3-25-26 Reds Hot Stove League

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2:06And by RNL carriers, visit rlc.com and make RNL carriers your global transportation provider. Dean DeCenterfield going back at the wall leaped in his long gone. L.E.D.L.A. Cruz. The Reds are on the radio. Now the Reds Hot Stove League. Hey, very delightful good evening to you. And welcome into the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF. We are live at the Bet MGM sports book inside the inside. Tom's watch bar. I almost said the old one. And I wasn't about to say that and get in trouble and get off on the wrong foot this season. So I blanked. It's happened before with the cowboy. Jeff Brandley, I'm Tommy Throck. Great to be with you. Excited on the eve of opening day to talk Reds baseball. There's a lot to get to. There's a little bit of news today. The Reds did make a couple of roster moves. We all knew about Nick Lidolo's blister. The Reds did formally put him on the injured list today.

3:08They brought up Jose Franco from AAA Louisville. And then also Caleb Ferguson was placed on the IEL because of the oblique strain. We'll talk about all that as we get along. There is a new addition to Great American ballpark right at the main gate. It's a big clock. It's a beautiful clock. And it is a very retro looking clock. Very cool looking. It's awesome. And that was donated by All Star First Basement, Reds icon, Joey Votto. And we are fortunate enough to be able to chat with Joey Votto right now. Joey, welcome into the show. How are you, my friend? I'm good. How are you guys doing? We're good, man. I'm glad to have you on with us. Good to talk to you. Good to talk to you both. Happy opening day, Eve. Yes, that's right. Same to you. Let's talk about this clock. I mean, what was the inspiration behind this? And why was this so important to you?

4:10Well, I've been to a few different places that I guess in my travels that were memorable. And quite a few of them had clocks or some sort of momentum. And then whether it's a major golf course, or I think Wimbledon, they have one. There's these sort of blocks all over the world. And combine that with the fact that it's a burden. I believe I'm saying the company's name correctly. It's a Cincinnati-based company. And I was in the final year of my Reds time in 2023. And I thought, you know, the pretty good chance that I'm not going to be back next year. Whether I am or not, I don't want to miss the opportunity to say thank you to the fans. You know, I spent 17 seasons with the team. I spent the majority of my adult life

5:11as a Cincinnati Red. And I thought, you know, I would really like to give something back to the city. You know, I know that the city would never ask for something like this, but I've just always felt thankful to play in a city that was so welcoming to me. And that made me feel like only entire time. And I just thought, you know, let's do something that makes the Reds fans experience at Great American Ballpark feel just a little bit different. And, you know, the inspirations were all over the place, whether it was scrolling on Instagram or watching something on watching a sporting event. I just always seemed to cross paths with these cloths. And I thought the oldest team, I believe in the countries to all the sports is, you know, should have something that feels kind of nostalgic. And the clock made sense to me. Well, Joey, looking at that clock, the design is,

6:13as Cincinnati as you could ask for. I mean, and I know that you had some input in the design of the clock. Can you share with us a little bit about how that goes? I mean, I think of myself and I think, God wouldn't even know the first thing about designing a clock, but I mean, you did a phenomenal job. I mean, that thing is striking. Well, it was a combined effort. And, burden and myself had back and forth conversation. We, you know, this is much their creativity as it was mine. I wanted to make sure the color was on. I wanted to make sure that it had a simplicity to it. I wanted to make sure that it could possibly play some sort of audio at, you know, whether it was the start of a game or a meaningful moment in the game or after a victory. I was hoping that the clock company burden couldn't make it. But then also, I was hoping that in some way,

7:14shape or form, both the city and the team. Great American ballpark, the Cincinnati Reds, front office, you know, ownership. Everybody that does the technical side wouldn't be overwhelmed or just feel inundated by the request of having this audio play or having the responsibility to caretake this new, you know, this new responsibility that they never asked for. And they were, they were, they were so accommodating. Phil Castellini and I had this conversation had the conversation about the clock multiple times during the course of 2023. And when it was all said and done between the positioning of it, which the city, I had to go through the city margin and I had to go through the city and make the request. And then the team and the team being Phil, I had to okay. And then also, you know, make sure that they made it their own, which they did, you know, this is not mine.

