00:00He is Omar Vizquel, Hall of Famer for me, always, and a great legend here in Northeast Ohio.
00:06And he is on the Wiseheart Right. We make it right. Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:11Hi, O. How are you?
00:12Hi, Omar.
00:13Hello, guys. How you doing?
00:15We are.
00:15I was so excited to watch these games, man. These games are just going crazy.
00:20I can't stand, I can't, I can't just sit on the couch for more than five minutes without
00:26jumping or, you know, pumping, giving pride to some of my buddies around the family.
00:32I mean, it's crazy. Just so excited.
00:34It's been fun. There's no question about it.
00:37What have you thought about the way, who's down 0-2 and comes back to win three straight?
00:42Not too many teams. Guardians did it.
00:44Just about how the way they've bounced back here in the playoffs, Omar.
00:49I know. It's just amazing.
00:51You know, just after watching those first two games, it's like, wow.
00:54At home. I mean, at home where they have all the advantage and all the people behind them
01:00and the team didn't seem to have a spark in some of those games.
01:05And then going to Chicago and then forget about what happened on that series.
01:10Getting one game at a time, one play at a time, and just getting scores at runs after runs.
01:18It's just amazing.
01:19I mean, I can't believe that they came back from the 0-2 deficit and then they did it at
01:26Chicago.
01:27And then the final game at home, it just, you know, it turned things around so quickly.
01:32It just shows you the kind of character that team has.
01:35Whatever was said on the clubhouse, you know, on those days, it seems to make a really big impact on
01:43these players.
01:43And, you know, now they're unstoppable.
01:47I mean, they just can't – they don't believe in anything.
01:51Omar, watching Jose Ramirez last night and how aggressive he is on the base paths clearly reminds me of you
01:57and Kenny, too.
01:58But, I mean, you were so aggressive when you would steal bases and you were not scared to steal home.
02:03And last night, I think he was just so – yeah, he got caught stealing early.
02:08But him being aggressive and what that means to this team in particular, because obviously they got a huge hit
02:15because you got a third baseman going out of position because he's going to cover the bag because he's coming
02:20to steal third.
02:21It's just – it's the minutiae of the game, and I love it.
02:23I love every minute of it.
02:25Yeah, I mean, this team is built to do things like this.
02:29You know, we know that this is not a team that is going to just hit homers after homers.
02:35You know, it's a team that is built to score some runs and contact on speed on playing the game
02:41the right way.
02:42And, obviously, the base running is one of those weapons that they have been using very well.
02:49Whether it's Kwan or whether it's Adele or Bazana or whoever is on bases, they're putting some pressure on the
02:56defense.
02:56And, you know, it reminds me so much of what you said when, you know, you got Robbie Alomar, Kenny,
03:02and myself running the bases.
03:04It just gives the pitcher a lot of pressure, and you have to come and throw strikes,
03:09and that's when the hitters just get their pitches to connect the hard ball.
03:13So, you know, it's a great game they got going.
03:16They have to keep putting the pressure on the defense and on the pitcher that way.
03:22And Ramirez has been the one that has been amazing, not only on the bases, with the bat.
03:29You know, he's present on the field.
03:30I think he's the leader of that team.
03:33Whatever he does, the other guy seems to be picking all after him.
03:37And he just, man, whatever that guy needs, just give it to him.
03:41Give him the key of the city, the bed of the hotel, give him whatever he needs, man.
03:47Omar, we had Ron Darling on the show last week, and Ron's done the color analyst work on all the
03:53TBS games.
03:54And we asked him about, you know, guys who might be slumping a little bit in the postseason.
03:59And he said, yeah, if you go through a two-game stretch or a team goes through a two-game
04:03stretch in the regular season,
04:04nobody even thinks anything of it.
04:06If you don't, you know, you don't score, you don't hit or whatever.
04:08But it's all magnified in the postseason.
04:11As a player, how do you take something that during the regular season didn't mean much?
04:16Okay, you might have gone three or four games without a hit.
04:19But in the postseason, it's, oh, my God, he's gone three or four games without a hit.
04:23How do you deal with that as a player?
04:26There are players that their mind don't work the way that we think.
04:32You know, these guys, they know that they're there for a different job.
