PCA and Dansby Swanson join FT @Cubs camp + 2026 Cubs Season Preview

00:00:09
Speaker 1: You know you like that?

00:00:10
Speaker 2: Here he is you know you know you like that right now?

00:00:13
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, yeah he likes he liked that front end.

00:00:18
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, dig me a video.

00:00:20
Speaker 3: How you doing man Ha's camp?

00:00:22
Speaker 1: It's going well.

00:00:24
Speaker 4: I only got a few more days left here before I head out to to get with the USA guys.

00:00:29
Speaker 2: So it's been nice.

00:00:30
Speaker 4: Can be weird being away for two weeks, but it's good reason.

00:00:33
Speaker 1: Hey, no pressure after the Olympic teams, right the hockey teams both went cold. I mean, there's no pressure on you guys right now to live up to the standard.

00:00:41
Speaker 4: I don't think. I don't think the team that I'm on will feel any of that pressure. But uh, nice to acknowledge what those two teams did. They they killed it. They killed it.

00:00:50
Speaker 1: Did you watch them?

00:00:51
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, we were in the clubhouse. We had a meeting at eight am or whatever, and Counts push it back a little bit so we could all watch him tune in. But is a good reaction, I on, Yeah, we get a little grief afterwards, Yes, a lot actually during during overtime and then and then when we won, we yeah, James like yeah I won from here, but we're all like nah, dude for the WBC.

00:01:18
Speaker 5: So wait, you said you say you don't think those guys are gonna that you're gonna go play with for tam U s A are gonna be nervous, Like is that is that what you think you're you look at these guys and you're like, we got like they don't get nervous.

00:01:31
Speaker 4: Ah, well, good nerves. I mean I get the good nerves, but not in a way that that is like, oh gosh, these other these other teams did it, the Olympic teams did it, so we have to do it. I think, you know, I think this is a team of you know, real professionals and guys that are gonna go about their business and you know, treat it how they need to treat it. But no pressure. I think the nerves are always good. I'm sure y'all can relate, but no pressure that comes from the the other team is doing their thing. We're just we're just happy to to continue to represent the USA.

00:02:05
Speaker 5: Who's a dude that you want to see the most in the in the two week two week tournament, Like the dude that you're like, I kind of want to see how he goes about what you know, it goes about his business for this.

00:02:14
Speaker 4: Time, I think Bryce John Maylee are our assistant hitting coach. He uh, he loves Bryce when he coached him in Philly, and I just heard some really cool stories about his routine. Is his pregame cage work, How how detailed and intense he he likes to be when it's time for him to, you know, to suit up. So I'm really excited to watch him go about his stuff and then judge obviously, But Bryce is Bryce is the one I've been looking forward to for a while.

00:02:47
Speaker 1: Okay, that's fair. He's pretty, he's been all right, He's been a right for his career. He's got some and you know, he's got some things on him. Yeah, what'd you work on this offseason? You got off to such a hot I mean incredible, and I was like, dude, this dude's in my m v P right now. For the first half. He made the All Star team, fell off a little bit in the second half. What adjustments do you have to make as a player to get to stay strong the whole season? Yeah?

00:03:09
Speaker 4: Well, uh, I mean the swing. We know the swing plays like we saw that in the first half. If I'm swinging at the right stuff, the swing is gonna work. So it wasn't really swing focused this year. I obviously the I think consistency is a nice way to approach the next year or at least search for some of that. And the setup in the box was like really the thing that I kind of harped on, where like I was just trying to get in the box the exact same way every time, kind of create a routine for myself so so I know what I'm doing every time I get in the box, so I can slum myself down when it is the top second half that I had last year, whatever happens. But then Carlos Santana was cool at the end of the year and he was like, hey, you're not you know, like you're not working out to hit homers and you know for the back of the baseball card stuff. He was like, I work out, and I I put my focus on just being healthy for one sixty two, Like that's the goal of my off season. So like whatever, durability, endurance like you want to build, like approach it that way, and it's kind of what I did. Like I had shoulder surgery in twenty one, and I'm like this offseason was the first time I felt like I gained some strength back there. So it was really like shoulder strength, shoulder mobility and hit mobility, just things like set my body up to feel good when the swing's not feeling good and all that stuff, and then definitely some approach stuff. But that's really like kicked into gear soon.

