Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy and Jon Jay @Cardinals camp

00:00:03
Speaker 1: Artnel's starting pitcher, Matthew Liberator is here. Matt great to have you on. Do you feel like a senior member these days in camp?

00:00:11
Speaker 2: I wouldn't say I'm a senior member yet. I still feel pretty young. But we definitely got a lot more young guys in the clubhouse this year, and fortunately I do have some some big league experience and I've filled a lot of different roles in the Big League so far, so I do feel like I have some knowledge to share.

00:00:26
Speaker 3: Are they calling you in this clubhouse?

00:00:28
Speaker 4: No? No, yeah, that's standing.

00:00:29
Speaker 3: That's standing well compared to the rest of them. I mean you are the unk yeah, starters right, just testin me would be the one.

00:00:37
Speaker 2: Plante is older than me, got a little more service time, but yeah, I'm up there in an age, I guess this year in the clubhouse, which is weird to say, twenty six years.

00:00:45
Speaker 3: Old, gosh six.

00:00:48
Speaker 5: Do you sit closer at the to the front of the bus though, Like that's kind of a thing people don't understand, Like you do sit based on you can sit based on your service time or you succeed to the guys who have more service time. Do you sit closer to the front of the bus.

00:01:05
Speaker 2: I've always been the back of the bus kind of guy, but I might might have to change that this year. We'll see more to the middle, Yeah, maybe more front.

00:01:13
Speaker 3: Are you either when you're older, either sat in the front or the back.

00:01:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, I prefer the back. I like to be able to see everybody instead of having my back turn to everybody but them.

00:01:22
Speaker 3: Obviously you're a little worried about someone walking in bend you. Yeah, I like it. I like it. Have they talked to you about where you're going to stack up because there's rumors of opening day for you.

00:01:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, we haven't had any talks about that yet. You know, I think it's partially controllable, largely uncontrollable for me. But you know, I think that's every starting pitcher's stream to get that nod and for the first pitch of the team, first pitch of the season for your team. But right now, I'm just trying to worry about today and tomorrow. Worry about tomorrow. You know who it's against, right, Yeah, I do. Does that mean a little bit more? I think maybe in twenty three my first start against them after that trade, and also Randy was on the team at that point, and getting the face him. But you know, I think now it's just gone out and pitching.

00:02:05
Speaker 3: They played the Rays by the way opening day. You know that if Randy didn't maybe record something, that you might still be with the Rays and he might still be the Cardinals. Maybe.

00:02:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, you ever talked to him about hey, we're traded for each other. I've never actually spoken to him. I would love to, but yeah, we've got to cross paths and I haven't gotten the opportunity yet.

00:02:27
Speaker 3: He doesn't. He doesn't walk by and just give you like this scarreo as you walk by. No, no yet, no yet.

00:02:32
Speaker 5: Who's somebody? Who's somebody that sets you up to be where you are a big league a big league player that you know has been there since you've been up and down in the big leagues, or a minor league coach, somebody that set you up to the point where you're like, Okay, this guy really was instrumental in helping me become the starting pitcher that I am today, and not just that reliever or starter type of guy.

00:02:58
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:02:58
Speaker 2: I mean I think away from the team, my pitching guy that ork with John Heisinger. I've worked with him since I was eleven years Old. He's been instrumental in my development up until this point. And then you know, all of our staff here has been really really awesome since I've gotten into the starting role and kind of helping me fine tune my routine in my process and being able to watch guys like Wayo and Lancelaine and Kyle Gibson Sonny last year go about their business and just take little bits and pieces from what they do and add it to what I do. And then even when I was in the bullpen, guys like Andrew Kittridge, I thought really did a good job of kind of taking me under their wing and showing me the ropes and showing me how the things operate in the bullpen and just really helping me develop the mental side of the game.

00:03:41
Speaker 1: Hey, Matthew, can you run through some of the changes that you made last year pitch mix wise, and do you then reevaluate that in the off seasonations with the team where you kind of save that until spring training you'd be like, all right, what do we like that worked and what do we want to change?

