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Speaker 1: Well, come in Happy Turkey Day week.

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Speaker 2: It is the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League presented by

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Speaker 2: u DF. Were live of the bet MGM Sportsbook inside

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Speaker 2: Tom's Watch Bar at the Banks with jim Day. I'm

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Speaker 2: Tommy Throw talking Reds Baseball with you for the next

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Speaker 2: hour and we have a great guest on with us today.

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Speaker 2: Jimmy always love talking not just not just pitching, but

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Speaker 2: baseball with Derek Johnson.

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Speaker 3: He's one of those guys that I'm not sure there's

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Speaker 3: ever been a baseball conversation I've ever had that I

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Speaker 3: didn't learn something right.

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Speaker 1: So let's learn something all right. Put on your learning hat.

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Speaker 2: Derek Johnson, Red's pitching coach, director of pitching for the Reds,

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Speaker 2: joins us today and he is so graciously, whether willingly

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Speaker 2: or unwillingly, he's agreed to spend the entire hour with

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Speaker 2: us today.

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Speaker 1: I know all sixty minute. Isn't that amazing? That's great?

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Speaker 4: Happy to be here.

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Speaker 2: Hey, thanks so much for joining us. What's your what's

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Speaker 2: your off season been like to this point? I mean

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Speaker 2: is what is I mean? You wear a lot of hats.

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Speaker 2: We said the director of You're not just the big

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Speaker 2: League pitching coach. You've got your hands in a lot

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Speaker 2: of different things. So what does your off season look like?

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Speaker 2: What have you been up to?

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Speaker 4: Nothing? Cool?

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Speaker 1: All right, great?

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Speaker 5: Next, just the few things. Hiring some minor league coaches.

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Speaker 5: We had to hire a coach on our staff as well.

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Speaker 5: Player plans, you know, trying to get that together for

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Speaker 5: the development over the wintertime, and you know, just sort

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Speaker 5: of general putting out fires here and there, and you know,

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Speaker 5: really really looking forward.

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Speaker 4: To next year.

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Speaker 1: Any time for recreation or doing anything fun.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, here and there.

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Speaker 5: You know, it's it's not it's not all all work

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Speaker 5: and no play, but you know, generally I'll spend my

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Speaker 5: day doing something with the Reds and then you know,

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Speaker 5: whatever it is at night.

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Speaker 3: You just mentioned having to hire another coach. You have

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Speaker 3: your assistant pitching coaches. A few of them have now

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Speaker 3: advanced to be pitching coaches. So are you the I

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Speaker 3: don't know, are the soothsayer of pitching coaches to be?

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Speaker 3: And how tough is that to say say goodbye and

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Speaker 3: to go out and hire someone.

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Speaker 4: I think I'm really good at hiring people.

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Speaker 5: Maybe I wouldn't say that I'm any sort of soothsayer

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Speaker 5: anything like that. But you know, we lost Simon a

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Speaker 5: couple of weeks ago. He's going to go to the

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Speaker 5: Nationals to be their their major league pitching coach, and

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Speaker 5: you know, I'm proud of each one of them moved on.

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Speaker 5: It's I think it's why we do it. It's why,

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Speaker 5: you know, you want to see people who work under

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Speaker 5: you to go on to bigger and better things. And

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Speaker 5: we've been pretty fortunate We've had a few guys do that.

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Speaker 2: Matt Tracy's been your bullpen coach the last few years now,

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Speaker 2: and he's really gotten to know these pitchers on this

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Speaker 2: staff really well.

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Speaker 1: I always hear good things about him.

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Speaker 2: I've enjoyed the conversations that I've had with with Matt.

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Speaker 1: Now he is your assistant pitching coach. Let's start there.

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Speaker 2: How much different is his role going to be and

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Speaker 2: how much does his familiarity kind of help ease that transition.

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Speaker 4: I'm excited for Maddie.

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Speaker 5: I mean, it's something when we talked about it, he

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Speaker 5: really wants to do it, so I thought that was great.

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Speaker 4: We've got two left.

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Speaker 5: Handers side by side, and I'm not so sure that

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Speaker 5: Oscar Marin our new bullpen coach. He also might be

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Speaker 5: left handed, so we've got some lefties in the room,

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Speaker 5: which can spell trouble here and there. But Matty is

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Speaker 5: excited about doing the job. I think I think he'll

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Speaker 5: be very, very good at it. I don't feel like

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Speaker 5: we're going to lose a whole lot of traction with

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Speaker 5: where we're at right right now with him being in

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Speaker 5: that role, so really excited for him. It'll give him

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Speaker 5: a chance to be in the dugout, which he hasn't

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Speaker 5: been so far in the major leagues. He's been in

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Speaker 5: the bullpen, so that it'll be another kind of piece

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Speaker 5: to his development as well.

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Speaker 3: You left, he stick together, I mean, you like migrate

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Speaker 3: together in a herd, it seems to be.

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Speaker 1: And Matt can also be a guy.

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Speaker 3: If you need someone live hitting session, can step in

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Speaker 3: there and swing the bat.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, he's not bad.

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Speaker 5: I mean, he was a two way player in college

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Speaker 5: and he was drafted as a pitcher. I think he

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Speaker 5: did dabble with hitting for a little while in Pro Bowl.

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Speaker 5: I'm not sure how long that lasted. But you know,

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Speaker 5: he's actually still a really good athlete, and he keeps

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Speaker 5: his arm in shape, and you.

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Speaker 4: Know, he face hunter there.

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Speaker 5: He didn't put the ball and play at least a

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Speaker 5: little bit, so I think it was ashcraft.

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Speaker 3: It was okay, right because no one you go around

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Speaker 3: as like lefties.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, the lefties like no chance. Supplies are getting limited.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you can't go up there and break a

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Speaker 1: bunch of Now.

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Speaker 4: Uh.

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Speaker 2: With with Oscar Marine, you talked about him. This is

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Speaker 2: a guy that's been a big league pitching coach. What

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Speaker 2: do you want to what did you like about him?

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Speaker 2: I know you guys have known each other for a

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Speaker 2: long time, so I'm sure that made him a pretty

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Speaker 2: easy hire.

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Speaker 1: But what is it about him that stands out?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean his experience.

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Speaker 5: He was with the Pirates for the last six years

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Speaker 5: as their their main guy. You know, I've I've hired

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Speaker 5: a lot of assistants or we've hired a lot of

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Speaker 5: assistants and bullpen coaches who have been younger, which is great.