00:04:33
Speaker 1: To me. It is interesting because you're like me, you swing at everything right, and I've talked accounts before they're like, man, we just wish we could get him to swing less. Yeah, and then but then you take away your aggressiveness and that's probably the hitter you've always been. Yeah, I knew. I was told that, and I was like, I can't really hit like that because that's never how I've done it. So is that possible?

00:04:51
Speaker 2: It is? It is.

00:04:52
Speaker 4: I'm starting to see it now.

00:04:53
Speaker 2: And Gregg.

00:04:53
Speaker 4: Greggy's been huge for that because he's such like a he's he's so disciplined up there to to what works for him and what he does well.

00:05:03
Speaker 1: Uh.

00:05:03
Speaker 4: And so we've just been trying some things in Live at Bats, having like real purpose and live at Bats instead of just getting in and making it about getting your timing down again and all this stuff. It is possible, for sure. I believe it is. I mean, I know I'm gonna still swing at bad balls and be able to produce and hit them out the ballpark for doubles, whatever it is. And I know I'm gonna swing at bad balls and miss like I'm gonna still have that element to my game. But there is definitely a focus on, like, you know, toning it down a little bit this year. I don't need to swing at everything that looks good, like if it's a you know, if it's that hanging, oh, breaking ball and it's not exactly what I'm looking for, I can give that away sometimes. You know, that's kind of like one way I've looked at it.

00:05:46
Speaker 5: What is Bragman? What is Bragman brought up that you hadn't heard before, because i mean you've had hitting coaches different, you know, here and there. What's something that he brought up that you're like, I'm gonna try that. I like how you're how you're wording it differently.

00:06:02
Speaker 4: Well, it was really kind of what I just said. He was like, he was like, how often do you swing it like that oh oh breaking ball when when you're looking for like a like if it's a right handed pitcher, it's a oh breaking while it starts out over the plate, like, how often are you swinging at that? I was like, I mean probably every time I see it, well, see it pop whatever. He's like, I'm like, are you And he's like no. I'm like, oh, okay, why, Like you're good enough to do damage on that pitch. But he's like, it's not really the point, Like holding yourself accountable to like what you said you're gonna do, I think probably turns into you know, greater things, like over the stretch of the year, I don't I don't need to hit twenty five homers in the first half. Again, like now that I know I can do it, it's cool. But I like the idea of like I said, like if I'm looking for heater middle in on a lefty and just because I see something does not mean I got to swing at it, because a lot of the times I'm sitting a pitch, I see it and I chase because it's a ball. But I like, yeah, but I guess right exactly exactly. So he's got He's just got a lot of stuff that he's he's such an advanced thinker and it's freaky to me because I don't think I'm there yet, but having the you know, having the time to start that now is gonna be good.

00:07:16
Speaker 3: Let's look at some matchups coming up for tomorrow thanks to Sea Geek, So we're gonna pull up some pitching probables. Like I mentioned, Hey, here's what I want to focus on. We just started talking about them. So the Mets play the Astros on Thursday, we're gonna get to see Nolan McLain and Tatsuya am My. So right away, I'm circling that one as my favorite. And you can get the get the tickets for that one over at the Sea Geek app because I'm sure it's going to be a hotter ticket for this one. But aj we get to see Ami, who I think has a lot to prove. He also might pop up in the WBC, but I think he has a lot to prove because there were some teams that clearly doubted him. And then Nolan McLain has sky high expectations coming into this year and he's also prepping for the World Baseball Classic.

00:07:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love this matchup. Are you kidding me? For a spring training story? You get to see two guys that are expected to be big parts of their team's rotation. Now they might only throw an inning or two, but this is still fun. These are the matchups you look for. This is the matchups I always look for if you want to go to a spring training game. Yes, you want to see your team, but if you can find a good pitching matchup. And the best part is got you can buy those tickets on SIKI. They can go down the line like say you want an a my autograph. After they're done pitching, they usually walk by, or they go out and do some work extra workout in the field. You can stand there, you can have your ball and you can say, you know, Nolan McLain, can you please sell my ball? Am I? Can you please sell my ball? So it's a great opportunity to get an autograph.

