00:00It is September 1st and this is a possibility to call him up. Now John has been adamant to call
00:07up Rafi Velasquez and us three we got to be a little bit more open-minded. You, me, and Owen
00:12have been very dismissive of young John and what he has said about Rafi Velasquez because
00:18he says that the Guardians are an unserious or at least two of us he says that the Guardians have
00:23been an unserious organization if they don't call up Rafi Velasquez to which basically we had all
00:29said like hey you might be from Philadelphia there Haas things are done a little differently
00:34around these parts with this ball club as opposed to the team that paid Bryce Harper how much was it
00:39$330 million over 13 years $30 million over 13 boy you just knew that Ralph atop didn't he
00:45as a Phillies fan for you all right so if the Guardians do not call up Rafi Velasquez
00:51you're you're just hammering him no I mean I understand I understand why they didn't
00:58I can understand and disagree at the exact same time well I don't know why you gotta get all
01:02defensive here but you called him you called him unserious last week yo actually you put that word
01:07on my mouth I didn't say unserious I didn't say unserious I've been saying for the longest time
01:12I never said unserious the Guardians are not an unserious franchise because they're one of the
01:15better franchises in Major League Baseball considering the fact they've made the playoffs
01:19seven out of the last 10 years and they're on their way to making the playoffs eight out of the
01:22last 11 we know those stats okay that's that's great Chris Antonetti said yesterday in the audio
01:27that I cut he said they were going to bring up a pitcher and they were going to bring up
01:30a guy that
01:31wasn't going to get a lot of the bats so if that's the philosophy of your organization that's fine
01:34and that's what Daniel Schneeman's good for that's why he was called up because he can play
01:38any position on the field and he's a pretty decent pinch hitter and he is a knack for hitting
01:41grand slams but and and by the way Ken the Phillies don't call up their prospects there's actually
01:46three prospects that we've been waiting for but I understand that but you're talking about
01:50really going for the gusto are you not yes all right well this has never been really a team
01:55I mean they've gone for the gusto here and there but it's not really been a team that's really gone
01:59for it every single year they don't have the wherewithal to do that you don't know what next
02:04season is going to bring you have no idea if they're even going to play at all Jose Ramirez is
02:07what 33 years old but that's in that part of the issue though John is that they don't know if
02:12they're going to play at all and if you put them on the 30-man roster and they do have
02:14a long
02:15labor strike that he won't be able to play yes that is that is the caveat but again
02:19if you're going to go out for the playoffs why not go full force because that's not going all
02:24into me well they have Nathaniel Lowe over there at first okay I mean what is your loyalty to
02:28Nathaniel Lowe not very strong at all but they're I mean they traded for the guy for a reason because
02:33they could have just left Nathaniel Lowe away down in Cincinnati and could have thought about bringing
02:38up Rafi Velasquez at the time because it wasn't like I mean he's not doing it he wasn't doing as
02:42well
02:42as he's doing now but he was still doing really well this is a team that doesn't hit home runs
02:47no
02:47Chase still I mean you you said before you said all the way back at the beginning of the season
02:50you want to chase the lottery to hit 25 home runs and I understand that he's missed a lot of
02:54time
02:54and you look at his overall numbers and they've been really really good but 13 home runs isn't
02:59necessarily what I would call a power hitter no I would not either Ralphie Velasquez says what 30 home
03:04runs in AAA he's hit 20 home runs over the last month but you know when home run hitters are
03:09there
03:09and maybe forgive me if I'm wrong you know it like a volume hitter like a Stephen Kwan you know
03:15that's a guy
03:15that you expect when you when you bring him up he's supposed to heat up rather soon poke it through
03:22get on base I mean that's part of how it's been but for like a if you're a bopper and
03:27maybe I'm a
03:28little off the mark here but if you're a bopper you need some time to get used to the pitching
03:33and so
03:34you can hit for power and I just don't know if they believe that he's going to have enough time
03:38and if
03:38they have to have a lockout next season which everybody thinks they will like that that's a big hit to
03:43a
03:43Rafi Velasquez a guy who they have a lot of confidence in his future well here's what I'm
03:49wondering first of all what what is the correlation between guys that have a month like this 15 home
03:55runs in a month 34 RBIs in a month in the minors against those pitchers and where they're kind of
04:03peaking at when it comes to velocity how does that translate to the major leagues I mean most of those
04:09triple-a pitchers have at least some experience in major league baseball usually a lot of times guys
04:14will get called up straight from double-a and they just triple-a's where you stash players so he's
04:18seeing I'm not going to sit here and say that he's seeing 100 miles an hour on a daily basis
04:23but he's
04:23seeing 95 96 it's not like it's nothing that's not batting practice for some guys no batting practice
04:29is like 60 but you know what I mean like there's a huge there's a huge difference I think between