00:03:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, Arsenal Wise, I don't think I made any changes during the season last year. My stuff was kind of my stuff I think we switched usages a little bit, just you know, as my first few starts was kind of the league seeing where I was at and then making an adjustment to me, and then you know, it was my turn to make an answer back and make that adjustment back to the league. And so there are some usage things that we kind of discussed throughout the season just to put me in a better spot, help me get more opportunities to you know, punch guys out and set myself up for success. And then this offseason, you know, it's out now that I'm working on throwing a splitter, which would be my seventh pitch, so it's uh, Kevin, Yeah, seven, I throw six already.

00:04:37
Speaker 3: How's the catch?

00:04:37
Speaker 4: Did you run out of buttons?

00:04:38
Speaker 5: Yeah?

00:04:39
Speaker 2: Actually that that has been an issue. We're going to have to figure something out. There's not enough buttons on the PitchCom to call them, so I might have to have a PitchCom on my glove or on my hip so I can call pitches sometimes and I don't have to cycle through six or seven shakes in and that bat. But it's been fun working on it, and honestly, it's taken some of the stress off of some of the other stuff to kind of have a project in the works to tinker with, how do you.

00:05:02
Speaker 3: Find seven pitches six pitches? How do you perfect six or seven pitches? What are they? First of all, four seam, two seam, I'm.

00:05:09
Speaker 2: Going four team two seam, change up, cutter, slaughter, curveball, and now the splitter. I was primarily growing up fastball, four team two seam curveball in high school, as the curveball is too big to get a lot of swing and misses at that level, so I developed the slaughter. It's kind of a shorter, harder breaking ball to get more swing and miss. And then I've always had the change up also, but it's kind of been hit or miss. Last year that was kind of my off season project, was developing a change up that would play at this level, and I feel like I did a decent job of that. And then this year just continuing to try and find more swing and miss and have more more offerings and more weapons to show to both handed hitters. That was kind of where the talks four the splitter started to come in. And then Sonny actually is the person for me to credit with the cutter. We were playing catch first time we ever played catch, you saw my slaughter. He's like, dude, you spin the ball really really well. Do you think He actually suggested maybe a sweeper, which I threw for a couple of bullpens and then we kind of banged it. But the cutter kind of came out of those conversations too, and that was something that helped, you know, get right handed hitters off the fastball a little bit.

00:06:18
Speaker 1: For me, Matthew, did you watch the prominence of the splitter in the postseason last year and how often it was being thrown? I don't know how often how much postseason ball you watched, but I mean I got talked about it. I feel like more than it had been in a long time.

00:06:35
Speaker 2: Could you repeat the beginning part of that question.

00:06:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, just wondering if you, Yeah, if you watch the splitter in the postseason, you know, teams like of course, you know, Dodgers, Mariners, et cetera, had guys just chucking great splitters. So wondering if you watch that and if that had any impact too, and just overall years off on how the splitter is kind of becoming a huge thing again in the league.

00:06:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely part of the reason those conversations started happened. You know, obviously Almamoto's got a great splitter, but he's a little shorter and from a much lower ap proach angle. So the guy that kind of spurred the decision to start working on it was watching Trey Savage a splitter and he's, you know, super steep approach angle, and I'm not quite that steep, but I do have a relatively steep approach angle. And we figured if if that was a pitch that I could feel comfortable with, it could play really well for me.

00:07:25
Speaker 3: Now, when you talked about the PitchCom and not having enough buttons, but then you said you want to put a PitchCom on you. So if I'm a hitter and I see you go to the pitchcomb like, oh he's going split.

00:07:33
Speaker 2: Here, well it won't just be for splitter. That was the first thing that I said. I was like, if I'm going to put one on, I got to call enough of my own pitches that guys can't just say, oh when he does this, it's a breaking ball or it's a splitter every time. So I think part of the reason we'd use the PitchCom is more to prevent me having to shake, you know, four to six or seven times to cycle through you shake.

00:07:54
Speaker 3: Thisten as a catcher. If you shake me seven times and then you gave up a hit, we probably would have action. Yeah, there would be some words exchange, like you shook me seven times?

00:08:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, And if you did that to YACHTI I probably wouldn't check one.