8:15And this is not even the reds. This is the cities and the fan bases. But the caretaking part is absolutely the responsibility of the reds and Phil seemed really excited about it. And the team and the front office in general were so welcoming. And that was 90% of the effort. So I'm thankful that they were willing to accept this gift and give it to the fans. Well, Joey, it's outstanding. I mean, it fits out in front of the ballpark perfectly. And like you said, it's a gift to the city. You don't have to go to a game to come out and enjoy it and see it, you see it just as you're walking by on the street. It really is spectacular. So hopefully, hopefully we get you down to the ballpark. You can check it out in person because you'll love it. And we can't wait to see it back down here at some point of the future. And let's talk about what you got going on right now because it seems like anytime anybody follows you on Instagram, they look at your Instagram. You're somewhere else in the world.

9:16So what do you put up to, man? I've been traveling a little bit since I retired. And I really enjoyed my downtime. I will say it's a bit of an adjustment after spending so much of not just my teenage years, not just my adult years, but also my teenage years, working on one thing and to be in a place where I don't have to focus all of my energy and my spirit and my mind and everything about me towards one thing. It is without question and adjustment. I've really enjoyed my retirement, but there's no doubt about it. It's been a bit of an adjustment. I recently started working with NBC Sports. They started a Sunday night baseball. And I believe that they're doing the Thursday game. I won't be doing it, but they're doing Thursday in New York for the match, home opener. And I'm looking forward to working with NBC Sports in the future.

10:21And to do my part and making sure that the game continues to move forward because I don't know if I, in my entire lifetime, remember the sport of baseball and being in a better place. Oh, you're right about that. So how's the chess game? OK. Mm-hmm. No, I've been trying to surf a little bit. I just got a new puppy, a little wrought while the puppy in her name is Morgan. So she's got my hands full. She's no one ever told me puppies who are so rambunctious. The last one I got was almost a year old. So I think that I missed the hardest part of it, but she's a sweetheart and it's fun to get to know her. It's a timeout. You just glossed right over the fact that you said you're surfing. Now, Jim has told me that you've taken up surfing. Like surfing surfing. Like we're not talking about cruising the internet. We're talking about like out there in the ocean, swim with sharks, all that stuff. I probably do way too much internet surfing.

11:23I appreciate you calling me out on the hospital. But I haven't played, gotten to the place where I've made the full commitment to taking up golf and getting my behind beaten by someone like Cowboy. I hear he's a good golfer. So I haven't quite made that commitment, but I've been trying to chip away and learning a little bit at full and around with some surfing. But it's a humbling sport. And it's just been fun to get out of the sun in the water. Well, I really appreciate you taking some time. Again, the clock is outstanding. It's really something you should be very proud of. It is incredible. And it will certainly have a lasting impact. So Joey, thanks so much. It's really great of you to join us, especially on an opening day eve. And you'll be catching a lot of baseball. It sounds like coming up this summer. It's an easy sport to watch. And I think that the Reds, especially

12:25with the signing of Eohenio Suarez, have a chance to do some pretty cool things this summer. So if that picture holds up, I think it could be a fun six months plus. We certainly hope so as well. Well, Joey, thanks again for the time. Really appreciate it. And we'll see you down the line. Yeah, you guys keep up a great work. I never, I never got to say this when I was playing, but I think you two are excellent together. So keep it up and keep taking great care of the Reds fans at their on the radio. Thank you so much. Thank you very kind of you to say that is. Take care, guys. Reds legend and future Hall of Famer, Joey Vado, joining us on the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League. On the eve of opening day, we have so much to get to. The news of the day with the transactions will discuss that. A.U. Haneo Suarez, and I had a chance to catch up. Just a few days ago, that conversation comes your way. Shortly, we'll talk about pitching. We'll talk about this lineup so much to get to. It's the opening day eve version of the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF Live at the Bed MGM Sports

