00:00As we are up 1-0 in the ALCS as we get ready for Game 2 tonight
00:04between the Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays
00:09and Parker Messick on the mound today for the Guardians.
00:12It's a fabulous feeling for Guardians fans.
00:14Fabulous man to talk about the Guardians.
00:15Matt Underwood joins us right now on the Wise Heart Right,
00:18We Make It Right, Call Kyle Right Hotline.
00:20Matt, good morning to you.
00:21Good morning, Ken. How are you?
00:23Doing wonderful.
00:24Other than Jose Ramirez, I think he's the leader of the organization.
00:29Other than Jose Ramirez, who should we rely on the most
00:33when it comes to just overall play and leadership?
00:38I think that's a great question, actually.
00:41You know, because when you think about this club and the way it's constructed,
00:45especially in the last several years,
00:47they have been the youngest team in baseball
00:51in the last probably year and a half among the youngest teams in baseball.
00:55So it's not like there's a ton of veteran leadership.
00:58Now, I think when you added Joe Adele and Nathaniel Lowe,
01:03that changed the dynamic in the clubhouse.
01:05But those guys, they didn't come in and, you know,
01:07they weren't vocal leaders right out of the gate.
01:10You know, you can't do that in sports.
01:12You've got to kind of ease your way in, kind of get the temperature of the room.
01:17So I think you always fall back to the catching position
01:20because it is such a valuable position,
01:22and you're out there for every pitch, and everybody's watching you.
01:26So I'd say Patrick Bailey has given this team the kind of quiet leadership
01:30that you expect out of that catching position,
01:32along with Hedgie, who's going to be in there tonight, you know,
01:35with Parker Messick getting the start.
01:37But I think those two guys definitely have done a,
01:40in their own way, have been very good, solid leaders.
01:44I mean, they have had four different guys that they either acquired
01:48at the deadline or right around it that are all making a huge impact now
01:53here into the ALCS.
01:55I mean, we talk and talk and talk about going and getting free agents,
02:00and why can't we do this, why can't we do that?
02:02I think they've kind of made up for it this year, have they not?
02:05I mean, when you consider how many times, you know,
02:10they've tried to find that peace in the offseason
02:12or, you know, it made an acquisition thinking, you know,
02:16this would be a guy, and it just hasn't worked out.
02:19What they've done this year was, I mean, they hit every knee.
02:24They checked off every box.
02:25I said it at the time.
02:26Like, I don't remember a trade deadline where they literally said,
02:31okay, we need this, we need A, B, and C, and they got all three of them.
02:34I mean, you got the veteran power pop bat in Joe Adele.
02:38You got the veteran steady Eddie presence and Nathaniel Owen gold glove defense
02:42at first.
02:43And you picked up a starting pitcher who, by the way, was, you know,
02:47having a historic year for the Washington Nationals.
02:50And all he's done is come in and done, you know,
02:53awesome work in the postseason twice now.
02:56So, yeah, Foster Griffin was kind of the unsung hero.
02:59And then, you know, to your point, Patrick Bailey was traded for way before
03:03the trading deadline, but that was still an in-season acquisition that has paid
03:07off, I mean, paid huge dividends.
03:11Matt Underwood joining us here on the show.
03:14Could you have thought, I mean, being honest, I mean, July was such a rough month.
03:19August was even a little bit difficult.
03:21Could you imagine they'd be sitting here up 1-0 in an ALCS at that point?
03:26No, because to your point, Ken, go back to the Tampa Bay series.
03:29I was just thinking about this when I woke up this morning because Parker
03:33Messick's going to be pitching.
03:34And I remember we didn't televise.
03:37I think it might have been a TBS Sunday afternoon game.
03:41But the last game of that series in Tampa, we didn't televise.
03:44We go over to the ballpark.
03:45We sit there and we watch them lose 1-0.
03:48I think Stephen Kwan let off the game with a hit, maybe a double.
03:51And they didn't get another hit the rest of the game.
03:53Drew Rasmussen shut them down and out.
