WEBVTT - Posey's legacy at stake? + Ken Rosenthal's Fair Territory: Pads surging & Harper's "Spring Training" 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.200 Hello, Brett, A little different and a little different front 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:16.400 end for you, the Sweet Life. Normally we would do 0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:19.200 now reporting or something like that for you, but since 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:21.800 we figured since you wrote an article on Buster Posey 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.640 making a move up to the suite as President of 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:26.480 Baseball officer of the Giants, we introduced you with the 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:30.639 Sweet Life, So welcome, Bridgeroli. Apparently from Michigan State University. 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:37.320 Not go blue. I don't know what they say, but uh, hello, No, hi, guys. 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:39.120 They say go green, go white. 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:41.520 Yes, as we say, go blue is probably the worst 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:43.400 thing you could say to someone from Michigan State. 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:45.360 No. I don't know what they said, though, but I 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:48.000 didn't know what they said in Michigan State because it's 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:50.640 like all you ever hear is about Michigan and go blue. 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:52.440 So I didn't know what the I would have said, 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:54.120 go sparty, but I don't think that's right. 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:57.280 You could say go Sparta. That would be totally fine too, 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.840 but yeah, go blue is enough. Yes, I went to 0:00:59.880 --> 0:01:00.560 my chicken steak. 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:00.800 Guys. 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:05.200 I swam at Michigan State, so big, big Michigan State Athletics. 0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:07.160 Person, do you swim with the pool was frozen? How 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:08.040 do you do you go under. 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:10.120 We swim out. It's not even a joke. We swim 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:12.640 outside the outdoor pool until November. There would be snow 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:14.640 coming down and you would just go as quick as 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.640 you could from the door into the pool because the 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:19.840 pool was heated, but obviously the air around it was not, 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:23.240 so we moved inside after that. But November in Michigan 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:27.080 gets pretty cold, especially in the mornings, so it toughened 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:29.399 me up for those rough winters in the press box 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:32.080 in April, guys, for Toronto and April. Every time I 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:34.400 was on the bea, it's like, oh god, Toronto and April. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:39.840 Yeah, inside it really was re tough getting there. Oh 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.440 you had to walk. Sorry, sorry, you had to take 0:01:42.480 --> 0:01:44.360 the car, you had to take the taxi down into 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:48.040 the loading dog you know inside. So yeah, it's tough, tough, tough, 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:51.080 tough times for these reporters, KP. You'll learn one day 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:53.600 as a media member how tough the media always has it. 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.160 They'll always let you know, oh rough travel day to day. 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:59.000 I got in at noon and got to sleep till two. 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:03.639 So anyway, let's talk buster posey here. I'm a medium 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:06.080 a guy, now, Britt, I understand the rulers of rough 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:11.000 travel life. Okay, let's get into this Buster Posey article 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:12.839 that you wrote. It's one of the more fascinating things 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:15.640 for me because as a former catcher, former player, you know, 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:17.320 people say, do you want to manage? I think being 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:20.160 in charge of a team would be way cooler, meaning 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:22.520 getting to make all the decisions. And I always thought 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:25.000 it was fascinating to see how ex players do we 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:27.520 have Chris Young, obviously, we have Craig Breslow, we have 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:30.520 Buster Posey, and Buster's kind of the poster child because 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:33.040 he was a franchise icon for the Giants. So what 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:35.720 did you figure out now that? And how complicated is 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:37.000 this situation with him now? 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:40.160 Yeah, I think two things can be true. Regressed. I 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:42.839 think it's early in his legacy. It's only the second year, 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.679 and most president of mixedbal operations nowadays get four or 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:48.480 five years before we really evaluate them. Buster happened to 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:51.200 sign a three year deal, but because he's part ownership, 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:54.400 I don't think that really matters. I think he will 0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:56.240 continue to oversee them as long as they think that 0:02:56.280 --> 0:03:00.200 he's the guy. But what's interesting is you mentioned us 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:02.760 Young and Craig Breslow, Craig Breslow went to the Cubs, 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:05.800 Chris Young went and spent some time in the commissioner's office. 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.360 And also Chris Young was under John Daniels before they 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:10.880 fired John Daniels, so in both of those scenarios they 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:13.600 had a little bit of experience before they got the 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:18.640 head job. Buster went directly from playing to president, and 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:20.880 there really wasn't a whole lot of other president for it, 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:23.720 except for Derek Jeter, who obviously went from playing to 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.919 CEO of the Marlins. Derek Jeter is also an icon, 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:28.720 won a lot of World Series, but he didn't win 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:30.959 them for the Marlins. He won them for the Yankees. 