we'll say you're getting up there now, TJ.

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Speaker 5: I mean, you know you got aging legs. I'm kidding.

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Speaker 6: I mean, I don't know about I don't know about you,

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Speaker 6: but I'm twenty five. In my head, I'm twenty five

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Speaker 6: years old. No, but you know like you said, in

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Speaker 6: twenty four, having a couple of injuries, and I was

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Speaker 6: very protective of my body in twenty four because I

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Speaker 6: didn't want to go back on the IO and I

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Speaker 6: didn't want to deal with that again. And yeah, so

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Speaker 6: I was a little too overprotective of what I was

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Speaker 6: going through. And last year I took a lot of

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Speaker 6: time and spent a lot of time investing in my health,

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Speaker 6: spent a lot of time investing in my body, and

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Speaker 6: last year, recovery was probably the utmost importance than it's

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Speaker 6: ever been in my career. And nutrition and recovery was

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Speaker 6: so important to me, and that's why there were times

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Speaker 6: last year where you know, Tito and Freddy came up

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Speaker 6: to me and wanted me to take a day off,

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Speaker 6: and I didn't want a day off. I felt good,

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Speaker 6: I felt like I was in a good spot, and

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Speaker 6: for me, it was I just wanted to be available

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Speaker 6: every single day. I wanted to be a consistent name

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Speaker 6: for Tito to write the lineup every single day. And

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Speaker 6: having a healthy season last year, I feel like I

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Speaker 6: know kind of where my body is and what it needs,

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Speaker 6: and I'm able to understand my body better on days

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Speaker 6: where I might not be feeling the best and then

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Speaker 6: how to get my body ready that day to perform.

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Speaker 6: And so I think that just comes with age and

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Speaker 6: maturity in this game and going through the grind of

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Speaker 6: one hundred and sixty two games for my fourth year,

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Speaker 6: just understanding my body and knowing what it needs. But anyway,

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Speaker 6: I feel great.

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Speaker 2: Glad to hear that. Appreciate the time, and we'll see

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Speaker 2: in a few weeks out in Arizona.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, you guys do all right?

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Speaker 2: Thanks, thanks so much. That is Red's outfielder t J. Friedel.

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Speaker 3: We're back with Red's hitting coach Chris Pailika next as

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Speaker 3: the Butterweiser reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF continues

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Speaker 3: live the bet MGM Sports Book inside Tom's Watch Bar

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Speaker 3: at the Banks on the Reds Radio Network. Welcome back

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Speaker 3: in It's the Butterwiser reds Hot Steve League presented by UDF.

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Speaker 3: Down here at the pet MGM Sports Book inside Tom's

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Speaker 3: Watch Bar at the Banks with Jim Day. I'm Tommy

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Speaker 3: throw be a part of Red's history. Tickets for the

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Speaker 3: twenty twenty six Reds Hall of Fame Induction Gala on

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Speaker 3: April twenty sixth at the Cincinnati Convention Center. By the way,

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Speaker 3: it looks great. They're on sale now at Redsmuseum dot org.

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Speaker 3: Join the Reds as they honor the Hall of Fame's

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Speaker 3: Class of twenty twenty six. Speaking of Hall of Fame,

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Speaker 3: big congratulations to a couple of guys that were a

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Speaker 3: lot of fun to watch play the game, especially patrolling

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Speaker 3: centerfield and their big league careers, and that would be

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Speaker 3: Carlos Beltron and Andrew Jones. Those are two guys very

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Speaker 3: similar in the way that they would go about center field. Now,

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Speaker 3: a few center fielders better at it than Andrew Jones,

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Speaker 3: but both of them when they went after the ball,

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Speaker 3: they first of all, they could run down just about everything,

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Speaker 3: and they made it look far easier than what it was.

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Speaker 2: Those two guys they just kind.

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Speaker 3: Of glide across the outfield and float as they'd track

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Speaker 3: down fly balls. Both great defenders, excellent offensive players as well,

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Speaker 3: tremendous Hall of Fame worthy careers, very deserving, So congratulations

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Speaker 3: to both absolutely, and I mean we've both watched a

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Speaker 3: lot of those two guys over their careers.