00:08:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, if you're looking for spring training tickets. This is the spot glass House pitching for the Dodgers out in Arizona. Chase Burns for the Reds up against Nick Povetta for the Padres in that matchup. These are Thursday matchups. Gossman's pitching for the J's, Crochet for the Red Sox. Seekek is the spot Okay, use code territory ten ten percent off tickets on Sea Geek. That's the code and with that promo code teo are it o r y ten. Make sure you click the link in the description to download the app and you have that code automatically added to your account so you can use it later.

00:09:08
Speaker 2: Thank you to seek Geek.

00:09:09
Speaker 3: And remember when you're on the app, you get a good deal, that's the green dot. If they don't like the deal for you, it's red. It's like a personal assistant on the app.

00:09:19
Speaker 5: Everybody always talks about offense. It's the first thing they always talk about. Can you improve on your defense? Like you're the best center fielder in the game right now, defensively, can you improve on it? Is that something that you say, oh, I got to do this to be better at or is it like nah, I'm pretty good, like like we're good, we'll just stay status quo.

00:09:39
Speaker 1: No.

00:09:39
Speaker 4: Absolutely, I was proud of what I did last year. I had a lot of help getting there. But now the throws, the throwing, that's uh, that's that's a part of defense. So I think I made a lot of poor decisions throwing wise.

00:09:58
Speaker 1: Last year.

00:10:01
Speaker 4: Trey Turners on second base and I'm like taking ten steps to my right trying to throw them at home, like just silly stuff like that. So the throwing decisions actually like being able to kind of like a quarterback would check down or get out the pocket and throw the ball away if he has no options. Like That's gonna be kind of how I approach the throwing side of defense this year, just because I feel like I could probably get more outs throwing the bases if I if I take a page out of Happer's book, or because he's really good at that part of the game.

00:10:35
Speaker 2: It's just the throwing decisions.

00:10:36
Speaker 4: I think that'll make me a much much better cleaner defender because I, you know, going and running the ball down. I feel like I can always do that, but I want to be a well refined all around outfielder. And I think I'm really close.

00:10:50
Speaker 1: By the way, here's your football team, Chicago Bears fan. Are you you didn't grow up? Did you really good for J Cutler?

00:10:56
Speaker 4: Matt Ford today?

00:10:57
Speaker 1: As I was going to say, because the Rams from La the Rams beat the Bears, and I know you were there. I was. I was at the Packer game when it was it was a Blizzard on the field before the game. We didn't see you he big league me. By the way, I didn't. But anyway, you're from La. Listen. We talked already this morning about your comments. I loved them. Listen as someone that was out there and said things. Show your personality. You have an unbelievable personality. People can call you quirky, people can say whatever you want, but I love it. You have passion for the game. You're honest with people, and you when you say something, you mean it. Do you think that I don't think you went too far. And people say, oh, he went too far with the La stuff. But if you've been to a Dodger game they had. They don't show up till the fourth thing. They leave because of traffic, but then everyone leaves at the same time, and so everyone's in the traffic. So backlash. And by the way, what you said about Chicago fans, I know you make Cubs and I'm gonna throw White Sox fans in there. They are the best, right in every sport. They are the best. Their passion, they love it, They love their team, whether Cubs, White Sox, whatever, they love them. So I have no problem with what you said, I actually thought it was awesome.

00:12:00
Speaker 4: No, I appreciated that. Actually that that co sign I do because and I didn't get a chance to really like like back that statement up with the fact that that has nothing to do with Doc, That has nothing to do with Showy any of the players over there. I love Mookie Betts. I look up to him like crazy Freddy's only ever been great to me. If anything, those are the guys that have given these fans a reason to be fans. And you know, I grew up going to Dodgers games when they weren't always good, when they had like Manny would pop up. But it's like they go in phases and I remember, like, you know, all fans fighting stuff, but like putting the Giants fan in the komba like that stuck with me as a kid, like little things, you know, and sitting in the stands, just nasty stuff goes on. I didn't always experience that at other ballparks. But like I said, that has nothing to do with who's actually on the field for them. I love playing against them, and I love I just love what what they're doing right now because they're they're creating a dynasty. But I want to take them down too, and and again.

