A's Cast - The Mark Kotsay Show - Ep. 127

0:00Every game day you show up for your team. Now it's your time. We go, we go, we go, we go. Ask your prescriber about Wigovie, some Maglatide Injection 2.4 milligrams, a GLP 1. Call 1-8-3-3-4 Wigovie or visit Wigovie.com to view the Medication Guide and to learn more about Wigovie. Why wait? We go, we go. From former A's Outfielder, R-A Dickey delivers the 2-1. It's at the deep right field. Matthew is going back. Is it high enough? Yes it is. Katsay's second today. Katsay is free for free with two home runs. Is this guy ever going to cool off? To A's manager, it's time for the manager show with Mark Katsay, presented by Fulsom Lakeford. The A's skipper sits down with Chris Townsend exclusively on A's cast.

1:00Visit Fulsom Lakeford at 1-2-7-5-5 Fulsom Boulevard in Fulsom. Here's Chris Townsend. Time now for the Mark Katsay show brought to you by Fulsom Lakeford. Mark Katsay coming to you from the frozen tundra of Lambo field. I love it. What do you got the beanie cap on? How cold is it in Seattle? It's not that cold. Gelloff was wearing it yesterday so I decided I'd throw mine on just to make him happy and show team spirit here. Well I got to tell you what. I loved your message before the game and I don't know what you said to the guys but I can't agree more. It's time to be the September spoilers. What was that like the message to the players and now watching them go out and do it? Yeah, I mean obviously like we don't want to have to play this role we want to be competing for the playoffs. Reality is at the end of the day the season hasn't gone the way we wanted it and we're in a position now that we have.

2:04Like I said yesterday 20 of or 20 of 22 games against playoff continuing teams which we can one learn a lot from. Two we can ruin a lot of people's seasons and you know let's go out and finish this thing as strong as possible. When as many of these as possible and you know in the off season whatever teams we do send home they'll think about that. The ace in his home and that's not a great feeling when you're not in the playoffs and you had a chance to make it. Reality is life's about lessons and we don't always get what we want and then things don't always go as we want. But you still have to strive you still have to improve and I think about Lawrence Butler where he started and where he is now. I think about when he called the team meeting and he addressed hey I'm not playing great but I need to step it up. You guys need to step it up. Tell us how and what you've seen in Lawrence Butler lately.

3:09Yeah just a lot of growth like you said Tony for him to have stepped in and call the team meeting. You know says a lot about his maturity. You know to take ownership of you know the type of season that that he was having personally says a lot about the accountability which you know is really important. But more so just about his desire to get his teammates together and and you know figure it out. And I think for Lawrence he has done that there's been a lot of positives you know since June in what Lawrence has done. And I think that at the end of the day when he finishes the season he will look back and the season will make him better. The more you watch Henry Bolte how special do you think this kid can be. Man you don't want to jump out there and say really special because you don't want obviously this kid to.

4:13You want him to have expectations but not not in the sense of like okay I'm going to be a superstar right. But I think it could be I mean he has all the tools and he's continuing to get better. He's open to all things in terms of learning which is great he doesn't he's not doesn't have an ego. It isn't thinking knows everything and how to do everything and that's one of a great. You know tools for him that no one really probably knows you know how just open and selfless this kid is. I said at the other day on Ace cast live don't look now but he could be in the future. You're very best all around player and he's very young and you got some really good players but this kid could be really really special. Then I think about Zach Gelloff you know Zach Gelloff was the first guy to come up from the My League system that we said hey he's going to be a pillar that we build this organization on. And then injuries and sidetracked and things just didn't go right.

5:17Can we say he is back on track and he is a big part of the future with the way he's been playing again. Yeah I think we can include him for sure and I think he can be a big part of this future and big part of the culture. He's already shown that you know I mentioned last night in the post game how it's been really fun to watch he and Bolt he at the top of the lineup get things going and for Butler to be in the center of it. You know these are three guys that we're going to really need a lot out of next year with this group to elevate our you know our performance so. But yeah I think Zach you know with the adjustments he made last off season the commitment to it again I think he's only going to improve I think he's going to make more of those adjustments this off season in the right direction and come back next year as a solid piece. You know one of the beauties about Zach is he can play everywhere on the diamond so you've seen him in left field he plays a great left field you see him at third base in the second base seen the center field right field.

6:23You know so obviously we know areas that we need to address. Third base second base are two positions that you know I think still we're looking for an everyday type guy to just write a name in and I think Zach can be either second or third next season with when Tyler comes back healthy and left and the season butlers having to finish off and the season bolt he's having you know Zach only increases that athleticism when you put him anywhere on the diamond. You know the toughest things in your gig is you know you got to talk with everybody before the game you got to talk after the game I commend you for not throwing people under the bus because I think you just look at the numbers of what the bullpen and some of the pitching has been but all of a sudden you now got something with the way blew it is thrown the ball now for you obviously Hogan Harris all the rottos turn around you have found something in Medina talk about the bullpen now there's true confidence when you walk out the ball.

