Speaker 1: Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
Speaker 1: fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2: Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardians Weekly. Gym rosen House along
Speaker 2: with you from Kansas City, Missouri, where the Guardians in
Speaker 2: the midst of their season opening series against the Royals.
Speaker 2: What an opening day on Thursday, a dramatic seven to
Speaker 2: four to ten inning win for Cleveland over the Royals.
Speaker 2: The teams will meet thirteen times this season, and you
Speaker 2: got a figure of the remaining twelve. There'll be quite
Speaker 2: a few like the opener, because they are two teams
Speaker 2: that are very evenly matched and have high expectations regarding
Speaker 2: winning the division and reaching the postseason once again as
Speaker 2: they did a season ago. Good show lined up for
Speaker 2: you today. In just a little bit, we will hear
Speaker 2: from Jose Ramirez his thoughts on the season ahead. We
Speaker 2: will also visit with Nolan Jones, the former top prospect
Speaker 2: for Cleveland had been with Colorado. Now he's back with
Speaker 2: the organization that drafted and developed him, and we'll hear
Speaker 2: his reaction to the trade and some of his thoughts
Speaker 2: on rejoining this ball club. Also Daniel Schneeman, a first
Speaker 2: for him making an opening day roster, and we'll get
Speaker 2: his thoughts about that accomplishment. And we'll hear from Stephen Osterer,
Speaker 2: the new farm director for the Cleveland Guardians. Our first
Speaker 2: weekly farm report from Osti, and he'll fill us in
Speaker 2: on TRIAA Columbus. But first to look back at opening day,
Speaker 2: a sellout crowd in Kansas City, as you would expect,
Speaker 2: the joint was jumping, They were out early. It was
Speaker 2: a three to ten local time start. And I can
Speaker 2: tell you if you showed up at nine to go
Speaker 2: to work that day, you had to battle tailgaters who
Speaker 2: were already at it out in the parking lots, the
Speaker 2: massive parking lots here at Kaupman Stadium and the Chiefs
Speaker 2: home football field as well across the parking lot. And
Speaker 2: they were ready to go, and they saw quite a ballgame.
Speaker 2: Vinnie Pasquentino put the Royals in front in the third
Speaker 2: inning with a three run home run that made it
Speaker 2: a three to nothing ballgame, and just like that, the
Speaker 2: Royals were in front. They were facing Ben Lively because
Speaker 2: Tanner Biby, the scheduled opening day starter and rightly. So
Speaker 2: the ace of the staff came down with the stomach
Speaker 2: illness and that really hampered him the last thirty six
Speaker 2: hours prior to opening day, and the Guardians just didn't
Speaker 2: want to risk putting him out there despite his best
Speaker 2: efforts to continue and make his start. Stephen Vote, the
Speaker 2: manager and the pitching staff as well coaches, they said no, no,
Speaker 2: and they bumped him back to a little bit later
Speaker 2: on on this season opening road trip. So the Guardians
Speaker 2: are trailing three nothing after three, but they started to
Speaker 2: chip away in the fourth, John Kenzie know Well with
Speaker 2: a sack fly. Another sacrifice fly, this time from Jose
Speaker 2: Ramirez in the fifth made it a one run ball game,
Speaker 2: and that set the table in the sixth inning for
Speaker 2: Kyle Manzardo to put the Guardians in front on.
Speaker 1: Hell Surpas pitch swung on and Kyle Manzarto with a
Speaker 1: deep drive deep right center. This boss got a chance.
Speaker 3: It is gone.
Speaker 1: Kyle Mansardo into the fountains and right centers, left on left,
Speaker 1: and Manzarto has given Cleveland its first lead of the
Speaker 1: campaign at four to three on Hell. Sirpa, who was
Speaker 1: so big for the Royals a year ago, brought in
Speaker 1: to face the left tender and on a left on
Speaker 1: left matchup, Kyle Manzardo blasted won four hundred and twenty
Speaker 1: four feet to the fountains and right center. Manzardo another
Speaker 1: guy who just came into camp bounding with confidence based
Speaker 1: on September and what he did in October. And Manzardo,
Speaker 1: who had three point sixteen with a home run against
Speaker 1: Detroit and the Yankees in October, has picked up where
Speaker 1: he left off your one opening day.
Speaker 2: That was just the start of what turned out to
Speaker 2: be a huge day for Manzardo as the Guardians had
Speaker 2: a four to three lead and they turned it over
Speaker 2: to last season's best bullpen in baseball, and first up
Speaker 2: in the sixth inning was Cad Smith, now the two two.
Speaker 1: Swing NMS ran it in on his thumbs at ninety
Speaker 1: seven miles per hour and Bobby Witt Junior's strikeout victim
Speaker 1: number one to start the sixth the pitch swing and
Speaker 1: he got up with a slider and Kate Smith makes
Speaker 1: quick work of the best threesome in the American League,
Speaker 1: went pass Guentino and Perez and it's four to three Guardians.
Speaker 2: Then in the seventh inning, Tim Herron held on to
Speaker 2: the lead.
Speaker 1: The bitch strike three called fastball on the outer edge,
Speaker 1: and the Guardian's bullpen picking up where left off. In fact,
Speaker 1: when you think of how Ben Lively finished, Cleveland now
Speaker 1: has retired thirteen consecutive Kansas City hitters. And we go
Speaker 1: to the eighth with the Guardians up four to three.