00:08:10
Speaker 3: Of course, not of course, not last thing before we let you go. You've been around here with the Cardinals for a long time. You've been through some good teams, and now you're kind of on the rebuild.

00:08:19
Speaker 4: What are you looking.

00:08:20
Speaker 3: Forward to this year? As you know, everyone's saying, oh, we're young, we're going to be this different team than what we've been in the past. As kind of a veteran leader on this team, what are you looking at as a successful year for the Cardinals.

00:08:32
Speaker 2: I think what's really exciting about this time period in Cardinals history right now is, you know, we really kind of have the chance to rewrite what this looks like for the next ten years, fifteen years moving forward. And you know, this is the first time that we don't have solidified a Hall of Fame veteran type players in our clubhouse. And you know, I think that's that's exciting because it opens the door to a lot of different ideas and different methodologies, and you know, I think it's very cool that we get to kind of dictate how this is going to go for ourselves over the next five to ten years. And I think that that's a really exciting place to build from.

00:09:10
Speaker 3: Matthew, thanks for joining us. You have a bullpend to run and get to, so good luck and work on that split.

00:09:15
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Thank you, guys.

00:09:16
Speaker 3: Thank you here with Michael McGreevy major major league debut. Not that long ago, we were just talking about. Yeah, you were making fun of me because I said I made my debut before you were born, and you're like, god, how old are you?

00:09:27
Speaker 4: Twenty five years old?

00:09:29
Speaker 3: Oh, I mean I'm double. That makes you feel any better.

00:09:32
Speaker 6: I mean I'm feeling old in this clubhouse. That makes me feel young, So I appreciate that. Who's the oldest guy you have, Stanic? I think, oh, yeah, I'm not even sure how old he might be thirty five.

00:09:44
Speaker 3: I looked at your I looked around and on the pitching staff, it's definitely standing player wise, it's ramone the earliest. Maybe I'm not.

00:09:55
Speaker 4: Even sure how old Ramone is. I mean you just got here.

00:09:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm in there, take a picture.

00:10:00
Speaker 4: Yeah, I sit down and have breakfast with him.

00:10:03
Speaker 3: What uh? What are you looking forward to? This year's gonna be in the rotation more than likely.

00:10:07
Speaker 4: Right, yeah, more than likely. Crazier things have happened.

00:10:10
Speaker 3: Although although Dusty was in there with a clipboard, yeah, we were all hiding.

00:10:15
Speaker 4: Scared the heck out of me.

00:10:16
Speaker 6: In the weight room, He's like all making cuts today. I was like kind of pause for a moment, like me, like I thought, I'm pitching a Sarasota on Friday.

00:10:24
Speaker 4: And he's no, no, not you, not yet. I'm like, oh geez.

00:10:26
Speaker 6: And so yeah, I mean I'm excited for this year. We got a lot of young guys, like you said, in the rotation, even in the clubhouse. So just creating that new foundation playing with all these young guys. I think in this rebuild, seeing all the guys are gonna make their major league debuts this year, I feel like it's gonna be a lot of guys, a lot of good guys in the farm system. Anyone can make an impact on this team. So it's really anybody's ball game in this clubhouse.

00:10:48
Speaker 5: Do you guys talk about that. Do you guys talk about that like there's no help from the outside, It's gonna be us young guys. Or is it something that you're just like, I got to take care of my business and let everything else happen.

00:11:00
Speaker 6: You know, like the major League Baseball season it's so long, and especially in the minor leagues, it's such a grind that you do have to have that I got to take care of my own business first. It's kind of a selfish way to think about it in the minor leagues. But in this clubhouse, there's been no talks of hey, just every man for himself. It's hey, like what kind of what kind of culture can we create here? What kind of foundation can we create here? We want everybody pull on the same side of the rope. So a lot of young guys with maybe not the most amount of experience in the big leagues, but I think collectively we're all in the same point of our career.

00:11:31
Speaker 4: Is that if we're all pulling the same direction, that this rebuild is gonna be very quick.

