The Book of Joe podcast is a production of iHeartRadio. Hey there, welcome back. It's the latest edition of the Book of Joe podcast, the League Championship Series edition. Hey Joe Madden, I don't know. I'm sure you're paying attention here. Eight postseason series so far, we've had six sweeps and we have not had a series yet go to the maximum number of games. And now we're looking at the lcs's both two games to non leads for obviously Philadelphia and Texas. Do you think, based on where we're at here too, O in the LCS, we have any chance of getting to a game seven in either LCS.

The Book of Joe podcast is a production of iHeartRadio. Hey there, welcome back. It's the latest edition of the Book of Joe podcast, the League Championship Series edition. Hey Joe Madden, I don't know. I'm sure you're paying attention here. Eight postseason series so far, we've had six sweeps and we have not had a series yet go to the maximum number of games. And now we're looking at the lcs's both two games to non leads for obviously Philadelphia and Texas. Do you think, based on where we're at here too, O in the LCS, we have any chance of getting to a game seven in either LCS.

It doesn't look that way. I'd have to agree with you. And who knows why. I mean, it just seems like the team that does throw the first punch and lands it is really putting themselves in a good position. Just watching these games, it's been dominant on both sides. The Phillies obviously really dominant to a certain extent, even with the Rangers. So there's the pitching stays healthy and well, in which it should. And it's a short series like this, and nobody's been really be extended on the winning side and their bullpens Man. Yeah, I don't see it changing that much. To get to Game seven is is really difficult to imagine.

It doesn't look that way. I'd have to agree with you. And who knows why. I mean, it just seems like the team that does throw the first punch and lands it is really putting themselves in a good position. Just watching these games, it's been dominant on both sides. The Phillies obviously really dominant to a certain extent, even with the Rangers. So there's the pitching stays healthy and well, in which it should. And it's a short series like this, and nobody's been really be extended on the winning side and their bullpens Man. Yeah, I don't see it changing that much. To get to Game seven is is really difficult to imagine.

Yeah, you talked about getting off the starts. Obviously in the series, we're seeing that. Let's talk about getting off the good starts in the game. When you're imagining postseason games, I'm sure you hear all the talk from the media. Hey, it's important to get on the board first. Just to give you a couple of numbers. In the regular season, if your team scores first, you win about sixty seven percent of the time. This year, in the postseason, you score first, you win seventy two percent of the time eighteen and seven so far in the postseason. Was that something Joe, when you're running a postseason game that you are a little more aware of. I mean, of course everybody wants to score first, but the importance is scoring first in the postseason. Was that something on your radar?

Yeah, you talked about getting off the starts. Obviously in the series, we're seeing that. Let's talk about getting off the good starts in the game. When you're imagining postseason games, I'm sure you hear all the talk from the media. Hey, it's important to get on the board first. Just to give you a couple of numbers. In the regular season, if your team scores first, you win about sixty seven percent of the time. This year, in the postseason, you score first, you win seventy two percent of the time eighteen and seven so far in the postseason. Was that something Joe, when you're running a postseason game that you are a little more aware of. I mean, of course everybody wants to score first, but the importance is scoring first in the postseason. Was that something on your radar?

Yeah? I mean my mantra all season I'd start yelling in the first inning, score first, and score first at score first. I would always be about scoring first from the from spring training games on. You would always hear me yell at and I wanted them to hear that because I wanted to become part of our culture and then not only score first, but I want us to score last. Point is my jug run. I call it the jug run where you score in the bottom of the eighth with the leader or the top of the ninth with the league, so that you take all momentum away from the other side. So it was always about scoring first and scoring lost. Obviously, that's a good position to be in. And what I think happens in the playoffs, and we've talked about this, and one of the things I talk to my teams about, Listen, things are not always going to go perfectly. Things are going to go sideways or awry, and we cannot permit that to like multiply against us. And I think that's what happens. You'll see at bats get last stamp on the team that's behind. You'll just see looks and I look at faces a lot, man, that's just what I do. I look at eyeballs and faces and you can just see there's not that believability in the team that gets down compared to obviously to the one that jumps on top. They just they garner momentum. They don't give it up. And if you have any kind of a bullpen at all, it's really difficult to get on top of these guys late. So I think, really advantage score first and always score last, to really to throw some dirt on them.

Yeah? I mean my mantra all season I'd start yelling in the first inning, score first, and score first at score first. I would always be about scoring first from the from spring training games on. You would always hear me yell at and I wanted them to hear that because I wanted to become part of our culture and then not only score first, but I want us to score last. Point is my jug run. I call it the jug run where you score in the bottom of the eighth with the leader or the top of the ninth with the league, so that you take all momentum away from the other side. So it was always about scoring first and scoring lost. Obviously, that's a good position to be in. And what I think happens in the playoffs, and we've talked about this, and one of the things I talk to my teams about, Listen, things are not always going to go perfectly. Things are going to go sideways or awry, and we cannot permit that to like multiply against us. And I think that's what happens. You'll see at bats get last stamp on the team that's behind. You'll just see looks and I look at faces a lot, man, that's just what I do. I look at eyeballs and faces and you can just see there's not that believability in the team that gets down compared to obviously to the one that jumps on top. They just they garner momentum. They don't give it up. And if you have any kind of a bullpen at all, it's really difficult to get on top of these guys late. So I think, really advantage score first and always score last, to really to throw some dirt on them.

Now I have read that Joe Madden glossary back and forth. So for our fans who have not, you must explain jug runs. You did buy what it is, but where that name comes from.

Now I have read that Joe Madden glossary back and forth. So for our fans who have not, you must explain jug runs. You did buy what it is, but where that name comes from.

Yeah, I want him to go for the jugular instructional leagues. Back in the eighties, I was big on it. I was big on I mean, you think about it when as a manager in the Texas League, in the in the Northwest League, Texas League and also Midwest League, it was obvious to me that latter part of the game, whenever you whenever somebody would score against us and their last at bat when they already had a lead, manager, it just took the air up. But if you could, particularly in a close game, if you could keep them from doing that, at least it presents some hope. Conversely, when we had the lead, I would do anything we possibly could to push across another run, just to take a little bit of the air out of that balloon. So I called the jug run. Go for the jugular in the latter part of the game. I think it's a great concept. I did preach it from nineteen, say, eighty five, eighty six on to the present time. And that's it. Score first, score last, go for the jugular. That is our jug run.

Yeah, I want him to go for the jugular instructional leagues. Back in the eighties, I was big on it. I was big on I mean, you think about it when as a manager in the Texas League, in the in the Northwest League, Texas League and also Midwest League, it was obvious to me that latter part of the game, whenever you whenever somebody would score against us and their last at bat when they already had a lead, manager, it just took the air up. But if you could, particularly in a close game, if you could keep them from doing that, at least it presents some hope. Conversely, when we had the lead, I would do anything we possibly could to push across another run, just to take a little bit of the air out of that balloon. So I called the jug run. Go for the jugular in the latter part of the game. I think it's a great concept. I did preach it from nineteen, say, eighty five, eighty six on to the present time. And that's it. Score first, score last, go for the jugular. That is our jug run.

So game three of the lcs's you've got Euston going on the road to Texas and you've got the Diamondbacks at home against Philadelphia in Game three. Now, when you're down two games to none, does the importance of scoring first become even bigger? And would that effect the way you ran the game as a manager?

So game three of the lcs's you've got Euston going on the road to Texas and you've got the Diamondbacks at home against Philadelphia in Game three. Now, when you're down two games to none, does the importance of scoring first become even bigger? And would that effect the way you ran the game as a manager?

