Full Transcript for 11-11-26 - The Mo Egger Radio Show Hour 3

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00:00:00 Speaker 1: Get your midweek Bengals fix tonight at 6 o'clock on Bengals Game Plan on ESPN 1530, Cincinnati Sports Station. 00:00:09 Speaker 2: All right, that's us. I'm Oleg, or this is ESPN 1530. Thanks for listening today. Hope you're having an awesome Wednesday afternoon. By the way, neglectful of me at the top of the show to not say this, but if you're among the men and women who have served our country, hope you're having a pleasant and gratitude-filled Veterans Day. A Bengals game plan coming up in an hour from the Holy grail starring Dan Horton, Wayne box Miller. I believe Joe Flacco will be among the, the guests tonight. So go check that out. Starting at six on ESPN, 1530. Cannot wait for that. Kelsey Conway from the inquirer in just a few minutes on the Bengals who gets set to play the Pittsburgh Steelers. Zach Taylor had some good injury news as it relates to Dylan Fairchild. They're calling him day to day. Cash is how week to week. though nobody is publicly ruling out a return to the field for Cassius in 2026, which is great because he has shown obviously a lot of promise as a rookie. Trade deadline came and went just over 25 hours ago. And it may have been naive. 00:01:22 Speaker 3: I don't know. 00:01:23 Speaker 2: But there was a part of me that last night thought, you know, Duke Tobin having to be told, hey, if we make this trade with Philly, it's going to cost us a compensatory third round pick. 00:01:37 Speaker 3: It's embarrassing. The optics aren't great. It's not fireable. 00:01:41 Speaker 2: It's not the sort of thing that should wash away the cool things that Duke Tobin has done, like building a six and two team, helping make upgrades, getting Dexter Lawrence. Those are good things. But still, and it's not like the trade deadline isn't solely defined by a deal that fell through. It's largely defined by a good team that could use some help not adding anybody. Zach Taylor is not in charge of the trade deadline. He doesn't execute trades. He doesn't talk with other teams. He's the head coach. His job is to get his football team ready to play on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Duke Tobin's job is to handle the roster and make decisions about the roster while balancing short-term needs and long-term goals. So the deadline comes and goes and the headline might have been Bengals nearly made a trade that they didn't and they didn't because somebody from the outside gave them information that they should have. Fine. But the big story is other teams did what they think they needed to do to get better. Bengals didn't add anybody from outside. If there is a moment during the season that it would make sense for Duke Tobin to talk. Not for an hour, not to every media outlet individually, but just make himself available and answer some questions. 00:03:08 Speaker 3: Today was the day. 00:03:10 Speaker 2: Not because anybody who's realistic or reasonable wanted to see Duke squirm or get embarrassed, but we care about this team. We root for this team. We obsess over this team. We talk about this team. We sometimes defend this team. You kind of like knowing stuff. You like knowing how the sausage is made, so to speak. You like knowing why trades are made or not made. And so today would have been a good opportunity for Duke Tobin to say, hey, look, while everybody's here to talk about Zach Taylor or talk to Zach Taylor, while everybody's here to talk to players about the game on Sunday, here I am. Anybody have any questions? Instead, with everybody wondering about the deadline and what didn't happen and what did happen and whether or not the Bengals made a mistake when it came to a trade that they were on the verge of making, instead of Duke Tobin talking, you got Zach Taylor. 00:04:05 Speaker 3: Here he is from earlier today. 00:04:10 Speaker 4: We tried something yesterday and Duke was very explicit with me when he came and spoke to me of how he wanted this portrayed and I'm not comfortable doing it but I'm going to do what he asked you know and we did make an effort to kind of put some depth in there in place of Cassius as we got into it obviously it was going to be a little more costly than we initially anticipated so he's really apologetic about it and wants to make clear Philly was a great trade partner it was on our end and that's just the way things go but um, certainly have a ton of confidence in our front office and how they do things. And they've given us the players that have allowed us to be six and two right now and playing at such a high level. So, um, we'll put that behind us and move forward and, and just get excited for this game on Sunday in our locker rooms in a great place right now. Did you disclose how well we can work? No, I, I didn't, I didn't even ask the question. It doesn't really matter to me. You know, it probably took three minutes of my day yesterday away from watching tape. So, um, got a lot of faith in how those guys operate, and we'll just move forward with it. Obviously, we tried something. 00:05:08 Speaker 2: There's the head coach of the team having to answer a question about something that he just told you he has nothing to do with. Now, good for Zach Taylor for doing it. He points the finger at Duke Tobin. Apparently, Duke Tobin wanted the finger pointed at him. Zach, I think, acknowledged, like, I'm not comfortable having to do this, and why would he be? Imagine somebody you work with sending you out there to explain to your boss or to somebody else, to investors, to customers, why something didn't get done. Wait a minute. I, you, you made the mistake. Why, why do I, why, why am I the person that has to come and explain what happened? That's not how the real world should operate. That's also not like you don't own a mistake by having somebody else explain it for you. You don't accept accountability and responsibility by having somebody else outline what happened. It may not matter. Bengals may win Sunday. I think they will.

