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Paul Toboni joins The Sports Junkies to break down the latest Washington Nationals news.
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00:00What's going on guys? How are you guys? We're doing great. I'm going to steal this from our station mate
00:04Grant Paulson from his Twitter.
00:07He tweeted last night, the Nats win again, four games in a row, four series in a row, eight wins
00:12in their last 11, season high four over 500, fourth best NL run differential, 96 win pace since the last
00:21week of April.
00:22Just a remarkable run. The team has been on talk about what's been going on of late and has ownership
00:29come up to you at any point and said, man, you, you guys are ahead of scheduled what you're doing
00:33because the results on the field have been awesome.
00:38Yeah, it's been really fun. I mean, yeah, I mean, you mentioned it like since I feel like since the
00:44start of May, you know, obviously after April, we didn't know if the offense was legit, legit.
00:52In terms of like what they did in, in, uh, late March and April, if it was going to continue
00:56and, uh, they take another step forward and then, uh, pitching's come around and I keep saying it, but if,
01:02if we can pitch and play defense, I think we're going to find ourselves in a really good spot.
01:06And we've been doing that better. And so, uh, it's been fun. It's been a lot of fun.
01:1231 runs in the last four games. Um, and you know, you guys, we talked about it. Guys went through
01:19that little lull against Miami, Miami, by the way.
01:22Um, I believe is the only team that you guys haven't won a series against in the last 13 or
01:2814 series. And I brought this up earlier in the show, Paul, I, you guys have won.
01:34Now that you include this Kansas city, when this series, when you guys have won 10 of your last 13
01:40series, I don't know if there's a team in the major league baseball who is 10 and three in their
01:45last 13.
01:46I'd have to go back and check, but that's pretty impressive to win 10 of your last 13, especially against
01:52some of these teams. Um, you know, like Atlanta, like Arizona on the road, like Seattle, who's leading their division,
01:58uh, like Cleveland.
01:59And I mean, that's, I don't know. I'm, I'm shocked. I don't know if you are, you probably aren't, but
02:05I'm kind of shocked.
02:06Yeah. Well, you know what the really cool thing is, I think, uh, when, especially our offense, right? Like when
02:12you have an offense that, that the consistency of their at-bats is, is really, really high.
02:17Um, and, uh, you know, we, we talk about like not throwing bats at-bats away. Uh, our guys, our
02:24guys don't really do that. And, uh, I think when that's the case, you can just, you know, wear teams
02:29down day after day after day.
02:31Um, and then not only that, but just, I think what maybe has been lost in the, in the good
02:36performance of the team is just how hard these guys are playing.
02:38And, uh, we saw it last night with Noss beating out that ball at second base, right? It was basically
02:44a routine double play ball. He beats out that ball and then he steals third, uh, scores CJ, you know,
02:51busting it down the line to beat out that infield hit.
02:53They're just, they're playing their tails off, man. I think they're like rallying around each other and it created a
02:58culture where, uh, that's just their identity.
03:01And, uh, so not only is it fun because it's leading to more wins, but, uh, it's just a fun
03:06style of play that, uh, I mean,
03:08candidly, just as a fan, like I, I have a really good time watching, so it's been fun.
03:13Hopefully, uh, we can continue it. Our expectations that we are going to continue it and, uh, and we'll go
03:18from there.
03:18Paul, what a night for Nunez. You just touched on it. Makes that sweet grab in the second inning.
03:23He hits two triples, swipes his 26th bag. He's second in the league with stolen bases at this point.
03:30Batting average up to 217. I mean, he's been on a tear of late. You have to love to see
03:34it.
03:34Um, yeah. And, and not just that, the, um, I mean, that double play ball in the ninth, uh, he
03:41made it look easy.
03:42That was not an easy play, you know, and, and, uh, things were starting to get a little bit shaky
03:46there.
03:47Uh, just turning that to a play, I think was huge. And he affected the game.
