Speaker 1: Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio network.
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Speaker 2: Hi, everyone, welcome them to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhouse along
Speaker 2: with you from Guardians Spring Training in Goodyear, Arizona. It
Speaker 2: is great to be able to say that spring training
Speaker 2: in full swing. And if you're tuned on the radio
Speaker 2: side today and if you listen to a podcast early
Speaker 2: in the day, we have baseball for you on the
Speaker 2: radio this afternoon, as the Guardians will take on the
Speaker 2: Cincinnati Reds and the Cactus League opener with the first
Speaker 2: pitch of three to zero five Hall of Famer Tom Hamilton,
Speaker 2: we'll have the call of the first pitch of the
Speaker 2: Cactus League season for you right around that three tozho
Speaker 2: five mark against Terry Francona's Reds. How about this, though,
Speaker 2: the Reds have a split squad day to day and
Speaker 2: Tito is going with the other team that's playing the
Speaker 2: Brewers over in Maryvale, so we won't get to see
Speaker 2: our old friend Terry Francona. But there are several other
Speaker 2: games between the Guardians and Reds this sprout. So at
Speaker 2: some point in time, we'll catch up with Tito, and
Speaker 2: I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun to see
Speaker 2: him in the game managing. But the task at hand
Speaker 2: the Guardians preparing to defend their American League Central Division
Speaker 2: crown and a season ago, twenty twenty four ended in
Speaker 2: the American League Championship Series. And I don't know how
Speaker 2: many people saw that coming at this time a year ago,
Speaker 2: not because of the talent level of Cleveland, but there
Speaker 2: was a lot of change last year, most notably in
Speaker 2: that manager's office, where Steven Vote, with no managerial experience,
Speaker 2: took over the Reins and led the ball club to
Speaker 2: a ninety two win season and to the American League
Speaker 2: Championship Series, and along with that was named American League
Speaker 2: Manager of the Year. So a great season for Steven Vote,
Speaker 2: his first as a manager, and he has fired up
Speaker 2: and ready to go a lot of confidence walking around
Speaker 2: that clubhouse and hearing guys talk about some of the
Speaker 2: new players that have been acquired and just others who
Speaker 2: are in different roles now as they gain more experience
Speaker 2: at the major league level, and we'll hear from some
Speaker 2: of them on our show today. So coming up in
Speaker 2: the second half of our show today, we will hear
Speaker 2: from center fielder Lane Thomas, who had a playoff series
Speaker 2: to remember when the Guardians took on the Detroit Tigers
Speaker 2: in the American League Division Series. A huge home run
Speaker 2: and a blowout win in Game one, and then the
Speaker 2: Grand Slam that snapped a tie ball game off of
Speaker 2: Cy Young Award winner Trek Scooble that proved to be
Speaker 2: the big blow in the decisive Game five win for
Speaker 2: the Guardians and that propelled them to the Alcs. So
Speaker 2: we'll hear from Lane Thomas after our second break. When
Speaker 2: we head into the second half of our show, we'll
Speaker 2: also visit with Ben Lively, who had a fine season
Speaker 2: a year ago on the mound for the Guardians. Surprisingly
Speaker 2: so is he was quiet in spring training, battling in illness,
Speaker 2: but came on and really proved to be one of
Speaker 2: the more consistent starting pitchers for the Guardians in a
Speaker 2: year where they needed some depth and he certainly provided that.
Speaker 2: And we'll also hear from Tyler Freeman, the utility man
Speaker 2: who started last season surprisingly so in center field, an
Speaker 2: unfamiliar position for him this year, who knows he could
Speaker 2: be the opening day second baseman, with that job very
Speaker 2: much up for grabs as spring training begins. But first
Speaker 2: we are going to hear from Brad Goldberg, the new
Speaker 2: assistant pitching coach, after a tremendous season his first in
Speaker 2: the major leagues as the Guardian's bullpen coach a year
Speaker 2: ago overseeing the best bullpen in all of baseball, and
Speaker 2: this year he'll be in the dugout helping out pitching
Speaker 2: coach Carl Willison assistant pitching coach Joe Torres. He's no
Speaker 2: how State guys, so we'll talk to him about a
Speaker 2: fun off season for him as he followed the Buckeyes
Speaker 2: football team on the road to the national championship, and
Speaker 2: also some good stuff about some of the pitching that's
Speaker 2: coming from the minor league system that could be helpful
Speaker 2: this season. So Brad Goldberg, the young assistant pitching coach,
Speaker 2: we'll join us next as we had a chance to
Speaker 2: visit with him at the tail end of the off season,
Speaker 2: and we'll hear that interview one re return on the
Speaker 2: Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 1: Now the two two Delivery and Jimenez swingens and missus
Speaker 1: had a good slider. What else is new? The Guardian's
Speaker 1: bullpen throws up a zero, So Cleveland's gone from the
Speaker 1: starting pitching factory to now developing power arms in the
Speaker 1: back of the bullpen. The two swing ANmS slider wiped
Speaker 1: them out. Aaron strikes out Sweeney a dozen strikeouts for
Speaker 1: Cleveland pitching.
Speaker 2: Now the one too.
Speaker 1: Got them swinging on the heat ninety seven miles an hour.