03:55Parker pitched great, gave up one run, and lost 1-0.
03:59And that was in the stretch where they were sputtering.
04:03I think they ended up losing, I don't know, I don't remember what it was,
04:059 out of 13, 10 out of 13, something like that.
04:08And you just kind of felt like it's just not going to happen.
04:11For whatever reason, they just can't click.
04:13And the offense, this was, now this was, you know, just, you know,
04:18I can try to remember now.
04:20Maybe it was in July, it was just prior maybe to the acquisitions.
04:23Because I think that's when everything changed, when they got low in Adele.
04:26And even that didn't take off right away.
04:29But, you know, that's the one thing about this club.
04:32I've probably said it a dozen times.
04:33Every time you were ready to say, this is not going to happen,
04:37they rise from the dead.
04:38They get off the mat.
04:39They come up and they shock you.
04:41They surprise you.
04:43And they kept saying it all season long.
04:45I know this sounds cliche, but sometimes it's just baseball.
04:49When they sputter, when they don't score, and you're frustrated,
04:51and you're ready to throw in the towel,
04:53you do have to remember the other guys get paid too.
04:56And, you know, at times they just, they haven't clicked.
04:59But, man, when they do click, like they have the last three games,
05:01they are fun to watch.
05:04Matt Eder would join us on the hotline.
05:06How about, you know, Stephen Vogt kind of dialing up exactly what he needs to.
05:10You know, we've seen guys like Bailey pinch hitting.
05:14Or then, like last night, you know, he could have gone righty-lefty
05:17with the low situation, and he kept low in there against the lefty,
05:22and he totally delivered.
05:24It just seems like, hey, when you get to the ALCS,
05:27you've got to hit all the right buttons,
05:29and Vogt certainly seems to be doing that.
05:31Yeah, and I think for any manager, Anthony, for any manager now,
05:36there's a fine balance between, all right, what do the numbers say?
05:39What do the analytics tell us?
05:41You know, historically, how does this kind of matchup work out?
05:44Who's got the upper end?
05:45What's the favor?
05:47But also, what are your eyes telling you?
05:50What is your gut telling you?
05:51You're around Nathaniel Lowe every day.
05:53You see his swings.
05:54And I think maybe that was a case where he just felt like I have a good feeling
06:00about him going into this at bat.
06:01He's seeing it well.
06:03He's swinging it well.
06:03Even though he didn't get a lot of A-Bs against left-handed pitching this year,
06:07he gets an 0-2 fastball.
06:09It was probably up out of the strike zone.
06:11But he didn't try to do too much with it.
06:12He wasn't trying to be the hero.
06:14He just popped it right back through the middle and broke the dam open.
06:17Why do I want to see Angel Martinez break out of the slump so bad?
06:22I think, well, if you're asking me, I can only tell you because I love the kid.
06:27Because you see the energy.
06:29You see the passion.
06:29You see how badly he wants it.
06:32He's not shy about showing his emotions.
06:35But I think he's allowed the opposing pitchers, especially the White Sox.
06:40Let's not throw the raise into this just yet.
06:43But he let the White Sox get the better of him.
06:45They played on his aggressions, and he could not control the strike zone.
06:49It was nice to see him get that knock, get the monkey off his back early last night.
06:54And let's hope that gets him settled down.
06:57Because he's a difference maker.
06:59I mean, part of what makes him special is that aggressive approach that he has at the plate.
07:06And, you know, I mean, but at the same time, you know, I know you said at the top there,
07:11Jose Ramirez is the GOAT.
07:13Let's exclude him from the conversation.
07:14But you've got to go back.
07:15That play last night in the ninth inning that really was the difference maker in the game
07:19because it iced it.
07:20He's so doggone smart.
07:21People forget how smart he is.
07:23That double steal, he baited Camonero into coming to the bag,
07:26and it opens up the hole, and Adele pops it right through.
07:29I mean, that's next level, right?
07:31That's next level baseball where you're all looking at each other on the couch going,
07:34what did he just do?
07:36That's amazing.