03:51And I feel like in, you know, 10 different ways last night. And, uh, yeah, I just, you know, he's
03:57been working really hard and, uh, he's, he's such an awesome, awesome kid.
04:01I just, uh, you know, like I say, like he can, he can win you a game on the base
04:05pass. He can, you know, win it for you defensively.
04:08Um, and shoot, like last night he showed, like he can, uh, he can win it offensively too.
04:14And I feel like really in all three phases, he had a huge impact last night, which was, uh, which
04:18was cool.
04:19And I think that's, you know, one of the other cool things about this team is it seems to be
04:22a different guy every night, um, coming through, which is, uh, which makes it fun.
04:26Is there one guy, I mean, I know, you know, these guys forward and backward.
04:31I mean, you know, even though you're newish here, you know, these guys, is there one guy that's jumped out
04:36at you and you're like, wow, what a, what a pleasant surprise.
04:41Oh my God. There's probably, uh, probably 10. Honestly, there's probably 15. Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, who jumps out at
04:48you the most? It's like, wow. I just didn't realize he was this good.
04:52What about Meade, Paul? Yeah. Uh, no, that's a great one. Curtis, um, I mean, Curtis was DFA, you know,
05:00uh, round opening day.
05:01And, uh, I think I told you guys this. I remember like being on, uh, the call with you guys,
05:07I was walking around the outfield in Wrigley and I hung up the call.
05:09And then I was talking to Chris gets with the white socks about Curtis. And, uh, it feels like, uh,
05:15he's been with us for, for years. Um, and it feels like he's been this guy in the league for
05:21years when in reality, like he's breaking out this year.
05:23And, uh, you know, for a guy that, you know, we, we made this trade for, um, didn't know, uh,
05:30what it was going to look like exactly, uh, how long he was going to be with us, you know,
05:35so on and so forth.
05:36The way he's playing, it looks like he could be a guy that's going to help us for four or
05:40five years, you know, um, maybe even beyond that. So, um, he's been awesome, not just offensively, but defensively. He's
05:47a great, great add to the clubhouse. Uh, love the way he thinks through the game too. He's just, uh,
05:52we're really fortunate to have him.
05:53So Paul, how did, how did you see that? How did you zero in on him when nobody else saw
05:59it? I believe he's on pace now for 28 home runs and close to a hundred RBI. And you, I
06:04mean, you're making it sound like he was just kind of like discarded by everybody else. What do you see
06:09in him? Was there like one certain metric? Like, was it his, you know, his exposure to Blake Butera in
06:15the past? What was it that drew you to him?
06:19So I think there were a few things. Uh, first thing is, uh, we, we could, uh, we, at that
06:26point in time, we could have, uh, we wanted to find an extra bat, uh, that we could have playing
06:31against, uh, left-handed pitching. Uh, and we thought Curtis could be that guy. Uh, he's done it decently in
06:36the past. Uh, and, uh, not only that though, being able to have that bat also be able to play
06:43first, be able to play second, be able to play third, obviously DH. Um, that is unique.
06:47And it just, it allows Blake a lot of flexibility with how he constructs the lineup. Um, and then you
06:53hit on it, like Blake and MJ had spent a lot of time around him, uh, in Tampa's organization. And,
06:59um, we just felt like, you know, he was going to be really comfortable around our staff and he was
07:05going to feel, uh, you know, deep down that, that Blake and the rest of the staff really believed in
07:12him. And, um, you know, I think that can get lost in, in all this. Um, I think there's huge
07:17power
07:17to that. Um, John Harbaugh actually had a, a great, uh, I think he was given a commencement speech the,
07:24you know, a couple of weeks ago where he touched on it, like just the power of encouragement and, you
07:27know, supporting your players, uh, can go a long, long way. And I think Curtis is, uh, is a great
07:32example of that. Um, that the staff leaving him, uh, believing in him, I think just, uh, helped tap into,
07:39uh, uh, you know, another gear, which has been fun.