Speaker 1: Kate Smith, four batter's face, four strikeouts. It's remarkable. But
Speaker 1: when your bullpen's as good as Cleveland's, you just don't lose.
Speaker 2: Game's late.
Speaker 1: Now the pitch swung on, trailed on the ground on
Speaker 1: one half to third, ramires to second. Doggie Anda Jose
Speaker 1: Mesa has been eclipsed in the record books. Emanual claws
Speaker 1: A stands alone as the greatest single season closer in
Speaker 1: Cleveland baseball history.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. We are joined now by
Speaker 2: Guardians Assistant pitching coach Brad Goldberg. The name is familiar.
Speaker 2: He was at the bullpen coach a year ago and
Speaker 2: did great work in that area, and then this offseason
Speaker 2: named assistant pitching coach, and Brad, I know coming off
Speaker 2: a last season an exciting one for you, and it
Speaker 2: sounds like more excitement this offseason as you take on
Speaker 2: a new role heading into twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Excited to get back to Goodyear here in a
Speaker 4: day or two.
Speaker 5: And I live in Ohio, so anytime I have to
Speaker 5: clean snow off my car means I'm getting ready to
Speaker 5: board that flight and that's good by me.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you had a real Ohio winter this year instead
Speaker 2: of what we had in the past couple of years
Speaker 2: where it was kind of mild. But I'm for you
Speaker 2: taking a look back at last year, your first time
Speaker 2: at the major league level, and the bullpen was such
Speaker 2: a strength, and when you looked back on it, were
Speaker 2: was there a key or two that you thought really
Speaker 2: made that group click, especially with so many young pitchers
Speaker 2: who were going at it like you for the first
Speaker 2: time at the major league level.
Speaker 5: I'm not sure I can put my finger on one key,
Speaker 5: but I think you know that the culture that Voter established,
Speaker 5: the pregame preparation, everyone being involved, and then you know,
Speaker 5: the youth in general in the bullpen, including myself, not
Speaker 5: that I threw any pitches, but us all going through
Speaker 5: it with you know, the four plus rookies.
Speaker 4: You know, I had some time.
Speaker 5: As a player and the majority of those guys had,
Speaker 5: you know, cups of coffee. But the comfort that Voter
Speaker 5: created for them in the preparation that they can hang
Speaker 5: their hat on and create confidence through was that really
Speaker 5: sticks out to me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you mentioned that, and obviously he wins American League
Speaker 2: Manure of the Year, and most of the time when
Speaker 2: that happens, those managers give so much credit to their
Speaker 2: coaching staff, but a big key is they let their
Speaker 2: coaches coach and do their thing. And how important was
Speaker 2: that to you that that he gave you some some
Speaker 2: latitude to really put your imprint on what you wanted
Speaker 2: to do out there.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was wonderful.
Speaker 5: He gives full autonomy to all of us, you know,
Speaker 5: once we align, and you know, I am the staff
Speaker 5: in the organ in the game in general, is lucky
Speaker 5: and blessed to have Carl Willis. Obviously we get to
Speaker 5: do it with him every day, but to you know,
Speaker 5: bounce ideas off of him and get to interact with
Speaker 5: him every day, and you know him provide wisdom and
Speaker 5: ideas with Joe Torrah is there as well, who has
Speaker 5: a bunch of experience and is a brilliant mind. It's
Speaker 5: a it's a it's a cool culture and one that
Speaker 5: you know, we work hard to create. But once we
Speaker 5: align on what we think is best and you give
Speaker 5: the players a voice, then it's, you know, let's let's
Speaker 5: go compete in a US from there.
Speaker 2: When the season first started, did you have some apprehension
Speaker 2: about how things would work and would some of your
Speaker 2: ideas and things that you could do to help the pitchers.
Speaker 2: Would they come to fruition? Was there any of that
Speaker 2: in there for you? And if so, how quickly did
Speaker 2: that go away?
Speaker 5: I wouldn't call it apprehension, No, I think it was
Speaker 5: just you know, it's not nerves either, It's just that excitement.
Speaker 5: You know, you're just ready to You know, you're in
Speaker 5: spring training for a long time. There's a lot of
Speaker 5: things that you know you've worked on with the players
Speaker 5: and they're excited, so.
Speaker 4: You know you're ready to go at that point.
Speaker 5: And from there it's it's adjust it's great relationships and
Speaker 5: you know, Carl's been doing this a long time. I
Speaker 5: had a lot of success, so I felt very supported
Speaker 5: by vote alb Carl, you know, everyone but in our
Speaker 5: domain super supported.
Speaker 4: And I think the players felt that too.
Speaker 2: When you look at the talent out there. You had
Speaker 2: a chance to work with the manual class A and
Speaker 2: what was that like? How much is it hands on
Speaker 2: and how much is it hands off? And let him
Speaker 2: do his thing.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 5: I got a funny story. We met with class A
Speaker 5: once in spring training. We showed him some video, We
Speaker 5: got some feedback from him. He was very appreciative and
Speaker 5: He's like, you, guys, ever have anything, bring it to me.
Speaker 5: Just make sure you're very confident what you have, and
Speaker 5: I'll listen and like super complimentary, like such a great guy.
Speaker 5: And it was funny because from there like, there were
Speaker 5: many conversations after that, and it's a testament to you know,
Speaker 5: how smart he is and aware of.
