Hey Bobby! 8.12.26

Temperature 65 here at 93.5 1590 W.A.R. It's time for another edition of Hey Bobby! Senior VP of the Guardians, Bob DiBiaseo, takes time to join us each week here on the morning show. We're much appreciative of that. We talk baseball, Indian slash guardians, baseball history, and more. And really look forward to the visits. And, of course, you can go back and listen to all of our Hey, Bobby's over on our Guardians guide at wakr.net. W-A-K-R.net. So with that being said, let's bring in senior VP, Bob DiBiaseau and Bobby, boy, some struggles for the baseball team as of like getting solid pitching still, but the offense really struggling with runners on base right now. Good morning, Ray. Without question, I think that might be the absolute... focal point of our struggles at the moment. What were we owe for nine last night with runners in scoring position? We've, Stephen Vogt, it's become a common daily statement post-game. We've got traffic. We're just not able to plate those runs. And, you know, you just... felt that this team was going to be able to get out of it with all the great moves that the front office made that put us in a position to win our third straight American League Central title and get to October. And then all of a sudden you get a couple hiccups with the bullpen, which is so rare for us. Add all that up. We just haven't been able to play consistent winning baseball ever since the All-Star break. You know, we go into the All-Star break. you know, on a real high going into Miami and sweeping and a team that was the hottest team in baseball. And the next thing, you know, we just haven't been ourselves. You know, Bobby, you and I both played a lot of baseball. And I was sitting at them watching the game in the living room last night with my daughters. And I was saying as they were leaving these guys on, I said, you know, it's almost like you can see it getting into their head a little bit. coming out of the dugout. I think the team just needs a couple of really big hits with guys on base to kind of kick down that door a little bit because these guys are human. They hear everybody else talking about runners in scoring position because we're getting the runners on. We're just not coming up with a big hit. And you can see, at least I kind of see it a little bit how it's affecting everyone right now. Well, no question. You know, you're not.

You press a little bit. You think you have to do it all. And you sit there and you grip the bat a little tighter. You're just not playing free and easy and fluid. You're, you're right. You're right. It affects everybody in that dugout. They're looking around to see maybe, okay, who's going to step up and be our guy? You cannot put all of that pressure on Jose Ramirez because he's not 100% healthy. It's hurting him, you know, to swing a bat right now. He just wants to be out there for his teammates and believes he can be a part of getting his team back on the winning waist. Because when he does get on base, you know, he's stealing bases, he's scoring runs. He's just not able to generate any power with, you know, that hamate bone surgery. And, you know, his palm is, it's not rested. bothers me a little bit when I hear media people who in one sentence will say, and it happened the other night on national TV, they'll talk about the hamlet bone, and then they'll mention the word wrist. It's not a wrist issue. No, no, the hamlet bones in the palm of your hand, the fatty part. The inside part of your palm of your hand, and his is black and blue. And the... the toughness of Jose's remarkable. And so when you have a guy like that who's obviously been your MVP and been the guy to make sure that we get into a position to win most every night, and he's not 100%. Other people need to step up, and it's just unfortunately not happening. Senior VP with the Guardians' Bob DiBiaseo with us. This morning here on W.A. Karen, but Jose's leadership, he wants to be out there for his guys and was evident last week. But he checked him into a game as a pinch runner. Tells you his value as a baseball leader on this Guardians team. But Bobby's right. You can tell he's just not 100%, but he knows the team needs his. his leadership for sure. You know, Bobby, coming up this weekend, we come back home. We've got the San Diego Padres. I'm going to be there Friday night. I'm excited, my friend, rocking blast this weekend.

Oh, if you have not been to a rock and blast show, it's absolutely an award-winning presentation. If you like fireworks at Progressive Field, this is fireworks times 1,000. It's the best show. Again, it's award-winning. You know, jump on it. I know there are still maybe a few tickets left for this weekend. I'm not 100% sure, so check it out at Cleeguardians.com. National League flavor. coming to progressive field for a six-game homestands starting Friday night. Yeah, and Friday night, then Saturday night, Sunday afternoon, the Padres come in who are kind of charging right now out there in the National League. Bobby, I want to go back in time. It was this date, 1948. We talked about offense. The Cleveland Indians 48 this date in a nine inning game set a club record with 29 hits in that game in 1948. And I wanted to go back because this is a team. We all talk about World Series champions, but sometimes because you and I talk a lot about those great teams of the 90s, sometimes that team of 48. I don't know about just doesn't get its due, but we kind of forget about that 48 baseball team. I know you have not. How about reliving that 48 team a little bit for us this morning? As good as that team was, they had to play the infamous one-game playoff against the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park and player manager Lou Boudreau giving the ball. Gene Byrd and rookie, lusty, who happened to win 20 games a year. And everybody was shocked that a young guy that Lou would give the ball to a young guy, and he ended up beating Lou, I think. Might have hit two home runs that game. I can't remember. You know, Gene Bairdon ended up beating them, and then we go off to beat the Boston Braves, four games to two in the World Series. That team was 97 and 58. Blemann and Bearden, each one, 20, Feller 119, Steve Gromack out of the bullpen 1-9, Satchel Paige was 6-1 on that team with one save. But as you said, the offense, you know, Boudreau, Joe Gordon, Joe Gordon was 32 homers, 24 ribby's, Dovey, had 14 and 66.

The great Dale Mitchell, a gentleman who doesn't get his just-do, has been one of the best outfielers of that era because you had guys like Mickey Mantle and Duke Snyder and Willie Mays and others that got the spotlight. But, yeah, one of the obvious great teams in franchise history, if not the greatest. I always kidded Tito, and I said the same thing to Stephen vote. when I met him for the first time, I said, you do realize that Tris Speaker was a player manager in 1920, and Tito was a player manager, or Lou Boudreau was a player manager in 1948. So I think the only way to win a World Series in Cleveland is you've got to be a player manager. You've got to get out there on the field on occasion. I can imagine the look you got from Tito, Bobby, on that. He told me, he told me in no uncertain terms to shut up. You know, it's interesting. We're talking about that 48 team. I remember sitting down and talking to Mr. Feller years ago, and we're talking about the 48 team. And he said to me, he looked right at me, though, and you know how he goes. He pointed that finger and he says, but. The 1954 team was better than the 1948 team. And he always told me that in the interview, and I can't remember all the words on why he said that. But I remember those words from Mr. Valerie, he said, Ray, the 54 team was better than the 48 team. Well, that team won 111 games at that time of record. It stopped. There were only two teams, us in 54, and I think it was the White Sox in 59, that stopped the Yankees from having their, in the decade of the 50s that derailed their dynasty. Matter of fact, if my memory serves me, the Yankees won 103. in 1954. It was the most wins they had in any season in the 1950s, and they came in second to us. And the big four pitching staff and all the great players of that 54 team. Yeah, Bob would always talk about how devastating it was to lose the World Series that year. All right, Bobby. Well, listen, we'll probably see you at the ballpark this weekend. I'm looking forward to rock and blast on Friday night. Always appreciate the time with us, my friend, and we'll do it again next week. Thanks, Bobby.

Thank you, Ray. Go guardians. Senior VP with the guards, Bob DiBiaseo takes time to join us each Wednesday at this time right here on the morning show. And you can check out, hey, Bobby, on our YouTube channel, wakr.net, Facebook page, and right here on the Ray Horner Morning Show, WACR. For more interviews on 93.5, 1590 WAKR, tune in to the Ray Horner Morning Show Monday through Fridays between 6 and 9 o'clock and listen for more interviews at wakr.net and our WAKR app.