00:13:12
Speaker 1: I love it all the people that are up man like for sports man rivalries. Let's go all right, before I let you go, no one had a better offseason. By the way, the PCA going to all the Bay, he went to a Bears games, hot black Hawks bulls, hanging out with Caleb Williams. But I want you to see this so you can winnesses. So we do a poll raiser who wins the NL central watcher. I'm gonna pick, and you know how much that pains me, right, and so that like, so you saw it live, all right, So there it is. I yes, everyone out there, I hit the Cubs and the Cubs are winning the pole. So PCA saw it, and everyone knows how much that hurts me deep down in my art. But I did get some beers from the Cubs fans earlier, so they're trying to they're trying to convert me.

00:13:50
Speaker 4: He's just he's a Chicago fan.

00:13:52
Speaker 1: Man.

00:13:52
Speaker 2: You don't have to be winning.

00:13:55
Speaker 1: Yes, I yes, I do, Yes, I do, yes, I do.

00:14:00
Speaker 3: Wait Pete one more before you go any extension conversations this spring training. I know you know that kind of comment really gets Cubs fans going, and I'm sure the organization's like, hey, this, this dude loves us. I mean, dude was an enemy territory growing up and he's thick and thick a Cubs guys. So anything there so far this spring? Do you think there could be conversations?

00:14:24
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I do. What I just appreciate about our front office is like they know why, they know what I'm here to do and sorry, this thing's popping on my here.

00:14:37
Speaker 2: They know what I'm here to do. Like it hasn't been.

00:14:42
Speaker 4: Such a huge topic of conversation to distract from like the everyday you know, I'm only here for so long before I go play in Houston and this and that. So like, yes, there there will be talks. They're having talks, but at the same time, like we're not in really any rush to do anything, and I'd like to keep it that way just because I'm gonna go out and play regardless and and enjoy myself while I do. So there's bigger fish to fry right now, I think than getting me paid. Uh, Like yeah, I want to go focus on WBC and get to know those guys and and then really like dive into this team. I've gotten three years now with pretty similar group of guys, and that's been really special to me because I just feel more comfortable and more comfortable as we go. So we got too much stuff, too much good stuff going around out here that, uh, I don't really need to focus on anything else.

00:15:39
Speaker 1: Good for you, Well, thanks for joining us, of course, change, thanks for having ever changed. I mean, he's got a it's like eighty five degrees and he's got the beanie on. So just see what you do, stay yourself. I love it, and we'll see you this year.

00:15:51
Speaker 2: Thank you.

00:15:51
Speaker 1: Actually, i'll see you in Houston. So good luck.

00:15:53
Speaker 2: Hell yeah, good luck out there. Thank you guys.

00:15:56
Speaker 3: Thanks appreciate I appreciate you. Let's do a season preview on the Chicago Cubs. First off, let's look at additions and subtractions. It's a pretty long list. Kratz, there's been some turnover here, so I want to get your take on how this all shakes out. So they lose Kyle Tucker. I think that was pretty obvious. He wasn't going to sign back there and never felt like that was going to be the long term fit on a per game basis, especially early on in the year. I mean he was cranking. He was helpful, and then I know he went through some injuries. But Owen Casey also made his debut late in the season for the Cubs. He was involved in the Edward Cabrera trade. A number of bullpen arms were at free agency.

00:16:42
Speaker 2: They left.

00:16:43
Speaker 3: They did a really nice job of helping guys like Brad Keller and Drew Pomerance land some nice contracts elsewhere. Now let's go to the left side of the screen here, editions Bregman. Of course huge, that's the one that Cubs fans were looking for. Edward Cabrera put up a really nice season last year with the Marlins. He's had injury concerns in the past, but on a per start basis last year it started to come together for him. And then the bullpen was almost completely redone Mayton, Harvey Milner, theel Bar, Shelby. Miller's long term play because he's hurt, so he'll probably come back next year. Michael Conforder on a minor league contract. That's a lot. Add it all up, and what do you have for me? On the Cubs for twenty twenty.