Speaker 4: His body and the feel he has.
Speaker 5: So he's a special, special guy and a special talent.
Speaker 2: And maybe on the other side of that, a young
Speaker 2: pitcher who was trying to make his way first time
Speaker 2: in the major leagues and had a tremendous rookie season,
Speaker 2: Kate Smith. What did you see maybe in the minor
Speaker 2: leagues working with him in your prior role, and then
Speaker 2: as he got into it during the season that allowed
Speaker 2: him to be so effective.
Speaker 5: I've been fortunate enough to be around Kate for two
Speaker 5: straight years now. I had him in Akron in twenty three.
Speaker 5: This will be three years now in a row. He's
Speaker 5: probably sick of me, but he is such an impressive
Speaker 5: young man, from his preparation.
Speaker 4: To his diet to his goals.
Speaker 5: You know, none of his success really shocked anyone in
Speaker 5: the ORG. He is like the poster child and player development,
Speaker 5: transitioning in the major leagues for you know, taking a
Speaker 5: player plan, you know, like investing in his development, getting feedback,
Speaker 5: being open, like the communication is a one so you know, to.
Speaker 4: The level of success.
Speaker 5: Would we be surprised, Maybe a little, because you know
Speaker 5: there were times where he was dominant, but the human
Speaker 5: is you know what you can bet on, and we'll
Speaker 5: always bet on him.
Speaker 2: Brad Goldberg's joining us. He's the Guardian's assistant pitching coach
Speaker 2: this year. Let's talk about that transition. Brad, you're coming
Speaker 2: into the dugout now after spending last year in the bullpen. First,
Speaker 2: what will you miss about the day and nights in
Speaker 2: the bullpen on a regular basis.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it's just a little bit of a
Speaker 5: different animal. Obviously, it's it's a people business. So I
Speaker 5: miss the people, whether that's you know, Ricky Patrionn or
Speaker 5: Eric Rodrigue is out there bullpen catchers.
Speaker 4: You know, the fun portion of it.
Speaker 5: And then the quote unquote fire drills when the phone
Speaker 5: rings and guys have to get going really fast and prepare,
Speaker 5: and you know those are fun. You know, the low
Speaker 5: heartbeat of everyone down there when when things are going
Speaker 5: fast is it's something that everyone, you know, I wish
Speaker 5: could experience. It's it's thrilling, but yeah, I'll just miss
Speaker 5: the people and you know, kind of going from watching
Speaker 5: the game and forecasting what's going to happen to when
Speaker 5: that phone rings, everyone's you know, heart rate spikes and
Speaker 5: then they're in the game two minutes later.
Speaker 2: So that the Guardians approach you about a potential position
Speaker 2: in the dugout as an assistant pitching coach. What's that
Speaker 2: going to entail and and how how much do you
Speaker 2: think that fills a gap that maybe there was that
Speaker 2: could really be helpful for some of the pitch over
Speaker 2: the course of the season.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so we're still working through it, but they approached
Speaker 5: me about a little bit more of like in game planning,
Speaker 5: in game adjusting, a little bit more advanced work on
Speaker 5: the front end and scouting.
Speaker 4: So you know, maybe I'll let you know later in
Speaker 4: the year.
Speaker 5: So we're still working through it and we'll you know,
Speaker 5: rehearse in spring training and get ideas from the players,
Speaker 5: get ideas from Carl Albi. You know, we'll talk to
Speaker 5: our hting coaches about how they make adjustments and hopefully
Speaker 5: reverse engineer that. So I think it's still fluid, but
Speaker 5: I'm very excited.
Speaker 2: And it's interesting because you'll be one of three pitching
Speaker 2: coaches in the dugout, and just in general, the amount
Speaker 2: of coaches has increased. You haven't been out of the
Speaker 2: game as a player that long and you had some
Speaker 2: major league time. How different is it though, even in
Speaker 2: that short period of time from when you pitched, in
Speaker 2: terms of the information available and the resources that you
Speaker 2: could have during the course of a.
Speaker 4: Game, Yeah, it's different.
Speaker 5: It's I think the is trying to filter it to
Speaker 5: each player and seeing what makes sense for them and
Speaker 5: translating it into what they've been working on or what
Speaker 5: their strengths are. What we're seeing the last you know, five, ten,
Speaker 5: fifteen days, whatever we.
Speaker 4: Think the sample size is.
Speaker 5: But you know, our players are you know, they're they're
Speaker 5: taught and they're educated on you know, the data now,
Speaker 5: so they take it and it's it's trying to filter
Speaker 5: it to them.
Speaker 4: So it's still the people business. But yeah, it's changed
Speaker 4: quite a bit.
Speaker 5: And you know, the feel that Carl has and hopefully
Speaker 5: imparts on us is what we can work off of,
Speaker 5: and we're excited to do that.
Speaker 2: Obviously, familiar names on the pitching staff, post starting rotation
Speaker 2: and bullpen. Wise, you're not that far removed from player development.
Speaker 2: There'll be some young kids in major league camp, a
Speaker 2: name or two for us to keep an eye on
Speaker 2: that you're pretty excited to see at least get a
Speaker 2: look in major league camp and who knows, maybe make
Speaker 2: that next step during the course of the season.