Speaker 1: Then in the eighth inning, Hunter Gaddis worked himself into
Speaker 1: a jam with a lead off walk to Calvin Biggio,
Speaker 1: and then later on in the inning and error by
Speaker 1: Gaddis put runners on the corners with nobody out. But
Speaker 1: somehow Gaddis would work out of it, putting the finishing
Speaker 1: touches on a scoreless inning by facing one tough customer
Speaker 1: in Bobby Wood Junior.
Speaker 2: Now the two.
Speaker 1: Pitch tys on a slider. What a job by Gaddis
Speaker 1: and this Cleveland alert infield defense. Somehow the Royals head
Speaker 1: first and third, nobody out and they do not score
Speaker 1: four to three. Cleveland, we head to the nineteen.
Speaker 2: So it remained four to three heading to the bottom
Speaker 2: half of the ninth inning and with a Manuel Classe
Speaker 2: on to close it out. Normally that means an easy
Speaker 2: pass to a victory, but not in this case on
Speaker 2: opening day, Classe was hit hard enough where the Royals
Speaker 2: would tie the game, as they did it on a
Speaker 2: sackfly off the bat of Michael Massey, and that made
Speaker 2: it a four to four contest heading to the tenth.
Speaker 2: The Guardians, though, would strike for what proved to be
Speaker 2: the decisive runs, as they had brought Rochio starting the
Speaker 2: inning at second base as that lead runner, and Stephen
Speaker 2: Kuan stepped in to try and put the team in front.
Speaker 1: Now the one two delivery, Qwan with a line shot
Speaker 1: toward the gamp in the right center on the run
Speaker 1: and missing it. His Renfro against buy him rolls to
Speaker 1: the warning track into scores. Rochio and Kwan with a
Speaker 1: double an odd route to that ball and right center
Speaker 1: by Hunter Renfro. He didn't angle back going toward the
Speaker 1: right center gap. He cuts straight across and the right
Speaker 1: fielder never had a chance and the Guardians have a
Speaker 1: five to four lead here in the tenth.
Speaker 2: So the Guardians had the lead, but as we've grown
Speaker 2: accustomed to in these extra inning games, with that base
Speaker 2: runner starting at second base in each of the innings,
Speaker 2: the visiting team likes to score more than just the
Speaker 2: one run and after an intentional walk with two outs
Speaker 2: to Carlos Santana, Kyle Manzardo, who already had a big
Speaker 2: day going, was looking for more long.
Speaker 1: Not a Sacramento State University hands at the belt, He's ready.
Speaker 1: Here it comes. Manzardo rips it down the right field line.
Speaker 1: That's abase it into the corner. Kwan will score San
Speaker 1: Tana to thirty's being waived home. He is going to
Speaker 1: score without a throw. And another huge hit off a
Speaker 1: left hander by Kyle Manzardo, a two out, two run
Speaker 1: double into the right field corner to make it a
Speaker 1: three run tenth and Cleveland with a seven to four lead.
Speaker 1: Manzarto with a triple, a homer, a double, all off
Speaker 1: left handed pitching, and four runs batted in. What a
Speaker 1: day it was for Manzardo, the third Clevelander to record
Speaker 1: four or more runs batted in on opening day. The
Speaker 1: only others Chris Speaker did it back in nineteen twenty
Speaker 1: five and Leon Wagner did it in nineteen sixty four.
Speaker 1: And also, Manzarto became the third player in Major League
Speaker 1: history to record a double, a triple, and a home
Speaker 1: run on opening day, joining only Baltimore's Don Baylor and
Speaker 1: Detroit's g Walker. Baylor did it in nineteen seventy three,
Speaker 1: Walker in nineteen thirty seven. So what a day for
Speaker 1: Mansarto and what a day for the Guardians as they
Speaker 1: come away with the win. And after the game, Manzarto
Speaker 1: talked about his big day.
Speaker 4: How many triples did you go to hit?
Speaker 5: You hid one screen training. I've been leaving extra bases
Speaker 5: on the table for too long. I'm gonna get as
Speaker 5: many as I can.
Speaker 2: What is an outing like this this season opener that
Speaker 2: some historic facts behind it? What does that do for
Speaker 2: you coming out of the game day and have a hit.
Speaker 5: The gambling was Yeah, I mean it's super, super encouraging
Speaker 5: for the team to bounce back the way we did,
Speaker 5: but also personally to you know, find some success early on.
Speaker 6: Feels great.
Speaker 3: It was the last time you had to double a triple.
Speaker 1: In a over.
Speaker 5: I did it only once in college, that's I mean
Speaker 5: college and then this this is the only only time ever.
Speaker 7: How's that feel?
Speaker 5: I mean, that's it's great. Yeah, Oh yeah, tons and
Speaker 5: tons of confidence. You know, it definitely helps me settle
Speaker 5: in a little bit early here.
Speaker 6: Okay, A lot.
Speaker 3: Of times you see young hitters come up, and especially
Speaker 3: a left handed hitter, and you're not going to face
Speaker 3: left and kind of last year that was the way
Speaker 3: for you, right, What is your approach this year is
Speaker 3: that you don't care if it's a left year, like
Speaker 3: you want to prove that you can.
