1 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: Welcome back to another episode of Cardinal Territory. We are 2 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: recording this on Friday, September nineteenth, but you will watch 3 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: it on Sunday, September twenty first, which is coincidentally the 4 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: final home game of the twenty twenty five regular season. 5 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Katie will Hear with a very special guest. 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: Super excited about this episode. It's something I've been wanting 7 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 1: to do for a while. Cardinals Assistant general manager Rob 8 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: Sortfolio joins the show. Surf Welcome, longtime listener, hopefully first 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: time partaker. 10 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 2: Welcome to the show. 11 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's like the old FRANCESSA Collins first, first time, 12 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 3: long time. Yes, I appreciate you having me. It'll be 13 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 3: it'll be fun. I'm glad to talk with you and 14 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 3: then all the listeners. 15 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 4: It'll be good, I hope. 16 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 2: So pressures on me to deliver some good questions here. 17 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,599 Speaker 1: I think when we look at this twenty twenty five 18 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: transition season, the main focus was on player development, and 19 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: while you were brought in at the twenty twenty four 20 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: season to kind of oversee what Hi and Bloom would 21 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: like to do with the minor league system, I mean, 22 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:07,680 Speaker 1: this is something that's going to impact both the minor 23 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: league and major league teams and levels for multiple seasons. 24 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 1: That's just kind of the nature of where the organization 25 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: is trending. I think we'll just go right into it. 26 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: For Cardinals fans, who most of them, the wide majority, 27 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: have not had to experience an era like this, or 28 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: a transition season or a revamping of a player development system, 29 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: what can you tell fans about what the minor league 30 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: system currently looks like so that they can understand the 31 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: changes that have been made over the last year. 32 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's there's a lot of layers to that question, right, 33 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 3: you know, I think one of the big things is 34 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 3: is it takes time and patience. And you know, I 35 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 3: think one of the things for me as a as 36 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 3: a new guy coming over here, going all the way 37 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 3: back to my own interview, is that there's a lot 38 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 3: of pieces of this organization that's worked well for a 39 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 3: long time, and all those banners flying around Bush Stadium 40 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 3: like that's not by luck. And so I think as 41 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 3: a new person and with all the new people that 42 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 3: came in here, it was like really trying to understand 43 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 3: what are those things that have worked really well for 44 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 3: a long time, and that's not just performance, right, that 45 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 3: can be values, that can be ways in which the 46 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 3: game has been taught being great at base running, defense, offense, 47 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 3: not really taking concessions in any one area. The Cardinal way, 48 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 3: which as a new guy has been really fun to 49 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 3: just try and learn what that actually means to every 50 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 3: person that's here. And so it takes patience because you 51 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 3: need to uncover what those things are. You have a 52 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 3: lot of new people bringing other ideas into the organization, 53 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,359 Speaker 3: and now like the whole system is learning, both players 54 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,679 Speaker 3: and staff. Okay, like, what's the new version of this, 55 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 3: of this Cardinal's way? Call it that we want to 56 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 3: really scale and hopefully produce a lot of great outcomes 57 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 3: over time. And you know it kind of goes to like, 58 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 3: especially with young players, just developments not linear. You don't 59 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 3: always see immediate results of what you did yesterday. You're 60 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 3: kind of like a farmer that's planting water and crops 61 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 3: and doing that well over a long period of time 62 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 3: and always asking yourself, like, in the middle of that, 63 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 3: is this process working? Are there things we need to adjust? 64 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 3: Are there holes that we're missing? Who from the outside 65 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 3: can come in and help us think about this problem better? 66 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 3: But it does take a little bit of time, and 67 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 3: that's not because things were so far away from being good. Like, 68 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 3: there's a lot of players that were products of this 69 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 3: minor league system that have impacted the major leagues this year, 70 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 3: which is awesome, And now it's just trying to continue 71 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 3: to make those guys even better that have debuted and 72 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 3: put other great pieces around that, both with staff and 73 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 3: player acquisition streams. 74 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: So that was the main focal focus point of when 75 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: you were first hired, and you worked with him about 76 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: expanding the staff first of the entire farm system as 77 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: a whole, added more coordinators, added more positions, and then 78 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: you both work to modernize technology. And both of those 79 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: phrases sound a little vague, especially to a fan base 80 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: that hasn't really had to really see the modernization. 