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Speaker 5: I think Oscar brings an element of you know, just

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Speaker 5: experience that we haven't quite had here yet. So I'm

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Speaker 5: looking forward to saying, Okay, hey man, how'd you do it?

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Speaker 5: What did you do with the Pirates? You know, and

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Speaker 5: the Pirates have pitched really well for the last couple

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Speaker 5: of years, I got a guy named Skiings.

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Speaker 4: I think it's sort of schemes. Yeah.

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Speaker 5: Uh, he's pretty good. And they've got some other guys too.

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Speaker 5: But I I do think Oscar did a really good

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Speaker 5: job there. I think he was well liked there. I'm

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Speaker 5: really looking forward to to putting him, you know, in

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Speaker 5: our in our organization, with with our team.

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Speaker 4: I think he's going to make us better.

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Speaker 2: How much of a difference is it in roles between

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Speaker 2: assistant pitching coach and bullpen coach and all.

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Speaker 1: That, like what what? How does how do you divvy

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Speaker 1: up the workload and responsibilities there?

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Speaker 5: There's not there's not a ton I mean, obviously the

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Speaker 5: ones in the bullpen and he's answering the phone and

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Speaker 5: making sure guys are ready, and there is like that's

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Speaker 5: I call him the band of pirates down there, that

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Speaker 5: that's kind of what they are. So he does have

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Speaker 5: to kind of keep that ship afloat. And there's weird

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Speaker 5: stuff that goes on down there that I don't even

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Speaker 5: really want to know about. But you know, there's not

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Speaker 5: a ton of differences. There's probably a little bit more

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Speaker 5: paperwork on the assistant end of things, or at least

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Speaker 5: there can be there's homework, there's there's questions that I

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Speaker 5: ask that, you know, hey, can you find out the

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Speaker 5: answer to you know this, that or the other. He's

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Speaker 5: also in direct kind of you know, relationships with our

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Speaker 5: biomech guy.

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Speaker 4: You know, some other folks around you know the team.

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Speaker 3: You had mentioned the off season, and you are also

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Speaker 3: also the in charge of all Reds pitching throughout the

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Speaker 3: minor league system. How does it work with the exit

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Speaker 3: interviews with pitchers and what's your I know it's different

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Speaker 3: for each individual perhaps, but what's your general philosophy on

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Speaker 3: off season programs, conditioning, what's going on right now? How

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Speaker 3: much do you stay in contact with guys? When do

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Speaker 3: you want them to start ramping up, et cetera. I

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Speaker 3: leave them alone for a while. I think they need that,

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Speaker 3: so do I.

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Speaker 5: I mean, we see one another for one hundred and

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Speaker 5: eighty straight days, and you know, after a little while,

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Speaker 5: it's not not such a bad thing to be apart.

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Speaker 5: But you know, once we start kind of going back

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Speaker 5: to them, some of it is maintenance, some of it

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Speaker 5: is you know, what help do you need? So often

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Speaker 5: these guys now have their own kind of programming. They

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Speaker 5: have guys that they work with in the off season.

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Speaker 5: We're going to give them whatever it is that they need.

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Speaker 5: Our strength and conditioning folks are biomechanical folks, are.

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Speaker 4: Training crew.

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Speaker 5: All of them are in contact as well, and we

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Speaker 5: do have a player plan for each guy and it

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Speaker 5: goes from anything baseball or pitching wise. It will go

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Speaker 5: into the strength and conditioning needs, that will go into

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Speaker 5: the athletic training needs, and so it is comprehensive, and

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Speaker 5: it's also kind of a pick and choose. You know,

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Speaker 5: we've got a lot of younger pitchers, so those guys

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Speaker 5: are probably going to take more of our information. The

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Speaker 5: older guys are the guys who have been around. You know,

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Speaker 5: it's kind of hard telling. It's it's a little bit

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Speaker 5: of a mismatch. There's some of them really like it.

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Speaker 5: Some of them have their own guys and do their

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Speaker 5: own so it's really just to kind of support them

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Speaker 5: in whatever way that they would would need it.

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Speaker 2: Kind of talking about some of the young guys, we

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Speaker 2: saw some of these guys come up to the big

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Speaker 2: leagues this year and have success at the major league

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Speaker 2: level right away.

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Speaker 1: It seems like we're seeing that more and more within

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Speaker 1: this organization.

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Speaker 2: When guys come up from the minor leagues, they seem

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Speaker 2: poised to have success at the major league level. How

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Speaker 2: do you kind of make sure guys are prepared in

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Speaker 2: the minor leagues to be able to contribute when they

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Speaker 2: get to the big leagues? And have you seen that

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Speaker 2: improve in your time here?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, And I think it falls directly on your development team.

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Speaker 5: And so we have three coordinators who are really really

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Speaker 5: good at what they do, and we have good coaches

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Speaker 5: in the minor leagues that you know, we've kind of

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Speaker 5: handpicked over the last couple of years. It's a really

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Speaker 5: important thing for the Reds. Obviously, we can't go out,

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Speaker 5: we can't spend you know, millions upon millions of dollars

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Speaker 5: on pitching, so we have to grow it and we've

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Speaker 5: done a pretty good job of that. I think we

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Speaker 5: have the first or second most homegrown pitchers in the league,

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Speaker 5: So we're doing something right. You got to take another

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Speaker 5: step with that too, and it's our acquisitions and it's

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Speaker 5: our scouting. We've done a pretty good job with that

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Speaker 5: as well. So I think, you know, when you have

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Speaker 5: kind of those three elements going and you know, these

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Speaker 5: kids are going.

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Speaker 4: To be more prepared and we're ready.

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Speaker 5: The last thing I'd say on that though, is they

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Speaker 5: aren't always ready. It takes a little while, but our

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Speaker 5: development folks have done a really good job with that.

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Speaker 1: You talked about bringing guys in.

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Speaker 2: I want to get more into that too a little

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Speaker 2: bit later on in the show, but also want to

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Speaker 2: break down some of these guys that took big steps

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Speaker 2: this year, and there were a lot of them that did.