07:41Paul, just be sure to let him know that you, all these glowing reports and these great numbers that on
07:46Friday, at least for Friday, he is the enemy because the USA takes on Australia in the world. Okay. Not
07:54he's an Australian guy. He's going to be rooting for Australia against probably 20 players in the clubhouse rooted for
08:00team USA. So for one day, for a few hours, we're going to be against Curtis Mead, but then we'll
08:06flip the switch and we'll be good after that.
08:09Oh, this is good. Uh, I don't know how I didn't know that. Um, I've, I've been lost, I guess,
08:14another stuff, but, uh, we'll have to throw, yeah, we'll have to throw down a couple of bets and, uh,
08:19and, and make it fun.
08:20So Zach is going today, one Oh five start, uh, last game of the series. And, um, I don't know.
08:26I feel like I jinxed him because last Wednesday when I, I talked about him, he, uh, he, he didn't
08:31pitch very well in that first game against Seattle, but, um, going against Kansas city one Oh five today, I
08:38expect him
08:38to bounce back and throw really well. Yeah. So do I. I mean, I honestly, I think that outing, um,
08:45the line was worse than actually how he executed. Um, they put together some really good at bats. I don't
08:50know if you remember some of those at bats, but I feel like, um, I mean, there were a few
08:54guys in their lineup that, uh, you know, Kenzo and obviously, and Rosarena, um, it felt like Zach was just
09:01like painting the edges, uh, with multiple different pitch types. And they were just fouling pitches away, fouling pitches away.
09:07And then, uh,
09:08waiting until he had to really come in to, uh, to hit a ball hard. And, um, I actually, I
09:13mean, I walked away from the outing and watch the video and everything like, man, uh, actually don't think he,
09:19he threw poorly. Uh, obviously the line wasn't great, but I thought he threw a lot better than the line.
09:24So, uh, he's obviously been, been great over the course of last, whatever it's been five, six, seven, eight starts.
09:29Um, and, uh, like you said, fully expect that to, uh, to continue today.
09:33Can you remind our listeners and me, frankly, Foster Griffin's story? Um, he just been unbelievable for you guys kind
09:40of coming out of nowhere.
09:42Yeah. Well, this one was actually a pretty cool one for him because he was the first rounder of the
09:47Royals. And so, uh, he was able to pitch against them for the first time yesterday. Um, so yeah, he
09:53was a first rounder. He came up through their system during the COVID year. Uh, I think he broke, I
09:58could be wrong about this, but I think he broke the opening day roster with them. Um,
10:03and then, uh, he pitched, you know, like up and down for a couple of years, ended up going over
10:08to Japan. Um, he kind of, uh, yeah, revamped his arsenal when he was over there, uh, had a lot
10:14of success, uh, matured a ton. And, uh, and then, you know, we had an opportunity to bring him back
10:21here, um, this past off season. Uh, we did it and, uh, and he's been great. Like he's just, I
10:28mean, you guys have seen it. He's, uh, it's a, it's a different look than most modern day pitchers.
10:33You know, with how deep the mix is and it's not crazy velocity and all that, but, uh, but he
10:37gets guys out. He has a really good understanding of how to pitch. And, um, you know, he, I think
10:42he creates fits for, uh, for a lot of arms, which is, uh, sorry for a lot of hitters.
10:46Is this kind of exactly what you thought he could be, or is it even surpassing your expectations?