81 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 2: Of a farm system. 82 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: Can you expand on why adding both staff and technology 83 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: was important before you even started the twenty twenty five season. 84 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean we can start with the staff. I 85 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 3: mean I think, like, really, you're only as good as 86 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 3: your team. And the analogy I like to make is 87 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 3: because you know, this resonates I think with a lot 88 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 3: of people, especially anybody that has kids, is every person. 89 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 4: Wants to put their kids in the best school possible. 90 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 3: So how do you know if a school's great, Well, 91 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 3: you look at well, if it's a high school, what 92 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 3: college do they send people to? What average sat at 93 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 3: act scores the does the school produce? And so there's 94 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 3: measurables right for that with a minor league baseball system 95 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 3: of how well is this group continuously producing major league 96 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,119 Speaker 3: players that are winning major league players, not just guys 97 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 3: that get there, but stay there and help a team 98 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 3: actually achieve results of the big league level. And so 99 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 3: in order to have really good outputs, like the best 100 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 3: schools on Earth hire the best teachers and they have 101 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 3: the best curriculum, and that's how they scale their product 102 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 3: to every student. And it's really no different for a 103 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,359 Speaker 3: baseball organizations. You have to have a math chair, you 104 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 3: have to have an English chair, you have to have 105 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 3: multiple people in all of the spaces that impact players 106 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 3: getting to the big leagues and then staying there and 107 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,040 Speaker 3: hopefully being winning players for a long time. You need 108 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 3: that same approach in the minor league so that there's 109 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,119 Speaker 3: great communication between the big leagues and the minor leagues 110 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 3: and everybody's kind of reading off the same sheet of music, 111 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 3: they're solving for the same outcomes they're aligned towards. When 112 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 3: that TRIAA player walks into the major leagues for the 113 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 3: first time, that coaching staff knows that and had input 114 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 3: on the things that that player was coached towards, so 115 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 3: that it's a seamless transition, or as seamless as it 116 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 3: can be given some of the factors that these guys 117 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 3: go through, you know, emotionally and just being in a 118 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 3: new physical location. So we really tried to attack that 119 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 3: off of you know, that's a really broad analogy, but 120 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 3: I think it's maybe something that the average person can 121 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 3: can resonate with because it's the same way that you 122 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 3: would try and in place your child in the best 123 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 3: school possible, and you just want those those curriculums to 124 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 3: be really good and the people that are leading them 125 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 3: to be really skilled in great leaders and influencers of 126 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 3: both players and staff that when that coordinator is not there, 127 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 3: the actual programming and the curriculum is really sound, and 128 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 3: the players understand it, and the coaches of the affiliate 129 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 3: understand it, and they know exactly what they need to 130 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 3: do to carry that action out. And if we do that, 131 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 3: every frigging day. It's monotonous, but if we win the 132 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 3: one to five o'clock period with our process and how 133 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 3: we're working on those skills, then the game is just 134 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 3: a barometer of how well our work is translating. And 135 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 3: so you know, that was really the whole thought. And 136 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 3: I'd spent a lot of years in Cleveland kind of 137 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 3: helping lead like the hiring process over there. So for me, 138 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 3: it was a cool opportunity to really action a lot 139 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 3: of the names that I had either hired in the 140 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 3: or interviewed in the past and not hired in Cleveland 141 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 3: and had an opportunity to bring over here to Saint Louis. 142 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 3: So I'm pretty excited about the group that we've got. 143 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 3: We've got more to come in the upcoming offseason, which 144 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 3: would be really fun. Even though it's a lot of 145 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 3: laborious work, but it's it's really important to get those 146 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 3: people in programs right. 147 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: And I think something that you have talked about saying 148 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: that Himus talked about or alluded to in his end 149 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: of season press conference last year is the ability where 150 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: you're not necessarily losing the cardinal way. There's many, many 151 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: things that this weization has done well, I mean they 152 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: were pioneers in player development. When you're adding new coordinators, 153 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: you're adding new staff members, you're adding new technology. The 154 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: goal isn't to just replace the what was already here 155 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: in the cardinal system, it's to expand. 156 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 2: It, right, And when you're looking at how. 157 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: To do that with bringing in a new group of 158 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: people but keeping a majority of the same because it 159 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: really hasn't been that much turnover in terms of people 160 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: leading positions, why is that important to have a balance 161 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: of the tradition of this organization and also modernizing it 162 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: so you're not completely losing the identity of the franchise. 