Surviving Cubs dark days + 2016 World Series comeback w/ Travis Wood & Mike Borzello | Ross & Rizzo

All right, welcome back to another episode of the Lovable
Reunion podcasts. We have two very special guests today with
Travis Wood and Mike Borzia. They were massive parts of
our success in twenty sixteen and cannot wait to get
into it with them.
The reason why this is special is there are certain
groups within the team that talkball pitching. Mike was our
strategist for game calling, ran the catchers, very important coach
for me, and a lot of back and forth in
conversations would he obviously being a pitcher and a part
time left fielder, and absolutely Rakes as a pitcher. This
was kind of our group and these guys together are
probably some of the most entertaining, knowledgeable and been around
the coast for a long time with Riz for some
dark days before the light hit. So's welcome these two
to the podcast. Yeah, guys, what let's have.
Let's talk about because us three are really the only
three from that team in sixteen that fucking went through
the dog days here we dunk right.
What weird about that is every spring we would go
through spring, but we're not gonna be as bad as
everybody thinks, Like we actually got a squad and then
it was awful.
I remember one of my first spring trainings, Dale Swam,
great manager, great person, great baseball mind, promised us in
twenty twelve, I promise you you're gonna win sixty games,
and you're gonna lose sixty games, And it's those other
twenty that are the difference makers, right yep or thirty whatever,
it is thirty two and we lost one hundred plus
games after one. And I remember saying, Dall, you lied
to us in screen training.
We lost awful in twelve and ninety nine and thirteen
were total of two hundred woo combined years.
We lost one hundred year we had When we got
my first spring training in Chicago, we were rolling out
baseballs in a shopping yes, and I go to Otis
Rec and pees Otis Hellman was the greatest clubhouse manager
in the world, And I go, Otis, I go, can
we get regular buckets for PP because that's the way
we always done it? And I go, well, we had
these fucking one around here in one hundred years, maybe
we should switch something up.
We had shopping cars, we had trumping carts market down
the streets. And then do you remember apparently we threw
too many baseballs in the stands, all.
Were yelling at us.
Yeah, the yonis started or just started keeping all the
scuff one he used to get rid of him.
He started keeping all the.
Scuff ones and pushed a new shopping card out to
the outfield for us to throw in there.
He's like, y'all, if y'all want to throw them, throw these.
It was it was low classes.
When do you guys think for us the organization shifted
because we were I mean, we went through so many
trade dons were selling man.
I would have to say it shifted at some point
in fourteen because what we lost one hundred and one,
we lost ninety nine, and then what we won seventy
something games in fourteen?
Yeah, we did, so we were on the up.
Is that the your theo got there, No steel got
there until yeah, we were all the.
Yeah, I kind of gutted it right. Yeah, he had
a plan and he got it plan.
It just wasn't we're not gonna go after it yet.
We're gonna see where we're at. We're gonna throw a
few filler spots in here and see see what sticks.
And then fourteen we actually won seventy something games and
then but we still got rid of the manager.
But that's when Joe came available, and the.
Moment we brought Leicester in, well yeah, and then you
came and then lacking right right right, and then big
holes field like KB came up and filled a big
void and dominated Schwarber.
I remember playing you guys in fourteen went the Red
Sox and are Hat almost to a no hitter, and
I played that game. He threw me a front door
or cutter at like ninety three, and I'm like, I've
never seen that, right, you know what I mean? So
that was part of my free agent thinking was like
there were they've already got a number one AREAA was nasty.
Some trades right where you started to get excited. That
one was a huge one where you're trading.
Three Feldman, Scott Feldman, Scott Feldman, Clevenger.
Clevenger's for stroke a.
Deal.
Wow, these guys show up. And I remember the phone
call from THEO and he's like, hey, we made a deal.
We moved Feldman and I said okay, and he goes.
Cleve had to go.
I said okay, and he goes.
We got Arieta, who didn't live up to his potential.
He goes, everyone has always liked this guy, but it
just never happened. And he had as and then strop
E goes and Strophie who can't throw strikes. So we'll
see to guys that just haven't really ever reached their
potential and then boy, did they reach their potential exactly can.
It's a lot of credit.
Yeah, like.
The mechanics correct. He knew how to fix you on
the side, knew how to fix you on the side.
I wouldn't take as as much as I would take
any pitching coach when it came to those things.
If he mechanics, if.
Bos got to see you when you were dialed in
the moment it got off, he saw Boss could see it,
he'd be like, hey, this is what you're doing.
And the best part about Bozzio too is he was
his own party of one character. He was at it
was he was. He was part of the dynamic of
this team that like, if we didn't have him, we
don't win. And we say that every single guy, and it's.
He was the bully that kept everybody honest.
Respected though he respected the hell out of them, loved them.
Remember when he started a pitching meeting without me there
in my first year. I remember I was the players
I've never been. I came at him because he was
about to have my back and I was hitting or something,
and everybody's we're screaming ready for a game, and left me.
And him were face to face so angry, and he plays.
But that's what I explained that story.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, please please. That's why I brought it
up for you to tell the story.