Speaker 5: Yeah anyway, Yeah, I mean I've hit hit lefties my
Speaker 5: whole life. So you know, I'm not gonna sit here
Speaker 5: and tell you that I'm you know, better against left
Speaker 5: handed pictures or anything, but I always hit them growing up.
Speaker 5: So you know, I'm excited, excited for this year, excited
Speaker 5: to get those opportunities a little bit more.
Speaker 7: Your first pitchure to so what are you looking for?
Speaker 5: They just changed pictures, looking looking for something hard and close.
Speaker 5: He throws really hard, good sinker. I figured he'd he'd,
Speaker 5: you know, show it to me early, try to get ahead.
Speaker 6: Jumped it.
Speaker 1: Intentional walks are part of baseball.
Speaker 6: They didn't motivate you at all.
Speaker 3: And the guy in front of you, guys walk.
Speaker 8: In the in the top of the tent.
Speaker 5: I mean it didn't like upset me or anything. I
Speaker 5: get it. But you know, maybe they'll think twice next time,
Speaker 5: you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Uh?
Speaker 5: I don't know. I think anybody whenever that happens, anybody's
Speaker 5: gonna take that a little bit personally, But I mean
Speaker 5: it's just baseball.
Speaker 3: Do you think you had a good camp?
Speaker 9: Did you just carrying that into the season.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, just uh, you know, building building off of
Speaker 5: the things I had, you know, worked on all through camp,
Speaker 5: and uh, you know, now I get to get to
Speaker 5: apply it when it when it counts.
Speaker 2: So it was a great day for Cleveland, opening the
Speaker 2: season with the ten innings, seven to four victory over
Speaker 2: the Royals on Thursday, and after an off day on Friday,
Speaker 2: they're back at it this afternoon with a four to
Speaker 2: ten first pitch and an airtime for Guardian swarm up
Speaker 2: of three thirty five. When we come back, we'll hear
Speaker 2: from the newest Cleveland Guardian, but he's an old Cleveland
Speaker 2: player at least in terms of where he started his
Speaker 2: major league career. We're talking about Nolan Jones, acquired from
Speaker 2: Colorado on the last weekend of spring training, and we'll
Speaker 2: talk to him about his journey when we come back
Speaker 2: after this.
Speaker 8: With Progressive Customer Service, there are lots of ways to
Speaker 8: connect with us, so you never have to miss a
Speaker 8: second of your favorite sport, because you'd much rather watch
Speaker 8: a ball go through a net one hundred and twenty
Speaker 8: four times in forty eight minutes when you don't really
Speaker 8: have to pay attention until the last two, and then
Speaker 8: somehow those two minutes will take an hour.
Speaker 1: You don't want to.
Speaker 2: Miss all that.
Speaker 8: Luckily, you can chat with Progressive on our app, online
Speaker 8: or over the phone without missing a single one of
Speaker 8: those times the ball goes through the metal circle. Progressive
Speaker 8: Castulte Insurance Company affiliate to other insurers. Not available in
Speaker 8: all states or situations.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhause back with you
Speaker 2: in Kansas City, where the Guardians are opening the season
Speaker 2: with a three game series against the Royals on the
Speaker 2: opening day. Roster Nolan Jones acquired the last week of
Speaker 2: spring training from the Colorado Rockies. The former first round
Speaker 2: draft pick of Cleveland and former top prospect of the
Speaker 2: Cleveland Indians at the time, Jones worked his way to
Speaker 2: the major leagues and made his debut in that twenty
Speaker 2: twenty two season, but after that campaign he was traded
Speaker 2: to Colorado, where he had an outstanding rookie season. In fact,
Speaker 2: finished in the Upper echelon of the Rookie of the
Speaker 2: Year voting that year in the National League fifth among
Speaker 2: the vote getters, and last year disappointing season with some
Speaker 2: back injuries. But now he's back with Cleveland a surprising
Speaker 2: trade at the end of the spring training time, as
Speaker 2: Tyler Freeman was traded to Colorado in exchange for Jones,
Speaker 2: and Jones is saying that when he got back to
Speaker 2: Goodyear and walked back into a familiar clubhouse, a lot
Speaker 2: of familiar faces made things a lot easier for him
Speaker 2: to get readjusted.
Speaker 10: Yeah. I mean, I think that the clubhouse we have
Speaker 10: here has been very accepting to me. And you know,
Speaker 10: obviously two years a long time. But at the same time,
Speaker 10: you know, teammates, teammates and friendships have gone beyond and
Speaker 10: I didn't lose contact with a lot of these guys.
Speaker 2: So I feel at home. When you look at at
Speaker 2: the last year or so, you had the great rookie
Speaker 2: season in Colorado, What have been some of the challenges
Speaker 2: that that you hope are behind you now as you
Speaker 2: get a fresh start here.
Speaker 10: Yeah, you know, I feel like I had a really
Speaker 10: good twenty twenty three and I had I had great
Speaker 10: feels at the plate. My body felt really good, and
Speaker 10: I wanted to keep that going. And so day one
Speaker 10: of the off season, that's what I did. Kept hitting,
Speaker 10: kept throwing, kept doing all these things. And I felt
Speaker 10: like I really burnt myself out. Uh, And so I
Speaker 10: think it's a it was a it was a lesson
Speaker 10: for me. And you know, obviously dealt with a lot
Speaker 10: of injuries last year and struggled, and so I think
Speaker 10: that you know, I took the opportunity, with a two
Speaker 10: month old daughter to try and get my body right
Speaker 10: through physical therapy and and learn how to be a dad.
