Speaker 1: Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 2: Hi everyone, this is Jim Rosenhouse and you are listening
Speaker 2: to Guardians Weekly. This week, we join you from Camerica
Speaker 2: Park in Detroit, where the Guardians are taking on the
Speaker 2: Tigers in a huge series against the first place team
Speaker 2: and the team of the best record in all of
Speaker 2: baseball heading into the series the Tigers. But the Guardians
Speaker 2: have played well the first two nights. More on that
Speaker 2: in just a little bit, but coming up a little
Speaker 2: bit later on in our show, we will hear from
Speaker 2: pitching coach Carl Willis, starting pitcher Slade Seconi, as well
Speaker 2: as reliever Hunter Gaddis. But first I look back at
Speaker 2: the week in review, and it begins on Monday with
Speaker 2: three innings only in Minnesota. What a rainy week it
Speaker 2: was in Minneapolis, as the Guardians were there for three
Speaker 2: days and they may never have seen the sun and
Speaker 2: a lot of rain too. The game in Minneapolis on Monday,
Speaker 2: after three innings was suspended due to heavy rains and
Speaker 2: wet grounds, with the Twins leading by a score of
Speaker 2: two to one. All the action on Tuesday, which was
Speaker 2: supposed to be the completion of the suspended game, and
Speaker 2: then the regularly scheduled game wiped out all day rain,
Speaker 2: heavy cold temperature win the whole bit, so they couldn't
Speaker 2: play until Wednesday, and they finally did get going, completing
Speaker 2: the suspended game with rain still falling. They were able
Speaker 2: to play through it and Minnesota was able to win
Speaker 2: that first game, completing the suspended game as they wanted
Speaker 2: in walk off fashion after the Guardians had scored three
Speaker 2: times in the ninth to tie it. Minnesota was a
Speaker 2: six to five winner, so the Guardians were desperate to
Speaker 2: snap a five game losing skid in the regularly scheduled
Speaker 2: game in Minnesota on Wednesday, rain still falling, they kept
Speaker 2: playing and the Twins jumped in front with a run
Speaker 2: in the third, but otherwise Gavin Williams on the mound
Speaker 2: was terrific. The two to two called strike three on
Speaker 2: the outside corner. Perfect pitch by Williams catches cursey looking
Speaker 2: fifth strikeout for Gavin Williams and it looks like Williams
Speaker 2: is settling back in. In the sixth inning, the Guardians
Speaker 2: offense got it going with Jose Ramirez leading things off
Speaker 2: with a single, then two walks to the bases for Gabrielarius.
Speaker 1: Bases loaded, one down, one nothing, Minnesota sixth inning, payoff
Speaker 1: pitch and it's outside ball four. We are tied at one.
Speaker 1: A nine pitch at bantt and Arius with the bases loaded,
Speaker 1: walk the four sin ramires and tie this game at one.
Speaker 2: And then Nolan Jones put the Guardians in front.
Speaker 1: The two zero pitch swings and sends one in the
Speaker 1: air medium deep left center. This will get a run
Speaker 1: home Cursey, the center fielder, with a catch, He'll throw
Speaker 1: the third, tagging and scoring Santana and Nolan Jones sack
Speaker 1: fly to medium deep left center as given Cleveland a
Speaker 1: two to one lead.
Speaker 2: Then Gavin Williams was back out there for the bottom
Speaker 2: of the sixth. Now the kick and the one two
Speaker 2: pitch swinging ms what away for Gavin Williams to finish,
Speaker 2: still throwing ninety five miles an hour here in the
Speaker 2: sixth inning, gets his sixth strikeout. He is sent down
Speaker 2: seven in a row, still a two to one game.
Speaker 2: In the eighth inning, that's when Carlos Santana's big month
Speaker 2: of May continued.
Speaker 1: The pitch swung on, hammeredon, did heap brite? This ball
Speaker 1: is gone? And it's three to one Cleveland. A line
Speaker 1: drive home run to right by Carlos Santana. Man does
Speaker 1: he love hitting in this ballpark? He has hit six
Speaker 1: home runs now, all left handed, and that's a big one,
Speaker 1: three to one Cleveland here in ending number eight.
Speaker 2: And Cleveland added a little insurance in the top half
Speaker 2: of the ninth inning on a sack fly from an
Speaker 2: Hell Martinez to make it four to one. And then
Speaker 2: Ramirez brought home one more those.
Speaker 1: Ramirez two for four fourteen game hitting streak, and he
Speaker 1: swings and drills a basin in the left center that'll
Speaker 1: score Kwan and Cleveland getting rid of some frust ration
Speaker 1: here in the late innings, now leading at five to one,
Speaker 1: and Emmanuel Class was on in the ninth to help
Speaker 1: nail down the win.
Speaker 2: Now the two to one pitch swung on skid in
Speaker 2: the air to left, Kwan is under it, and by golly,
Speaker 2: it's ball game and the Guardians get a split. And
Speaker 2: there were two games played today despite the elements, and
Speaker 2: again just a great job by the Twins ground crew.
Speaker 3: To make that.