04:39These are the times to come up and to come through for your team.
04:46It doesn't matter what happens during the regular season.
04:49You know when there's time for the playoff and this is another level.
04:55You know, you can see guys like Manny Ramirez, Gene Tommy coming through in these moments.
04:59It's because they're, you know, they're wired up differently.
05:02They know that when it's time to score some runs, they have to come through.
05:06And Ramirez has been that guy.
05:10Not only now, during the last five years, the only thing that we hear is Jose Ramirez coming through for
05:17the Guardians.
05:18He has been an amazing player.
05:20One of the things I think that is helping the Guardians is like they don't have like this really huge
05:28star.
05:28But he is the one that everybody look up to.
05:32You know, you take a look at the lineup.
05:35Whether it's Kawan or DeLauder or Bailey or Rocky.
05:39You know, they haven't been like that really huge star in the team that everybody kind of like fall to.
05:47But Ramirez is that guy.
05:49But it doesn't matter what went through the season or how bad he did on the last month.
05:54He knows that he is the engine of the team.
05:57And he deserves every credit for, you know, the moment that the Guardians are going through right now.
06:05Omar, when I think about Tampa sometimes, I think about those crazy catwalks that are in there.
06:09And I just remember, there was a play you made that I think the ball that was rolling around in
06:15the catwalks and then came back down and you caught it.
06:17If I remember that right.
06:19And I just, how weird is that of a place to play?
06:24Yeah, it is kind of weird because you cannot take the eye of the ball when it goes up.
06:31I don't know what the ruling is right now.
06:33But, you know, at the time that I was playing, if the ball hit the catwalk up there and it
06:40fall into fair territory, it could be a fair ball.
06:44So, the ball is in play.
06:45You have to follow the ball all the time.
06:47And I remember Kenny and whoever was in left field going after balls that are going back to the fence.
06:52And all of a sudden, they lose the ball.
06:54They bounce back, like, towards the field.
06:56And I was, like, right on it.
06:58And so, you know, there has been plays like that, in a controversy plays like that, during this playoff right
07:03now.
07:04And, you know, that's just a way to keep your eye on the ball all the time.
07:07It's a weird place to play, though, isn't it?
07:09I mean, a lot of times they didn't have...
07:11Yeah, it is.
07:12Go ahead, sir.
07:12It reminds me kind of like the Metrodome in Minnesota.
07:16Oh, yeah.
07:16You know, because the roof is so light.
07:19And the light, you can see the ball real easy when, you know, when it goes up.
07:24That's why you have to try to follow the ball all the time.
07:27But, yeah, it is a strange field.
07:30Indian shortstop Omar Veskel joining us.
07:32Omar, this team made some big moves during this season.
07:36A number of trades.
07:37Patrick Bailey before the trade deadline.
07:39And then Nathaniel Lowe and Joe Adele.
07:41Foster Griffin coming in right at the trade deadline.
07:44How difficult is it to incorporate new guys into a team that late in the season?
07:49Because this team seems to have done it very well.
07:53Well, in the Guardians' case, I think that was needed.
07:56I remember that we had a conversation like July, you know, that what were the chances of the Guardians to
08:02make it to the playoff.
08:03The team was like 15 games behind.
08:06You know, and in this case, those trades were needed in order to change the chemistry of the team a
08:14little bit.
08:15And I think, you know, things got turned around.
08:18Those new players brought a new mentality.
08:21They start doing their thing.
08:24And the teams are playing a different baseball.
08:27You know, the last three weeks of the season, I think the Guardians were the team that everybody was looking
08:32up to.
08:33They got a hot streak going.
08:36And when people were talking about the White Sox and the Detroit Tigers, the Guardians were kind of like piling
08:44up victories behind victories.
08:46I think they had a streak of 15 games winning streak, right?
08:50Going in a row.
08:51So, you know, it shows you what other players can change mentalities.
08:58And it worked out for them.
09:00I think the coaching staff, you have to give it a huge credit.
09:04The manager, Ball, I didn't know this guy was so good and so smart.
09:10You know, I played against Stephen Ball.
09:12And, you know, he looked just like an average player.
09:15But, obviously, they knew that this guy was a mentality guy, a guy that can push players to a different
09:24level.
