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Gene Watson previews ALCS and NLCS · The Craig Way Show

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  Speaker 1: Here to discuss all of the baseball with us. As always,
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  our good friend, our MLB insider from the Chicago White
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  Sox front office, Geen Watson, is with us now. Gino
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  spent time again at Notre Dame of Luis. What you
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  got to meet Joe Fisman was that the deal.
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  Speaker 2: I've been around some people in my lifetime that carried presents,
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  but this man, my gosh, what an incredible human being.
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  And he made time for a lot of us that
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  were at the New Rodney Society Foundation Awards. He was
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  given the Living Legend Award on Friday night, and it
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  was just a wonderful night and a great experience.
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  Speaker 1: I take it you didn't remind him of like that
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  Monday night football game to start off the eighty five
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  season when the Cowboys beat Washing in forty four to fourteen,
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  and everybody sang Happy Birthday to him on his birthday
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  that night.
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  Speaker 2: You know, he he brought up a lot of the
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  Monday Night stuff, including his injury, and did not I
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  noticed when they showed his highlights and they showed the play,
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  he did not look at the screen. It's kind of weird,
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  but ma'am, what a superhuman being. He is no doubt
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  about it.
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  Speaker 1: Let's talk about baseball for the second consecutive weekend. I
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  want I want to point this out. This is all
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  in the interest of the importance of things. For the
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  second straight week, Gene Watson has correctly picked three of
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  the four series the outcomes that he did it in
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  the wildcard picked three out of the four, and he
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  did so again in the Division series. He picked three
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  of the four Division Series winner. Now it does bear
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  noting that the one that he missed on is a
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  big one, because that's the team he picked up win
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  the whole thing, the San Diego Padres. But you did
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  pick the Cleveland Guardians to win. You did pick the
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  New York Yankees to win, and they start tonight, and
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  you picked the Mets to beat the Phillies, and not
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  a lot of people had fate that that would happen.
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  So you've got the Dodgers and the Mets, and then
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  you've got the Yankees and the Guardians. We might as
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  we wouldn't start with the nationally because they already won
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  game under book under their belt, where Jack claird pitch
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  really well for the Dodgers. Last night, they tied that
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  major League record for consecutive scoreless postseason innings at thirty three.
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  But they'll stay tied with that because they'll lead off
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  home run by Lindor for the Mets off of Ryan Brazier,
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  which will be another bullpen game for.
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  Speaker 3: The Dodgers today.
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  Speaker 1: So you have to believe the Mets are feeling a
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  little bit, breathing a little easier now that they've got
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  something on the board here.
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  Speaker 4: It's unbelievable.
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  Speaker 2: And just when you think it's midnight for the Cinderella
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  team after the game last night, they just keep coming.
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  And Francisco Lindor, that is the key to that ball club.
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  Speaker 4: He knows it.
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  Speaker 2: He's responded to being the catalyst of the club and
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  you just can't count him out. And in watching the
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  game last night, that the Dodger game last night, you
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  kind of got a sense that they know they've gotten
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  past the real test in the San Diego Padres. Just
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  the way they carried themselves on the field, the way
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  they ran the bases freely, they're at bats, it just
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  seemed like such a less intense approach to the game.
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  They were playing just more care free. But I'm telling you, man,
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  the Mets just keep coming and Francisco Lindor. For them
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  to have a chance in this series, he's going to
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  have to continue to do what he's.
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  Speaker 3: Done all playoffs.
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  Speaker 1: And here's the other side of that also, you know,
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  I had somebody text me and said, well, if the
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  Mets are going to play like they did last night,
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  they might as well not show up. And I said,
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  you don't understand. First of all, the Mets ran a
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  bullpen game out there last night. They got their two
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  big guns going today in Sean Maniya and then Luis
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  Severino going in Game three, the Dodgers going with a
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  bullpen game today, and then Walker Bueller, who was the
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  last to give up a run until the Dodgers got
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  on that streak. But he's still not completely all the
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  way back to how he was before. So it's a
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  little bit iffy before they can even get to Yamamoto
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  in Game four to pitch for this. So this thing
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  is still very much still up in the air.