Speaker 2: Happen the final here Cleveland five and Minnesota one. So
Speaker 2: a huge win for the Guardians in that great outing
Speaker 2: from Gavin Williams and plenty of offense to snap the
Speaker 2: losing skid heading in to the big series in Detroit
Speaker 2: that started on Thursday night, a four game series against
Speaker 2: the first place Tigers. Guardians heading into play for the
Speaker 2: series were six games back of the front running Tigers,
Speaker 2: but with rain following the team to Detroit, they'd had
Speaker 2: to play through it again and it would be the
Speaker 2: Guardians getting on the board first. In the fourth inning,
Speaker 2: with two men on and Carlos Santana at the plate,
Speaker 2: there's a swing of a line drive right center field.
Speaker 2: It's headed to the gap and he gets down for
Speaker 2: a gapper all the way to the wall. Ramirez will score.
Speaker 2: Right behind him is man Zarto trying to keep his feet.
Speaker 2: He does and he scores as well into second with
Speaker 2: a two run double. It's red hot Carlos Santana and
Speaker 2: the Guardians grabbed the lead to nothing. Then on hell,
Speaker 2: Martinez got into one leading off the fifth, swung on
Speaker 2: and that's launched high in the air to right deep
Speaker 2: way back gone home run. Martinez. Oh, he leaned into
Speaker 2: one from Flarty and drove it into the lower stands
Speaker 2: in right and the Guardians now lead it by a
Speaker 2: score of three nothing. Number two for on Hell Martinez
Speaker 2: as he continues to provide a spark wherever they play him,
Speaker 2: whether it's the outfield or second base, and that's where
Speaker 2: he is tonight and comes through with a solo blast
Speaker 2: here in the fifth inning. Meanwhile, on the mound, Tanner
Speaker 2: Biby was dominant against one of baseball's best offenses so
Speaker 2: far this season.
Speaker 1: Byby's ready, here it comes. Breaking ball got him swinging.
Speaker 1: What a curveball Dingler his eighth strike on Victim and
Speaker 1: Tanner Biby dominating the Tigers in seven superb innings and
Speaker 1: in the eighth, the Tigers, trying to mount a comeback,
Speaker 1: loaded the bases with nobody out, and on the pitch
Speaker 1: came Kate Smith to save the day. The set of
Speaker 1: the one too swiming a mess, he went back to
Speaker 1: the heat ninety eight miles an hour. What a job
Speaker 1: by Kate Smith, paces loaded nobody out, Tigers failed to score.
Speaker 1: Smith strikes out three in a row, three nothing Cleveland
Speaker 1: after eight.
Speaker 2: What a performance by Smith. Then in the ninth inning,
Speaker 2: the Guardians pulled away with a run, scoring on a
Speaker 2: Tiger's error that made it for nothing, and then on
Speaker 2: Hell Martinez delivered again in field in the O one
Speaker 2: swung on line drive toward the line and left diving
Speaker 2: is but do he can't catch it? Ball gets by him.
Speaker 2: That'll score two. Schneemin and Nailer score in with a
Speaker 2: two run double. The left is on hell Martinez, he
Speaker 2: is knocked in three, he's blown and wide open six
Speaker 2: nothing Cleveland here in the ninth lane, Thomas, returning from
Speaker 2: the injured list, added a sackfly that made it seven
Speaker 2: to nothing, and that would be more than enough as
Speaker 2: Matt Festa was on in the ninth to preserve the shutout.
Speaker 1: Now the O two checked on a pitch high did
Speaker 1: he go yes on the appeal at first ball game?
Speaker 1: And the Guardians get the shutout and they get Game one,
Speaker 1: beating the Detroit Tigers seven to nothing. So a nice
Speaker 1: win for the Guardians and the series opener in Detroit
Speaker 1: on Thursday night. On Friday night, more good pitching, a
Speaker 1: dry playing field too, and the Guardians didn't waste any
Speaker 1: time getting started, as in the first inning Stephen Kuan
Speaker 1: let things off with a double, and then Jose Ramirez
Speaker 1: put the Guardians in front, and Ramirez swings and drives
Speaker 1: went in the air deep right center, long run for bias,
Speaker 1: still going back on the track, this ball hips off
Speaker 1: the base of the wall, cams back to the right
Speaker 1: fielder Carpenter around third, coming home to scores. Kwan in
Speaker 1: with a head first slide and a triple is Jose
Speaker 1: Ramirez a booming triple off the base of the wall
Speaker 1: in deep right center. Two batters later, Carlos Santana made
Speaker 1: it a crooked number in the first. The pitch swung
Speaker 1: on broken back ground ball in the hole back ended
Speaker 1: by Sweeney jump throw. The first doesn't have much on it,
Speaker 1: no chance to get Santana. He's go an infield hit.
Speaker 1: Ramirez will score and the Guardians get a clutch two
Speaker 1: out broken bat infield single by Carlos Santana, who now
Speaker 1: has twenty rbies in the month of May, and the
Speaker 1: Guardians have a two to nothing lead here in the first.
Speaker 2: And on the mound slade. Seconi was impressive in this one,
Speaker 2: as he was in his debut in Cincinnati last weekend.
