Tarik Skubal Interview - 9/11/24 - video Dailymotion

WXYT-FM / 97.1 The Ticket

Watch Tarik Skubal Interview - 9/11/24 - WXYT-FM / 97.1 The Ticket on Dailymotion

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00:00start on Thursday. He joins us this morning. Tigers ace Tarek

00:03Scoobel. Good morning.

00:05Good morning. Thanks for having me.

00:08Thanks for joining us. I gotta ask right off the bat. I mean,

00:11first of all, when did this flip? When did you guys look at

00:16this and go wow, we're, we're making a run at a wildcard

00:20spot. I don't even know if you guys have talked about it. But

00:22when what's been the change over the last 30 to 40 days?

00:26Yeah, I don't. I mean, I'm not I can't put one thing or one day

00:30one game or whatever on it. But you know, it's just the group of

00:35guys that we got, you know, it's everybody works hard. They're

00:39all kind of pushing each other. And it just so happens that it's

00:42shown on the scoreboard right now. So it's really exciting for

00:46sure. Does it feel like a playoff chase?

00:51Sure. I mean, we're right in it, right? I mean, we're three

00:53games out, chasing down the Twins, Royals, whoever's, you

00:57know, kind of ahead of us in that situation. And, and it's

01:00fun. You know, it's fun. It gives you motivation. Every day

01:03you go to the yard. But I think we're doing a great job of not

01:07making the moment too big. And, you know, we got to focus on

01:10winning today's game. And, and that's all we can really

01:12control.

01:13So obviously, you know, who you're in the thick of it with

01:16Minnesota, Kansas City, and you know, obviously, Boston's

01:19looking up at you guys. When we talked to AJ, he always gets

01:22us to say, well, it's one of 162. Is this something that in

01:26the clubhouse, you and your teammates are looking at in

01:30discussing about, hey, how important with only 17 games

01:34left, how important each individual game is?

01:38Yeah, I think we kind of know. We know how important it is.

01:41It's kind of unspoken. But at the same time, we have to just

01:46win today's game. You know, we have to win the game the day

01:50the game, the day that we're playing, we've got to win that

01:52game. And if we can focus on that, and do that, a lot of

01:55times the rest of the year, we'll just let everything, you

01:58know, take care of itself, and we'll see where we're at.

02:01Yeah, I know you guys got to earn your way into the playoffs.

02:03But I have a request. If you guys get in, can we get the

02:06scooble snack back for the playoffs? John, I don't know if

02:09you remember this, but Tarek has a burger I think you would

02:11love. It's like the fried egg with the bacon. Oh, Terry, can

02:14we get that back on the menu?

02:16I mean, I'd love it. I'd love it to stay there all year. I

02:20don't. We can try and make that a permanent thing. I don't know

02:23who makes those decisions, but you know, I'll see what I can

02:26do. I just know John and I both love a fried egg on a burger,

02:30and it was for a great cause, too. So Tarek, as we look at,

02:35go ahead, plug what the cause was, too, just for people out

02:38there. I'd love for people to give that a little more

02:39attention. Yeah, so I mean, a portion of the proceeds from

02:43that scooble snacks and the players weekend went to

02:45alternatives for girls. So, you know, it's a foundation in

02:48Detroit that it just helps out, you know, women, you know,

02:53homelessness, sex trafficking, domestic violence, any of that

02:57stuff gets people off the street, gets them into a house

02:59and kind of gets people back on their feet. So that was

03:03awesome that the Tigers were able to support me and, you

03:06know, the stuff that I'm passionate about. So that was

03:09pretty cool for me. We're talking to Tigers pitcher

03:11Tarek Scooble. How you're being used has been talked about on

03:14our show quite a bit. The idea of you're on five and six day

03:17rest or try to, you know, preserve your arm. But as it

03:20starts to get closer to a playoff spot, we're wondering

03:22like how you're being used every fourth day would be

03:26typical or every, you know, every fifth day, every, you

03:29know, four days between starts would be typical. Do you have

03:32input in this plan? How do you feel about it? Is it something

03:35where you'd want to pitch more often? Yeah, I mean, I'd love

03:38to, you know, throw as many games as many starts as I can.

03:42But obviously, I understand, you know, where it's coming

03:46from the organization, all that kind of stuff. I get

03:49everything that's going on. You know, I haven't been exactly

03:52healthy my entire career. And that's that's the goal of all

03:54this is to just be healthy. And, and, you know, I can make

03:59an impact when I'm on the field. I don't really have much

04:01of an impact when I'm off the field. So I totally get until

04:04we understand what's going on. Obviously, it's, you know,

04:06probably not what fans want to hear or, or anything like that.