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:35.240 So what Posey is doing is virtually unprecedented. Chris Young 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:37.800 isn't like it would be like Nolan Ryan taking over 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:42.560 the Texas Rangers. You would need that stature of a player. 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:44.800 David Ortiz the sign he's going to be president of 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.080 the Boston Red Sox, right, So there's all these different 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:49.520 factors here, and I think to some extent Buster has 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:52.960 been graded harshly because people thought he was going to 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:55.120 step in and did what he did as a player, 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:57.680 which is win three World Series in five years and 0:03:57.720 --> 0:03:59.880 be a savior and be an icon, and it's a 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.520 lot harder to build an organization. I think he's learning 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:07.040 that firsthand than it is for all of us to 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:08.920 sit here and say, well, Buster's just got to go 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.040 in and sign a few big name players and that's it. 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:14.080 And there has been a lot of big swings, and 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:16.360 there's been some hits, and there's been some misses, and 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:20.240 I just think it's fascinating to look at where he's at. 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:23.240 It's certainly an inflection point right now for the Giants 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:25.520 in terms of where do they go from here and 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:28.880 how do they manage this roster to be a winner 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:31.400 in a division that, let's face it, is an incredibly 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:33.400 difficult division because you have the Dodgers. 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:37.760 Do you believe is he getting criticized more? You talked 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:40.240 about taking some big swings and misses. You believe he's 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:43.640 getting more criticized for the hiring of Tony Vitella, or 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:48.080 acquiring some of those veteran guys, the Rafael Devers, signing 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:50.040 a Matt Chapman, the Williadomas moves. 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:51.920 I think the. 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.960 Potello was probably the most criticism. And I think you 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.760 can look at Adamis and Chapman endeavors now and say 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:00.960 that maybe that wasn't a good idea, But at the 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:05.039 time people universally praised Buster getting the Chapman deal done 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:07.360 and kind of overstepping far hans Ad, who was in 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.440 charge of baseball operations at the time. People understood the 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:12.599 Devers deal for what it was, which was making a 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:14.800 trade that was probably going to look good on the 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:16.599 front end, but on the back end of that long 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:18.320 of a deal wasn't going to look great. But they 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:20.839 were getting the big name slugger, the big name free 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:23.360 agent that they couldn't attract right, so they traded for 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:26.600 him a Dames. They are again going out getting offense. 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:28.719 Devers and a Damis are still profile ast two of 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:31.880 their better offensive players, So I think on the surface, 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:35.359 every one of those moves was defensible. I think Tony 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:38.080 Battello's getting him as manager the year when there were 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:41.120 nine managerial openings and for a team that was a 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:44.040 win now team, when they fired Bob Melvin and said 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.719 the standards were high and they missed the playoffs, I 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.560 think that was probably the most in a vacuum, head 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:52.440 scratching decision. And also, guys, I think that's probably the 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.479 biggest decision you can make as a president or a 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:57.640 GM is who is going to be in your dugout, 0:05:57.640 --> 0:05:59.400 Who is going to set the tone, who is going 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:02.200 to set the cult culture. I think that was probably 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:05.040 the biggest risk of them all because everyone whips on 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.760 free agency. Everyone makes trades great, but then don't age well. 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:12.960 But for me, I think the manager position was probably 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:15.960 the one that was the riskiest for Buster, And certainly 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:18.400 right now you look at it and and it just 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:21.160 has not worked out. 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:25.039 Was this one hundred percent Buster's call on Vitello? Does 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:27.680 he did the ownership? Did anyone else have any say in? 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:31.000 This was his? Buster's call? Because he's only been there. 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:33.080 He has been there less than a year. But you know, 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.320 we're hearing rumblings. People are starting to say will he 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:38.560 be there next year? He's had some quotes from the 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:40.440 beginning of the year. He talks a lot. We all 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.960 know that which we love is the media, right, but 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:44.760 sometimes he says some things and a lot of people 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:46.760 are like, wait, what is he talking about? So was 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:49.640 this Busters higher alone for Tony Vitello? 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:54.240 Well, I think that a couple things. People forget that 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:57.000 when this search went down. Nick Conley was the guy 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.440 and they had kind of tabbed him, and Nick Conley, 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:03.360 currently with the Texas Rangers' front office, chose to take 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:05.919 himself out of the running, and once that happened, it 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:08.039 became very clear that it was going to be Tony Mattello. 