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Speaker 2: And they were there to the best.

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Speaker 4: Oh, Andrew Jones just robbing everything, I mean, he he

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Speaker 4: in particular for me, I mean Beltran, They're both great players,

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Speaker 4: but it seems like head to head a lot.

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Speaker 5: I watched a lot more of Andrew Jones.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I had a chance growing up in Kansas City,

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Speaker 3: watched a lot of Carlos Beltron, especially early in his career,

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Speaker 3: and both electric players. So congratulations to both of those

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Speaker 3: guys on their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That,

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Speaker 3: of course, will be coming up later on this summer.

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Speaker 3: Continuing talk Reds Baseball and Red's hitting in particular, as

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Speaker 3: we welcome in Red's hitting coach, Chris valaika Vu. Thanks

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Speaker 3: so much for being on with us and good to

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Speaker 3: see you as well this weekend at the Convention Center

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Speaker 3: during Reds Fest.

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Speaker 2: And how's your winter going at this point?

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Speaker 7: He's good, guys, Thank thanks for having me. Tommy, congrats

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Speaker 7: on on your nuptials.

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Speaker 2: Thank you.

436
00:21:53,920 --> 00:22:02,560
Speaker 7: Yeah, Shot, things are good, good, Yeah, things are good.

437
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:03,880
Speaker 7: It was great seeing you guys as well.

438
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,200
Speaker 3: Still getting used to the hardware on my left left hand,

439
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:08,840
Speaker 3: but we'll get there.

440
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:10,120
Speaker 2: We'll get there eventually.

441
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:11,680
Speaker 7: But good good.

442
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:13,000
Speaker 2: Hey, let's talk.

443
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,359
Speaker 3: Let's talk about hitting the off season for a hitting coach,

444
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:18,919
Speaker 3: because you know it would be nice and easy to

445
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:21,520
Speaker 3: just kick your feet up and relax during the off season.

446
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,960
Speaker 3: It's not exactly how it goes for a big league

447
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,440
Speaker 3: hitting coach. How do you make sure that guys are

448
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,840
Speaker 3: doing what they're supposed to do throughout the off season.

449
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,159
Speaker 3: You're going to visit guys, what's the what's that process like?

450
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,040
Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean it's a balance. You know they're there.

451
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:43,600
Speaker 7: There's respecting the professionalism, there's respecting the off season with guys.

452
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:45,720
Speaker 7: You know, we we we have end of your meetings.

453
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:47,800
Speaker 7: We we sit down with all these guys, we send

454
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:52,200
Speaker 7: them off with programs. Fortunately, got to see a good

455
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,200
Speaker 7: good number of them in Arizona a couple of weeks

456
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,359
Speaker 7: ago to check in and then it's it's a lot

457
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,679
Speaker 7: of phone calls, it's a lot of sharing video. You know,

458
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,879
Speaker 7: there's a lot of remote work to it. You know,

459
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,639
Speaker 7: we're fortunate in the era that that we work in

460
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:10,520
Speaker 7: that we can do that. Fortunately, you know, for me

461
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:12,800
Speaker 7: and my family haven't had to travel too too much.

462
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,240
Speaker 7: But you know, it's check ins, nonstops. It's just trying

463
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:19,680
Speaker 7: to keep these guys on track and then see how

464
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,200
Speaker 7: they show up for spring training.

465
00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:24,720
Speaker 4: We might as well get the LA daily cruise subject

466
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,800
Speaker 4: out of the way, so much pressure on Ellie so talented.

467
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,159
Speaker 4: The last few years, he's been, you know, trying to

468
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:37,160
Speaker 4: tweak things, whether it be with his stance or trying

469
00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 4: to shorten his swing. He's a guy that uses different

470
00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,640
Speaker 4: bats from time to time. Where are you right now,

471
00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,719
Speaker 4: now that you've got a year with him, Where are

472
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,840
Speaker 4: you right now? And how can you collectively improve Ellie

473
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,040
Speaker 4: dala cruise at the plate and get him back to

474
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:56,359
Speaker 4: maybe the potential that we were seeking overall, which didn't

475
00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,720
Speaker 4: completely come to fruition last year.