Speaker 5: Sure, starting, we can go with Doug mccasey, left hander
Speaker 5: out of Ole Miss A high draft pick. He has
Speaker 5: worked really hard to hone in his delivery. He spins
Speaker 5: the ball extremely well. He is a world class competitor.
Speaker 5: Care levels extremely high, really easy to root for. You know,
Speaker 5: it's always nice to have a left handers that can
Speaker 5: start as well. And then in the bullpen. Franco Alaman
Speaker 5: another guy that just got added to the forty man
Speaker 5: this offseason. Big imposing figure, super intense guy, hard throwing,
Speaker 5: wrighty with a little funky delivery. He's out of the
Speaker 5: University of Florida, So we're excited to see them get
Speaker 5: their first taste of major league camp and hopefully contribute
Speaker 5: at some point.
Speaker 2: Just a couple of names of many that will be
Speaker 2: keeping an eye on out in Goodyear. Brad Goldberg's joining us.
Speaker 2: He's out of the Ohio State University. But this must
Speaker 2: have been a fun offseason for you. How dialed in
Speaker 2: on the football team were you this offseason?
Speaker 4: Brad, very very invested. I was very fortunate.
Speaker 5: I got to go to multiple games after our season
Speaker 5: unfortunately ended kind of on a whim. I got to
Speaker 5: travel to Atlanta to the national title a couple of
Speaker 5: weeks ago.
Speaker 4: And that was a, you know, experience it. I'll never forget.
Speaker 2: Great stuff, great stuff, to be sure, Brad, thanks a
Speaker 2: lot for coming by. Congratulations on the new position, and
Speaker 2: we'll look forward to seeing you out in Goodyear real soon.
Speaker 4: Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 2: That is new assistant pitching coach Brad Goldberg, but certainly
Speaker 2: not new to the major league staff, as again, he
Speaker 2: was the bullpen coach for a Major League Baseball's best
Speaker 2: bullpen a year ago, and what a job he did.
Speaker 2: And man, they juggled a lot of workload and they're
Speaker 2: trying to manage that here this spring. With the likes
Speaker 2: of Emmanuel class A, Kate Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Tim
Speaker 2: Herron all appearing in more than seventy games, there flow
Speaker 2: will be shortened here this spring to get them ready
Speaker 2: for the season, but also make sure that they're in
Speaker 2: it for the long haul and for Brad Goldbergen a
Speaker 2: chance to make an impact in the dugout as the
Speaker 2: new assistant pitching coach. Stay with us when we come back,
Speaker 2: we'll hear from Guardian centerfielder Lane Thomas. That's next time,
Speaker 2: Cleveland Clinic, Guardians Radio Network. Thomas digs in hole for two.
Speaker 2: But he's been one of the hottest titters for the
Speaker 2: Guardians for a month. Here's the pitch to him.
Speaker 7: He swings and.
Speaker 2: Drives it high in the air left field.
Speaker 1: Will it make the bleachers grandid.
Speaker 8: Blame?
Speaker 1: Thomas has put the Guardians in front with a grand
Speaker 1: saund five to one Cleveland.
Speaker 2: And this place is shaking. Welcome back to Guardian's Weekly
Speaker 2: Jim rosen House back with you in Goodyear, Arizona at
Speaker 2: Guardians spring training. The weather's been perfect. The players have
Speaker 2: had no issues with weather in terms of getting their
Speaker 2: work in and as it was a year ago, camp
Speaker 2: running very smoothly. A lot of good work getting done
Speaker 2: and one of those who's working on his defense, which
Speaker 2: really was very good last year after they acquired him
Speaker 2: in a trade from Washington is Lane Thomas, who is
Speaker 2: going to work hard to become even a better center
Speaker 2: fielder than he has been. And that's the Key's going
Speaker 2: to play center field most of the time, it looks like.
Speaker 2: And he had a chance to visit with him a
Speaker 2: couple of days ago, and he talked about that work
Speaker 2: as well as being in his first major league camp
Speaker 2: with Cleveland. Remember now he was acquired via trade last year,
Speaker 2: so he has never had a spring training in Arizona.
Speaker 2: Then he said that there's some adjustments there, but it's
Speaker 2: great to see the teammates that he became very close
Speaker 2: with in a quick period of time.
Speaker 7: Yeah, it's been awesome.
Speaker 9: I think, you know, just trying to get familiar with
Speaker 9: the surroundings and you know, I was like coming in
Speaker 9: a little bit early, especially in a situation like this
Speaker 9: or haven't been to a complex and just getting a
Speaker 9: feel for it before we actually start.
Speaker 6: You know, full on go.
Speaker 7: But I know, this hallway is pretty cool.
Speaker 9: You can really see how successful of an organization this
Speaker 9: is with all the you know, stuff they've got posted
Speaker 9: on these walls.
Speaker 2: We're standing in front of the club records and you
Speaker 2: see names like Bob Feller and Herb Score and all
Speaker 2: kinds of great players.
Speaker 6: I believe your.
Speaker 2: First spring training in Arizona after I'm mostly in Florida,
Speaker 2: have you noticed much difference yet?
Speaker 9: I like the weather a little bit better, you know,
Speaker 9: I like those cool mornings.