00:11:36
Speaker 5: All right, well this is quick into the interview. But you said culture and foundation, and everyone's like, oh, the cardinal way you've been in the minor league system for a little bit, not you haven't been grind in the minor leagues. That looked like something crazy. But how much how much different has the last year been? Now that we hear that hein Blooms hiring a few more coaches because you've been up and down from the big leagues the last two years. Have you seen a difference or have you heard guys talk about what the difference is.

00:12:10
Speaker 6: I think it's more of the just the way that things have ben There's a lot of turnover in this organization, with most stepping down him taking over.

00:12:19
Speaker 4: All these upgrades, these new facilities.

00:12:21
Speaker 6: Here in Palm Beach are huge kind of editions of coaches, strength, coaches, trainers in the minor league system. So when you can go up, you are you have everything you need to have a short stint in the minor league, so when you get to the big leagues, you're ready to perform. And so that's like, I think that's the cardinal way right now, is that Hey, like we're gonna be We're gonna go back to being one of the best farm systems in baseball. I think we're ranked number two. I think right now, and like that's how it should be. There's plenty of talent throughout the organization, all the way down from low end the guys we just drafted, like Liam Doyle.

00:12:57
Speaker 4: And and upwards into Triple A.

00:12:59
Speaker 6: That this team is going to be good for years to come, and it starts in the minor leagues and we've done a really good job of kind of like recreating that farm system.

00:13:07
Speaker 3: How much do you pay attention to that who's drafted and you're still young? Yeah, you weren't drafted that long? No, I really was you pay attention to Yeah, oh we drafted a picture, he might take my spot.

00:13:18
Speaker 6: Well, I mean there's always that, Like we're all human. I think we all have just that short second of like, oh, like we drafted like Cooper Jerpy crap, here we go.

00:13:26
Speaker 3: Who's that?

00:13:28
Speaker 6: He's another one of our first rounds in state. Yeah, just left eat back in twenty twenty two. Drafted Liam Doyle this year, And you know, as after I got drafted in the first round, I reached out to Jerpy, reach out to Chase Davis. Will we drafted in the first reach out to Liam Doyle. This year's like, hey man, we're super excited to have you in the organization. You're gonna love it, and trying to step into that leadership role. Being the quote unquote old guy so far in this club, as being twenty five, you want to feel like these new guys are welcome and just know like, hey, like we're gonna need you in a couple of years.

00:13:58
Speaker 5: Is that something that you do on your own or does the ORG tap you on the shoulder and go, hey, we see you as part of the future. Can you reach out to these guys.

00:14:07
Speaker 6: I mean it's something I did on my own. I'm sure the ORG is not unhappy that I did it. When we traded away Sonny and Wilson and we got Richard Fitz, Hunter Dobbins, Dustin May. I got their numbers from a couple of our trainers, just reached out to them, say hey, man, like, excited to have you, like, congrats on signing. My name is Michael McGreevy. Just if here's my number. If you need anything any questions, just text me. And just want to make everybody feel real comfortable. So there's no like awkward first, there's two first or second weeks of spring and we can just hit the ground running.

00:14:40
Speaker 5: That's super mature of you, because like it's a cutthroat business. But with that cutthroat business, like you got to create that you got to create that culture that you want to play in for the next six years or ten years, however long you play with the Cardinals.

00:14:54
Speaker 3: But do you have a.

00:14:56
Speaker 5: Little bit of are you a little like, ah, dang it when you lose a sunny Gray, when you trade away a Wilson Contreres, when you trade away pieces to your organization, your team, that you're like, I want to win. Obviously, I want to make a ton of money in the big leagues, but I want to win.

00:15:12
Speaker 6: Also, yeah, I was. I'm sad we got to we traded Sonny. It was the right thing to do. The other I'm super sad that we lost on because he had all the tea times everywhere on the road. But it's the necessary steps that we needed to take to not just be on that cut of like, well, like we're about five hundred, we might sneak into the wild cars, Like that's just not good enough for this organization or in this fan base. We want to make sure we're winning division after division, getting into that playoffs, making a deep run of the playoffs in the World Series, and that just doesn't happen with a few band aid pieces here and there, signing a few guys that might make a difference, and they did. They certainly had great times here, but it's creating that stronger foundation to really build what's good for the future. And it was necessary steps, but it did suck seeing him go, especially players of that caliber.