04:35the
04:35pitching that you're seeing the guys that couldn't hang breaking stuff right right and you know the
04:41other part of that is I do on John's behalf like Nathaniel Lowe has been in 20 some playoff games
04:48he's batting like 150 in the playoffs so it is tough this isn't the NBA where you can extrapolate
04:54and kind of say this is how a guy will play in the playoffs like in baseball Nathaniel Lowe might
04:59come
04:59in and be awesome in an ALDS this year you just you just don't know it's it's so different year
05:05to
05:05year it's so volatile so the numbers can be very noisy but that the Velasquez thing is just going to
05:12be like how many more games do they even have right now in triple-a uh triple-a season goes
05:18a little
05:18bit longer maybe they have 15 to 20 games left in okay like obviously he's not getting the call up
05:22if he hits another like eight home runs another another eight home runs that he's just cashing
05:28through time and time again oh we're just never gonna know we're never gonna know we're just
05:32gonna be sitting here never knowing if this guy would have produced now he's always complained you
05:38know when Lindor when they had a chance to bring him up and they didn't and it's like man that
05:42that
05:42team could have used him potentially but then people would say you don't know how he's gonna do
05:46and I'm like well that's that's the whole sport it's all sport we're just sitting here playing a
05:49guessing game on whether a guy is mature enough to handle something when they weren't close when it felt
05:55like the season was slipping away a few weeks ago and you know you heard Tom Hamilton in the
06:00interview it just it made so much sense the but even when they're doing better it still makes sense
06:06like you don't have that time with them next year and if they if the organization like you have a
06:12lot
06:12of teams you have this big logjam of teams that are competing for that third wild card spot in the
06:17American League you know how deep do you want to go in like yeah they made trades but does that
06:22mean
06:23you cut out you really risk your future here because like Nathaniel Lowe could be gone and
06:27and in other guys could like Foster Griffin could be like none of it really matters in the long
06:32long term but but Ralphie Velasquez does and I don't think they want to mess with that they don't want
06:40to mess with any possibilities there for the future because again if you put him on the 40 man roster
06:44and he's not able to play the beginning of the year then I think it might feel to them like
06:48they're
06:48giving up a season where if they could work out some sort of a of a labor piece and get
06:55to playing
06:55baseball next year like I think he could be on the opening day roster for you could he not be
06:59I think
06:59a lot of people would assume yes and a full season leading up to a playoff run would be a
07:05hell of a lot
07:05better than a September leading up to a playoff run because he might come up here and go ice cold
07:10I'm not going to accuse him of being 4A I'm just thinking about what they might be thinking about
07:14well he'd certainly not be able to get into a rhythm like he would not be an everyday player
07:18no matter what so it'd be why not why couldn't he be an everyday player there's no reason saying
07:22that he couldn't you again you have no loyalty to Nathaniel Lowe I understand I understand that
07:28you traded for him you gave up whatever I didn't really know what you gave up but you gave up
07:30whatever you gave up for him but like why what's what's who's to say that you can't stick
07:34Ralphie Velasquez over there at first base give him every single day at bats leading up into the
07:38postseason and you know what if he doesn't play well he doesn't play well but he's getting his feet
07:42but in the major leagues I would rather play Ralphie Velasquez than playing Nathaniel Lowe
07:46but I think a lot of people would but again you're it's just this lockout this damn lockout is
07:51getting in the way last year it did not stop them from putting Chase DeLauter on the roster
07:55in the postseason you know that he knows that everybody knows that because they weren't afraid
07:59of a lockout coming up this year had there been a lockout coming up this last year maybe Chase DeLauter
08:04would have been left off and I love Chase DeLauter and yeah he hasn't hit as many home runs as
08:07I wished
08:08he would he's a rookie we'll see where he goes but he already sounds like a 10-year vet
08:12I think he already plays at a high level everybody loves him there's so many things
08:15that are successful about him and Ralphie Velasquez may take a little bit of time if he's going to be
08:20the home run hitter the power hitter that they want him to be and if it takes a little bit
08:24of time
08:24September is not the time to give him any time it would be next year I mean in the playoffs
08:29you never
08:29know who's going to rise up I mean do you go back to 2022 yeah but that's not an argument
08:33they're
08:33supposed to know who's going to rise up or take their best shot at the Cardinals know that David
08:38Freeze was going to rise up in 2011 they had no idea dude wait a minute wait a minute you're
08:42telling me professional general managers and scouts in the front office of a major league baseball team
08:46and so it's just a big guessing game what's the point of scouting what's the point of scouting
08:51hold on what is the point of scouting then what is the point of them doing what the guardians have