09:24And I have to give a lot of credit to the manager because without the words of the manager, the
09:30encouragement of the coaching staff,
09:32and all the help that all the guys coming from the minor leagues have been giving this team,
09:38that's why they are standing where they are.
09:41Omar, what's the biggest thing fans don't know about playing playoff baseball?
09:47Fans, like a reality that hits you as a player that the fans might not understand.
09:53That, you know, the mental game is there.
09:59That people think that because you had a great season that you're supposed to perform during the playoff and vice
10:05versa.
10:06But these guys have given an opportunity to shine and to go into a different level.
10:15And sometimes you don't know what goes on in that clubhouse and their personal life and stuff like that.
10:20But when it's time to cold play ball, these guys have to change their mind and get so focused on
10:28the job that they have to do.
10:29They have to forget about family.
10:31They have to forget about everything that goes around them and be prepared for the situation.
10:35Because you don't know when it's going to be a chance for you to hit with the bases loaded or
10:40to try to make a play that is going to be a key play for the game.
10:44And you have to be ready for that and forget about everything else that is around you.
10:49Omar, is there something about playoff baseball that is so much more challenging than the regular season?
10:56That either gets two players and they can handle it or they can't?
10:59Is there one thing in particular?
11:01Yeah, everything.
11:03Everything is about making a play.
11:05It's going to be pitch by pitch because one pitch can really ruin the game.
11:10If you're not ready for that particular pitch or that play when the ball is coming to you, it's going
11:16to just make a huge impact on the game.
11:18And we know that there's no tomorrow.
11:21I mean, this is a play that you have to make.
11:23This is a run that you have to bring in.
11:26So every opportunity matters.
11:28And the moment magnifies so much that people start talking about that.
11:32So, you know, the mental game here is something that you have to really be ready.
11:37You have to play the game in your mind before it happens.
11:40You have to play situations, anticipating on plays.
11:43All these go along to what kind of success you're going to have when it's your time.
11:48You talk about it just one pitch, one hit, one this, one that.
11:52Angel Martinez, he struggled through these two series.
11:56He's, you know, at the plate, he, you know, he got hit by pitch in the last series.
12:00But it turned out to be crucial.
12:02Last night, he did come up with a big hit late in the game.
12:05Or, yeah, and scored.
12:07I just, if you were talking to one of your players at any given time and said, hey, and you
12:12knew they were in a slump,
12:13like, is there a way to get them out of it?
12:15Is it just a matter of watching tape?
12:18Or is it, I mean, can you actually talk to them through it?
12:21Like, it seems like Carl Willis, even last night, did a great job of just talking Griff through, like, okay,
12:27we're going to get through this.
12:28And, I mean, can you coach that?
12:29Can you coach a guy out of a slump?
12:32Yes.
12:32These are the times when you really have to listen to what everybody's saying to you or somebody's saying to
12:38you,
12:38especially one of your teammates.
12:40When they come up to you and say, hey, forget about it, you're going to have another chance.
12:44You're going to have another opportunity.
12:46And the confidence that the people give you is what it's going to take you to come out of those
12:52moments.
12:53Even though that you're 0 for 8 or 0 for 9, you know, somebody come to you and give you
12:58a hug and say, hey, man, don't worry.
13:00You're going to have your chance.
13:01You're going to have your opportunity.
13:02Even the guys that are on the bench, I think, are going to play a huge role in these games.
13:09Because you don't know if somebody's going to get hurt and your moment is going to come.
13:13So, you have to be 100% gearing to the game.
13:18Just one little advice that these guys give you, you have to really open up your eyes.
13:25Don't hang your head.
13:28Don't bring your head down.
13:29And continue to focus during the out number 27.
13:34Because you don't know when your chance is going to be.
13:37And this is the moment for you to shine.
13:39All right, Omar.
13:40I hope we see you soon.
13:41By the way, you're really fun to follow on Instagram, too.
13:43I've been watching all your stuff about this series, especially the last two series.
13:46So, appreciate that.
13:48And we will always appreciate you, Omar.
13:50Thanks, Omar.
13:51All right.
13:52Thank you, guys.
13:52We'll talk to you soon.
13:53Let's go, Guardians.
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