00:16:04
Speaker 5: Did you take Sunny's money playing golf or because you said he made all the tea times or does he take your money?

00:16:11
Speaker 4: Uh?

00:16:11
Speaker 6: We played twice this year, once in Saint Louis where I beat him. No money was on the table, and then we went to Whistling Straights and Milwaukee, and I think he probably got me by a couple of strokes.

00:16:24
Speaker 4: Just he's a good course manager. I'm more of I'm just gonna let it fly.

00:16:27
Speaker 6: And you know, you drive for show, putt for doe, and I just didn't put it all that day.

00:16:31
Speaker 3: What's the best place he took you Whistling Straights, He only took you two places?

00:16:35
Speaker 4: Well, we I went on my own.

00:16:36
Speaker 6: We just we played just in Saint Louis and stuff. But I was I was up and down all year. So anytime I came up play against the Mets, we win and say, all right, Mike, see you later. I can't golf with him, so I didn't really get into it. Towards the end of the year and we were playing at San Francisco and he's like, hey, you want to golf. I'm like, ah, like I pitched tomorrow. And he's like, oh, yeah, but you golf left you. You're like, swing, You're rotating the other way. It'll be good for you. I'm like, maybe if I was on You're thirteen, I do that, but I'm not even a full year in just yet, so let's just wait on that.

00:17:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, what I wouldn't need to hear the story about your debut. I was told you have a debut story that we need to hear about.

00:17:11
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:17:12
Speaker 6: So it was right at the trade deadline of twenty twenty four and Bja, our manager in Triple A, calls me. They were pushing me back at day already and I was like, oh my gosh, they're gonna dangle me in front of other teams.

00:17:24
Speaker 4: I'm gonna get traded.

00:17:25
Speaker 6: Like no crap, here we go get the call, Hey, you going the big leagues, And so I fly to Saint Louis from Durham get in the day before. Hey, can I go to the field play catch? Like you know, I watched the game. They're like, no, you're not on the roster just yet. So I have to stay in the hotel right next to the field at Bush. So I go down to the bar. I'm sitting at the bar eating a steak and I'm watching Lance Lynne pitch against the Rangers.

00:17:49
Speaker 4: And that's how I'm getting my scattering.

00:17:51
Speaker 6: Report because I know nothing about the defending World Series champions Texas Rangers.

00:17:55
Speaker 4: You know any of the players, none of the players. And I was like, well, I mean I knew I knew of or I do know of them.

00:18:01
Speaker 6: Like, okay, what do they struggle at? All I know is Corey Seeger hits absolute nukes and he swings at the first pitch every time.

00:18:06
Speaker 4: Every time, and that's what he did all days. One of the first pitch and he almost took me deep. But thank god, but.

00:18:12
Speaker 3: Did you win that game? I did, So do you now do that every time? I mean, I wish now you go deep. See that's the problem exactly.

00:18:20
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean it's just sit at the bar to night before I mean that's a bad look though. I mean in the big he's got camera phones now people are all over the place. Oh, Mike McGreevey sitting at the bar before a game. This isn't good look for the Cardinals. Not the good foundation when trying to create you win if we win.

00:18:36
Speaker 3: Yeah, no you can.

00:18:37
Speaker 5: No, it's not sitting at the bar. You can just prop up next to a TV in the clubhouse and have a steak. How how hard is that to have a routine that like that worked out and you're like man like because a lot of people don't understand. You might not be superstitious, but if you ate a steak before you went out and dealt you're like, You're like, I'm gonna have a steak again. I know I'm so step chicken, but I feel like I'm gonna have a How hard is that to get away from that superstition slash routine.

00:19:08
Speaker 6: Yeah, you definitely. It's too long of a season too. You're just gonna exhaust yourself. If you were like, oh, I need to I need to do this, I do this, I do this, and then if you add something in by accident and you have another good day, then you just have to add another thing into the routine. All of a sudden, the routine lasts four hours before game time. Come that first pitch, you're like, oh my god, I'm.