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Bengals may win the division, regardless of what happens on Sunday. I believe they will. But there's also like part of that. That's, I don't know, frustrating because a lot of us feel the same way. 00:06:19 Speaker 3: You know what? 00:06:20 Speaker 2: Go in on Sunday and this goes away. So what are the Bengals always do? It feels like the brand is, Hey, No matter what else happens, we've got Joe, Jamar and T and they'll just they'll fix it or they'll change the conversation or they'll bail us out. It's going to have to happen again this week. Bengals are being laughed at around the country right now, and they're being laughed at around the country right now for two reasons. One, the Philadelphia trade fiasco to. Why didn't they do anything? That is a thing. Folks who talk about this league and cover this league and care about this league and root for teams around this league. Look at the Broncos adding to an already good defense. The Chiefs adding to a wide receiver group that has not been very good. Buffalo adding to a secondary that badly needed help. Jacksonville adding to a team that has won 15 of its last 18 regular season games. And the Bengals didn't do anything? So yeah, the conversation is going to change if they beat Pittsburgh on Sunday. The conversation is probably going to change by the end of today because, all right, we've all exhausted what we've had to say about what the Bengals did and didn't do at the trade deadline, though we are filing away what they did and didn't do at the trade deadline because if it comes back to bite them, then we're going to look back on yesterday at four o'clock as a possible turning point of the season. But if you're a fan of the team, aren't you at least kind of interested in the hows, the whats, the whys, maybe the whys more than anything else as it relates to the trade deadline? 00:07:51 Speaker 5: I am. 00:07:52 Speaker 2: You are. Why couldn't the person in charge of what they did do, didn't do, and nearly did answer some questions today? That shouldn't be Zach Taylor's responsibility. I don't say this from the perspective of needing to see Duke Tobin embarrass himself or show embarrassment, show shame. I don't want somebody's head on a stick. Again, what happened with the Philly trade, I don't think is necessarily fireable. I do think it should involve some internal examination of like who does what, who knows what. Let's make sure all our T's are crossed and I's are dotted. But from a fan perspective, I was kind of interested in hearing what Duke had to say. Not just why did this trade not happen? Not just did some random guy on the internet, I know he's not random, why does he know more about your compensatory pick situation than you? 00:08:50 Speaker 3: But also, really? When that trade fell through, there was nothing else to pivot to? Really? 00:08:58 Speaker 2: You've seen this team play eight games and for all of its attributes and all of the good things about it, you looked at it and said, we don't need anybody? or what we would have to give up in order to get somebody in a season that this organization has prioritized, unlike any other future asset wasn't worth giving up. A younger player who doesn't play a lot wasn't worth giving up. Duke Tobin may have answered those questions and maybe he wouldn't have provided very satisfactory answers, but the person who should be answering those questions is not the head coach of the football team. So I don't, I felt like Zach, some would say he threw Duke under the bus. I think he was pretty transparent here. Like, I'm not comfortable doing this because this isn't my department. Like, if you were Zach Taylor, wouldn't you tell Duke Tobin, like, hey, big boy, next time I make a decision in a game and everybody wants to know what I was thinking and what I was doing, how about you go answer the questions? How about you go handle them? press conference? So this goes away if they win, and I think they're going to win on Sunday. And once they win on Sunday, they have a very good chance to take a five-game winning streak and turn it into a six, seven, and eight-game winning streak. But it kind of feels like the entire modus operandi of the organization is. 00:10:24 Speaker 3: Eh, yeah, you know what? 00:10:25 Speaker 2: Joe and Jamar and T are going to fix it. That's often been a thing on the field. In this case, it kind of feels like something that's off the field. And I think Duke Tobin, to a large degree, this was not a good look yesterday. I think this makes it work worse. 