▪︎ Guardians' Stephen Vogt eager for 'fresh start' in spring debut ... a (real) good read TRIBE fans.

[mjp28]

Here we go the start of the  2024  GUARDIANS'  ST  Season with the new manager.

Guardians' Stephen Vogt eager for 'fresh start' in spring debut ...  a (real) good read TRIBE fans.  

• Associated Press

Feb 24, 2024, 06:42 PM ET

 

● GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- New Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt likened Saturday's spring training opener to a new school year.

▪︎  "There's something so exciting about the first day," Vogt said before his dugout debut against Cincinnati at Goodyear Ballpark. "It's like the first day of school, you have the new outfit you picked out, haircut, all those things. It's the same feeling. It's a fresh start.

"You just got done working for 4½ months, working for today, and you get to see your hard work pay off for the first time. It's why we do this."

▪︎  Vogt, 39, is doing this for the first time, taking over for Terry Francona in Cleveland. He is only one season removed from his playing career, which lasted 10 years with six teams. Six of those years were with Oakland, where he made All-Star teams in the two seasons in which he played 100 or more games.    ▪︎-->   CONTINUED   ▪︎-->

[mjp28]

▪︎--> keep reading  ▪︎-->   ▪︎ Saturday's Cactus League game didn't produce a win, as the Reds won 4-0 and held the Guardians to seven singles. But Vogt said there were no snafus in the dugout. Ten pitchers worked for Cleveland, with one mid-inning change.

"Everything I thought was pretty clean," Vogt said. "The process of the game went pretty smooth."

Vogt, a 12th-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 2007, spent most of his career as a backup or platoon catcher, playing some first base, on good teams and bad. All of which figures to be good training for dealing with a myriad of personalities.

■  Francona was a master of that. The beloved manager known as Tito led Cleveland to six playoff appearances and the 2016 American League pennant in his 11 seasons en route to becoming the franchise's winningest skipper. ■

▪︎-> There's no replacing him, so Vogt will stick to being himself.

"Everyone is their own individual. Tito was absolutely phenomenal and we're all going to miss him," said first baseman Josh Naylor, coming off a season in which he hit .305 with 97 RBIs. "But I think it's important for us to look [ahead]. We have to focus on the now."

▪︎-->   It's early, but reviews are positive so far.  <--▪︎

"I like a guy who's always happy," closer Emmanuel Clase said. "He's always finding ways to communicate with me and the other players, and he's made it very easy for me to work in camp."

"Awesome. Super high energy guy, loves the game, loves to win," Naylor said of Vogt. "Super thankful for him and excited for what the future holds."

( I'm thrilled about this ! )  ▪︎->  Some of the old hands are still around. Pitching coach Carl Willis and first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. return to provide some continuity. Another familiar face back in Cleveland is pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who started Saturday's game with a scoreless inning. He competed against Vogt, holding his new boss to a single in 12 at-bats. 

▪︎--> and keep reading  ▪︎-->

[mjp28]

★  And  finally  on the article and +ST 2024  beginning .....

.....  "It's been good. I've known him for a long time," Carrasco said. "I'm glad that he's here now."

▪︎ Carrasco, who  turns 37   next month, pitched for Cleveland for 11 years, averaging 15 wins a season between 2015 and '18. He said he was glad to be "home."

▪︎  "I'm glad that I came back here," said Carrasco, who spent the past three injury-plagued seasons with the New York Mets. "I was so nervous I couldn't feel the ball. I've been playing a long time but I was still so nervous going to the mound."

 ▪︎  At this early stage of spring training, emotions are high.

★  "I'm excited for everybody to be in the dugout,"  Vogt said.. "That's when you bond with your teammates, that's when you talk baseball. There's no phones, there's no distractions. You're watching the game, and you're just talking, getting to know each other.

★ "That's what's important about spring training."

Said Stephen Vogt.     EOM.

Edited March 2 by mjp28

[mjp28]

SO,  our  Cleveland  GUARDIANS  after  6 games are a mediocre 2-4  ....  welcome back to MLB  fans.    

Here's yet another look. ▪︎-->

Cleveland Guardians Schedule 2024

More MLB Teams - CLEVELAND !

Spring Training1st Half2nd.  / How about - Spring Training

 

DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT	W-L	WIN	LOSS	SAVE	ATT
Sat, Feb 24	vsCincinnati	L4-0	0-1	Cruz 1-0	Oller 0-1		6,096
Sun, Feb 25	@Seattle	W8-4	1-1	Morgan 1-0	Laws 0-1		5,819
Mon, Feb 26	@San Diego	W7-4	2-1	Lively 1-0	Musgrove 0-2		2,866
Tue, Feb 27	vsOakland	L11-2	2-2	Kelly 1-0	Barria 0-1		2,212
Wed, Feb 28	vsArizona	L8-6	2-3	Morales 1-0	Zapata 0-1	Grammes 1	3,440
Thu, Feb 29	@Los Angeles	L4-1	2-4	Silseth 1-0	Herrin 0-1	Minacci 1	3,986
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	TV	PITCHER	OPP

 

[mjp28]

SATURDAY  MORNING,  MARCH 2,   11:45  am.   More Manager Vogt.

