00:00John, how are we doing today?
00:02I am doing well, my friends.
00:04Good to be with you guys.
00:05A happy Thursday to you.
00:08My household wasn't great with the guards getting swept away by the Yanks at home,
00:14but I'm hopeful for a players-only meeting and just some refresh here.
00:18Much-needed off day.
00:19Get back in action tomorrow against the Motor City Kitties.
00:22So we did talk about that, so let's start there.
00:24We just did last segment about the idea that this offense just isn't good enough, John.
00:28That's my reality as of right now.
00:30Doesn't mean they can't make adjustments and get different players in here,
00:35but their slugging percentage is worse than it was last year on a team that we just
00:39basically ridiculed all season long for not having enough pop.
00:43Yeah, it's problematic right now.
00:46This team and their bullpen, which year in and year out has typically been the area
00:51for this organization to be in top form and one of the best pens in the league consistently,
00:57you just, we took for granted, sometimes we take for granted just how good the pitching
01:02is for this organization year in, year out.
01:05Well, the bullpen's got some chinks in the armor, and the fact is you look at this team
01:11and they struggle to answer offensively.
01:15When you're playing a team like the Yankees, you've got to be able to score runs,
01:19and not just four or five.
01:20There's going to be a game where you've got to score eight, seven, eight, nine runs
01:24to sometimes come away with a win.
01:26And the extra innings game in the series opener, just a backbreaker because you had two on,
01:31nobody out, and Quan lines out to short, which just sums up his season, guys.
01:38He just has not been what they thought he would be, what they needed him to be.
01:46And, you know, you think about the extension candidate that he was.
01:50I mean, that guy was poised to get a very, very big payday,
01:55and things have fallen sideways for him at the plate.
01:59But when you're counting on Chase DeLauter and you're counting on Travis Bazzana
02:04and you're counting on Angel Martinez to the degree that you're counting on,
02:12the fact is that's not fair to those guys.
02:16It's not.
02:17I mean, it's nice what Martinez has been able to do.
02:19There's no question about it.
02:21But when you're looking at these guys and you're saying,
02:26well, we need them to be elite at the plate for us to be able to get runs across,
02:31it's a lot on their shoulders.
02:33So the benefit for the guards is they're in a bad division,
02:39and the American League is as weak as it's been as long as I can remember.
02:43So do I doubt this is a playoff team?
02:45I think they'll be a playoff team because I think they've got enough.
02:49Their job is they've got to find a way, you know,
02:53to maneuver and get a veteran bad by the deadline.
02:56I just don't know how this team can be taken seriously unless they look to
03:01bolster their lineup in some way, shape, or form.
03:03Reese Hoskins is not answering all those questions.
03:06I'm sorry.
03:07John, obviously we got the hot start out of the Lauder,
03:10a good start out of Bazzana.
03:11They've both cooled off.
03:13I mean, the Lauder more than Bazzana as of late.
03:15But how much of this is going through the growing pains of an early season
03:20and how much of, you know, the early success is actually real?
03:24Yeah, I think that it's more the latter.
03:28Guys, I don't think that like, okay, now for Bazzana and the Lauder,
03:31it's going to go down the tube and things are looking miserable.
03:35I don't foresee that.
03:38I just think that when you're younger, you're going to go through peaks and valleys.
03:43And this is why being in this division is a good thing for the Guardians
03:46because this division affords you the opportunity to go through those.
03:51I mean, let's be real here.
03:53Now, Detroit's about to get healthy.
03:57Scoble will pitch on Saturday against Gavin Williams.
04:01So it's going to be an interesting series here this weekend
04:03because it's actually Cantillo on Saturday.
04:07But Detroit's got an opportunity, you know, they're not dead.
04:11I mean, for a 29-40 ball club to be eight out, look what the Guardians overcame last year.
04:18So it's a long season.
04:19But I don't look at it and say, okay, some of the recent performances at the plate now,
04:25this is a ball club that's got a couple of younger guys that are going to suddenly just –
04:32it's going to turn and never really get back on track.
04:35I think Bazzana and the Lauder have also made some good contact
04:39and haven't always gotten rewarded.
04:41But I just think – I think it's more about the fact that there's real pressure on these guys
04:49and it's a lot for them to have to deliver this soon.
04:53And so as a result, you're going to go through what you just went through against the Yankees.
05:00Look what you did.
05:00You took two of the first three games in the Bronx.
05:03You could have taken the third game of that series.
05:05You almost walked away with a sweep in the Bronx.
05:08But it's not like – it's not like the Guardians weren't in, you know,
05:15didn't have their opportunities against the Yankees at home.
05:18I think it's just – it's when Kwon has been as big a disappointment as he's been,
05:25and you've got David Fry and Reese Hoskins hitting in the meat of your lineup.
05:30I mean, the fact is, like, other than Brian Rocchio in the back half,
05:36who consistently is a pitching staff that afraid of?
05:39So that's just it.
05:40You're relying on the Lauder and Bazzana for real lineup depth.
05:44And I don't think that they're going to be some sort of failures.
05:48I think they've got really, really good days ahead of them.
05:51But that's not going to come without some struggles.