00:19:26
Speaker 4: Exhausted, honey.

00:19:27
Speaker 3: So yeah, for his routine like noon for seven o'clock game, Sonny's a different cat.

00:19:31
Speaker 4: And you know that.

00:19:32
Speaker 3: So I mean because Sonny was like I remember, Sonny would start like Sonny's starting and if there was like a drop of rain, and he's like, oh, I started my routine. What do I do now? Yeah?

00:19:41
Speaker 6: Seriously, Yeah, you try to pick and choose what works for Sonny that works for you. Try not to do everything he does. But I'd get to the field when clubhouse opens and all of a sudden there was Sonny too doing his routine five hours before the game.

00:19:54
Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, I'd be exhausted by then.

00:19:57
Speaker 3: You're young.

00:19:58
Speaker 5: What is the what do you need to to have? What at the end of this season you have said, I did this to make my season successful, Because yes, you were up and down and being called up and down a lot of the time. That's not on you, like the oreg is. You know, you have options all that stuff, But what is the thing that you need to improve on or that you worked on so that you have as successful as a season as you want.

00:20:23
Speaker 4: Yeah, every year, I'm always going into it.

00:20:25
Speaker 6: I want to make every start, and no matter if that was in Triple A and the big leagues last year, being a starter and going deep into games, that's kind of my mo.

00:20:32
Speaker 4: That's how I play the game.

00:20:34
Speaker 6: If I make every start and I'm upwards close to two hundred dnings, that's what I want to do. That's what I need to do. I need to get my body in the right shape to do that. Because that last game in Wrigley Field last year, game thirty two, for me it I was just exhausted, and when Allie took the ball from my hands, I could not throw another pitch And it was eye opening. I mean that thirty two games instead of the twenty eight in the minor leagues, with that certified off day Monday, it was a huge wake up call.

00:20:59
Speaker 4: Need to get the body no shade.

00:21:00
Speaker 6: That five five day rotation is huge, and so if I can make every start and not have that crash and burn like I did at the end and finished strong going into October, I think it'll be huge for the team's success.

00:21:11
Speaker 4: And mine two would be pretty solid.

00:21:14
Speaker 6: That would be nice. I'd like that a lot. I'm getting I'm getting closed. I think max right now is like one seventy five, so we're we're just sneaking up on it.

00:21:22
Speaker 3: I'm getting two hundred. I don't care if I make every start. I'm getting two hundred.

00:21:25
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:21:25
Speaker 6: I think that you need one full year of service time before you can tell them to do things for you.

00:21:29
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, you get off that's true.

00:21:34
Speaker 3: If you get off to a good start, then you can tell them whatever you want.

00:21:36
Speaker 4: Absolutely.

00:21:37
Speaker 6: If I have a stake before, and you know, scout the team at the bar have great days like that, I might be able to then if.

00:21:42
Speaker 3: You're miss, If you're miss in Milwaukee, five starts to make the All Star team, he tells.

00:21:46
Speaker 4: Them what he wants exactly five.

00:21:49
Speaker 3: All right, Michael, thank you very much, by the way, best team in the in the Big West. You see Santa barb okay all day long. Wait, who's in that Fullerton fullertin Irvine Long Beach? David got Bakersfield, Hawaii. You see San Diego season said the right, Yeah, except for Hawaii. Yeah, yeah, Hawaii is always fun trip. I've been all right, Well, Michael, thank you good luck this year, and I hope you do get to two hundred.

00:22:15
Speaker 4: Yeah, that'd be nice.

00:22:16
Speaker 1: Hey, what do you got for us, dude? Give us something good, one good story so far at camp, or one player that stands out, give us something that that nobody else knows.

00:22:26
Speaker 7: I think the energy has just been great. I mean, honestly, the guys have been out here just putting in the work every day. And you know, obviously it's a different look team for us here in saying lois this here, But the guys are really jelling and then just doing the things that need to do every day. But I think, you know, Mason Win's been great out there, Birley's been great just leaving the guys as well. So it's gonna be fun to see who emerges as a leader here and just to see these guys take the next time.