Well, well, it does obviously to the team that's down, they need something to bost of their confidence. Now, it doesn't always matter, because if the other team's just better and they're playing better, they're still going to come back. But you need something when you're down like that, You need something again to make you feel better about yourselves, have some kind of a surge of confidence. Yes, and so what you're talking about possibly is, yeah, just do anything you can to score a run. I mean you might even suggest bunch for hit, move a runner, do some little things right here to get on top However, when you're playing against a bunch of bangers, like especially with the Phillies right now, that con mitigate a lot of this. But I would, yes, promote doing things to get that one runner get on top. And they're in the regular season. What I even permit myself to think about is even making it out on the basis to become more aggressive, become more assertive, stop worrying about making mistakes or being passive, whatever it takes to become more AGGRESSI we're assertive. That's what I would do mentally, and then I would try to push that managerial button to make them become more assertive too. So, yes, you want to get on top, you want to stay right there, and that could mean a big difference when you're down to to nothing.

Well, well, it does obviously to the team that's down, they need something to bost of their confidence. Now, it doesn't always matter, because if the other team's just better and they're playing better, they're still going to come back. But you need something when you're down like that, You need something again to make you feel better about yourselves, have some kind of a surge of confidence. Yes, and so what you're talking about possibly is, yeah, just do anything you can to score a run. I mean you might even suggest bunch for hit, move a runner, do some little things right here to get on top However, when you're playing against a bunch of bangers, like especially with the Phillies right now, that con mitigate a lot of this. But I would, yes, promote doing things to get that one runner get on top. And they're in the regular season. What I even permit myself to think about is even making it out on the basis to become more aggressive, become more assertive, stop worrying about making mistakes or being passive, whatever it takes to become more AGGRESSI we're assertive. That's what I would do mentally, and then I would try to push that managerial button to make them become more assertive too. So, yes, you want to get on top, you want to stay right there, and that could mean a big difference when you're down to to nothing.

Speaking of bunting, which you know the analytics community does not love. The other day is before Game two, I was talking to Bruce Boccie, manager of the Rangers. Of course, and I've seen enough of from Valdez. I know this is a guy who does not like throwing to bases, he doesn't like picking off, he doesn't like fielding his position. He's just, you know, one of these pitchers and Joe, you've seen it. I'm sure it's just not comfortable with the ball in their hands and they throw hand grenades to the bases. So I asked Bouch about running against Valdez because he also does is pretty slow to the plate, and he basically went with the bunting angle, even though I was asking about face stealing, and he said, listen, we don't have anybody in our lineup who really likes to put the ball on the ground with a bunt. I mean, that is the game today, right, You have something that you can do to take advantage of the other pitcher's weakness, and yet it's not and anybody's quiver, they don't have that tool. And I asked Marcus Simeon, very smart, extremely smart baseball player, handles about well, obviously runs well. And I asked him if he ever bunts and he says, no, I really don't bunt. And his explanation was that to get a bunt down for a bass hit, he has to put it in just the right spot. He feels like he has a better chance of getting a double that he does of putting a bunt down, which I thought was interesting. But you know, these guys as you know, most don't practice the bunt. They don't do it coming up and lo and behold, as the game turns out, Robbie Grossman and the Rangers hits the swinging bunt third bat of the game, and of course, you know, the Valdez just again mishandled it and like it was a wet bar of soap, chucked it down the line and a fire drill was often going on the base path. So you know, it worked out because there was a swinging bunch. But you know, I'd like your idea. And I was talking to Derek Jeter about this. You know, you saw Derek Jeter do it a lot, and he said, listen, I would move the runners up, especially even early in the game, but late in the game if you're down to run, if you've got two guys out on and you're down to you're the home team. He said, yeah, I would not give myself up totally, but I would bunt basically for a base hit and if they've made a good play through me out, the worst thing going to happen was the runners move up. And we just don't see a lot of that going And I know, Joe, for you, you've had guys who maybe were able to do that. I'm guessing you you like that in a playoff atmosphere.

Speaking of bunting, which you know the analytics community does not love. The other day is before Game two, I was talking to Bruce Boccie, manager of the Rangers. Of course, and I've seen enough of from Valdez. I know this is a guy who does not like throwing to bases, he doesn't like picking off, he doesn't like fielding his position. He's just, you know, one of these pitchers and Joe, you've seen it. I'm sure it's just not comfortable with the ball in their hands and they throw hand grenades to the bases. So I asked Bouch about running against Valdez because he also does is pretty slow to the plate, and he basically went with the bunting angle, even though I was asking about face stealing, and he said, listen, we don't have anybody in our lineup who really likes to put the ball on the ground with a bunt. I mean, that is the game today, right, You have something that you can do to take advantage of the other pitcher's weakness, and yet it's not and anybody's quiver, they don't have that tool. And I asked Marcus Simeon, very smart, extremely smart baseball player, handles about well, obviously runs well. And I asked him if he ever bunts and he says, no, I really don't bunt. And his explanation was that to get a bunt down for a bass hit, he has to put it in just the right spot. He feels like he has a better chance of getting a double that he does of putting a bunt down, which I thought was interesting. But you know, these guys as you know, most don't practice the bunt. They don't do it coming up and lo and behold, as the game turns out, Robbie Grossman and the Rangers hits the swinging bunt third bat of the game, and of course, you know, the Valdez just again mishandled it and like it was a wet bar of soap, chucked it down the line and a fire drill was often going on the base path. So you know, it worked out because there was a swinging bunch. But you know, I'd like your idea. And I was talking to Derek Jeter about this. You know, you saw Derek Jeter do it a lot, and he said, listen, I would move the runners up, especially even early in the game, but late in the game if you're down to run, if you've got two guys out on and you're down to you're the home team. He said, yeah, I would not give myself up totally, but I would bunt basically for a base hit and if they've made a good play through me out, the worst thing going to happen was the runners move up. And we just don't see a lot of that going And I know, Joe, for you, you've had guys who maybe were able to do that. I'm guessing you you like that in a playoff atmosphere.

I love it. First of all, you're right. What happens is you get all your information and you'll say Perducci's a badfielder. That's spun on Perducci. And then that's just like people coming in and making the presentation that I'm saying, we have nobody that can really do that. I mean, you have teams that literally guys are not really good bunners, are not bunners at all. A part of that is it's not been nurtured at all in the minor league system. And part of that is that, like you said, analytically, it's considered not a good play until you actually need it. Then it becomes a good play. So there's a lot of guys you had the bad fielding picture. You know this, and this has happened I don't know often during the course of the year. We know that, but we still can't get the bunt down, and get the bunt down to make him handle it. I e. Johnny Lester, and we had Lester with the Cobies. Of course, Johnny did not like to throw the bases so early on in that in my time there, I love to put Hobby air bias at third base when we could. Hobby would just get in there. I tell Johnny, we told Johnny, Hobby's got third, rizz has got first, the catcher's got the front. You got nothing. You got nothing to do right here, And we would just challenge guys to bunt and have Hobby make the play because he would. He would just put himself in position to make that play. So there's waste to mitigate this. Also at the bad fielding picture, which you do defensively with your guys on the field, and the outlier of that is the fact that by doing that, maybe not maybe, of course your third base was closer, which limits his range on the ground ball to third base side. However, you'll take these chances and listen, I've had charts that really indicates where the guy's going to the ground ball against a certain pitcher. Believe it or not, they got a look at Kyle Hendricks for instance. Kyle Hendricks ground balls are at shortstop or second base rare, and Jake Creight it rare to third base rare. Ground ball is the third base? Do you enough to worry about that. If you had a good hitter and not a very good defender and you want to get him in the game, Tommy, listella, Tommy with there yet at pitching was perfect because very few ground balls are going to go to the third base. We're going to throw Tommy over there. As an example, you consider all these different things as you're setting your lineup or you're setting up your defense. So, yeah, last point you said, Jeter, I love that. So it really has evolved into that point now with hitters because guys don't like to square around. I mean, guys aren't comfortable scaring around a lot and a lot of it is velocity, quite frankly, and that's another thing. Man, Okay, Tommy, I want you to butt right here. Guys throw in ninety seven ninety eight miles an hour. It's not easy. It's not easy to do that with In the day, you would have primarily like low ninety guys, maybe high eighty guys, sinker ball pitchers, squaring up, putting the ball down. It was a different task when you got elevated. Basketball is coming at you at ninety five plus. Not easy to get on top of that ball and put it down. As your butnt so. I do like the concept of bunning for a hit. You hold back a little bit, you square later, you get the clibhead out first, and with that always let the batthead move first, body move second. That would be the teaching points in regards to that. So I can go on on about this because I'm big on this, but you have to nurture it and teach it, and teach it early and then during the season. Don't just put in your back pocket. Make sure you guys get out and bunt sometimes.

