Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman & Tony Gwynn Jr. join Friar Territory for a Padres Season Outlook

00:00:10
Speaker 1: All right, Well, there are certain opening day traditions that you just don't want to mess with. For those that have listened to Marty and me on the radio for many, many years, we had many of them, and we're going to continue one of them right here on Friar Territory.

00:00:23
Speaker 2: Hi everybody, I'm Darren Smith.

00:00:24
Speaker 1: That is Marty Caswell, and if you're watching on YouTube, you can see a very familiar face and name, very handsome right in the middle of our screen. He is seven time All Star Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, who always always took.

00:00:37
Speaker 2: Time out of his busy day to join us on.

00:00:39
Speaker 1: Opening Day, so we're as close to it as we can get. And here he is, the great Hall of Famer joining us on Friar Territory.

00:00:46
Speaker 2: Haffe is always good to see you. Thanks for joining the show.

00:00:49
Speaker 3: Good morning you too.

00:00:50
Speaker 4: I've been like a forward of this tradition too. I noticed that time of the year and I'm sorry we weren't able to connect in spring training, but this is something I wasn't going to miss.

00:01:00
Speaker 3: Great being with you guys.

00:01:01
Speaker 5: Great seeing you, Hoffeing. Before I turn this back over to Darren, I'm gonna go ahead and ratch you out for one second, because when I lined you up and I gave you a time for today, you said that I was killing you because you have BedHead until noon. Your hair is immaculate. Okay, you're a surfer guy. You wear flip flops and shorts. Your hair is supposed to flow, and you look great. I didn't how much I didn't know you. You spent so much time on your hair that you could not do a live show here on Friar Territory until the hair was immaculate. You look great.

00:01:31
Speaker 3: It's what a little water will do.

00:01:33
Speaker 4: So yes, power Allies are starting to get a lot deeper my Petco parks.

00:01:38
Speaker 3: We're pushing the fences back. We're not bringing them in.

00:01:44
Speaker 1: Very good line there, Trevor, what is the record, man? I mean, listen, you should give classes to former athletes when they get out of the game about how to keep themselves looking like they're actually former professional athletes.

00:01:56
Speaker 4: So for me, it was a big challenge in spring training because the spread every day is unbelievable. In the morning and the afternoon lunches are incredible.

00:02:07
Speaker 3: They do an amazing job.

00:02:10
Speaker 4: But I had to show some restraint in not piling up the plate, and so it was literally a salad chicken every day for lunch. And it proved to do me okay through spring training because that's normally when I put on my freshman fifteen.

00:02:25
Speaker 1: Okay, Well it's working out for you, my man. So as always, you're looking fantastic. We're heading into another season. Explain to us as a player. I mean, you're not that far removed from it. The energy, the excitement when you know it's coming. We're hours away from opening day at Peco Park. You're through the grind of Peoria, Arizona and spring training. Tell us what it's like like, the inner workings, the wiring of a professional athlete, of a baseball player when they know like we're now just into the final hours before opening day.

00:02:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think the butterflies really kind of start to get a little bit bigger, and anticipation is fun. But you're right, I think the end of spring training, in the beginning, this little lull before the beginning of the season is one where you start to reflect on one how much work you put in the off season, Two what kind of spring did you have? And three what kind of year are you thinking you're going to have? And so all those emotions are running around. You're you're you're ready, but you're you're not ready.

00:03:23
Speaker 3: In a sense, and so.

00:03:26
Speaker 4: You're just anticipating, you know, getting your hearing your name called and getting on the line and waving and wondering what kind of reception you're going to get, and then let's go, let's you know, throw the pitch and then you know, oh my gosh, we have one hundred and sixty two of these in a row, and hopefully we're pretty good when we get a chance to go to the postseason.

00:03:46
Speaker 5: Hafey, you have we been spoiled here in San Diego by just all, you know, having a great closers starting with you, and that that's kind of continued on to Mason Miller. We know how good this bullpen is going to be, but what what kind of rotation are they going to have right now? A lot of questions regarding you know, health, Michael Keane coming back, when Joe Muskove returns, and of course the new editions with Walker Bueller and Herman Marquez. Where are your biggest questions about this rotation going in?

00:04:13
Speaker 4: I think their pedigree is gonna speak for itself to a degree. I don't think anybody had the kind of spring training they really wanted. I think Walker and Ermain had, you know, glimpses a couple starts where it was okay, they they're they're there. Arizona just stinks, you know, from a Marquez for pitching nine years in Colorado and then having a new spring training in Arizona. This guy's wait till he gets it. And he always pitted really well against us, but it didn't matter if it was in Colorado or San Diego.

00:04:47
Speaker 3: But he's going to enjoy Sea.

00:04:49
Speaker 4: Level and what his ball does on a daily basis like no other. So I think those two editions were fantastic. You know, Griffin when his achilles is it gets a little bit further, you know, moved in. I think is going to be a surprise for us. Mackenzie that got sent down. His stuff was electrical spring and so you know, from that standpoint in our incumbents, you know, Joe needs to get healthy and comfortable, and you know, I just Michael getting his feet underneath him.