07:37Well, is it part of the good thing that he's becoming a national?
07:41I'm seeing more and more about Jose in the national perspective.
07:44And it always felt like to us, Matt Underwood joining us on the show,
07:46it always felt like to us, like, all right, Guardians fans know obviously a lot about Jose Ramirez.
07:52Outsiders didn't really other than like, hey, he's your favorite baseball player's favorite baseball player.
07:57And now kind of like the secret is out about his status here in Cleveland,
08:02the beloved status that he has here where he's probably as beloved as any athlete who's played,
08:08at least in the modern generation of sports, maybe ever.
08:11And then you also have this guy who sees baseball at a completely different level
08:17than what a lot of people have ever seen the game with.
08:21Yeah, I think there's something to that, that, you know, we, the big markets get the most attention.
08:30That's historically, if you go through the history of baseball, that's always been the case.
08:33The smaller market guys, they've got to put up numbers for a longer period of time to get any attention.
08:38And, you know, unless you're a flash in the pan and you've got some kind of a gimmick,
08:43but gimmicks don't last, right?
08:44Jose's not, there's no, there's nothing gimmicky about him.
08:47It's, it's every day.
08:48It's the grind.
08:49It's, it's how he sees the game, how he plays.
08:52He runs every ball out like his life depends on it.
08:55And it just, it takes a while, I think, Ken, for, you know, maybe the rest of the country
09:01and the rest of the baseball country to appreciate.
09:04You know, Rick Manning has said this to me for years.
09:07If you go into a series, like him and I might be in, forget it, just name a city,
09:12and we might see a guy who's playing at his best.
09:14And you see him for three days and you're like, wow, that guy's awesome.
09:17But you only saw him for three days.
09:19You can't, you can't watch Jose Ramirez for three days and come away with a really solid opinion.
09:24You have to be able to watch him every day for a whole year to appreciate the little things he
09:30does
09:30and how he goes about his business on a, on a consistent approach.
09:35His approach is consistently awesome every single day.
09:38And even this year, when he wasn't at his best, I mean, it is a tribute to a man that
09:43injury does not dampen his spirit.
09:44And he was up, even when he wasn't swinging it well, he was the same guy.
09:48And, and, and I think that's why these young guys have played so well, because they had to, you know,
09:55they couldn't just sit back and wait for Jose.
09:57They had to step forward and do their part.
10:00And I think it's a better team because of it.
10:01How about, uh, chase a lot of five game hit streak in the freaking playoffs.
10:06He was a triple shy of the cycle OPS now over 900, uh, in the post season.
10:12Not bad at all, Matt, not bad.
10:14It's good to have this kid up here.
10:17Anthony, he's one of those guys.
10:18I mean, you, you see it in a lot of sports rarely you see, but you do see it occasionally.
10:23Unfortunately, he, um, he does, his age does not really translate to, uh, his demeanor.
10:30Uh, yeah, he's a rookie, but he has this, uh, hip presence and he carries himself like
10:36he's been around a long time.
10:38Um, and I don't know why that is.
10:40I don't think he could tell you why that is.
10:41It's just, you know, in football, you talk about, oh, he's a high motor guy.
10:45We hear this term, oh, he's a low heartbeat guy.
10:48Chase just doesn't seem to ever rattle and regardless of the situation, he's got a tremendous
10:54eye, very good eye at the plate and he can wait, he can wait and, and track a pitch for
11:00as long as anybody in the game.
11:02I think that's a special skillset that makes him very good, but at the same time, it's the
11:07demeanor.
11:08You know, you watch him at the, in the post game interview last night and he just, it
11:12was just like an, it was like a Wednesday in August.
11:14He just, uh, you have to love the way he plays the game.
11:17And, and the key is, as we all knew going into the years, can they keep them on the
11:21field?
11:22Can they keep them healthy?
11:23Uh, and he was able to do that.
11:25And, and my goodness, what a, what a year he's had.
11:28Absolutely.
11:29Have you ever felt better about, it's a tough question to ask.