00:22:47
Speaker 3: You never talk like this ever as a player. Now, No, it was a player, not as a coach. Now you're like coach speak.

00:22:52
Speaker 8: I talked like the second player.

00:22:53
Speaker 3: No you did not, man, you did not talk like this. You're like, no, you gotta get the boot down, come on yelling it not. Oh yes, everyone's the value the lives are high here at Cardinals camp.

00:23:04
Speaker 8: They have been high. They've been great.

00:23:07
Speaker 1: Well, it's very different. I mean a lot of the vets from last year were traded away, So what happens when that happens.

00:23:14
Speaker 7: Yeah, Like, you know, it's a young group out there, So the fun thing for me is to see who steps up and and who takes over that leadership role and the who the guys gravitated to. And they've been doing a really good job of that and it's been fun to watch so far.

00:23:28
Speaker 1: A J did you really just also want to make fun of us? You're not not winning the championship game.

00:23:34
Speaker 3: We weren't even gonna go. We're we're gonna save that for the end. We don't want John to get up in the middle of this interview and walk out, so we're gonna get there first. Crowds I think has a question before we go there.

00:23:45
Speaker 5: A baseball question, because yeah, an actual baseball question and not make fun of you, like a.

00:23:53
Speaker 8: What is.

00:23:55
Speaker 5: How much how much is it going to change your base running that you know you have young guys yet, not that you had fossils that didn't move or at all, but like, do you have to change the aggressiveness in the sense that like these dudes are able to take chances. Like, I get it. Everybody wants to win in the big leagues, but sometimes when you take chances running the basis, you have to learn where too far is.

00:24:20
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think some of these guys that are playing this year that they kind of did that last year, right. I mean, you saw Vic have a great year on the basis last year, and I expect him to continue to get better with that. Right, We're going over just different tips and tells and just you know, where the games evolved with all that.

00:24:33
Speaker 8: So I think this is a team that's going to push on the bases.

00:24:36
Speaker 7: We're gonna you know, we're harping all the little things that you know, kind of the fundamentals of the game, and we're gonna have to do a lot of things right for us to win games. So we're harping on all those little things. Not right now on camp I think.

00:24:45
Speaker 1: I have a good quality control question here, abs challenge system. How do you control the quality of tapping the helmet for hitters who don't quite have it as well as some other hitters to you, and you don't want them to waste it early on in a game and then not have it in a tight spot for a big hitter.

00:25:06
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's something that we've kind of been like monitoring and just kind of seeing, you know, we know who knows the strikes on pretty well or whatnot. But I think it's going to be interesting in general, right like how team strategize with abs and how to use and do you do it early, do you do it late or whennot. So I think that's something that during the season it's going to be fun to kind of see what different teams are doing and we'll kind of see like where the trends are with that. But it's something that interrant training. It's it's been kind of fun to watch and it's it's kind of exciting the dugout and for the fans. So it's definitely gonna be something that's a different element of the game.

00:25:33
Speaker 3: Now for sure, do you tell pictures not to tap their head because the one the other one for the you see the one for the Yankees O day, it was like three inches outside the pictures out for ANANDO crew and the catcher's.

00:25:42
Speaker 8: Like, no, no, no, please, don't don't.

00:25:45
Speaker 7: And I think I think that's like I said, it's gonna be interesting to see when you know, when do you do when do you not? I mean end of the game, the game finishes on a strike three. I think you should just do it no matter what, right when you have them. But I think it's going to be interesting to see, both on the pitching side and on the offensive side of like how can we take advantage of the system and how are going to work. It's similar to the you know, when they implemented the new rules on the basis a couple of years ago, and then we've seen teams kind of like strategize on that now. So it's going to be just a new rule that you know, teams are going to learn how to take advantage of.

00:26:11
Speaker 3: All right, let's get to it. Have you recovered from the football game yet?

00:26:14
Speaker 8: Yeah? I recovered where you did you go to.

00:26:17
Speaker 3: The Indiana ass whooping of Miami?

00:26:18
Speaker 8: Of course?

00:26:19
Speaker 3: I went, okay, what about baseball this weekend?