I love it. First of all, you're right. What happens is you get all your information and you'll say Perducci's a badfielder. That's spun on Perducci. And then that's just like people coming in and making the presentation that I'm saying, we have nobody that can really do that. I mean, you have teams that literally guys are not really good bunners, are not bunners at all. A part of that is it's not been nurtured at all in the minor league system. And part of that is that, like you said, analytically, it's considered not a good play until you actually need it. Then it becomes a good play. So there's a lot of guys you had the bad fielding picture. You know this, and this has happened I don't know often during the course of the year. We know that, but we still can't get the bunt down, and get the bunt down to make him handle it. I e. Johnny Lester, and we had Lester with the Cobies. Of course, Johnny did not like to throw the bases so early on in that in my time there, I love to put Hobby air bias at third base when we could. Hobby would just get in there. I tell Johnny, we told Johnny, Hobby's got third, rizz has got first, the catcher's got the front. You got nothing. You got nothing to do right here, And we would just challenge guys to bunt and have Hobby make the play because he would. He would just put himself in position to make that play. So there's waste to mitigate this. Also at the bad fielding picture, which you do defensively with your guys on the field, and the outlier of that is the fact that by doing that, maybe not maybe, of course your third base was closer, which limits his range on the ground ball to third base side. However, you'll take these chances and listen, I've had charts that really indicates where the guy's going to the ground ball against a certain pitcher. Believe it or not, they got a look at Kyle Hendricks for instance. Kyle Hendricks ground balls are at shortstop or second base rare, and Jake Creight it rare to third base rare. Ground ball is the third base? Do you enough to worry about that. If you had a good hitter and not a very good defender and you want to get him in the game, Tommy, listella, Tommy with there yet at pitching was perfect because very few ground balls are going to go to the third base. We're going to throw Tommy over there. As an example, you consider all these different things as you're setting your lineup or you're setting up your defense. So, yeah, last point you said, Jeter, I love that. So it really has evolved into that point now with hitters because guys don't like to square around. I mean, guys aren't comfortable scaring around a lot and a lot of it is velocity, quite frankly, and that's another thing. Man, Okay, Tommy, I want you to butt right here. Guys throw in ninety seven ninety eight miles an hour. It's not easy. It's not easy to do that with In the day, you would have primarily like low ninety guys, maybe high eighty guys, sinker ball pitchers, squaring up, putting the ball down. It was a different task when you got elevated. Basketball is coming at you at ninety five plus. Not easy to get on top of that ball and put it down. As your butnt so. I do like the concept of bunning for a hit. You hold back a little bit, you square later, you get the clibhead out first, and with that always let the batthead move first, body move second. That would be the teaching points in regards to that. So I can go on on about this because I'm big on this, but you have to nurture it and teach it, and teach it early and then during the season. Don't just put in your back pocket. Make sure you guys get out and bunt sometimes.

Yeah, to me, bunting and bunning for hits, it's a lot. To me, it's equivalent to putting. It takes commitment, but it also takes practice. You know, you just can't go out there and go buy feel and say it like you said, facing ninety seven, Oh in the bunt right now. But if you commit to it and work on it, you know it's the skill that you can have. And I'll give you an example. Jose L Tuove. Now I'm not sure if he's going to start Game three the Alcs with a bunt, but he crushes in that ballpark. He loves the ballpark. But he did against Minnesota and he hit a first pitch home run to start one game. The next game, he sees the third baseman basically playing back in left field. Leading off the game, he dropped a bunt. And then we get to the Alcs and the Texas Rangers, even though he just bunted in the last series, leading off have their third basement playing super deep, and Jose al Tuove he took the pitch, but he looked a bunt. It was not a good pitch to bun, but he had that in his mind. He saw where the third baseman was playing. So I like the fact that at least it's an option for Jose al Tuove. And I'll tell you, Joe, I don't think it's a bad play to start game three with a bunt to get yourself on base against Max Scherzer.

Yeah, to me, bunting and bunning for hits, it's a lot. To me, it's equivalent to putting. It takes commitment, but it also takes practice. You know, you just can't go out there and go buy feel and say it like you said, facing ninety seven, Oh in the bunt right now. But if you commit to it and work on it, you know it's the skill that you can have. And I'll give you an example. Jose L Tuove. Now I'm not sure if he's going to start Game three the Alcs with a bunt, but he crushes in that ballpark. He loves the ballpark. But he did against Minnesota and he hit a first pitch home run to start one game. The next game, he sees the third baseman basically playing back in left field. Leading off the game, he dropped a bunt. And then we get to the Alcs and the Texas Rangers, even though he just bunted in the last series, leading off have their third basement playing super deep, and Jose al Tuove he took the pitch, but he looked a bunt. It was not a good pitch to bun, but he had that in his mind. He saw where the third baseman was playing. So I like the fact that at least it's an option for Jose al Tuove. And I'll tell you, Joe, I don't think it's a bad play to start game three with a bunt to get yourself on base against Max Scherzer.

What it does also when you're successful doing something like that, it puts the other team on its heels. I missed on you does It's like a surprise kind of thing. We didn't expect this kind of thing. It kind of nicks or chips away at your veneer. Regarding preparation. All these things are unintentionally put in there. You don't even thinking about it, but it's there, look at Matt Chapman. I know you've watched Matt Chapman. You ever know is how deep plays at third base. I cannot believe how deeply this guy will play at third base, even against guys that could run a little bit. He's so confident in his ability to charge and throw. And I had guys that were decent bunners that still wouldn't bun on them because the reason I just gave so all this stuff is in there. Yes, if you could successfully lead off a game with the bunt, there's a weird advantage that goes in your favor because it does with teams on their heels.

What it does also when you're successful doing something like that, it puts the other team on its heels. I missed on you does It's like a surprise kind of thing. We didn't expect this kind of thing. It kind of nicks or chips away at your veneer. Regarding preparation. All these things are unintentionally put in there. You don't even thinking about it, but it's there, look at Matt Chapman. I know you've watched Matt Chapman. You ever know is how deep plays at third base. I cannot believe how deeply this guy will play at third base, even against guys that could run a little bit. He's so confident in his ability to charge and throw. And I had guys that were decent bunners that still wouldn't bun on them because the reason I just gave so all this stuff is in there. Yes, if you could successfully lead off a game with the bunt, there's a weird advantage that goes in your favor because it does with teams on their heels.

Well, the Diamondbacks and the Astros to Mae, Joe therein must win situation, I realized that they're only down two and not three. Literally, it's not most must win. But let's face it, other than the for Red Sox against the Yankees, nobody's coming back from down three. It's just too much to ask at this point. So yeah, I imagining Joe. If you're the manager, if you're Dusty Baker, if you're Tory Lavello, you have to run that game like it's a game seven.

Well, the Diamondbacks and the Astros to Mae, Joe therein must win situation, I realized that they're only down two and not three. Literally, it's not most must win. But let's face it, other than the for Red Sox against the Yankees, nobody's coming back from down three. It's just too much to ask at this point. So yeah, I imagining Joe. If you're the manager, if you're Dusty Baker, if you're Tory Lavello, you have to run that game like it's a game seven.