Speaker 2: And the travel. You'll notice that once the games begin,
Speaker 2: it's a lot better. Going back to last year, you
Speaker 2: had a playoff series to remember for any player, and
Speaker 2: once everything was all said and done, when you look
Speaker 2: back on that, what was that experience like for you
Speaker 2: being able to come through in such key spots.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it was pretty special.
Speaker 9: I think, you know, this group I think was really
Speaker 9: prepared for those situations, and I think that showed in
Speaker 9: that first series.
Speaker 7: I think, you know, I think we might have.
Speaker 9: Done some things differently in that next series, but you know,
Speaker 9: you can't look back and regret anything. I think we're
Speaker 9: just trying to, you know, move forward and build off
Speaker 9: of the stuff that we thought we didn't do as well.
Speaker 9: You know for this year.
Speaker 2: Is there much communication among teammates in the off season
Speaker 2: about that and trying to take that next step for
Speaker 2: this season?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 9: I think, you know, we touch base every once in
Speaker 9: a while. I think that's really a time to hang
Speaker 9: out with family. But we definitely touch base, you know,
Speaker 9: a couple of times a month. But yeah, I think
Speaker 9: that's important when you get here to talk about and
Speaker 9: just kind of see how how we're gonna go about
Speaker 9: this camp. I think that's been a big point from
Speaker 9: voter is just like, you know, remember and be proud of,
Speaker 9: you know, what we accomplished last year. But you know,
Speaker 9: at the end of the day, that's not the that's
Speaker 9: not the end goal. You know, we want to win
Speaker 9: seven more games or whatever the number is.
Speaker 2: You know, when you look at things personally, what do
Speaker 2: you work on in an off season at this stage
Speaker 2: of your career to try and maybe take even a
Speaker 2: bigger step forward for this season.
Speaker 9: I think there's always stuff that you know shows up,
Speaker 9: that's there something that you know you didn't do as well.
Speaker 9: I think that's where the analytics stuff kind of helps now,
Speaker 9: is you know maybe that they have something for you
Speaker 9: that you wouldn't even have thought about. But for me,
Speaker 9: I just you know, trying to be more consistent, you know,
Speaker 9: maybe defensively and offensively, kind of worked on centerfield a lot,
Speaker 9: just trying to prepare for you know, a little more
Speaker 9: ground to cover.
Speaker 2: And you mentioned that how do you do that in
Speaker 2: an off season where maybe you don't have the access
Speaker 2: that you do once you get out here to spring train.
Speaker 6: I think just working on the routes going both ways.
Speaker 9: You know, I played right field the last few years,
Speaker 9: so like you have kind of a small amount of
Speaker 9: grass to cover to your left and a bigger one
Speaker 9: to your right. And when I was in d c
Speaker 9: our center fielder, I think he was probably I think.
Speaker 7: You almost want a gold glove.
Speaker 9: So I kind of was like, hey, you're you're catching
Speaker 9: everything to my right, so I don't even you know,
Speaker 9: it's like, can't you know, just getting back in that
Speaker 9: mindset of being aggressive and you know, going both ways.
Speaker 2: Nice to know that going into a season that hey,
Speaker 2: you know that they want me to work on centerfield
Speaker 2: and I can focus on that going in.
Speaker 9: Yeah, for sure, I think, uh, it's it's uh, you
Speaker 9: don't have to worry about, you know, more than more
Speaker 9: than one thing. I think I'll definitely probably get some
Speaker 9: arts and right or left or whatever they want, but
Speaker 9: you know what, for now, I just want to work
Speaker 9: on that.
Speaker 2: Everybody has different setups in the winter time, you have
Speaker 2: an opportunity to go over to the University of Tennessee
Speaker 2: for your workouts. What makes that's area in Knoxville special
Speaker 2: for you?
Speaker 9: You know, I guess you're just growing up there. You know,
Speaker 9: the people, the and the you know, that's a good question.
Speaker 9: I don't really know the answer to it, but you know,
Speaker 9: it's just home. You know, it's I go back and relax.
Speaker 9: It's a little bit slower paced than most places.
Speaker 6: So I like that about it.
Speaker 2: Early stages of spring training as much as anything else.
Speaker 2: Just seeing the guys again, especially this group would seems
Speaker 2: so tight knit by the end of the year.
Speaker 6: Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 9: It just cool to hang out and get get getting
Speaker 9: those you know, funny card games and hang out and
Speaker 9: just get back in the swing of things.
Speaker 6: Thanks.
Speaker 2: I appreciate it.
Speaker 9: Yeah, absolutely, thank you.
Speaker 2: And a center fielder Lane Thomas, and man, what a
Speaker 2: postseason he had for the Guardians, especially in that series
Speaker 2: against the Tigers in the American League Division Series. Also
Speaker 2: in camp and ready to go, trying to earn a spot,
Speaker 2: perhaps a starting spot at a different position than a
Speaker 2: year ago. Last year's opening day center fielder Tyler Freeman,
Speaker 2: first time he had ever played the outfield, was last spring,
Speaker 2: and he did very well well enough to win the
Speaker 2: job and be the opening day center fielder. This year, though,
Speaker 2: he sees more of a utility role and perhaps a
Speaker 2: chance to be the starting second basement on opening day
Speaker 2: with that job wide open heading into camp, and when
Speaker 2: we caught up with Tyler a couple of days ago,
Speaker 2: he talked about how important it is from a versatility
Speaker 2: standpoint for him and also the team.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 8: I mean the way like that is, we also have
Speaker 8: one goal and that's a win the World Series, and
Speaker 8: whatever they want me to do, I'm willing to do
Speaker 8: it open arms. But yeah, like you said, this offseason,
Speaker 8: kind of working everything outfield and field, learning from guys
Speaker 8: that I worked with out there.
