00:00Talk about this to avoid talking about what was a very –
00:03oddly enough, it was the most locked in that I've been probably in a week
00:06when it comes to that.
00:06Dude, I was watching the pregame show.
00:09I never watched the pregame show.
00:11I got in a little late, so I missed this first inning.
00:13Yeah.
00:14So I said, I'm like, okay, no runs.
00:16I think we're good right now.
00:17It's the bottom of the first.
00:19I'm like, I think we're good right now.
00:21Yeah.
00:22And, nope, did not last.
00:24There was about three innings where you were like, okay, making this work.
00:27I think it was 2-2 at that point.
00:28And then the fourth inning happens, and it just falls apart fully for one Tatsuya Imai.
00:33And I know coming into this, you were in this place.
00:36I think our guy Luke Morrow was in this place.
00:38Ron seemed to be similarly in this place where it was like, man, if it goes bad, I'm out.
00:44Well, went bad, ladies and gentlemen, for Tatsuya Imai in this one.
00:49What was his line again in this?
00:51Oh, boy.
00:52I want to see if you have it on top.
00:54I think he's holding up his shirt.
00:57The shirt that somebody gave him that he will never have the chance to wear at this point.
01:00There's no way.
01:01I had to burn it.
01:02Is he going to wash your car?
01:03Hey, I don't even think that's worth it.
01:05I might have to get in the street and just light it on fire at this point.
01:09Like when LeBron left the Cavs?
01:10Yes.
01:11I can't even cut the grass in this shirt.
01:13Yeah.
01:13He technically goes four innings.
01:15How many runs did he give up?
01:16Do you remember?
01:17Six.
01:17Yes.
01:18Yeah.
01:18And how many walks did he issue?
01:20Well, he had five.
01:21He put five people on base.
01:23Two were hit by pitch.
01:24Three walks, I believe.
01:25See, the reason why I did that is this is emblazoned in your mind because that's how deeply frustrating
01:30it was just generally, but to you in particular.
01:33So you're done here?
01:33Also had, well, it was charged to pass ball to Christian Vasquez, but he was set up low
01:39and the ball was way high, but it did hit Vasquez's glove.
01:43So technically, a lot of scorers say, well, if it hit his glove, it's got to be a pass ball.
01:47But that was a wild pitch.
01:48So, yeah, hit two guys, walk three, a realistic wild pitch, two home runs, grand slam.
01:59Yes, if you're not out on Tatsuya Imai, I would really like to know where you feel there is
02:06encouragement.
02:07Man.
02:07I'd like, serious question, how are you encouraged?
02:10When he had them bases loaded, I'm like, oh, no.
02:13It's coming.
02:14Man.
02:14It's coming.
02:15Yeah.
02:16Like, seriously, like, and you like to play devil's advocate, so to speak, which I hate
02:19that term, but you do like to kind of see.
02:21Devil don't need no advocate, I'm going to say.
02:24Where on earth, in what world can you find encouragement?
02:32He held it together for three.
02:34But he really didn't.
02:35I know.
02:36He held it together for one.
02:38The first inning was relatively clean.
02:41It was.
02:42The second inning, they were hitting lasers to two batters, and I think he got a double
02:46play in the third.
02:47Yeah, there was a double play.
02:48That was a fairly hard hit ball.
02:49It was a hard hit out to center.
02:51There was one that went 4-13.
02:54It went 4-13, but it was caught against the fence.
02:57Yeah.
02:58Like, I would easily argue, and I don't think there's much argument against it, he was good
03:02for one inning.
03:04That's it.
03:05Yeah.
03:05Was it the first inning?
03:06First inning.
03:07That's the one I missed.
03:08He was making it through the second and third innings.
03:11He was making do with some of the stuff.
03:13I do think, though, one of the things that you could, if you were trying to find encouragement,
03:18which, again.
03:19That's why you're here.
03:20I understand the place that I'm in.
03:22I understand what I am doing in this moment.
03:24This is going to be his toughest test yet, Figgy.
03:26Don't get out here saying Reggie is delusional.
03:28I am attempting to make the case here.
03:30The velocity was there.
03:32The velocity was there.
03:34And for the command issues that he had, for a majority of the time, the fastball was
03:39where he needed it to be.
03:41The slider.
03:44Majority, maybe 50-50.
03:46The slider, I wouldn't be able to say that.
03:47Not one bit.
03:48Yeah.
03:49And he's just using two pitches here, which is more of an issue here.
03:52But if and when he finds some comfort with those, the stuff is there.
03:58It's the command.
03:59And that's one of those things.
04:00Command can be found.
04:01The question is, is this Yip's territory for him?
04:05And we're getting more and more feelings.
04:07I take you to Joe Espada after, which, listening to the whole of both Espada's availability
04:12and Ima's availability was quite a doozy.
04:16We'll hear more of that as we go.
04:17But this is Joe Espada talking about whether or not he is done with Tatsuyama.
04:22At this point, you just have to keep running around.
04:23Yeah, he's going to make a next start.
04:25Yeah.
04:26That's just mean.
04:28It's not fair.
04:29If you don't want to say me, it's not fair to Emai.
04:34They rushed him up.
04:35We talked about that.
04:38They told him.
04:39This is the thing.
04:39And you say you were kind of arguing the case.
04:42Where could you find?
04:43Didn't have much for you.
04:44Didn't have much.
04:45But you did argue.