16 minutes after 5 o'clock. Kelsey Conway wrote about what happened with the Philly trade yesterday. She'll join us next. We also got to talk about how we're going to talk about L.A. Dela Cruz. Let's set the stage for the offseason. As lockout interrupted as it may be coming up in about 20 minutes on ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Nation. 00:11:05 Speaker 1: Cincinnati's ESPN 1530. 00:11:09 Speaker 2: Traffic. 00:11:10 Speaker 3: From the UC Health Traffic Center. 00:11:13 Speaker 1: This is Football in the Natty, brought to you in part by Skyline Chili on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. 00:11:25 Speaker 2: 23 after 5. This is ESPN 1530, Mo Egger. On Wednesdays, we catch up with our friend from the Enquirer and Cincinnati.com, the host of the Beyond Sunday podcast, back from Madrid, covering a Bengals game. Trade deadline that left us with more questions than answers. She's written about it. Kelsey Conway is here. Hi. 00:11:46 Speaker 3: Hi, Mo. 00:11:48 Speaker 6: How you doing? 00:11:50 Speaker 7: I'm well. 00:11:50 Speaker 2: What is going on down there? I mean, what is... We got a trade deadline. Duke's making trades. And there's a guy on the internet who says, well, they shouldn't make this trade. Then Zach Taylor has to explain on Duke's behalf, well, it went wrong, but Duke's not going to talk about it instead. It's me. 00:12:07 Speaker 3: What is going on down there? 00:12:10 Speaker 6:

Yeah, I think you summarized it pretty well. I think it's. 00:12:15 Speaker 7: Unnecessary chaos is how I would explain it. I did some digging on the situation yesterday and this is what I know. 00:12:27 Speaker 6: And Zach reiterated it today. 00:12:30 Speaker 7: The Bengals were fully ready to make the trade and Although they haven't said publicly that it was the tweet or what exactly transpired for them to realize the compensatory pick issue, it is true in that they found out after they had already agreed to terms with the Eagles. And then at that point, they did not feel strong enough that losing out on a potential third round pick for that level of player was acceptable in addition to a six round pick. So then they're scrambling and they call the trade off. And so of course the conversation is, how did they not know that? You know, that's a conversation for a different day, but the bigger story to me were two things. One, that they didn't address any other positional need. And two, I don't think it's been talked about enough that they won't come out and say it, but you don't go out and get. 00:13:40 Speaker 6: A rotational edge rusher like that. 00:13:43 Speaker 7: If you had enough belief in Shamar Stewart and Miles Murphy down the stretch. And I know that they'll say it's a numbers game that they wanted to have a group of five edge rushers. 00:13:55 Speaker 6: And that's why they wanted to go out and get, you know, a fifth. 00:13:58 Speaker 1: One, but. 00:14:00 Speaker 6: They have players on the practice squad. 00:14:02 Speaker 7: They don't need to give up a six-round pick for that player if you felt like you could win with Shamar Stewart and Miles Murphy. And so to me, that's one of the interesting developments from this is they basically admitted without saying it that we need more edge help because. 00:14:20 Speaker 6: Without Cassius Howell... The. 00:14:22 Speaker 7: Pressure package that we were going to make be the one thing that we're really good at, we can't do it. And so that to me was one of the bigger takeaways is that they clearly have an issue outside of Boye-Maffei as far as consistent edge pressure. And that's problematic to me because there's so many holes on the back end that the one thing you can count on them doing is like bringing pressure and being good at it. And if they can't do that, then what can they hang their hats on on defense? 00:14:51 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's fair. I guess, okay, fine. 00:14:54 Speaker 2: So the deal they were going to make, common sense stepped in, we're not going to make it. There was nothing else they could do in the aftermath of that deal falling apart? 00:15:03 Speaker 7: No, because I think at that point, from what I understand, and which shouldn't come as a shock to you for as long as you've followed this organization, but They are never going to be true players at the trade deadline, especially on a year that they traded away a first round pick. Like that was such a big deal for them. And I really think at this point, we've almost like normalized it. Like that was an unprecedented situation. The Bengals really, really, really, really value their day one and day two picks. And if you look at what the Jags gave up and what the Bills gave up, First, second round picks, obviously the Broncos and Chiefs. 