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Speaker 2: We're visiting with Red's pitching coach Director of Pitching for

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Speaker 2: the Reds, Derek Johnson. It's the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove

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Speaker 2: You don't want to be sitting there full of turkey

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Speaker 2: on Thursday night trying to figure out who you want

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Speaker 2: to vote for for the Hall of Fame. So go

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Speaker 2: ahead and do it now if you haven't. We're visiting

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Speaker 2: with Red's pitching coach Derek Johnson.

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Speaker 1: DJ.

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Speaker 2: We talked about before there were a lot of guys

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Speaker 2: that made progress this year, and I thought took huge steps.

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Speaker 2: This is a by and large young pitching staff. The

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Speaker 2: core of this pitching staff is young and still is young,

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Speaker 2: even though they've got some experience under their belt. Now

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Speaker 2: let's start with Hunter. I mean, obviously he's the biggest

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Speaker 2: name of the group. He's a guy that ever since

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Speaker 2: he got the big leagues, had ace potential, and we

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Speaker 2: really saw him kind of realize that potential when he

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Speaker 2: was healthy this year. What, in your eyes allowed him

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Speaker 2: to take that next step and take such a huge

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Speaker 2: step forward this year.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I think Hunter did a really nice job in

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Speaker 5: the offseason. I think he finally kind of put a

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Speaker 5: routine together, stuck with it.

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Speaker 4: He worked really hard.

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Speaker 5: And it's not that he's not been a good worker

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Speaker 5: prior to that, but I just think that he kind

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Speaker 5: of figured out the things that he needed.

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Speaker 4: To do to be successful.

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Speaker 5: It was pretty evident from the first day of spring training,

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Speaker 5: Like you could see the leap that he took and

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Speaker 5: he you know, he definitely deserves all the credit for

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Speaker 5: it because he was the one who put in the work.

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Speaker 5: But yeah, I mean, if we can keep him on

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Speaker 5: the field, we got a shot to win every game

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Speaker 5: that he pitches. At least he'd like to believe that.

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Speaker 5: So that's got to be our deal for next year,

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Speaker 5: is like, how do we keep Hunter healthy.

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Speaker 3: And how do you I mean, the slider improved so

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Speaker 3: much and still working on a third pitch? I know,

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Speaker 3: is that one of the things that you'll be cranking

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Speaker 3: into the brain and muscle memory, etcetera.

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Speaker 4: Trying to work on that third pitch? Where do you

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Speaker 4: think that stands right now?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, it's the split and he changed his

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Speaker 5: grip on it two years ago, and I thought it

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Speaker 5: took a step then I thought it was pretty good.

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Speaker 5: Really now it's about landing it and getting kind of

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Speaker 5: more chase with it. Like I think it's he's probably

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Speaker 5: got to put it in a little bit of a

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Speaker 5: different area. So he's going to get more swing at

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Speaker 5: And if he gets more swing at it, then you know,

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Speaker 5: I think it's gonna bode really.

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Speaker 4: Well for him.

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Speaker 5: It's just a pitch that at times the hitters kind

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Speaker 5: of like they just check off on they're not going

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Speaker 5: to swing at it.

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Speaker 1: Should he throw it more?

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Speaker 4: I don't know if you should throw it more.

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Speaker 5: I just think he's got to throw it a little

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Speaker 5: bit better, which is I think totally possible with him.

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Speaker 5: I think it's, you know, it's the same as it

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Speaker 5: as I always is with a new pitch. He you know,

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Speaker 5: you learn it, and you have to kind of throw

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Speaker 5: a lot of bad ones until you get to all

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Speaker 5: the good ones. And I think he'sill enough bad ones.

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Speaker 5: He's getting to some good ones now and maybe he'll

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Speaker 5: get some more this year.

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Speaker 2: Throwing it better I did to dive in on that

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Speaker 2: a little bit, because better can mean a lot of things.

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Speaker 2: Better can mean the pitch has more break, it has

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Speaker 2: more movement, more depth later break. However, it could it

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Speaker 2: could come down to that the pitch itself. Throwing it

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Speaker 2: better could mean using it in better spots or just

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Speaker 2: throwing it more for strikes. For you, what does that?

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Speaker 2: What does better, mean, like, what does that look like.

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Speaker 4: It's certainly not a shape.

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Speaker 5: I mean, a shape is fine on it, It's it's

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Speaker 5: not a velocity kind of thing. I think it goes

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Speaker 5: back to, you know, when you own a pitch versus

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Speaker 5: renting it. And I think right now he's kind of

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Speaker 5: renting it with maybe an option to buy, you know.

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Speaker 1: But when you when.

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Speaker 5: You own a pitch, you know you you know when

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Speaker 5: you need to throw it for a strike, and you

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Speaker 5: know when you need to throw it kind of like

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Speaker 5: a strike to ball kind of feel. Some guys even

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Speaker 5: get as good and to be able to throw it

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Speaker 5: like it looks like a ball and comes back as

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Speaker 5: a strike. So I think when you own the pitch,

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Speaker 5: that's what I'm talking about when I say it needs

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Speaker 5: to be better.

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Speaker 4: It's not a shape thing. It's not a speed thing.

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Speaker 5: It's not necessarily even like in the counts he did

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Speaker 5: or didn't throw it in. I think for him it's

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Speaker 5: just it's commanding it better.

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Speaker 1: You talked about the work ethic.

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Speaker 2: Now there's a lot of guys that may work hard,

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Speaker 2: but learning how to do the work that gets you

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Speaker 2: through one hundred and sixty two games as a starter.

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Speaker 2: So that's what thirty two to thirty three starts. That's

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Speaker 2: a whole different animal. Is it possible for guys to

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Speaker 2: just know how to do that. It's possible. Very few

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Speaker 2: guys have done it when they've got to the big

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Speaker 2: league's ball. Skiens being one of them, you mentioned him earlier.

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Speaker 2: But most guys don't know how to do that. That

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Speaker 2: I feel like is something that takes a lot of

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Speaker 2: practice and a lot of learning.

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Speaker 5: It is because they've never seen that before. I mean,

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Speaker 5: unfortunately and sometimes fortunately all at the same time. In

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Speaker 5: the minor leagues, they don't necessarily get to experience that.

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Speaker 4: We're gonna protect them a little bit more.

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Speaker 5: They are kind of a precious commodity for us, so

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Speaker 5: you know, they don't ever really experience that one hundred

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Speaker 5: and sixty two game grind and hey, you know what,

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Speaker 5: you're gonna make thirty five starts, and you know you

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Speaker 5: might go six or seven each each one of those starts.