00:05:24
Speaker 3: It's going to be great.

00:05:25
Speaker 4: And then Nick's gonna it's gonna be one inning the first inning.

00:05:29
Speaker 3: He's gonna one, two, three.

00:05:30
Speaker 4: And he's going to exhale and go, Okay, I am where I'm at. I just think that's an Arizona thing. I think we try things in Arizona, like a new pitch, and then that gets shelled because you don't like it. Maybe you spend a little more time then you should trying to make that happen. You kind of sometimes forget what got you to the dance and what you're good at, and sometimes once the season gets going, you're right.

00:05:54
Speaker 3: Back to what you're comfortable with and ultimately allow you to be successful in the season.

00:06:01
Speaker 5: Have you gotten to know Nick Povetta pretty I'm sorry, Darren, have you gotten to know Nick Pivetta pretty well?

00:06:08
Speaker 3: A little bit?

00:06:08
Speaker 4: I wouldn't say really, Well, I'm okay, kind of perific guy, and so you know a lot of good communication goes on between him, Ruben and Ben, and you know, I watched his work. He's man, he cares a lot about pitching, he cares a lot about doing well for this team, and he's he's animated, whether it's a bullpen or spring training.

00:06:29
Speaker 5: I love that ping pong.

00:06:32
Speaker 3: Looking forward to seeing him pitch in the regular season again.

00:06:36
Speaker 1: For the record, Trevor said, Arizona stinks. He meant the actual state of Arizona, not the University of Arizona where because I know he's very proud of his Wildcats advancing to the Sweet sixteen, So I just don't want that to get taken out of contacts. There you go, Trevor, you talked about you know what got you to the dance, and I wonder, you know, for a guy like Walker Bueller, if you see any if there's any commonality, you know, it's not exactly the same.

00:07:00
Speaker 2: But you and your career right pre surgery.

00:07:03
Speaker 1: Humping it up there into the nineties, right, you were a different picture post surgery, and it's different. I know for him he's had two Tommy John's that wasn't exactly your situation, but he's trying to get back and he's into the big leagues now doing it differently.

00:07:16
Speaker 2: I wonder you know what that's like, if you could walk.

00:07:19
Speaker 1: Us through that process from your own personal experience of getting to the game and then having to adjust and become a different version of yourself.

00:07:28
Speaker 4: It's a great point and it's a great think about to be honest with if that's even a word. But you're kind of learning on the fly a little bit like a lot of the things that used to do that were successful and and and the success was relying on ninety seven miles an hour. I mean, that's that's not in the tank. But mentally, you think it's still there. I can still touch it, and I can still you know, run it by a guy you know who's looking for the heater, and you know it'll still get by him. There'll be moments throughout the year and I'm sure it's happened already the last that you reach back and it just doesn't come out the same. And so the mentality behind the pitch still has to be the same. But knowing you're gonna have to learn to pitch a little bit is important.

00:08:13
Speaker 3: And so he is. He's learning that kind of on the fly. He's kind of learning that.

00:08:19
Speaker 4: At this stage in his career, and it's gonna you know, I wouldn't say you have to embrace it, because you never want to feel like your stuff is regressing, And isn't you're not the same guy when you're out there, because you have to have this certain bravado and this certain ore that you're presenting, like I'm not giving an inch away regardless of what my stuff looks like.

00:08:41
Speaker 3: And I think I see that in him.

00:08:43
Speaker 4: But you start to learn, Okay, maybe I'll take a little bit off, Maybe I'm I'll use this pitch in this situation I haven't always normally done, and you know, puts a little doubt in the hitter's minds that you're not predictable like you once were, and you become a kind of a complete pitcher, you'll say.

00:09:01
Speaker 3: And it's always had that.

00:09:03
Speaker 4: Obviously, you don't pitch in the big leagues for as long as he has, not having the idea of how to pitch and what way you have that particular day. We just have to maybe not be so bullish on the days you don't quite have that same life.

00:09:17
Speaker 2: Was that hard?

00:09:17
Speaker 1: I mean, to rewire your your you know, to rewire your brain from what it was that got you there.

00:09:24
Speaker 3: It's hard. Way you don't have success.

00:09:26
Speaker 4: Yeah, but the hitters kind of remind you, you know, you're not the same guy, and you better learn to do something better with less. It's almost you're getting force fed. You know, you're getting fed with a garden hose and so that that they're a fire hose, and that's not fun. But sometimes it is important to learn that way because you'd really never know when it's something's gonna work until you're in the in the middle of a real game, not a spring training game, not a bullpen in the off season. You know you have to get an out, and that's kind of the best, you know scenario to try and figure out what's going to work.

00:10:05
Speaker 6: Well.