04:45So you get credit for that.
04:47It's like signing your name on the SAT.
04:48You get 420 points.
04:51But here's the thing.
04:52If you're going to run a starting pitcher out there and your marching orders are this.
04:58Throw strikes.
04:59Just throw strikes and rely on two pitches.
05:03Then he's not a starting pitcher.
05:05Because he has a changeup.
05:07That's what I was thinking.
05:07He has.
05:08What's his other pitch?
05:09He has a changeup.
05:10He has a slider.
05:10He has a fast play.
05:11He has something else, too.
05:11Let me pull it back up because I have the baseball savant with all of his pitches up.
05:14When you're telling a starting pitcher, throw these two pitches, then he's not a starting pitcher.
05:20Yeah, you got to take him out in a second.
05:21I don't think that they were telling him that.
05:23This was something that if you listen to him.
05:25Well, it was part of the scouting report.
05:26Throw strikes and rely on these two.
05:27Throw strikes was from the team side.
05:30Emai, apparently, according to Through the Translator after, he was the one who said that he talked to the staff
05:36and said,
05:37I want to do what I did in Japan, which was use these two pitches.
05:39But that's what I'm saying.
05:39It's part of the game plan.
05:41No, I know.
05:41But I think that, honestly, I don't know why I'm giving you ammo here.
05:44This is where, if I was you, I'd be like, yeah, this is a damn issue, man.
05:47This is another place where you decided that you wanted to find some level of comfort in this,
05:52and you weren't able to get this done, right?
05:53I think that that ends up being the question.
05:55But for me, that pulls it back to a conversation of, like, if and when he could find some level
06:03of comfort,
06:04these are all things that are available to him.
06:05Like, this is just the worst possible case of what it could be.
06:08He has the slider.
06:10He has the fastball, forcing fastball.
06:12He has the sinker, which he has.
06:13And the changeup, yeah.
06:14And the changeup.
06:15He has a split finger in there as well.
06:17Like, he has some stuff that he just has not used very much and did not use at all last
06:21night.
06:22Ultimately, they just kind of got to keep running him out there, man.
06:25Plus.
06:25They just don't have – this is where Dana Brown has – I mean, actually, really, Jim Crane.
06:30But the entirety of the organization has failed him as well.
06:33It's not – they made it so that there was no possibility for a bounce back if he was not
06:38ready coming into the majors.
06:40And we talked about that.
06:40This is a big question mark.
06:41We were all hoping on the positive.
06:43This is the negative, and there's no real recourse other than to keep throwing him out here.
06:46Could not disagree more.
06:48Every game matters.
06:49Every – we talk about it all the time.
06:51They matter just as much in May as they do in August and September.
06:55And you just – just to throw them out there, why?
06:57Because of your pride?
06:59Because of your ego?
07:00No, you don't have others.
07:01You have others.
07:02You don't.
07:03You have others.
07:04Anybody is better than this.
07:05I would take Logan Van Wey starting at this point over EMI.
07:10It's that bad, Reggie.
07:11It is that bad.
07:12Just take the L, man.
07:14Just take the L.
07:15You're not doing your team a service.
07:18You're not doing EMI a service.
07:19You run a very, very high risk of ruining him, like, forever.
07:25Yeah.
07:25Because he's already ruined.
07:27You saw the body language?
07:28You saw the – when he went – when they went out there after – was it after the Grand
07:32Slam
07:32or just before?
07:33It was right in that time.
07:35He looked terrified.
07:37Yeah, by the time –
07:38He looked terrified out there.
07:40And if – this isn't going to be worth anything, honestly.
07:42But I did feel like he looked like he was up for the challenge early on.
07:46He did.
07:47Once it got bad, it was a problem.
07:48Yeah.
07:48But that's an issue, right?
07:49If you don't have resilience in life generally, but as a pitcher, starting pitcher, buddy,
07:54you're not going to make – because nobody can come and save you.
07:56Yeah.
07:56And even in the places where somebody can try and come and help you out, it showed up in this
08:01game where, oh, this is one of the reasons why it's not, right?
08:03Christian Vasquez is trying to figure out when the bases are loaded, hey, are you going
08:06to work from the windup or are you going to work from the stretch?
08:09They're looking to –
08:10They're looking at the translator in the dugout.
08:11They're like, hey, can you get this –
08:13Can you help us out here?
08:14This has been a fall without a real net.
08:17No.
08:18You are doing a disservice.
08:19But again –
08:19You cannot run him out there.
08:21At least not yet.
08:22You cannot run him out there again.
08:23Yeah.
08:23I think the issue, too, is the contract.
08:25Like, you're looking at the contract.
08:26Because if this was Jason Alexander or something, he would have been shipped on somewhere else.
08:32100%.
08:32And Alexander was.
08:34Yeah.
08:34But for the simple fact this is a big contract for this guy, you got to see what you got
08:40in him.
08:41You do.
08:42You do have to see what you got in him.
08:43And you don't really have very many –
08:44You don't really have very many like –
08:46This is like Jose Abreu.
08:48Was it Jose Abreu?
08:49Yeah, Jose Abreu.
08:49Yeah, just keep trying him out there.
08:52Gosh.
08:52That really, really, really stunk.
08:54Because for a time period there, it looked like they might have been able to compete.
08:56It blew open and then it never was viable again.
08:59We'll talk more about that a little bit later.
09:00And I know that sounds like a threat, but it is.
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