476
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,560
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, you know, I mean I saw him in November.

477
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,240
Speaker 7: You know, I think he could play for the Bengals

478
00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:07,399
Speaker 7: right now. You know, you guys saw him at redsast

479
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,960
Speaker 7: He looks physical, he looks strong. You know, I think

480
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,639
Speaker 7: I think him, you know, dealing with that that quad injury,

481
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,320
Speaker 7: you know, was more than he let on. You know,

482
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:20,600
Speaker 7: you flip over the baseball card at the end of

483
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,040
Speaker 7: the year. I don't think we're gonna we're gonna blink

484
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:26,440
Speaker 7: an eye at twenty five to the numbers he put up.

485
00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:28,560
Speaker 7: But I think we all know there's more in the

486
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,199
Speaker 7: tank for him. You know, I was actually pleased, you know,

487
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:33,840
Speaker 7: I think I think there was a little bit of

488
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,560
Speaker 7: a regression in some of the power numbers, but when

489
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:39,240
Speaker 7: you see how he controlled the strike zone, he limited

490
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,359
Speaker 7: the strikeouts, you know, in a way that we felt

491
00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,720
Speaker 7: comfortable with. I think, you know, we can't lose sight

492
00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 7: of that he's only you know, twenty three, twenty four

493
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,879
Speaker 7: years old, and the adjustments that he made and the

494
00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,400
Speaker 7: maturity that he's shown, I think he's going to continue

495
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,480
Speaker 7: to grow. So I think having a year like last

496
00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:58,080
Speaker 7: year where where he did a better job controlling the

497
00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:00,880
Speaker 7: strike zone, earning the strike zone, we're going to see

498
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,320
Speaker 7: an uptick and a lot of the power numbers with him,

499
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,879
Speaker 7: you know, taking his walks, but also you know, learning

500
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,879
Speaker 7: when to do damage, how to do damage, you know,

501
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,040
Speaker 7: just just because of the experience that he's had over

502
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:12,880
Speaker 7: the last couple of years.

503
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 3: It's a phrase I've heard you say before, and I'm

504
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,200
Speaker 3: a big fan of it, earning the strike zone always.

505
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:18,240
Speaker 2: I always like that one.

506
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:20,639
Speaker 3: I want to I want to get into the power

507
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,960
Speaker 3: side of this team in a minute, but we've got

508
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,160
Speaker 3: to get to a break. So if you don't mind,

509
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,359
Speaker 3: stick around and we'll talk more. Red's hitting when we

510
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,600
Speaker 3: come back in a moment. All right, we're visiting with

511
00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,560
Speaker 3: red hitting coach Chris Valaika. It's the Budweiser Red's Hot

512
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:42,840
Speaker 3: Stove League presented by UDF on the Reds Radio Network.

513
00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,400
Speaker 3: Welcome back to Budweiser Red's Hot Stove League presented by UDF,

514
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,600
Speaker 3: and we are live down to the bet MGM sportsbook

515
00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:51,720
Speaker 3: inside Tom's watch bars. The Banks will be down here

516
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:53,840
Speaker 3: for a few more shows before we are off to

517
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,399
Speaker 3: Arizona for spring training. It is right around the corner.

518
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,160
Speaker 3: I think we both got our flights book. Now, when

519
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,240
Speaker 3: are you going out there? Tenth tenth, I'll be there. Well,

520
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:06,399
Speaker 3: we have a show that night. Oh yeah, that's right.

521
00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,520
Speaker 3: I'll be here for that show, and then I will

522
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:10,680
Speaker 3: be out a couple of days later.

523
00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:10,959
Speaker 6: Yea.

524
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 4: So we'll be trying to get some interviews that day

525
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:17,240
Speaker 4: with players, and I'll be on with you live at

526
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:19,000
Speaker 4: some somehow, someway.