13:26Book Inside Tom's Watch Bar down here at the banks. This is the Reds Radio Network. Welcome back in. The Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF Live at the Bed MGM Sports Book Inside Tom's Watch Bar at the banks. We're not good here anymore. Thankfully, it is great to be home and back here in Cincinnati. Believe it or not, you return home from spending six weeks in Arizona. And just the sight of a little patch of green grass can make you smile so big. It's wonderful. There's not rocks and dirt everywhere. It's great. Cactus. Yeah. There's trees in bloom. It's beautiful. It's great to be home. And we've got opening day tomorrow. And we've got lots to talk about. Let's start with Nicoladolo. Of course, we knew that the blister issue had popped up in his last start. And I'm sure the heat played a factor, because when the blister has popped up during the season, it's been when the weather really heats up.

14:29The hope was that he could avoid the injured list. He's going to go to the injured list. Hopefully, it's short term. It's backdated to the 23rd. So a couple of days ago, the minimum is 15 days. So you hope that he's going to be back. Cowboy, let's start with the blister with Lidolo. Do you feel like the reds got out in front of it quick enough so that it's the minimum for Lidolo? I think so. I think that that has been kind of a topic of conversation with Nic from two or three years ago, because there's always that susceptibility of having that blister because of how much his hand sweat, especially when it gets hot and that friction begins to kind of work on a wet hand. And I think for him, he has an understanding now to know when that begins, when that feeling starts to come there so he stops pitching. And they have told him, if you start feeling it, stop. The problem for Nic is that the blister is not on the tip

15:30of the finger, it's on the pad of the finger. And that's your softest skin, because that's where you have all those nerve endings. And everybody says, well, rip it off, burn it, whatever, to keep it from happening. Well, if you do that, then you can't feel the ball. And that's the whole art of pitching is being able to manipulate the ball and make it move in different directions so you get hitters out. Two weeks is probably a good area to go with on that. I think that he's got to figure out, what can I do on a daily basis? Not just the couple of days before I'm pitching, but every day, like from now until he quits playing baseball to be able to do something that will push him in a direction where that's not going to happen or he's not going to be as susceptible to it. Now, when you're on the injured list and at your arm, you can't throw. This is a blister on his finger. Can he anticipate that he can keep throwing, stay in game shape, and on top of that? Is it almost better to do that with the blister?

16:31Well, I think that where he is in the blister department, he can still throw. The problem that we had two years ago is that he kept throwing and started using his middle finger for all of the pressure, and that's when he had the ligament issue inside the middle finger. So he's not going to be able to throw full speed, but if he could long toss or play some decent amount of catch, at least he doesn't lose a month and a half of throwing, because that's the danger with anything on an injury side is gearing back down and not being able to have those reps and have your arm stay in shape. Okay, the blister, it seemingly has popped up every year. You get it, you deal with it, everybody knows with blisters, you get a callus thereafter. Can this almost be a good thing that it's out of the way now and maybe only misses a start, and then he's good to go the rest of the year? I think so. To be honest with you, I think it's up to the individual. I think you have to figure out a way to do your due diligence,

17:34whether it's studying what other guys have done, talking to other pitchers, understanding what it is that I have to do as an individual to make sure that this never happens again, because that's your livelihood. You pitch and you pitch with those two fingers and you got to figure out a way where you're not going to have that blister anymore. All right, putting you on the spot, scale a one to 10, how concerned are you with this issue with Nick? I'm not that concerned. I mean, if it was an elbow or a shoulder issue, that'd be real concern. But I think it's something that can be handled. It's unfortunate, it's frustrating, it's frustrating to the coaches, frustrating to his teammates, and especially frustrating to Nick Ladoa because he means so much to this club. Hopefully, 10 days, two weeks, you getting back, you don't have to think about it again. Talking with him in the dugout the other day in Milwaukee, I know we both talked to him separately, you could sense the frustration, it was coming through loud and clear. All right, moving on. Now Jose Franco will take his spot on the roster. We saw quite a bit of this guy in spring training.

