CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians are “getting after it” during workouts at Progressive Field this week as they prepare to open the American League Division Series on Saturday against either Detroit or Houston.
Manager Stephen Vogt met with reporters via Zoom on Tuesday after watching his plaers compete in a simulated game. The club will work out Wednesday, Thursday and Friday ahead of Saturday’s playoff opener.
Vogt was asked about the progress of Alex Cobb, where Tanner Bibee stands as the potential Game 1 starter and his level of excitement heading into his first playoff game as Cleveland’s skipper.
Below is everything Vogt had to say Tuesday after the Guards wrapped up their practice.
Q: Do you have any plans for Alex Cobb and how he’s going to handle the next few days leading up to everything? What is the hope for him once the postseason gets here?
Stephen Vogt: “The only update on Alex is that he’s trending really well. He threw off the mound today and then he’ll be throwing a sim game, I believe on Thursday.”
Q: How did Tanner Bibee come through the simulated game yesterday?
SV: “Really well. I think he ended up 70-75 pitches. Looked good. Stuff was coming out well. He got his work in. We were able to create pretty good game atmosphere for him. Tanner felt really good coming out of it.”
Q: Is it safe to say he’ll be your starter on Saturday?
SV: “We haven’t really worked through the exact details, but Tanner’s on track.”
Q: What is the mood like with your guys as you prepare for this next part of the season?
SV: “Guys are excited. I think today had a little bit of a spring training feel to it. Obviously a little different being at this point in the year, but we were able to get a lot of good work in today. Kind of going over some fundamental things and getting some live at-bats. Some really good work in the cage and defensively. We’re just trying to keep our guys active and in game-like situations. And we had a really good day today.”
Q: What kind of challenges are presented when you’re thinking about constructing a lineup and knowing that the starters are going to have a shorter leash here in the playoffs?
SV: “Going into it, we’re going to keep our cadence at how we’ve gone about it all year, and that’s to construct the lineup to beat the starter. It might look a little bit different at times, but I think you’re going to see a lot of the similarities that you’ve seen throughout the regular season. It’s who we are. Knowing who they’re starting, who’s rested in their bullpen, who’s ready to go, we’ll have more information obviously leading up to the day, but we don’t plan to change our course or our cadence of how we’ve done it all year.”
Q: What are you most looking forward to with everything starting on Saturday?
SV: “I can’t wait to just see Progressive Field packed and excited for a playoff game. Our guys are really pumped, ready to go. There’s nothing better than postseason baseball. It’s like, the hard part is over. It’s 162 games, grueling getting through it. Now, let’s just go have fun and play our game and see what happens, because these guys have earned it.”
Q: How long do the simulated games last?
SV: Today was just a hair under two hours or so. It’s about 5-6 innings of pitching. Sometimes we’re doing different things throughout the simulated game. But yeah, about two hours.
Q: Do you pump in crowd noise? Like during the COVID season?
SV: “Oh yeah. Getting some 2020 flashbacks at points. That’s what we’ve got going on.”
Q: Is the emotion or the anxiety any different in this position compared to when you were a player? Just heading into the postseason when you’re still kind of waiting?
SV: “I don’t think there’s any anxiety. There’s just excitement. This is going to be a blast. We have an opportunity to make a run at a World Series. It’s what we’ve talked about since day one of spring training. Our guys have been working for this. We’ve been built for this, and we feel really good about where we are. I’d say it’s more excitement than anything else. It’s definitely different in this position compared to as a player. As a player, you just get excited to play. We’ve got a lot of decisions to make, a lot of things to talk through and think through and conversations with players, staff, everybody. So it’s been a busier time than when I was a player, but the excitement’s there.”
Q: Do your responsibilities grow as a manager in the playoffs?
SV: “It’s just one more game. I mean, the responsibilities have been the same since day one of taking the job and our responsibility is to support and help our players be the best they can be and put them into positions to succeed. So, responsibility is the same, you just take it one game at a time.”
Q: Have you brought players up from Columbus or are there players here that didn’t end the season with you that might still be in consideration for the roster?
SV: “We’re considering a lot of people. I think we’ve got a good group that was here today, some pitchers and some position players yesterday. So we’ve got a lot of our roster here and some Columbus guys. We can go in many different directions with this roster, and that’s the versatility of our organization.”
Q: Is a guy like Triston McKenzie still in the mix?
SV: “Triston is still throwing. Yeah. So, he’s still working.”
If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700 or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. 21+ and present in Ohio. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