00:10:05
Speaker 1: Trevor, we have a relief pitcher as a manager. Who ever thought we'd co we'd arrive at this day. Let's talk about that when we come back. Craig Stamon as the Potteri's manager, we'll talk and continue with Trevor Hoffman's. She's Marty Caswell. I'm Darren Smith.

00:10:17
Speaker 2: You're watching and listening to Friar Territory.

00:10:20
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00:11:24
Speaker 1: All right, Well, we continue with Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, and it's interesting, right I had wondered forever. People have probably asked you, Trevor, if you wanted to get into coaching, if you ever thought maybe one day you would want to be a manager. And relief pitchers, even dominant closers in Hall of Famers, get labels in this sport, right Like, we haven't seen too many relief pitchers become managers. We haven't seen many pictures become managers. Yet here's Craig Stammin What do you think not only as somebody who's in the Potteries organization, but also as a former relief pitcher. How much are you rooting for Craig Stammon to succeed here based on everything people say about the former relief pitcher status and and what it might mean for a managerial spot.

00:12:04
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm a big fan of the person, and uh, I think that bodes well where we're at in our game. I think there's enough help around him. He's assembled a great coaching staff. The help with the analytics behind him is going to be important. But he's a leader and those are qualities that today's manager will lean on, I think more than the manager of decades past. And so I think I think because of his respect as a player when he was in that clubhouse, will permeate the players that are there now. And you know, until you're on the fire and you maybe make a mistake and how you own it or how you don't you know handle it, you know a way that someone thinks you should will come into play.

00:12:50
Speaker 3: But he's a real guy.

00:12:52
Speaker 4: He's he's he's honest, he's loyal, and he understands a game and he wants to win, and so I think the time is right for someone coming out of a bullpen and that you wouldn't think would be capable of, you know, knowing the xs and o's.

00:13:06
Speaker 3: But he's a smart guy, he's a padre.

00:13:09
Speaker 4: And I think he's going to do really well because he's a people person too, that's.

00:13:13
Speaker 3: Not afraid to tell you like it is.

00:13:14
Speaker 4: I love the article just the other day about Manny maybe needing a little more rest throughout the season, being thirty three, almost thirty four years old, and just in.

00:13:24
Speaker 3: An article you can tell there's a little bit of.

00:13:25
Speaker 4: Back and forth that that's gonna be an interesting conversation in his office. So I think you build a handle that kind of stuff, and he's gonna do quite well.

00:13:34
Speaker 5: That was I'm so glad you mentioned the article. I was actually going to ask you about the whole manufactor because that's been a conversation that that was presented to Mike Schultz even last year. And you know how many is right. He doesn't want to hear about days off, he won't talk about injuries. He's there at a post, he's there to do his thing. But do you think that that Manny is more amenable, and that Craig Stamon, who played with him, is the right guy to deliver that message. He listen, this is my this is my call, Manny, sorry my call. I know you Hall of famer, but I'm the manager.

00:14:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think you got to look at what's left on the contract. You've got seven eight years, right, so let's maximize all that. And part of that will be being smart with your workload.

00:14:12
Speaker 8: Yeah.

00:14:13
Speaker 4: In every sort there's workload talk, and so Craig's gonna do it in a way where it's not the buck stops here. I think it's going to be a conversation. It's going to be a collaboration, and I think, honestly, you know, Manny will see you know the best way that anybody will it's like, what's my best version? And some of that's going to be grinding through a certain time. You know, Mechanically, I'm right, I'm healthy. I just need to keep going and then I'm tired. And you know, we've had some long road trips and that makes sense. And I think that that conversation and that trust that's already there is going.

00:14:49
Speaker 3: To be a big factor in those decisions about.

00:14:50
Speaker 5: To make Hafey in what way, where do you where the padres better this season right now? And I'm sure Agent pos not done anywhere a year ago.

00:14:59
Speaker 4: At this time, I think they're a little more aware of who they are. I think a couple of years past, it's like, okay, what is there? You know, I hope our bench does all right, and I hope our bullpen holds up. You look at where we're at, there's a few uncertainties on how people are going to perform. But I kind of like the roster now, like what our lineup looks like, like what our bullpen obviously is, and the starting rotation is, you know, pretty good considering some of the guys that aren't starting the season.

00:15:25
Speaker 3: So in that regard, there are question marks, but I.

00:15:29
Speaker 4: Also think that there aren't a lot of holes that we've had the last couple of years starting the season, and so that's a good thing. You want people to kind of get the rhythm of the season going. Uh, the schedule is pretty firm coming.

00:15:40
Speaker 3: Out to shoot, so I mean, you got to be on your toes otherwise you can look up a couple of weeks in ago.