So before a series, you go and you have a
meeting with the entire pitching staff, starters and relievers and
catchers and catchers most of the time and sometimes because
he didn't want to. The meeting is usually posted or
scheduled for whatever reason that the everything got messed up.
So we're in the food room where we're gonna talk
about the report and how we're going to attack hitters.
Ross He's not in there, and Boz is like, let's go,
let's start the meeting. I go, Rossie's not here.
He goes, all right, we'll give it another minute. And
I don't know if anyone.
Went to look for you or not, but all I
know is Bos finally goes, fuck it start, and I'm like,
I knew it was a bad idea.
When I did it, I'm like, this isn't gonna go well.
I go over the whole report, but halfway through, do
you remember the door opens there he is Rossy looks
and instead of coming in, he the door. I mean,
this isn't gonna go well for me.
I know I'm gonna get blamed for sure enough, he's
catching That day, we go out, him and I play
catch because I would get him loose game.
Now, after we play catch, I'm like.
Oh, maybe he's not upset.
Maybe, And then out of nowhere, right like three minutes later,
he goes and you're.
Building before a game.
You're supposed to have my back, and I go, fuck you,
like he was. We were.
I tried.
I told him there, me and him.
It was the beginning of where Twitter was the thing
and it was all over. That was the beginning of.
Our we were. I thought we were tighter after that
because it was just like you knew where I stood,
and the same thing, like you're you're big into like
this is the beauty of the teams.
The only reason why you're getting into because you're both
the beadle.
Yeah yeah, yeah, me and what me and Woody would
argue all the time to just for all the years
he would he was actually a really good hitting coach
as a pitcher and taught me a lot more than
I give him credit for. But fucking we've been together
for five, six, seven years, and he was, you need
to do this, Hey, do this? What do you shut
the funk up? But then I would, I would actually
and I would actually be doing doing it.
I'm like you, I know you don't want to listen
to me, I said, finally on time, said Rizzo, there's
a reason why I'm here early. I don't talk to
pitching coaches about pitching. I talked to hitting coaches about pitching.
I said, So that's how I learned how y'all think.
And if I see something of that can help you,
you might not want to listen to me, but.
I might not be wrong.
I don't. You're right. Nine times out of ten you
were right.
I give you.
I'm giving you the creak right now on a I
remember going back to the original topic here about twenty
twelve and thirteen, So building this championship club was we
knew like you got traded over from the Reds, so
you were hopefully going.
To be a piece, and you were a starter at
the time you.
Did well horrible spring.
I'll get to that.
So so now.
You knew you had pieces like damp Samarja Garza that
we were probably going to use to get pieces back
because we were so far away from being good and
the only people on the team that you knew were
going to be long term guys possibly were obviously Riz.
Who they got for Kashner, right, Starling.
Starlin Castro, and then you coming over, that's really like,
that was it?
That was it?
So that's three out of twenty five at the time,
so twenty two players no offense were We're not going
to be part of this going forward, even the good ones.
So then we Theo's like trying to angle trades and
we're going to trade this guy for this guy and
this guy for this guy.
And now the key was them getting a good return,
and you're like, okay, and THEO was on my ass.
You have to make sure guards a pitch as well.
The next two starts because he's fucking getting moved. Wow,
And I'm like, the reports are the reports, like I can't.
Try harbor Earth And he's like, you just make sure
he fucking pitches well so we can move it and
sure enough, like that's how it went.
And the Dempster trade to Texas, I believe.
Think about how good Think about how good Texas minor
league system was we because we twelve and thirteen. We
pulled our main core from Texas minor league.
System because they were ready to win.
Yea, they wanted. Yeah, we had it right and we
had good pictures we did.
We did, I mean gars of Dempster, some Marsha, that's
pretty good.
Yeah, imagine if the guy that returns, I mean Yeaddy
and Wed that's where you got a credit draft j Yeah, those.
Guys, Carl So we got Kyle from there.
We got Kyle and yeah yeah, I mean we built.
We grinded these three here. You may have grinded on
your two year deals.
But I grind every day. I was a two twenty hitters.
I say, that's a good point.
I want to. I want to My career was a grind.
Hey, lovable reunion listeners.
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Thank you, See Geek, Thanks suit Boop shout out suit
Book SG in the house.
So for anyone listening that's not familiar, Borz did all
the scaling reports for our pitchers. And when I say
he did the scouting reports, he was basically what the
new age, you know. He knew everything about everyone. He knew,
he knew their shoe size, he knew where they were from,
he knew their girlfriend, if they had a girlfriend, if
they just broke up, and he knew. He was like
a private investigator.
You got to take that back to his time with
the Yankees and the Nights.
That's what I was going to say. How many rings
do you have? Boards five rings.
He came up with the best team and four with
the Yankees with the cups, and he learned from the best,
and he.
Would he would do it in the most authentic way
that I loved. And through my career when I was
really young, I think thirteen to maybe seventeen eighteen, after
every season, me and boys would sit down and he
would break me down and he would be like, Hey,
this is what you sucked at, this is what you
were really good at. And every off season I would
take his notes, he would write him down for me.
