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00:00Guardians are back home. They start a series tonight.
00:03They start a 10-day homestand tonight.
00:06And to talk about it all, Al Pulaski, Guardians TV analyst.
00:09He's on the Wise Heart Right. We Make It Right.
00:11Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:12Al, how the hell are you?
00:14Hey, good morning, Ken. Good morning, Daryl.
00:16It is fantastic to be here with me.
00:18Yeah, you did it instead of me. I'm sorry.
00:20He's more professional than I am.
00:21Daryl Ryder in for Anthony Lyman today.
00:24Al, like, I know nothing's confirmed,
00:27but it seems that Cooper Engel will be on his way up here very, very shortly.
00:31A lot of young kids now in this lineup,
00:34and it's a shame that, you know, two of them got banged up.
00:37Obviously, Jose got banged up, but he's the crafty veteran, the icon.
00:41But two of these other kids, they got banged up.
00:43What do we expect from Engel?
00:46And honestly, how should we temper our expectations
00:49for the youth that has been in this lineup this year?
00:53They have some great questions,
00:54and, you know, it is unfortunate those three guys went down.
00:58And, you know, I've been talking the last couple of weeks or so.
01:00Ever since it happened, I've never seen that before
01:03where hitters 1, 2, and 3 literally in the batting order
01:06all get hurt in the same game,
01:08and then they all have to go on the injured list.
01:10So that's, you know, that's a heck of a position
01:12to put an organization in.
01:14You know, even the Dodgers would struggle
01:15if your 1, 2, and 3 went down,
01:17like Otani, Freeman, and whoever else happened at third that day.
01:20I don't know, Will Smith.
01:21It's tough to replace it.
01:22The kids that are coming up, there's potential there,
01:25but they're going to have their growing pains.
01:26They're going to have their ups and downs.
01:27It's good to see Khalil Watson do what he did in Chicago.
01:30He got some big hits.
01:31He's coming through.
01:32You know, if Cooper Engel does come up today,
01:34this is a kid that has been swinging a very hot bat.
01:37He can hit for average.
01:38He can hit for power.
01:40He's a catcher,
01:41but he's versatile enough to play other places,
01:44such as, you know, outfield.
01:45I know that, you know, now he's gotten some reps there.
01:47He's had some reps there in the past.
01:49But, you know, the Guardians are in a situation where they have a very good start
01:53to the first half of the season, pitching for the most part,
01:56very consistent, especially starting pitching.
01:59Not every single outing, but as a group, very consistent.
02:01You're tied for first place in a division that you really should win
02:06if you can stay healthy.
02:08Right now, they're not.
02:09So you've got to get some guys here that can maybe, you know,
02:12just keep your head above water until Jose and Chase and Angel come back.
02:18Well, I think one of the positives with these young kids
02:22is you're seeing some emotion out of them,
02:24even with some of the, you know, in these tough losses.
02:27You've got guys snapping bats over their knee.
02:30Travis Bazzana the other night yelling into his glove after the final out.
02:35I mean, I look at those kind of things as, you know,
02:39I know Jose Ramirez is the heart and soul of this team,
02:43but he's not going to play forever, even though we wish he would.
02:47And to see the care, I guess, for lack of a better description,
02:53from some of these younger kids as they go through these growing pains,
02:57I look at that as a real positive when you look at the potential for the future.
03:03Yeah, you definitely have guys that care, which is nice.
03:06And that's been the culture that's been established in that clubhouse for a while.
03:09And then when the kids come up, I mean, even when you talk to them
03:12or you talk to others about it, they all say to a man,
03:14it's like, you know, we get here, or even free agents like Reese Hoskins, for example.
03:19He's the guy that said it.
03:20You get into this clubhouse and you see what it's about.
03:22And it's like, hey, you know, we're trying to win here first and foremost.
03:27And if you come into this situation, you want to be a part of it.
03:30There's not a lot of guys that are individuals and playing for themselves.
03:33I know it's professional sports.
03:35I know that's a part of it and always will be.
03:37But, I mean, you take a situation like the New York Mets
03:40and you look at the talent in that clubhouse.
03:42However, you see some of the problems they have
03:45or the fact that, you know, they go on these long losing streaks
03:48and you look at it and you go, how does a team with so much talent like the Mets
03:53go through, you know, some of the doldrums that they go through?
