00:00As we move on to tonight, you got Nick Martinez against Sean Armstrong.
00:05I think Sean Armstrong getting a nod from Steven Vogt surprised a lot of people.
00:09What was your thoughts on that?
00:12Yeah, I was surprised that he went with Armstrong.
00:16And I wondered if he would change things up today knowing the game got pushed.
00:24Because if you think about it, the night before, or the day before, I guess, technically,
00:29he had thrown Espino, and so Espino now had a day off to kind of recover.
00:35And Espino's been his guy, right?
00:37It's been Espino to Cantillo, or Espino to, ended up being Foster Griffin in that Game 3 in Chicago.
00:44So I kind of wondered if he'd pivot and end up changing this up to go with Espino.
00:49But it sounds like he's still starting Armstrong.
00:51So I thought that was interesting that he's sticking with his game plan from that standpoint for today.
00:55But today is one thing.
00:57What I think is fascinating now is you now have an unexpected game that you can use Parker Messick on
01:06Sunday.
01:07Because that was supposed to be an off day.
01:09You would have had to go this weekend, yesterday and today, without having Messick available to you.
01:15Maybe you could have used him as a reliever, the same way they did with Gavin Williams, coming in and
01:22throwing just like a bullpen session, but doing it in-game.
01:26You maybe could have used that.
01:28But you weren't accounting for Messick being available until Monday when you go back to Tampa.
01:35Now, he can have full rest and pitch on Sunday and potentially give you like a long start or a
01:42longer start and you don't have to maybe tax your bullpen, especially on a day like today where they're going
01:47to kind of go with a bullpen day, to then set yourself up to have Gavin be going in a
01:54Game 6 scenario and maybe that's a situation where you're trying to close it out potentially.
01:58Like, this sets up nicely from a starting pitching standpoint.
02:01Now, what I am worried about today is you don't have that day off anymore.
02:06And you got four straight days.
02:08You're starting this entire four-day span with a bullpen day.
02:13And so if that doesn't go well, if today doesn't go well, you're going to see Tanner Bobby, I think,
02:20out there pretty quickly.
02:21Oh, Lord.
02:21Because, I mean, I'm saying like if the game gets out of hand, he's your option because you have to
02:27throw somebody out who can like eat innings for you and just get you through the day.
02:30You cannot tax your bullpen today.
02:31What you hope for is Sean Armstrong can give you two and a half, three solid innings of work.
02:37And if Sean Armstrong can get you three solid innings of work, I think you put yourself in a solid
02:43situation because you could use Cantillo or Foster Griffin as like long relievers.
02:48And then when you look at guys like Sembrowski and Gattis, they've been lights out.
02:53Daniel Espino has been lights out over his last couple appearances.
02:57I'm confident based on how the bullpen has pitched their last few outings, but it's going to come down to
03:03how many solid innings can Sean Armstrong give us today.
03:06And if he can do that, I think it puts the strategy that you're talking about for Sunday more in
03:12play.
03:12So, basically, in my opinion, the strategy that you're foreseeing with Parker Messick, it's more likely to happen if this
03:21man can come out here two, maybe three innings of solid work, turn it over to somebody else, and we
03:27keep going.
03:28So, this game right here is going to be very critical.
03:32It's going to set the tone for how the next four days go.
03:34Absolutely, and I think it's going to do it both ways because now you've got, what is his name, Roseman?
03:38Roseman?
03:39Yeah, yeah.
03:40You've got him and Peralta now that's going to be on full rest in situations to where they absolutely have
03:45to get a win.
03:46It really all comes down to how this game plays out tonight that will impact the decisions Stephen Vogt makes
03:53for Sunday at 5 p.m. and then going forward.
03:56Because if John Armstrong can come out here and hold his own, don't give up no runs, don't put us
04:01in some murky situations, and then we can put some runs on the board, one or two runs on the
04:05board, well, that changed your entire approach to everything.
04:10And then Spencer offered up the idea, like, okay, if it's the other way around, you don't really want to
04:15tax your quality arms.
04:17Like, you don't want to put stress on Daniel Espino.
04:20You don't want to do the same thing to Hunter Gaddis.
04:22You damn sure don't want to do it to K. Smith.
04:24So, who do you throw?
04:25You throw Tanner Bybee.
04:27I think even hearing the name Tanner Bybee come up as a possible option does not make any Cleveland Guardians
04:32fan feel confident of any situation.
04:35But you do need somebody that's going to be able to eat innings.
04:39The pro to all of this is you get Parker Messick and Gavin Williams on full rest and possible closeout
04:47games if it gets to that point.
04:49And I would strongly consider throwing Parker Messick tomorrow if the Guardians win this game today.
04:56I think you have me.
04:57I think they absolutely will.
04:58I think they're going to play.
05:00I think that's without question.
05:02Because, again, especially if today is going to be a bullpen day.
05:05And I'm not saying they're going to exhaust everybody.