Speaker 10: You know, two months into the season or two months
Speaker 10: left in the season, had my first daughter and was
Speaker 10: not able to spend as much time as I would
Speaker 10: have liked with her obviously on the road and everything
Speaker 10: and some rehab stints. So I really wanted to take
Speaker 10: that time to to spend some time with her and
Speaker 10: learn how to be a dad. I mean, I think,
Speaker 10: you know, that opportunity for me is what I've always
Speaker 10: dreamed of, And those first two months were really hard
Speaker 10: not being there for her, so and my fiance, so
Speaker 10: I wanted to take that time and spend it with them.
Speaker 10: And I think that it really set me up to
Speaker 10: get my body right first and then slowly build back
Speaker 10: into it. And I feel really good right now.
Speaker 2: One of the big cliches is that it puts things
Speaker 2: in perspective, and obviously when when you have a child,
Speaker 2: it certainly can do that. Aside from even the physical part,
Speaker 2: just that mental side. How did that help you just
Speaker 2: kind of keep things in a good place mentally.
Speaker 10: Yeah, Like I said, the first two months are really hard,
Speaker 10: you know, obviously not being there and there's not much
Speaker 10: feedback from the child, from my daughter. And then once
Speaker 10: the smiles started and the crawling around and the laughs
Speaker 10: and eating foods, like just seeing all those first and
Speaker 10: being there, like you said, it really does put it
Speaker 10: in perspective. And and and I mean, I'm out here
Speaker 10: doing this for her. I think that, you know, my
Speaker 10: whole life, I've dreamed of becoming a big leader. I've
Speaker 10: dreamed of being on this stage, being able to you know,
Speaker 10: I only win a World series one day, and now
Speaker 10: I have those same goals, but I'm doing it for
Speaker 10: a different purpose. I'm doing it so you know, I
Speaker 10: can show my daughter what hard work looks like and
Speaker 10: what her dad can do on the baseball field.
Speaker 2: And you come to a team with high expectations deservedly
Speaker 2: so after a year ago, how refreshing is that for you?
Speaker 10: Yeah, Like I said, my dream, my entire life has
Speaker 10: been win a World Series, and winning is fun. Winning
Speaker 10: keeps the clubhouse loose. Winning keeps smiles on people's faces.
Speaker 10: And so to get an opportunity to come over here
Speaker 10: and hopefully contribute to that is really exciting for me.
Speaker 2: Pats Nolan Jones a power back from the left side,
Speaker 2: and it will be interesting to see maybe you can
Speaker 2: put together the type of season that the Guardians are
Speaker 2: hoping for as they look to him improve their offense
Speaker 2: as they go along here in the early stages of
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five. Well, we know proven offensively. I suppose Ramirez,
Speaker 2: the perennial MVP candidate, will join us next as we
Speaker 2: continue on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Now the payoff pitch down low checked his swing. He
Speaker 1: never saw fastball, curveballs and changeups, and so Jose walks again.
Speaker 1: And it's amazing because the baseball gods would say, whatever
Speaker 1: you do in the late endings, don't want somebody to
Speaker 1: bring the tying run to the plate, but the baseball
Speaker 1: guns never faced Jose.
Speaker 2: Ramirez Welcome back to Guardian's weekly Jim Rosen House along
Speaker 2: with you from Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City. Well, Jose
Speaker 2: Ramirez has had some kind of major league career and
Speaker 2: he is still going strong looking for another MVP type season.
Speaker 2: After last year's run at triple forties, he ended up
Speaker 2: stealing forty one bases, hit thirty nine home runs, had
Speaker 2: thirty nine doubles. One of the great seasons in baseball
Speaker 2: a year ago. He's been working hard during spring training
Speaker 2: to put it together again and maintain that tremendous consistency.
Speaker 2: And he felt he had a good spring and when
Speaker 2: we caught up with him with translation help from Augi Rivero,
Speaker 2: Osei says he's ready to go for the new campaign.
Speaker 5: And so.
Speaker 4: There's nothing particular thing. You have to work everything as
Speaker 4: a whole, you know, all side of the game. You
Speaker 4: have to work to bit what for the season.
Speaker 2: And when you look back at a year ago, You've
Speaker 2: had great seasons in the past, but this one even
Speaker 2: was a step above that. When you look back on it,
Speaker 2: what were some of the keys last year that allowed
Speaker 2: you to put up the numbers you did.
Speaker 4: No, No, in reality where knowledge it is a good season.
Speaker 4: But particularly I don't like to dwell into the numbers
Speaker 4: in the past, because you know it's peeking to the details.
Speaker 4: I just focus on the present and what we have
Speaker 4: in front of us, and for me is what is
Speaker 4: the next season is going to be for us.
Speaker 2: So when along those lines, when you look at it
Speaker 2: that way, what are you trying to do to improve on?
Speaker 2: And after a year where you did so many good things,
Speaker 2: are there still things that you're trying to get better at,
Speaker 2: whether it's hitting or defense.
Speaker 6: Okay, one of the fans.
