Gwynn & Chris On Demand
8.12.24 Jesse Agler joins Gwynn & Chris!
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And listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at IXL.com/audio. Visit IXL.com/audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. Jesse Agler joins the program. We are very fortunate to have him on. He is a frequent contributor to the program because every time we have an answer, I need a question answer. Tony leans over and Jesse answers it for us. So we appreciate that. But to get to have him on, it's always fun. He's on the morning show a lot. But we don't get a chance to chat with him too often. Jesse, back to Miami this weekend. Does that still hold a little special place for you to go back home? Or have you been back enough now? Yeah, no, it really doesn't. I mean, it's weird like going back. I mean, you see some familiar people and there was like a writer, George Richards, who was filling in for AJ Casaville, who wasn't on the trip that I used to work really closely with because he usually covers the hockey team. And I've known him for almost 20 years now. He's a great guy. I hadn't seen him in forever. So like that piece of it is nice, you know, seeing people that I used to know, I guess. But I mean, it doesn't feel like home in any way, shape or form. San Diego feels like home when we got off the plane last night at Lindbergh. That felt like home, not going back to Miami. And if you saw my tweet, but my dear old friend, Jeff Darlington, who's now at ESPN, he, it was perfectly timed. I literally saw it as we were getting ready to take off and leave Miami. He tweeted a picture of an iguana in his toilet that had been clogging up their plumbing for the last few days. And as if I needed any more reason to be like, I don't miss Florida. Well, that was it. Literally, that is literally that's all you need. I may never go to Florida again. After hearing about that. And by the way, iguana might be best case scenario. Right, it could be one of those could be an Amazon in that bad boy. Oh my goodness. Jesse Padres continue what was a almost perfect homestand. They go on the road and they almost put perfection there. If not for the craziness that we saw in yesterday's game, I mean, what's been your take, man? They came home, took care of business against the Dodgers and Rockies. They go on a road and do the same thing. Take care of a Pittsburgh pirate team. That was at the time in the mix of things. And then they go to Miami, they almost had a sweep. I mean, this team is, it seems like they're, they're finding ways. Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt, right? They're playing their best baseball of the year. I think we, we could have started saying that, you know, day two in Cleveland, yeah. Coming out of the all star break. You know, they lost that first game in Cleveland and you were kind of like, all right, you know, this is sort of how the first half ended. That, by the way, is the last time they've lost back to back games. Final game against Atlanta going into the break first game in Cleveland coming out of the break. They haven't lost back to back since then. Paris seven game winning streaks. So like the numbers make it fairly obvious that they're playing their best baseball of the year. But watching it, I mean, they are really playing their best baseball of the year. And I mean, six games in Pittsburgh and Miami, beauty of baseball, right? Not exactly a road trip. We would have circled a couple of months ago as like, hey, this is going to be, you know, must follow baseball. Every single one of those games had something goofy going on. And you know, the least goofy game was the game with the rain delay in the second inning to start it off in Pittsburgh. And it only got crazier from there. And I guess it kind of, you know, came to a head with that really unbelievably bizarre ball off the wall last night or yesterday. Yeah, Jesse Agler, the voice of the Padres right here on 97 3, the fan, our guest, Jesse and Tony tonight have the call. Potters and pirates. And I know you don't ever, or I think you don't ever prepare before a game to say what I want to yell out if Jackson Merrill hits another tying home run tonight. But what did you yell out? I mean, the guy did it almost every night. I mean, this is, this is uncharted territory for a broadcaster, I think, to have something almost this incredible happen. You know, the cool thing about the game is it presents you with those moments. It really does. You know, it, it in a way reminded me sort of like as the individual version of the slam Diego thing in 2020, you know, just sort of this like, well, it can't possibly happen again. And then it did. And then the next day you're saying the same thing to yourself. Well, obviously it's not going to happen tonight. And then it did. And that's sort of what that run for Jackson felt like when he came up yesterday in the eighth, I heard this part. I mean, I heard how you set this one up. I don't even remember what I said, but I fully was like, I mean, it wouldn't be a surprise. Like, and you never want to say that about accomplishing something that remarkable, because you always want to be surprised. You always want to kind of have that perspective of