18:35There's a lot to like. This is a guy that's not out of the blue. He's not coming out of nowhere. He led Reds minor leagueers with 10 wins last year between Chattanooga and Louisville. He was among the organizational leaders logged to 110 innings last year and he was second with 118 strikeouts. The guy can pitch and we saw that first hand in spring training. Yeah, he's got a lot of different pitches and obviously for any young pitcher or player standing out on that mound in front of a packed house and a big crowd, whether it's here or anywhere else, there's some nerves that are involved and it's not just about pitching anymore. It's about, okay, how do you handle the pressure? And seemingly watching this kid in spring training, it was as though he had done it a thousand times and it didn't bother him at all. So you're hoping that as you kind of feed it to him like baby steps, okay, let's get him in there for an inning, let's put a couple of innings here and gotta let him get his feet wet. And hopefully that pitching ability from the mental standpoint

19:36kind of puts itself in a good direction because he understands how to move the ball around. He understands how to set up hitters. I think he does a very good job at reading hitters and most young pitchers don't do that. So you're hoping that that will take place. He's 25 years old, so not a baby. We'll see how he goes. His first outing will be his big league debut. It's the Budweiser Reds Hot Stovly presented by UDF Live at the Bed MGM Sports Book Inside Tom's Watch Bar at the Banks. My conversation with A.U. Haney O'Swaris is next on the Reds Radio Network. Welcome back to Budweiser Reds Hot Stovly presented by UDF We Are Live at Bed MGM Sports Book Inside Tom's Watch Bar at the Banks. Brandon Phillips, Aaron Hirang, Reggie Sanders, and Lou Pinella have been selected as the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame's Class of 2026. The four inductees will be honored April 24th through the 26th during the Reds Hall of Fame induction celebration presented by PNC. You can get your tickets for this historic weekend

20:37right now at reds.com slash tickets. I'm sure this guy will be in the Reds Hall of Fame at some point. His name is A.U. Haney O'Swaris. He will primarily be the Reds designated hitter this year. You'll also see him some a third of probably play some first base just like we saw him in the spring. But you also saw him on a worldwide stage performing for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic in Cowboy. That was Gino at his best. I mean, that's what he is. Give him big opportunities. He finds a way to come through and he did. Yeah, I think the greatest asset that Swaris has developed over a period of time is he knows what he does well. And he tries to capitalize on it. And if you make a pitch that's on the plate that's at the belt or down, he's going to hurt you. If you saw his interview after the game, after the after Venezuela won it, it was extremely emotional. When him and I talked, he'd come down a little bit from that. But he was still obviously acutely aware of how much it meant to Venezuela. We also talked about why he's so successful in big moments.

21:37Here's my conversation with A.U. Haney O'Swaris. Gino, let's start with Venezuela. You were obviously overcome with the motion and your post gave interview. Why did that mean so much to you in the country? It means a lot, just because what we are or who we are, I think our faith is more important than everything else. That was very, very good competition for us. That's a team, that's a country. And I really think I'm very sure that we all deserve that win. We all deserve that championship. And as a team, as a group, as a human being, country needed that happens because our country been through a lot of tough moments. But be able to give an opportunity to our country, to celebrate with us and give it then that emotional last game and the championship.

22:41But it's a lot of to me as a professional player, as a baseball player, as a human to something that you're dreaming for, and that dream comes through that day. It was something you guys talked about, like how important that would be throughout the course of the tournament, or did it not need to be said? I mean, we all know how important it was. But yeah, we talk about the beginning of the tournament. We had a meeting, we had a dinner, as a group, as a team. And we all talk about how important it be if we give this happen, it's a team happen to our country. And that was our goal from the beginning. That was our goal, given the best to us for our country. And give it the opportunity to celebrate with us. And yeah, we all talk about that, and that was our goal. Science, we had the team ready.