11:33I'm not, I'm not trying to make you, well, I don't want to put you in a position to
11:37be like disrespectful, quote unquote, to the Rays or anything like that.
11:41I, you know, I saw what the, uh, what the White Sox did during batting practice last
11:46week and I was very agitated.
11:47So I was very happy that the guardians made a comeback there.
11:50So I don't want to put you in a bad spot.
11:51We all respect the Rays.
11:52We respect their organization, their talent, that, that, that, that, that's all true.
11:56But have you ever felt better about a series after one game?
12:01Um, because I, I can't remember the last time I have.
12:05Um, I, I'll, first of all, I'll say yes to that question.
12:09And I don't want to go down that road because it ended horribly.
12:12Oh, geez.
12:14Yeah.
12:14Like back in 2017, you may all remember that, uh, division series against a certain team
12:19from a major metropolitan market.
12:21Um, but I will say this, it just seems like Ken, and, and, uh, I've made this comment a
12:27number of times, the friends in passing here in this post season already, like this team
12:31doesn't do anything easy, right?
12:33It's like they're down 0-2 to the White Sox.
12:36They go to Chicago.
12:37Of course they do it the hard way.
12:39It just seems to be in, in their DMA.
12:42So it's nice to at least go into tonight knowing your back isn't already slammed up against the
12:48wall.
12:48Uh, you know, that the anxiety won't be through the roof, you know, once in a while, it is
12:54kind of nice to play with house money.
12:55And so going into tonight, you've already established, um, you've already, you know,
13:01earned a split no matter what happens tonight.
13:03And I feel really good though, about getting the first one, knowing I've still got Parker
13:08Messick and Gavin Williams loaded in the chamber.
13:11Boy, that's a really good feeling.
13:13I'm not going to lie.
13:14Absolutely.
13:15Matt, have you allowed yourself to even consider this team winning the entire thing and taking
13:23the World Series?
13:24No, no, no, no.
13:25I haven't, I haven't either, but last night I was like, man, the Dodgers are losing.
13:31And I know the Brewers have been incredible all year, but I'm like, could it be Milwaukee
13:34and the Guardians and the World Series?
13:37And how would we even interpret that?
13:40Like, it would be so crazy because I just didn't think this team had anything like that.
13:44At no point this season did I think there were some magical team that could do it.
13:49Yeah, and that would be awesome, by the way.
13:52It would probably spin the world off its axis if it's the Guardians and the Brewers.
13:58I just think, I think for me personally, and you asked me the question, for me personally,
14:03you know, I've been so close to it.
14:05I've been there.
14:06I was in Atlanta in 95.
14:08I was in Miami in 97.
14:10Obviously in 16, we were all there in Cleveland.
14:14So I've seen, I've seen this club come close so many times, though.
14:18I wouldn't, I just won't.
14:19No matter, even if they get there and it's game seven and they're up 10 runs in the ninth,
14:23I'm not going to allow myself to go there until that final out is secured in the glove
14:27and I see bubbly champagne flowing.
14:30But I mean, that's what makes October special, though, is that you can't allow that to happen.
14:36You can't allow your thoughts to drift on, man, what would that be like?
14:39And just the anticipation of every game.
14:41I mean, I'm going to be bouncing off the walls all day waiting for the first pitch tonight.
14:47And that's, that's what the, that's the power of post-season baseball.
14:50And that's what it does to you.
14:52Matt, thank you so much for the time.
14:54All the best to you and yours.
14:55Hope to talk to you again very, very soon.
14:57All right, Ken, Anthony, have a great day.
14:59Yes, sir.
15:00You too.
15:00Matt Underwood, Guardians TV play-by-play announcer on the Wiseheart, right?
15:04We make it right.
15:05Call Kyle, right?
15:05Hotline.
15:06We got to change what we're going to do.
15:08You just asked Matt a very strong question.
15:10And I want to ask the listeners that when we come back five minutes from now, Ken Carman,
15:14Anthony Lima, have you allowed yourself to dare to dream about this Guardians team?
15:19And five on the fan.