00:17:24
Speaker 5: Six, they felt like they had some holes. Obviously, you can look at the list in their bullpen. Now they lost to Brad Keller. That's a massive loss, but they felt like they needed more depth, more seventh, eighth, ninth inning pieces, and so they added him. And we said the whole offseason, you know what, you lost Kyle Tucker. Whether you wanted him back or not, They're losing a lot of offense, whether he was hot or not. At the end of the year, you're losing a lot of offense for one hundred and sixty two games. And they didn't one hundred percent replace it in a per player addition in Bregman, But it's tough to replace that kind of offense. To me, their offseason was tremendous because getting Bregman adds to the other guys in their lineup. When you look at their projected their projected lineup for neck for this year, they have a bunch. They have their entire They have nine guys that had over a one hundred ops plus. They had a very successful returning lineup, which I was kind of you know what, I don't know that a one hundred percent agree with this lineup being good. At the beginning of last year, when they had to face the Dodgers in Japan and they ended up coming out and I'm sorry they were in Korea, not Japan, and they came out and they had they were one of the best lineups probably through about three quarters of the year. They kind of fell off. Are they going to address that? I think so. I think each of these guys, you know, Aya Suzuki's in a free agent year, Pete crow Armstrong had an amazing first half. If he can just have half as good a second half, that number will go up. Nico Horner is going to be a free agent. Michael Bush I think has become a guy in this lineup that can be who he is with everybody else behind him. I mean, when you have a guy like Carson Kelly had a one nineteen ops plus at the catching position, this offense is stacked. This lineup is stacked, and I think they weren't afraid to address it with getting Bregman and they addressed all their bullpen needs. It was a good offseason without getting that massive, massive pitching edition that I thought they were going to get. They went out and did it, and you know, I think they're a better team than New were last year.

00:19:49
Speaker 3: I agree, one quick correction. It was the Tokyo Series Japan for the Cubs and West Tokyo.

00:19:54
Speaker 2: You're saying Korea.

00:19:55
Speaker 3: Korea was two years ago, Padres Andres and Dodgers.

00:20:00
Speaker 5: Okay, Yeah, so I was right the first time. That's usually what happens. I'm always right unless I'm mistaken.

00:20:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, you were trying to correct yourself, but yourself was right, So you're good.

00:20:10
Speaker 2: Just be you. But yeah, I'm with you.

00:20:12
Speaker 3: Let's see what AJ thinks, especially because they're whining and dining him out there. AJ better team this year and a shot to take down the Brew Crew.

00:20:18
Speaker 2: What do you think?

00:20:21
Speaker 5: Maybe I'm not.

00:20:22
Speaker 1: Sure we go. Yeah, I don't know what you guys are talking about. They're trying to they're trying to bribe me through my stomach with the nachos and a helmet, the Windy City nachos. Here they have at Sloan Bark. Good look at this thing. I mean, this might almost fit Kratz's head. It definitely won't fit Subclib's head though he's here, so but it'll fit Kratz his head. I think the Cubs I showed you guys. I think the Cubs win this division. I think they're the best team in this division. They addressed some of their holes, and when you get Steel back a full year cade Horton, they fixed they they tried to fix their bullpen with some of the moves they made. They don't open up in Japan this year. I like this team to the postseason. Now, does that mean they're gonna win the World Series? I don't know, because National League, like we've talked about, a stacked with the Dodgers, the Cubs, the Brewers, the Reds, the Phillies, the Mets, the Braves. So do I think they win the World Series? I mean, I always root for the Cubs not to win the World Series, so I'm gonna say no. But I think they win this division. I think they have a really good team.

00:21:21
Speaker 3: And it looks like you have a lot of food there by the way. So while you continue to snaw, no, I do want to run through the lineup, and then by the time we're done with that, we'll actually have a guest who is part of that lineup, by the name of Michael Bush. I think that he's coming, Yes he is. So when you look at that lineup, crats, I'll let you take over and then they're gonna get him set.

00:21:40
Speaker 2: Up for a minute. Bush at the top. Here.

00:21:43
Speaker 3: Look at the ops plus on Michael Bush last year at thirty four homers and led the team in that category. I mean, we've got all well above average from last season in terms of offensive production.

00:21:56
Speaker 5: Yeah, well above average. I mean I think what they're gonna argue is what people will argue because baseball pundits baseball fans are always like, well, what's the negative. You know, we're they're probably a little right handed heavy, and I think prevailing based on what the late Ryan Sandberg told me, the field is actually better for a opposite field right handed hitter and a left handed hitter. So maybe we can ask Michael Bush that. But to me, I think this team. Everybody says, oh, you know, they're gonna get better because they're just a year older and a year older and they're learning. Well, that's that's across any team. I just feel like this team one year, one year removed from having a great offensive season and they got to struggle down the stretch a little bit offensively. To me, it's the same lineup, and when you have that same continuity, when you have the same guy hitting in front, of you, the same guy hitting behind you. You start to see how teams are going to attack it, You start to get a game plan, and all of a sudden, everybody's numbers start jumping up. So that's where I see the Cubs unlike some other teams where they're like, Wow, we have some good hitters, but they haven't played together. To me, I see the Cubs taking that next step because of the continuity in that lineup.