00:15:46 Speaker 6: Were more mid-round picks. 00:15:48 Speaker 7: The Bengals are not going to be, I don't foresee it being something unless it's like a dire. 00:15:54 Speaker 6: Dire situation. 00:15:56 Speaker 7: The type of franchise that is ever willing to give up a first, second, or third round pick... In the middle of the season, it's just not who they've been and it's not something they're comfortable doing. And they more so than other franchises really value this whole notion of we're not going to mortgage our future for right now. And of course, that's not what Bengals fans want to hear. But that's just how they that's just how it is. And the other piece of it is and this isn't this part also won't come as a surprise to you. They are looking at all of the contracts that they have on the books next year. And that is Dexter Lawrence, Boye Maffe, T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, Joe Burrow. They're going to have. 00:16:39 Speaker 6: To pay DJ Turner. 00:16:40 Speaker 7: They've got some pretty hefty contracts loaded at specific positions. And I wrote this, although it was fun for people to talk about and speculate about Jonathan Taylor. 00:16:50 Speaker 6: The Bengals were never going to be able to afford. 00:16:54 Speaker 7: giving up a first or second round pick for him and then take on his contract. 00:16:59 Speaker 6: That is $ 15 million a year. They just can't do it. 00:17:02 Speaker 7: And they're never gonna do it, especially at a position like running back. 00:17:06 Speaker 6: So I really think it was a, I. 00:17:08 Speaker 7: Never really thought that they would be legitimate players because I, that's just not how they operate and you can agree with it or disagree with it. And it's, you know, obviously an important piece to talk about, but They just are never going to be that franchise with this regime in the front office. And that's why I thought yesterday when other than the whole disaster with the trade that didn't go through, it went how I expected it because I just don't ever see them being willing to say, you know what. 00:17:36 Speaker 6: We're going to go for it this year. 00:17:37 Speaker 7: We're going to give up a second round pick in addition to giving up our first round pick last year. 00:17:42 Speaker 2: Was it at all possible to make the team better without giving up that specific kind of draft capital? 00:17:49 Speaker 6: They didn't feel so. I think that the players. 00:17:52 Speaker 7: That they had, I know that they had conversations about players. 00:17:56 Speaker 6: I don't think that they just sat up there and said, we're good, we don't need anything. 00:18:01 Speaker 7: But I think the initial

conversations, the next step after you share interest is, can you guys get to point. 00:18:10 Speaker 6: B, which is compensation? 00:18:11 Speaker 7: And it just didn't seem like any of the players that they were interested in they can also meet the requirement of the compensation piece. 00:18:20 Speaker 6: And that's why trades. 00:18:21 Speaker 7: Are so hard for teams that aren't willing to change with the times totally. The Bengals can manage free agency because it doesn't involve the other team. Trades are complicated for a franchise like the Bengals because you have to have both sides agree on what compensation looks like and if. 00:18:43 Speaker 6: It's fine for both sides. And the Bengals. 00:18:47 Speaker 7: weren't able to feel comfortable with what the other teams were offering. 00:18:51 Speaker 6: And that's why they didn't get anybody. 00:18:54 Speaker 3: I want to punch myself in the head. 00:18:58 Speaker 6: I know you're like, I can't believe I called you, but. 00:19:02 Speaker 7: It, it, it's, it's not surprising to me because the same people that the fans want to change are are the same people that told you all offseason they think they were good enough at linebacker. So I guess for me, that's why I never let my head really think that they were actually going to be big players in the trade deadline, because I just have followed everything that they've said, and they've been so convicted, almost stubborn to a point. 