163 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 2: You're just kind of making it better. 164 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 4: That's it. 165 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 3: And you nailed the dynamic right there. And the first 166 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 3: thing we challenged myself any new person is like to 167 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:50,199 Speaker 3: really spend time on, like what are the parts of 168 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 3: this organization that people that have been here for a 169 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 3: long time would take a bullet for and things that 170 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 3: are producing results, like really have an actual understanding of 171 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 3: what those things are. Those were some, honestly the most 172 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,200 Speaker 3: fun conversations during the off season was really once we 173 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 3: kind of finished that first wave of hiring, was then 174 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 3: getting all those new people with the people that have 175 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 3: been here for a long time, including the major league staff, 176 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 3: into We did a lot of it virtually but in 177 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 3: the same virtual room to like ask the hard questions 178 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 3: of who do we want to be about, like what 179 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 3: are the values that have been here for forever that 180 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 3: we feel really strongly about, and then how have other 181 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 3: people from new places thought about that same challenge, whether 182 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 3: it's infield development or hitting development, Like what are some 183 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 3: other like the diversity of thought piece of that to 184 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:44,319 Speaker 3: then ultimately just and we'll continue to stress test what 185 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 3: we believe in and make sure that it's producing results. 186 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 3: And we feel really good about that process. So that 187 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 3: that was the way that we started that. I'm sure 188 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 3: there's probably one hundred ways that we could do that 189 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 3: better and hopefully, you know, this time of years is 190 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 3: always a great time year where we're asking staff or 191 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 3: feedback and like what does year two's worth of growth 192 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 3: look like for all of us? And that'll be a 193 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 3: huge part of it. But you're exactly right, it's the 194 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 3: what are the parts of this organization. I spoke to 195 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 3: the banners that are flying around Bush Stadium, like that's 196 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 3: not by luck, that's because this order, like the word 197 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 3: you said was a pioneer in a lot of different 198 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 3: ways with the way they thought about the draft player development, 199 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 3: having a minor league system of great teaching, and let's 200 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 3: never lose track of any of that, and let's find 201 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 3: new ways on the margins to even make that better. 202 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: Good stuff with cards agm Rob's sorfolio here on Cardinal Territory, 203 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: we'll take a quick break here from our friends at 204 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,839 Speaker 1: DraftKings before we dive back into some of the player 205 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 1: development stuff and what fans can see as we embark 206 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: on what will be a very new chapter in Saint 207 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: Louis Day with US Missouri. 208 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 2: Get ready. 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Sign up on for terms at Sportsbook 229 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 5: dot DraftKings dot com slash promos. 230 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 2: All right. 231 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: So, player development around baseball is a vague term, and 232 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: it's most it's usually kind of relegated to the minor 233 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 1: league system or prospects because that is where you're essentially 234 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: developing players. But for the case of the Cardinals, at 235 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:08,719 Speaker 1: least this season and probably for the next couple of 236 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 1: years going forward, player development is going to take place 237 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: across the board at both the minor league levels and 238 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: the major league level. We spent an entire season this 239 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: year talking about transition, runway, use your favorite buzzword, and 240 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:24,719 Speaker 1: the primary emphasis of these buzzwords were to emphasize that 241 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,040 Speaker 1: players are going to develop at the major league level 242 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: this year. For years, that was not the case. In 243 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:31,199 Speaker 1: Saint Louis. You were either a major league player and 244 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 1: you are ready to contribute to a postseason run, or 245 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,200 Speaker 1: you were back to Triple A. But this is not 246 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: a phenom that's necessarily specific to just the Cardinals. You're 247 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: seeing this across major League Baseball, depending on team, market 248 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: size and payroll. Your specialty surf is player development. Why 249 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:49,079 Speaker 1: is this important across the board? 