23:42So we got an online and we go for it. Did you ever imagine the world baseball classic becoming what it has become and the scale of which it has? No, no. For you, like I thought it was another game, it's another thing, but when you see all the, when you win, I mean, in 2023, I want to see the days. It was really nice to us, but we don't have that like, like I want to say, like, we know how good it was, but we lost one game and we go home. And we don't think about that anymore. So this year, when you see game by game, every other game, we win games and we see our opportunity in front of us. That's when I realized that how important it's to us to win games, to win the championship. And it was awesome. For me, one of the best experiences of my career, like I see all the defense or the people from Venezuela, in Venezuela and out of Venezuela

24:44to cheer for us. And every time that I got some messenger of text from my friends or my family in Venezuela, and they all say that they all believe in us. That changed your mind, and now you play for a purpose. And our purpose was try to win the WBC for our country. You obviously know how much it means in that room to everybody. And like you talked about to Venezuela, did it hit home once you started to hear from other people back home, back in Venezuela, and realize how closely they were paying attention, how much it meant to everybody back there. Yeah, I realized that after we won, that I get home with my family, and I get children, and I started to see my phone, and I have so many texts from people that I don't even know who they are, and they all text me like they prodder me. They're so happy for what we're doing as a team, as a country, and that's when I realized how important it for our people in Venezuela, you know?

25:48And still, and still looking my phone, I still have those texts, and it feels great, and it feels like how God is good for us to be able to do that for other people that you don't know. And they was close, they was again, from the little kid to old guy, I see one video that somebody sang me, one of the grandpa, you know, he cried for the win, and that means a lot, you know? That's something that you play for. You play for son like that, and I feel so proud right now for what we did for our country. Switching gear slightly, you had two big hits, and the home run obviously, and the semi-s, and then the, what proved to be the game winning double in the championship, but that's nothing new for you. You've been able to come through, you were among the league leaders, and hits with the bases loaded last year. What is it for you, what's your approach in those moments? I mean, it's more mental than an approach,

26:51I think, to be able to call myself and talk to my friend, my self-like, don't try to be a superhero, just do your job, you know, and that situation, just try to put the ball in place, see what happened, after that, having good advice, see a ball longer than I came, because I feel like depression for the pitch enough for me, so I just try to not put more pressure, and then there's the situation on myself, and be calm, calm, calm, and not be too excited in that situation, that's why I take one step off and breathe, and see all the situation on my mind, and just try to see what good pitch and put a ball in play. I think that helped me a lot to stay in the situation, and not to be too rough or tried too hard, you know what I mean, I calm myself down and do my best, and try to put a ball in play and see a result after that,

27:54that's why I think I had a good result after that, you know. Is that an area where you feel like you've maybe grown in your game over your time up here? Yeah, I mean, the last few years, I wanna say, I learned that from a lot of good haters, when you see somebody like Joivado, he always calm, when you see somebody like Megika Red, Victor Martinez, I learned that from those guys, you know, when I asked him, like, what's your approach, they were all talking about, just try to see a ball and hit a ball, don't try to be a superhero, don't try to be too much, put too much pressure on yourself, you know, be you, try to see a ball, longer you can, and just see a ball and hit a ball, so it's got something that I've been helped me a lot, lay in my career, and grew up a lot on that situation. Playing on the World Baseball Classic stage, how much of that kind of is maybe more valuable almost to help you get ready for the season than going through, and maybe any of the time you might have missed in camp?