527
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,080
Speaker 3: Somehow, someway. It'll happen by the magic of technology. Chris

528
00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:24,600
Speaker 3: vi Lake is the Reds hitting coach and he's with

529
00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,480
Speaker 3: us right now. And Hey, you were talking about Ellie's

530
00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,639
Speaker 3: power being down, and the health will certainly factor in

531
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:37,120
Speaker 3: that bouncing back this year after a quiet second half

532
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,800
Speaker 3: last year. But when people look at the Reds we

533
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,159
Speaker 3: were talking about this with TJ Fried a little bit earlier,

534
00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:45,680
Speaker 3: they see that this is not a big home run

535
00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,000
Speaker 3: hitting team. And I think the impression is that you

536
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:53,399
Speaker 3: are for some reason anti home run and maybe Tito

537
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,919
Speaker 3: doesn't like home runs. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

538
00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:00,640
Speaker 3: But talk about the balance of first of all, how

539
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,919
Speaker 3: difficult it is to hit home runs in the major leagues,

540
00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,680
Speaker 3: and second of all, coaching and creating a game plan,

541
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:08,800
Speaker 3: an approach that fits your personnel.

542
00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 7: Yeah, you know, I'm definitely not anti home run. I

543
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,600
Speaker 7: don't think Tito's anti home run.

544
00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 8: And we we we definitely aren't preaching that, you know,

545
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,720
Speaker 8: I think as far as personnel, you know, there's ways

546
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,080
Speaker 8: to be creative to score runs.

547
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:31,280
Speaker 7: You know, I think our biggest thing is, you know,

548
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,600
Speaker 7: playing to the scoreboard. You know, obviously we want to

549
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:35,680
Speaker 7: find ways to score runs, but we also don't want

550
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:39,600
Speaker 7: to be a victim to the Ballparky you know, haven't

551
00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,680
Speaker 7: been on different clubs. It's you know, you come to Cincinnati,

552
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:44,879
Speaker 7: you don't leave without a home run. And you know,

553
00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,600
Speaker 7: playing eighty one games there that that doesn't want to

554
00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,720
Speaker 7: be We don't want that to be our identity. So,

555
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,680
Speaker 7: you know, we we have to find ways to manufacture runs.

556
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,359
Speaker 7: I think there's definitely a way and going into this

557
00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,159
Speaker 7: offseason and into next season that you know, there's going

558
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,399
Speaker 7: to be situations, there's going to be certain counts there,

559
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,400
Speaker 7: there's different ways that we can look to impact the ball.

560
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,240
Speaker 7: But we need to get better again at you know,

561
00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,119
Speaker 7: our foundations, our our situational hitting. I think there was

562
00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:14,440
Speaker 7: some some some lack of that, you know, towards towards

563
00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:17,520
Speaker 7: the late innings of games, especially when we're facing leverage arms.

564
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,320
Speaker 7: You know, we we have to find ways rather than

565
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,399
Speaker 7: just living and dying by the home run. You know,

566
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,160
Speaker 7: we we definitely have guys that can can impact the ball,

567
00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:27,359
Speaker 7: but that doesn't need to be our hallmark. You know,

568
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:29,520
Speaker 7: when we need it, it's in the tank. But we

569
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,840
Speaker 7: have to we have to find ways to continuously put

570
00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:34,360
Speaker 7: up runs when when it matters.

571
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,080
Speaker 4: I've heard you say before, and this might confuse the

572
00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:43,320
Speaker 4: layman fan, but players don't be afraid to strike out

573
00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,840
Speaker 4: looking with two strikes to have that right, what is

574
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:47,120
Speaker 4: the thing?

575
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:51,320
Speaker 7: I mean they're behind that for For me, there's situations

576
00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,960
Speaker 7: when the strikeout looking is okay. You know, we if

577
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:57,960
Speaker 7: there's nobody on base, the goals to get the first base. So,

578
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,360
Speaker 7: you know, shrinking our strike zone make making ourselves top

579
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:05,400
Speaker 7: outs and you know, the walk is valuable. It's not

580
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,320
Speaker 7: about looking for the walk's it's hunting our pitch that

581
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:09,760
Speaker 7: we want to hit a home run, we want to

582
00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:12,080
Speaker 7: hit a double. We want to put ourselves in scoring position.