00:23:12
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00:23:28
Speaker 4: Please?

00:23:30
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00:23:31
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00:23:36
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00:24:39
Speaker 2: So far? Man? It's been great.

00:24:41
Speaker 6: AJ's making me feel old though, that's the problem I make. I make him finish what I'm making myself a little bit older. Spring has been good, the weather's been beautiful. We obviously have a lot of excitement camp, just with things we did, you know, in freegency and some of the trades and stuff like that. So we got a great group and you know, we're excited to build off of you know, last season.

00:25:03
Speaker 1: You have a child, now I do so. Now Dad's strength, no sleep up in the middle of the night.

00:25:12
Speaker 2: It's beautiful.

00:25:14
Speaker 1: How are you going to handle that?

00:25:15
Speaker 2: It's beautiful. Well that's all y'all know too.

00:25:18
Speaker 6: My wife is an amazing athlete herself, so a lot of split responsibilities, split duties, just in the grind together. It's honestly the most amazing thing that we've ever done.

00:25:29
Speaker 2: So blessed.

00:25:30
Speaker 6: Josie's about three and a half months now, so we're right in the thick of it.

00:25:33
Speaker 1: Did you hold up Josie?

00:25:35
Speaker 2: Huh?

00:25:35
Speaker 1: Why did you pick Josie? That's on your walk up song? Is it? No? No, I was gonna say, because if you went outfield and then you went Josie, that would have been that would have been a little long.

00:25:45
Speaker 6: I came home one day and was like, what do you think about Josie? And we loved it. Josie James James my first name for everybody that didn't know, James my first name, So Josie James Swanson.

00:25:56
Speaker 2: Rolls off the tongue.

00:25:57
Speaker 6: Good, got a lot of nickname options, and yeah, it's it's it's truly amazing.

00:26:03
Speaker 5: What's the one new baby task? That you're like, this is yours. I'll do other things, but this is yours. I can't handle this.

00:26:15
Speaker 6: I mean, I've gotten pretty good at cleaning things, whether it's bottles or any other things that need to be cleaned, I've gotten pretty good at that. And uh really, I mean one of the things I like doing the most is just like making sure everything is set up and ready for whatever mal may need, whether it's getting diapers out, getting burp brags out.

00:26:34
Speaker 1: You change diapers.

00:26:35
Speaker 2: I do change diapers.

00:26:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you're you'll do it. I'm not scared of it because there are people I know now that you have been a little bit afraid to reach down there, especially when it's a number two.

00:26:43
Speaker 6: Selfless over here, selfless, willing to do sacrificious for the family.

00:26:48
Speaker 1: I love it. I love it.

00:26:50
Speaker 2: There you go, team player? All right.

00:26:51
Speaker 3: So you also mentioned you were keeping track of the off season, So how did that go for you? So?

00:26:57
Speaker 2: How excited were you? How involved?

00:26:59
Speaker 3: Obviously I know you weren't necessarily making the moves, but like, did you do any recruiting calls? And then what is it looking like now with some of the new guys in town?

00:27:08
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:27:08
Speaker 6: I think I mean Jed and Carter and and Counts obviously have a really good pulse on this group and understand what you know, we may have been lacking last season to the end of our season early and you know, addressed all those things with just pitching depth, was the bullpen or you know, with the starting rotation obviously the obvious one is is Reggie coming over?

00:27:30
Speaker 2: You know, I I really did stay out of it, like it.

00:27:32
Speaker 6: Was a pretty unique off season, obviously with our daughter being born, so kind of just put my head down and went to work in some different ways than I have before, just with with training and all the different things that I feel like I need to do to get better. I haven't felt like the last few years have been a little bit below what I feel like I'm capable of, and felt like it was kind of time to make some changes to.

00:27:57
Speaker 2: Get better and help this group win.