Speaker 2: The one two to Keith breaking bald. Did he check
Speaker 2: it out? He went too far? They made the appeal.
Speaker 2: It's a little at third, that strike three and the
Speaker 2: side is retired. We're headed to the sixth Cleveland two
Speaker 2: Detroit nothing. Seconi gave up a solo home run to
Speaker 2: Spencer Torkelsen in the sixth inning that made it a
Speaker 2: two to one Guardian's lead, and then the bullpen took over,
Speaker 2: starting with Hunter Gaddis, who shut down the Tigers in
Speaker 2: the seventh and was back out there for another inning
Speaker 2: of work in the eighth.
Speaker 1: Now the pitch swag in a mess. He went back
Speaker 1: to the slider, strikes out Torkolsen. The ninth is next
Speaker 1: two to one Cleveland on the Cleveland Clinic Radio network.
Speaker 2: In the top half of the night, the Guardians again
Speaker 2: padded their lead, this time with a leadoff triple from
Speaker 2: bow Naylor, and then Stephen Quan delivered.
Speaker 1: The pitch Kwan Bangs a base hit in the left
Speaker 1: Guardians take a three to one lead. Quan with a
Speaker 1: three hit night RBI number eighteen and Cleveland, like last night,
Speaker 1: getting a big run and maybe more in the ninth inning,
Speaker 1: now leading this game three to.
Speaker 2: One, and in the bottom of the ninth a manual
Speaker 2: Classe was looking to collect another save.
Speaker 1: Clause is ready. Here's the one two pitch to Irlin
Speaker 1: a swing in a little bloop job shallow right near
Speaker 1: the line, long run. Nolan Jones makes the catching foul
Speaker 1: ground ball game and the Guardians have held the Tigers
Speaker 1: to one run in the first two ballgames and win
Speaker 1: again three to one.
Speaker 2: So a great start to the series in Detroit. Heading
Speaker 2: into Saturday night and Game three of the series, which
Speaker 2: will conclude on Sunday morning in eleven thirty five start
Speaker 2: time in Detroit to close out the series, and this
Speaker 2: long three city road trip stay. Whether it's woman came back,
Speaker 2: we'll hear from pitching coach Carl Willis that's next. As
Speaker 2: Guardians Weekly continues on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 2: Jim Rosenow's back with you. It's Guardians Weekly from Detroit
Speaker 2: this week, and it has been some kind of week
Speaker 2: weatherwise for the Guardians to try not only to win games,
Speaker 2: but just get games in. And it started in Minneapolis,
Speaker 2: where three straight days of rain caused one rain out
Speaker 2: and some moving around of the schedule. Somehow they got
Speaker 2: games in and during that time we caught up with
Speaker 2: Carl Willis, the Guardian's pitching coach, who spent a big
Speaker 2: portion of his playing career with the Twins, and we'll
Speaker 2: talk to him about that in a little bit. But first,
Speaker 2: with all that rain leading to the suspended game on
Speaker 2: Monday and then a cancelation on Tuesday and nearly two
Speaker 2: full games on Wednesday as they had to finish a
Speaker 2: suspended game before playing the regularly scheduled game, we talked
Speaker 2: to Carl about how the team planned to manage the
Speaker 2: pitching staff through all that uncertainty.
Speaker 3: You know, because we started the game on my night.
Speaker 3: You know, we can't have a twenty seventh man for
Speaker 3: game one. You can't juggle that roster or that lineup,
Speaker 3: so to speak. So because we don't have an off
Speaker 3: day within the next five six days, you know, we
Speaker 3: have to pick up the suspended game with a reliever.
Speaker 3: If we were to use a starter in that position
Speaker 3: and then a starter for game two, we wouldn't have
Speaker 3: a starter for Monday, So that makes it a little different,
Speaker 3: a little more challenging. You know, the Twins, on the
Speaker 3: other hand, are off tomorrow. They can utilize two starters today.
Speaker 3: So you know, we obviously trust the heck out of
Speaker 3: our bullpen. It's been a strength of our team now
Speaker 3: for over a year, and you know we'll go get
Speaker 3: after it.
Speaker 2: Carl, I know you always enjoy coming here, some great
Speaker 2: memories as a player. Even now, you still come back
Speaker 2: here and enjoy the city, even though it's a different ballpark,
Speaker 2: but seeing some old friends, no.
Speaker 3: Doubt about it. I have a handful of former teammates
Speaker 3: that made their home here in Minneapolis in the Twin
Speaker 3: Cities area, and always get to catch up with those guys,
Speaker 3: the clubhouse guys, you know, the visiting CLUBB. He here
Speaker 3: in Minnesota. Now, his father was one of my closest friends.
Speaker 3: He was a really close friend with our manager, Tom Kelly,
Speaker 3: and he ran the clubhouse for the Minnesota Vikings. And
Speaker 3: so just a lot of people here that continue to
Speaker 3: work for and support the Twins that I really enjoy seeing.