like, you're seeing something near miraculous. But the reality was like, he had just done it three straight days. Like, why not do it again? I mean, it's, it's the damnedest thing. And I mean, for, for that kid at that age, at this point in his career, to be able to step up in moments like that. And really, not that he's putting the team on his back, because they're getting a lot from a lot of guys, as I know you've talked about. But you know, this is a team with some big dogs. Yeah. And for a 21 year old kid to be like, Hey, I got you in the eighth and ninth inning, you know, over that many times over the course of a week and a half, that's, that's not something common. I think you said something and it was leading up to the inning. You said, well, you won't be you won't you be you won't believe who's leading off the next inning. Yeah, don't go away. Let's let's let's stay on Jackson because you and I've watched him all year and he has been as as even killed with a little bit of bumps upward throughout the course of the season. He hasn't really had a downtrodden spot. I mean, he had a little rough patch of like 10 at bats where he wasn't doing he struck out the first four times. I think of the first half of the season, first five times. And then from there, it's just been like normal. That's, but that's a five at bat stretch. Let me ask you though, when that was happening, were you thinking in your head? Oh boy, this could be it. I wasn't thinking necessarily thinking, Oh boy, this could be it, but it's like, maybe this, this, this, this, this, the wall might be coming. We'll see. But he has stiff armed it. Yeah. A lot of conversation around rookie of the year. We're, we're in August 12 still a quarter of the season to go. I would you say that this last week has squarely put him in a real conversation to be at the top of the list, if not, you know, significantly right behind Paul schemes. No doubt about it. It may be it's my, you know, like Brown and Gold tinted glasses or my pink and mint glasses on Friday nights, but like I thought he was in a conversation a week ago. You can see it, right? Kind of Elton John pink and mint glasses. The pink tint and the right eye is the mint. Yes. There you go. And the shell of the glasses is gold. Like a week ago, I would have thought, yeah, he's right there in the conversation with schemes. And I do think that last, this last week kind of vaulted him to another level. You know, I remember you and I having a conversation about him. Maybe it was in June. I don't know. At some point earlier this year, and he had a stretch and I said, some of you along the lines of like kind of felt like he leveled up in the last, you know, whatever period of time it was. And that's, I think what happened again in the last week, he leveled up again. And you know, what this level is, I don't know. I mean, he's nationally player of the week. That's, I guess, what the level is. That's something. Yeah, big time. And, and I think, you know, if he wasn't already neck and neck in that conversation, I think he is now, absolutely. And I said to Sam on the pregame show yesterday, and I do believe this now, though, I didn't for a long time, like the East Coast thing is a thing. And it's not nefarious. It's not that the people in New York want to see the people in San Diego fail. It's that they're asleep when the people in San Diego are doing their things. And so for Jackson to have that run, even against the pirates in the Marlins, you know, I think happening while people were awake in New York and Philadelphia and Chicago is, is impactful and does make a difference in this conversation. So well timed, Jackson, very well timed. Not that that's what anybody's thinking about. That's the other part I do want to throw in here. I believe the kid, when he says like, I'm not interested in it. Without a doubt. Like I believe him. And I think we should all, you know, maybe in some ways take our cues from that because he's got bigger fish to fry as does this. Temp check. What kind of summer are we having this year? A family road trip summer, a beach bum summer, or awake me when the sun's set summer? With Instacart, choose your own adventure and skip the shopping side quests. Where available, you can get ice cream delivered to your hotel, sunscreened to the pool, or cold brewed to your bed. Well, door in as fast as 30 minutes. Wherever you find yourself this summer, you can get the goods. Download Instacart for free delivery on your first three orders. Offer valid for a limited time, minimum $10 per order, excludes restaurants, additional terms and fees apply. We all belong outside. We're drawn to nature. Whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to, or the succulents that adorn our homes, nature makes all of our lives, well, better. Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With all trails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently. With offline maps and on-trail navigation, download the free app today and make the most of your summer with all trails. Is your child struggling with a specific subject or need help with homework? Are they asking questions that you are not sure you can fully answer? IXL Learning is an online learning program for kids. It covers math, language arts, science and social studies. IXL is designed. This program will improve your kids' grades. Studies done in almost every state in the country. The kids who had IXL are consistently doing better, powered by advanced algorithms. IXL gives the right help to each kid no matter the age or personality. And it doesn't have to eat up all your time. One subscription gets you everything for all the kids in your home, pre-k to 12th grade. So don't miss out. 1 in 4 students in the U.S. are learning with IXL. IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts in the U.S. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now. And listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com/audio. Visit ixl.com/audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price team. He's doing things the right way. That's what I've been really impressed with, Jackson. And Jesse, now that we're August 12th, if at any point did you start thinking this ever could happen to this team? Or did you think anywhere in the back of your mind through April, May and June that we would be here? Yeah, I really did. You know, I mean, look, I have the benefit of sitting next to the most optimistic broadcaster-- He gets mad if I say anything. I know this about all the MLB broadcasters. They tend to skew cynical around the league a little bit. So that helps is that I'm next to a guy who not only skews optimistic, but knows more than most of those other guys all put together. That's true. About this game, the way it is played, the way it rewards you for playing it the right way. So I wouldn't call Tony a cheerleader because I think he's still very realistic and clear-eyed about it all. But I sit next to a guy who's not going to let the cynicism of a losing 5 out of 7 kind of knock you off balance. And I think that does a lot for me. It's taught me a lot about watching this game. That's the best part of this job, right? I'm surrounded by people who have been surrounded by baseball. In Tony's case, literally his entire life, right? And so though I've watched baseball as a die-hard geek fan, you know, for literally as long as I can remember, you know, having access to Tony's knowledge and experience and the other people that we get to be around really helps me kind of paint the picture that I think deserves to be painted around a given team. And there's an awful lot of talent here. They play the game the right way. And as as Manny likes to say, as Tony likes to say, the game will reward you when you do those things. And the approach offensively this year combined with the pitching that they've gotten, they are doing it all the right way. And they are feeling some rewards of that now. My partner Jesse Ackler joins us here on Gwen and Chris. And Jesse today at the Padres, you know, quite frankly, you get another boost in a shot in the arm. They get Joe Musgrove back who hasn't thrown. I think since May, the end of May at this point, what type of what type of get is this for the Padres to have him come back in his rotation? And I also saw that, you know, you Darvish is throwing some lives and it's not completely out of the question that he could return. But what is getting a guy like Joe Musgrove, who hasn't pitched since May on August 12th, due for a ball clip? More the merrier, you know, I mean, it's kind of the easy way to look at it, right? Like more is better in the case of pitching always. You know, is it unfair to expect Joe to tonight look like peak Joe Musgrove? Of course, he might. I mean, he's got that in him. He's Joe Musgrove. But like, you know, you understand that for every guy that is added, it just sort of pads your margin for error and your margin for injury and your margin for ineffectiveness. You know, after the trade deadline, we said, Oh, look, you know, this is the new bullpen for the Padres with, you know, these X number of new guys combined with Y number of guys that were already here. You know, that doesn't mean that that's going to be the bullpen going into, you know, hopefully big time playoff series. More things are going to happen good and bad, you know, between now and the end of the regular season in Arizona, the last weekend of September. And so I think, you know, the more healthy, available, productive guys you have, the better position you're going to be in. And obviously, when you're talking about Joe and Darvish, there's a couple of guys with very high ceilings. Jesse Agler, I'll tell you, how did you like the story that Mr. Posner wrote about you, the cover piece in the Union Tribune? I really liked it. I think they're probably wanted to find out. You probably, I don't know if you're a little embarrassed or she fished about something like that being in the front of the paper. But I got to tell you something, the story at the beginning was so hilarious to me about how you were talking baseball and you, and somebody had to lean over into, you know, this is a baseball job and because you were talking about football was one of the classics of all time. But I think it said a lot about you. You're honest. And, you know, you've paid your dues to get where you are. And I, you know, I think a lot of us appreciate that. And that's why we appreciate you. So thanks, Chris. That's very nice. And you know, but the story at the beginning, can you tell me a little bit about that when you know what I'm talking about? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was interviewing for a job with the dolphins. I had, you know, already at this point done a couple of years kind of hosting, not those. Not hosting pre and post for the Panthers, the NHL team in the Marlins. And I had filled in doing play by play for the Marlins. This is like, I'm like 24 years old, you know, and I'm like, all right, I got this. Like, you know, I'm in like, I'm a guy now in the major leagues. Of course, that's not the case. And then, you know, the Marlins switched radio stations. I worked for the radio station because I was, so I was kind of left out on alert. Anyway, long story short, I end up in this position where I'm interviewing for a job with the dolphins that it was going to be like a really big role and something of a big break, or at least a medium-sized break in my career. And it had been rescheduled, what felt like a dozen times, they kept saying, Oh, no, sorry, we can't do it. Oh, no, sorry, we can't do it. And so finally, I get a call was like, Hey, can you be here in 30 minutes? And I was like, yes, of course, because that's what you say when someone asks you that question when you're interviewing for a job. But I was like sick on the couch with a flu and I got 103 fever. So I just popped all this day. Well, I assume I showered, although I don't remember. And then I just sped down there as quickly as I could. And so, you know, I show up in one of the first questions, you know, that I was asked in this interview with your team, the Miami Dolphins Chris was, you know, what's your dream job? Which, by the way, is the best interview question you can ever ask anybody. I ask people that all the time, you know, Hey, what's, you know, young people in the industry? What do you want to do? What's your dream? And so that was the question that got asked to me. And even though I was interviewing for this job with an NFL team, the Miami Dolphins, I said, Oh, I want to be a baseball announcer. I love it. And the guy says, you know, we are a football team, right? He's like, if you know Jesse, as well as I do, that's really not that much of a surprise. Jesse, I will leave you with this one. It's a pretty quick one. You and I will get a chance this the last week of the season, the Padres will play the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks. Based on how this thing is shaping out as we speak, that could be an epic week. I mean, this nationally West division, and we thought it at the beginning of the season, then we kind of like, well, maybe not after about halfway through. But this division is legit. It's up for grabs. This is, I think is a fan, what you dream of, maybe not as a fan, you probably dream of winning division by 30 games and having a very stress free summer. But like, you know, aside from that, you dream of the whole thing coming down to a couple of key games head to head. And you know, we don't have those game 163 tiebreakers anymore. So like, it will be, you know, decided based upon how you play against these teams in the regular season. Padres have already won the season series against the Dodgers. I think the Diamondback one is still undecided, although I should probably check that. And yeah, I mean, it could all come down to that last week. All I know, Tony, you and I are going to be in LA. We are going to be in Phoenix. And now that we're giving you like a six week heads up, everybody, come and join us. Because I bet you right now, tickets are available both spots for the Padres fans to come out there. And if that fits your budget and you're calendared to see a couple of those games, boy, you could be in for something pretty special. It's going to be a lot of fun. The Padres have made it fun. Jesse Agler has made it great for us for the last several years as the voice of the Padres. Thanks so much for coming on, Jesse. We appreciate your time as always. Thank you. Anytime guys, there he goes. Jesse Agler, the voice of Padre baseball. Yes, listen to Jesse. But don't listen to Jesse. Because when the football team asks you what your political dream job is, maybe, I don't know. Maybe you should try the football answer. He's still not the job. It worked out for a lot of people, including myself, that would not have told the truth. And that question is like, especially with that job, like sitting in front, he could have been the dolphin guy. And who knows, we might have won a Super Bowl or two with Jesse at the call. He's like, man, I would love to be a play-by-play guy for the Patriots. Yeah, that would have been a really good answer. All right. We're going to Chris on the way. Good fun first hour. Potters are having fun tonight. It's the Pirates. More on that when we return. Tired of fine lines and wrinkles? Durham McLaren has the solution. Our 100% medical grade silicone patches are designed to naturally reduce wrinkles and improve skin texture. Safe, effective, and reusable, these patches deliver visible results in as little as 20 minutes and lasting results in just 30 days. Our customers rave about their transformations. 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