We'd go over him and I'd take him and I
would go into my off season and be all right,
this is what I'm working on this offseason, and I
would try to correct it. And then throughout the year too,
he would he would give me these little tidbits of
of information that were so crucial to me. Where again
I keep saying this about people I said about Hinsky
and how big they were. If I didn't have you
telling me these things, because during the year, it's so
hard to make adjustments, and you would always be there
barking at me, saying all right, well you fucking suck
right now, or you're really doing good at this. And
it was such a huge, I mean part of my career.
I'll say the other one more point to that just
about not to we're doing this to everybody. But like
Male said this about skiing about there's honesty and truth
that comes out of certain coaches like this guy is
kno going to sugarcoat it when it comes to you.
You're going to come in his office and he's ready
for you when you say something got but when you
got something because he's researched it, he studied it, and
he's trying to make everybody on the team better with
his process of what he does. We've been talking a
lot about the pieces of the puzzle for this whole sixteen.
So before y'all got there, my first two stars, they
weren't bad starts, but they weren't great starts. And I
would go in every after every game, because that was
back when you were in the video room, and all
he did was sit there and just watch the game,
put it in, watch the game, put it in, and
I'd be like.
Hey, how was it?
And he'd be like, it's fine, it's fine. I was like, Okay,
Secon game, how was it?
That's fine, it's fine.
Third game, how was It's fine?
And I didn't feel like it was I was like,
I said, I said, tell me the truth, and all
of a sudden, I don't know if he had a
clipboard something, but it just got slimmed down.
He said, you want to fucking know the truth, and I.
Said, yes, that's why I keep coming in here. He said,
you can't locate your fastball. You got a decent change up,
you can't throw a curveball, for shit, what do you expect?
I was like, that's our coaching staff skiz, like.
Honest, and I said, finally, that's what I've been looking for.
I said, so tell me now we can work on
it and now flat or fast forward when y'all get
here in fifteen, I think, were y'all both fifteen or
we need a job with fifteen?
Yeah?
Yeah, John, I'm like, hey, well, Boresy is awesome. You're
going to love him. You're gonna not like him at first,
I said, but you're going to love him and I
said because, And he's like, what do you mean?
And I said, I don't really want to explain it.
You just gotta talk to him.
And somehow it was after like his first or second start,
we all ended up at country club and I said, oh,
it's going to happen here, and I said, John, I said, just.
That, said John.
I said, you're going to want to fight him. I said,
but don't. And I said, just you can yell.
You can yell.
I said, but just listen, and by the end of
it you will understand.
I said, But he's so forward that because he doesn't sugarcoat,
and there's no point in it.
The only way you get better is to.
And oh.
They went at a shouting match back and forth across
the table, and John gets stood up and he came
to me.
He's like, I hate that motherfucker right there.
I hate him, hate him.
Minutes later, they're back talking. Twenty minutes after that.
He was like, dude, you were right.
He was like, you just have to know he like
he knows his ship best. And I was like, yes,
but you get the assist on that.
When you guys first came over, I'm like, I mean,
you guys, you know, have accomplished a lot won elsewhere
with Boston, so it's like you got to tread lightly
as a coach, like you've already had success. I have
thoughts of my own, but you guys have already, you know,
climbed to the mountaintop. So it's like I gotta pick
my spots on how I'm going to present what I
think can still help.
And then you were the one that told John eventually
like let's buy in.
Like it's it is real. Like but you you, as
a coach, you have to you have to time it right,
especially with veteran veteran players, especially to.
A new team.
That's right, that is that is such one oh one
feel that has been You can't you can't teach that
in baseball. We are so guarded as baseball players. Just
to explain to audience that if a coach comes to you,
I had a coach one time, never met him and
starts talking to me about my first starts talking about
some defensive stuff and I'm just hey, I'm Anthony, Like,
nice to meet you. Let's grab a beer. I learned
that from job Master. I learned that from Joe Matten,
Like I got to get to know someone before I
introduce something. So the fact that you're saying that is
like the best advice I can give to any up
and coming coach is like get or even a leader
of teammate, get to know someone first, and then once
you start talking it's it's out a love show.
The person I invested in them just as much as
they're invested in the team meeting.
He starts reading it off, is like, all right, sink in.
This guy's a straight baller, and I'm like it was like, wait,
someone would decipher this for me because he just went
over this hitter and I didn't understand the one word
what we're doing to this guy. But you catch on
and it all makes sense. It's like, right, I need
to know with it. So we went down but like
it's a it's a It was a cool process, especially
coming over here and the way we did it, and
we you and Tommy helping develop the wristband.
No one will ever know until now.
When you talked about the information, you're like, poresy, there's
a lot of information.
I said, yes, I remember most of it, but it's
hard to remember all of it.
And I said, I get it for you.
Yeah, you had lefties, right's yeah, it's so people go
through big hooks.
What can we do? A smart guy goes what can
we do?
What everyone probably felt the way you did?
Yeah, what our process we came up with helped me
tremendously watch.
Football game watched one football game.
Catcher ever to wear an armband with?
Is that my partner?
And we have that's right, and now it's in place,
and I don't know what people put on the arm
band we had left.
