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00:00whole city's basking in the performance of one Tarek scuba who was dazzling in game two
00:07of the ALDS. He joins us this morning. Tarek, good morning. Good morning. Thanks for having
00:13me. You were in the zone. How do you describe that game on Monday? It was a ton of fun.
00:19I mean, the environment was great. Obviously to come out with a win is what matters, but
00:25it was fun. It was fun being on the mound and doing that. That was fun, but obviously
00:30the carp swing, I mean, that changes everything there. I mean, what a swing. How do you handle
00:37the expectations, the pressure, the stress of being a Cy Young candidate, the season
00:43that you had? Now you come into the postseason and everybody wants to know, can he do it
00:47postseason? Now you haven't given up a run in the postseason. How do you handle the expectations
00:53to prepare for the next time you're on the mound? Yeah, I mean, I think expectations,
01:00that's a lot of outside noise that to be honest, doesn't really matter to me. I'm trying to
01:06do the same thing every time I pitch and that's put my team in a position to win. I'm at my
01:11best when I simplify the game and just worry about throwing strikes, executing pitches,
01:18whatever Raj calls, go out there and execute it. That's what I'm at my best. So that's
01:23what I'm doing right now. You mentioned Rodgers as your catcher. He's caught every game. What's
01:30that relationship like and how does it develop between pitcher and catcher so that you just
01:35trust what he's calling? Yeah, I think one, it's a lot of the preparation that he puts
01:41in and his ability to just read guys, read swings, understand situations in games, all
01:50that kind of stuff. So when you see all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes, it's
01:55very easy for me to just trust what he's calling and he calls a really aggressive game and
02:00I like that. We're going right at guys and that's what I'm at my best and he knows that
02:07too. So he does a great job behind the plate. You mentioned the atmosphere already of pitching
02:12in Cleveland. What came over you with the Cleveland crowd egging each other on? Yeah,
02:18I don't really know what that was. Probably shouldn't have done that, but it's just in
02:24the moment, whatever. It happened, but yeah, I don't really know what that was, but it
02:29happened. So we saw on social media, your mom hit you with a Tarek Daniel because of
02:34some language. Oh no, middle name alert. Did you get a message from mom? Yeah. Yeah. She
02:40texted me after the game, you know, I love you or whatever. But she was saying the same
02:44thing. She's like, you can't do that, you know, on the road. And I'm like, I know, mom,
02:48I know. I don't know what got into me, but yeah, that was, that was really funny. Yeah.
02:54We loved it. When was the last time she went full name on you? Tarek Daniel. I haven't,
03:01I haven't heard her call me by my, you know, Tarek Daniel was when I was in trouble growing
03:05up. So I haven't gotten that in a, in a while. It's probably since, you know, high school
03:10was when the last time I was really in trouble with my mom. So yeah, I think that's really
03:16funny. You seem like you, you wish you hadn't done it though, but it kind of felt like you
03:20were feeding off it. Didn't it help you? I don't, at least from afar, it looked like
03:23that helped you amp up a little bit. Yeah. I think there's you know, I, I guess I wish
03:30I would've just kept it within our team, you know, just within our team and our guys and,
03:35and not really interact with fans just because it's, you know, it becomes a slippery slope
03:41in that aspect of, of what's going on and, and some bad things can happen, you know?