00:27:58
Speaker 6: I remember talking to Jed a little bit about just hey, you know, I think if if these couple of things get you know, kind of fixed up a little bit, I think we have a real shot at being an unbelievable baseball team. So I think we're in a good spot right now.

00:28:11
Speaker 1: But by the way you mentioned Bregman. You guys brought Bregman over. He was drafted behind you. Does he let you know that? Because you know, he wears his number because he wants to remember the guys drafted in front of him. We were one of those guys. Uh, So does he let you know?

00:28:24
Speaker 2: I let him know. You let him know that he's aware that you know.

00:28:30
Speaker 6: We were actually at Cubs con and someone was like, because half hour was drafted in the same draft as us, and somebody was mentioning it, and I was just like, could you repeat that? I just want to remember the order, the order that things happened. But I couldn't be more excited to have breag you here. He's he's one of our game's best competitors. I think that that can be a little bit of a lost a lost thing when we value players these days, it's just the ability to make everyone around you better and to bring uh some competitiveness and and intensity each and every day because it's a long season and you're going to need that.

00:29:00
Speaker 5: So this is your fourth season, going into your fourth season of all the big free agentcy you guys have brought in, or not even big free agents, but any free agents does Bregman bring a different type of energy in the sense of like just how comfortable he is right away, probably because you know he has he has a you know, longer term deal than most other guys that come in. But is there any difference that you feel like he brings to that clubhouse or just the environment.

00:29:30
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, I like, like I said, Jed Carter, accounts really do have such a good pulse on our group and understand the personalities that we need to be successful, and he definitely brings that. I think he's You've seen it. Everywhere he's ever been, he's been successful. He's been able to get the most out of his teammates, and I think that was one of the things that I was personally most excited about was being able to play with him because I felt like he would help, you know, enhance my game and challenge me in different areas that may or may not have had in the past.

00:29:58
Speaker 2: And you know, it's a fun year playing together.

00:30:01
Speaker 1: Also, because you were drafted ahead of them, you can let them.

00:30:04
Speaker 6: We can put that as like the caption of this whole drafted ahead of Alex praigline headline, Danisy.

00:30:09
Speaker 1: Swanson drafted ahead of Alex Pragman. You mentioned some things you want to change before we get into your personal change. You made some adjustments in your stands. You will work on some different things. But rically used to be known as like a full hitter's park. Right Has it changed? Oh yeah, it's just the wind blows in more. Is it global warming? Is it global cooling?

00:30:30
Speaker 6: I don't know what it is, but I'm not here for right now. Man, it is last year, it felt like it's like seventy percent of the days were hurting, and then of the other thirty percent felt like twenty of it was like crosswinds.

00:30:41
Speaker 2: So it wasn't really helping either.

00:30:44
Speaker 6: There was a couple of days and I'm sure you know, like the game against Seattle or caw Rawley if he could bun a home run. I'm pretty sure that there's been a few days where obviously the ball will fly. It seems like the days that the ball is gonna fly the most you hit the ball on the ground, and the days where it's going in you hit your best bullets.

00:31:00
Speaker 2: But I mean, it presents its.

00:31:01
Speaker 6: Own unique challenges, and I think that that's something that you have to get used to and understand. How to you don't want to necessarily change things because you don't want to change a swing to help you for a few days, and then you go on along road trip and then you've kind of lost yourself. So for me, I think just really getting back to a point where the barrel is showing up where it's supposed to show up, to be able to hit the ball hard, whether it's in there on the ground, on a line, and just consistently, you know, being in a good spot to hit it. Sounds simple, but sometimes we can get away from repeating just the simple things over and over and over again.

00:31:37
Speaker 2: And that's what I've gotten back.

00:31:38
Speaker 5: To, speaking of showing up, do you are you one of those guys who drives up to the park and immediately looks at the flags when you can first see him, because a lot of guys talk about that.

00:31:49
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, it's funny.

00:31:51
Speaker 6: So a lot of guys they're driving based on which way the waves are coming.

00:31:55
Speaker 1: That's always the thing that guys look at.

00:31:59
Speaker 2: We actually did a really good job last year of just.

00:32:01
Speaker 6: We had this kind of whole mantra of embracing Grigley just because there are days where the win's gonna be blown in and you gotta find ways to win, Like, we can't just give up on days because the wind's gonna be blown a certain way.