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Speaker 5: So I do think it's a learned trade. It's something

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Speaker 5: that guys have to figure out as they go. You

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Speaker 5: certainly see at least three of our guys, Hunter and

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Speaker 5: Lodolo and Abbott, like those guys are all.

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Speaker 4: Kind of learning that all at the same time.

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Speaker 3: Speaking of which Lodolo, what he made twenty eight starts.

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Speaker 3: Didn't quite get to the thirty mark, but it's a

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Speaker 3: definite step in the right direction. As far as him

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Speaker 3: pitching throughout the season, he had the injury problems, the

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Speaker 3: leg problems. He couldn't even do PfP for a couple

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Speaker 3: of years. How important was this last year for him

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Speaker 3: to just get through that grind?

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Speaker 4: Great stuff? I mean, it was a great stuff for him.

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Speaker 5: Actually, just talked with Rob Foo mcgal w he was

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Speaker 5: their strength and conditioning coach. Yesterday or the day before.

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Speaker 5: He had just seen Nick and he said Nick was

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Speaker 5: even stronger than when he was at the end of

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Speaker 5: the year or all year.

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Speaker 3: If you could tell right spring training his body was different.

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Speaker 5: He was getting there. Yeah, but he said he's even

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Speaker 5: stronger now. So yeah, I mean, I was really proud

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Speaker 5: that he made the twenty eight starts. I think it

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Speaker 5: was a good step in the right direction for him.

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Speaker 5: Andrew started off on the shelf a little bit early

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Speaker 5: in the year. He also kind of did the same

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Speaker 5: thing once he got there, you know, he made his

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Speaker 5: starts and kept it going.

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Speaker 3: For Lodolo, the blister issue keeps pomping up, and I

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Speaker 3: know he's got a unique grip on that pitch, so

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Speaker 3: and it's a nasty pitch.

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Speaker 4: So I'm not sure you want to change it.

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Speaker 3: But is there anything you can do to combat it

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Speaker 3: because it keeps showing up.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, we've put a file on his hand and he

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Speaker 5: files that a good bit. He's got a better callous

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Speaker 5: on it than he's ever had. He just kind of

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Speaker 5: has I don't know what you want to call it,

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Speaker 5: a kind of moist figures. You know, he definitely doesn't

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Speaker 5: need to put any lotion on it, that's for sure,

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Speaker 5: but it is getting a little rougher where it needs to.

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Speaker 5: There are guys who have gone their entire career with

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Speaker 5: blister problems and they've had to manage it just exactly

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Speaker 5: the way Nick is. So you know, we're hoping that

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Speaker 5: the stuff that we're trying to do it will help him,

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Speaker 5: but there is no guarantee. If it's a wet night,

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Speaker 5: especially the wet nights that's really what gets him.

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Speaker 4: He has a tendency to flare up.

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Speaker 2: You talk about the blister and the callous is the

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Speaker 2: best it's ever been, and you need that right in

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Speaker 2: a situation like that. Those things tend to go away

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Speaker 2: a little bit when you're not throwing as much throughout

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Speaker 2: the course of an off season. So how do you

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Speaker 2: kind of maintain the callous so it's still there to

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Speaker 2: help him get through next season? Throughout the off season,

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Speaker 2: do you have to do callous training?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, kind of.

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Speaker 5: I mean that's where the file comes into play. It's

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Speaker 5: where the Emory board comes into play. Nick didn't take

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Speaker 5: very much time off from throwing too. I mean he

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Speaker 5: is throwing maybe a little bit more than what he

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Speaker 5: normally does. The intensity is still pretty low, so I

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Speaker 5: feel like that I think he can maintain it. You know,

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Speaker 5: you never know. He might bang up his shoulder or

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Speaker 5: his ankle or whatever, and you just don't know. But

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Speaker 5: I think if you continue on this path, he'll be fine.

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Speaker 2: We're visiting with Red's pitching coach and director of Pitching,

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Speaker 2: Derek Johnson. We've got more with him when we come

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Speaker 2: back halfter the bottom of the hour here on the

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Speaker 2: Reds Radio Network. Welcome back in It's the Buttwiser Reds

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Speaker 2: Hot Stove League presented by UDF. We are live with

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Speaker 2: the bet MGM sportsbook. Inside Tom's watch bar at the

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Speaker 2: Banks Reds fans. Now is the time to get your

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty six season tickets. Members sit in the same

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Speaker 2: seat for every game with their friends, family, and enjoyer

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00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:38,000
Speaker 2: flexible ticket exchange program. Visit reds dot com slash membership

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00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,879
Speaker 2: for details. We're visiting with Red's pitching coach and Director

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Speaker 2: of Pitching Derek Johnson, talking all things Reds pitching. We

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Speaker 2: were talking about a couple of starters. We didn't even

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Speaker 2: get to everybody. We just kind of glossed over and Rabbit,

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Speaker 2: But this is a guy that got some cy young

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Speaker 2: votes last year, DJ, and he was kind of the

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Speaker 2: anchor of this staff. He was there, made all the

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Speaker 2: starts you talked about. It got a little bit of

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Speaker 2: a late start, but really not too much in the

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Speaker 2: big scheme of things. He was one of the best

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Speaker 2: pitchers in baseball before the All Star break. Wasn't quite

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Speaker 2: as good after the break. But it's kind of hard

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Speaker 2: to continue the success he had in the first half.

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Speaker 2: What was it that you noticed the most about him

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Speaker 2: that kind of allowed him to take that next step.

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Speaker 5: He and I tucked a lot in the off season,

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Speaker 5: just about taking care of his pitches a little bit better.

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Speaker 5: So I felt like his command was better, his count control,

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Speaker 5: his count leverage was better. A lot of times you

441
00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:33,760
Speaker 5: go back to the things that you learned in little leagues, like,

442
00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:35,439
Speaker 5: you know, if you throw strikes and you throw them

443
00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:36,920
Speaker 5: a lot and you get ahead in the count, god

444
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,560
Speaker 5: things happen. And you know, you're telling your eight year

445
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:41,639
Speaker 5: old that, and sometimes I'm telling him twenty eight or

446
00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:43,680
Speaker 5: of you know, thirty two year old that as well.

447
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,280
Speaker 5: So I thought for him it was it was really

448
00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:49,280
Speaker 5: about count control. And I think he did a great job. Actually,

449
00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:52,480
Speaker 5: those three guys that we talked about earlier, they all

450
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:53,840
Speaker 5: did a really good.