Speaker 2: And you were part of one of the great Twins
Speaker 2: teams ever. The nineteen ninety one World Series team still
Speaker 2: does have the longest win streak and Twins history of
Speaker 2: fifteen games. They gave it a run here this club
Speaker 2: one thirteen just completed, but you were a part of
Speaker 2: that fifteen game win streak. I looked it up, win
Speaker 2: number four. The winning pitcher in an extra inning game
Speaker 2: was Carl Willis. What do you remember about the tenth
Speaker 2: inning of that game when you came on to pitch first.
Speaker 3: I'm surprised I do remember, but I remember that streak.
Speaker 3: I know we went to Cleveland during that streak. As
Speaker 3: a matter of fact, I think prior to going to
Speaker 3: Baltimore where the streak ended, we were in Cleveland. But
Speaker 3: I think I remember that game, Rosie, because it was
Speaker 3: my first win in the Major League since probably nineteen Gosh,
Speaker 3: eighty six. I'd spent a little bit of time with
Speaker 3: the White Sox in eighty eight, but I recall coming
Speaker 3: in the game. I don't remember the exact situation. I
Speaker 3: know they were met on bas I know there were
Speaker 3: no outs. What I do recall is Sam Horn grounding
Speaker 3: into a double play to end that inning, and I
Speaker 3: remember in the bottom of the tenth, I believe Randy Bush,
Speaker 3: I think it was a swinging bunt, and you know,
Speaker 3: we had the old turf in the Metrodome at the time,
Speaker 3: and it just kind of trickled through the infield and
Speaker 3: someone scored from second base and we won the game.
Speaker 3: And you know, when you brought it up, I was
Speaker 3: surprised that I do remember it, But I think I
Speaker 3: remember it because again it was my first win in
Speaker 3: quite some time.
Speaker 2: And again I was win number four out of fifteen.
Speaker 2: Was that the stretch that really cemented this team, the
Speaker 2: ninety one Twins, thinking that they could have a special season. Yeah,
Speaker 2: as I recall it was. You know, we started out
Speaker 2: the season, we were two and nine. Things were not
Speaker 2: going well, and we started to play better when that
Speaker 2: streak happened. As you said, we won fifteen games in
Speaker 2: a row, and I think after the streak we then
Speaker 2: came back in one another six or seven in a row.
Speaker 2: But during that period, during that stretch Oakland.
Speaker 3: It was back at the time when there was an
Speaker 3: ale east and an ale west, and we were in
Speaker 3: the west, and we caught Oakland and passed Oakland, and
Speaker 3: actually we were in a dogfight with Oakland for the
Speaker 3: remainder of the season until you know, we got into
Speaker 3: September and we're able to clinch the division.
Speaker 2: Carl, great stuff, Thank you for remembering. That's pretty good.
Speaker 2: It's a long time ago down but enjoy the day
Speaker 2: to day.
Speaker 3: Thanks all right. Thanks.
Speaker 2: Always fun to catch up with. Carl Willis, the Guardian's
Speaker 2: pitching coach, who has some great memories of his playing career,
Speaker 2: with the highlight being that nineteen ninety one season with
Speaker 2: the Minnesota Twins. Well, we're gonna stay on the pitching front.
Speaker 2: When we come back after the break, we'll talk with
Speaker 2: starting pitcher Slade Secone and reliever Hunter Gaddis and comes
Speaker 2: your way next on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhause along with you
Speaker 2: from Camerica Park in Detroit. Where the Guardians are taking
Speaker 2: on the Tigers this weekend. Slade Secone picked up his
Speaker 2: first win as a Cleveland Guardian on Friday night, as
Speaker 2: he was strong through six innings for the Guardians, allowing
Speaker 2: just one run on five hits. He made his debut
Speaker 2: for Leveland after a stint on the injured list last
Speaker 2: weekend in Cincinnati, and we caught up with him after
Speaker 2: that start against the Reds. He took the loss that day,
Speaker 2: but was solid through five and he says he was
Speaker 2: very pleased with how things went in his first start
Speaker 2: of this season.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I was happy with the process that we went
Speaker 8: through to get to the end result. Obviously want to
Speaker 8: go out there and get a win every time take
Speaker 8: the hill, but that isn't always controlla So we try
Speaker 8: to control the controllabulls and you know, just excute pitches
Speaker 8: one of the time, and I felt like I did
Speaker 8: a good job of that. There's some room for improvement,
Speaker 8: but I was happy with yesterday.
Speaker 2: You're still very young in your major league career. What
Speaker 2: is a trade leg that's done for you? Just having
Speaker 2: a different perspective and having different people looking at what
Speaker 2: you do and what can make you really good.
Speaker 8: Yeah, this organization is amazing. On the pitching side of things,
Speaker 8: We've done a lot of very good work. We haven't
Speaker 8: left many stones, many stones unturned in terms of of
Speaker 8: looking at ways to get better and ways to develop.
Speaker 8: And that gives me a lot of confidence every time
Speaker 8: I take the ball that you know, myself and the
Speaker 8: team around me has done all the work that it
Speaker 8: can to put our best foot forward when I step
Speaker 8: on that field.
Speaker 2: And it seems like you have a wide pitch mix,
Speaker 2: a lot of variety there. Has that always been the
Speaker 2: case or is that something that you've developed in recent years?