04:09But yeah, I think it's important for me to stay on the

04:14field. I feel good right now. And that's the goal is just to

04:17continue feeling good the rest of the year. I think for those

04:19that are, obviously, there's not many that are in your

04:22position, you know, and you're talking about 150 to 200

04:24innings in a year, how much different do you feel now than

04:30you did at the beginning of the season in terms of arm strength,

04:32whether you're tired, whether I mean, how different is it at

04:36this point of the season than when the season begins? Yeah,

04:40I mean, I think it's, it's different for sure, physically,

04:43mentally, I think the grind of a season, all the travel, all

04:47that stuff kind of adds up. But, you know, I think it's a

04:50credit to our organization, you know, our trainers, strength

04:53coaches, pitching coaches, all that kind of stuff that they do

04:57a great job. And, you know, I feel I still feel really good.

05:01I still feel really strong. The stuff coming out of my hand is

05:05it's probably the same, if not better than it was early in the

05:07season. So, you know, that's a credit to a lot of people within

05:11this organization and all the feedback and work that goes in

05:15behind the scenes that nobody really sees. Is it as simple as

05:18you're finally fully healthy? Or is there something with your

05:21game, I don't know, the change up or something else that you've

05:23really seen take you to the next level this year? Yeah, I

05:27think I think I am finally fully healthy. You know, I feel

05:30really good every fifth day. And I think that's important.

05:32You know, I don't feel run down or tired or fatigued, which is

05:36which is important. I mean, there's games, you know, that

05:38happens where you don't have your best stuff or whatever. But

05:41you know, I think the routine, the work that that I've put in,

05:46but also the work that people around me have put in with me.

05:51I think that that's, that's also different than it was earlier

05:53in my career. So yeah, I think there's a lot that goes into it.

05:58But I think I just I feel good and being able to just show and

06:03every fifth day, I'm not worried about anything. I'm just

06:05worried about going out there and competing. And I think that

06:07that's when I'm at my best. The pressure during the season has

06:12to have been ramped up because every time you take the mound,

06:15every Tiger fan checks that box as this should be a win. You're

06:19in the race for the Cy Young. How have you been able to handle

06:22the pressure and continue to perform at such a high level?

06:26Yeah, I mean, I think the same thing. I'm glad the fans support

06:29me or bought in on that. You know, when I get when I take the

06:32ball, we're going to win. That's that's the same mentality I have

06:35is when I when I take the ball, I'm going to do everything I can

06:37to put my team in a position to win a ball game. So that's

06:40something I take pride in, you know, and as far as the awards

06:43or the numbers, you know, I'm not going to really think about

06:46it or focus too much on it. I'm going to focus on winning the

06:49games that I can make an impact on and and and that's really it.

06:54And that's really it. You know, not not necessarily the win

06:56stat itself either. I just want to win the games that I'm

06:58playing and you know, however, it's done. You know, I don't

07:01care if I go six scoreless and they're you know, their guy

07:05holds us down to zero runs. I don't necessarily care about me

07:07getting the win. It's more about just winning the games

07:09that I'm playing in. Talking to Tigers ace Tarek Scouble, not

07:13that you would be paying attention. Probably be good if

07:15you weren't paying attention, but around the deadline, you

07:17were a big storyline and the argument from fans was don't

07:22trade him keep him and extend him make him a Tiger for the

07:25long haul. Would you like a long-term deal this offseason?

07:29Yeah, that's a that's a good question. That's a lot of that

07:32stuff out of my control. So I you know, I try not to even

07:36finger focus on it. You know, I don't I don't have much saying

07:39it. But yeah, I mean, I love I love playing here. I really

07:44enjoy it. So I guess that that'll be my answer to that

07:47question is, you know, I love playing here, but as far as the

07:50contract stuff, I don't a lot of that stuff's out of my

07:52control. So yeah, we'll see. But you would like them to

07:56approach you at some point here, right? Yeah. I mean,

08:03again, I think it's just it's important for me to focus on my

08:07you know, my day-to-day stuff and and not really worry about

08:10that stuff too much right now. Yeah. I think we'd all love

08:13long-term contracts, especially big ones with as many zeros as

08:16you'll eventually have. Let's take us into last night from

08:21your perspective when you're watching Kyder Montero on the

08:24mound. How unique was the performance that he put out

08:29there last night? Yeah. I mean, that was that was a hell of a

08:32job to take them out and get nine zeros and face the

08:38minimum. What a you know, I love the way he went about it.

08:43You know, our team's a little, you know, something ran

08:46through and we got a little stomach bug and he kind of put

08:48the boys on his back and that's that was that was a great

08:51performance. You know, it's going to help us and put us in

08:53a really good spot today and tomorrow, you know, for the

08:55rest of the series. So yeah, great. I mean, great job. Yeah,

09:02I can't say enough positive things about what he did last

09:04night. Well, let's help you avoid the stomach bug. We don't

09:06need that going around any more than it is washing the hands.

09:08Tarek Skubel is going to start Thursday. For sure. Absolutely.

09:11Tarek, we appreciate some of your time. Yeah, thanks for

09:15having me. Alright, he'll throw on Thursday. Tigers Rockies.

09:18It's 97.1.

Tarik Skubal Interview - 9/11/24

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