• 
  Tim Kurkjian, ESPN Senior WriterMar 2, 2024, 10:00 AM ET

▪︎ From one of my favorites,  Tim Kurkjian !

IT IS OPENING Day 2017. Stephen Vogt, the Oakland A's multi-talented, multi-dimensional, multi-personality catcher, was asked to perform something on tape that could be played on TV before his first at-bat that day -- ideally, his hysterical rendition of Chris Farley's riotous "In A Van Down By The River" skit from "Saturday Night Live."

"That's just for my teammates,'' he said. "But I'll sing something for you.''

So, in full uniform, only hours before the first pitch of the season, Vogt sang from three Disney songs, led by a heartwarming diddy from "The Little Mermaid." It was played before his first at-bat of the game, and seconds later, he hit a home run.

From "Under The Sea" to over the fence.

From Ariel to aerial.

EDITOR'S PICKS

• 

  Vogt hails 'dream' job, 'can't fill' Francona's shoes

  113d
• 

  As Francona prepares to say goodbye, a tribute to his humor and humanity

  157dTim Kurkjian

That moment, that day, captures who Stephen Vogt is. He is so secure in himself, so comfortable in his own skin. He is meticulously prepared, and "obsessively observant,'' according to former teammate Elliot Johnson -- traits that will be critical for a major league manager. He has tremendous communication skills, the most important attribute of today's manager. And Vogt is relentless: He did not get a hit in his first 32 at-bats in the major leagues, yet found his way to two All-Star teams. This is why the Cleveland Guardians named Vogt, age 39 with no managerial experience on any level, to replace the irreplaceable Tito Francona as their manager.

"Within five minutes of our first Zoom call with him, we got the overwhelming feeling that he would make a great manager -- five minutes,'' Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff said. "Even though he had only coached for one year [2023 with Seattle], he already had a managerial philosophy in place. He walked us through it, and it was obvious that he would be great. And every reference call we made, we heard the same thing, like, 'I only knew him for one year in A-ball, but I knew he would be a great manager.'''

It's a sentiment echoed by plenty of Vogt's former teammates.

"He is the perfect storm of knowledge and awareness and he just got done playing at a very high level,'' Jerry Blevins said. "He checks all the boxes. He is all-of-the above.''   ▪︎-->   CONTINUED  ▪︎-->

[mjp28]

--->  continued  -->   How Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt found his voice.

Tim Kurkjian.

 

"The baseball gods single out their guys before they are even born,'' former teammate Dallas Braden said. "And they picked Vogter. We all knew he would be a great manager.''

"It's like he has been doing this for 10 years,'' said Guardians catcher Austin Hedges. "His first speech to the team this spring was incredible. The energy in the room is amazing.''

"Vogter is one of the greatest teammates I've ever had,'' said Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy. "He has all the makings to be a Hall of Fame manager.''    EOM

....  And by mjp,  so that's how Cleveland  "got their guy".   I'm beginning to like Stephen Vogt.

 

[mjp28]

 

IT IS SPRING training in 2012 in Port Charlotte. Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon organized a talent show.

"That put Stephen on the map,'' said Johnson, then a utility man for the Rays. "He was in minor league camp. I had no idea who he was. No one had ever heard of him. He was one of the last acts. He killed it. He did impersonations [of Maddon, farm director Mitch Lukevics and coach Matt Quatraro]. Everyone was dying laughing. He won the pot. He probably went home with $2,000. The rest of that spring, when we needed someone from minor league camp to come over, we'd say, 'Let's bring that Vogt guy over so he can do impersonations for us.'''

Sure enough, Maddon routinely brought him over to big league camp.

●~~~~~~~~~~●

Moving along.

"He pays attention,'' Johnson said. "When you can do voices and mannerisms, it shows being observant. Vogter was always locked in. He will be [the same] as a manager. When he talks to his players, he will already know everything about them. If someone is too high, too full of himself, he can bring that guy back to center. If someone is too low, he can bring him back up. Great clubhouse guy, secure human.''

"He has an innate ability to make everyone around him more comfortable," Doolittle said.

●  That will be more important than ever as a manager.

"It's being able to read your teammates and read the room,'' Vogt said. "There are times when the tension gets really high over the course of six months. There are times when we are down as a team. The guys need to laugh. If you're not smiling and laughing on the baseball field, you're not going to play your best. For three hours a day we get to be 12-year-old kids again. If you lose that perspective, not many are good enough to overcome that.''

▪︎-->  Up soon,  Cleveland  Guardians  Spring of 2024.

    ⚾    AND  he was a catcher,  just like his lifelong Cleveland  INDIANS'  Catcher and  First Base  "manager"  Sandy Alomar, Jr.   Good things ahead.

Edited March 2 by mjp28