Speaker 8: It's continued to develop. The changeup came on last years
Speaker 8: as a big addition which I've been searching for for
Speaker 8: a while, and then this year we've added in a
Speaker 8: cutter and a sinker to take some of that super
Speaker 8: high four seam fastball percentage down. We felt like that
Speaker 8: was part of the reason why I would have those
Speaker 8: some of those dips in villa later in the game
Speaker 8: and some of those you know, really hard hit balls
Speaker 8: off the four seam was just sheer number of throwing
Speaker 8: it so much. When you throw it sixty percent of
Speaker 8: the time, eventually you're gonna throw a couple little bit slow,
Speaker 8: were in a couple a little more middle, and being
Speaker 8: able to diversify the portfolio a little bit has has
Speaker 8: definitely given me more confidence to really rip that four
Speaker 8: seam and execute it when I do throw.
Speaker 2: Slates to Tony joining us. You're from the UT the
Speaker 2: University of Miami, and for a long time they've had
Speaker 2: a good baseball program there during your time there, What
Speaker 2: did that mean to you to be able to play
Speaker 2: there as a Florida kid.
Speaker 8: Oh, I committed there super early. It was actually my
Speaker 8: first and only offer. I was young when I committed,
Speaker 8: Don't get me wrong, but I always knew that that
Speaker 8: was my number one school, and I was so excited
Speaker 8: to be a Cane in my unfortunately short but sweet
Speaker 8: time that was there. You know, we got we got
Speaker 8: canceled that COVID here and I went out as a sophomore.
Speaker 8: But I love watching the way they've they've turned around
Speaker 8: their season this year, and I'm really looking forward to
Speaker 8: watching them continue to play good baseball.
Speaker 2: And now being a part of this here at the
Speaker 2: major league level with Cleveland obviously a team where the
Speaker 2: rotation has been going. Well, are you do you feel
Speaker 2: that even as you're rehaving and getting closer to being available,
Speaker 2: that you could be a part of something that's really
Speaker 2: good here.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 8: Absolutely, I see. You know, guys day in and day
Speaker 8: out go out there and take the ball and you know,
Speaker 8: do their job XQ pitches get ahead of hitters, do
Speaker 8: the little things the right way, and that gives me
Speaker 8: a lot of confidence that, you know, the focus here
Speaker 8: is on the right things.
Speaker 6: Translate.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for coming back. Appreciate it.
Speaker 4: Thank you boy.
Speaker 2: What a big boost late. So Coney could be if
Speaker 2: he can maintain the consistency that he has shown so far.
Speaker 2: His spot in the rotation vacated by Ben Lively, who
Speaker 2: first went on the injured list, and just on Friday
Speaker 2: was announced that Ben Lively will be undergoing Tommy John
Speaker 2: surgery in the weeks ahead, and that means that twelve
Speaker 2: to sixteen month rehab process. Tough break for one of
Speaker 2: the good guys in the game. Ben Lively a thirteen
Speaker 2: game winner a year ago and he was off to
Speaker 2: a good start again this season, but he'll face that
Speaker 2: long rehab. Pros says now to try and come back
Speaker 2: from Tommy John surgery well in the bullpen the bullpen
Speaker 2: has had some ups and downs, more so than a
Speaker 2: year ago when they had a dream season. But one
Speaker 2: pitcher who has been absolutely terrific and maybe better than
Speaker 2: he was a year ago is Hunter Gaddis, who came
Speaker 2: into play on Friday night with an earned run average
Speaker 2: of zero point ninety five. He had allowed just two
Speaker 2: runs in nineteen innings, and sure enough, on Friday Night
Speaker 2: he put together two more scoreless innings. We caught up
Speaker 2: with him as the series was beginning in Detroit on
Speaker 2: Thursday and talked to him about that good start and
Speaker 2: what's led to consistency for him over such a long
Speaker 2: period of time.
Speaker 6: I think it's just taking it out in biolting, not
Speaker 6: really looking too much in the past of what has happened,
Speaker 6: more of just trying to stay focused on the future
Speaker 6: and outing bioling, you know, trying to get better and better.
Speaker 2: Pitch quality wise, anything coming along maybe better than you
Speaker 2: had anticipated, or a pitch that that was working as
Speaker 2: good last year that's doing better.
Speaker 6: No, Actually it's kind of been the same. I guess
Speaker 6: it's always. I feel like as a pitch you're always
Speaker 6: striving to make each pitch better. So it's like I
Speaker 6: don't know if you can ever be completely happy. Like
Speaker 6: one game, I may throw my fast forward really well
Speaker 6: and I'm happy, and then the next it may not
Speaker 6: be exactly what I want. So I feel like it's
Speaker 6: always trying to make them better.
Speaker 2: And I feel like we've seen maybe a few more
Speaker 2: change ups this year, or maybe the ones you're throwing
Speaker 2: are better. How's that pitch coming along for you? And
Speaker 2: are you working it in a little bit more if
Speaker 2: the situation calls for it.
Speaker 6: I think so far it's been about the same usage.
Speaker 6: I know, towards the end of us here I was
Speaker 6: using a lot more. So maybe it bounced the number
Speaker 6: up a little bit, but uh no, it's really you know,
Speaker 6: one of my favorite pitches that throw. It's just different.