00:19:31 Speaker 6: And so now really the story is. 00:19:32 Speaker 7: The trade deadline will either be a talking point at the end of the season because If the Bengals don't make the playoffs or if they bounce early out and say the Bills make the run or the Jags and they win the AFC because of the additions that they made... then the Bengals are going to have to answer to that. But say the Bengals string together four wins, I don't think people are really going to be talking about the trade deadline. And I think that the Bengals are betting on them winning as many games as they can with the team that they have and. 00:20:09 Speaker 6: You don't have to agree with it. You don't have to like it, but that's just how they operate. 00:20:13 Speaker 2: Yeah, the way they operate is we'll screw some stuff up, but Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, and Tee Higgins, they'll make it, right? That's how they've operated now for a while. That's how they've operated when it comes to roster building, and now it's like, okay, if they go win on Sunday, and I think they will. And then that's five straight wins, and they're in first place. The conversation will change. And so, hey, Joe, Jamar, and T, go bail us out so everybody stops talking about how we have no idea what we're doing at the trade deadline. 00:20:40 Speaker 6: Sure, and that's totally how I think a lot of people view it. 00:20:45 Speaker 7: And I go back to the point of, like, they've come a long way with Joe Burrow as far as gaining back some trust. I know for a fact that Joe

Burrow over the last two years has been very vocal behind the scenes of like, we have got to improve on defense. And I think the Dexter Lawrence trade, the Boye-Mafé addition, the Brian Cook addition, Jonathan Allen, I think all of those pieces have helped bridge back some trust from joe with the front office and the team as far as them showing okay joe we we are going to give you some pieces we've realized we can't do it on our own but can you imagine if in the same year that dex they got dexter lawrence that they showed we're actually going to pull off an in-season trade not for joe flacco but for a corner or a linebacker and Can you imagine how galvanized today Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase, two players who are already playing at an incredibly. 00:21:40 Speaker 6: High level, can you imagine how they would feel? 00:21:43 Speaker 7: But instead today, we're about to go into Joe Burrow's press conference, and one of the first questions is going to be, do you wish your team did more? It keeps going back to the same conversation, and they could have. 00:21:56 Speaker 7: Negated it by making a move and really just gotten themselves to a point where things were really good. And so it's just one of those things where You would have liked to see it happen, but it didn't. And I'm not really surprised. 00:22:09 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:22:09 Speaker 2: I mean, coming off the Madrid trip, which, you know, they get they get an A plus for how they handled all that. The Steelers coming here this week, like if you could have beaten them and then sandwich in between like a piece that just makes everybody feel like, all right, we're really going for it right now. I think the ancillary benefit to that emotionally, at least, would have been would have been pretty awesome. 00:22:31 Speaker 7: And talk about Sunday, the atmosphere. I'm fully expecting it to be, regardless, like an awesome place. But I think everybody on Sunday would have been like, if we win this game, we traded for. 00:22:43 Speaker 6: A player, we got Dexter Lawrence. 00:22:44 Speaker 7: Like, I think the trajectory of these three years that have been really bad between the fans and the team, I think you could have made up for a lot of it. But, you know, we'll see if they go out and win. And, you know, winning tends to cure all the time. But if you lose, then this week is one that you then you put in your notebook when you're doing your whole season recap of like the Bengals had everything in front of them. 00:23:11 Speaker 6: This is the glory years for the Bengals. 00:23:14 Speaker 7: And it all started to fall apart on the trade deadline week, because in addition to not acquiring talent, their front office that they continue to say, you know, we don't need any more people. We have all the information. We don't need any more checks and balance systems. Well, You don't help yourself when these types of things happen. 00:23:33 Speaker 2: Well, let's say they don't win on Sunday and they lose the game. And afterward, we're kind of revisiting a critical Zach Taylor decision that went awry. Will Duke Tobin do the press conference for him since Zach did him a solid today? 