08:55done over the last 25 26 years and been one of the best scouting departments in major league
09:00baseball what's the point of any of it it has nothing to do with scouting this has nothing to do
09:04but they have a feeling how a guy is going to do once he gets called up that's the whole
09:08point of
09:08it I can is right about that I also feel like it is a total crapshoot in baseball you don't
09:12know
09:12I think just the way it certainly like listen the odds or it's definitely more of a crapshoot than it
09:17is in the other sports I would agree with you on that but you gotta have a good feeling about
09:22a guy
09:22especially if you're going to put that type of thing at risk did scouts tell you that Fernando
09:25Tatis Jr. wasn't going to hit a home run I don't know I wasn't talking about the scouts when I
09:29talked to
09:30Fernando Tatis Jr. we do talk a lot Fernando Tatis in this town it is every day we have the
09:34Fernando
09:35Tatis Jr. segment at 10.01 used to be a sponsored thing yes by waterbed emporium do it love a
09:42good
09:42waterbed no you gotta do it come on 10 of the sand men sent you all right I can't just
09:52say what are
09:53the odds they're supposed to know as close to it you never know you never know but they're supposed
09:59to know as close to it how a guy is going to perform anybody can get hot over a 20
10:04game stretch
10:04anybody believe that Steve Pierce was going to go in I'm gonna call him up and throw off my 40
10:09man
10:10and throw off his future because anybody are you throwing off his future or are you helping your
10:13team actually go compete for a world series goes out and gets hurt tonight then I might have that
10:18discussion but if Nathaniel Lowe is going to get hurt tonight that's the whole reason I traded for the
10:21guy so probably I didn't have to bring about Rafi Velasquez and do this you get what I'm saying
10:27I understand where you're coming from I just think this team deserves this team deserves better
10:31they have made the ALCS they have made but if I'm the general manager if I'm the general manager
10:37I've given you better I traded for a guy who I'm going to believe in more in first base I
10:42could
10:42have just let Kyle Manzardo out there to languish at first base for the rest of the year I made
10:47a
10:47trade to give you better but also help protect my future with Rafi Velasquez so I know you can't
10:54just shake your head I just told you what I did if I'm the general manager of the Cleveland
10:57Guardians if I'm if I'm Mike Chernoff I traded for Nathaniel Lowe he's a veteran I'm gonna put him
11:03over there and unless he gets hurt I'm not gonna bring up Rafi Velasquez because then it messes
11:08with my guy who I'm trying to get experience next year because I have this lockout that might go into
11:13next July I just think you do don't know anything that's gonna happen next year there could bring
11:17them up just because we have no struggle these players they know the lockout could end never it
11:23could end now you could play nothing next year or you could you or you could start playing in May
11:27because the players you know what they sacrifice it they make a ton of money anyway what do you
11:30think what do you honestly think it's gonna happen I think they're gonna start to play this
11:33season in the mid-July that's what I think okay so why on earth if that's what you generally believe
11:38I'm not I am not an exec I'm not an MLB writer I don't know what's going on I hope
11:42that they play
11:44obviously everybody hopes they play in April but what you wish what you get are gonna be two
11:48different things there John and that's the whole point I had to ask you the absolute truth of what
11:52you think if you think that these people are gonna dig their heels in and they are then they're not
11:56gonna play until July then I'm sorry I know that upsets everybody but I'm not gonna call up Rafi Velasquez
12:01at the end of a month when I've already traded for you know it's gonna happen you know it's gonna
12:05happen for sure I know we gotta go but um imagine they just are inept at the plate and the
12:09lineup stinks
12:10in a wild card situation he'll end up being right John's gonna go whoa I couldn't uh couldn't have
12:15Velasquez on a team could you and I'll still sit there and have to say the same thing because that's
12:19what they're arguing for that's the whole point of what they did what they did he'll end up being
12:25right you know how it's gonna go they'll make the postseason you'll be with a bunch of pups and
12:29Nathaniel Lowe and Jose Ramirez and they'll probably lose on a wild card rounder in the ALDS
12:34all right and so yeah ultimately he ends up being right about that because then I didn't call up Rafi
12:39Velasquez and I gotta wait even longer to give him major league experience but I just made the
12:43trade I think they made the trade for Nathaniel Lowe going hey Kyle Manzardo isn't working out
12:47right now we don't want to give up on the guy but he's not working out right now we got
12:51to make some
12:51sort of a run but we don't want to sit there and start the clock on Rafi Velasquez if we
12:54don't have
12:54to considering he might not be able to see major league pitching next year because we don't have a
12:59season so we might as well keep him in the minor leagues as bad as that is to say we
13:03may as well
13:03keep him in the minor leagues so he sees the guys in triple a and so he continues to get
13:07at bats
13:07and it might not be very helpful but at least he's getting at bats John wonderful I respectfully
13:13disagree respectfully the word though
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