Speaker 1: It's weird.
Speaker 6: I like being weird on the mound, so you know,
Speaker 6: I always trying to work it in when it's a
Speaker 6: good time to.
Speaker 2: Why is it weird?
Speaker 6: It's just really slow, It's just really so. I mean,
Speaker 6: it's like fifteen to twenty off my fastball. It's just
Speaker 6: fun to me, you know, make it go that slow.
Speaker 2: And yesterday in Minnesota one of the worst weather days
Speaker 2: of the year, and look, you have them, you got
Speaker 2: to get through them. How bad was it and what
Speaker 2: were the challenges for you?
Speaker 6: You know, it's just you know, you're kind of sitting
Speaker 6: around all day. You know, we had the day before
Speaker 6: or you know, the first game where two rangel As
Speaker 6: were were kind of sitting around. Then it gets canceled,
Speaker 6: and then you know, you have the whole off day
Speaker 6: where they canceled both of those games. So then you're
Speaker 6: sitting around again, and then you know, you have a
Speaker 6: game and a half doubleheader and you're just sitting around
Speaker 6: a lot and to what's you're time to throw? So
Speaker 6: it's just a lot of sitting around, staying ready, and
Speaker 6: you know, it's just a lot of time of preparing
Speaker 6: and not you know, getting ready to go in. But
Speaker 6: it was difficult, but it was you know, it is
Speaker 6: what it is.
Speaker 2: And by the time you got out there that I mean,
Speaker 2: it had rained a lot during the day. How was
Speaker 2: the mound and the conditions that you were pitching at.
Speaker 6: You know, the mountain wasn't perfect by any means, but
Speaker 6: I think they did a good job, you know, kind
Speaker 6: of keeping on their and the best they could, and
Speaker 6: you know, it worked out just fine.
Speaker 2: Hunter Gatis joining US Guardian's Reliever series opens the night
Speaker 2: here in Detroit. First time you're facing the Tigers since
Speaker 2: the postseason a year ago. You, like everyone else, just
Speaker 2: had a tremendous series against the Tigers. You got to
Speaker 2: win in that exciting Game four right here. What are
Speaker 2: some of the memories that stand out to you of
Speaker 2: that series against Detroit that that maybe jump out right away?
Speaker 6: I mean, I don't think I really have anything exactly.
Speaker 6: I just that was an unreal series. You know, they
Speaker 6: were all close games, really good games. Everybody seemed like
Speaker 6: they were performing pretty well on both sides, and it
Speaker 6: felt really good to come out on the top on
Speaker 6: that series. And you know, I'm expecting another good one
Speaker 6: for these four games for sure.
Speaker 2: And then the game four that you got the winning
Speaker 2: was the David Frye home run game late, and you're
Speaker 2: on the mound and getting key outs late. As good
Speaker 2: an experience as you can have in the big leagues
Speaker 2: when when you're in that type of situation.
Speaker 6: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I don't know, you know
Speaker 6: what else. You know, playing in October is a big thing.
Speaker 6: Last year was my first year and being able to
Speaker 6: live it and do it, it was you know, I
Speaker 6: see why it's such a big deal now. But yeah,
Speaker 6: that Game four was a really big game. I believe
Speaker 6: I came in any beefore, then David hits a homer,
Speaker 6: and then I went back out. It was pretty incredible.
Speaker 2: You reference this series, and I know they're all supposed
Speaker 2: to be the same, You're supposed to focus on each game,
Speaker 2: but is there a little more sizzled to this one,
Speaker 2: just based on how the past has gone and the
Speaker 2: season that they're having so far.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, I think it's an indivision Indivision game.
Speaker 6: Both teams want to win for sure, and you've got
Speaker 6: to prepare and go out there and do the best
Speaker 6: you can and see who comes out on top.
Speaker 2: A Hunter, thanks for coming. I appreciate it.
Speaker 6: Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 2: That's Hunter Gatis, Guardian's relief pitcher who has been just
Speaker 2: terrific out of the pen, and especially so on Friday
Speaker 2: night in Detroit with two scoreless innings to set up
Speaker 2: a manual class A for another. Say, stay with us
Speaker 2: when we come back. We'll hear about some of the
Speaker 2: fine young talent in the minor league system at single
Speaker 2: A Lake County. That's next on the Cleveland Clinic, Guardians Radio.
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Speaker 5: Situations Jimmers announced back with you from Camerica Park in Detroit.
Speaker 2: It's Guardians Weekly and it's great to have along with
Speaker 2: us this weekend. Each week we try and check in
Speaker 2: with Stephen Osterer, who is the vice president of player
Speaker 2: development for the Guardians, for a minor league report and
Speaker 2: this week's His travels took him to Lake County, not
Speaker 2: too far outside the Cleveland city limits to see the
Speaker 2: high A Lake County Captains. And we'll start on the
Speaker 2: position player side of things with last year's second round
Speaker 2: draft pick, catcher Jacob Cozart, a coach's son. His dad
Speaker 2: used to be the head coach down at High Point University,
Speaker 2: and Austin talked about how that has shown as we
Speaker 2: get to know him better in his first professional season.