451
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:54,920
Speaker 4: Job with count control.

452
00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,000
Speaker 5: A lot of first pitch strikes, they got ahead of

453
00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,879
Speaker 5: the header, which you know it this day and age, like,

454
00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:02,679
Speaker 5: if you can get ahead, they're gonna be apt to

455
00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,560
Speaker 5: chase a little bit more. It's just an easier game

456
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,719
Speaker 5: for you to play, uh, And I just thought they

457
00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:08,560
Speaker 5: did a great job of that.

458
00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,840
Speaker 3: As a pitching coach, You've got a great present under

459
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:13,359
Speaker 3: the tree a year ago.

460
00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:15,640
Speaker 4: His name is Chase Burns.

461
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,119
Speaker 3: All Right, this dude throws triple digits. He's got a

462
00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:23,600
Speaker 3: wipeout slider in a great makeup with that being said,

463
00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,040
Speaker 3: what's next? How can he make the next step?

464
00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:27,760
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean he's kind of the guy that you

465
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:29,919
Speaker 5: just wind up and let him go and you know,

466
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,320
Speaker 5: hope he doesn't run out of gas before before the

467
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,480
Speaker 5: game's over. But what a story. I mean, you know,

468
00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:37,679
Speaker 5: you think about it. This kid was in college literally

469
00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,639
Speaker 5: a year ago. He flew through the minor leagues. It really,

470
00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:42,480
Speaker 5: I'm not even sure it was much of a challenge

471
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,960
Speaker 5: for him. He got to the big leagues and really

472
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,240
Speaker 5: flashed some pretty promising things. So, you know, it's like

473
00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,439
Speaker 5: any other young pitcher, it's you know, how do you

474
00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:53,320
Speaker 5: perfect your craft?

475
00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:54,320
Speaker 4: How do you get better at.

476
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,080
Speaker 5: What you do on the on the days that you

477
00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,480
Speaker 5: that you pitch and then on the days that you

478
00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,480
Speaker 5: don't pitch. He's pretty well versed. He went to a

479
00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,800
Speaker 5: really good college. They i think did a really nice

480
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,480
Speaker 5: job of coaching him there. But then it's again talking

481
00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,000
Speaker 5: about that next step. The next step is the big league.

482
00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:12,080
Speaker 5: So what do you have to do in the big

483
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,280
Speaker 5: leagues to be successful? But you know, from a pitch standpoint,

484
00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:18,080
Speaker 5: the fastball is obviously plenty good with it being one

485
00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:22,560
Speaker 5: hundred miles an hour. The slider looked really hard to hit.

486
00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:24,639
Speaker 5: It didn't seem like very many hitters squared it up

487
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:26,919
Speaker 5: at all. He's actually got a really good change up

488
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,640
Speaker 5: too that he didn't show quite as much. But it's

489
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,159
Speaker 5: a really promising pitch that he's used and used in

490
00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,239
Speaker 5: the minor leagues more. It was good at times, and

491
00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:38,960
Speaker 5: we put a two seam in his hand. We're kind

492
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:39,360
Speaker 5: of just.

493
00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:41,200
Speaker 4: Playing with that a little bit right now.

494
00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,000
Speaker 5: But the two seamen has really really nasty movement on it,

495
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,760
Speaker 5: and I mean it's pretty gnarly, So we're going to

496
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:50,800
Speaker 5: try to figure out kind of how to maybe use that.

497
00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,680
Speaker 5: I don't want to take anything away from his four seam,

498
00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:55,800
Speaker 5: which is always my fear when you put another pitch

499
00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,200
Speaker 5: in a guy's hand, but I think in this case

500
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,600
Speaker 5: like it does make sense to at least exper with it.

501
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,440
Speaker 2: There are a lot of schools of thought on moving

502
00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,199
Speaker 2: a guy to the bullpen, especially a young pitcher. You

503
00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:07,960
Speaker 2: did that with him at the end of the year

504
00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:09,879
Speaker 2: last year, got him with the finish line out of

505
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,639
Speaker 2: the bullpen. Now some of that you can look at

506
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:14,600
Speaker 2: and say, well, it could be a benefit because he's

507
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:18,760
Speaker 2: pitching more frequently in big league action, so he gets

508
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,400
Speaker 2: more feedback from big league hitters, what do you think

509
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:25,640
Speaker 2: and what did you want to see him gain from

510
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,120
Speaker 2: that taste of the bullpen last year, even though he

511
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,719
Speaker 2: is still a major league starter moving forward.

512
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:34,000
Speaker 5: So we also had to satisfy his innings total from

513
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,840
Speaker 5: the year before, and you know, the last thing that

514
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,000
Speaker 5: you want to do with a young pitcher is move

515
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,840
Speaker 5: them up in number of innings, and you know, go

516
00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,720
Speaker 5: from maybe one hundred and ten innings to now one hundred.

517
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:45,399
Speaker 4: And fifty or sixty.

518
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,320
Speaker 5: It's where a lot of injuries occur, you know, So

519
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,040
Speaker 5: we were just kind of trying to honor that as

520
00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:54,200
Speaker 5: much as we could to keep him under that threshold.

521
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:56,399
Speaker 5: The other thing was, it's like it was kind of

522
00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,960
Speaker 5: a secret weapon or could have been, you know, with

523
00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,199
Speaker 5: this guy coming out for an inning or two and

524
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,840
Speaker 5: just absolutely getting after it. We felt like it would

525
00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,720
Speaker 5: help us on the back end of some games dead.

526
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,280
Speaker 5: You know, there was also a learning curve for him

527
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:15,000
Speaker 5: on that as well, So you know, it was kind

528
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,359
Speaker 5: of something that we had to do just to satisfy

529
00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,000
Speaker 5: a lot of boxes that we had to check.

530
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,320
Speaker 2: Talking a lot of pitching today on the Butdweiser reds

531
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,640
Speaker 2: Hot Stove League with Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson.

532
00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:27,240
Speaker 1: Still plenty more to get do.

533
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,600
Speaker 2: We barely scratch the surface, and we're starting to run

534
00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,160
Speaker 2: low on time, but we've gotten more when we come

535
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:39,160
Speaker 2: back here on the Reds Radio Network, it's the Butdweiser

536
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:41,320
Speaker 2: Red's Hot Stove League, and we are coming to you

537
00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,120
Speaker 2: live at the bet MGM Sports Book inside Tom's Watch

538
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:45,920
Speaker 2: Bar at the Banks.