00:32:12
Speaker 2: Like, we got to find a way to be able to win baseball games.

00:32:14
Speaker 6: And so they would always kind of have a little bit of like a video board for us to show us, like, hey, this is what the win's gonna be doing. This is kind of stylid game we're gonna need to play today, and guys would really buy into that. And I think it showed last year. We were really good at home and really good in those close game situations.

00:32:29
Speaker 1: Now you've played for two great franchises in your career, the Braves where we played together, and now you're with Cubs who I would never play for. So how do you rate each fan base? Because you you grew up a Braves fan, right, you're from the area you were, like, I remember when you made your debut, it was like homecoming. It was like Game of Thrones, like the King of the North has returned. Right, here's Danzy Swans and he can't fail. And now you're in Chicago where it's a little bit different, but now you know they still expect to win. What's the difference in the fan bases that you've seen.

00:33:01
Speaker 2: There is a difference, but it's not one over the other.

00:33:03
Speaker 6: Right, I've been so fortunate to play for two of the most storied franchises, obviously growing up in Atlanta and being able to witness the greatness of the Braves for such a long time. You know, I couldn't have been more blessed to have been a part of that and kind of been a part of like the rebuild and ascension back to the top. And in Chicago obviously, just I think some of the big the day gameness and the energy that's brought during some of those times is unique in its own way. Like in Atlanta, you know, no day games, right, all night games by ways. Chicago's a little bit different just because of the of the game times and stuff. But I mean each place, I mean, fans were out each and every game in it, from pitch one to the last one. You know, I've been very blessed in that regard, and h Man, it's it's a pretty cool thing to think about and reflect on.

00:33:55
Speaker 5: When you sign a large contract like you did with the Cubs, the organization says, hey, this is where we're going in the next few years, have they lived up to that? Have they lived up to what? Because you hear other guys going to organizations they're like, hey, if you sign here, we're gonna spend money. And then two years later, have they lived up to everything? Or is it in even more?

00:34:17
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, I think I just I mean, I think it's pretty easy to see just how how our success has grown, how the roster has grown, the things we've been able to do to kind of more or less like win on the margins. I know that's not a popular term in today's world, but you know, spending money in the right areas, understanding how to get the most out of guys. I think you've really seen that on the pitching side, which has been its own recruiting tool. Just guys that have been able to come back from some injuries or from a year or two of what they feel like is subpar performance and being able to find themselves again and make some money from it. I think that that's a recruiting tool of its own, just guys getting better coming to Chicago. So it's been really cool to see they've been able to build this group and like I said, we have such a good personality on this team. Just guys care about one another, Guys care about the details. They're in it for the right things, very very selfless, wanting to just be a part of something bigger than ourselves. And that really is hard to find in professional sports. It's not common. Aj obviously could tell you, like, that's not common for a bunch of professionals and adults with their own lives to be able to come together for a greater purpose. And you know, that's something that we talk about all the time and really have embraced.

00:35:29
Speaker 1: Before we let you go, you mentioned Mallory, your wife. She has an Olympic medal, she has a Women's World Cup. Now, if you were able to play in twenty twenty eight with the Winter Olympics just wrapping up and the hockey teams both winning, would that be bragging rights? If you were able to maybe to go to twenty eight and play in the Olympics and win a gold medal, would you come home and say, Mallory, I got one too. There's a World Series rank up there, like where does the World Series rank on the Swanson family hierarchy? World Series gold medal with Women's World thing?

00:35:57
Speaker 6: So she has a World Cup, which is every four years, so it makes it even hard to win one, right, every four years, things are kind of ever changing in the soccer roalm, just with what the team's gonna look like. So she's got that, she does have a gold medal, but the thing is she did score the game winning goal in the goal so it's like the Olympics were to be a thing like I would have to hit like the game winning homer, you know, to win the gold medal, to win the gold medal and say like, hey, honey, I'm on par with what you've been able to accomplish.

00:36:27
Speaker 3: That impossibly competitive but really fun relationship.

00:36:32
Speaker 2: That is very cool.

00:36:34
Speaker 3: Uh, Dansby, thank you for joining us. Great chatting with you here at spring training. Good luck this season. We'll catch you during the season, right awesome.

00:36:41
Speaker 2: Thank you all.