Remember I could remember lefties, and we had all the
right art we had to start and finish. And then
we had in order of importance, which was really big
because I would be in between pitches, so it would
be like fastball in or slider away in order of
what they were.
All the options are listed, but and right handed pitcher
and fast one is at the top.
Fastball over slider, slider over curveball.
So much that goes into every single pitch that we're
gonna get to it later when we talk about Game seven.
But it all rides on your life is on the
line between the lines. Obviously, it's not like.
Can be obviously in baseball, the games decided on one pitch.
Yeah, at a certain times, you know the guy not
getting a great secondary.
Exactly, and like there you go, so now you don't
you're not a whorl.
Chair and that exactly we're not sitting here. We're not
sitting here.
One one decision as a starting picture that that cost
you the game with him.
Can we tell the quick story because we want to
get into it. I just want to tell a story
about spring training, me get dress wood and going back
to back curveballs. Do you remember that?
Or you couldn't throw first strike.
And throw the first start against the Dodgers.
I miss this in baseball because you don't get this
kind of honesty.
Woody my first year there, right, what he starts in
against is this when you dropped a hit on me, and.
Which wasn't the last time either, but I would.
Rather you come scream in my face than this, so
when it hurt me worse than anything in.
A report and a scouting report against a hitter, we
know a lot of times that they're going to take
a first pitch, breaking ball, first pitch curveball on the
sheets called the dumper, get me.
Over curveball that a hitter just swallows.
So Woodi's pitcher, ROSSI calls it when he throws the
first one, it's non competitive.
Last on my ball. Hold the ball, so now hold
the ball. ROSSI calls it again.
Right, yeah, you know you think, okay, they just needed
one to get The.
Second one was worse first and Rossie catches it and
the boty that this was the poorest body language.
But I got it. It was like I understood it too,
and he throws it back. It's like, what the fuck
are you two?
What do we do? You've got eighty nine in the tank?
What are we doing?
Now?
This is the big leagues? Now where do you want
me to go?
They throw it back like this.
It was the and.
That's what I was like, thro behind that happy with
you all right?
Sorry, I had to get that love like that was
that happened throughout the year?
Is you never always nail it?
You're right Wood.
He was such a part of our culture because in
twenty sixteen was your first year going to the bullpen,
and I'm gonna give you your your run right here.
You led the league in appearances and with postseason appearances combined,
it was you led everyone in appearances, which is insane.
First year reliever Joe would go to you like he
was like you were his safety blanket first year in
the bullpen, which is insane. But your role behind the
scenes was something that I don't think we are where
we are without you because we had like four, four
or five guys on the top of my head that
were like the characters on the team Me, you Woody
in Decks and we were like the four like kind
of we fed off each other. One day I didn't
feel it, they would bring it. If one day he
wasn't feeling, would bring And then you sprinkle in Leicster,
you get him pissed off, you get Lackey pissed off, right,
Jay Hay pop in, Hobby pop in. So you'd have
all these guys. But what he was the main character
of the pictures, the bullpen of Team Bartender, Team Bartender
on the Planes, Team Bartender on rally shots introduced me
to a rally beer. First time I ever did a
rally beer was in I think twenty thirteen.
Did you hit a Homer?
You my next about we were in We were in
Rosie's Little Players office there in DC. Homer. I chugged it.
I believe it was off Craig's Stammon too, new manager
of the Poject Dead Center, and I was like, holy shit,
you couldn't always the rally bear. But I do give
what he the credit for the rally beer.
What do you were?
You were?
You were? I remember coming on the plane and he's
got his backpack full of the bar that we needed,
and he's fixing the ready drinks and he's like, I
don't get it. Rossie, I'm like, what's that. I was like,
me and John we throw a lot of the same pitches.
How was he getting one hundred and sixty million dollars? Why?
I was like, I remember, I was, I was what
I mean because I'm like, okay, yeah, this guy's I
thought I thow the same cutter, the same a little bit.
I said, Actually my curve ball at the moment, it's
a little bit better, got a better change up.
I get it.
He's six five two forty and I'm five, one hundred
and sixty. I was like, I don't understand the difference.
You can hit better, you had a better pickoff.
Yeah, I mean I was everything way better. What was
going Yeah, yeah, I mean I don't understand it.
What what was going through your head when in that
game was the versus the Mariners, when you played the
outfield and then came into pitch.
So that game so previously I had played outfield for
the first time in Cincinnati.
Yeah, he did the double.
We did the double thing, and then Trophy replaced me
in left field, but I never got a ball right, Like,
I didn't have to do nothing. And so when I
got put back out there, I.
Was like, I don't want to because power shadow I
give you that.
I would I would take I would take some of
the young outfielders and explain to them why I didn't
want them to play d yes because I would play shallow.
I would play shallow and be like, as a pitcher,
the ball that's gonna rock it off the wall or
one hop I don't need caught.
I messed up.
I threw a pitch that they could waffle. I need
the pitch that I just straight blew their bad up on.
But because you're tickling the dirt on the track, you
can't get to because you're scared of the ball. One
of it.
And I would just tell them, I'm.
Like, hey, if you just watch, there won't be one
ball I don't catch that doesn't one homp the wall
or hit the wall.