03:45You know, especially, you know, fans are drunk, whatever happens, you know, I, I should probably
03:51just keep that within our team, you know, going forward, but you know, it was, it was
03:57fun. Obviously I fed off of it, but yeah, whatever. We, we heard during the broadcast
04:05that we knew the, their special relationship that you have with Matthew Boyd, what was
04:10it like facing him in game two? And then we also, so, you know, saw you guys leaving
04:15together. What were the converse, what type of conversations do you have with a friend,
04:19with an opponent after a game like that? Yeah. So I mean, obviously first off seeing him,
04:27you know, pregame going through our pregame stuff, kind of right next to each other. I
04:30thought that was really cool. He means a ton to me. The role that he played, you know,
04:35for me when I first got to the big leagues was, you know, definitely like a mentor, leader,
04:41you know, role for me to help me, you know, get on my feet and that's something I'll forever
04:45be grateful for. I think him and his family are very special people. I think the city
04:48of Detroit knows that too. So to be able to, you know, go at it on the, on the biggest
04:53stage I think was, was pretty special. But then post game, you know, I just, we were
04:58talking about the game and, you know, how much fun it was to go and compete in that
05:02environment. And, you know, I thought he looked great too. So, you know, you tell guys
05:06that, you know, just we're playing each other, but we're also humans. And that was just kind
05:11of just like genuine conversation. I asked him how his family was doing and when they're
05:14going to get to Detroit and stuff like that. And yeah, I mean, he's, he's a really good
05:20dude. That was a ton of fun. Talking to Tiger pitcher, Tarek Scoble, AJ Hinch had mentioned
05:25Matthew Boyd and how everybody, you know, really respects Boyd. When we talked to AJ,
05:30he doesn't like to take too much credit for what's going on with this baseball team. He
05:34doesn't want the spotlight, but could you spotlight just what you've seen, not only
05:37with the moves, but the leadership and how the role he's played in getting you guys where
05:41you are right now?
05:42Yeah, I think he definitely deserves a ton of credit. You know, the role that he's played,
05:48you know, obviously being the manager, but just the impact he's had on, on our guys,
05:53you know, there's no panic from him. And I think that feeds, you know, that trickles
05:56down right into our guys to where, you know, we're young, but guys come up and they just
06:00play with confidence and play with, you know, emotion, whatever gets them going and they're
06:05just allowed to play freely. And I think that's, you know, a credit to him. And then obviously
06:09all the stuff that he's doing with, you know, the bullpen match-ups, all that pitching stuff.
06:15I think he definitely deserves a ton of credit. I mean, obviously the guy's got to go out
06:18there and perform, but you know, he's doing a ton of research and homework and getting
06:22guys in positions for them to go out there and have success. And, you know, it definitely
06:27doesn't go unnoticed. I think everyone in the clubhouse, you know, we all trust him
06:31and, you know, believe in him and every move that he makes, you know, pinch hitting, all
06:35that stuff. Everyone plays, you know, every single day. So everyone's pretty dialed in
06:39and we all trust in, in the process and what he's doing. So, you know, as much as he probably
06:44doesn't want the credit, I think he deserves a ton of it.
06:47I know you won't be on the mound today and it would be short rest for you to be on the
06:51mound tomorrow. What do you think the, the experience, the environment will be like at
06:56Comerica today?
06:59I'm really excited. I'm really excited. You know, I've always heard ever since I got in
07:02the big leagues in 2020 and 21 that playoff baseball in Detroit's the best in the, in
07:08the big leagues. So we were able to do that and bring a playoff game back home. So I'm
07:14excited to get to the yard and experience that, you know, I wish somehow I lined up
07:19that I was, you know, starting one of these games just because that environment would
07:22be pretty special to throw in front of. But, you know, I'm excited. I'm excited to get
07:27to the yard today.
07:28John brought up short rest, not a consideration right now. Kind of a delicate question. The
07:32longer you guys play, how open or comfortable are you pitching on shorter rest deeper in
07:39the postseason? Knowing, you know, you want to make sure you pitch your best, but is that
07:41a conversation that you have had or are open to?
07:46Yeah, I haven't had any conversations with, you know, with AJ or, you know, Fed or anything
07:52like that. I'm, I'm open to whenever they want me to throw, I'll throw. You know, I,
07:59I want to win just as bad as anybody. So that's, that'll probably be how that conversation
08:03goes. But yeah, I mean, I love, I love playing the game. You know, short rest does kind of
08:10diminish, you know, maybe stuff and stuff like that, but you know, I'm ready to go out
08:13there and compete, you know, on any given day. But yeah, I haven't had any of those
08:18conversations yet.
08:19We saw Fiery Scooble against Tampa Bay and that one was at home. It was the end of the
08:24regular season, but you guys were, you know, meaningful games, meaningful games, pushing
08:29for a playoff spot. And then you obviously had the game, you know, yesterday and you
08:35were feeding off both crowds. Which do you feed off of more when you're in a hostile
08:40environment or when you see the, the, the crowd at Comerica go in bonkers?