Speaker 4: It's difficult to improve in any other area. But I
Speaker 4: like to work on everything in my difference, my offense,
Speaker 4: my running, everything incombined, because I feel that's the way
Speaker 4: how you can have a good season.
Speaker 2: Visiting with Jose Ramirez, I'll give Rivero here to help
Speaker 2: you look at team wise. Such an out standing season
Speaker 2: a year ago, you go deep into the postseason. So far,
Speaker 2: what are you saying around this clubhouse that says you
Speaker 2: can make that last step and get to the World Series.
Speaker 4: No, wheto, we lost some important pieces, but also we
Speaker 4: added some other important pises as well, but for me
Speaker 4: in reality that this never tells you how the season's
Speaker 4: gonna go. It's more about what you do end up
Speaker 4: doing doing the year and how you grind to those
Speaker 4: difficult times. That tells you how long are you're gonna
Speaker 4: go doing the season?
Speaker 2: And you're acknowledged by it by so many as the
Speaker 2: leader of this team. Uh, what do you do to
Speaker 2: pull a team together when the year begins and over
Speaker 2: the course of the season.
Speaker 6: No amento you um you look at.
Speaker 4: I don't think I do anything specific. Just they know
Speaker 4: who I am. You know my joking around you, keeping
Speaker 4: a good humor, good energy all the time, and most
Speaker 4: important that we're on the same page. They know I'd
Speaker 4: like to win. I'm here to win, So they understand
Speaker 4: we're in the same page trying to win games and
Speaker 4: that's what our main focus as a group.
Speaker 2: They have a great season. Thank you, Thank you at
Speaker 2: Jose Ramirez an established major league veteran having a potential
Speaker 2: Hall of Fame career and seems to be showing no
Speaker 2: signs of slowing down and will be a big key
Speaker 2: to the fortunes of the twenty twenty five Guardians. And
Speaker 2: on the flip side of that someone who made their
Speaker 2: first opening day roster after spending significant time in the
Speaker 2: major leagues a season ago. Utility man Daniel Schneemann can
Speaker 2: play all over the diamond and got the good news
Speaker 2: late in spring that he would be on the opening
Speaker 2: day roster, filling a vital role for this ball club,
Speaker 2: and when we caught up with him, he talked about
Speaker 2: the differences and similarities of being called to the major
Speaker 2: leagues for the first time and making your first opening
Speaker 2: day roster.
Speaker 11: Yeah, I think it's a very similar Failing, you know,
Speaker 11: you kind of get a reassurance that a lot of
Speaker 11: the work you put in an offseason paid off. And
Speaker 11: so I knew coming into camp was going to be
Speaker 11: a battle, and you know, I try working hard and
Speaker 11: working on things that would help me, you know, earn
Speaker 11: a spot on the team, and I'm glad it worked out.
Speaker 2: I thought it was interesting earlier in the spring you
Speaker 2: mentioned that there was a different feeling this spring because
Speaker 2: you were trying to earn that job, maybe as opposed
Speaker 2: to last spring, where you were just trying to make
Speaker 2: an impression, and explain the differences in how you handle
Speaker 2: the day to day pressure is this.
Speaker 11: Spring, I just tried treating this spring the same as
Speaker 11: last spring in terms of playing free, playing loose, not
Speaker 11: trying to put a lot of pressure on myself, even
Speaker 11: though you know the there was a different feeling in
Speaker 11: terms of trying to make a team versus, like you said,
Speaker 11: kind of just trying to make it a good impression.
Speaker 11: But I just think I play my best when I
Speaker 11: don't put too much pressure on myself. So that's what
Speaker 11: I tried doing.
Speaker 2: And when you look back at the season agoing things
Speaker 2: that you wanted to work on, you mentioned working on
Speaker 2: some things this offseason, any specifics there that you felt
Speaker 2: you really made some gains in.
Speaker 11: I really tried working a lot on off speed while maintaining,
Speaker 11: you know, being able to do damage on fastballs.
Speaker 6: So just a lot of off speed training, a lot
Speaker 6: of time in the weight room.
Speaker 11: I tried around some weight and I just think working
Speaker 11: on and on all those things and then getting here
Speaker 11: and you know, kind of refining my approach. Working with
Speaker 11: Fink and Dan Espo and all the hitting coaches, I
Speaker 11: think they've kind of helped me put it all together.
Speaker 6: And so I'm trying to go in a season with
Speaker 6: a lot of confidence.
Speaker 2: You'll play a lot of positions. Again, most likely anything
Speaker 2: you're focusing on, though defensively and at a certain spot
Speaker 2: that it feels important.
Speaker 11: I think I always feel I need to improve a
Speaker 11: shortstop just I know the areas I need to focus on,
Speaker 11: you know, keeping my feet moving and staying fluid, not
Speaker 11: getting stuck. So just trying to work on the things
Speaker 11: that I know I need to get better at, and
Speaker 11: and I think if I'm able to play get short stop,
Speaker 11: I think I think those tools will translate to everywhere
Speaker 11: on the field.
Speaker 6: So that's kind of where my focus is.
Speaker 2: I was gonna say, if you're good at short does
Speaker 2: does everything else kind of fall into place when you're
Speaker 2: asked to play a lot of different positions.
Speaker 6: I think it definitely helps.