00:26:21
Speaker 8: I was there Friday night. That was not fun. Yeah.

00:26:23
Speaker 7: I drove two and a half hours down, took my family to the game, and it wasn't a fun.

00:26:26
Speaker 3: Way they have John Houckman's not John Jay Field.

00:26:28
Speaker 7: It's not man, that's a good question. I think you got to donate about ten minute dollars for that when to happen.

00:26:34
Speaker 3: But I mean, you know all he got an extension. Descalso got an extension where John Jay extension.

00:26:40
Speaker 8: John jayme's doing great? Right wars ever?

00:26:42
Speaker 3: Oh wow? I mean, Scott, what do you?

00:26:43
Speaker 8: I mean?

00:26:44
Speaker 3: You guys got to stick together. I just sent a stat to John that since two thousand and nine, forty four and fourteen, Florida is against Miami and baseball, Miami used to be good in baseball. What happened?

00:26:55
Speaker 7: I mean, it was still pretty good. We went to the Super Regional last year. You know that that kind good enough in Miami. We'll see, We'll see what happens in June. We'll see what happens in June. We'll see who's in Omaha this year. It's not how you start.

00:27:05
Speaker 1: You got to ask him a question back and ask him how U A B is. Do you know who's playing for U A B.

00:27:11
Speaker 3: I don't my son, and guess who beat Florida. U A B in Miami couldn't be So I means U A B is better than Miami and baseball doesn't. It isn't that how fans.

00:27:20
Speaker 4: Look at that.

00:27:22
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, I don't know how too much about this AJ math that we got going on here.

00:27:26
Speaker 3: It's like girl math. It works. You just you justify things however you want. You know, it's a new it's a new slogan. Are you really teaching base running?

00:27:34
Speaker 8: Yes?

00:27:35
Speaker 3: Wow, we were slow though.

00:27:37
Speaker 8: You have to have instincts out there, you know, and work on some things now. But we do. Honestly. Our staff's great where we you know, we collaborate on everything.

00:27:43
Speaker 3: I saw the scales out there. We're going to getting picked off.

00:27:46
Speaker 7: Yeah, you know, we were implementing some new things out there and we're working on That's what trainings for.

00:27:51
Speaker 1: I have one more serious baseball question on the base running front. Did you see what Juan Soto and Josh Naylor did on the last year and can you use that as legit material to show a lot of your guys how much there is to base running beyond just how freaking fast you are, because Naylor and Soto are not beating. Yeah they're not. I mean Nayler's kind of slow. SODA's not slow, but he's not fast. So it's impressive to see that and do other teams like yours use that when you're talking to players about how you don't have to be you know, a ninety five percentile speed guy, sprint speed guy, and the biggs to be a really good base runner.

00:28:29
Speaker 8: Yeah, we've used those guys as example.

00:28:31
Speaker 7: And you know, someone that played here for a long time as well, Paul Goldtchmith, did a good job of seeing basses as well.

00:28:35
Speaker 8: Just paying attention to the game.

00:28:36
Speaker 7: You know, if you watch the game and you see what the pitchers are doing, what tendencies to have. So that's something that we always look to take advantage of. And those are guys that we have used as examples here in our club. Also the guys around the legs that are that are taking advantage of the situations out there, and that's something that we can all get better on.

00:28:51
Speaker 8: For sure. You're the man.

00:28:52
Speaker 1: Good to see you. I'll see you soon, hopefully.

00:28:54
Speaker 8: You guys.

00:28:55
Speaker 3: One of my favorite with my favorite one of my favorite X teammates.

00:28:59
Speaker 8: Well he didn't had about many people, so yeah he doesn't.

00:29:02
Speaker 1: And you get random shoutouts as you know. So sometimes I'll get a.

00:29:05
Speaker 3: Text He'll be like, did you guys shout me out today?

00:29:07
Speaker 1: I'll be like, yeah, AJ just randomly brought you up, so the famous, world famous John Jay with us.

00:29:12
Speaker 8: Good to see you, but.

00:29:15
Speaker 1: No, I love it.

00:29:16
Speaker 3: Let it flow.