00:15:45
Speaker 4: Okay, we got a little bit of a hill to run over and or or you get off to a quick start and you're like, Okay, we're for real and we're gonna keep doing the things we're good at. Some of that, some of that's not gonna be known until we're two weeks in, just kind of how how we got through that, how we navigated who we really are And that's kind of the that's the unknown right now that we talked about right before every day, what what are we? Who are we really? And man spring was a little bit funky for a lot of people, you know, how we got to come out of that and get going during the regular.

00:16:16
Speaker 1: Season, Trevor, we talk and use a lot of oxygen on Manny already, we talked a little bit about him, about Fernando Tatis Junior. Is there somebody maybe a little bit off the radar, you know, somebody on this roster who you're like, you know, everybody's talking about X, Y and Z, but let's think about this guy over here.

00:16:34
Speaker 2: Let's not sleep on this.

00:16:35
Speaker 1: Guy, because this is a guy that's a difference maker in the lineup or in the rotation or out of the bullpen.

00:16:41
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:16:41
Speaker 4: I think that's a great question, because you're right We do spend a lot of time talking about the horses, but you know there's there's some horses that are still horses, like a Corona Worth and a Bogarts, you know, on a Merril. I think those three guys, man, you add that to the two big boys having a good year, and those guys rebound. But like Jackson stays healthy, Crony has a little more production. Bogey we stopped picking on because of whatever reason, and just like him because he's a great guy, and he's a leader and a winner, and let's let's appreciate what we got.

00:17:16
Speaker 3: Man.

00:17:16
Speaker 4: That's five guys. And you add you know, Freddie behind the dish. It's a stabilizer. And we added, you know, a gold Glover in ty France. It's a local kid that can hit a little bit. And Nick Cascianos with a new you know, look in a different place. It's a little more low key and not the juggernaut of the past, and a lot of things could go.

00:17:34
Speaker 3: Well. That's that's in the lineup. And talk about a healthy Michael King.

00:17:38
Speaker 4: You get Joe, you know, maybe a month in and he's feeling really good, and it's an injection of his positivity and we know what he can do on the mound, and Nick's kind of there's just so many things.

00:17:48
Speaker 3: And that's what I'm like.

00:17:51
Speaker 4: I like our roster, it's just how our guy's gonna come out the shoot, Like, can we stay healthy?

00:17:56
Speaker 3: I think maybe the one thing in your question.

00:17:59
Speaker 4: I know I've been ramblin right there, but and and Tiguyn kind of talked about it during spring train a lot on the on the air.

00:18:07
Speaker 3: We have a little bit of death.

00:18:08
Speaker 4: We brought in some people that I think stabilize some Triple A stuff, Guys that we could plug in that showed some some moxie, showed some you know, big league talent when they played that was gonna be you know, reserves, you're gonna be Triple A. And you know you don't just get through the season with twenty six guys, as we know, you have to use your whole roster.

00:18:28
Speaker 3: And so I think there's a little bit of depth.

00:18:30
Speaker 4: That depth could be a major factor in areas of the season that we're gonna need it.

00:18:38
Speaker 1: Sleeping on Ramon Loreano, I can't believe it anyhow, anyway, won't let you that.

00:18:42
Speaker 2: I'm just kidding.

00:18:43
Speaker 1: Of course, another guy I mean like like again, like you said, you rattled off all these names for good reason, and like here's a guy who you know, if he remains, if you know, but he's a guy who had twenty five homers and he's you know, in a walk here. So that's another guy. I'm with you about Jackson Merrill. If he doesn't go on the IL a couple of times. It had seven home runs after September first last year, Like this is this is a really good player, you know. So like there's a lot of a lot of things to like on this roster for sure, Trevor. As always, we appreciate you and thank you for mentioning Tony Gwynn because he's actually going to be our next guest. Tony Junior is coming up right after you.

00:19:16
Speaker 5: Yeah, you have a question, you have a question for team.

00:19:19
Speaker 3: Yeah. He had some great takes throughout the spring. One of them was.

00:19:23
Speaker 4: Really intuitive, I thought, and regards to the abs you have, you had a situation where Freddy was really good behind the dish, being able to recognize what was in the strike zone and not in the strike zone. And I think it was Ramon Loreano you since you mentioned him. I think couldn't couldn't have been, though maybe it was. It was like two different pitches. One was really in the strike zone, was really out. But Tony talked about the perspective of being behind the dish and being in a batter stance, how difficult recognizing what a strike zone looks like from that different perspective. But what he also said is you could be mechanically off, like what you really think is a strike and you shake your head, going, I can't believe that was a strike zone. But he said something along the lines like that's a mechanical check. Maybe, like it's a tell for somebody who might be in a little bit of a funk.

00:20:16
Speaker 2: Or isn't really seeing the ball, or interesting he.

00:20:18
Speaker 4: Really thinks it was one way or the other, and it'll allow them a little bit of information to help him get out of something.

00:20:24
Speaker 3: I think I remember hearing talking and something.