583
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:13,320
Speaker 5: And if you don't.

584
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,320
Speaker 7: Get that pitch, then you you you know, if it

585
00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,320
Speaker 7: is a strikeout looking, I just want to stay away

586
00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:22,400
Speaker 7: from us ending at bats looking following you know, a

587
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,680
Speaker 7: pitcher's plan and thing goes with a runner on first base,

588
00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:27,720
Speaker 7: I want to stay out of double plays. So we're

589
00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,360
Speaker 7: going to be more selective in those situations. When it

590
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:33,120
Speaker 7: comes to traffic and we have a runner on second,

591
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 7: when we have a runner on third, the ball needs

592
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,400
Speaker 7: to go forward. We need to create chaos. We need

593
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,840
Speaker 7: to put the ball in play because things happen. We're

594
00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:42,920
Speaker 7: going to move runners over, We're going to score runners

595
00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:46,560
Speaker 7: from third. So it's deth the scoreboard, but it's also

596
00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:50,320
Speaker 7: playing to the game state or the situation that we're in.

597
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:54,680
Speaker 3: Well, I've always felt since he got to the big

598
00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:56,520
Speaker 3: leagues and I saw him for the first time that

599
00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:01,280
Speaker 3: when Spencer Steer is really at his back, he's one

600
00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:03,680
Speaker 3: of the best hitters, maybe the best pure hitter on

601
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,120
Speaker 3: this team in my opinion. He had a down year

602
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,320
Speaker 3: last year. We know he was battling the shoulder, and

603
00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:12,680
Speaker 3: I think shoulders can be really tricky. Another guy that

604
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,320
Speaker 3: by and large had a down year offensively last year

605
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:20,840
Speaker 3: at least did not reach expectations, as Matt McClain, again

606
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,000
Speaker 3: also battling his shoulder. When you look at those two guys,

607
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,040
Speaker 3: how do you envision those two bouncing back and having

608
00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:31,920
Speaker 3: bigger years in twenty twenty six than they had in

609
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:33,120
Speaker 3: twenty twenty five.

610
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,600
Speaker 2: Is it simply a matter of being fully healthy.

611
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,480
Speaker 7: I think there's definitely a health component, you know. I

612
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,560
Speaker 7: think with Spence, I'm really proud of the year that

613
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,320
Speaker 7: he put together after you know, coming off a tough

614
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,240
Speaker 7: April and you know, hitting one sixty, one, eighty whatever

615
00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,000
Speaker 7: it was, to end up with twenty plus homers and

616
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 7: driving in the runs that he had, you know, that

617
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:56,760
Speaker 7: just shows how well he hit, you know, through the

618
00:30:56,840 --> 00:30:59,600
Speaker 7: year to put him in a position where he finished

619
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 7: you know, and then and when it comes to Maddie,

620
00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:03,560
Speaker 7: you know, he missed the year and a half. I

621
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 7: feel like there's times where we give him a you

622
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,400
Speaker 7: know analysis that you know, he had ninety games in

623
00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,040
Speaker 7: the big leagues and you know, had some success, but

624
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:16,120
Speaker 7: you know where he's at. He missed a year and

625
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:18,720
Speaker 7: a half. So he went through that sophomore year, he

626
00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:21,720
Speaker 7: went through that acclamation period and you know, he learned

627
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:24,600
Speaker 7: a ton in the big leagues. You know, there there's

628
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,240
Speaker 7: probably a case where he could have been demoted, and

629
00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:29,640
Speaker 7: we kept him in the big leagues that you know,

630
00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:31,880
Speaker 7: he continued to learn and help us win games. So

631
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:33,880
Speaker 7: I think they're both going to be better for it

632
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,160
Speaker 7: and looking forward to big things for both of those guys.

633
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:40,480
Speaker 3: Well, well, certainly appreciate the time, Thanks so much, Enjoy

634
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:42,800
Speaker 3: what is left of your winner before you have to

635
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:44,640
Speaker 3: report to Arizona for spring training.