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  Speaker 4: No question.
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  Speaker 2: And the real flip of the Padre Dodgers series was
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  when the Padres had Dylan Cease Going, who we traded
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  to them in spring training.
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  Speaker 4: They gave away two of their top pitching prospects.
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  Speaker 2: Four prospects overall, and anytime you have that type of
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  starter going versus a bullpen game, you expect to win
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  the game. But that's what's changed the most about baseball
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  now is there's so much information, there's so much data
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  involved in game planning and prepping that that teams don't.
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  Speaker 4: Even blink anymore.
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  Speaker 2: They say bullpen game and they fully expect to win
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  the game. And Dave Roberts has been very adamant and
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  very unapologetic about the fact that when they have a
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  bullpen game, they expect to win the game. And it's
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  been very unique to the playoffs the last few years.
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  And it's certainly something where you would think, when you
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  get to this point of the season, you have five
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  strong starters, but the fact of the matters, with the
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  injuries that are taking place in the game, it's just
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  not the case, and so you've got to do the
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  very best you can to manage your way through these
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  type of games. Just the confidence in which teams do
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  it now it's really remarkable.
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  Speaker 1: And conversely, offensively for the Dodgers, I think the other
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  thing that got them going and turned back around was
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  not with all of the focus and all the attention
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  on Choe Otani and rightly, so, I thought it was
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  getting Mookie Betts going, getting Max Munsey going, getting some
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  of those other guys going in that fault was what
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  helped turn the series against San Diego.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and five hits last night, that was a big
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  part of their success.
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  Speaker 4: And man, Kicky Hernandez, what can you say?
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  Speaker 2: This guy just keeps playing in October and he's kind
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  of been that type of player his entire career, And
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  so I think you're gonna see a situation where the
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  Mets try to work their way around the top three
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  in that order. You know, Freeman's been playing with a
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  softball sized ankle for a while.
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  Speaker 4: It's incredible what he's been able to do.
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  Speaker 2: And just to get on the field and play with
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  his ankle the way it is, Miguel Rojas is a
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  big loss. They've had to kind of find their way
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  at shortstop and move guys around, and so what they've
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  been able to accomplish is truly remarkable. But you can
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  see it that they can smell it now. They know
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  they're close and they're going to be clicking on all
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  cylinders the rest of the series.
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  Speaker 1: Talking baseball with Gene Watson, here are MLW Insider on
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  sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone Gino. Let's shift
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  to the American League now. And the Tigers gave the
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  Guardians all they wanted before Cleveland was able to pull
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  away and got the Big Grand Slam on Saturday, and
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  they were able to then hold on and get the victory.
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  And they take on a Yankee team that were in
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  competitive games all the way with Kansas City but just
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  managed to win three of those four games.
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  Speaker 3: And how do you see this series lining up well?
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  Speaker 4: In closing those other series.
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  Speaker 2: I think you're seeing a pretty good spot at what
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  the American League Central is going to look like for
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  the next couple of years.
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  Speaker 4: Kansas City is certainly not going away.
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  Speaker 2: They've got arguably the best young player in the game
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  of baseball. They've got super talented players all over the field.
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  They did a great job this year of adding to
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  that starting rotation for which they'll have some decisions to
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  make this winner and Detroit in what they were able
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  to accomplish, and I've spoken to aj Ininch almost every
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  day this week and he's so proud. You know, they
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  played with house money really the last three weeks of
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  the season and he's just so proud of the season
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  they had. So these are two teams that are going
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  to be combating the American League Central and into the
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  playoffs the next couple of years. The Yankees, I think
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  this series has got a chance to be a really
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  high scoring series. And for the Yankees, Aaron Judge has
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  got to get going. He's just you know, gille Carl
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  Stanton's done a great job of carrying the weight a
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  little bit so far in the middle of that order,
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  but Judge is going to have to get going for
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  them to be successful. And on the flip side, hose
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  that Ramirez has got to get going. He hasn't had
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  the type of playoffs that you would expect him to have.