00:20:26
Speaker 4: Like that, and I thought it was super sharp some only only a guy that stepped in the batter's box would recognize. And he brings so much value to the broadcast. I'm selfish because I hear his pops in him and he's such a quality man. And you know, a dad and a husband and just he's a rock star. And think him and Jesse grind through spring training. Well, Mud and Down get to go on vacation right around wherever these guys. People don't understand how much hey, in the ass these spring training games are and they they're there for us.

00:21:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, couldn't have been better said. And you're right about that. It's so Hollywood, Don and Mud They just get to, you know, go on their boats and do whatever they want to do.

00:21:07
Speaker 8: Caushing pictures.

00:21:08
Speaker 5: Has Don invited you to dinner? Don Tangelo's? Have you been invited yet?

00:21:13
Speaker 4: No?

00:21:14
Speaker 5: I mean, what's happening here? Hello?

00:21:17
Speaker 2: Right there? I try to invite myself.

00:21:20
Speaker 3: I'll go anywhere.

00:21:22
Speaker 2: That's what I tried to invite myself. Ones.

00:21:23
Speaker 1: I said, Hey, my wife's in the wine business. You know, I'll bring the good.

00:21:26
Speaker 2: Wine, right, I don't have to worry about that. I got you covered.

00:21:28
Speaker 1: And he was like, yeah, okay, you know, just totally shut it down, Histan Trophy man. Like, I just was like, all right, I won't do that again.

00:21:36
Speaker 4: Man.

00:21:37
Speaker 2: I suppose I learned my lesson on that.

00:21:40
Speaker 3: I think that's that's the key. We're just going to show up.

00:21:42
Speaker 2: I love that's hope you're the best.

00:21:45
Speaker 1: It is always our pleasure when we get the opportunity to spend a couple of minutes with you.

00:21:48
Speaker 2: Thank you for doing this.

00:21:50
Speaker 3: Happy Opening Day, everybody for Happy Opening Day. Thanks Trever.

00:21:53
Speaker 5: I appreciate you too.

00:21:54
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00:22:22
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00:22:49
Speaker 5: Okay, whoops, you muted?

00:22:53
Speaker 2: All right?

00:22:54
Speaker 1: Well he got a lot of praise from our previous guests. I gotta love that. It's almost like they were working together Hall of Famer Trevor Hoppin giving tons of credit to Tony Gwynn Junior, who was out in Peoria, Arizona for the entirety of spring training. Who saw more Podres baseball this year in Cactus League action than probably Craig Stammon.

00:23:10
Speaker 2: And he joins us here on always good, always our pleasure.

00:23:15
Speaker 1: Thank you very much for joining us here as we get set for opening day.

00:23:18
Speaker 2: Always a pleasure to speak with you and to see you. So thanks for doing this.

00:23:22
Speaker 8: I'm so happy to be on with you guys. You guys know you guys are my favorite.

00:23:25
Speaker 5: So what's up to you. Good to see you, go to see you, Good to see you, my friend.

00:23:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, And as I said, you saw a lot of pottery baseball. You saw a lot of Cactus League action there. Man, you probably saw more than when you were playing. And I'm only half joking when I say you saw more than some of the coaches.

00:23:42
Speaker 2: What's the most important thing you.

00:23:43
Speaker 1: Saw this year in Peoria, Arizona with the Potters?

00:23:49
Speaker 9: For me, I thought, offensively, they hit the ball really hard for like all of spring training.

00:23:57
Speaker 8: And it wasn't just you know this this standard guys. You think of.

00:24:01
Speaker 9: I mean, it was literally everybody, and I attribute that to Steve and Susan Junior.

00:24:06
Speaker 8: I think.

00:24:09
Speaker 9: His ability just kind of, you know, getting a chance to see it behind the scenes, just his ability to kind of talk things out. He's not like one way or the highway like he is. He speaks the language, and these guys seemingly all he has all of these guys ears right now, and so I was very impressed with the approach. He talked a lot about at the beginning of the season, controlling the strike zone, because that's kind of where it starts. When you're swinging at strike's game gets a little bit easier, and you saw a lot of that during camp. So I was very excited watching that kind of play out because it started off kind of slow the first week and a half, and then from that point it feels like after that twenty seven run game, it was just.

00:24:58
Speaker 8: A lot of hard hit baseball from that point on.

00:25:01
Speaker 9: And I thought that, considering how the offense kind of, you know, sputtered at times last year, I just thought that it was good to see them on it like that.

00:25:12
Speaker 8: Now. Will it transfer to the regular season, you know, yes, who knows?

00:25:17
Speaker 9: But I think from that standpoint, as much as you could put into these spring training games.

00:25:23
Speaker 8: I was excited to see that.

00:25:25
Speaker 5: I'm glad you mentioned steven SUSA. Of course, another new hitting coach for these Padres. Many have gone through some hitting coaches. But how big a deal is it that because you mentioned that he speaks their language and he's only a couple of years removed from the game. Is that the trend that we're going to do? You think in these clubhouses where they want guys who are a bit more relatable, forget the guys from twenty years ago, they want guys who are a bit more recent from the game.