You can do it.
Got it.
When I got there the first time, I was like,
I didn't get to do nothing.
Now, granted I was hoping for like a just a
nice easy pop up, and that is the first It
was crazy because I was looking.
Back on it.
We don't take VP at nighttime.
No, that's the first ball I caught at night since
high school.
I got I had a sweatshirt where you're I've got
a sweatshirt that five hundred level whatever made with you
catching the ball in the eye and your number at
the bottom.
I love that Joe did that.
Oh, I love that.
That's why I missed like that type of manager national
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, but Joe didn't ever get scared.
Now, sometimes it works, sometimes it didn't, but he.
Was never scared. Joe was the ring leader of our circus.
Was your favorite thing about Joe?
I agree that he let me. He allowed me to
do those things.
There's powershag because and I took pride in hitting because
I didn't just want to be a picture.
I wanted to be able to help out. It's a
team any way that I could help out.
That's the redneck in Yes.
I wanted to be involved in everything.
Yeah, like even when it was at pit.
I'm a baseball player picture right, I wish I wish
I was.
I wish I could.
Started first dace anyway other games, like, I just wanted
to be involved.
Yeah, we mean, how did Joe affect you. How did
Joe Joe Joe.
The way I looked at the game because I was
spoiled with the Yankees where we ran the same lineup
out for one hundred and sixty two and postseason, like
you had the best players with the best players, the
best rotation, the best bullpay, so there were no you
weren't moving pieces around.
It was, you know, no block Jeter O'Neill, you know, like.
The same nine in the same spots for ten years.
Then I get with Joe Madden and it was like, oh,
wait a minute. He likes players have played multiple positions
and moving them around and changing lineup up and and
he was kind of the ironically the pioneer of analytics.
Like yeah, he was. He had his matrix called the
Matrix Matrix.
Right, that's right.
And it's ironic because he kind of has been pushed
out yet because he is not enough of an analytics.
Analytical because now he took all the information and now
he's using his brain in his field, which is always
he always did. But at first it was like, oh,
he's too analytical. He's like no, he's just using the
information and now going with it and his experience, which.
Is experience, experience Trump experience experience and history.
Trump's is another level. So I embraced and I still
talk to our president of Baseball offs with the padres
that I work for now about you know parts that
interchangeable parts, how you can move pieces around, how how
a roster is built, And that's all because of Joe.
Yeah, there's no explanation. The human element. I don't care
what the matrix says, what analytics say. As players, we
know everything on paper, could say you should crush this picture.
He throws everything that you hit. There is something about
him that you don't sniff. Yeah, right, Just as a pitcher,
those those guys that is one of those guys you
just can't get out, the stretch, change up, just the
straight fit. There's just guys that as pitchers that you
just can't get out. It doesn't matter what you throw them,
no matter how you throw them.
But if you think about our our team though.
In fifteen and sixteen, and I had never experienced this,
This is why I love Joe Matten among other reasons.
But you had Chris Bryant, who played third, would go
to first if he had to, would play left center, right, Okay,
you had Hobby and Addie play short.
And second like right, move move back and forth.
Defense exactly.
I played third base in sixteen.
Hey Schreber, same thing, left and left and first would
do a bunch of defenses.
Risk cat played first.
And pitched, and then you had up defenses right, yes,
right or your butt defense.
Hold on, you had zobers. You played all anywhere place
and then just center, Deck's place and j.
Hey, we're about the two only stations would go to center,
would go at center when.
Was for the most part the stationary.
Same same with Deck play one hundred and sixty one
games that year. That's right.
So that's what we have to say this every episode.
It's not about you. But that's what I loved about Joe,
that that experience, like everyone was moving around. He made players.
Enjoy.
Like Hobby I think was a was a better player.
Like moving around made it different spots. Joe made it fun.
You didn't get stagnant, you didn't get He was like, oh,
you're getting alt on the right. Hey played left today,
You're starting left because I still need your bet and
let them. You're like, I ain't plaid left. He's like,
you'll figure it out.
You've done a few of these now, and it's like
that's the everyone had fun and it's so easy. Especially
we know when you're losing, like it's easy to lose.
It really is, because you just come in, Oh we
lost today, Oh well, what are you doing for dinner? Yeah,
when you start winning that energy, it takes. It hurts,
and then you lose. Exactly when you start winning and
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Corona dot com. Fifteen When I realized it, okay, when
when there was a series against the San.
Francisco Oh, if that's the case, I remember that series.
Yeah, we swept him in August August.
Well, I want to hear your thoughts too, like like
that's what resonated with us when we started. And then
a couple of people when we swept the Giants and
they came in and it was that audience and we
went on.
Marja had a good game, and I read the reason
why I remember this is a.
Year fifteen March Shark was gone.
No, Shark was gone.
That's right.
It was me who pitched that series.
Hammel Me Hammel Leicester probably probably, but all our remembers
we killed him. Whatever mind because I scheduled a fishing
trip after my game. I had the day game and
I had a fishing trip in the day. I'm like, well,
we need to get this one done. Will the only time,
the only time he had was like really cutting it
clothes and that's me and Willie.