Speaker 10: He's a leader for us, you know, on the field
Speaker 10: and and off the field as well. You know, he's
Speaker 10: the kind of guy that everyone wants to throw to
Speaker 10: and and you know, a big part of that is
Speaker 10: obviously the skill set of being a catcher, and he's
Speaker 10: a strong defender, he's got an Elaite glove, he's, you know,
Speaker 10: a really good receiver.
Speaker 7: Yeah, he throws guys out.
Speaker 10: But I think the part that you know, the pitching
Speaker 10: staff appreciate just as much on top of that is
Speaker 10: how prepared he is and how confident he is and
Speaker 10: how he can actually lead his staff. And you know
Speaker 10: that comes out in the conversations that he has in
Speaker 10: between innings and and before the game and reflecting post
Speaker 10: game with our pitching staff and and our pitching coach
Speaker 10: as well. So, yeah, a lot of those traits that
Speaker 10: you would expect to come through from like a coaching
Speaker 10: lens and understanding that he's he's showing that as a player,
Speaker 10: and Jacobs had a you know, really good behind the
Speaker 10: dish uh and and is picking up his bat a
Speaker 10: little bit here too, which is great to see.
Speaker 2: And moving to the outfield, an intriguing name is Alfonso
Speaker 2: Risorio and Rosario came from the Cubs and the Eli
Speaker 2: Morgan trade over the wintertime, and it looks like he's
Speaker 2: putting up some really solid numbers across the board offensively.
Speaker 10: Yes, he is, yeah, physical, physical outfielder. You know, he's
Speaker 10: got the ability to express speed and power at the
Speaker 10: plate in on the basis, the profile was was very
Speaker 10: much lots of pop, lots.
Speaker 7: Of whiff maybe when we got him, but he's done
Speaker 7: a really.
Speaker 10: Good job, you know, cutting that whiff down, made some
Speaker 10: swing adjustments and transition into more walks, you know, higher ops,
Speaker 10: more slug and he's played a really good outfield too,
Speaker 10: so some defensive upside and we think he can develop
Speaker 10: even a better neck to grab more bags on the basis,
Speaker 10: you know than what he's shown in the past. He's
Speaker 10: shown a really strong interest in doing that as well.
Speaker 10: So pretty exciting player to watch and does a lot
Speaker 10: of fun things you know, out in the field.
Speaker 2: When you do start to work with a player who
Speaker 2: has acquired from another organization via a trade, I'm sure
Speaker 2: that's a shock to them at a certain level. How
Speaker 2: do you help them transition and get comfortable in Cleveland system.
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 10: You know, getting traded, I think is is a challenging
Speaker 10: thing to go through for the first time, especially as
Speaker 10: a minor leaguer.
Speaker 7: You know, it's a big.
Speaker 10: Part of our focus when when we get guys is
Speaker 10: just to show that we're there to partner with them
Speaker 10: and to.
Speaker 7: You know, be a support system for them. So it's
Speaker 7: a lot of learning.
Speaker 10: About you know, things that they value, who they see
Speaker 10: themselves as a player, things that they're working on, their
Speaker 10: goals that you know, their vision for the long term,
Speaker 10: and you know, really understanding what makes them tick and
Speaker 10: you know, then coming to the table over time as
Speaker 10: we build a relationship and put an emphasis on that
Speaker 10: to you know, kind of partner with them along the way,
Speaker 10: so you know, making them feel comfortable, making them feel heard,
Speaker 10: really understanding them is a huge part. Uh and Rosario
Speaker 10: was you know a really good really good player, But
Speaker 10: getting him to feel comfortable and understand the things that
Speaker 10: he's working on is a big part of this too.
Speaker 2: When you look at Ralphie Velasquez, he's someone we've talked
Speaker 2: about a lot. We saw him in some major league
Speaker 2: games in spring training. How is his season gone as
Speaker 2: he deals with some of the ups and downs of
Speaker 2: the minor leagues and trying to make some progress at
Speaker 2: the high A level.
Speaker 7: Now, Yeah, good question.
Speaker 10: I mean, he has gone through a little bit of
Speaker 10: the up and down that I think you'd.
Speaker 7: Expect for a teenager in hig A.
Speaker 10: He's still one of the youngest players at that level
Speaker 10: in all of baseball, and making some of the off
Speaker 10: field adjustments, the the you know, the on field adjustments,
Speaker 10: and it takes a bit of time for those things
Speaker 10: to work through. So you know, he's working through some
Speaker 10: some swing changes, he's working, you know, to kind of
Speaker 10: make adjustments to his approach, and he still shows some
Speaker 10: really strong underlying traits.
Speaker 7: He's still putting up a lead.
Speaker 10: Exit velocities on average, just having maybe a little bit
Speaker 10: lower you know, batting average and ball and player babbit,
Speaker 10: which you know can sometimes lead to poor outcomes. But yeah,
Speaker 10: the underlying things are there, and he's working hard at
Speaker 10: you know, maybe showing some of the outcomes that we'd
Speaker 10: want to see or he would want to see. But
Speaker 10: for a young kid, we we don't put a ton
Speaker 10: of stock or pressure into that.