Speaker 11: I still have to get a lot of work in
Speaker 11: in the outfield and other positions, but I just feel
Speaker 11: like the things I work on a short translate really well.
Speaker 11: So my main focus a lot of the times, especially
Speaker 11: if I'm playing short that day, is really you know,
Speaker 11: I'll watch Rokyo.
Speaker 6: I'll watch how he goes about.
Speaker 11: His business and and how he moves his feed and
Speaker 11: the confidence he plays with over there, and so I
Speaker 11: really just I try to take advice from him and
Speaker 11: learn from him, and and then you know, if I'm
Speaker 11: playing in a lot of position a different day, then
Speaker 11: I do the same. Well, I'm working at those positions
Speaker 11: with the guys around there.
Speaker 2: As well, Daniel Steaman joining us, And you're part of
Speaker 2: a team with high expectations. You get through spring training
Speaker 2: and what do you think by the time spring training
Speaker 2: ends as you get ready for a new season about
Speaker 2: the possibilities for this team.
Speaker 11: Yeah, I think a lot of a lot of people
Speaker 11: are kind of underestimating us, and I don't think that's
Speaker 11: anything new. But I think the team is going to
Speaker 11: just try to take it one day at a time.
Speaker 11: I think we all work on the right things. We
Speaker 11: have a lot of a lot of resources that are
Speaker 11: going to help us get a lot of wins. But
Speaker 11: right now, I think our focus is on today and
Speaker 11: that's how it's going to be the rest of the season,
Speaker 11: just taking it one day at a time.
Speaker 2: Did you learn much from going through a postseason run
Speaker 2: like the team did a year ago.
Speaker 11: Yeah, I mean the experience was great learning. I don't
Speaker 11: know if there's a whole lot of learning that experience.
Speaker 11: I think it's just I think staying in the president
Speaker 11: is really important, just not trying to let the moment
Speaker 11: get too big. But I think the what you learn
Speaker 11: is if we're in that situation again, I think having
Speaker 11: that experience, I think it helps you stay more calm,
Speaker 11: stay more in the president, and just treat it like
Speaker 11: any other game.
Speaker 2: And circling back to the beginning, you found out you
Speaker 2: made the opening day roster. The way you found out,
Speaker 2: though you felt was good. How so explain how you
Speaker 2: found out and why it was a good way for
Speaker 2: you to learn.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it was just very casual.
Speaker 11: Voter kind of pulled me off when I was walking
Speaker 11: out to the field and he let me know, and
Speaker 11: he kind of made it seem like it wasn't a
Speaker 11: big deal. And so in terms of he told me
Speaker 11: that it never gets old. He told me it's a
Speaker 11: super special thing to make it an opening day roster.
Speaker 11: But just the way he told me kind of made
Speaker 11: me feel like I belonged and made me feel like
Speaker 11: I deserve it, So in that sense, I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2: One of the good guys in the game Daniel Schneeman,
Speaker 2: and he is on this opening day roster this season
Speaker 2: and looking to fill that key role of in field, outfield,
Speaker 2: you name it. He can play a lot of different
Speaker 2: positions and he'll be a key certainly for Cleveland throughout
Speaker 2: the year. Stay with us when we come back our
Speaker 2: first weekly Farm report. We'll get a Columbus Clippers triple
Speaker 2: A preview when we come back after this timeout.
Speaker 7: When you bundle renters and Auto with Progressive, you can
Speaker 7: save while protecting your most valuable possessions, like your really
Speaker 7: expensive limited edition sneakers and your new suit for your
Speaker 7: cousin's wedding. Except you never actually bought the suit because
Speaker 7: you can't stop buying sneakers, so you show up to
Speaker 7: the wedding looking like you're going grocery shopping. But hey,
Speaker 7: at least your sneakers will look good in the pictures
Speaker 7: until you're cropped out of every last one of them.
Speaker 7: So go ahead and get Progressive so you can save
Speaker 7: while protecting the things that matter to you. Progressive County
Speaker 7: Insurance Company and Affiliates and other insurans not available in
Speaker 7: all stage situations.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Guardians Weekly, and we are joined now
Speaker 2: by the Vice president of Player Development, Farm Director Stephen Ostro.
Speaker 2: And Stephen, at your first full season doing this taking
Speaker 2: over for robsterfolio and we touch base a little bit
Speaker 2: in the off season, but you've gone through spring training,
Speaker 2: teams are just about ready to get going. And how
Speaker 2: exciting is this for you to see a lot of
Speaker 2: the hard work in the off season start to go
Speaker 2: into season mode.
Speaker 9: Yeah, hey, Rosie, thanks for having me on the I mean,
Speaker 9: and the spring training is always really exciting. Going into
Speaker 9: the season is even more exciting getting to see, you know,
Speaker 9: some of the hard work payoff and guys transition into
Speaker 9: the actual competitive modes. So yeah, we had a lot
Speaker 9: of cool story and storylines with the players over the spring.
Speaker 9: Really excited to kind of see our affiliates battle this year.
Speaker 2: And let's start with Columbus and we'll get to some
Speaker 2: younger prospects in a moment. But Andy Tracy is back
Speaker 2: there as the manager, and there are several players who
Speaker 2: I'm sure heading into spring training thought they would be
Speaker 2: with the big club, and names like a Will Brennan
Speaker 2: and on Hell Martinez among others. What has he done
Speaker 2: to create an atmosphere there to help players like that
Speaker 2: who are dealing with some maybe disappointment in their careers
Speaker 2: but still very bright futures. How is he good at
Speaker 2: handling them?
