8.14.26

Guardians broadcaster Jim Rosenhouse, kind enough to join us on his time to talk a little Guardians baseball. We call it bases and balls. And he's on board with us live again this morning as we get ready for the Padres series coming up tonight in the Padres. And we'll talk about them in a few minutes, one of the hottest teams right now in the National League. Rosie, you spent a lot of time inside the clubhouse with these guys. Unfortunately, we've had a lot of... One run losses and the offense coming up short and leaving some guys on base. Talk about the mindset. You make your way around the clubhouse of this team right now. You know what, Ray, it's actually, it seems fine, but it's not translating the wins, you know, the way they would like since the All-Star break, especially. But, you know, it's interesting. And this was the case a year ago when they were in much more dire straits in terms of, you know, games behind and all that kind of stuff for a playoff spot. You know, win or lose, it doesn't really change much the following day. Now, post-game, you know, after Wednesday night's win, The guys were pretty excited. You know, they thought they had played a good game all around, and it was a hard-fought win. But, you know, even yesterday, there was a 3-0 loss, but they're kind of on to the next one. And I don't know that's good or bad, but I think that's baseball in general where... I mean, the next day is coming, and there's another game, and you can't dwell on the ones that don't go your way. So I think they do a pretty good job at that, and hopefully that translates into some good things down the stretch, because they do need to play better baseball, and they're fully aware of that, believe me. Well, the one thing that has been really strong, maybe a hiccup every now and then is that starting pitching, and that's why I was talking to some people yesterday, and a lot of people were down and said, oh, gosh, there's no way we're going to do this. I just quickly turned and said, hey, when you got a starting five like we do, anything can really happen in the next six weeks because those guys are as good as any starting five in the American League or as that far goes as baseball. And you run those guys out there. Anything can happen the next six weeks. Yeah, and you know, you look for spots on your team where there's some consistency, and I think if you're going to have consistency in a spot, if you can have it in your starting rotation, that's huge. And they have that, and it gives them a chance to win every game. Obviously, they want to try and be more consistent offensively. That's been the story all season long. And the bullpen coming out of the All-Star break has been up and down as well, but I think they feel like that'll, rebound and be strong again. But if you can have the starting pitching, you give yourself a chance. And I think they feel like they do have a chance because of that. Jim Rosenhouse with us, bases and balls. And W.A. K. Rosie, you and I have talked a lot of years.

About number 11, Jose Ramirez, and certainly what he has done for us. It seems to me that he still must be hurt with that hamlet bone. It doesn't seem to be driving the ball, coming off at some times. I don't know what you know. He's probably gutting through it because he knows the team needs him out on the baseball field. But you see every pitch and everything. Talk to us a little bit about Jose. Um, your observation is correct. I mean, he's not 100%. Um, he's good enough to play. But, um, you know, even on his, some of his best bolts, they're not going out because it had me your hand, you hit with your hands. And he has one hand that's not as strong as the other one. And it's showing up. Um, and it's frustrating to him because he, he wants to be in there and he wants to help his team. but we're not seeing the real Jose Ramirez right now. He still makes things happen on the basis when he does get on base, and that's important. It's important to have him in the lineup. I don't know if they're at the point where they might feel, hey, let's set them for a little bit and see if it can get stronger. Honestly, Ray, I don't think it's going to be 100% until next spring. So, you know, this may be what you have, and is that good enough down the stretch? I think it is, you know, for what they have at third base. he would be the best option, even if he's not 100%. But I think it's pretty evident that he's not the player that we've grown accustomed to because he's coming back from that injury, and it's still, you know, it's not something where he's doing damage to it. But it's not where it needs to be for him to be 100%. One of the guys that is giving us a sock since the acquisition, Rosie is Joe Adele. He's giving us that threat, you know, in that number 5 through 7 spot in the batting lineup, even sometimes in the number 2 spot, like what we've seen so far. It took him a couple of games to get going, but now you're seeing why the Guardians reached out to get Adele. Yeah, you know, the abats have been good throughout, you know, for a little bit there. He wasn't getting the results, but really good at backs and kind of negates if, you know, a lot of teams would throw lefties at the Guardians because their lineup is so left-handed heavy, and he balances that out, and that's exactly what they were hoping for, I think. And the guys, it's just brought up. a real positive, upbeat attitude to that clubhouse, too. I mean, he's...

all on board and has fit in quickly with what's going on. And it's just ecstatic to be in a playoff race, which he hasn't been in for a while with the Angels. So there's a lot of good there, and he certainly has been an asset. Boy, the one thing that we can say, too, and he has been just dynamite since coming back from that injury is Chase DeLotter. I mean, watching his at bats there in Detroit the other, where they're taking the home run out. taking that shot to left field, pulling it through the middle. He is really in a nice groove of the plate right now. He is, and, you know, Ray, you hope some of that rubs off on some of the other hitters because I think he's showing you can hit the ball where it's pitched and take it the other way, but still hit with power. And I think sometimes there's hitters in that lineup who sacrifice beyond base and contact. to try and get power, and it results in strikeouts or weak groundouts, and then just generally not getting the job done, especially with runners in scoring positions. So he has... has a really good approach. He's committed to it. Doesn't seem to get flustered in an at bat. And it's exciting. And he's still a rookie. Yeah. Which is the, you know, sometimes you forget that because here we are at the end of the year, but he's still a rookie. He's a joy to watch, really. I love his whole attitude on the field. Okay, Rosie Padres tonight. I opened up by saying, I know this team is the West Coast. We don't see them a whole lot. It's a pretty talented baseball team on paper, and now the last month they've really kind of put it together. Yeah, they sure have. You know, it's funny. You come out of the All-Star break, and everyone does the strength of schedule for the contenders, and the Guardians had the easiest schedule in the second half of the season based on records at the All-Star break. Well... You know, this is where that doesn't quite match up because the Padres were included in that, but they're one of the hottest teams in baseball now. And as you mentioned, super talented, just were kind of underachievers in the first half, but they're coming on strong and trying to get their own playoff spot over in the National League. So it'll be a challenging weekend this weekend, but I don't care who you play from here on in. It's not going to be easy for Cleveland. They know that, and this is the challenge this weekend, the Padres. Well, I'll see you at the ballpark tonight, heading up for Rock and Blast. It's always a lot of fun for Rock and Blast. I'll be there taking in the fireworks, and hopefully we have a lot of fireworks on the field as well. Rosie, thanks for taking time to join me in a Friday morning, my friend. Always appreciate the time you make for us. You got it right.