Speaker 7: It's trying to improve my game anyway possible.
Speaker 2: And you had the injury issue at the end of
Speaker 2: last season, but how quickly were you able to get
Speaker 2: pass that and really get to work on on what
Speaker 2: you need?
Speaker 8: Honestly, Like I would say, December is when I kind
Speaker 8: of started feeling one hundred percent.
Speaker 7: It kind of took a little bit.
Speaker 8: I was lightly doing stuff in the beginning, but then
Speaker 8: got more into it in December kind of like just
Speaker 8: more reps, more more intensity stuff. But I would say, like, yeah,
Speaker 8: December is kind of when it fully went away.
Speaker 2: And for someone like you, obviously there's an opening at
Speaker 2: second base and you probably figured that out. You know
Speaker 2: at a certain point in the off season when a
Speaker 2: trade is made. How much does that alter what you
Speaker 2: do in terms of prep and and trying to be
Speaker 2: ready to contend for a spot.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's it's definitely something that you know, it's just
Speaker 8: part of baseball. It's part of the business. We saw
Speaker 8: when him he got traded. Second base definitely opened up.
Speaker 8: So photo told us that that job's open and whoever
Speaker 8: whatever's gonna get, it's gonna get it. And would you know,
Speaker 8: just gonna keep working hard and if it is, if
Speaker 8: it is second grade, if not, I'll keep finding ways
Speaker 8: to help the team win.
Speaker 2: Obviously, when you're coming up through the minor leagues, you
Speaker 2: were infielder by trade. But now the amount of gloves
Speaker 2: you must have and things like that. Is it kind
Speaker 2: of fun though? And then do you embrace that?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 8: Oh absolutely, It's brought out a whole new game for me.
Speaker 8: I enjoy I enjoy challenges as much as possible, and
Speaker 8: starting with the center field last year, I enjoyed every
Speaker 8: second of it and still enjoy it. Might might enjoy
Speaker 8: it actually little bit more in the infield now, but
Speaker 8: you know, it's that's part of my game.
Speaker 7: My game is a utility role. I'm just going to
Speaker 7: keep bouncing around helping the team win anyway.
Speaker 2: And you have a good buddy, David Frye, who epitomizes
Speaker 2: the same thing, being versatile and all that. Do you
Speaker 2: guys talk about that and what it takes to be
Speaker 2: successful without a maybe a regular position.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean me and David were kind of in
Speaker 8: the same role.
Speaker 7: And I want to say it was twenty three.
Speaker 8: You know, we weren't getting lots of opportunities, and we're
Speaker 8: just like, hey, how can we do this? Like what
Speaker 8: what can we do to help get on the field.
Speaker 8: And I remember sitting down with him in the locker room.
Speaker 8: He's like, Hey, let's just got to keep up expanding
Speaker 8: where we play, keep when opportunities happen, just try to
Speaker 8: make the best out of it.
Speaker 7: And I give a lot of credit.
Speaker 6: To David for that.
Speaker 2: Obviously, so much of the game is individual. But you
Speaker 2: were part of a really good team a year ago,
Speaker 2: and what did you learned last year about what it
Speaker 2: takes to be part of a good team and how
Speaker 2: that can help you this year.
Speaker 7: Man, you just got to be a great teammate. Number one.
Speaker 8: Got to be willing to sacrifice anything that they that
Speaker 8: they ask you to do, and you know, whether it
Speaker 8: be playing a different position or you know, maybe sacrificing
Speaker 8: at bats or whatever.
Speaker 7: I just staying ready during the games.
Speaker 8: Like just examples like that that our group last year
Speaker 8: did all of that, no matter who it was.
Speaker 7: I think Vote said it was about.
Speaker 8: Fifty guys last year that was on that big league roster,
Speaker 8: and it took every single one of those guys.
Speaker 7: To make the to make or do whatever we did
Speaker 7: last year as a team.
Speaker 2: So it's early yet, but you're back with the teammateson
Speaker 2: or some new ones. What are you seeing in here
Speaker 2: that has you excited about what could be again, especially
Speaker 2: based on a year.
Speaker 8: You know every year our pitching is nasty, and just
Speaker 8: seeing faces like how we missed last year, like Beabes,
Speaker 8: who's gonna be healthy halfway.
Speaker 7: Through the year or whenever he's ready.
Speaker 8: We have guys to just signed, like John Means and
Speaker 8: and Junas and all these other guys, like they're they're
Speaker 8: here and they're ready to win too, and and they're
Speaker 8: they're here to to create that culture just like we
Speaker 8: always have.
Speaker 2: Uh, you mentioned teammates off season, you got married, big
Speaker 2: day for you and and what was that like having
Speaker 2: some of your teammates at their reception and the wedding
Speaker 2: and things like that.