Speaker 9: Triple A is a very difficult level. It's a difficult
Speaker 9: level for the players for the manager. Andy Tracy has
Speaker 9: been through it himself as a player, so you know,
Speaker 9: he understands how difficult it is to be on that
Speaker 9: side of the game. And I think the environments are
Speaker 9: The environment that he's trying to create for everyone is
Speaker 9: to be positive and think about the day to day
Speaker 9: and the development and trying to keep yourself ready to
Speaker 9: go at a moment's notice. So you know, we're really
Speaker 9: lucky to have Andy Tracy manage that level. It's probably
Speaker 9: the hardest, hardest job in player development, and he's done
Speaker 9: a really good job for us the last few years
Speaker 9: getting guys ready and making sure that he also recognizes
Speaker 9: how difficult it is for them and supports the players.
Speaker 2: Certainly great to have him back in Columbus. And we'll
Speaker 2: start on the mound and then we saw this guy
Speaker 2: a left hand or Doug Nacasey during Major League spring
Speaker 2: training was tremendous. What are you seeing from him, especially
Speaker 2: as someone who has been in that pitching development part
Speaker 2: of it for a long time. So maybe next steps
Speaker 2: that he needs to take to take that last step
Speaker 2: and get to the big leagues.
Speaker 9: Yeah, Doug certainly is fun to watch. Over the course
Speaker 9: of his time with us with the Guardians, he's spent
Speaker 9: a lot of effort and focus, you know, preparing and
Speaker 9: getting his body in a good position to go out
Speaker 9: and compete so that he can be as consistent as
Speaker 9: possible in the mound. Doug has had very good stuff
Speaker 9: for a while. I think just continuing to pound the
Speaker 9: zone and figure out how he can attack hitters more
Speaker 9: consistently has been a big focus, and he's taken a
Speaker 9: lot of strides over the last few years to do that.
Speaker 9: He had an incredible spring and showcase that. I think
Speaker 9: it's just continuing to refine that and have the mindset
Speaker 9: that he needs to have that one he's good enough
Speaker 9: to be up there, and then two be able to
Speaker 9: consistently attack hitters with this good stuff.
Speaker 2: And how about Parker Massik, what are you seeing from
Speaker 2: him as he tries to see if he can dominate
Speaker 2: at that triple A level as he's done at some
Speaker 2: lower levels.
Speaker 9: Yeah, he had a tremendous year last year. I think
Speaker 9: he spent around sixty six innings in Double A and
Speaker 9: in that time, he was probably one of the top
Speaker 9: performers across all of Double A, and Parker's got phenomenal stuff.
Speaker 9: He's got a plus change up that he can rely
Speaker 9: on all the time, and I think over the course
Speaker 9: of last year he really dialed in his command, his
Speaker 9: ability to execute and own his arsenal. We saw that
Speaker 9: again this spring. There's been at some physical development. He's
Speaker 9: throwing harder, so seeing him at the Triple A level
Speaker 9: is very exciting for us and hoping that he continues
Speaker 9: to learn what it's like to face better hitters and
Speaker 9: adapt to it.
Speaker 2: A couple of guys who we were hoping to see
Speaker 2: more of in major league camp but had some injury issues.
Speaker 2: Franco Alaman, how's he doing and what are you seeing
Speaker 2: from him in terms of a return to pitching in
Speaker 2: game action.
Speaker 9: Yeah, And another guy who had a really good year
Speaker 9: in DOUBLEA last year was the forty man ad Over
Speaker 9: the offseason. Is struggling a little bit with health in
Speaker 9: the past, and it was a little bit delayed in
Speaker 9: his progression this year into spring, so he's a tick behind.
Speaker 9: Building up in bullpens. Looks really good. Everything has been
Speaker 9: positive there. Excited to see him get back to full
Speaker 9: tilt and throwing upper nineties and striking a lot of
Speaker 9: guys out.
Speaker 2: And how about Nick Enright, what's he going through and
Speaker 2: what are you hoping to see from him?
Speaker 9: Yeah, another forty man ad we talked about was exciting
Speaker 9: heading into the season. Similarly, has been building up in
Speaker 9: spring training, has progressed to full and ten.
Speaker 2: Getting on the mound.
Speaker 9: When he's healthy, he's dominant, pounds his own, throws a
Speaker 9: lot of strikes. His velocity jumped up a little bit
Speaker 9: last year too, So I think when he's full tilled,
Speaker 9: he's we're hoping that he can impact the big league
Speaker 9: team this year.
Speaker 2: Let's switch to the position player side at Triple A
Speaker 2: Columbus with farm director Stephen Osterer and behind the plate. Obviously,
Speaker 2: catching is you've got to have that depth at the
Speaker 2: Triple A level. And we saw Cody Huff during the
Speaker 2: major league portion of spring training. What stood out to
Speaker 2: you that has him on the brink.