No question, no question, you just there's no patience right here. It is the fireman mentality. It is all hands on deck, that you cannot wait for somebody to get their their mojo going their feet on the ground. It's got to And we're talking pitching primarily. We're also talking about pinching. I know it came up with Moldonado the other day. The one game he was pinched it for the other one he was not. Timmy was just on context where vir Lander was still in a one nothing game in Valdez had already given it up early. But the point is there's nothing to be waiting for. There's no patience to be had. If you're leading, of course it's a different story. But when you're even or behind, you have to be a little bit more asserted regarding what you may do. So all those things are in play for this game last play. Sure's see, this is the perfect spot for him right now, being up to to nothing, really not knowing what he's going to do tonight. You know, you'd have to bet on his pedigree a little bit. But the fact that he you know, the last couple of starts weren't that good. He had just all this these issues, this year. This could be this can go five innings and seventy five pitches, or fourties and seventy five, or you can go to two and seventy five whatever, and Boach you'll have his handle on that whole thing. I know he will. But that's an interesting part. But it's perfect for Texas. They have a little bit of wiggle room there to see what they got, not only for the rest of this series, but possibly advancing getting to the World Series. Having a Max Scherzer.

No question, no question, you just there's no patience right here. It is the fireman mentality. It is all hands on deck, that you cannot wait for somebody to get their their mojo going their feet on the ground. It's got to And we're talking pitching primarily. We're also talking about pinching. I know it came up with Moldonado the other day. The one game he was pinched it for the other one he was not. Timmy was just on context where vir Lander was still in a one nothing game in Valdez had already given it up early. But the point is there's nothing to be waiting for. There's no patience to be had. If you're leading, of course it's a different story. But when you're even or behind, you have to be a little bit more asserted regarding what you may do. So all those things are in play for this game last play. Sure's see, this is the perfect spot for him right now, being up to to nothing, really not knowing what he's going to do tonight. You know, you'd have to bet on his pedigree a little bit. But the fact that he you know, the last couple of starts weren't that good. He had just all this these issues, this year. This could be this can go five innings and seventy five pitches, or fourties and seventy five, or you can go to two and seventy five whatever, and Boach you'll have his handle on that whole thing. I know he will. But that's an interesting part. But it's perfect for Texas. They have a little bit of wiggle room there to see what they got, not only for the rest of this series, but possibly advancing getting to the World Series. Having a Max Scherzer.

Back good points, and we need to dive a little more into that. It's fascinating. I'm not sure if I can recall the last time a pitcher went out there to start an ELCS game on thirty six days of rest, but we'll talk about that after we take a quick break. Welcome back to the LCS edition of the Book of Joe Podcasts, and Game three is Max Schurz are on the mound for the Texas Rangers and Joe. I spoke with Max yesterday. He did throw a simulated game and all the signs were good. For what that's worth, now, you know it's not you know, you can't simulate the energy and adrenaline of a game, but he went out there, he threw four innings, felt so good that he's told Boche, I want to throw another one. And what Max said was the best part about that day. And he felt good throughout it. But he said in the fifth inning his stuff held. It was the same stuff he had when he started out there, so his stuff did not drop off. Now, he said, he's never been through anything like this. And I know fans will remember he had the neck issue in the twenty nineteen World Series, had to miss the start, came back from that and did make start and pitched well. Last year he had oblique issues came off of that, But he said the difference here is that those issues were not related to his arm. This began as forearm tightness and it turned out to be a muscle that's kind of near the armpit area underneath the arm that wasn't allowing him to get extended. He felt cut off. So he goes on the IL and he was expected to miss five weeks basically what he has done, and that sim game was about sixty eight sixty nine pitches. Joe, I think that's all he's got tonight. I think seventy five is the max. I think for Bruce Bochi. To me, the question is do you allow him to pitch out of a second jam in that game. I don't think he's pitching New Jordan Alvarez a third time. I don't think he's going that far in the game. It's probably about an eighteen batter max for Max Scherzer, and Bouchie will have his long relievers Andrew Heeney, Dane Dunning, Bradford, those guys will all have their spikes out of the first inning ready to go, and then after the game is played, he'll worry about Game four, which is a piggyback game for Bruce Boccie. So that's the game plan for the Rangers going in. I'm with you, Joe, I'm not sure what Max Schurzer is going to be able to do. You trust the heart, you trust the experience. He's going to compete, we all know that. But in terms of command after being out for that long, I don't know. I don't think anybody knows. But the signs are good. As far as his health, I don't think he's limited and what he can throw velocity wise, you know, pitch wise, I think he's full go. As you know, Joe, though you get in these situation with so much rest. The first thing I would look for in the first inning is command, no question.

Back good points, and we need to dive a little more into that. It's fascinating. I'm not sure if I can recall the last time a pitcher went out there to start an ELCS game on thirty six days of rest, but we'll talk about that after we take a quick break. Welcome back to the LCS edition of the Book of Joe Podcasts, and Game three is Max Schurz are on the mound for the Texas Rangers and Joe. I spoke with Max yesterday. He did throw a simulated game and all the signs were good. For what that's worth, now, you know it's not you know, you can't simulate the energy and adrenaline of a game, but he went out there, he threw four innings, felt so good that he's told Boche, I want to throw another one. And what Max said was the best part about that day. And he felt good throughout it. But he said in the fifth inning his stuff held. It was the same stuff he had when he started out there, so his stuff did not drop off. Now, he said, he's never been through anything like this. And I know fans will remember he had the neck issue in the twenty nineteen World Series, had to miss the start, came back from that and did make start and pitched well. Last year he had oblique issues came off of that, But he said the difference here is that those issues were not related to his arm. This began as forearm tightness and it turned out to be a muscle that's kind of near the armpit area underneath the arm that wasn't allowing him to get extended. He felt cut off. So he goes on the IL and he was expected to miss five weeks basically what he has done, and that sim game was about sixty eight sixty nine pitches. Joe, I think that's all he's got tonight. I think seventy five is the max. I think for Bruce Bochi. To me, the question is do you allow him to pitch out of a second jam in that game. I don't think he's pitching New Jordan Alvarez a third time. I don't think he's going that far in the game. It's probably about an eighteen batter max for Max Scherzer, and Bouchie will have his long relievers Andrew Heeney, Dane Dunning, Bradford, those guys will all have their spikes out of the first inning ready to go, and then after the game is played, he'll worry about Game four, which is a piggyback game for Bruce Boccie. So that's the game plan for the Rangers going in. I'm with you, Joe, I'm not sure what Max Schurzer is going to be able to do. You trust the heart, you trust the experience. He's going to compete, we all know that. But in terms of command after being out for that long, I don't know. I don't think anybody knows. But the signs are good. As far as his health, I don't think he's limited and what he can throw velocity wise, you know, pitch wise, I think he's full go. As you know, Joe, though you get in these situation with so much rest. The first thing I would look for in the first inning is command, no question.

And I also believe Houston's going to be ready to attack early. They want to set a tone in this game. I know you talked about the bunt without two bad that's possible, but up and down that lineup. But it's not like they're going to go out there to try to work account with them because they know he's going to be limited regardless. It's more like ups and downs as a post number of pitches thrown with him, So they're gonna be looking at one spot. They're gonna have their game plan working, and if it doesn't have that normal carry on the ball like he had he normally has, Houston's going to come out hit some balls pretty well. I think number two you talked about it. I even say the second time three, you got to be very careful. It depends on the obviously, what the game looks like, how it's been playing out, how Texas has been doing against their pitching. But I would line it up for the second time through making sure that the bullpens alert left hand left on left when you start a right hander, I always look for a left hander to take left handed hitter to take my pitcher out, So you're looking at the lefties, So that would be what the third hitter up is That.