636
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:47,440
Speaker 7: Thank you, guys. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys

637
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:48,840
Speaker 7: out there and getting ready to go to work.

638
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:50,960
Speaker 2: All right, sounds good, Chris, Thanks so much.

639
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,680
Speaker 3: That is Red hitting coach Chris Polaka joining us on

640
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,479
Speaker 3: the Budweiser reds Hot Stove League presented by you DF

641
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,240
Speaker 3: joined us at Great American Ballpark on Saturday n you

642
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:04,320
Speaker 3: Wary thirty first for a special Select a Seat event.

643
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:06,960
Speaker 3: You can decide where you want to sit to watch

644
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,600
Speaker 3: your Reds play this season. Try out different seating locations

645
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:13,080
Speaker 3: and pick your seats that work best for you. RSVP

646
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:17,080
Speaker 3: now at Reds dot Com Slash Select. Running out of

647
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:19,520
Speaker 3: time on this edition of the Reds Hot Stove League,

648
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:22,959
Speaker 3: we wrap it up next from the bet MGM Sportsbook

649
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:24,920
Speaker 3: inside Tom's Watch Bar at the Banks on the Reds

650
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:33,640
Speaker 3: Radio Network. Oh, we've spent the last hour talking hitting

651
00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:35,720
Speaker 3: for the most part here on the Budweiser Reds Hot

652
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:38,160
Speaker 3: Stove League presented by UDF and we're back live the

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00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:40,600
Speaker 3: bet MGM Sports Book inside Tom's Watch Bar at the

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00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:42,880
Speaker 3: Banks with Jim Damn Tommy throwing Jim, I think when

655
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:44,960
Speaker 3: it gets down to it, look, I know the Reds

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00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,240
Speaker 3: wanted to add a power bat, and who knows, maybe

657
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:50,239
Speaker 3: they still will. Time is starting to run out on

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00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:56,200
Speaker 3: the offseason, but listening to TJ Friedel talking with Chris Filaka,

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00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,160
Speaker 3: I still feel like, even if it's the same group

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00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:03,959
Speaker 3: that returns buy and large here in twenty six, they're

661
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,479
Speaker 3: still room there for this team. To get better and

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00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,680
Speaker 3: score more runs. And I also feel like they're going

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00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,520
Speaker 3: to do a better job at run prevention moving.

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Speaker 4: Forward, well or again, we're in the season of hope,

665
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:20,800
Speaker 4: Yes we are. So we're hoping that Spencer Steer comes

666
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,280
Speaker 4: out of the gate quicker because of the lack of injury.

667
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:26,360
Speaker 4: We're hoping that Matt McClain can return to form. We're

668
00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:30,320
Speaker 4: hoping that Ellie Daly Cruise is power numbers can increase.

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00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,440
Speaker 4: We're hoping that the defense can be better adding a

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00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,680
Speaker 4: guy like Keeth Brian Hayes. I'm not sure who's going

671
00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,640
Speaker 4: to play first base. Matt McClain is solid up the middle.

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00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:41,840
Speaker 4: You're hoping that Ellie Daly Cruise does not lead the

673
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,240
Speaker 4: league in air. So if some of those things happen, yeah,

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00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,360
Speaker 4: they're going to be better. I would like to see

675
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:48,840
Speaker 4: them if they're not going to have a true couple

676
00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,280
Speaker 4: of power guys in the middle of the lineup, I

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00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,760
Speaker 4: would like them to to press the button a little

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00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,520
Speaker 4: bit more on the base pass. I know that's not

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00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:02,120
Speaker 4: necessarily Terry franconas in which he doesn't want to run

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00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:03,840
Speaker 4: into a lot of outs, but I do think they

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00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:05,840
Speaker 4: have guys that can run when they do get on

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00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:08,319
Speaker 4: base and they are down, I would like to see

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00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:09,040
Speaker 4: them run a little more.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm right there with you, and I think I

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00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:15,399
Speaker 3: think finding that balance. And you know, we talked about

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00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:17,640
Speaker 3: it with Colin cal Gill earlier in the offseason. I

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00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 3: think even he understands that there's probably more opportunities where

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00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:21,920
Speaker 3: they can push.