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:10.640 And I think it was a collaborative group within that 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.320 front office. But one thing I learned from talking to 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.840 dozens of people inside the organization and out is that 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:19.360 Buster is the final say. Buster is not just the 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.840 face of the organization and a figurehead. He makes the decisions. 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:26.440 He is decisive. That is one thing that people consistently said. 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:28.200 So at the end of the day, this was Buster 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:31.960 who made this call. And I think on the surface, 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:34.600 the way they defended it and why he thought Tony 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:36.640 was the guy and still could be the guy could 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:39.520 grow into this role certainly was the culture. And he 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.800 thought that what he did in Tennessee, in creating a culture, 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:46.320 in recruiting guys, in what he was able to build there, 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:48.520 was what he wanted to build with the giants. I 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:51.160 think there have been some very public growing pains when 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:53.600 it comes to bullpen management, when it comes to leading 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:56.880 guys who aren't seventeen to twenty two years old and 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:58.920 you're talking about guys who are in their thirties making 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.480 thirty million dollars a year. I think that has been 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:04.080 a little bit different, but that is what Buster was 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:07.480 trying to do, is create this culture and going with 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:09.920 a new manager I think he thought would bring some energy. 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.840 I do think Bettello is getting better. I do think 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.760 he's growing into this role. But I think what people 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.320 around baseball questioned at the time, and it is a 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.480 fair criticism, is whether that was the right move for 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.960 a Giants team that was built to win. Now that 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:28.400 fired Bob Melvin because they missed the playoffs in back 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:31.440 to back years, and because Buster said our bar's up here, 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:33.719 we have a very high bar. I think it's then 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:37.160 hard to rectify that with what has transpired this year. 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:43.800 Let's talk Fabletics, shall we. They have apparel for every season. 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:46.400 We're wearing it as we talk about it. It's soft, 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:48.959 it's comfortable. 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I don't know if they have 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:04.760 a specific plan in place other than winning, right. I 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:06.800 think the only thing, the only way you get guys 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:08.320 to come there is if you're going to win and 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:10.640 if you're going to make them better. And that's I 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:12.760 think what you sell people on, whether it's a pitcher 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:16.480 or a hitter, you sell them on the organization's success, 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:18.679 and you sell them on Listen, we think you should 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:21.200 tweak this or do this with your delivery or your 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:23.839 batting stance, and we think that this will happen. These 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.000 are the numbers we have projected for you. So I 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.000 think a lot of the proof of that stuff is 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:30.400 in the put in. I also think for the Giants, 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:32.840 and Buster said this numerous times, that they have to 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.200 build from within, that their farm system has to be 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:38.520 a big source of how they get better, how they 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.319 get younger, and we're starting to see that. Baseball America 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.959 yesterday said they were the fourth best farm system. That's 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:45.880 up from about the middle of the pack. To start 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:48.600 the season, we saw the trade deadline them trade not 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:51.960 only free agents but also players under club control. We 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:55.880 saw them kind of emphasize getting younger collecting prospects. Now, 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:58.479 the issue is going to be that Chapman, Devers, Adamees 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:01.680 are only getting older and they're expensive, so they're going 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:04.600 to have to, in my mind, spend next year maybe 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:07.840 papering over problems with free agents, but then looking to 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:11.240 the future, looking at busters fourth, fifth, sixth year. If 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:13.800 he stays in that position, I think that's when you're 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:15.960 going to see those young guys that are in low 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.000 A ball, those young prospects that are highly touted come up, 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.960 and that might be a time for the organization to say, Okay, 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.600 we're selling off these big contracts. Our young guys are 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:26.320 here and there in the way, But I think the 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:28.439 next year or two might be like a little bit 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:32.600 of ugly transitions as they move forward. They certainly have 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.240 the money and could spend the money to compete next year. 