Are went seven and seven and a third or something
in fifteen before good.
I had to go to the bullpen.
But so we But that's when you knew we were good.
That series.
That was that series because we I knew we had something.
But it was kind of like that.
In twelve, I was like, oh, we're gonna be good
this year. Like what everybody says, we just look good.
In spring, we lost one hundred and one. Thirteen comes around,
I'm like, hey, we got some new pieces. I was like,
we're gonna be good. Ninety nine fourteen, I was like, hey,
let me tell you this, guys. In twelve, I knew
we were gonna lose one hundred. In thirteen, I thought
we would lose one hundred. My glasses always half full,
my glasses always have fully.
Like this is this is the beauty that we get
out of, like unbelievable, this is a bad Let's let's
fast forward to we're down three to one. Oh, how
are we? We just got swept the year before, to
the a.
Team that we swept all season we were seven and
oh we get swept.
We go down three to one, and it's like fuck, right,
but what for you two? What are you in the bullpen?
Ors you're just looking on now at this point? What
what was that belief that we can actually do this?
I'll tell you the truth.
That time of years in my hunting time, I was
in the bullpen. We had a meeting and I said,
I'm gona tell you, I'm gonna tell you the god
dang truth. I said, I want to win, and I
said so I want I said, I don't want to
string the shit out if we're gonna god dang lose.
In the fifth game, sixth game, I.
Said, I'm either going home and hunting right now, or
I said, let's go fucking do this. And I said,
I don't want to I don't want to string this
along to lose. You want to go, and I'm all in,
And I said, so let's do it, and they.
Were like, let's go, and we did.
I thought I've been in, had been in a lot
of postseasons before that, even prior to the Cubs. So
to be honest, I had never seen a team, including
all my Yankee years and Dodgers, I had never seen
a team down three to one as relaxed as our team.
In my opinion, I never felt like it's over, we're done.
I never did, exactly. We never felt that to the
park for Game.
Five, hardest game of the series in my opinion, Yes,
And it was like, if we win this one, we
rolled Game six, Yeah, we got we're winning. And I
didn't feel like anyone in the room didn't believe that.
And I've been on teams that have been down and
you know it's over. You know what I mean, like
you know it's over, like you can feel it. You're like,
we're going on, it's over. We're down three one or
three zero or you know, three to.
Two, but we're done.
This one was the first time we're we got a shot.
We gotta show.
We just got to win Game five, and we did,
and then games the whole nother story personally, and then
game sex well, game six, remember again, it's not about me.
I hit the home run in the eighth and Joe
sent uh Chappy back out and the and we talked
to Joe about this. I go Joe. I never hated
all back, and that's the one thing. If I can
go back, we're not sending Chappie, no doubt, and I
think he.
Would because I closed out he did it.
He hit that homer with two outs, right yea.
And well we were in the dugout and everyone's like,
could we fucking get Woody back up? Because finished you
finished Game six. But Chappie went out for the night.
I remember that, and he was pissed because Chappie was
worse and he never complained, no, but when he came in.
He had been our horse and we had ran him
and it was. We knew we were going to Game seven,
get three outs. We need him to have rest.
We ran him hard, so we get to Game seven,
all the pregame stuff. We're in there, and you you
run with this because your bullpen experience in Game seven
was epic between Johnny Lester, you coaching Johnny Lester being
in the bullpen to you and Lackey knowing you're not pitching.
For the most part, the we.
Did end up double barreling, which was unexpected, but very
greeted with open arms because I would have loved to
got in, but no. The when you said them, so
we're down there, I knew it was Kyle.
I'll call him.
Carl Hendricks, and then I knew Johnny, and then we're
gonna piece together the rest a new Chapman probably at
some point. But they get Johnny up and he's been
in my ear all night, Like you know, I'm not
I don't normally do this.
I'm not down here, I.
Said, dude, once you get loose, I said, just play catch.
I said, you don't have to keep firing bullets. And
I said, if think it's bad enough, I'll stand in
front of you.
And I said I won't let you throw another one,
and he'd got draw humped.
Like nervous entergy.
Yeah no, now, yeah, guys, yeah, you just keep.
Yeah, and so, because once you get loose, you earlier, yeah,
you know you're loose, but you're still down there, and
you're like, well, I'll make sure I'm real doubted, right,
I'll make sure I'm real doubted. Well, that's just with
your adrenaline everything. That's just wasting bullets that can be
for out there. And so, yes, At one point I
had to stand in front of John and.
He said, what the fuck are you doing?
I said, John, you're not going to throw another god
dang pitch unless.
It's out there. He said fuck.
I said, no, John, this is why you told me
to do.
I said, I'm standing here until you go sit down.
So John goes to sit down, and then so and
finally we know he's going in, like it is an
official that John's coming in.
And he goes in the half inning before.
Johnathan I went down there, yeah, yeah, but before he
goes in, he funk. He comes and sets next to
me and he says, Okay, what the fuck do I
do with Lester? And I said, I don't know, huh,
I don't understand the question. And he said, it's fucking
it's like the fifth inning?
What do I do? Like, how do I right?