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00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:23,960
Speaker 2: The envelope a little bit more where Tito would be

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00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:24,520
Speaker 2: okay with you.

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00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:26,319
Speaker 4: So it's got to be a compromise. Not as much

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00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:28,720
Speaker 4: as they were a few years back. They were running

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00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:31,000
Speaker 4: to a way yeah, reckless and running into way too.

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00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,719
Speaker 4: Me outs, thank goodness, we don't have the contact play

695
00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,080
Speaker 4: at third base the oh my goodness, Tito's against that. Uh,

696
00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:41,200
Speaker 4: thank thank you for that. But I do think situationally

697
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:43,440
Speaker 4: they can press the envelope because they got guys that

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00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:44,120
Speaker 4: can run.

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00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,839
Speaker 3: Right and take advantage of this team speed, especially while

700
00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:49,279
Speaker 3: you've while you've got it. And and another guy that

701
00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,400
Speaker 3: fits into that category is Newelvie Marte. The question is

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00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,480
Speaker 3: who is going to end up protecting Ellie da la

703
00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:56,840
Speaker 3: Cruz in this lineup?

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00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,360
Speaker 2: Is it going to is?

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00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:00,759
Speaker 3: Is Newelvi Marte gonna have the tie a year where

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00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:03,960
Speaker 3: he can truly give at least some production or some

707
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,719
Speaker 3: protection in the lineup. Is Sal Stuart I'm not so

708
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,400
Speaker 3: sure he's not gonna hit a head. Well, that's also possible.

709
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,120
Speaker 3: Is Sal Stuart going to develop quickly into a power

710
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:16,720
Speaker 3: threat at the playoff the biggest Wow? That's a huge

711
00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:19,040
Speaker 3: wild card. But look, going back to what you were

712
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:21,960
Speaker 3: talking about, the hope upon hope. I look at a

713
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,600
Speaker 3: team like the Toronto Blue Jays a couple of years ago.

714
00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:27,480
Speaker 3: They had a huge down year. By and large, they

715
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:31,120
Speaker 3: brought back the same guys and they took the Dodgers

716
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,880
Speaker 3: to the brink last year in the World Series. Those

717
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:37,719
Speaker 3: guys that the Blue Jays had remind me a lot

718
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:40,440
Speaker 3: of this Reds team. Now, the Reds made the playoffs

719
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,800
Speaker 3: last year. The Blue Jays did not their year prior,

720
00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:46,120
Speaker 3: but they ran it back with most of the same guys,

721
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,800
Speaker 3: which was a core of homegrown players. They came into

722
00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:53,000
Speaker 3: their own collectively at the same time, and then they

723
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:57,480
Speaker 3: showed what can happen when that comes together. It's happened before.

724
00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:01,279
Speaker 3: I just still think because because of how talented this

725
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:04,440
Speaker 3: young core is, there's still plenty of room for optimism

726
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:08,240
Speaker 3: with this Reds team, especially with regards to this pitching staff,

727
00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:10,640
Speaker 3: because anytime you got the arms like the Reds do,

728
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:12,920
Speaker 3: you got a chance. That's all the time we have

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00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,800
Speaker 3: for you for today. Thanks for listening. I hope you

730
00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:18,520
Speaker 3: enjoyed this edition of the Butwise Are Red Hot Stove League,

731
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:21,400
Speaker 3: presented by ud F from the bed MGM Sportsbook Inside

732
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:23,560
Speaker 3: Tom's Watch Bar at the Banks for TJ.

733
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:24,760
Speaker 2: Friedel Chris Foalaka.

734
00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,680
Speaker 3: Also thanks to Dave Abbert Abbott and our studio producer

735
00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:29,160
Speaker 3: Drew Wester Heidi and for Jim Day.

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00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:30,319
Speaker 2: I'm Tommy Thrall. Good night,