Speaker 8: Oh, it's great, you know they having them there was
Speaker 8: just awesome. You know, they not only their friends or
Speaker 8: my brothers and going up through the minor league system
Speaker 8: with them or or whatever that may be. Just having
Speaker 8: them there at that on my special day and our
Speaker 8: special day.
Speaker 7: Actually, this is just kind of icing on the cake.
Speaker 7: Just we're brotherhood.
Speaker 2: That is utility man Tyler Freeman trying to earn a
Speaker 2: spot somewhere on this ball club, either as a utility
Speaker 2: man or perhaps the starting second basement. That certainly is
Speaker 2: an option for him as he gets deeper into camp.
Speaker 2: With the games beginning a little bit later today, stay
Speaker 2: with us. When we get back, we will have our
Speaker 2: final segment. We'll hear from starting pitcher Ben Lively. That's
Speaker 2: next time at Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Perdomo hits
Speaker 2: the first ball wide a third, diving to his left
Speaker 2: Freeman has it.
Speaker 7: Kids up throws them out.
Speaker 1: What a play by Tyler Freeman. If he doesn't dive
Speaker 1: towards second and get that ball, it's an infield.
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Speaker 2: Him rosenhow's back with you from Goodyear, Arizona and Guardians
Speaker 2: Spring training. It's Guardians Weekly. Great to have you with us,
Speaker 2: says Our shows will eliminate from here in Goodyear for
Speaker 2: the next month and a half as the team gets
Speaker 2: ready for a new season trying to defend that American
Speaker 2: League's Central Division title that they won a year ago,
Speaker 2: and they'll need plenty of starting pitching. We saw it
Speaker 2: a year ago, and one of the big surprises last
Speaker 2: year betteran right hander Ben Lively, a thirteen game winner
Speaker 2: a season ago, blew away any of his prior career
Speaker 2: bests in terms of major league numbers, be it wins, innings,
Speaker 2: pitch starts, er, strikeouts, all of it. He had a
Speaker 2: great year for the Guardians, especially when they needed it most.
Speaker 2: And we had a chance to visit with Ben, and
Speaker 2: we'll get to some good stuff about what he likes
Speaker 2: to do in the offseason, but he said he was
Speaker 2: especially proud of how things came together last season.
Speaker 11: I mean, I always pushed myself to be that kind
Speaker 11: of guy, and you know, when things just clicked together,
Speaker 11: it just makes it fun and cool endings.
Speaker 2: And when you look back on it, it seemed like
Speaker 2: right out of the shoot you were ready to go,
Speaker 2: even though you had a setback in the spring, I know, healthwise,
Speaker 2: But when did you start to have that confidence that, hey,
Speaker 2: what you're doing is work.
Speaker 11: I mean, honestly, after that, like the first two games
Speaker 11: against Boss and I was just like fired up, and
Speaker 11: I was like, Okay, like these pitches feel great, Let's
Speaker 11: just keep going, and kind of just kept digging and
Speaker 11: kept my head down and just focused.
Speaker 2: Was there anything you were doing differently last year that
Speaker 2: maybe you weren't doing earlier in your career or was
Speaker 2: it just having that opportunity to see what worked?
Speaker 11: I mean, I think a little mix of both, because
Speaker 11: I mean, obviously I was messing with some new pitches.
Speaker 11: I used my change up more than I ever have
Speaker 11: in my career last year, and thanks for just mixing well.
Speaker 11: And I was working hard and keeping my body ready
Speaker 11: to be on the field.
Speaker 2: Along those lines, a lot of work last year. How
Speaker 2: long did it take you to recover and get back
Speaker 2: into the swing of things in the off season?
Speaker 6: I mean it was good.
Speaker 11: It took about a full month off in the hunting
Speaker 11: woods and still walked around and stretched a little bit.
Speaker 11: But when I started throwing, you know, typical storiness and
Speaker 11: everything felt fine. And already feels like kind of close
Speaker 11: back to normal.
Speaker 2: All right, No, not the important stuff. Surfing good. Did
Speaker 2: you say you were on a magazine cover for it?
Speaker 11: Yeah, my buddy took a picture and it ended up
Speaker 11: on surf line dot com.
Speaker 6: And it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2: Well, and tell us about the surfing Pensacola. What makes
Speaker 2: it good. What's a good wave for you? And then
Speaker 2: all that kind of.
Speaker 11: Stuff hurricanes and cold friends and a good north wind hurricanes.
Speaker 6: Oh yeah, we're out there.
Speaker 11: Even when I was a little kid, I remember got
Speaker 11: I got in trouble by the truancy officer one time
Speaker 11: to give its cool.
Speaker 2: It's pretty funny because there was a hurricane and he
Speaker 2: went surfing ricane.
Speaker 11: Well mo, yeah, I was in the parking lot of
Speaker 11: the pier and he rolled by and yelled at us
Speaker 11: to go back to school.
Speaker 6: And it's pretty funny.
Speaker 11: But yeah, this is all me and my buddies do
Speaker 11: when I'm back home. It's just that keeps me going,
Speaker 11: keeps me in shape, keeps everything loose, and just fun
Speaker 11: thing to do.
Speaker 2: And you mentioned that I think probably alternative training is
Speaker 2: a great thing for anybody to do in this game.
Speaker 2: What does surfing do for you from a baseball standpoint?