03:55Well, you've got a bunch of individuals there.
03:58You know, bottom line, you don't necessarily have a team that's playing together.
04:02Here with the Guardians, you do have a team that's playing together.
04:05I get it.
04:06Just pure talent-wise, sure, the Mets have more pure talent,
04:09but the Guardians as a group play better as a team.
04:13And even at the top level, guys that play better as a team
04:17generally have more success than a group of individuals
04:20that are just playing the names on their backs
04:23and for the best that they can put up.
04:25I mean, I totally agree, Al.
04:26I know it's the NL East and it's a difficult division,
04:29but I thought that the Juan Soto thing when he was injured
04:34and wasn't around the team and didn't talk to any of his teammates
04:37while he was injured was just like the biggest indication
04:40of money can't buy happiness.
04:42I mean, he seems to be absolutely miserable there.
04:44Jose is on a different level.
04:46Obviously, there's strong leadership there with that team.
04:49I just want to make sure, like the pressure, as Daryl said,
04:52the pressure doesn't get to the young guys.
04:55What does Steven Vogt do every day to kind of keep guys grounded,
05:00not getting too high, not getting too low?
05:02Because certainly with baseball, the lows can affect you more than the highs.
05:06Yeah, you said it right there.
05:08He doesn't get too high.
05:09He doesn't get too low.
05:09He's very steady.
05:10He's very consistent.
05:12And he's very predictable, which as a player is what you want.
05:16You don't have a manager or a head coach in another sport
05:19where you don't know what you're getting
05:21when you show up to the clubhouse that day.
05:23You know exactly what you're getting.
05:24You know he's got your back.
05:26You know he's not going to publicly embarrass you.
05:28That says a lot.
05:30So even if you go out there and things aren't going your way,
05:33right now there's guardians offensively that not,
05:36with some of them, things aren't going their way.
05:38I mean, that's baseball, but it's also just the reality
05:41of where we're at with three guys on the injured list
05:43that we're, again, your top three hitters.
05:45So you know that at the very least, the manager's got your back.
05:49He's going to do everything he can for you.
05:51You know, everything that I've heard when I talked to him,
05:53his door is open.
05:54You can go talk to him.
05:55He will let you know exactly where you stand
05:57and what you need to do if you want to play more.
06:00You know, he has all the intangibles.
06:02And being a guy that is, you know,
06:05he's not making it about himself either.
06:06There's other managers that in the past, you know,
06:09and I'm not necessarily saying in Cleveland, but other places,
06:12there's some huge egos.
06:14Steven Vogt doesn't have an ego.
06:15He's just a guy that wants to go out there, wants to win.
06:18And he's just, you know, he's a good guy for his players.
06:22Well, since you bring up Vogt here and the consistency,
06:28one of the things that I think a lot of folks are asking about,
06:31him bringing Kate Smith in the eighth inning.
06:35What are your thoughts on that?
06:37And is that something you think he might need to revisit?
06:42Well, the thing is, you don't have a consistency in front of Kate Smith
06:45right now that maybe you've had in the past.
06:48As good as Hunter Gattis has been, he's had a few hiccups this year.
06:52Sean Armstrong, you know, nice outing when he came in,
06:55relief of Kate Smith the other day, but he's had some inconsistencies.
06:59Eric Sobrowski's been hurt.
07:01That was your best reliever, you know, in a setup role.
07:04He's one of the best setup guys in baseball until he was injured.
07:07Now he's trying to find consistency again.
07:09So what it is, is he's like, okay, this is a game we can win.
07:13We need to win.
07:14We should win.
07:15Kate Smith's had some extra days off because they haven't been winning as much
07:19and needed him as much in those late game situations.
07:22So now it's, okay, here's the game we can win.
07:25Who's the one guy that I can trust to get out of this eighth inning
07:28and then hopefully get us through the ninth?
07:29And that's Kate Smith.
07:30So that's why it's happening.
07:33Right now I'm fine with it because, you know, again,
07:36you've got to keep your head above water.
07:37You don't want to do this the entire season,
07:39but you need to have some of those middle relievers.
07:42And for the most part, you know, throughout the years they've been there
07:45and for a good portion of this year.
07:47But just having that inconsistency in your seventh and eighth inning guys,
07:51where some nights it's there.
07:52They pitch great, you're golden.