28:54I mean, I said earlier, I think those games helped me to how to my mentality, my body shape on the, already on the, I wanna say on the regular C-so month already, you know what I mean, like, when you come to spring training, you weigh a little bit to stay in shape, put yourself on shape, and the WBC have made a lot to, for me, I take those games like, very serious, I take those games like a regular season or a playoff, because the scenario was kind of like, playoff, and I was already a regular season month, so I think that helped me a lot to come here and finish my spring training as a regular season study already, so it helped me a lot. Do you know, again, congratulations, I appreciate the time, thank you so much. That is A.U. Ahanio Suarez, and cowboy, he talked about it there, an area where he's grown

29:54is being able to slow the game down to the big moments, and that's something I think that's gonna help this team. Yeah, I think that he can pass that along to a lot of our young hitters, and it's different when you hear it from your manager, you hear it from the hitting coach, and then you hear it from a guy that you sit by and you go to war with every day. And I think it all is the same information, but sometimes it resonates a bit more when it comes from a body of work like Suarez has put on. We've got more to get to. We'll talk about this lineup when we come back. It's the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League, presented by UDF Live at the Ben MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watch Bar at the Banks on the Reds Radio Network. Welcome back in to the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League, presented by UDF, we're down here live at the Ben MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watch Bar at the Banks. We've got a great crowd here tonight, and, uh, tell you what, a lot of drinks being had, keep in mind, big day tomorrow, make sure you pace yourselves now. We don't want everybody peeking too early. So, uh, it's, uh, it's an exciting time. Obviously, opening day tomorrow,

30:54A.U. Haney Oswara is going to be a big part of that tomorrow. Um, I think it's going to be a big part of that tomorrow. Um, and the thing about it, Cowboys, when you look at the lineup, sure there's, you know, sure there's Ellie, when, who do you think is, is the X-Factor, when you look at this lineup? Well, I think number one, you always look at your, your lead-off hitter to, to do some things that kind of gets your offense started. I think T.J. Friedle obviously, uh, left-handed hitter, top of the order, he seemed to get on base as much as anybody in the big leagues last year. And I, I think that plays a part in scoring runs. Obviously, you got, you got to hit him in, uh, once he gets on base. Um, but, but I, but I also think that, that there's, uh, there's an X-Factor there in South Stewart. Uh, there's a lot of talk about how well Matt McLean has done this year in spring training. Uh, there's always going to be talk about Ellie, David Cruz. So, you kind of have a general expectation about what you're going to get.

31:54Now, I, I think, I think what we saw in, in spring training from Matt McLean needs to continue to happen. I mean, he's not going to hit 5-7-1, but I'm just saying that he, he's swinging the bat better, more like himself, that we saw in the first year at the, at the big, league level than, than what we saw coming back from surgery. But, the guy that I've got my own is South Stewart. How can you not? I mean, he said, he's hitting fourth in the lineup. He's hitting right behind Ellie. I think that, uh, I don't know, behind Ellie. I think that if, if that's how that lineup comes out, and you know, there's been talk of Suarez hitting fourth, there's been talk of Stewart hitting fourth. Um, but if, if, in fact, Stewart is in the number four spot, um, does he take that as pressure, or does he take that as a confidence moving forward? And I think watching this kid in spring training, uh, I think anytime that you can give him the next the next, the next bone, the next level to get to,

32:54I think he rises to that challenge. I think what we saw in spring training with him, uh, was pretty amazing from my standpoint. You and I have talked about this a lot, but if, if I'm pitching, and I see a kid that comes to the plate, I'm trying to figure him out, number one, and he hits one way with a runner, uh, with nobody on base. And then he changes his approach, maybe with a runner at second. And then the third time I face him, he changes it again with a runner standing at third. Those are the things that most hitters don't do that. That, that's usually, uh, a nine or a 10 year vet, and this kid is doing it with one month, big league time. It's incredible. Makes it awfully hard to game plan against a guy like that too. So, South Stewart certainly a guy to keep an eye on. My guy's Matt McLean because, and it's not the spring training. The spring training is what it is. Obviously, it's, it's hard not to get excited with what we saw from there, from him there. But keep in mind, Matt McLean had an awful year last year, and there's no other way about it. He, he was terrible offensively. And this team still made the playoffs. Think about that. He's not going to be that bad again.