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:38.360 And his Buster reminded me several times the years they 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:40.400 didn't win the World Series, they didn't make the playoffs, 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:42.320 So a lot can change from one year to the next, 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:45.320 especially when you have the resources of a San Francisco 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.520 Giants team. I do think they're going to go out 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:49.800 and have to fix the pitching that's really been what's 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:52.240 doomed them is that relief pitching. But I think as 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:55.760 you look at the health of this organization moving forward, 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:58.079 it's all going to stem from what they've done in 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:00.640 the minor leagues and whether or not Buster gets a 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:03.559 chance to see that through. I'm not sure they cannot 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.080 afford another season like they had this year. But I 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.240 think as they turn this corner, they have to look 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:11.560 at it as getting back to pitching defense and just 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:12.280 getting a lot. 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:16.120 Younger bright as somebody that knows that the Giants fans 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.320 can be a little bit not nice to people at times. 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.040 Do they have the patients? Do they have the patience 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.720 for that? The Giants fans have the patience to wait 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:27.439 three four more years? 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:27.720 Right? 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:30.040 Because this is every week we have GMS. We have 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.960 Jim Bowden on, we have Jim Duqutt, we have Dan Dukett, 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:34.680 all these guys who've been GMS, and it's always the 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.480 new wave of GMS is, oh, give me five years 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:39.600 and then or give me three years to clean it 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:41.640 out and then give me five years, so then I 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.120 really get eight years to get my players in. Well, 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:46.240 the Giants are a win now franchise, especially when they 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:48.160 look up and they see, oh, the Dodgers are winning 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:50.880 every year, Dodgers, Dodgers, Dodgers being thrown down their throat. 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:54.120 Do they have the patience to wait two or three, 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:55.000 four more years. 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:57.880 Yeah, I don't know. I think that's a great question. 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.800 I think that's the reason they haven't embraced rebuild to 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:05.200 begin with. I think had they really been honest with themselves, 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:07.920 they would have maybe let far Han after they had 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:09.920 that terrific year and then they kind of struggled, they 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:12.840 would have maybe let far Han just kind of sell 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.640 off some pieces and rebuild and start back over. I 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.200 think Buster looked at this team, and you know, as 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:20.280 early as last year when they started off really well, 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:22.200 and said, we are a win now team. We're going 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:24.960 to push our chips in. I think this fan base 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:27.640 hasn't seen a rebuild, and I think at this point 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:30.240 in time, they're not really set up because of the 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:32.240 core that they owe so much money to in the infield, 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:36.080 to be a rebuilding team. So I think realistically they 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:39.160 have to continue to go for it while also being 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.920 really good and really judicious with their prospects down below, 0:13:42.160 --> 0:13:43.960 and that's a tough thing to juggle. We've seen an 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.760 executive struggle to do that. We saw Hein Bloom with 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:50.200 Boston really struggled to keep the Red Sox really as 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:52.600 a competitive team on the field. And then also improve 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:55.760 them in the minor league system. It's a tough juggling act. 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:57.960 The Tampa Bay Rays are really good at that. Obviously, 0:13:57.960 --> 0:13:59.960 they've won a nine in a row. They're also ranked 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.400 the number one system. Eric Neander's one of the best 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:05.280 executives in the game. We're asking Buster Posey, who had 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.400 no front office experience before taking this role, to do 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:11.560 what is probably the most difficult thing in baseball, which 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.040 is to win now but also set the organization up 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:16.640 for the future. And so I think that is also 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:18.360 what's making this whole situation difficult. 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:18.600 Right. 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.000 Most of the time, when you come in and you're 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:25.000 a president, you're inheriting like Peter Bendex and or Paul Taboni, 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:27.240 and you have the five years because you got to 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:29.520 burn it to the studs. We are grading Buster a 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.280 little bit on a curve because we feel like the 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.760 Giants should be good now because they're constantly built to 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:37.800 win now. And now we're being told, well, we care 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:40.520 about the minor league system. So it's a really interesting 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.920 point that they're at right now. I don't know if 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:44.960 the fan base would be okay with saying, hey, we're 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:46.840 gonna be bad for three years. But I don't think 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:48.320 the Giants have to do that. I think they have 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:51.040 the money to compete for a wildcard team next year 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:53.680 and to also be good down below. And it's worth 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:55.600 pointing out, guys that as bad as the Giants have 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:57.560 been this year, like they've never been over five hundred 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.480 all year, they are still six best in base in 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.640 home attendance, They're drawing over thirty six thousand fans a night. 