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  And Stephen Kwan has been an incredible catalyst at the
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  top of the order. And Lane Thomas with the big
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  Grand Slam the other day against the Tigers. These are
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  two like high energy players that love to play. But
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  to win in this time of year, your your your
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  key guys have to be performing. And for the Yankees
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  that's Aaron Judge and for the Indians that's Jose Ramirez.
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  And I think that whoever steps up and in this
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  series is going to be a big part of who
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  wins the series.
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  Speaker 3: I was going to ask you this the interesting thing here.
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  Speaker 1: First of all, how you felt the pitching matchup, and
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  Garrett Cole was really good last time out. In terms
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  of the pitching. Is the advantage to the Yankees in
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  this series.
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  Speaker 4: I think the starting pitching is. But I think you know,
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  Tanner Bibi is a very qualified starter. Alex Cobbs been
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  great this year.
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  Speaker 2: I think their bullpen, if you get to the Indians bullpen,
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  it is game over. The very they were built very
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  much like we were with Herrera and Davis and Holland
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  in fourteen and fifteen. It's a six inning games, six
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  inning game with Cleveland, and so New York's gonna have
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  to do a great job of getting those starting pitchers
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  deep in the games like they have, scoring the runs
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  that they have, especially in their ballpark, getting Aaron Judge going.
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  But any game in which Cleveland has a lead in
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  the fifth or sixth inning, and I'm sure Stephen Vote
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  will be very creative and the way he uses his
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  leverage relievers in leverage parts of the road of the
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  lineup in the sixth and seventh inning, where you may
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  see some unconventional moves earlier in the game when the
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  game is more on the line, and if they can
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  do that, that's the way that Cleveland will stay in
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  this series.
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  Speaker 1: Of these four guys, which team do you feel needs
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  that particular guy to get going that had that hasn't
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  been completely untracked Aaron Judge for the Yankees. You mentioned
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  Ramirez for the for the Guardians, Shoe Ayotani for the Dodgers,
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  or Pete Alonzo for the Mets.
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  Speaker 3: Which which are these four teams do you feel.
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  Speaker 1: Most needs there that big gun to really be going
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  in this series?
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  Speaker 2: In these two series, boy, that's a tough one. But
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  I would say Alonso and Judge have to get going.
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  Speaker 4: Those two.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think there's much separation between what those twos
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  have to do for their lineups, because when they're not going,
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  you can work your way around. There's just there's so
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  much impact when they take a swing. Uh, you know,
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  it's it's a two, three run home run every chance
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  they get. And so those are the two guys that
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  I would say have to really carry the load. Uh
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  if they get into shooting matches where they're scoring a
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  lot of runs, which I see more happening on the
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  American League side than the National League side. But those
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  would be the two guys that I think have to
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  carry their lineups for them to move forward.
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  Speaker 1: All right, So, Gino, as I mentioned at the start
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  of the playoffs, even at the start of the wildci
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  card I said, I'd give you a chance to reset.
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  And so we're resetting again here with the Padres now
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  out of it. What's your choice on these two league
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  Championship series a LCS and n NLCS, and and then
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  wins the World Series, a chance for a reset here? Well, Craig,
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  you'll be happy to know that I'm gonna pick the Dodgers.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know that I'm happy about that. I don't
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  know that they're happy about that. You know, your.
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  Speaker 1: Son, your your son Tyler who works for the San
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  Diego Padres. When he when he texted me when he
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  was going out with the series first start, I said, well,
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  your dad, you guys are hot. Your dad picked it,
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  and he said he His response to he was, I
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  don't think I.
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  Speaker 3: Needed to hear that.
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  Speaker 4: I just think they're the most talented team.
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  Speaker 2: If they can get through this bullpen game, I think
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  that they know they've they've gotten through what could have
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  been their roadblock, and and I, you know, I picked
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  the Cleveland Indians in the beginning to be in the
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  World Series. But but to do it, you know, Jose
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  Ramirez is gonna have to get going. He's gonna they're
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  gonna have to get linked out of their starters, and
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  he's going to have to impact this series.