33:54That's going to be the worst year we hope. That's going to be the worst year of his career. When it all is said and done, it's coming off the shoulder. Uh, if you know anything about the shoulder, you couldn't expect a lot from him last year. And this team was still a playoff team. I, I think that he's going to be back this year, open a lot of eyes. He's going to be the Matt McLean that we expect. And when he's right there with those other guys around him, makes this lineup really scary. And then you look at the back end of it. Spencer Steer, Noel V. Marta, are going to be hitting in the bottom half of this order. It gets pretty long pretty quick. Yeah, I think that looking at, at, at Marta, especially having transition from third base to right field, there, there seems to be a little bit more comfortable heading into, uh, 2026, then being in the middle of the season and worrying about what position you're going to play, worrying about how to judge the fly ball. He's come a long way in that department. And you hope that being comfortable in his position and comfortable in his own, um, in his own head, as far as where he's at on the field, that that'll resonate as far as where he hits in the lineup.

34:57Because the Reds don't envision Noel V. Marta hitting eight. No, I mean, they don't. They envision Noel V. Marta hitting third or fourth in the lineup. So you've got a guy that's hitting in the second clean-up spot and you're hoping that he does a lot of cleaning up. It's the Reds and the Reds socks tomorrow. We'll preview the opener when we wrap things up next. This is the Budweiser Reds Hot Stovly presented by UDF. We're live at the Ben MGM Sports Book inside Tom's watch bar at the banks of the Reds Radio Network. Wrap the things up on the Budweiser Reds Hot Stovly presented by UDF Reds. Reds socks tomorrow. It's opening day. Great American ballpark cowboy should be a fun pitching matchup. Andrew Abbott goes for the Reds, Garrett Crochet for the Reds socks. The Reds have scored five runs against Garrett Crochet. Each of his last two starts against Cincinnati. What do you got on tomorrow's matchup? Oh, Crochet was second in the Saiyung voting last year in the American League. So he's got a lot to offer.

35:58Obviously he wouldn't be starting on opening day. You've got to make him get the ball on the bottom of the strike zone. If you're chasing at the top of his own, he's going to eat you up. He's a big tall six-five left-hander. He throws really hard. You've got to make him get the ball down and make him get the ball out over the plate. Andrew Abbott had a nice year. Last year they go about it very different. How does he have success against Boston? I think the big thing for Abbott is the changing of location, whether it's at the bottom of the knees or at the top of the strike zone. When he's down for strikes, he usually gets a lot of chases up. It's the Reds and Reds socks tomorrow. Here's the rundown of events. The opening day block party at the bank starts tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. The 107th thinly market opening day parade is tomorrow at noon. Are you going to that by chance tomorrow? Oh, yeah. You're the grand marshal. Yes, I am. Congratulations. That's quite an honor. I know you're pumped about that. I am. I am pumped about it. I can't wait. So Cowboy is the grand marshal. That's at noon. Gates open for the ballpark at 2-10 tomorrow.

37:00The pregame ceremonies start at 3-30 opening day tomorrow. Never gets old. Does it? No, it doesn't. Not in Cincinnati, baby. Any predictions on the season before we go? Playoffs. What are we here for? Let's do it. Let's go. Reds a playoff team a year ago. They're going to chase a division title this year. Andrew Rabbit, Garrett Crochet tomorrow. First pitch. 4-10 at Great American Ballpark. That means we're on the air with the Reds pregame show across the network. At 3-40 should be a fun day of baseball. Thanks for joining us. That's all the time we have for today. For a producer engineer, Dave Udyrm Brewster. And for the Cowboy, Jeff Brantley, our guest today, Joey Vado and A.U. Haney O'Swaras. I'm Tommy Thrall. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Tyler Reddick here from 23-11 Racing. Victory Lane? Yeah. It's even better with Chamba by my side. Race to ChambaCasino.com. Let's Chamba. No purchase necessary. VTW Group. Void work prohibited by law. CTNCs. 21 Plus.

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