Speaker 9: Yeah, Cody's a great catcher. He really understands the defensive
Speaker 9: side of the game, what it means to lead a
Speaker 9: pitching staff, how to prepare, and I think his exposure
Speaker 9: to all the great catchers and former catchers of the
Speaker 9: big league level. This camp kind of highlighted a lot
Speaker 9: of the things that he could do to just take
Speaker 9: his strength and make it elite. Last year is another
Speaker 9: really good year a Double A and doing those things
Speaker 9: and leading our staff excited to see him continue to
Speaker 9: do that at a higher level. There's some permits with
Speaker 9: the bat that he's been making over the offseason. Look
Speaker 9: pretty good the spring with the hitting. So yeah, Cody's
Speaker 9: one of those guys that all the pitchers want to
Speaker 9: throw to and you know, really excited to see him
Speaker 9: kind of lead the staff in Triple A.
Speaker 2: And you have a young outfielder trying to make that
Speaker 2: jump to the Triple A level and pd Halpin and
Speaker 2: what are you saying from him and what benefits did
Speaker 2: he gain from from being in big league camp as
Speaker 2: long as he was.
Speaker 9: Yeah, Similarly, I think with any of these guys when
Speaker 9: they get to you know, hang around the major league
Speaker 9: staff and the major league players, they learn a little
Speaker 9: bit more about themselves. You know, Pete talked a little
Speaker 9: bit about that when we talked about his experiences, and
Speaker 9: you know, Triple A will be a nice little jump
Speaker 9: for him. He's obviously a really good defender, has a
Speaker 9: little bit of speed, and we're hoping that he can
Speaker 9: take another step on the base running side so that,
Speaker 9: you know, we could look up and have a really
Speaker 9: good center fielder who can steal some bags and potentially be,
Speaker 9: you know, impacting the major league team this year on
Speaker 9: that front. He's got some time to go and some
Speaker 9: bats to collect to continue to push the hitting tool.
Speaker 9: But Pete's a really hard worker and understands, you know,
Speaker 9: what he needs to do. So we're excited to see
Speaker 9: how that goes this year.
Speaker 2: And with your background on the pitching side, that triple
Speaker 2: A level pitching coach is so important because the impact
Speaker 2: they can make is real, and we see that when
Speaker 2: when pitchers get to the major league level and you
Speaker 2: have two there Cody Bokel and then Brandon Lee new
Speaker 2: to the organization, that combo tell us about them and
Speaker 2: what they can do to help the pitching staff down there.
Speaker 9: Yeah, we are very lucky to have both of those guys,
Speaker 9: and they've got strong complementary skill sets. Cody is been
Speaker 9: with the organization for I think seven years at this point,
Speaker 9: has been a leader in the pitching department, really understands
Speaker 9: the tactical side and you know the assessment side of
Speaker 9: the pitching, and it can relate to players very well.
Speaker 9: Brandon League, you know all of his experiences at the
Speaker 9: big league level, I think it was eleven years, was
Speaker 9: an All Star. You know, Closer understands the mentality and
Speaker 9: it has done a tremendous job in a short period
Speaker 9: of time getting to know the players and having an impact.
Speaker 9: There's the two of them combined this year TRIPLEA. We
Speaker 9: think they're going to be a weapon as a unit
Speaker 9: and can help each other in our players.
Speaker 2: That is Stephen Osterer, the vice president of player Development
Speaker 2: for The Guardian's first year in that job. And how
Speaker 2: about and we mentioned this when we talked to him
Speaker 2: in the winter time when he was named vice president
Speaker 2: of player Development. The list of farm directors in Cleveland
Speaker 2: history is really impressive. Mark Shapiro, John Farrell, Ross Atkins
Speaker 2: now a GM with the Blue Jays, Neil Huntington, a
Speaker 2: former GM with the Pirates, and most recently James Harris,
Speaker 2: who is an assistant GM now with Cleveland. I know
Speaker 2: I'm forgetting some along the way, but Rob Serfolio was
Speaker 2: the person that Steve replaced in Rob's now with the
Speaker 2: Saint Louis Cardinals in an executive role in their front office.
Speaker 2: So a lot of good stuff coming the way of
Speaker 2: Stephen Oster, and we'll look forward to a lot of
Speaker 2: his updates on the farm system throughout the season. That's
Speaker 2: going to do it for our show this week, don't forget.
Speaker 2: You can hear us every week on the radio on
Speaker 2: the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network on the flagship WTAM and
Speaker 2: Cleveland seven Am on Saturday mornings. Also wm AN and
Speaker 2: Mansfield and WMRN in Marion same time eleven o'clock Saturdays
Speaker 2: on WKBN in Youngstown, and of course whenever you like
Speaker 2: as a podcast wherever you like to download your favorite
Speaker 2: podcast after the show airs on the radio. So a
Speaker 2: lot of different ways to hear our show, and we
Speaker 2: appreciate it when you do. Until next week, we'll join
Speaker 2: you from Anaheim, California, as this three city season opening
Speaker 2: road swing continues for the Guardians against the Angels next
Speaker 2: weekend with a stop at San Diego in between. As always,
Speaker 2: would like to thank our good buddy Brian Matse back
Speaker 2: at Command Center for putting together our shows each and
Speaker 2: every week and until next weekend when we join you
Speaker 2: from southern California. This is Jim Rosenhouse reminding you that
Speaker 2: you've been listening to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Clinic
Speaker 2: Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 1: Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive helping
Speaker 1: Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance