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00:00Out to the River Islands guest line, let's hang for a bit with Alex Pavlovich, NBC Sports
00:05Bay Area, all over the Giants beat.
00:07Hey, Alex, happy, you know, baseball season.
00:11Happy New Year, I guess.
00:13Exactly.
00:14Yeah.
00:14Exactly right.
00:15Now, the quickest first thing is this, because I do think that a lot of Giants fans thought
00:21when we got to this week, Bryce Eldridge would be on the team.
00:24I have to call out our boss here at 95.7.
00:29Don't do it.
00:29No, right off the bat.
00:30Wow.
00:31He tweeted last night, quote, it's very concerning that Bryce Eldridge is not on the opening day
00:38roster.
00:39His defense has to be atrocious for him to have not made it.
00:45Alex, I'll let you answer that one instead of me.
00:47Go ahead.
00:49With all due respect to Matt, who I've talked to and I think has been partially employed
00:54by it.
00:56His defense is fine.
00:57His defense is light years better than it was a year ago at the time.
01:01He was not going to play first base to start the year, but that's only because Rafi Devers
01:06wants to play first base and actually has gotten much better at it.
01:09I think this is really pretty simple.
01:12He struck out a lot in spring training.
01:14I think there's some development ahead of him.
01:15He's 21 years old.
01:16And the thing I've tried to remind people of the last week is this is one of the most
01:21important decisions Buster Posey will ever make is making sure that Bryce Eldridge gets
01:25developed correctly.
01:27And they felt like this was the way.
01:30I would have loved to see him here tomorrow.
01:32I would have loved to see him.
01:33You know, he briefly met Aaron Judge at the Team USA game.
01:36Maybe there was a chance for those two over the next few days to meet up again.
01:40My judge has some nice things to say about him.
01:42But I do think this is kind of a unique case where the guy who made this decision was also
01:47a top prospect, also debuted in September one year, and also did not make the opening day
01:53roster the next season.
01:54Now, he probably should have in 2010, but I think Buster knows this better than anybody.
01:59And this is one where, from the outside, it's kind of hard to say, like, hey, you screwed
02:02this up.
02:03So what is the development plan, then?
02:05Does it go back and play first base?
02:06And if he comes back to the big club and Devers is at first, then is he a DH?
02:13It's go play every day.
02:15Go play first base every day.
02:16Look, it's always going to be the case here with those two guys as long as they're here
02:19together.
02:19And it might be for seven, eight years that they're in the lineup together that one is going
02:24to have to be the DH, and one's going to have to play first base.
02:27It's not ideal for a 21-year-old to be a DH, but also he's potentially such a special hitter
02:32that it's fine.
02:34So they'll figure that out over time.
02:35I think right now he needs to play every day.
02:37I think he needs more of that.
02:39I think he just needs to, I thought Tony Vitellis did something interesting.
02:43He wants to seem to be a little bit more dangerous in the batter's box.
02:47And I thought he had really, really solid plate appearances all spring, did not ever look
02:51overwhelmed, including against Paul Steen.
02:54He walked a lot.
02:56You know, the strikeouts were there, but they weren't like quick strikeouts.
02:59I thought he was having good plate appearances.
03:01But they do want to see that power.
03:02And the swing he took yesterday, like they want to see that a little bit more.
03:05So I think this is go down, get some confidence, get rolling, and we'll see when he's here.
03:11Alex Pavlovich is with us here, Withered and Debs, 95-7 the game.
03:14Okay, so who is DH on Wednesday night?
03:18And extend that into who is making this roster in the outfield.
03:24Well, the funniest option would be Elliott Ramos, because that would extend the left field streak.
03:29So I don't know if they're going to do that.
03:31Let's not, Alex.
03:32Can we not do that, please?
03:34I'd like to kill it, but that is an option.
03:38Look, the funny thing about this time of year is we spend six weeks talking about roster decisions
03:42and this and that, and then you look up in Max Freed at starting opening day,
03:46and it's like, well, you know, Kinky Schmidt probably should be at second base
03:49instead of Luis Arias, and there should be a right-handed hitter in the D8 spot.