00:23:47 Speaker 7: I can confidently tell you that is absolutely not going to happen. I think that the next time any of us will hear from Duke Tobin, We'll either be following the season, which we don't even know if that's going to continue to be a thing in January or if it'll be at the combine. And I think that it was a missed opportunity to not even, you know, and the Bengals beat put in a request for Duke Tobin, either a statement or, you know, talk to him and it was denied. 00:24:17 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:24:19 Speaker 7: So I think it was a missed opportunity to not address it and take accountability and instead having Zach having to do it. 00:24:27 Speaker 6: But the Bengals are steadfast in wanting one voice during the season and one voice in the offseason. 00:24:33 Speaker 7: So, yeah, I don't think Duke Tobin will be holding any sort of press conferences anytime soon, regardless of what happens. 00:24:43 Speaker 6: On Sunday night. But I think Sunday night's going to be really. 00:24:45 Speaker 7: Interesting because I think the Bengals are playing really well. And I've kind of, you know, been suspicious of the Steelers all season long, but you got to give it to them. They've won four games in a row. Mike McCarthy's a really good coach. And I think we got to stop saying like, oh, the Bengals should just beat the Steelers. So they have Joe Burrow. Like the Steelers are a pretty good team. So I think the Bengals are going to have to play really well. And I'm sure you've seen the stat, like the history doesn't bode well for teams that are coming off of an international trip facing a team coming off of a bye. So I think this is, I mean, we, it feels like we kind of do this every week, but this week to me more so than anything is a game where Zach Taylor and Al have to have their best because you got everything in front of you, a home game, your crowd's. 00:25:30 Speaker 6: Going to be into it. 00:25:32 Speaker 7: You got to be able to handle this game and really take control of the division. 00:25:36 Speaker 6: So we'll see, we'll see how it goes, but it'll be fun. 00:25:38 Speaker 3: Did you enjoy Madrid? 00:25:41 Speaker 2: I did. 00:25:41 Speaker 7: You know, I am a very picky eater. And so I was kind of like, I don't know how I'm going to survive in Madrid. Um, so I ate a lot of hamburgers, but it was, it. 00:25:52 Speaker 6: Was a beautiful city. 00:25:53 Speaker 7: Like, you know, you saw clips from the players that like, if you get fast food in Europe, like you're, you know, that shouldn't be allowed. 00:26:00 Speaker 6: I am that person. 00:26:01 Speaker 7: Um, But I will say I didn't really know what to expect of Spain. But Madrid was absolutely beautiful. 00:26:08 Speaker 6: It was so clean. It was safe. It was a gorgeous city. The people were nice. 00:26:13 Speaker

7: The NFL did an incredible job shuttling us to practice the games. It was an awesome experience. And clearly the Bengals fans felt the same way. I mean, I was blown away by how many fans were there. And I think top to bottom, it was just a really great trip. 00:26:28 Speaker 3: Awesome. Well, welcome back. And thank you as always. 00:26:32 Speaker 6: Thanks so much for having me on. 00:26:33 Speaker 2: That's Kelsey Conway covering the Bengals for the Inquirer and Cincinnati.com, host of the Beyond Sunday podcast, where Kelsey chats with the moms and significant others of Bengals players. You heard her mention Joe Burrow is going to talk at six o'clock. They'll have that covered. on Bengals game plan, which starts in just about 25 minutes. Got to spend a few minutes on Ellie Dela Cruz next, ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station. 00:26:59 Speaker 1: You've been listening to Football in the Natty on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. 00:27:12 Speaker 5: This week, Sunday Night Football in America arrives in Cincinnati as the Bengals renew their AFC North feud with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A rivalry so bitter it makes black coffee taste like a milkshake. It's four quarters of hard hits, high drama, and plenty of divisional disdain. Catch every snap. Every collision and every moment of AFC North chaos. The game kicks off at 8.20 p.m. with coverage starting at 4 p.m. Sunday. Stream for free on the new and improved iHeartRadio app or on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. 