And I was like and I said, I said, Russie, yeah,
And I said yeah, because we had the whole scouting
report thing that we flipped. And I said, and he
asked about scouting, press said, fuck the scouting reports.
The World Series.
I go, you you don't go in and try to
establish the fastball in the fourth and fifth right, I said,
it's kitchen sink from the get go.
If his weak spot is a cutter, you throw it.
If it's a curveball, you throw it.
If it's a change up, you throw you and you
just come guessing. Get right down there. You're talking to everybody,
get ready, trying to trying to because you're to You
go down there, and it's like, wait, I'm in a
different world, right, you bullpen than in the Dog Game.
Seven of the world greatest World Series of all time.
And as soon as I say that, you go, you're
fucking right, You're fucking right, and you just get up
and you go right when you leave, Johnny Lester comes
and replaces you, and he says, and he goes.
Hey, what the fuck do I do?
I get.
And I said, We're going to Woody for advice.
And I said what and I go, I go.
Rossie just asked me. I said, both the off bed here?
What are you doing? He's like, but not a bullman?
What do I do?
What I do?
He's like, the.
Scotter report says this, fuck the scout report.
I said, just go in, I said, and throw the
sink is now open.
Well, you just throw the sink at him if you
fill a curveball because he can't hit it. That's what
you're throwing first pitch.
I said.
It's no longer you're You're not a pussy for throwing
a curveball your first pitch of your game. You're in
the fifth innie.
Right, Yeah you get out, Yeah, you get out.
I was telling U in one of the episodes before,
I was talking about how we were the Motley Crew
and how we would just come in and funck ship
up and leave, but very respectfully, never disrespectful to the
other team. As part of the Motley Crew, you were
in what how loud up were you at that time
in the bullpen because you and Lack were you were
rallying the boys. I know you were.
This is when it was a game.
In our day.
Back it wasn't back in our day.
It was just what we did for the boys. We
did whatever it took. And if you thought having a
rally beer or taking a shot, or being a half
of Crown handled deep.
Free game right like we got to.
May or may not, it's up to speculation. May or
may not have had some beverages in the bullpen.
It just makes this story that much better, honestly, And I.
May or may not have.
I may have may or may not have dumped out
gatorade to fill it up with the mixer.
That way, it still looked legit.
So this is I mean, but this is the cast
that we want to portray in this what we're doing
this for us to paint that picture of how special
that group was. And you need it all. You've even
fast forward now like we're in the rain delay comes right,
we're talking everyone about the rain delay. Borsy for you
you were at the coaches what do he? Where are
you at? What take us through.
Yourdow We came back, We actually all came in.
I was in the meeting.
I was there, and here's your recount of the meeting.
It was just something got under j Hey and he
just he finally said, hey, you could say it.
Fuck that motherfucker.
We're doing us.
Don't care about anything that's going on. This is our
game and we're about to go out there after that
and we're going to win. He said, I don't care
what's going on from now before.
Everything is from now on is.
What we can can roll.
And it sparked us, and everyone re upped on their
pregame routine and whatever anyone did, and me.
And Lack end up double barreling and wholeheartedly. I wish
one of us would have gotten the game because it
would have been epic.
I feel like I had hit one hundred that game.
Well, dude, well I remember we fast forward.
I walked, Uh, you didn't want a curveball. I mean
we cutter, but no.
C J.
Edwards in the game. Two outs and we're like, ship,
like this is it right, We're already he walks the
guy Joe pulls them and I looked down and I'm like,
Mike Montgomery's coming in, and I love Monny.
He was great.
He was great, fir ust, he was great. Out of
the bullpen guy, I was expected.
Nobody was looking at I've heard this.
Story bars through the years now where I think you
tell the story of like everyone had done. I was like,
what the fuck? What the fuck? And Bors is the
only one there? No one you were there saying, don't worry,
spin good, we got spin, We got spin.
Right.
So Lesser actually told this story too.
This guy Michael Martinez has not taken one a bat
and he's a switch hitter. And he's a switch hitter.
You have to have the last pretty much the last
guy on.
The Indians roster, and Boresy's saying he were good. That's
how locked in exactly. Our staff was where it was
like right away, no, we got spin.
We got it because you if ever there was a
hitter you could take a short cut on, it would
be Michael Martinez, no offense.
It's like, what are the chances? Right? But you if
you treat every hitter like this guy may be up
when the game's on the line.
And so it happened that way, And it was many
running in and I'm like, okay, we're good, and here
comes Mani and John Lester and Schwarber run up.
And go what do we got?
What do we got, I go, we got curveball, we
got curveball, and they.
Go, we got and then and then Niggie is in
the game.
I don't even know how many deep he is, so
he's catching, and I know he doesn't know Michael Martinez
hitting right handed, right. So he looks at me as
he's walking back and he and he's looking, he's staring.
I go, and he goes, yeah, it's like he knew it.
He's like, that's what I was thinking to Michael first pitch.
And that's why you got to give Mike Montgomery.
How much credit do you have to give that? Yeah,
you in the fucking land of that curveball circle right,
bringing it back.
Nails and Niggie catches it, boom strike and he looks
over at me and I go again again.
And there it was, And that was it.