05:54It's just a natural part of being – of transitioning into the major leagues.
05:58All right, John, and John Fanta joining us here on the Wise Heart Right.
06:01We make it right.
06:02Call Kyle Right Hotline.
06:03I've got to ask you about Deshaun Watson and Shador Sanders, but not on the field yet.
06:07Let's stay with off the field for a second.
06:09Some people were upset that they didn't – they were a little too warm and fuzzy yesterday
06:14in talking about each other to the media.
06:17Shador was complimentary.
06:19Deshaun talked about his relationship with the Sanders family.
06:21Neither one wanted to turn this into the Vikings quarterback situation.
06:24That seems like it's just a constant back and forth of that guy sucks.
06:28Do you like that approach, or do you feel like they should have acknowledged it's more of a competition?
06:34Yeah, I like the approach in June.
06:37I'm okay with it in June.
06:38I'm not okay with it in August because things are going to get real,
06:42and one of these two guys is going to be the quarterback of this football team.
06:45And if they're doing – if we've got, you know, sunshine and rainbows during a quarterback competition training camp,
06:53I don't think that's going to end up very well.
06:55So, look, I'm not going to read too much into it today and say, well, now I don't like the
07:02tenor of this.
07:02I don't think this is going in the right direction.
07:04Here's the deal, guys.
07:06Deshaun Watson didn't address the media.
07:09He had not addressed the media in 20 months.
07:12So, when you have the negative vortex that's surrounding you between your play on the field and your behavior off
07:23the field,
07:23when you do talk to the media, you're at a point now where, whether you like it or not,
07:31like, if you're trying to right your ship, you've got to conduct yourself a certain way.
07:38So, am I surprised by it?
07:41Not one bit.
07:42I think – I mean, maybe the Browns are letting on a certain thing here,
07:49and Jimmy Haslam has said certain things, and so has leadership.
07:54I'm still seeing right through this competition.
07:57Deshaun Watson is not the Browns' present or future.
08:03And if he is, that is really rough news, in my humble opinion, because there's no conceivable reason why I
08:10wouldn't start Shador Sanders in week one.
08:13He should be the week one starter for this team.
08:17Find out what he is.
08:18Find out what he can be.
08:20And don't tell me, well, you know, you're setting him up for failure.
08:24No, no, no.
08:25He had a rookie season.
08:26He should be out there for this team.
08:28But do I have a problem with them being kind to each other today and right now?
08:33I'm not going to read too much into that.
08:35That's a byproduct of Deshaun Watson.
08:38And, honestly, like, what leg does he have to stand on in terms of what he's done as a Cleveland
08:44Brown?
08:45Well, guess what?
08:46Not much.
08:47So I'm okay with it in June.
08:50But, guys, if they're coming off the practice field during training camp saying, well, you know, he's really good,
08:55and, oh, well, he's really good, then I do have a problem with it.
08:58I don't like that.
08:59It's going to be a competition.
09:00And that's fine.
09:01That's good for training camp.
09:03It's a good storyline and good for them.
09:05But I don't want all that in August.
09:08I'm fine with it now.
09:10JP and I were talking a little bit earlier.
09:12We referenced Deshaun's comments when he talked to the media about how he hasn't been healthy since week three of
09:172023 against the Titans.
09:20Very similar to what we heard from Baker.
09:23If that's true, John, how much of that falls on Deshaun himself, and how much does the organization bear to,
09:28you know,
09:29I mean, fight to keep their players healthy?
09:31Yeah, I mean, guys, the fact is, he's been out there to play.
09:38And for the amount of money that he's making, okay, I'm not going to throw some pity party for him
09:47if he says that, you know,
09:49he wasn't really healthy during a good amount of games.
09:54But the fact is, we all watched the games that he played in, okay, the seven games he was involved
10:02in in 2024.
10:04And he had five touchdowns.
10:06He had three interceptions.
10:07And you know why he didn't have more interceptions?
10:10He didn't have more interceptions because he would take a sack or he would throw the ball away,
10:17and it just was a pedestrian offense.
10:18So, I'm not going to subscribe to this idea that, you know, he hasn't been healthy.
10:27He played.
10:29He played in seven games in 2024.
10:33And if he wasn't, if he's suggesting, okay, if what he's saying is that he wasn't healthy to go in
10:41week one in 2024,
10:43guys, would you agree or disagree for what the Browns were paying for him, for who they thought that he
10:48would be,
10:49why would you be playing him through injury in 2024?
10:53Why wouldn't you say, you know what, it's not worth it.
10:55Let's get him right.
10:56He could sit out week one or week two.
10:59And the Browns went into 2024 thinking we're going to be a really talented football team.
11:05We've got a chance to have, you know, a tremendous season with Deshaun Watson as our quarterback.
11:11We've got a lot of talent on the football field.
11:15And obviously things did not go that way at all.
11:18You would have just sat him out.
11:20So, I don't, look, I blame the Browns for latching their truck to a guy that has been nothing short
11:31of a,
11:31I mean, I know it sounds harsh, but nothing short of a disaster since he's become a Cleveland Brown.