07:54But other nights that consistency hasn't been where you want it.
07:56So then you need to go to Kate in the eighth inning just to make sure you get that win.
08:01How surprised, Al Pulaski joining us from Guardians TV,
08:04how surprised are you that it's the Chicago White Sox battling in the division
08:09with us halfway through the season and maybe not Detroit or somebody else in the division?
08:13Well, you can certainly say they were due because it's been a while
08:17since they've had any sort of contention this decade.
08:20It does surprise me because I looked at the roster and, you know,
08:23I looked at the way it's composed and it's like, okay,
08:26it doesn't look like an absolutely terrible team, to be fair.
08:28And he didn't know they were going to get with Murakami and he's been very good.
08:32And then, you know, he's gotten hurt and that's hurt him a little bit,
08:35but they've still, you know, they've continued the momentum
08:37that they established this year.
08:38But, yeah, I'm certainly surprised because, you know,
08:40I looked at their pitching staff and I wasn't overly impressed going in.
08:44But, again, you've had a couple guys, Davis Martin, you know,
08:47you look at him and you say, okay, here's a kid that's overachieving.
08:50And I think that's true, too, with their lineup.
08:53Did anybody think Miguel Vargas was going to be as good as he's been this year?
08:57And then there's been a couple other guys, too.
08:58So, I'm certainly surprised.
09:01Do I think the White Sox are going to falter as the season goes on?
09:04Yes, I do.
09:06That doesn't mean they will.
09:07That's why you play, you know, 162 games.
09:10And that's why baseball can be so much fun because things do surprise you.
09:13So, I'm surprised at where they're at.
09:14I would be surprised if they were still here at the end of the year.
09:18But, again, it is the American League Central.
09:20And if there's one division in baseball where if you hang around 500
09:23or slightly above, you've got a chance to win it, this is it.
09:26And right now the White Sox are doing that.
09:28So, it will be interesting to see if they can maintain this for the rest of the year.
09:32It certainly looks like Parker Messick is the latest arm that this organization has developed.
09:40He's off to an incredible start.
09:42Why are they so good at developing pitchers?
09:46They've got, you know, just a great group of guys, Daryl.
09:49I mean, that really understands the message and what's going on.
09:53I mean, from the very top, you know, Carl Willis at the top of the food chain,
09:57pitching coach-wise at the major league level, all the way down to the guys in low A and rookie
10:02league.
10:03They've got the same message.
10:05They've been doing it for years.
10:06And the other thing that I like is, you know, and I've talked to some of the guys,
10:10and, you know, I've talked to Carl over the years, one of the things that they do better than anybody,
10:15and there's lip service paid to this, but actually accomplishing it is another story.
10:19They don't necessarily try to make you somebody that you're not
10:24or somebody else than what brought you to the professional level.
10:29So, if you are a professional baseball pitcher, whether it's the minor leagues
10:32or you made it all the way to the majors, nothing got you there, what is that?
10:36So, they try to make you or get you back to the pitcher that you are supposed to be,
10:42if that makes sense.
10:43So, it's not like, okay, let's get this kid.
10:46Let's all mold these guys into being, you know, fastball, curveball, change it.
10:49That's what we are here.
10:50We're going to get everybody to throw them a certain way,
10:52and you're going to throw a pitch a certain way.
10:53We're going to have certain mechanics.
10:55These guys take a look at you.
10:57They'll take a look at old video, and then they'll talk to you about, you know,
11:01this is what you did a couple years ago when you had success.
11:03You're not having success right now.
11:05How do we get back to this?
11:07That's the great thing.
11:08And there's guys like, I mean, even Trevor Bauer.
11:10If you remember, obviously, how mercurial he could be.
11:13But when he came from Arizona, the kid was loaded with talent.
11:16They couldn't figure him out in Arizona.
11:18So, that's why they were willing to trade him.
11:20Well, when the Indians at the time got him, they didn't say, okay,
11:24this is what you got to do, and this is what you got to be.
11:26So, they basically worked with him and allowed him to be himself and who he wanted,
11:32and then he blossomed here as a pitcher.
11:34I think that's a strong example of what this organization does.
11:38Okay, who are you?
11:39And if you don't want to do something as a pitcher, that's the other thing.
11:42They don't make you do it.
11:43They don't say, you do this or else, you're not going to be successful.