00:27:50 Speaker 2: Quarter to six. This is ESPN 1530. Bengals game plans 20 minutes away. We'll go to Pittsburgh tomorrow. Look ahead to Sunday. Cannot wait for the game on Sunday. Pre-game coverage at the Grail starts at 3. Tony, Audie, and me, the Holy Grail tonight, home of Bengals game plan. So that'll be exciting. Nick Kroll at the GM meeting said that the Reds haven't had any conversations with teams about Eli De La Cruz. 00:28:16 Speaker 3: Look, this. 00:28:19 Speaker 2: Is the topic of the offseason, and we all hate that this is the topic of the offseason. What are the Reds going to do with Eli De La Cruz? And chances are the answer isn't give him an extension it's are they going to trade him or are they not going to trade him should they trade him or should they not trade him and it's painful to do this like nobody nobody wants to talk about trading a great player like ellie de la cruz when he's coming off an excellent season has years left on his deal but let's face it the reds don't appear to be in a position where they're going to win with him and it also stinks that they haven't won so far with him during the first four, nearly four years of his big league career. So this is the topic of the off season. We're going to have conversations about this before we do though. I want to know how we're going to talk about this. Are we going to talk about this from an emotional perspective where the conversation is driven by People aren't going to go to games anymore if they trade Eli Dela Cruz. Or someone's 11-year-old is going to cry if they trade Eli Dela Cruz. Or, hey, my kid's got an Eli Dela Cruz jersey. Now how do I tell him that? Ellie's not here? If we're going to have the conversation from an emotional perspective, okay. I think we should have the conversation from a more logical perspective. And unfortunately, from a more cold perspective, if we remove the emotion from the conversation, it becomes about what's best for the Reds, frankly, long-term fortunes. Eli De La Cruz, one of the best players in the sport, with a somewhat controllable salary, under team control for the next three years, at the age of 24, 25... is one of the hottest trade commodities in the recent history of the sport. 00:30:32 Speaker 3: You could get back a lot. 00:30:34 Speaker 2: Now, do you trust the Reds to execute the right move to get back what they need? And I ask this not just from the perspective of how we talk about this, but how is this going to be discussed in the hallways at GABP? Will the conversation be driven by, yeah, if we trade them, there's going to be more sell the team billboards and we're going to have season ticket holders bail and people are going to be mad at us and they're going to tweet mean things about us. Or is the conversation going to be driven by, look, this is unfortunately where we are. 00:31:09 Speaker 3: We need a lot. 00:31:11 Speaker 2: The best way to get a lot is to trade away a guy who can get us a lot. How are we going to be talking about this? Is it emotional? If it's emotional, my fuse is going to be pretty short. I will admit it because I hate to do this. The right answer is to at least entertain what other teams would offer you, not give them away, not trade them for 50 cents on the dollar. But see if you can maximize his value, and his value is already very, very, very high. If we're going to do this from a logical perspective, I think there's some really good conversations to be had about what they could get, when they should trade him, who they would be willing to trade him to, exactly what you would accept in a return. If this is emotional, if it's I'm going to fill my diaper, if they trade them, I'm going to yell and scream about how I'm never going to go to games again. I'm going to lose my mind because my kid's got his jersey. I'm going to yell and scream because my kid's yelling and screaming. 00:32:10 Speaker 3: I don't know. 00:32:11 Speaker 2: I know how we should talk about this. And more specific, I know how this should be talked about a GABP, not from an emotional perspective. From a cold, calculated, logical baseball perspective. Like the perspective they use in Milwaukee. We are back tomorrow at 3.05. Anything you may have missed, go find on the iHeartRadio app. Thanks to Long Neck's Sports Grill. Dan Hoard, Wayne Boxmiller waiting in the wings. Joe Flacco expected to stop by the Holy Grail tonight. Bengals game plan starting at 6.00. Thank you for listening. Have an awesome night. Thanks to Taryn Bland for producing. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station. From the UCHealth Traffic Center with 40 years of expertise, trust UCHealth for epilepsy care built around you. 00:33:15 Speaker 3: Visit uchealth.com slash epilepsy.

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