And I also believe Houston's going to be ready to attack early. They want to set a tone in this game. I know you talked about the bunt without two bad that's possible, but up and down that lineup. But it's not like they're going to go out there to try to work account with them because they know he's going to be limited regardless. It's more like ups and downs as a post number of pitches thrown with him, So they're gonna be looking at one spot. They're gonna have their game plan working, and if it doesn't have that normal carry on the ball like he had he normally has, Houston's going to come out hit some balls pretty well. I think number two you talked about it. I even say the second time three, you got to be very careful. It depends on the obviously, what the game looks like, how it's been playing out, how Texas has been doing against their pitching. But I would line it up for the second time through making sure that the bullpens alert left hand left on left when you start a right hander, I always look for a left hander to take left handed hitter to take my pitcher out, So you're looking at the lefties, So that would be what the third hitter up is That.

Normally probably Hani or Bradford, probably, but I think it's probably HAINI Yeah, you're right.

Normally probably Hani or Bradford, probably, but I think it's probably HAINI Yeah, you're right.

I agree, But that would be even the second time round. He's got to be aware of that. And of course the first time through is going to tell him a lot. But even if he goes like go through one through nine relatively well, I still doesn't make me relax that second time too, and especially with the lefties. And having said that, Tucker and Aubridge don't care you're left handed, and after they kind of like it. So it's a tough call, but you have to be, like you're saying, all hands on deck at that point.

I agree, But that would be even the second time round. He's got to be aware of that. And of course the first time through is going to tell him a lot. But even if he goes like go through one through nine relatively well, I still doesn't make me relax that second time too, and especially with the lefties. And having said that, Tucker and Aubridge don't care you're left handed, and after they kind of like it. So it's a tough call, but you have to be, like you're saying, all hands on deck at that point.

You know, Joe, in the past episode, I recall you talking about the two thousand and two Angel staff coaching staff, and obviously Mike Soci was the manager, but you know, Buddy Black and you and Ron Rennicky and ALFREDI Griffin a lot of experience. It was the cradle of managers future managers on that staff. I look at the Texas Rangers staff, and let me tell you, folks, they're having an impact on this series. You know Tim Hyers, the hitting coach. Will Venable is their outfield and bench coach. By the way, as you know, Joe, most teams go into Minute May Park at Houston and the analytics tell them to guard the gap and left field because that's the open area. That Rangers didn't do that. They made two spectacular plays defensively. They held a run around second on a two out base hit because they were playing where the guys hit and not playing to the ballpark that was on Will Vettable. And then you got to go to Mike Maddox, the pitching coach. This is his twenty first year as a pitching coach in Major League Baseball, and Bruce Bochi said it after Game one, the guy is a master at game planning. So let me take you inside what the Rangers are doing to the Houston Astros. Because the Astros were the best hitting team in the American League this year against fastballs. They hit two seventy nine. They're hitting one sixty in the ALCS against fastballs. And it's not because the Rangers are throwing more of them. They're throwing fewer of them. Their pitch mix has been just outstanding. They're moving the ball in and out, up and down and changing velocity. They're also taking the very aggressive Houston hitters, the most aggressive hitters and starting them as if the counts O two with breaking stuff and they're they're speeding them up, slowing them down. It's just been a master plan of pitch mixing. And I'll give you the numbers here in the regular season, the Rangers through about forty six percent fastballs, not including cutters. Here, four seamers, two seamers, forty six percent in the regular season, forty six percent in the wildcard, fifty one percent in the alds, and here in the ALCS they're down to thirty eight percent fastballs. So the Valdi Montgomery they were just master classes of mixing pitches, keeping the astros off balance. You are going to see the same thing for Max schurz Are in Game three. It's not like here's my fastball, try to hit it. It's hiding those fastballs by moving the ball around, especially changing speeds. Uh and schures. If he's right, you're gonna see ninety three, maybe in ninety four. If he's not, you're gonna see ninety two, so keep an eye on that. But I just love the game planning now that's being done by the Rangers against the Astros. The Astros are going to hit, but they better start hitting tonight because right now, just the way the Rangers have game planned against them, it's got Texas's way.

You know, Joe, in the past episode, I recall you talking about the two thousand and two Angel staff coaching staff, and obviously Mike Soci was the manager, but you know, Buddy Black and you and Ron Rennicky and ALFREDI Griffin a lot of experience. It was the cradle of managers future managers on that staff. I look at the Texas Rangers staff, and let me tell you, folks, they're having an impact on this series. You know Tim Hyers, the hitting coach. Will Venable is their outfield and bench coach. By the way, as you know, Joe, most teams go into Minute May Park at Houston and the analytics tell them to guard the gap and left field because that's the open area. That Rangers didn't do that. They made two spectacular plays defensively. They held a run around second on a two out base hit because they were playing where the guys hit and not playing to the ballpark that was on Will Vettable. And then you got to go to Mike Maddox, the pitching coach. This is his twenty first year as a pitching coach in Major League Baseball, and Bruce Bochi said it after Game one, the guy is a master at game planning. So let me take you inside what the Rangers are doing to the Houston Astros. Because the Astros were the best hitting team in the American League this year against fastballs. They hit two seventy nine. They're hitting one sixty in the ALCS against fastballs. And it's not because the Rangers are throwing more of them. They're throwing fewer of them. Their pitch mix has been just outstanding. They're moving the ball in and out, up and down and changing velocity. They're also taking the very aggressive Houston hitters, the most aggressive hitters and starting them as if the counts O two with breaking stuff and they're they're speeding them up, slowing them down. It's just been a master plan of pitch mixing. And I'll give you the numbers here in the regular season, the Rangers through about forty six percent fastballs, not including cutters. Here, four seamers, two seamers, forty six percent in the regular season, forty six percent in the wildcard, fifty one percent in the alds, and here in the ALCS they're down to thirty eight percent fastballs. So the Valdi Montgomery they were just master classes of mixing pitches, keeping the astros off balance. You are going to see the same thing for Max schurz Are in Game three. It's not like here's my fastball, try to hit it. It's hiding those fastballs by moving the ball around, especially changing speeds. Uh and schures. If he's right, you're gonna see ninety three, maybe in ninety four. If he's not, you're gonna see ninety two, so keep an eye on that. But I just love the game planning now that's being done by the Rangers against the Astros. The Astros are going to hit, but they better start hitting tonight because right now, just the way the Rangers have game planned against them, it's got Texas's way.

Well, you had, like you just mentioned in Montgomery and Niovaldi. I mean, both of them really have really good other pitches. I love the way Montgomery pitches. I do. I love like we were talking like earlier in the year when they when they acquired him. I really thought that was a wonderful acquisition. I think the guy's been undervalue to this point. The change up down and the way the fastball in break the ball in the plate. I mean, he does so many things well, and he's he's a he's got I've compared to him basically catch Tommy John and Jeff's on in spring trainings, and these guys didn't throw that hard, but they never threw the ball where you can hit it. I mean I would never was never permitted by either one of these guys to sit on the plate at all. It was never over the white, not even over the black. It was always like a little bit outside of the black on both sides, and they had hit the glove all day long. I watched Montgomery pitch, and he's a better, more physical version of that because he knows exactly what he's doing and he knows exactly where he wants to go, and I mean he's in a groove right now, so he could pitch under the zone and off the sides, and he knows how to elevate too when he wants to, so he is He's been awesome, and then you have all the the split dangerous, I mean nasty. He got good breaking ball too, and this guy, they're both highly competitive people looks like but they know what they're doing. They know how to pitch canalyizingly off the edges, making a strike ball kind of a pitch, and they're really good at that. And that's I think that's that's the secret sauce to their success. And when you break it down as a pitching coach or a game planner, it's one thing to break it down, but it's another thing to have guys actually be able to go out there and execute. I know Maddox is very good at the sided guy named Mike Borzello. We had him on earlier in the season. Borzy I used to see. I used to say, team's got Borsello tonight. I sit on this with him on the bench during any games and we're talking as our guy's pitching, and I would say, how about this right here? How about that? Right they either you would agree, they say no, no, no, this guy is really this hitter is very good and making adjustment to this pitch in the situation we're doing this that almost hundred percent of the time he was right. I like the game planning. I like game planning by pitching coaches or a guy like Borzi, and I like that communication with them and the catchers. And I think Montgomery Valdi, Johnny Lester, Mike, you've seen it with the Boorzi in the past. The confidence derived from the communication with an experienced coach like that to the player, I think weaves into the fabric of that guy to the point even more confidence than any other way.