But you're right, it was because we were prepared. And
if you whether you win or lose, as long as
you're prepared, you can sleep at night.
Yeah, that was the whole thing.
Whether it's it's Jason Kipness who's their best hitter, or
Carlos Santana or Michael Martinez, you like, you know.
You're prepared Montgomery coming in and you looking like we
got spin right, and he throws two heaters and we
get beat your you're angry, Killings, You're angry.
That way. It's right. The fact that the fact that
Miggy looks back is because of the respect that we
all had for one another.
He was locked in that.
It wasn't individuals playing.
That was the best thing about that team is that
everybody trusted everybody and everybody had everybody's back.
There was no blame on that team.
There are not a lot of teams.
That's why the celebration was so. There was no bank
because we did it together. It was like a two
year run, and when we won, it was like that
nobody half.
Asked it couldn't like.
Couldn't every game from the start of spring training.
You couldn't blame any who cares if a guy made
an error, it wasn't from lack of effort, right. He
gave it as all on that play, So even as
a picture you can be like he related and didn't
know he gave it everything. It just wasn't meant to
happen on that play.
The other thing that why why you talk about how
how loose.
This team was even behind. When we get to game seven,
I'm sure people have spoken about this. You're doing the
rocky thing, running around naked in the clubhouse.
And it was like, I'm sorry, we didn't hear that
running around.
What this is my first time being a part of it,
talking about it and how important stuff like that is
chemist stressful moments and the fact that you're not overly
stressed as a premier player, that you're doing this is
what makes everyone else relaxed, right, And I.
Thought, wow, that is huge, Like we're still having fun.
And it was talking about that, Joe talked about not
changing anything. We didn't change right, right, And I think
going back to what Riza said a million times, every
piece of this puzzle has been so important, and like
you go back and talk. We tell these stories about
the impact that each person has had and us winning
the World series, and you know, we some guys had
bigger roles than others. It's it's it's amazing to us
and it's great for us to be able to do
this and tell these stories.
So there's no role. It was every literally everyone, I said,
every every episode. Everyone took all nine of us. It
took every win. The m v P. H Lester finished
second in the Ion that year. I think Hendricks was third. Yeah, Hendrick,
you know I was fourthing the MVP that are not
about me, uh or all that we trade for the
best closer there is chain.
Right, yeah, you know went all run off that We
talked about that. Right.
When did we bring in an All Star break other
than Chappie because Sheffie w wasn't there to start, right?
We got him at All Star Break, correct, We got
him at the Labor Torres, right, labor.
I told you I love labor because I'm like labor
without you should get a ring.
That was a Chappie brought.
I feel like we're doing that the labors. Now we
brought hogging back.
We brought them back. Yeah, we did bring coming.
So after we went on, before we end, I want
to tell the story of the parade. So you guys
are on the same float. What he's in there with
his beer vest on. Uh, we're all getting absolutely.
Shirt off, by the way, shirts always off before we
even start the surprise. You wore this for the for
the episode tomorrow not tomorrow, just wait.
But before we even got started on.
The purpose, that's what I'm saying, that's why the story
gets decapitated by our cable.
So we're in the double deck almost ripped my nose off.
We're in the double deck buses.
We had to grab your legs because you know, anyone
knows this.
They don't know how to celebrate parades here. They've never
done it. No, okay, So we were the guinea pigs.
So we have like this guy on the bus is like, oh,
no alcohol, and they said, okay, get the fuck out
of here.
Right.
So I'm the second to last bus. They're the last bus.
You lay last year, last there, and our guy on
the bus is like, hey, when you're going, you got
a duck Like we're in Wrigleyville, Like there's there's low
lan hanging power lines, didn't lights. So I turn around
and these dudes are fucking bangs up Ross's. They clipped
a power line. I'm I'm no joking dead.
That We walked across and my head off, John's head off.
Lammerman was holding filming. There's a cameraman holding filming us
like and it hit him. It hit him in his
camera and he tried to hold him the camera and
then pulled the camera down and it whip whipped and
just went. There'll be a statue out there right now
if it hits me, Harry carry down or David Roth
went the World Series carried off, he went out on top. Well, anyways,
thank you guys, you got.
The team is not special without you. You guys are
such a core part of that team. And I'm so
happy that we were able to talk about this time.
We've got a party to get to like this his brothers,
and you're right, it feels like we could have done
this for another two.
It feels like yesterday on the story Thomas.
Pasted just sitting here talking.
Yeah, and it's all it's all just reliving these fun
moments and we've I've gotten chills and hopefully like just
telling them when and hopefully everyone.
Get a glimpse of how truly special when we say
how special this team was, hopefully throughout this entire series.
I had never been on one before, and I never
was on one after that.
It was the same.
And I can't believe that it's been taken years, right,
and remember the stories like they happened, Yes.
Yell them all night.
What I was shocked about it is ten years, you know,
normally come back and people look different and somebody's got
everybody still looks.
Like a new thing. Right. You've seen Addie and he
looks like he gets still, So you're saying we could
get the group.
It's ages Agentine.
Let's go around Union Podcast.
I love you guys.
We're kind of like trappic to that. Yeah, they got
words stuck.