05:08But if you use a couple different guys today.
05:10And here's the other thing you got to think about.
05:11Like, if Cade Smith throws.
05:15If you're in a situation where you're trying to close this game out late tonight.
05:20And you're like, alright, we want to throw Cade two innings or whatever.
05:25Six or four outs.
05:27However you want to use him.
05:29You got to then think about, like, if you don't want to use him Sunday because you want to give
05:34him at least some time.
05:35I mean, listen.
05:36If you're in a game Sunday where you're trying to close it out.
05:38You'll probably just use him.
05:39But you're also going to have to be strategic.
05:41Because, like, if other games are coming.
05:43You do have to know that, like, you have your best.
05:46Your closer.
05:46Your best pitcher out of the bullpen.
05:48Is available to you in some capacity.
05:52So, starting Messick means, like, eating more innings potentially.
05:56Hopefully he can go, like, five, six, whatever.
05:58And then that sort of paves the way for that bullpen to be utilized differently.
06:02But, like, you're going to want.
06:03You got to be strategic about all these things.
06:05But I think Messick absolutely gets thrown tomorrow.
06:07It's a bonus from that standpoint.
06:08Now, the downside of that is, like, in the alternative scenario, you wouldn't have had Messick or Gavin for either
06:18of these games.
06:19And then you would have had both of them for, like, a game six and seven scenario.
06:23Where it would have been, like, okay, you got your two best pitchers going out there to maybe win you
06:28the series if you need it.
06:29Now, it's like Messick's availability maybe dwindles if he's throwing Sunday and there's only two days left after that.
06:36And Gavin really won't be available to you in a game seven if he pitches game six.
06:40What day does the World Series start on?
06:42Next Friday.
06:43Next Friday.
06:44Yeah, the 23rd.
06:44The 23rd, right?
06:45Today is the 17th.
06:48There's also a scenario here, man.
06:50If we win today, you really got to start thinking, okay, like, you don't want to think too far ahead.
06:56No, you got to kind of stay where you are.
06:58But you have to plan on, like, okay, I got to have at least one of these dudes available just
07:05in case we are playing baseball next Friday.
07:07Well, if they – so if Messick pitches Sunday, he would absolutely be available for Friday.
07:11Okay.
07:11Okay.
07:12Gavin, I guess, if he threw Monday, would – he would – I mean, what?
07:18Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday?
07:19I mean, he'd be available Saturday.
07:21So he'd be available for game two.
07:22I don't – again, you can't think too far ahead like that.
07:25You can't even think too far ahead as far as, like, game six and seven go right now other than,
07:30like, forecasting, okay, we'll probably throw Messick on game five.
07:34We'll probably throw Gavin on game six.
07:35You can forecast those things.
07:36Are you confident today?
07:37But you do – but, like, vote has to be – you know, he's going to have to be more
07:42strategic now.
07:43Like, it goes both ways.
07:44The Rays are too.
07:45The Rays are going to have to understand that, like, because you're playing four days in a row, how the
07:51bullpens are used today and taxed today is going to impact the rest of the series.
07:55More than it hurts us.
07:56I think that's 100% true because I don't think their bullpen's as good as the Guardians' bullpen.
08:02That's, like, one of their only weaknesses they have.
08:04Where you at with it today?
08:05I mean, I feel good about the series as a whole right now.
08:08The Guardians stole the one in Tampa.
08:10They got two more games at home.
08:12The day off, I think, kind of helps them tonight to a degree because they can throw certain guys without
08:18feeling – like,
08:18like, Kate Smith had a four-out save the other night.
08:23Like, if you were less weary of throwing him yesterday because he threw the day before, now he's on full
08:28rest coming into tonight.
08:29So today's a big one.
08:30Like, if they get – like, obviously, if they get this one today, it's 3-1 and you feel really
08:34good about it.
08:34But I think the rest – the day off, even though it was an unfortunate thing for fans,
08:40helps the Guardians for today on a day where they're going to do, like, sort of more of a bullpen
08:44day anyway.
08:44I ain't going to hold you.
08:45I feel good about tonight.
08:46Like, I don't think it's going to rain, but it's going to be cold.
08:48It's going to be windy.
08:50And that is –
08:51That's the biggest thing.
08:52That's the situation to me.
08:53The offense got to get going.
08:54But to me, like, you know, the offense is going to have to get going both ways.
08:57I'm not saying our offense is going to be spectacular, but we do play in that stadium.
09:01Yeah.
09:02You know, in April and May when it's still cold outside.
09:04But outside of that, man, their best hitters has been on skates.
09:08Like, right now, like, they can't really figure it out.
09:11And we've seen Shohei Ohtani couldn't figure out for the most part of the playoffs.
09:14He did hit a home run in game four, but overall, he couldn't figure it out.
09:18And when you got hitters on skates like that, you got them dudes on a rope,
09:22you want to continue to, like, just push the envelope as far as you can.