Well, you had, like you just mentioned in Montgomery and Niovaldi. I mean, both of them really have really good other pitches. I love the way Montgomery pitches. I do. I love like we were talking like earlier in the year when they when they acquired him. I really thought that was a wonderful acquisition. I think the guy's been undervalue to this point. The change up down and the way the fastball in break the ball in the plate. I mean, he does so many things well, and he's he's a he's got I've compared to him basically catch Tommy John and Jeff's on in spring trainings, and these guys didn't throw that hard, but they never threw the ball where you can hit it. I mean I would never was never permitted by either one of these guys to sit on the plate at all. It was never over the white, not even over the black. It was always like a little bit outside of the black on both sides, and they had hit the glove all day long. I watched Montgomery pitch, and he's a better, more physical version of that because he knows exactly what he's doing and he knows exactly where he wants to go, and I mean he's in a groove right now, so he could pitch under the zone and off the sides, and he knows how to elevate too when he wants to, so he is He's been awesome, and then you have all the the split dangerous, I mean nasty. He got good breaking ball too, and this guy, they're both highly competitive people looks like but they know what they're doing. They know how to pitch canalyizingly off the edges, making a strike ball kind of a pitch, and they're really good at that. And that's I think that's that's the secret sauce to their success. And when you break it down as a pitching coach or a game planner, it's one thing to break it down, but it's another thing to have guys actually be able to go out there and execute. I know Maddox is very good at the sided guy named Mike Borzello. We had him on earlier in the season. Borzy I used to see. I used to say, team's got Borsello tonight. I sit on this with him on the bench during any games and we're talking as our guy's pitching, and I would say, how about this right here? How about that? Right they either you would agree, they say no, no, no, this guy is really this hitter is very good and making adjustment to this pitch in the situation we're doing this that almost hundred percent of the time he was right. I like the game planning. I like game planning by pitching coaches or a guy like Borzi, and I like that communication with them and the catchers. And I think Montgomery Valdi, Johnny Lester, Mike, you've seen it with the Boorzi in the past. The confidence derived from the communication with an experienced coach like that to the player, I think weaves into the fabric of that guy to the point even more confidence than any other way.

Now on the Houston side, you've got Christian Javier on the mound, and boy, he's been throwing the ball really well. Right now. They call him El Reptile because he's just so cold blooded on the mound. You won't get any emotions from him, whether it's things are going greater things are going poorly. He's made three postseason starts. His last appearances in the postseason are three starts. He is allowed in those three starts two hits and no runs combined. He's the only pitcher in baseball history with three postseason starts allowing one or no hits. And it's all about his fastball. It's got some of the craziest induced vertical vert in the game, which means it basically doesn't drop, it holds its play at the top of the zone. Here's a number for you. His last one hundred and forty fastballs in the postseason zero hits. He's faced sixty one batters and given up two hits. So I think they got a good guy in the mound. If you talk about a must win situation, you're on the road. This guy's got playoff experience. He's cold blooded. So I like that for the Houston Astros. But to me, Joe the key in this game and going forward. He mentioned it Kyle Tucker. The Astros have to get this guy going. I mean, he's basically a thirty to thirty player. As you said, he's really good against left handed pitching, doesn't bother him at all. But he's been in a funk. I know it's only eight at backs, but when I checked the pitches to him, he's been getting pitches. They've been keeping the ball down away from him but in the zone, and he's been pulling off them. You've seen a lot of ground balls to second base pop ups. And it was interesting at the workout yesterday. I was talking to Alex Centro on to the Astros, the hitting coach, and he said, yeah, he's just he's opening up a little too soon. They looked at the tape and I've looked at it as well, and his setup actually changed a little bit. And you know, Joe sometimes as a hitter, you don't even realize it. He's a closed hitter. You know, he actually starts closed and finished close. The Astros have a lot of those, chas McCormick, your Don Alvarez, josel Tuobit, Mauricio debonnd. They have a lot of old school closed hitters. Tucker is one of those guys. But in this series, while opening up too early, he's actually been neutral with his feet in the box, so they got him back to more closes set up, and obviously he likes to keep it closed on the stride as well, and he should stay on the ball longer. So it's a very slight mechanic change. We're not talking about a big difference in the setup of the feet. But Joe, as you know, the setup, it's kind of like in golf, right he addressed the ball that starts everything in motion. You have a bad setup, you're gonna have a bad pass of the baseball. But either way, I think Kyle Tucker is the key for the Houston Astros. He's just too good to still not be a factor in this series.

Now on the Houston side, you've got Christian Javier on the mound, and boy, he's been throwing the ball really well. Right now. They call him El Reptile because he's just so cold blooded on the mound. You won't get any emotions from him, whether it's things are going greater things are going poorly. He's made three postseason starts. His last appearances in the postseason are three starts. He is allowed in those three starts two hits and no runs combined. He's the only pitcher in baseball history with three postseason starts allowing one or no hits. And it's all about his fastball. It's got some of the craziest induced vertical vert in the game, which means it basically doesn't drop, it holds its play at the top of the zone. Here's a number for you. His last one hundred and forty fastballs in the postseason zero hits. He's faced sixty one batters and given up two hits. So I think they got a good guy in the mound. If you talk about a must win situation, you're on the road. This guy's got playoff experience. He's cold blooded. So I like that for the Houston Astros. But to me, Joe the key in this game and going forward. He mentioned it Kyle Tucker. The Astros have to get this guy going. I mean, he's basically a thirty to thirty player. As you said, he's really good against left handed pitching, doesn't bother him at all. But he's been in a funk. I know it's only eight at backs, but when I checked the pitches to him, he's been getting pitches. They've been keeping the ball down away from him but in the zone, and he's been pulling off them. You've seen a lot of ground balls to second base pop ups. And it was interesting at the workout yesterday. I was talking to Alex Centro on to the Astros, the hitting coach, and he said, yeah, he's just he's opening up a little too soon. They looked at the tape and I've looked at it as well, and his setup actually changed a little bit. And you know, Joe sometimes as a hitter, you don't even realize it. He's a closed hitter. You know, he actually starts closed and finished close. The Astros have a lot of those, chas McCormick, your Don Alvarez, josel Tuobit, Mauricio debonnd. They have a lot of old school closed hitters. Tucker is one of those guys. But in this series, while opening up too early, he's actually been neutral with his feet in the box, so they got him back to more closes set up, and obviously he likes to keep it closed on the stride as well, and he should stay on the ball longer. So it's a very slight mechanic change. We're not talking about a big difference in the setup of the feet. But Joe, as you know, the setup, it's kind of like in golf, right he addressed the ball that starts everything in motion. You have a bad setup, you're gonna have a bad pass of the baseball. But either way, I think Kyle Tucker is the key for the Houston Astros. He's just too good to still not be a factor in this series.

