A new story from Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney
Automatic TRANSCRIPT
Of course we're party and I think again we are often reminded when a guy gets hurt and then comes back and it's a little bit slow to come back about how darn good he is when he's healthy. I mean he's top 5 baseball players and you throw attitude and all he's able to do along with this sort of I'll show you all then he's he's a party. He is a party the way he plays the way he emotes the way he runs around the bases. Hesitates at third base. But yeah, sure, I'm partying on just stay healthy, man. Knock on, I'm sitting here at a wood desk. Just stay healthy. Yeah, I think you understand the question. It's just a device to get us through this conversation. Panic patients are party. We get a chance to talk about Ronald lacuna junior off road shohei oh tiny that mix, OPS so far, 8 78, 6 homers, 6 games is a pitcher. One 8 5 ERA just 11 hits allowed in 34 innings, 46 strikeouts that will put them in the same category as Ronald lacuna junior, but I am going to ask you about Juan Soto. Batting one 83 so far hidden a ton of balls on the ground to the right side, you know, I'm not a hitting coach, but you can see he is out front so often in his plate appearances. What are you doing? Panic patients are party. No, I'm the little panic. I haven't quite got my head around what is the issue there, whether it's mental and psychological, where he's batting in the order, whether it's having those other superstars on the team. There's something that's just not clicking. You know, and look, maybe he's a victim of his own success because he was, he was so outlandishly good when we first were exposed to him with Washington. And in the postseason, you know, all those things would let you think that this guy is going to only ascend to even greater heights, and that that hasn't happened. You know, when they got him last year, when the Padres picked him up, they're like, well, this is like, now it's the World Series team. He is that guy. The antithesis of Jordan walker where you're not looking at Jordan walker to carry, but yeah, you're not looking at soda, not only to fit in with Machado, bogarts and tatis. You're looking at him to be The Shining star there. And that has not happened at all. And I don't think it's a physical thing. I think there's just something going on, psychologically, mentally that's causing him not to be able to be the guy. You read and hear so many comments of a reminder, one, you are a great hitter. We appreciate you have a great eye. We understand about the patients, but you're so much better when you swing the bat, you know? You don't go to a long drive contest and not get into the position to hit a drive. He's not driving the baseball. He's not hitting. He's not, he doesn't feel like he's being aggressive and knows I'm not only batter's box, but I own the picture, meaning I'm going to hit the picture. And he hasn't done that. There's something there's just something a little off there, you know, I'm not jumping to the conclusion of we need to change the sort of scenery and move him, but there's just something that hasn't clicked with Soto and I'm not sure I'm not sure what it is. I don't think bob Melvin knows exactly what it is. You know, we've been with him before. You talk to him. Yeah, there's just, you know, there's a little thing, a little something and I don't think they can put their finger on it. No, I do think this is that once he finds it, he'll take off. It kind of reminds me a little bit remember there was a year or two when Bryce Harper would go through the stretches where he in a similar way was out front with his swing. He didn't seem like he was on balance. This is like in year three and four in his career. I think after he won his first MVP and once he figured it out, man, he just took off. And I think that's eventually we're soda gets to, but I agree with you given shoulders importance to the team. Like, they need him to turn this around. Because the questions in their pitching staff, they need to out hit some of their pitching issues. All right, panic, patience, or party, the Chicago White Sox. 7 and 19, they've lost 8 straight games, Carl, they've got the third worst run differential in baseball, athletics being first. The royals being second, you do not want to be in that group when you're talking about early in the season. They're already 8 games out of first place. What are you doing with the White Sox? I'm running and hiding. Is there another level besides