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  Speaker 4: Otherwise we're gonna have a Dodgers Yankees World Series.
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  Speaker 3: So you're gonna stick with the Guardians, though.
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  Speaker 4: I think I'm going to flip to the Yanks.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, hey, listen, you have waffle privileges. You know you're
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  allowed to pretty good at it. I would ask you
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  this too. I know that probably I've even had friends
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  and kind of roll their eyes at the thought of
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  if the Dodgers and Yankees meet the World Series. Oh,
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  the two evil Empires, blah blah blah blah blah. They
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  have not met in the World Series since nineteen eighty one,
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  the strike here, that's the last time they did, and
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  the Dodgers won that. And if it happens, you know,
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  Fox will be just turning cartwheels because the ratings would
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  just be astronomical, wouldn't they.
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  Speaker 2: I do think it would be great for baseball from
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  a viewer standpoint, From a new viewer standpoint, for sure,
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  what you're talking about is two of the larger payrolls,
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  two of the larger operations when it comes to infrastructure
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  and the way they operate. But I also love the
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  fact that there are also two of the largest scouting
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  organizations that are out there. And we always from a
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  scouting standpoint and a scouting viewpoint, you know, we always
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  need to have the teams that believe in scouting and
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  utilizer scouting. And Andrew Friedman came out today and talked
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  about how important is advanced scouts were in the win
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  and the shutout innings versus the padres, and so anytime
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  you have larger markets with all the resources in the
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  world still giving credit to scouting, I think it's super
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  important for the future of the industry and for that
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  field in the industry, and I think it's great.
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  Speaker 4: I think it'd be great.
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  Speaker 2: For baseball, especially from a new fan standpoint and growing
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  the game. I think it's easy to say it's the
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  two largest markets you pay your way, but history has
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  proven in the last thirty years that the most money
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  doesn't always win you've got to have great culture, great talent.
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  You've got to be playing well in October. And there's
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  a super thin line between winning and losing October. But
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  I think it would be super for the game if
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  that was the matchup.
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  Speaker 1: So we're actually going to get you in town this
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  week for this little old football game here Saturday night.
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  Speaker 2: I'm very excited. I can't wait to get back to Austin. Yeah,
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  it's going to be great. We're looking forward to it.
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  Speaker 1: Ge know, I appreciate at the time, Thanks so much,
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  look forward to seeing you this week.
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  Speaker 4: Okay, guys, thanks so much, appreciate you.
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  Speaker 3: You bet all right.
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  Speaker 1: That is Gene Watson, or MLB Insider. So he's got
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  a Dodger Yankee World Series now happy, Hey, Craig, he
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  picked the Rangers in the Rangers he did run last season,
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  so don't don't feel too bad about that pick. I
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  have a little bit of trepidation because he picked the
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  Padres to win the whole thing. But but, but, but
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  the Dodgers beat the Padres.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that was his favorite, And that tells you how
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  good the Dodgers are.
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  Speaker 1: Well, the Mets still lead one nothing. They've gone to
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  the top of the second inning, Dodgers managed to get
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  one run around two out walk to Teoscar Hernandez. But
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  Sean and I look really good. He struck out show
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  Ao Tani, he struck out Mookie Bets, and then after
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  giving up the walk to Hernandez, he got Freddie Freeman
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  the fly out here in the inning. They've gone to
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  the second inning now and Landon Nack. Remember this is
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  a bullpen game, so the Dodgers could use eight nine
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  arms today. Landon Nack comes out after Ryan Brazier gave
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  up the leadoff home run to Lindore and so Landon
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  Nack has come out, and he promptly gave up a
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  lead off single. So the map's trying to get something
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  going against the second Dodger relief pitcher out there. Landon Nack,
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  the rookie out there for La right now, all right,
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  up next, we're gonna hear more from log Wortons head
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  coach Steve Sarkishan. Turn our attention back on this Loghorns
• 15:19
  Monday to Texas and Georgia coming up when we continue
• 15:22
  on Sports Radio AM thirteen under the zone of the
• 15:24
  iHeartRadio app