00:25:49
Speaker 8: I don't know.

00:25:50
Speaker 9: I think it just depends on the group of guys you got in the locker room. The Padres have been all.

00:25:55
Speaker 8: Over the map in terms of, yes.

00:25:57
Speaker 9: The types of the hitting coaches that have been in and we've had old school guys, we had news school guys, we've had somewhere in between. I think it's more about how it fits the specific team that you have, and I think it helps Steven These guys remember Susan, I mean he was a guy that was talked about a lot coming up the Nationals organization. He was one of these freak athletes that everybody talked about.

00:26:24
Speaker 8: But he's also extremely smart.

00:26:26
Speaker 9: When it comes to the mechanics of hitting, and so I just think he is relatable. It doesn't hurt, doesn't hurt that he is not that far removed from the game. And you know, ultimately we'll see how it goes. You know, we've only spent two months together. They've only spent two months together. A lot can happen between now and then, but this certainly seems really really promising. I'll say this too, You're only as good as the guys who are swinging the back as a hitted coach. So no matter how smart Steve it is, no matter you know, how much he speaks the language, when those guys get on the field, when they produce, he's gonna look.

00:27:05
Speaker 8: Like a gen.

00:27:07
Speaker 2: Right.

00:27:07
Speaker 5: There was a time where Victor Rogriguez was the most popular coach on this Padre staff just a couple of years ago, and then he became the scapegoat just a year ago. Tee, we are like twenty five minutes into the show and we have not yet mentioned the name Fernando Tatis Junior, which is shocking to me. And I'll tell you this, One of my favorite things when I'm out there observing up and close is the sort of relationship that you have with Fernando. You guys seem very very close. What are you expecting from him this year? And I know he said my best is ahead of me, but he said that last year. Why do you think this might be a little bit different and showing us more of the MVP form of And he was great last season, but he and the Padres clearly expect a lot more from him.

00:27:49
Speaker 9: I just think that Toddy, the more experience he gets under his belt, the more years he has on this planet, there's more maturity every year that he shows up I feel like at camp.

00:28:04
Speaker 8: And what is it about this particularly particular year.

00:28:08
Speaker 9: I don't know if there's there's one thing I think every time Toddy's healthy and he steps into camp, that should be the thought that he has the ability to win an MVP, And so I don't think it changes this year. I loved hearing him in my you know moments with him during the spring, hearing him talk about what he wants to do from a from a hitting standpoint, what his mindset is in terms of getting to the hitting position.

00:28:36
Speaker 8: And things of that nature.

00:28:38
Speaker 9: I just the way he talked about it to me gives me a lot of excitement for this year.

00:28:46
Speaker 8: You know, I think, you know, when.

00:28:47
Speaker 9: We're talking about the swing, Toddy is is so wiry and so athletic. He can get away with a lot of things that most guys can't get away with. Take you back to that Homer he hit where he was like full stop restart and he's a Homer. I mean not, there's just there's very few people on the planet that can do something like that. But I think his his want to get better and try to figure out.

00:29:15
Speaker 8: What he needs to do to reach that level.

00:29:17
Speaker 9: I think at his hunger for that is only getting stronger.

00:29:20
Speaker 8: And I think when you start getting into this twenty six, twenty seven, twenty eight year old.

00:29:24
Speaker 9: Range, it seems like for most guys, that's when like the maturity kind of clicks in. And I think for Toddy, he wants to be that player, and I think that's kind of part of it, right, You got to want all that comes with it.

00:29:38
Speaker 8: He certainly does.

00:29:39
Speaker 9: There's been nothing in camp or in the WBC that would indicate.

00:29:45
Speaker 8: To me that that he's not on the right path. He swung the battle really well.

00:29:49
Speaker 9: When the lights were at his bright as in the WBC, he was right there in the thick of all of it. And so listen again, as long as Toddy's healthy, that's the kind of thing that we can expect. And I think you know another thing that happens for players. You stop getting into the realm of tinkering all the time. You kind of get to something and you realize, you know what, all the tinker and I'm doing isn't giving me the consistency I want, And so let me try to stick with something. And I think you saw that a little bit from him last year, and I think he's only going to build on that this year. And some of the swing I wouldn't even say swing changes, some of the get to the hitting position changes that he's made.

00:30:33
Speaker 2: Tony.

00:30:33
Speaker 1: It's interesting because when we talk about Fernando, right, and you've been around greatness your whole life, I sometimes wonder if he doesn't fully appreciate how much value he brings to this team in other ways other than just being exclusively in the batters box and hitting forty plus on runs like he did earlier in his career. He's won two platinum gloves. He's been a good base runner, he was a good at bat last year. I mean, he brings so much value in so many different ways, and sometimes I wonder if he doesn't appreciate it, or or if it's not a big priority for him. Like you were an amazing you're I mean, seriously, you were maybe the one of the best outfielders in the Peco Park era who put on a Padre's uniform, right, Like how you didn't want to go glove is a mystery to me. But like, he brings so much value, and sometimes I feel like like we just end up focusing on on what he's not doing, and I wonder how we get through to him that he's bringing value in ways that, like, you know, other players just can't.