10:53No, I think, I mean, this is, uh, this is who we thought he could be. Um, but as you
10:58know, like it's not, um,
10:59until you do it, you know, when you, when you quote unquote, yeah, make a bet on a guy coming
11:03over from Japan, it's, uh, you're taking on a little bit more risk than a guy that's pitched
11:07in the big leagues for the last year or two, just because, uh, it's a different caliber of,
11:12of hitter in the big leagues and you don't, you're not entirely sure how it's going to play
11:15so on and so forth. So, um, yeah, it's, it's like, I keep saying, it's been fun to watch and,
11:20uh, the way he just executes all different, you know, pitch types and, uh, commands him to where
11:26he wants and just the art of pitching, so to speak. Like he's, uh, he's, he's just really
11:31fun to watch. So, um, he's been great for us. All right, Paul, I'm not even going to ask you
11:34to comment on the discussion we just had about, uh, CJ Abrams. I know it's, you're not going to
11:39talk about it regarding, um, his future here, but some callers called up and they were just
11:44very frustrated. I'm, I like CJ Abrams a lot because offensively he's so good, but there are
11:49fans out there that are very frustrated with his defense. And now I think if you guys are going
11:54to make a wild card run, I think CJ, CJ Abrams has to be on the field. Uh, even at
11:59shortstop
11:59where he's been a defensive, uh, lapse, you know, for the liability. So how can he get
12:07better defensively? Because right now he's near the bottom, if not at the bottom defensively,
12:11uh, in major league shortstops. Yeah. Well, I think the thing with CJ is he's gone through
12:17these extended windows in the big leagues where he's performed really well there. Um, and, uh,
12:22uh, so I think it's, it's just tapping into that consistency more often, um, before let's
12:30see, I don't know exactly what the window was, but I feel like about six weeks ago till about
12:35like a week or two ago, he was doing a really, really good job, uh, attacking the ball, coming
12:40in on the ball, finding good hops. Um, and, uh, you know, not getting lazy with his feet.
12:45And I think, uh, that's like when he's at his best. Uh, we talk about playing one handed
12:50a lot. I know like when most kids grow up, they're taught to field the ball with two hands,
12:55so on and so forth. We actually think about it a little bit differently where with all
12:59these great athletes in the big leagues, you see NOS do it a ton, like playing one handed
13:03and playing on the run. Uh, it just allows you to be more athletic. And I think CJ, when he's
13:09like that, he's at his best when he's trying to cookie cut, like good form, so to speak,
13:14quote unquote, good form. I think he can get a touch robotic and his feet can get, uh, out
13:19of sync with his upper half. And, um, I think that's what, what causes issue issues at times.
13:24So, um, just the, you know, the more we can get them athletic and playing one handed and
13:27free, uh, and attacking the ball, I think, uh, the better he'll be. And, uh, yeah, as he had
13:33windows where he's been, you know, just okay. Yeah. Uh, and it's our jobs, I think, to help
13:38him tap into those windows where he's been great. I think he just described my short
13:42game. That's terrible. That's better than one hand. Is that what it is? Being more
13:47athletic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You see a parallel there. Let's get the sweep today, Paul. Let's
13:52get it. Sounds good. Hey guys, can I mention one more thing? I know I've, uh, I haven't
13:56done this before, but you guys probably saw it. Woody is, is seventh in all-star voting
14:01today. And he's, that to me is like one where the national fan base can obviously have a
14:07huge impact on for a guy that's going to, you know, potentially be the MVP, uh, and
14:12is like the best teammate, one of the best teammates I've ever seen, uh, having a guy
14:16like that, not start the all-star game because the fan voting would be a bummer.
14:20So, uh, let's get this, let's get Woody in there by, uh, voting up to five times a
14:24day. And, um, and then obviously CJ and the rest of the crew too, but Woody in particular,
14:29given where he is, uh, amongst the outfielders, I don't think it's right. So let's get it
14:33right. Let's get a Woody push out there. We appreciate that. I'm sure he does
14:37too. Yep. All right. Thanks for the time. There we go. Let's talk to you next
14:39week. All right. Appreciate it guys. Thank you. All right. Thank you, buddy. Talk
14:42to you, Paul to bony president of baseball ops for the hottest team in the
14:47league right now. That is the Washington nationals. They have won four straight
14:51trying to make it five straight today. And of course you can listen to all the
14:54action right here on the one Oh six, seven, the fan one Oh five first pitch.
14:59When we come back, we will talk U S open golf with Steve Sands from the golf
15:03channel. We'll do that next.
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