7:24Well the recent performance definitely aligns with with that statement you know these are guys obviously blew it and Roy Croft that we you know went out and claimed. You know with with high you know just a hope that these guys could you know turn it around turn their seasons around personally you know clubs that obviously are releasing guys are putting guys on waivers or they generally haven't performed and for both of them. They're really important and for both of these players to come in and and really pitch well for us you know in roles that I think they they definitely belong in their middle and you know middle of the game fit the six inning guys we saw yesterday. You know that that gave us a chance to win that held the score that you know really they will help solidify the back end and we've been talking about this all year you know you've got guys pitching out of roles pitching late in games that weren't used to ever pitching late in games.

8:26It's tough to manage those innings and understand you're putting a guy in a situation and it may not be the best for him to succeed and he fails and now he gets buried and so it's been challenging for sure but Medina's growth has been awesome I think it's a natural progression for a season where he hadn't pitched in two years and he's finally now finding his consistency and his you know his outpitch is his split and he's finally you know starting to realize when do you know what he's doing. You know that's exciting if you can get Alvarado Medina Harris you know those three guys in a bullpen next year right where they may not they may not have to be the back in guy or they might be the back in guys because they've had a little bit of experience now they've gone through it there a little more season and and Hogan especially I mean this is a guy last night that came in throwing an easy 97. And he doesn't matter if it's right left I mean he's better against right right it's just in the data and the statets but he he's not afraid to take the ball and go get the outs.

9:36I tell you what I mean for I know this isn't a great year but right now there's a lot of good stories to talk about it's not like I'm just like propping it up I mean these are legit stories Jacob Lopez. Jacob Lopez has literally been one of the best starting pitchers in baseball since July 10th whatever happened when he got sent down and what they did to him in Vegas and brought back just talk about what you've seen in your lefty who's going to go this weekend he's just a different guy. No you that's it he's a different guy when he came back you know we had a good conversation before he went to Vegas a heart to heart man to man conversation about you know the reality of being a major league big league and and what that entails and and I think he came back with the right mindset and determination and a little bit of F you to him which I've seen sought last outing there you know when he gave up the two solo homers in Texas and then you could just see a different guy say alright that's it that's enough and and that's it. And especially during the sixth inning when you know you send a guy back out with 90 pitches and in the last pitch he throws on the punch I was 91.5 so it was it was best pitch of the game hardest pitch of the game which says a lot about his growth you know from from a mindset and just a toughness standpoint right and I love that I mean he's consistent now he knows what it takes.

10:57He's got to stay consistent with the off season we saw similar Jacob low peas last year we did and then something happened in the off season where he didn't you know wasn't able to do the same consistent routines got away from it and came back and it wasn't great maybe you look at the started started the year in the rotation we were going to lean on low peasant we're going to lean on Morales to guys that we thought could really fulfill those those roles and they didn't pitch great yet we still maintain the fight. So I'm going to say 100 or like two games below in you know in June but then when savvy went down things changed and guys had to fill that role and and and then it just it it really spiraled from there it's like this is your baseline this is who you are you need to bottle it up and when you leave and come back this is who you are you should never be anything different I think about JT again. What are you doing and how much do you think we can expect from JT again the rest of the way.

11:58Yeah I mean reason I was late today we're still dealing with that it's a fluid situation as you know we skipped a start on Tuesday did a bullpen day we pushed him back we were going to push him back again you know we thought he might be ready today he's not you know we we we're going to look at him more intensely tomorrow make a decision which you know is never easy because if we do have to put him on the I.L. it's pretty much he's done for the season so we've tried to give ourselves as much time as possible to make you know the best decision for the player these decisions are never easy so JT obviously has had a great season if he has to go to the I.L. the one positive is that he has pitched more innings than he did last season. You know you'd like to see him finish the season but you know what he's accomplished so far as set enough to know that that he's going in the right direction for sure.

13:06You know what I like in September right now you're the fighter going into the ring you got nothing to lose and I'm coming to kick your teeth in I love it I love the mentality right I it is what it is you're in September season hasn't gone the right way but I'm coming in. I'm coming to knock you out yeah I'm I I we came to knock him out early and it just you know it is what it is right you got to go with where you are right now yeah no that's fact and you know tonight's going to be a challenging night we've got you know Kate Morris going who you know is a young guy hasn't had a ton of success at the major league level you know but we're in a point now where we're we're looking at guy. Looking at guys obviously for the future but we also are you know managing guys day in day out and then trying to finish the season so Kate's going to get a shot tonight to go out and start you know you may see Joey Estes here in the pin you know as a both guy you know he's been down in triple a the majority he made one start for us this year in Vegas did a nice job but you're going to see some guys out there on the mound

14:18because of the status of the bullpen that they're going to get an opportunity to go out and show us what they can do keep fighting keep scrap and I love it we'll talk to you next week in Sacramento. Alright thanks Tony the Marcos show brought to you by Folsom Lake for this has been a presentation of the athletics. Every game day you show up for your team now it's your time. We go. We go. We go. Ask your prescriber about we gov some mag letied injection 2.4 milligrams a G.O.P. Call 1-8334-WIG-OV-E or visit WIG-OV.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about WIG-OV-E. Why wait? We go. We go. We go.