11:46Bottom line, we want to make you the most successful we can,
11:49and that's the way you get to the major leagues.
11:51Here's how we think is best, but what do you think?
11:54What do you feel comfortable with?
11:56And to me, that's been the big difference.
11:58They really have bought into that.
11:59They don't just say they do it and then do something else.
12:01They really try to make you individually who you are and bring that out.
12:06Al Pulaski joining us from Guardians TV.
12:09How difficult as we get to the trade deadline, how difficult is it going to be?
12:12Because we still got another month, but there's three teams that I think are just out of it,
12:17and that's only three teams.
12:20Like the Mets, the Giants, I think the Rockies are really bad.
12:23That's all National League.
12:24How difficult is it to make a trade where everybody's kind of still in it with the extra playoff spot?
12:29It's supremely difficult, and you nailed it, because everybody has the illusion they're in it, too.
12:34Like if you look at, like you said, there's, what, maybe five teams and all that are really out of
12:39it, out of it.
12:39But then there's another five to ten teams that are probably out of it, too.
12:44But you look and say, ooh, we're only three out in the wild card.
12:46We're only four out in the wild card.
12:48Yeah, but there's like eight other teams in front of you, too,
12:50and you'd have to go on like a 10- or 12-game winning streak to actually get ahead of
12:54all of them,
12:54because even if you're hot, there's going to be a couple other teams that are hot, too.
12:58So adding the last wild card position was brilliant from a competitive standpoint
13:02because the illusion is there, and there can always be a miracle, right, in baseball.
13:07Somebody could always win 24 games in a month, and suddenly you're in it
13:11when it didn't seem like you were all year.
13:13But it's so highly unlikely.
13:15So now you've got, as you said, you've got a bunch of teams that really aren't in it
13:21thinking they're in it, and they don't want to give anything up right now.
13:24You know, they're, you know, hey, call me in a couple of weeks.
13:27I mean, that's what they're basically saying.
13:28Call me in a couple of weeks.
13:29We'll see where we are.
13:30Then they're like, hey, call me another week.
13:31We'll see where we are.
13:32We might be willing to trade.
13:33But they don't want to, you know, raise the white flag now
13:36because then their fans who are paying attention may not pay as much of attention anymore,
13:42at least for this season.
13:43So that's why it is hard, and it has been generally at the trade deadline for, what,
13:47the last five to ten years, it always seems to be a seller's market
13:52and rarely a buyer's market.
13:53And honestly, if I were the owner of the Angels, this is a nasty thing to say.
13:58But I'd be like, we're only five and a half games out.
14:01Yeah, we might be like, what is it, 14 games under 500?
14:04We might be five and a half games out,
14:06but people still would like to buy a ticket to maybe see Pete Alonso,
14:09so we're going to wait a while just before we do it
14:11because I still need to make gate receipts in the ballpark here.
14:15Yeah, absolutely.
14:16That's part of the lie.
14:18That is absolutely true.
14:19I mean, that's the thing.
14:21You hit another point to it.
14:23It's like, okay, let's at least pretend we're in it until, you know,
14:26literally the trade deadline, the day of.
14:28Okay, now we'll make a trade and see what we can get.
14:30And that's the only day that, as a buyer,
14:33you might be able to get somebody a little cheaper.
14:36But that also means that you're going to have other teams competing
14:39at that last minute, too.
14:40But right now, it is, if you want somebody,
14:44you're going to be paying a lot for them prospect-wise.
14:46Al Palowski, Guardians TV analyst.
14:49He's one of the finest.
14:49We love it when he's on.
14:51Al, thank you very much for the time.
14:52Enjoy the weekend and enjoy the homestand.
14:55All right, thanks a lot.
14:56Take care, guys.
14:57Al Palowski, on the Wise Heart Right,
14:59We Make It Right, Call Kyle Right Hotline.
15:01Everybody's excited to see Cooper Engel today.
15:03Hopefully, he'll be in the lineup.
15:04We'll find out later on.
15:05It hasn't been official that he's up here,
15:08at least not that I know of.
15:09No, they won't do that until closer to game time.
15:12You said 3 o'clock, maybe?
15:132, 3 o'clock-ish, yeah.
15:15Vote will talk like a pregame thing,
15:16and that's when it all happens.
15:18It's so exciting.
15:19I love it when the new guys come up.
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