539
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,840
Speaker 1: It's all presented by ud F. Twenty twenty six.

540
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,080
Speaker 2: Single game tickets are on sale now and for a

541
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,080
Speaker 2: limited time, you can buy your single game tickets with

542
00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:00,720
Speaker 2: no fees. Say big on the most exciting matchups next season.

543
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:04,000
Speaker 2: For tickets and more information, visit Reds dot com slash tickets.

544
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:04,399
Speaker 1: Hurry.

545
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,560
Speaker 2: This no fees offer ends soon. I don't know what

546
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,680
Speaker 2: soon means, but soon as soon. We're talking with Red's

547
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,359
Speaker 2: pitching coach and Director of Pitching Derek Johnson. We've barely

548
00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:15,840
Speaker 2: scratched the surface on some of the things.

549
00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:17,960
Speaker 3: Quick the nuts and both.

550
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,879
Speaker 1: Running out of time quickly. We've we've talked about most

551
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:21,560
Speaker 1: of the starters.

552
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:22,840
Speaker 2: I want to get into some of the guys in

553
00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,080
Speaker 2: the bullpen because you were talking about with Chase Burns

554
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:27,600
Speaker 2: and the innings and how that can can play out.

555
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:29,680
Speaker 2: I think when we think of innings, we usually think

556
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:33,640
Speaker 2: of starters. But one guy that blew by his previous

557
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,639
Speaker 2: innings numbers was a reliever, Tony Santia. I mean, you

558
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,800
Speaker 2: talk about the workload and being able to answer the

559
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,119
Speaker 2: bell every time the phone rings. This guy did it

560
00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:44,920
Speaker 2: day in and day out, and he did a darn

561
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,919
Speaker 2: good job of it. How careful do you have to

562
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,440
Speaker 2: be with a guy that's young like Tony. He's going

563
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:54,520
Speaker 2: into an offseason where he just pitched a ton You

564
00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:56,840
Speaker 2: talked about wanting to give guys a break. Do you

565
00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,000
Speaker 2: almost have to stay on him so he doesn't get

566
00:24:59,040 --> 00:24:59,760
Speaker 2: going too early?

567
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 4: This? Yeah, Spring training will be really interesting with him.

568
00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:05,640
Speaker 5: I mean, I think we probably need to push him

569
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:07,439
Speaker 5: back a little bit and give him a little bit

570
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,080
Speaker 5: more time, or as much time as we can, and

571
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,479
Speaker 5: yet still have him ready for the beginning of the season.

572
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:15,600
Speaker 4: You know, that kid's a bull though.

573
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:17,920
Speaker 5: I mean, anyone who's ever been around him, you've seen

574
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,359
Speaker 5: him like he's He's incredibly strong. He's one of the

575
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,280
Speaker 5: most powerful kids we have on our team.

576
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,159
Speaker 4: You know, and he has built for that.

577
00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:28,119
Speaker 5: At the same time, you hope that his arm doesn't

578
00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:31,480
Speaker 5: fall off anytime soon either, So you know, you really

579
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,800
Speaker 5: have to manage, you know, the best that you can.

580
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:35,840
Speaker 5: And like I said, I'm going to give him some

581
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:37,400
Speaker 5: time at the at least the front end of spring

582
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:38,600
Speaker 5: training and see we can get him going.

583
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,480
Speaker 3: As we sit here, now, let's assume that you don't

584
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,800
Speaker 3: dip into free agency for a possible closer or trade

585
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:49,919
Speaker 3: for one. Would Santion fit that bill? How would you

586
00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:52,680
Speaker 3: feel that? Or is he would come in in any

587
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 3: situation and put out fires, whether it be six seven,

588
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,760
Speaker 3: eight nine, which is so valuable as you know.

589
00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,240
Speaker 1: Where would you stand on that right now?

590
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:03,600
Speaker 4: Yeah? I don't.

591
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,159
Speaker 5: We don't have enough right now to stand kind of anywhere.

592
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:07,720
Speaker 5: I mean, could he do it? I think he could.

593
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:09,280
Speaker 5: I think he's tough enough. I think he has the

594
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:14,520
Speaker 5: heartbeat for it. You know, we got really lucky with

595
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,600
Speaker 5: with Emilio and how he performed this year. I mean,

596
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,760
Speaker 5: we didn't necessarily slay him as our as our closer,

597
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:22,679
Speaker 5: and here we are, you know, however many saves it

598
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:24,920
Speaker 5: was later and he did just such a phenomenal job

599
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,679
Speaker 5: for us and really put it himself in them in

600
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:30,600
Speaker 5: a great situation. But you know, going into the season,

601
00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,800
Speaker 5: and we didn't necessarily have a closer either. You know,

602
00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:35,680
Speaker 5: we kind of felt like we had two or three

603
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,520
Speaker 5: guys that would audition for it. I suspect it'll be

604
00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,639
Speaker 5: the same way this year too. I mean, you know Graham,

605
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,840
Speaker 5: you know, Graham Ashcraft, Tony, maybe even Connor Phillips.

606
00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:48,560
Speaker 4: You know, those guys maybe have the tools or the

607
00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:49,239
Speaker 4: makings for it.

608
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,359
Speaker 5: Hopefully we we acquire a couple more guys too, we

609
00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:53,560
Speaker 5: can maybe figure it out from there.

610
00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,800
Speaker 1: You mentioned Graham. I'm in the camp. I think Jim.

611
00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,280
Speaker 2: Not to speak for Jim, but I we talk all

612
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,840
Speaker 2: the time, and and not just when we're on the air.

613
00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:03,280
Speaker 2: But I think there were a lot of us that

614
00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:06,800
Speaker 2: thought that once, if and when Graham Ashcraft moved to

615
00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:10,280
Speaker 2: the bullpen, he would be just lights out and in

616
00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:13,480
Speaker 2: short time would probably end up pitching his way into

617
00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 2: the closer's role. It didn't quite happen that way. He

618
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,280
Speaker 2: showed flashes of being really good out of the bullpen.

619
00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:20,720
Speaker 2: He also showed that there's still some work to be done.