03:53So maybe Gerard, I think Gerard is probably the easy hit there.
03:57Let him face Alessia on opening night.
03:59So that would be my guess.
04:00And the outfield mix, we'll find out.
04:02I mean, you know, Domato's thing is fascinating just because he's out of options
04:07and he's 24, and I know they don't want to let go of him,
04:09but at some point, you know, you kind of just have to go for it with the roster
04:14and put the best roster out there.
04:16Drew Gilbert has gotten healthy at the right time.
04:19He's a good fit for this roster.
04:21And then I think Gerard, all of us, somebody who Giants fans should just kind of have
04:25in the back of their head.
04:26Last night, I checked, he had like 13 stolen bases and 14 attempts in the Cactus League
04:30and just kind of a game-changer with his speed.
04:32So if you have an incarnation in his D8,
04:36it would be nice to have somebody who could run for him late in the close game.
04:39But, yeah, I think we'll find out the next couple of days how they're winning.
04:43Will they have anybody on the bench who can hit left-handed?
04:47Good question.
04:49Possibly.
04:50I mean, it could be Gilbert.
04:51You know, Will Brennan's in that mix as well, just a really solid player,
04:54somebody who can play all three outfield spots.
04:56Actually, Will's probably, I should have mentioned,
04:58ahead of some of those other guys.
04:59Like, he's been in the big leagues for parts of four seasons with Cleveland.
05:03So that would be an option there.
05:05It's not ideal, just kind of the way that they have their bench set up,
05:08if it's in Carnasio and in Matos.
05:11But, you know, this is one of those things where I like to remind people
05:15that the roster that we will see on Wednesday will probably change
05:18by the time they go to San Diego on Sunday,
05:20and will probably change again by the time they get home on Wednesday night.
05:23So it's not that big a deal.
05:25It's kind of like, who do you need against the Yankees for three games?
05:28Alex, I think we know who the starting five are,
05:31even though they may not all, you know, might be herky-jerky with their debut.
05:35But I'm always interested in who the starting six or the starting seven are.
05:40In light of what's going on with Hayden Birdsong,
05:43if the Giants need a spot start or starting depth,
05:48who are some of the names there?
05:50You know, even before Birdsong got hurt,
05:52I think it was probably Trevor McDonald.
05:54I thought he just looked outstanding most of the spring.
05:57I wasn't there at the end when he, I think he got roughed up once.
06:00But every time I saw him, he was dominant.
06:02Carson Wisenhunt, I know the velocity uptake from him is really important.
06:07So those would be the two guys at the forefront for me.
06:10I mean, there's other guys, Wade Tidwell,
06:12and we'll see what they do with, like, a Seymour.
06:13But the two guys I would think are next in line are McDonald and Wisenhunt.
06:18It seems like Ryan Walker is the closer-ish for now,
06:22but who would be the next guy up,
06:24and who are they going to look at for the eighth inning?
06:27That's a great question.
06:28You know, for me, Eric Miller's probably the answer to both of those,
06:31as long as he's healthy.
06:33Like, he has really good stuff,
06:34and you don't see as many left-handed closers,
06:38but he has the ability to go out there and do that.
06:41Yeah, after those two, it's a real, like,
06:43this is the biggest question going into the season.
06:46And actually, I feel fine about Walker.
06:48He had a good spring, and I know he's really confident,
06:49and it feels like he figured some things out.
06:52And Miller looked good at the end of the camp as well.
06:54But beyond that, it is a real question mark of who do you trust in the seventh and eighth.
06:59Alex, you said something in one of your answers that caught my ear,
07:02which is that maybe Casey Schmidt should be at second on opening night
07:06and not Luis Arise.
07:08Is Arise not going to be the everyday second baseman?
07:11Is it kind of platoon-ish?
07:14No, I think he will be mostly the everyday second baseman.
07:16I just mean it.