11:37I wish that weren't the case, but that's what it is.
11:39I'm not going to sit here and start being critical of the Browns and their management of Deshaun Watson's injury.
11:45He's the quarterback and he controls his health.
11:49That's on him.
11:51All right, John, did the Spurs let the Cavs off the hook last night?
11:57They actually did.
11:59I mean, that's the wildest comeback I've ever seen.
12:03I don't remember a time.
12:06I've been watching games for as long as I can remember, you know, growing up in our wonderful town
12:14and seeing different comebacks and unfortunately some classes.
12:18I don't remember anything like that, guys.
12:20And the 23, you know, down by 22 with seven minutes on the clock.
12:28Yeah, it was bad.
12:29It was game one and it was in the garden.
12:32This was a San Antonio team that was coming off of a win.
12:36They're up 29.
12:38The air is sucked out of the building.
12:40The light is sucked out of the building.
12:41They have Victor Wambanyama.
12:46Look, he's already been identified before this series started as the new face of the NBA.
12:52And I don't mind that identification.
12:54I think he's going to win championships.
12:55I think he's going to run the league for a long time, provided he stays healthy with that body of
13:00his.
13:00But, yeah, the Spurs let the Cavs off the hook.
13:03I mean, people are not going to...
13:05John, he's a real alien in the fact that I can't find him in the last eight minutes of that
13:09game last night.
13:10He was nowhere to be found.
13:11What was that?
13:12One field goal, then a trip to the free throw line where he missed both?
13:16Why is Wemby not getting criticism today in the slightest bit?
13:19I don't understand it.
13:20He chokes away game two with the turnover and then obviously the missed shot, the air ball, and then the
13:26missed shot for the win.
13:27And then last night disappears like you wouldn't believe for the final eight minutes.
13:32I think it's because he's 22 years old.
13:34I think if he's 26, 27, this is run three, run four, run five at this.
13:39I look back at 2007, JP, when the Cavs did make the finals.
13:46And I think everybody, you know, if you took your wine and gold-colored glasses off, you knew the Spurs
13:50were a more talented team.
13:52You know, we didn't know how this series was going to go.
13:56We certainly didn't know it was going to go like this.
13:57But he deserves criticism today.
14:00I think he's not getting it because New York media, the national media, a lot of them being New Yorkers,
14:06are just going all in on the Knicks who haven't done anything, you know, in 53 years when it comes
14:11to winning a championship.
14:12If this was his third or fourth postseason and these collapses were now becoming the theme of it all, then
14:19I would say he would be getting buried.
14:22I don't think we're at that point yet in his career.
14:24He's 22.
14:27All right, John, tell us about the sports broadcasting camp and remind everyone, all the big, prominent Cleveland media that's
14:32going to be in attendance.
14:35Jake, did you get invited to this?
14:36I did not, no.
14:38Oh, man.
14:39Jake, you're more than welcome to come.
14:41I mean, we'll love to have you.
14:42I'm signing up for more work now, Jake.
14:44That's okay.
14:45Yeah, exactly, exactly.
14:46Here's the deal, July 20th to 24th, ages 10 to 19, you're a young man, a young lady, wherever you're
14:57at in northeast Ohio and beyond.
14:59If you're in town for the summer visiting family, we are welcoming kids from all over the area for a
15:07special week at John Carroll University.
15:09You're going to hear from some national broadcasters, people that you, you know, watch the biggest games in sports with.
15:17You'll hear from a lot of them on Zoom.
15:19You'll hear from the local sports anchors on TV in Cleveland, radio personalities, some 92.3 The Fan personalities.
15:27You'll hear from some of your favorite folks that you love calling games, you know, voices of the Cavaliers, the
15:34Browns, the Guardians.
15:36The Guardians, I really want to thank them.
15:38They're going to host the camp on that Thursday for the Guardians twins.
15:42It's a day game.
15:43I'll be at the ballpark.
15:44Would love to see anybody who's at that game.
15:46That's Thursday the 23rd.
15:49But the point is I wanted to bring a sports broadcasting camp to Cleveland, Ohio.
15:53It's my roots.
15:54It's where I'm from.
15:55I love the city.
15:56I live in New Jersey now with my family.
15:59But I said I want to go back home for a week and do this and give back to the
16:03community and let's find the next wave of superstars that can argue and win arguments over Nick Wilson.
16:09So we're pumped about it.
16:11And it's going to be a really fun thing.
16:13You're going to be able to get sample tape and all that.
16:16You should put the kids into, like, a corner with just Nick and then let Nick bury them in debates.
16:22Okay?
16:23And just introduce them to sports broadcasting the real way.
16:26Yeah, and can I decide?
16:28You know what I would like to do there?
16:29I'd like to have, like, a Tony Reale mute button.
16:32And then I could just shut Wilson's microphone off and watch, like, a 10-year-old and just declare a
16:4110-year-old the winner over him.
16:42That would be my life goal.
16:44All right, John.
16:44That's not going to happen.
16:45Thanks so much.
16:46We appreciate you.
16:47We'll talk to you later.
16:48Thanks, John.
16:48Thank you, guys.
16:49Always appreciate you.
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