00:31:33
Speaker 9: He talked a little bit about this deer in the spring, talked about, you know, sometimes almost like being so hard on himself that you know, he can get into these moments where he's in his own head and listen. That is a human element that's not exclusive to Fernando Tatis Junior. I think all of us experienced that in some shape or form, And to me, I think maturity is for him.

00:32:01
Speaker 8: Last year in particular is recognizing.

00:32:03
Speaker 9: Okay, the power stroke is not here, how can I find other ways to impact his team? He didn't go into the tank when when he's when his stroke kind of lefting for a second, he found other ways, got on base at the highest clip we've seen from him, maybe since early in his career, and so those are his defense didn't they didn't fall it.

00:32:28
Speaker 8: It got better, and so I think he recognizes that.

00:32:31
Speaker 9: I just think like every other player, when he's going through a little bit of a rut, he wears that on his sleep. I don't think that's I don't think that's different for most guys. Guys who care about it a lot tend to tend to kind of kind of go that route sometimes. I think as you get older, you just learn how to deal with it in better ways. And I think Toddy's no different. I expect to see the same thing from him again this year.

00:32:56
Speaker 5: So do you think maturity is the maturity is gonna be the biggest thing for him, the biggest factor for him knowing how to deal with this stuff.

00:33:02
Speaker 9: Knowing how to deal with it, and every year that he gets a chance to go through the experiment, I think he's going to be better for it.

00:33:10
Speaker 8: I don't think he's gonna get worse. I think Toddy's got.

00:33:13
Speaker 9: A good foundation of people around him that care about him. I think his dad is probably his hardest critic in terms of, you know, his swing and things that he should be doing. And I can recognize that my dad was probably my toughest critic as well.

00:33:30
Speaker 8: So I just think he again, he's.

00:33:33
Speaker 9: A He's in a good place mentally, and I think that, as much as anything, will be a reason why he has an explosive year this year.

00:33:43
Speaker 1: Can I ask about the defense in the outfield as well, because as I mentioned, you are an expert in the subject from your time in two thousand and nine, ten, eleven, ten, gosh.

00:33:55
Speaker 2: A lot a long time ago.

00:34:00
Speaker 1: Tell us about the uniqueness of playing outfield in the NST and you know what you make of not only Fernando out there and right, but also what you know how Jackson Merril has really grown into the type of centerfielder that he's become.

00:34:12
Speaker 9: Let me start there, because I don't think as much as we talk about Toddy and his offense and his defensive pros, I think.

00:34:22
Speaker 8: Jackson's kind of flown under the radar.

00:34:24
Speaker 2: Right.

00:34:25
Speaker 9: He made a crazy change in his first year. He goes from infield to outfield, and he was good. It wasn't great. He was good last year. I thought he raised the level a big time defensively, and we just kind of because he was in a lineup, I think, and we were locked in on you know what he wasn't doing offensively because of the time off, we just kind of forgot about my man. In his second year of playing center field, and in.

00:34:53
Speaker 8: My opinion, how good he looked.

00:34:54
Speaker 9: I thought from year one to year two, his first step was better. His comp and believing what his eyes were telling him off the bat was way better. There were times in his first year that he saw it, but he didn't trust it, and so there was like a hesitation behind it that was gone last year. And you know, I hope this year he gets more, assuming that he's gonna keep getting better, that he gets more recognition defensively, because again, the kid can play.

00:35:25
Speaker 7: He is.

00:35:27
Speaker 9: What you probably would write up in the definition of someone of a ballplayer, right like this dude just eats drinks, you know, you know what he is all about baseball, and I think his his his defense flew under the radar last year.

00:35:43
Speaker 8: I think Toddy speaks for himself. We don't need to go there.

00:35:47
Speaker 9: Ramona has a great arm, but he gets a little get a little fuzzy in the outfield at times, but he makes the play, which is ultimately what you put the.

00:35:57
Speaker 8: Pitchers want and what keeps everybody half.

00:36:00
Speaker 9: So in terms of playing defense in aos all right, in NLS, you got a bunch of different types of ballparks, right, I think San Francis is the hardest ballpark to play outfield defense in all of baseball. The constant swirling of the of the wind, never quite really knowing which way it's actually going, that's the toughest one. Arizona's probably the easiest. You know, they closed that roof. For a guy who can run in a big outsfield, you want nothing more than be able to run up underneath the ball and make yourself look good.

00:36:35
Speaker 8: So I think that's one of the easiest. You got two. I think neutral.