08:46Yeah. I mean, I, I want to throw it home. Always throwing in front of your home fans
08:51is, is a ton of fun. And yeah, I mean, they're, they're different, you know, throwing in front
08:57of a hostile environment is fun in its own right. You know but I, I think nothing beats
09:02throwing at home in front of your own fans. I think the support that they give you I think
09:08you feed off that even more, you know, cause they want you to do well. You want to do well.
09:12Whereas in a hostile environment, they're hoping you fail, but you're trying, you know,
09:15you're trying to go out there and have success. But I'd much rather throw in front of our
09:18home fans. I think it's, I think it's a ton of fun and credit to Cleveland, you know,
09:22to our fans too. There's a ton of Tiger fans in Cleveland. So that was, that was obviously
09:25fun. You know, there's some let's go Tigers chants and post game, there's a big group
09:29of fans, you know, above our dugout. I think that was awesome too. But yeah, I'd much rather
09:33throw in front of our home fans.
09:34I saw you doing some of the media after the game. You were wearing that gritty t-shirt,
09:38the one that's got the, the graph that showed maybe the playoff probability spiking at the
09:42very end with the word gritty. It's, it's a word the Lions have used too. How connected
09:47is this city? I know Dan Campbell was on with us earlier today. He's talked about rooting
09:51for you guys, just the way that you guys have been able to ignite the city. Do you feel
09:54like it's connected right now?
09:56Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think it started with the Lions, right? I mean, what they did
10:00last year was a ton of fun and you saw the fans kind of, you know, like buy into the
10:06Lions and everything that, you know, Dan Campbell's doing over there. And then, you know, trickles
10:10down to us and we're playing, you know, and then the Red Wings kind of, I mean, they made
10:14a playoff push and they won their last game, but they got a little unlucky with another
10:18team winning and not getting into the playoffs. So you see what they're doing and the momentum
10:22that they have. And then, you know, we're just kind of feeding off that too, you know,
10:25with, with our organization and our team, you know, I think Detroit's a great sports
10:29town and if you provide, you know, winners that they're going to, they're going to come
10:32and support and get loud and create great environments for you to play in. So yeah,
10:37I think it is connected in that aspect and, you know, every organization right now is
10:42trying and doing whatever they can to win. And I think it makes for a fun sports town
10:46and fun for fans that are fans of all, you know, sports in Detroit.
10:51I'm curious because you mentioned Chris Fetter just a minute ago and there are guys that
10:55have pitched in the minor leagues and then they come up to the Tigers and have pitched
10:59better. We've had pitchers come in for re-agency and they pitch better here. I'm curious, I
11:05don't even know if you could put your finger on it, but what is it that Chris Fetter and
11:09the pitching coaches have been able to do? What's the secret sauce or the relationship
11:14between the coaches and the pitching staff to be able to pull so much, so much, so many
11:20better performances out of, out of the staff?
11:22Yeah, I'll probably keep the secrets to secrets with, you know, Fett and Lund and Juan Davis,
11:30but I will say that they deserve a ton of credit there. The pitching department that
11:34we have here is, is very dialed in on everything. So I think they create a great environment
11:38for guys to come in and, and get better, you know, each and every day. It's pretty simple.
11:43The, the stuff that they're kind of asking of us and it's just about us going out and
11:49doing it. You know, but scouting reports stuff, preparation you know, all the pitch design,
11:56whatever you want to do. I mean, I, you know, mechanics, all that stuff, they're, they're
12:00extremely dialed in on all that. So they deserve a ton of credit and, and what's going
12:05on with, you know, with guys that are coming up, but also I think the guys deserve a ton
12:09of credit too, you know, to come up here and, and pitching the big leagues for the first
12:12time and, and to have those nerves and, and not really show them and just go out there
12:17and compete and try and execute pitches. I think that that's a, that's a credit to the
12:21players too, but I do think that our pitching department deserves a ton of love just cause
12:26they're really good at their job.
12:27So it's not voodoo or pixie dust or magic, Terry. Good stuff. We appreciate it. Yes.
12:34Thank you. All right. It's a Tariq school, bull tigers, pitcher tiger playoff game today.
12:38It's 97.
12:39One.
12:40Transcribed by https://otter.ai