620
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,119
Speaker 2: How does he get to the next step And you

621
00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:24,879
Speaker 2: kind of mentioned his name there as a guy that

622
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:25,960
Speaker 2: could be a candidate, How.

623
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:26,919
Speaker 1: Does he get to that point.

624
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,439
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean for him, he's just got to be

625
00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:32,280
Speaker 5: able to harness his stuff. I mean it's really nasty.

626
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:33,680
Speaker 4: You know.

627
00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,560
Speaker 5: The slider took I think a step in the right direction.

628
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:39,639
Speaker 5: He's always thrown the fastball that cuts. He had to

629
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:43,040
Speaker 5: learn how to throw the ball against right handed hitters

630
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:45,600
Speaker 5: a little a little more this year, which he did.

631
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:49,399
Speaker 5: We dropped a pitch that he had before that just

632
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,760
Speaker 5: really it probably wasn't a very good pitch overall, you know,

633
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:56,960
Speaker 5: So boiling stuff down for him and simplifying it and

634
00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,399
Speaker 5: just helping him harness his stuff is probably the direction

635
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:00,960
Speaker 5: that will go the most.

636
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,040
Speaker 3: How do you harness a guy like Luise Maye? Two

637
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:09,560
Speaker 3: guys big sugar as well, whoever large arm, big arms,

638
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:15,760
Speaker 3: great stuff, but hit inconsistency and we're hit up at

639
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,040
Speaker 3: times and other times were dominant. I mean Luis may

640
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:20,879
Speaker 3: particularly with that arm, how do you.

641
00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:21,399
Speaker 1: Hold that in?

642
00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:24,520
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a great question. If you guys know the answer,

643
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:26,480
Speaker 5: or anyone out here. If you guys know the answer,

644
00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:31,400
Speaker 5: let me know. But I think with Louise, the trajectory

645
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:33,880
Speaker 5: for him is if you saw him two years ago,

646
00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:35,960
Speaker 5: he didn't throw strikes or he didn't throw very many

647
00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:39,240
Speaker 5: strikes at all, and you know, all of a sudden

648
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,480
Speaker 5: he started throwing more of them, and he put himself

649
00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,960
Speaker 5: in a position to be in the big leagues this year.

650
00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:48,800
Speaker 5: So I think you just have to kind of keep following,

651
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 5: hopefully following that trajectory of if you throw it through

652
00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:54,960
Speaker 5: that rectangle a lot, then good things are going to happen.

653
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:57,640
Speaker 4: I think you can say the same thing for Maxwell.

654
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:01,200
Speaker 2: You were talking earlier about when this organization, and it

655
00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:03,640
Speaker 2: goes way back to something you said in the first

656
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,400
Speaker 2: part of the show, bringing guys in from the outside

657
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,680
Speaker 2: that know how to have success in this organization. The

658
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,000
Speaker 2: personnel you bring in is a big part of this

659
00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:16,360
Speaker 2: team's overall success. When you're bringing guys in here, what

660
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,520
Speaker 2: are the things that you look for to be able

661
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,680
Speaker 2: to have success. I mean, Great American Ballpark has never

662
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:25,240
Speaker 2: been a pitcher's haven, but yet here the last few years,

663
00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:27,600
Speaker 2: it feels like the pitching has been the strength of

664
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:31,320
Speaker 2: this team and they've been among the best in baseball.

665
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:33,480
Speaker 2: What are the things that matter when you're looking at

666
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:35,600
Speaker 2: guys to bring into the organization.

667
00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,480
Speaker 5: Well, the one thing I don't think matters, and I

668
00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,200
Speaker 5: think we spent maybe a little bit too much time

669
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,400
Speaker 5: on it early on. Was you know, we did want

670
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,760
Speaker 5: the ground ball pitcher because we felt like, you know,

671
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,440
Speaker 5: it is a small ballpark, it would make sense to

672
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,200
Speaker 5: put the ball on the ground. We are actually, I

673
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,280
Speaker 5: think the number one or two team in fly ball

674
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:58,000
Speaker 5: rate this year, and not necessarily by design, but you know,

675
00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,720
Speaker 5: for me, it kind of is some I want guys

676
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,800
Speaker 5: who can throw the ball across the plate. I want

677
00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,920
Speaker 5: guys who can make hitters swing and miss, and you know,

678
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:10,360
Speaker 5: when they do hit the ball, we're going to try

679
00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,320
Speaker 5: to limit hard contact. And I think if we can

680
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,520
Speaker 5: do those three things kind of no matter how you're

681
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,840
Speaker 5: frying it up, if you can do two of those things,

682
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:19,320
Speaker 5: you're gonna be really good. If you do all three

683
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:23,160
Speaker 5: of them, you're gonna be excellent. And so now we're

684
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 5: looking for probably two of those three characteristics, and if

685
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:28,400
Speaker 5: a guy possesses all three.

686
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:29,560
Speaker 4: Of them, and well, that's that's good.

687
00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:32,000
Speaker 3: I want to ask you real quick, before we run

688
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,760
Speaker 3: out of time, a couple of guys that I think

689
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,760
Speaker 3: are gonna play prominent roles that you're kind of holding

690
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,480
Speaker 3: in your back pocket coming back from injury. Where is

691
00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,480
Speaker 3: Rhett Louder at right now, where do you see him

692
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,080
Speaker 3: fitting in next year? And Brad Williamson is a guy

693
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:47,360
Speaker 3: that really not talked about a lot of left hand

694
00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:51,200
Speaker 3: arm before he went down with injury. Was really showing

695
00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:53,640
Speaker 3: some promise and signs. Where are both of those guys.

696
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:53,960
Speaker 4: At right now?

697
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:56,680
Speaker 5: Yeah, they're both healthy on there on return to throw.

698
00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,239
Speaker 5: I think Louder is maybe a little bit ahead of him.

699
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:01,840
Speaker 5: He did pitch in the All League for a little while.

700
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:05,120
Speaker 5: He wanted to have a little bit of a normal offseason,

701
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,320
Speaker 5: which I get. So he's put himself in a really

702
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,600
Speaker 5: good position. He'll he'll he'll work for a job in

703
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:14,160
Speaker 5: spring training. We'll kind of see where the chips fall.

704
00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:17,360
Speaker 5: Brandon was, as you said, like he was really promising.