No, I really love this guy. First of all, Javier will come back to Tucker. But Javier, first time I saw me, dang. I mean watching it from the sidelines, and we're doing nothing against this guy. Like you said, you look at the gun. It's ninety two, sometimes ninety three, but there's crickets. Man, there's not even any hard contact and correct, I mean the ball stays at the top of the zone and it doesn't wander at all, and that really deceptively from the hitter's perspective. You've fed the force yourself pretty much. Bob Clear used to tell them you got to reverse your elbows. Friend, elbow comes down, bat it comes over the top. He got that from Kenny Myers back in the sixties and the seventies. But you got to do that to get on top of that pitch, otherwise you got no chance. Got a decent break the ball too. And that's why you know, when I first saw Hobbyer, I thought he's really good against left He's also because normally, you know, elevated fastball, elevated fastball in on a LEFTI that cuts a little bit can be very, very difficult. So I know he was a little bit of a funk this year, but it seems like he likes this time of the year. I'm a big fan. I've only seen this guy pitch well. So if I'm watching on TV tonight, I promise he's going to pitch well and the other guy tucker right. The closed stance. You know the thing about the close stance that as a hitting coach, I'd be very alert to that. Sometimes when a guy gets too closed, his front foot gets in the way of his hands and his backside, his backside can't come through and then his hands get blocked and all of a sudden, you're not getting the bathead out where you want to out front, and you get kind of a push opposite field swing. I think most of the time, when a guy really wants to be closed, you got to get off the plate and kind of like what you're trying to do is let the ball get deeper and force it back over the place somewhat, and then you should your site should be like for a left hand hitter, his his right field foul pole should be right center, and for a right hand hitter, his foul pole should be left center. In other words, you don't want to really just go ahead and try to pull the ball. You should. You should. You're working inside the ball from a closed stance, you're gonna pull, and that should be probably on something soft breaking ball strike, that's the one that's going to get more pull from left center or right center to the pole. But if it's hard, if it's if it's a hard pitch, like Tucker should be working from right center to the left field corner. That would be the optimal situation for him. I would bet that that's what they've talked about. That's where he needs to be focused physically and mentally, and so heads up. I mean, if you see in early at bat where this guy does stay closed and all of a sudden the ball gets it, even if it's it out, it doesn't matter. If he just gets the browl to the ball and it's right center to left centered gap, you know he's probably getting back on track. So these are the things that I used to look at. I mean, it was this close stance, like you said, whether it was George Hendrix or Dico danny Ford, there was a lot of guys back then that would work for a more close stance as opposed to something more conventional or will amaze like there's other guys that are more open. But it's it's all preferential. It's what you what you do with that front side and how you get it down, where you are on the plate too close or or far off the plate, All that stuff matters. I mean, that's the thing that I look at, the adjustments I try to make with my guys. First, even if I didn't like their stance and I thought there was issues, I would ask them to move in the batter's box first. Maintain everything you're doing, Just move your feet around, get off the plate more with your back foot, get closer to the plate, and all the adjustment should be made with the backfoot first. That's where the adjustments are made closer or farther away from the in the batter's boxes. But your back foot and because what you're where your backfoot is dictates where your front foot goes. And some you know you don't want it so close to the plate your front foot that all of a sudden you get jammed even more. Backfoot is the is the real intelligent foot. The front foot's just going on for the ride. So that's those are the kind of things that I would really pay attention to. So now as you told me all this, I'm going to be curious and I watching what he does. That's where that first line drive goes for Tucker.

No, I really love this guy. First of all, Javier will come back to Tucker. But Javier, first time I saw me, dang. I mean watching it from the sidelines, and we're doing nothing against this guy. Like you said, you look at the gun. It's ninety two, sometimes ninety three, but there's crickets. Man, there's not even any hard contact and correct, I mean the ball stays at the top of the zone and it doesn't wander at all, and that really deceptively from the hitter's perspective. You've fed the force yourself pretty much. Bob Clear used to tell them you got to reverse your elbows. Friend, elbow comes down, bat it comes over the top. He got that from Kenny Myers back in the sixties and the seventies. But you got to do that to get on top of that pitch, otherwise you got no chance. Got a decent break the ball too. And that's why you know, when I first saw Hobbyer, I thought he's really good against left He's also because normally, you know, elevated fastball, elevated fastball in on a LEFTI that cuts a little bit can be very, very difficult. So I know he was a little bit of a funk this year, but it seems like he likes this time of the year. I'm a big fan. I've only seen this guy pitch well. So if I'm watching on TV tonight, I promise he's going to pitch well and the other guy tucker right. The closed stance. You know the thing about the close stance that as a hitting coach, I'd be very alert to that. Sometimes when a guy gets too closed, his front foot gets in the way of his hands and his backside, his backside can't come through and then his hands get blocked and all of a sudden, you're not getting the bathead out where you want to out front, and you get kind of a push opposite field swing. I think most of the time, when a guy really wants to be closed, you got to get off the plate and kind of like what you're trying to do is let the ball get deeper and force it back over the place somewhat, and then you should your site should be like for a left hand hitter, his his right field foul pole should be right center, and for a right hand hitter, his foul pole should be left center. In other words, you don't want to really just go ahead and try to pull the ball. You should. You should. You're working inside the ball from a closed stance, you're gonna pull, and that should be probably on something soft breaking ball strike, that's the one that's going to get more pull from left center or right center to the pole. But if it's hard, if it's if it's a hard pitch, like Tucker should be working from right center to the left field corner. That would be the optimal situation for him. I would bet that that's what they've talked about. That's where he needs to be focused physically and mentally, and so heads up. I mean, if you see in early at bat where this guy does stay closed and all of a sudden the ball gets it, even if it's it out, it doesn't matter. If he just gets the browl to the ball and it's right center to left centered gap, you know he's probably getting back on track. So these are the things that I used to look at. I mean, it was this close stance, like you said, whether it was George Hendrix or Dico danny Ford, there was a lot of guys back then that would work for a more close stance as opposed to something more conventional or will amaze like there's other guys that are more open. But it's it's all preferential. It's what you what you do with that front side and how you get it down, where you are on the plate too close or or far off the plate, All that stuff matters. I mean, that's the thing that I look at, the adjustments I try to make with my guys. First, even if I didn't like their stance and I thought there was issues, I would ask them to move in the batter's box first. Maintain everything you're doing, Just move your feet around, get off the plate more with your back foot, get closer to the plate, and all the adjustment should be made with the backfoot first. That's where the adjustments are made closer or farther away from the in the batter's boxes. But your back foot and because what you're where your backfoot is dictates where your front foot goes. And some you know you don't want it so close to the plate your front foot that all of a sudden you get jammed even more. Backfoot is the is the real intelligent foot. The front foot's just going on for the ride. So that's those are the kind of things that I would really pay attention to. So now as you told me all this, I'm going to be curious and I watching what he does. That's where that first line drive goes for Tucker.

Yeah, at one more point on the Astros facing Surezer keep this in mind. In his career, Max shrs er, his walk rate in the postseason is forty two percent higher than it is in the regular season. In other words, he just is not going to give in, and he'll also try to get you to get yourself out. So and this is these are numbers based on what Max had a little higher velocity, you know, at ninety five, So keep an eye on that. You know, the change up is so good, the slider is so good, they generally wind up a little bit out of the strike zone. I think it's being imperative for Houston to not chase. I mean, that's obvious in any case, but I mean even to throw up a couple of walks early in this game and feel good about that, and letting Max Scherzer know that he may have to come into the strike zone to get them out, because in the postseason he does not give in, even more so than in the regular season. One more point, Joe on this ELCS Bruce Bocci. You've managed against him in the postseason the regular season. It's amazing. I'll give you some numbers on Bruce Bochie what he's been doing here since twenty ten. His winning percentage in the postseason since twenty ten is seven, seventeen, forty three and seventeen. He's been in fourteen previous postseason series and won thirteen to them, taking out twelve different teams. He does not lose big games late. This really stands out for me. In his past sixty postseason games. His bullpen has been beaten three times. His bullpen is sixteen and three in his past sixty postseason games. That's just remarkable to me. And I know you're a team that took him out in twenty sixteen in the NLDS when he was with the Giants. But if you're waiting for Bruce Bochi to make a mistake late in the game and you did beat his bullpen in the clinching game, it's just not going to happen. The guy he runs a clean game.