Speaker 11: Gets my shoulder loosened up, like I feel like, I like,
Speaker 11: get real long and everything's loose. I mean, some say
Speaker 11: the best you have for pitchers of swimming, and that's
Speaker 11: just on our prom position on a board. And I
Speaker 11: just pinched my shoulders back even when I'm not even
Speaker 11: like catching waves. I'm just like holding my posture and
Speaker 11: kind of doing my arm care when I'm out there surfing.
Speaker 2: Unique, but I'm sure fun.
Speaker 6: Oh absolutely, and just out there.
Speaker 11: Next thing you know, you're out there for three hours,
Speaker 11: you're tired, and you're ready to go to bed.
Speaker 6: All right.
Speaker 2: How's Captain Eddie doing on the fishing boat and is
Speaker 2: that still rolling along? And do you still help him
Speaker 2: out in the winter time?
Speaker 8: Oh?
Speaker 6: Yeah, whatever he needs, But yeah, he's digging.
Speaker 11: He's I think he's already got a full summer book
Speaker 11: to snaper season, and just like us, it's spring training
Speaker 11: for him, getting the boat ready and about to get
Speaker 11: after it.
Speaker 2: So winter times in the Pensacola area. You came out
Speaker 2: here early mid January and you missed a momentous event
Speaker 2: back home. Tell us about that.
Speaker 6: Oh yeah, I was out here for about three or
Speaker 6: four days.
Speaker 11: And the next thing I know, I looked on the
Speaker 11: radar and nice little purple and pink blob coming from
Speaker 11: Mississippi and Louisiana, and I'm like, no way. And I
Speaker 11: get a call from my girlfriend and ten inches of
Speaker 11: snow in the backyard and on the beach.
Speaker 6: I couldn't believe it's pretty crazy.
Speaker 2: And snow days for school was never a thing when
Speaker 2: you were growing up in pennscul.
Speaker 11: To be fair, snow day does count when it's too
Speaker 11: cold and people are scared of driver of the bridge.
Speaker 11: So not like the Cleveland area, No, not for sure,
Speaker 11: but that was definitely the first real snow day.
Speaker 2: So you get out here in mid January. How you
Speaker 2: feeling as you head ended this season, especially coming off
Speaker 2: a year like he had a year ago.
Speaker 11: Honestly, like the same mindsets what voter keeps talking about,
Speaker 11: like last.
Speaker 6: Year's ceiling was this year's floor.
Speaker 11: Like I'm just thinking, well, we built on what I
Speaker 11: built on and just like kind of just having that
Speaker 11: same drive.
Speaker 2: And the team. It takes a usually a little bit
Speaker 2: to jel what about this club though they seem pretty
Speaker 2: tight at the end of last year, and it seems
Speaker 2: the same walking in here again.
Speaker 11: Oh yeah, I mean there's a a lot of the
Speaker 11: same guys back and the new guys I.
Speaker 6: Get here always asks like what are you all like?
Speaker 11: And they see it right away like we're all messing
Speaker 11: with each other and laid back and everyone just cares.
Speaker 11: It's like we mess around, have fun, but like we're
Speaker 11: still gonna push you to do the right like if
Speaker 11: you do something wrong, you're gonna hear about it from everybody.
Speaker 2: Well, I know you're a big part of the fun
Speaker 2: and Ben always good to see it.
Speaker 6: Thanks absolutely nice you.
Speaker 2: That is veteran pitcher Ben Lively battling for another spot
Speaker 2: in the starting rotation. Will be some competition, a lot
Speaker 2: of good starting pitching in camp, and some of that
Speaker 2: due to some health that has turned and for the better,
Speaker 2: and also some veterans who have been signed so Lively
Speaker 2: certainly in the mix to be a key part of
Speaker 2: that rotation once again. Games start today as we wind
Speaker 2: things down on our show today, the Cactus League schedule
Speaker 2: begins for the Guardians with the game against the Reds
Speaker 2: this afternoon, a three oh five first pitch, and we'll
Speaker 2: have it for you right here on the Cleveland Clinic
Speaker 2: Guardians Radio Network. Another radio game tomorrow, the Angels come
Speaker 2: to Goodyear. That'll be a home game for Cleveland. Today's
Speaker 2: at technically a road game even though they play it
Speaker 2: here as the Reds will be the home team today.
Speaker 2: But tomorrow the home opener for the Guardians here at
Speaker 2: Goodyear Ballpark, they will take on the Angels another three
Speaker 2: oh five first pitch, and once again we'll have that
Speaker 2: for you right here on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 2: Don't forget. You can hear our show, Guardians Weekly each
Speaker 2: week on our flagship station WTAM in Cleveland at seven
Speaker 2: am on Saturday mornings, same for WMAN in Mansfield and
Speaker 2: WMRN in Marion. In Youngstown it airs at eleven am
Speaker 2: on Saturdays on WKBN, And of course you can hear
Speaker 2: it whenever you like in podcast form wherever you like
Speaker 2: to download your favorite podcasts. As always, thanks go out
Speaker 2: to Brian Motze. Great Dad Mott's back for another season.
Speaker 2: Is as big a part of this broadcast throughout the
Speaker 2: year as anybody. And until next week, why't we join
Speaker 2: you with another edition of Guardians Weekly. This is Jim
Speaker 2: rosen House reminding you that you are listening to the
Speaker 2: Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
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