00:36:40
Speaker 9: Spots in San Diego in La not a whole lot to playing, at least playing centerfield. Right fields a little more difficult. You got the bigger wall over there in Pectco. But you know, all in all, I think outside of outside of San Francisco and Colorado, where you're you're playing huge outfield with altitude. In the Colorado I think it's still one of the more fun divisions to play outfield in.

00:37:09
Speaker 1: Craig Stammon is the manager. We just talked to Trevor, who's a former relief pitcher, right, so birds of a feather.

00:37:14
Speaker 2: So to speak.

00:37:15
Speaker 1: But when you got to San Diego, Buddy Black was the manager pitcher and there's not a long history of pitchers and managers, right, everybody knows Tommy Lesorida, Roger, Craig. Buddy Black certainly would be on the list on a short list of former pictures becoming successful managers.

00:37:30
Speaker 2: What did you think when you got here?

00:37:32
Speaker 1: I know there was probably some history with Buddy, so you know, everybody knows who he is.

00:37:35
Speaker 2: And people like him.

00:37:36
Speaker 1: But just like strictly in terms of you being a position player and now you're playing for a manager who's a former pitcher, what were going through your mind when you met in San Diego and that was the case, you know what, I.

00:37:49
Speaker 9: Knew Buddy a little bit, so I didn't have like a crazy, you know, relationship with him, and so when I arrived I didn't really know what to expect. I was coming from playing under Ned Yos who was a former catcher Ken Macha, who you know, my experience with him wasn't wasn't great, and so I didn't really have any expectations. When I got all I wanted to do was have a chance to play.

00:38:11
Speaker 8: And so Buddy for me was you.

00:38:15
Speaker 9: Know, he's he's he's probably my top guy. Like that was the guy who gave me the opportunity to play. And I just loved his managerial style. You know, he wasn't like he get in your face if he needed to, but that really wasn't like his deal like he had conversations with all I used to One of the things I used to love is watching him come over to a starting pitcher and even if you know John Garland had gone seven of shutty or Kevin Krab gone seven shutty and he was getting ready to take him out, watching his interaction with these guys always tackled me. I always got a kick out of watching him take a guy out even though he knew that guy didn't want.

00:38:53
Speaker 8: To come out. But I, for me, managers, whether you were.

00:38:59
Speaker 9: Catch for or a pitcher, I didn't necessarily see a benefit in terms of manager of how you managed the game. All the managers I played for, for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed, and they knew baseball well.

00:39:16
Speaker 8: But knowing baseball and.

00:39:17
Speaker 9: Being able to manage a game in real time is not the same thing. Outside of Buddy, my next two managers after that were all in their first year managing, you know Don Mattingly in LA and then you know the Lake Ryan Sandberg in Philly, both in their first years. And watching a manager in his first year versus a manager that had some years under his belt, there's definitely there's definitely something there. And the thing I love and respect about Stam is he recognizes that and because he's gonna lean on his staff the way we've seen him, I don't know that some of those shortcomings.

00:39:59
Speaker 8: For the other two managers, who you know, one should be a Hall.

00:40:02
Speaker 9: Of famer, one is a Hall of Famer, may have been a little bit different in their approach in kind of relying on their staff, you know what I'm saying. So it'll be I think that's where Stan probably has an advantage over the other two first year managers I played for, As I think he kind of comes in knowing I'm gonna need to lean on Lublin, I'm gonna need to lean on bid Fritz, I'm gonna need to lean on Steve and Our I need lee on Ryan Gohones, who's handling the the infield like he's not afraid to empower those guys to to be able to help him be a better manager.

00:40:40
Speaker 5: In the end, maybe maybe the NLS will come down to which team employees the best special assistant, whether it's you know, Bruce Bochie with Buster Posey in San Francisco or the padres with with Buddy Black. So we shall see t you're're awesome. But before I before we let you go, my last thing, our Aztecs did not make it in the tournament this year? Will you join Darren and rooting against Duke this weekend wagon, I root.

00:41:05
Speaker 8: With again to do every opportunity tunity.

00:41:08
Speaker 2: I get so like a good American should.

00:41:13
Speaker 9: This is light work right here, and I think Saint Joss has a really good chance.

00:41:18
Speaker 8: To pull it off.

00:41:20
Speaker 10: I'm uncomfortable with all the nice things that are being said about I'm not quite believing that the program is actually actually better, But I'll take it anyway I can tequin.

00:41:32
Speaker 1: It is always our pleasure. You're the best. Thank you very much. We look forward to listening to you on the Potters Flagship on The Potteri's Radio network all season long. Thanks for taking time to join us here on Fire Territory.

00:41:43
Speaker 8: Darren Marty, always a pleasure. Thank you guys for having me.

00:41:47
Speaker 1: Who we listened to? I listen to religiously around town, Love that man? All right, subscribe, listen to this podcast, do all the things on YouTube and find out where you find all your podcast Thank you very much, and we'll be back later this week.

00:41:59
Speaker 2: Thanks every body, Peace out,