705
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:19,920
Speaker 5: I mean, we got a lot out of him, and

706
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:21,840
Speaker 5: I wasn't sure what we were going to get when

707
00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:26,000
Speaker 5: we first acquired him. So that would be a cool,

708
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:29,480
Speaker 5: cool surprise if he comes on and you know, does

709
00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:30,720
Speaker 5: what he's capable of doing.

710
00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:34,160
Speaker 2: We're visiting with Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson. We are

711
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,280
Speaker 2: live at the bet MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watch Bar

712
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:39,640
Speaker 2: at the Banks. This is the Butdwiser Red Hot Stove

713
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,800
Speaker 2: League presented by u d F.

714
00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:50,000
Speaker 1: We wrap it up next on the Reds Radio Network, Wrap.

715
00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:52,040
Speaker 2: It Up the Buttweise the Red Hot Stove League presented

716
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,440
Speaker 2: by u DF Live, Bet, MGM Sportsbook, Inside Tom's Watch

717
00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:57,360
Speaker 2: Bar at the Banks before he run out of time,

718
00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,320
Speaker 2: Big thanks to everybody that's helped make the show gospel.

719
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,200
Speaker 2: Dave Abbott is our on site engineer today. Joe Waddell's

720
00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,160
Speaker 2: running the dials back in our network headquarters. Derek Johnson's

721
00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,360
Speaker 2: been our guest all hour long today and we are

722
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,920
Speaker 2: still not out of things to talk with DJ about.

723
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,160
Speaker 2: So before we run out of time and we are

724
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,400
Speaker 2: getting close to the end, you know, you look at

725
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,600
Speaker 2: this bullpen. There are some things you want to update

726
00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,960
Speaker 2: in the bullpen. There's obviously some guys that that you

727
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:28,000
Speaker 2: need to replace. So when that time comes and the

728
00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,440
Speaker 2: front office is looking at guys, how much say do

729
00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,680
Speaker 2: you have? And and who comes into the organization from

730
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:36,920
Speaker 2: the outside, and and and did they did they pick

731
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,120
Speaker 2: your brain a little bit on what you can see,

732
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:42,200
Speaker 2: especially guys that that might be looking for a bounce

733
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:42,720
Speaker 2: back year.

734
00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,840
Speaker 5: It's a pretty good collaboration. I will tell you though,

735
00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:50,200
Speaker 5: straight up, I have no say, okay at all, oh, which.

736
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:50,800
Speaker 4: Is good now.

737
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,360
Speaker 5: But what happens is, you know, we put the together

738
00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,280
Speaker 5: our our whiteboard of all the names of all the

739
00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:00,000
Speaker 5: pictures on the planet. Uh, and then you know, from

740
00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,240
Speaker 5: there we kind of go down the list. Who can

741
00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:05,200
Speaker 5: we afford, who maybe might be available, who can we

742
00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:07,720
Speaker 5: get in a trade, you know, so on and so forth,

743
00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,640
Speaker 5: and that number boils down. You start getting a smaller pot.

744
00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:14,040
Speaker 5: You know, they'll ask me to look at ten to

745
00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:17,200
Speaker 5: twelve guys that I'll try to break down, you know,

746
00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:19,320
Speaker 5: but there is a lot of information we have and

747
00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,480
Speaker 5: it's really just kind of a collaboration between all the

748
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,200
Speaker 5: folks in the front office and some other guys around

749
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:25,960
Speaker 5: and the offices.

750
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,320
Speaker 3: You guys have been creative about getting together and kind

751
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:32,120
Speaker 3: of just having a summit, if you will, with young pitchers, catchers,

752
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 3: et cetera. Got anything going in that regard this year.

753
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:35,960
Speaker 4: Yeah, we do.

754
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,440
Speaker 5: We have our annual Battery Camp, which I think is

755
00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:41,920
Speaker 5: January fifth through ninth, and we're gonna run it a

756
00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:43,480
Speaker 5: little bit different. I think we're gonna bring all of

757
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,040
Speaker 5: the big league staff. It'll give us a chance to

758
00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:48,440
Speaker 5: meet and talk. We've got some new faces and I

759
00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,120
Speaker 5: think Tito just kind of wanted to get us all

760
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,040
Speaker 5: together in one big group. I think, you know, we'll

761
00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:55,880
Speaker 5: do some work kind of stuff too, So looking forward

762
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,240
Speaker 5: to that. It's a you know, it's a good concept.

763
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:03,800
Speaker 5: It's about basically catchers, pitchers, younger catchers and pitchers, and it's.

764
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:05,200
Speaker 4: Just kind of spending time with him.

765
00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:07,400
Speaker 5: We'll try to put some education stuff out there for

766
00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:09,520
Speaker 5: him and you know, let him throw a little bit too.

767
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,040
Speaker 1: So probably be a little different for you, Jr.

768
00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,279
Speaker 2: House not only your friend, but the Reds catching coach,

769
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:19,000
Speaker 2: third base coach. You guys work pretty closely together. Is

770
00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,839
Speaker 2: that gonna be a tough transition for you this year?

771
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:22,520
Speaker 4: It is for me.

772
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:24,319
Speaker 5: I mean, I love Jr. And he and I spent

773
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:26,680
Speaker 5: a lot of time together. He's one of my dearest

774
00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 5: friends in the world. So I think, you know, he

775
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,719
Speaker 5: put himself in a great position. I'm really happy for

776
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,520
Speaker 5: him and making the move. It's definitely gonna be a

777
00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,440
Speaker 5: good thing for his family, But for me, you know,

778
00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:38,000
Speaker 5: it stings.

779
00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:40,440
Speaker 2: DJ Thanks so much for coming on with us. Appreciate it.

780
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:41,400
Speaker 2: Always great to chat.

781
00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:44,560
Speaker 5: With you, all right, you guys too, Probably.

782
00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,239
Speaker 2: Good chance we talked to him again. Red's Pitching Coach

783
00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,000
Speaker 2: Director Pitching Derek Johnson. That's all the time we have

784
00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:53,080
Speaker 2: for you for today. Have a very safe Thanksgiving, eat

785
00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:54,200
Speaker 2: lots of turkey, and enjoy it.

786
00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,040
Speaker 1: For Jim Day, I'm Tommy Thraw. Thanks for joining us.

787
00:34:57,080 --> 00:34:58,960
Speaker 2: We'll talk to you again next week right here on

788
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,480
Speaker 2: the Reds Radio Network.

789
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:00,839
Speaker 1: Good Night,