07:17You know, we think so much about the opening day roster,
07:20and then you get there, and you actually think, like,
07:22who's the best matchup for Max Reed?
07:24And it's probably Casey.
07:26And again, some of those tougher lefties.
07:28But I do think Arise is somebody they want to play every day.
07:31But having said that, I know there's a lot of people have asked about Casey,
07:34and I get a ton of questions about him.
07:35And their plan going back to when they were chasing second baseman
07:39and Brendan Donovan and Nico Horner and all these guys in the offseason
07:43was still for Casey to play a lot.
07:45So he's taken a lot of reps to first base.
07:47With Bryce not on this team, there's maybe some opportunities there at times
07:51when Devers is DH-ing or whatever the matchup is.
07:54Certainly, you know, Casey could be the DH on Wednesday night.
07:56So I think he's going to be pretty involved.
07:59Have you gotten a sense from Tony Vitello as far as whether or not he's a, like,
08:03here's my guys, you go play, or is he more of a tinkerer?
08:08We have no idea.
08:09So, you know, we spent a lot of time with him in spring training.
08:12I think he wants to set it and forget it lineup.
08:15But, you know, a lot of this with him is he was pretty coy about stuff in Scottsdale.
08:19And I think we're going to find out a lot the first two, three weeks
08:24about how he manages late in games.
08:26Who he actually, like you mentioned Ryan Walker.
08:28He hasn't said Ryan Walker is his closer.
08:30He said he talked about how he wants everybody in that bullpen
08:33and he'll be capable of doing every job.
08:34So, you know, we'll see once these games start.
08:38I think he probably will lean more towards having an everyday lineup.
08:41I know he loved that Kansas City Royals team back in the day
08:44that had a bullpen that was kind of set up 7-8-9.
08:47It was just automatic.
08:49So, I think over time he wants that.
08:50But early on, you know, he might experiment a little bit.
08:53Alex Pavlovich, NBC Sports Bay Area, with us here on 95.7 The Game.
08:57All right, maybe a little bit of a broader question on Tony then
09:01because I know there's still a lot to learn.
09:03But with all the time you spent with him,
09:06how did this feel to you in terms of a vibe and a fit?
09:12It's more energy.
09:13It's definitely different.
09:15I mean, I watched him a couple times kind of gather the whole group
09:19and it looked like a college practice
09:21when he was kind of going through things on the pitcher's mound.
09:25So, there is a lot of that.
09:26But I also think, like, it's not – you know, one thing I've talked to a million people
09:30about this since he got hired and former players and former managers
09:33and just sat in the dugout with all-of-fame managers
09:37and just kind of the same thing everyone comes back to.
09:39It's like baseball is baseball.
09:41And even though it was college baseball, the SEC is pretty good quality
09:46and he won a national championship.
09:47And the games are merging a little bit.
09:50So, it's not – you know, a lot of the analytics stuff,
09:52a lot of what they're doing during games, it's similar.
09:57So, I don't think this will look too different for him.
09:59I think the interesting thing with Tony is, like, we saw it a little bit
10:02in spring training.
10:04Just, obviously, all these guys are really, really competitive,
10:06but he wears it on his sleeve.
10:08And, you know, I remember there was one spring game that they lost
10:10and he just wasn't happy about the way they played.
10:13And you could tell afterwards.
10:14And I think it's going to be a little bit more of that.
10:17I think they're going to be able to tell.
10:20And we'll see.
10:21I've joked with him, like, once the first ejection coming,
10:23because there were some pretty good ones at Tennessee.
10:25So, I think we're going to see a little bit more of that fire,
10:27a little bit more emotion.
10:29But other than that, there's really a lot to learn here
10:31once he starts managing.
10:33And Logan Webb is going to be the anchor of the pitching staff.
10:35I know he did great in the WBC.
10:38But how is he now as he gets closer to 30?
10:40And he's really the anchor of the staff.
10:44You're making me feel old when you say closer to 30.
10:46Right?
10:46I remember when he was drafted.
10:48But, yeah, I mean, I just walked in here.
