CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Josh Bell is starting to settle in with his new, and young Cleveland Guardians teammates.
Eight games in, Bell is really enjoying manager Terry Francona’s brand of Guardians baseball.
“It's like they're playing with their pants on fire,” Bell told 92.3 The Fan prior to Saturday’s game against the Seattle Mariners. “First to third, stealing bags. Especially with this pitch clock, you're seeing some early breaks that are just really entertaining. Grinder at bats, back and forth games, coming out on top and not giving up in late innings. It's a beautiful, beautiful game that Tito is pushing these guys to show night in night out and so I'm definitely excited to be a part of the pack.”
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Bell signed a two-year, $33 million contract as a free agent this offseason.
He believes he picked the perfect team to join, especially with Major League Baseball eliminating the defensive shift, limiting pickoff attempts by pitchers and adding a pitch clock to speed up the game and force more action on the basepaths.
“This is the game – it's going to be speed. It's not going to be looking for five or six guys that are going to hit 40 homers and be okay with a ton of strikeouts,” Bell said. “It's going to be getting guys on base that can steal, that can go first to third, that have quality at bats and that can wear starters down. Especially now, because the starter has to be on the mound throwing and throwing and throwing so you can really wear 'em down and get into the bullpen early. So definitely pumped that yeah, I feel like I chose the right squad for these rules too.”
Bell has found amusement in fans counting down with the pitch clock when it gets to five.
“I think it's funny because sometimes with, at least when we were on the road, they were counting down early to try to make the picture pick off or pitch earlier, pitch too quickly,” Bell said. “So it's cool that part of the fan experience is awesome.”
Adjusting to the new rules remains a work in progress for everyone in the game, including Bell.
“You can't really practice that in the off season, but I feel like the pitcher's probably got the short end of the stick there with not being able to step off with nobody on,” Bell said. “Seems like there's been a ton more pitcher violations than hitters, at least what I've seen so far. And just for the fans in general, I think they're excited and they're counting down three, two, one. It's a different aspect that you haven't seen on a baseball field, so it's definitely cool to experience.”
Silver Sluggers – Prior to Saturday’s second game with the Seattle Mariners Bell and All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez were handed their Silver Slugger Awards.
“It's awesome. It's just one of the things that we as players dream of, get some hardware,” Bell said. “It wasn't exactly the hardware that I was looking for at the end of last year, but happy to walk away with something after 2022.”
Bell hit .266 with 17 home run and 71 RBI combined with the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres last season while Ramirez finished fourth in American League MVP voting after slugging .280 at the plate with 29 home runs and 126 RBI.
The award is the first for Bell while Ramirez collected his fourth Silver Slugger.
“What is that? Like his fifth or sixth one?,” Bell said with a smile. “So, it's nothing new for him, but I, I'll definitely be excited to be celebrated with him and hopefully we can run it back again this year.”
Turn up the heat – First pitch Friday was a chilly 41 degrees, and it felt much colder on the field. Saturday evening it wasn’t much warmer – just 45 degrees.
Francona doesn’t want his players to focused on the mercury despite the mental and physical challenges the chilly temperatures present.
“If you allow yourself to be talked into it's cold, then it's going to be cold,” Francina said. “Saying that, if you can't feel the ball, I worry sometimes about guys like Trevor [Stephan] with his split. I do think when it's hot you're going to see guys be able to feel the ball better.
“I mean I went out to the mound [Friday] to make a pitching change [and] that ball felt like a cue ball.”
Several Guardians players went down to the end of the dugout Friday to warm their bats by the heater.
McKenzie checkup – Starter Tristan McKenzie will undergo a checkup Sunday to see how his shoulder muscle strain is progressing.
“I think that they just examine, test, compare where maybe he was to where he is and certainly ask questions as they do it and see how he feels,” Francona said. “By his account he's doing good, which is probably the biggest thing of all.”
Although there is no specific return date for McKenzie, he could return at the end of May should he continue to progress as expected.
Keeping it simple – As he begins his second season as hitting coach, Chris Valaika has connected well with his players, and just as much with his boss, Francona.
“One of the things I used to love about Dave Magadan was when you'd ask him a question, he'd explain it to you and when he was done explaining, we'd be like, damn, that was so I understood that,” Francona said. “And Val's got a lot of those same qualities. When he tells you, it's like, s***, okay. It's not like rocket science. It's hitting and hitting is hard enough.
“That's probably why I like Val so much. I mean, I just think he explains it so hitters can understand it.”
Rim upgrade – Several Guardians players play mini basketball in the clubhouse and this season their rim got a big upgrade.
A miniature NBA-style breakaway rim and backboard has replaced the trash can style backboard and rim they played on last year. The drywall around the apparatus was cut out and it is now bolted to the concrete pillar to allow for the competitive dunking that tends to break out from time to time.