Speaker 7: So Ralphie's a great kid.
Speaker 10: You know, he's working hard, he's a better hitter, and
Speaker 10: he's going to be fun to continue to track the
Speaker 10: progress on.
Speaker 2: It's our weekly minor league report with Vice president of
Speaker 2: Player Development Stephen Ostro, and we're talking Lake County at
Speaker 2: the Single A high Single A level and onto the
Speaker 2: mound the top of the minor leagues for a little while.
Speaker 2: Last year was the tug boat. Matt Wilkinson got off
Speaker 2: to a great start on the mound at Lynchburg and
Speaker 2: carried that through to Lake County. At least numbers wise,
Speaker 2: a slower start this year, but what still has you
Speaker 2: excited about the tug boat and and what he could
Speaker 2: do this season.
Speaker 10: Yeah, tug boat phenomenal year last year, and he has
Speaker 10: battled it a little bit at times to start this year.
Speaker 10: As we talked about with Ralph and some of these
Speaker 10: younger guys, the surface numbers aren't always.
Speaker 7: Telling the whole story.
Speaker 10: So you know, as an example here, he's faced the
Speaker 10: same lineup four times already, you know, working on you know,
Speaker 10: some delivery stuff to support more velo along the way,
Speaker 10: which is going to pull back a little bit of
Speaker 10: execution and guys are going to be more prepared for him.
Speaker 10: So yeah, that that is going to result in in
Speaker 10: maybe a bit of a pullback in numbers and performance outcomes,
Speaker 10: but we're not concerned at all. You know, we've seen
Speaker 10: some really nice change up development which was a huge
Speaker 10: focus for him, and continuing to work on, you know,
Speaker 10: moving that needle towards long term velocity gain. So he's
Speaker 10: still really young to twenty two years old, despite being
Speaker 10: a twenty three draft pick out a Juco, and there's
Speaker 10: lots of low hanging fruit left and time to go
Speaker 10: and get those things. So you know, despite a maybe
Speaker 10: a bit of a slower start for Tug to start
Speaker 10: the year, you know, doesn't change how we view him
Speaker 10: or how we view the year on the whole.
Speaker 2: Also on the mound at Lynchburg, the Guardians made a
Speaker 2: nice trade with the kind of like three team deal
Speaker 2: with the Toronto on the Pirates, but they got pitching
Speaker 2: from the Pirates including Luis Ortiz, who's done some nice
Speaker 2: work at the major league level, but on the minor
Speaker 2: league side, they also got two good prospects, one of
Speaker 2: whom Josh Hartle, is off to a nice start at
Speaker 2: Lake County. And what can you tell us about his
Speaker 2: progress so far?
Speaker 10: Yeah, So, the highly regarded left handed charter to college
Speaker 10: at Wake and was known for his strikes and unique
Speaker 10: angles from the left side, and we've seen both of
Speaker 10: those things so far. He's pitched really well and two
Speaker 10: keys for him this year have really been separating out
Speaker 10: the movement of his pitches and continuing to add velocity
Speaker 10: long term, and he started to move the needle on
Speaker 10: those things on top of you knowing, throwing a ton
Speaker 10: of strikes and executing his pitches to where he wants to.
Speaker 10: So this is this is a big kid who's going
Speaker 10: to continue to add fat free mass, muscle strength, power,
Speaker 10: and we think he's just going to continue to get
Speaker 10: better as the year goes along and we get to
Speaker 10: know him a little bit better and he gets to
Speaker 10: know us and our.
Speaker 7: Resources a little bit better too.
Speaker 10: So really excited for what Josh has shown thus far.
Speaker 10: The strategy's made this far, and you know again, excited
Speaker 10: for where.
Speaker 7: This is going to go.
Speaker 2: Well, always fun stuff to hear about the young prospects
Speaker 2: and what they're up to. In this case, this week
Speaker 2: it was Lake County, Austy. Thanks so much for coming bye.
Speaker 2: We'll talk to you again soon.
Speaker 7: Nanks Rosie appreciate you.
Speaker 2: That is Stephen Ostro, the Guardian's vice president of Player Developments.
Speaker 2: Some good stuff going on down at single A, Lake County,
Speaker 2: and that's going to put a lid on this week's
Speaker 2: edition of Guardians Weekly. Thanks so much to Brian Motse
Speaker 2: as always for his help of putting together our show
Speaker 2: each week. We will join you next week. Finally, from
Speaker 2: back home. After this long ten game three city road
Speaker 2: trip wraps up, Guardians will take on the Dodgers starting
Speaker 2: Monday night at six' ten three against The, dodgers there
Speaker 2: by yearly visit to a progressive field and last Year's
Speaker 2: World series champions making their appearance In Cleveland monday And
Speaker 2: tuesday nights at six, ten when day afternoon at one,
Speaker 2: ten and we'll join you Next saturday during The angels
Speaker 2: series next. Weekend so until, then this Is jim Rosen
Speaker 2: house reminding you that you've been listening To Guardians weekly
Speaker 2: on The Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio. Network Guardians weekly has
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