Yeah, at one more point on the Astros facing Surezer keep this in mind. In his career, Max shrs er, his walk rate in the postseason is forty two percent higher than it is in the regular season. In other words, he just is not going to give in, and he'll also try to get you to get yourself out. So and this is these are numbers based on what Max had a little higher velocity, you know, at ninety five, So keep an eye on that. You know, the change up is so good, the slider is so good, they generally wind up a little bit out of the strike zone. I think it's being imperative for Houston to not chase. I mean, that's obvious in any case, but I mean even to throw up a couple of walks early in this game and feel good about that, and letting Max Scherzer know that he may have to come into the strike zone to get them out, because in the postseason he does not give in, even more so than in the regular season. One more point, Joe on this ELCS Bruce Bocci. You've managed against him in the postseason the regular season. It's amazing. I'll give you some numbers on Bruce Bochie what he's been doing here since twenty ten. His winning percentage in the postseason since twenty ten is seven, seventeen, forty three and seventeen. He's been in fourteen previous postseason series and won thirteen to them, taking out twelve different teams. He does not lose big games late. This really stands out for me. In his past sixty postseason games. His bullpen has been beaten three times. His bullpen is sixteen and three in his past sixty postseason games. That's just remarkable to me. And I know you're a team that took him out in twenty sixteen in the NLDS when he was with the Giants. But if you're waiting for Bruce Bochi to make a mistake late in the game and you did beat his bullpen in the clinching game, it's just not going to happen. The guy he runs a clean game.

Yeah, you got to. You got to stay ahead of everything. And that's what we were kind of doing that game in Game four versus them in San Francisco, was sending pinchitters up there knowing what he was going to do, and having a pinchitter to pinch it for the pinch hitter, which we did with Addis Coughlin to that was it. We eventually ended up with the contraras at the plate. But you have to have all.

Yeah, you got to. You got to stay ahead of everything. And that's what we were kind of doing that game in Game four versus them in San Francisco, was sending pinchitters up there knowing what he was going to do, and having a pinchitter to pinch it for the pinch hitter, which we did with Addis Coughlin to that was it. We eventually ended up with the contraras at the plate. But you have to have all.

This, Can I stop you right there?

This, Can I stop you right there?

Ya?

Ya?

That is a great point. How many guys did you have on your bench back then in a postseason game?

That is a great point. How many guys did you have on your bench back then in a postseason game?

Jeez, I don't remember, brother.

Jeez, I don't remember, brother.

He probably had more than four, though, is what these.

He probably had more than four, though, is what these.

Teams had to yeah, exactly right, right right, because you can't do all that maneuvering if you.

Teams had to yeah, exactly right, right right, because you can't do all that maneuvering if you.

Don't exactly the other day, I think you alluded to this. Dusty Baker had the base of loaded. It is and it probably will be the key point in this entire series. This is where the American League Pennant probably was decided fifth any is Nathan Evaldi basis loaded? Nobody out? Yeah, it was Maldonado do up and Dusty sent the kid, Yiner Diaz up to pinch hit. I get it. That's the move, right. You want a better offensive stick in there, you got to move to baseball. The only problem is, Dusty's got a four man bench. So you just mentioned about what you could do where you could hit for the pinch hitter or make a two man move. Dusty felt like he couldn't do that that early in the games, and so in other words, he had John Singleton, a left handed hitter on his bench. And if you use Singleton, obviously Diaz has to come into the game and catch. That's a two man move in the fifth inning. Now you're down the two players on your bench. It's a little dicey for a manager. As you know, when you're only in the fifth inning, Joe, So he sent Diaz up to the plate. Now, if you've been watching Houston in the postseason, Diaz hasn't played much. He got to start against Minnesota. Every bat that he's had has not been in quality of beat. I mean, he's a young kid. He's going to be a great hitter. He likes to chase, there's no question about that, and in this environment his chase rates up even more of Valdi knew that took advantage of it. Took him out on a curve ball that wasn't even close to the strike zone. Not being able to move the baseball right there, huge point in the game. I mean, Ivaldi then gets out of the inning with he gets all two base struck him out and then got breakman on the ground ball. But they were limited because like most teams, even with a twenty six man roster, there's just four players on the bench. And it'd be interesting if Dusty gets in that situation again, if he does trust Singleton, because I've seen enough of these dias at bats to know the game's getting a little fast on him. So you look at regular season numbers and you say that man. This kid can hit, and he will hit. Don't get me wrong. This kid guy's gonna be a really good catcher, really good hitter. But in this environment you may have to trust the left handed hitter, even though Singleton hasn't played for a couple of weeks now. So I like what you're saying about hitting for your hitter and the two man moves sometimes you make. But with a four man bench man, it's tough to do.

Don't exactly the other day, I think you alluded to this. Dusty Baker had the base of loaded. It is and it probably will be the key point in this entire series. This is where the American League Pennant probably was decided fifth any is Nathan Evaldi basis loaded? Nobody out? Yeah, it was Maldonado do up and Dusty sent the kid, Yiner Diaz up to pinch hit. I get it. That's the move, right. You want a better offensive stick in there, you got to move to baseball. The only problem is, Dusty's got a four man bench. So you just mentioned about what you could do where you could hit for the pinch hitter or make a two man move. Dusty felt like he couldn't do that that early in the games, and so in other words, he had John Singleton, a left handed hitter on his bench. And if you use Singleton, obviously Diaz has to come into the game and catch. That's a two man move in the fifth inning. Now you're down the two players on your bench. It's a little dicey for a manager. As you know, when you're only in the fifth inning, Joe, So he sent Diaz up to the plate. Now, if you've been watching Houston in the postseason, Diaz hasn't played much. He got to start against Minnesota. Every bat that he's had has not been in quality of beat. I mean, he's a young kid. He's going to be a great hitter. He likes to chase, there's no question about that, and in this environment his chase rates up even more of Valdi knew that took advantage of it. Took him out on a curve ball that wasn't even close to the strike zone. Not being able to move the baseball right there, huge point in the game. I mean, Ivaldi then gets out of the inning with he gets all two base struck him out and then got breakman on the ground ball. But they were limited because like most teams, even with a twenty six man roster, there's just four players on the bench. And it'd be interesting if Dusty gets in that situation again, if he does trust Singleton, because I've seen enough of these dias at bats to know the game's getting a little fast on him. So you look at regular season numbers and you say that man. This kid can hit, and he will hit. Don't get me wrong. This kid guy's gonna be a really good catcher, really good hitter. But in this environment you may have to trust the left handed hitter, even though Singleton hasn't played for a couple of weeks now. So I like what you're saying about hitting for your hitter and the two man moves sometimes you make. But with a four man bench man, it's tough to do.

It is tough to do. But again, you have to understand that that happened in the fifth any correct, you're saying fifth Inny, Yes, so that but that could be the seminal moment. You can't know. There's no guarantee you're gonna be set up in a latter part of the game, whereas you're gonna want at that particular juncture. Again, Plus you know what's if you were to hit from Aldonado period, this the other catcher, he's gonna have to hit later in the game too, So there's there's like you said, there's limited things to do with But when you get to that seminal moment, man, sometimes you got to just throw caution to the wind and and go ahead to the left end and put your last, your last player catcher in that particular spot, knowing that you're gonna have to let him hit in the latter part of the game against uh, you know the better relief pictures of the Texas Rangers.