10:51And, you know, it's probably the fourth, fifth year in a row
10:54that his face is on the front of the building here at 3rd and King.
10:58We have an interview coming on Giants Talk on Wednesday with Logan,
11:02a really long interview that I did with Bonte Hill.
11:04And one thing I asked him was, like, what's your goal this year?
11:07Because every year he kind of gives me something.
11:08Like, last year it was, I want to strike out 200.
11:11And the year before, like, there's all those individual things for him.
11:14And he was pretty clear, just like, I want to pitch in the postseason.
11:17I don't care about anything else.
11:18He wants to be back in the postseason.
11:20We saw it in the World Baseball Classic House.
11:22Good he was in a must-win game.
11:24His record in must-win games over his career is tremendous.
11:27I think that's the only thing that matters to him,
11:29is pitching game one of a postseason series.
11:32Alex, let me ask you this.
11:34Alex, just, I want your thoughts.
11:36Like, are they going to be good?
11:41If they figure out the bullpen, I think they have a pretty good shot.
11:44And the lineup, when you actually, like, see it on paper
11:47and then see it during games and you see the way Matt Chapman's swinging
11:50and you see Rappi Devers and I think Daly looked good this spring,
11:54the lineup has a chance to be really good.
11:56I think the rotation's going to be a little bit better than people think
11:59if they can stay healthy.
12:00You know, the new guys, their velocity was up this spring.
12:03Roof looked solid.
12:05So, I think it's really going to come down to the bullpen.
12:07And I do think they're going to get there over time
12:11because there are a lot of good young arms here,
12:13like the Pidwells of the world.
12:15So, I think over time will help them.
12:17It's just a matter of, like, I would encourage people,
12:19go look at their opening schedule in April.
12:21Like, can they survive that?
12:23And can they not be buried?
12:25And can they, you know, just kind of get off to a decent start here
12:29and kind of figure out who's going to pitch the 7th, 8th, 9th for them.
12:32If they do that, like, it really opens up for them over the summer.
12:35And I think this lineup's good enough that they should be in position
12:38to make the postseason.
12:39But, yeah, it's going to be surviving early.
12:41And then it's going to be crucial that they just figure out
12:44who's going to close out.
12:45Not close out the 9th, just who's going to, you know,
12:47when somebody hands over a one-run lead in the 5th inning or 6th inning,
12:50like, how are they getting to the finish line?
12:52Alex Pavlovich, NBC Sports Bay Area.
12:54All right, I got two quick things for you.
12:56One is just your intrigue level.
12:59Who's the most fascinating guy on offense that, like, early on
13:05you're really interested to see?
13:08Yeah, that's a great question.
13:11I'm very fascinated by Arias just because we kind of heard, you know,
13:15everything is very polarizing when they signed him.
13:18And then you watch him in the WBC and you're like, well,
13:20that's a game-changer if that guy shows up.
13:23And then the other guy I'll give you is Devers.
13:25Just watching him take batting practice,
13:27I haven't really seen anything like that necessarily.
13:31Like, I think that goes back to, like, the Bond years.
13:33Just kind of when you watch him hit and you go, like,
13:37it's a reminder that he's just a superstar talent,
13:39that he's going to be there for a full year.
13:41So I'm curious to see what he does over a full season.
13:44And then, Alex, set an over-under date on the Bryce Eldridge call-up.
13:50Over-under.
13:52I would love to say, like, that Baltimore trip,
13:55which I think is in, like, two weeks,
13:56so he can go play at home for a week and a half.
13:59I think it's probably – I was over-under, I'd say, probably, like, April –
14:03late April, like, April 25th, something like that.
14:05I do think he's going to go down there and figure it out pretty quickly.
14:08And I also think he's one of their best 13 position players
14:10when the point is right.
14:12So I don't think it will be too long with him.
14:15Okay, so you think less than a month.
14:16I think that probably feels good to fans.
14:18Alex, we'll be talking to you a whole lot more.
14:21Thank you so, so much, man.
14:24Yes.
14:25Take it easy, guys.
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