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:06.200 There is no Oakland A's anymore. They are the only 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.480 team in the Bay Area, and so I think that 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.040 also affords them the ability to maybe go out and 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:12.680 take more risks, because if you want to see a 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.160 baseball game, you're going to see the Giants. There is 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:16.440 no other alternative. 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:18.840 You're not going to Sacramento. 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:23.040 No, I don't think you're on a Sacramento to see that. 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:26.160 So you know they have a monopoly on that market. 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.280 They're also one of the three teams that own the stadium. 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:31.840 They have a lot of money. They were ranked top 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:34.640 five and the latest Forbes valuations like their ey team 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:36.400 that I think, and I think we do this with 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.600 David Stearns too, is like if you're inheriting Peter Mendix 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:41.160 and the Marlins. We're going to grade you on a 0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:43.880 different scale than if you inherit a team that has 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.840 the resources to compete. Right, No one wants to sit 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:50.440 through a five year plan of David Stearns like you're 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:51.880 in charge of the Mets. It's the same thing with 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:54.880 Buster Posey with the Giants. Yes, this is a hard 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.280 thing to turn around. Yes it's only second year, but 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:00.600 fans see the Giants as this story for franchise, as 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:02.680 a group that has a big payroll, it's not afraid 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.520 to spend, and they want them turned around, and they 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:06.680 want them turned around quickly. 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:10.720 You kind of answered my question. But are we having 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.560 this conversation because it is Buster Posey? Are we having 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:18.160 this conversation because he has no presidential experience? Are we 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.760 having this conversation if the Giants would have gone out 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:23.880 and got someone from a different organization that maybe sat 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:24.920 underneath the president. 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:26.520 Yeah? 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:28.960 I think, well we're having this conversation because I was 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.280 interested and wrote a story about this. But I think 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:33.160 that if you look at it, it's a couple of 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:36.000 different things. If it wasn't Buster Posey in charge and 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:39.320 it was a far hanziety type but it wasn't still 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.360 far Han, who had been there for I think seven years. 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:43.920 If they had hired somebody else knew, we'd say, this 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:46.040 is only their second year, let's give them some time. 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:48.600 Because it's Buster and he was an icon. I think 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:51.240 people thought he was going to save the franchise. I 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:53.480 don't think people realized that they weren't really in this 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.120 grade of a spot to begin with, So that, I 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.840 think is one piece of this. I think another piece 0:16:59.880 --> 0:17:02.880 of this is that the Giants are a group of 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:05.000 fans who win, who are used to winning, who won 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:07.840 three World Series in five years, outside of like the 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:09.960 Dodgers right now, I mean they were an absolute die 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.600 and the Houston Astros, like, we're looking at a dynasty. 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:15.199 So the people that grew up with that expect that. 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:18.040 And the Giants right now are headed toward their fifth 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:20.600 non winning season. That's the most they've had in their history. 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:23.320 They've never had five non winning seasons in a row. 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:26.040 So that's another fact. Is like the Natives are getting 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:28.720 restless and they would like to see the Giants return 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:31.040 to glory. So I think that there's a lot of 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.919 different factors at play. And yes, Buster doesn't have the 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:37.040 experience and so this is also a big risk, even 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:39.879 though it's an icon like Buster Posey. So there's a 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.080 lot of different things that I think make the situation 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:45.520 so unique and so fascinating as we look at the 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:47.480 beginning of this Buster Posy era. 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:52.720 Yeah, it's it's amazing. You don't see it happen very often. 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:55.119 This is why it's so fascinating to me that someone 0:17:55.160 --> 0:17:57.680 on this level goes into the front office. Nolan and 0:17:57.760 --> 0:17:59.720 Ryan did do it. He was the president of the 0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:02.119 Raging Jersey. He was president of the Astros, but he 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:04.800 wasn't the day to day baseball guy. I don't think 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.879 that Buster Posey is right. I think Nolan probably had 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:09.600 a say in it, but he had John Daniels when 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:12.280 I was in Texas, right, and he had other people 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:15.720