250 00:12:49,679 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 3: Well, first off, specialty is probably a strong word, but 251 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 3: I'll take it. 252 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 4: Yeah. 253 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:59,959 Speaker 3: I think the first part's mindset, and I think that's 254 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 3: one of the things that I've really enjoyed working with 255 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,240 Speaker 3: Ali and his staff, Like goes all the way back 256 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:07,560 Speaker 3: to the second I showed up and had you know, 257 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 3: he was part of my own interview process and we 258 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 3: got into the weeds, the weeds on this and whether 259 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 3: it's player combos right, whether it's like Nado or Donnie 260 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 3: or really any of our players guys that have had 261 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 3: success at the major league level, the second you stop 262 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 3: getting better, whether it's baseball, whether it's sudoku puzzles, whether 263 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 3: it's ping pong in the basement, Like, it really just 264 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 3: doesn't matter when you stop getting better at a thing, like, 265 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:39,320 Speaker 3: especially in our world of sports where we're we're performing 266 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:44,120 Speaker 3: at the highest level in high competitive environments, like when 267 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 3: you stop developing, you're in trouble. And I think that 268 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 3: just mindset wise, is like we have a lot of 269 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 3: players that already think that way, which is phenomenal, and 270 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 3: now like scaling that across the entire organization, I think 271 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 3: is hopefully something that can be competitive advantage for us 272 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 3: and especially you know, if you spoke to like the 273 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 3: market right of there are teams that the bigger market 274 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:10,320 Speaker 3: teams like they'll go out and pay for players that 275 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 3: the entire industry knows is really good, and that's certainly 276 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:16,920 Speaker 3: a way of doing it. And the other way for 277 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 3: teams that maybe don't have that same luxury is what 278 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 3: are you doing with your own players every year to 279 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 3: not necessarily reinvent who they are, but really ensure that 280 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 3: their superpowers are never lost and the things on the 281 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 3: margins that will help them take the next step forward, 282 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 3: are intentionally getting better, not just hoping by luck, but 283 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 3: having a real process. Whether it's a guy that has 284 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 3: won five MVPs in the big leagues or a guy 285 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 3: that's played five games in rookie ball, kind of the 286 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 3: overall framework of the ideology is the same. It's just 287 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 3: a different strategy and set of tactics on how you 288 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 3: bring that to life and the types of things that 289 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 3: you're focusing on for each player. 290 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 4: But I do think they're this. 291 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 3: Mindset is really important for just this organization, especially the 292 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 3: types of players, and kind of we've seen this with 293 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 3: some of the younger guys this year and making sure 294 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 3: that we're never wasting a day for those guys that 295 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 3: continuously get better. When your best players own that mindset, 296 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 3: it really just becomes the fabric of how your organization 297 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 3: goes about its business. 298 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 2: And you can see that. Even I thought Nolan arnot 299 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 2: I was a great example here. 300 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: He's one of the best defensive third basemen of all time, 301 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 1: and he's out there every day trying to take extra 302 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: reps and get better. Brendan Donovan has really emerged as 303 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: a winning kind of player, has that kind of grittiness 304 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 1: that fans saw in the twenty tens when the Cardinals 305 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: were in their last legitimate true run. You can kind 306 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: of see this now with the way that players have 307 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: stepped forward, whether it's Mason Win solidifying himself defensively as shortstop, 308 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: Alec Burlison. 309 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 2: As an all around hitter, of Von Herrera as a 310 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 2: true bat. 311 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 1: These are going to take times for some of these 312 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 1: young players to really develop into their careers, but you 313 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: do see this, and I think Burleson is a great 314 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: example here in terms of someone who was challenged to 315 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 1: become better defensively because they needed him to. You know, 316 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,440 Speaker 1: what you have in Burlson is a bad high contact rate. 317 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: He can put a lot of balls in play. He 318 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: needed to refine his approach a little bit so he 319 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: wasn't getting out as much, and he did. But in 320 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: order for him to stick, he had to be better 321 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: defensively and he did that and it took some time, 322 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: but he was able to develop in games and now 323 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,920 Speaker 1: he's an all around better player. Is that kind of 324 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: the example that you're looking at when you evaluate these 325 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 1: guys at the major league level? 326 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 4: That's it? 327 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 3: And then you ask yourself that question year over year, 328 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 3: and it's like, Okay, Burley, what. 329 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 4: A great season this was for you. 330 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 3: You talked about the approach stuff, you digging into some 331 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 3: of the behind the scenes numbers there and his chase 332 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 3: rates and just the amount of times that he's getting 333 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 3: himself in more favorable, more favorable counts to do it 334 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 3: to do what he does best with me hitting the 335 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 3: ball hard frequently. That's there, and that is directly tied 336 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 3: to some of the ways that he challenged him himself 337 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 3: to train. And you know, Burley and Brownie and all 338 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,479 Speaker 3: those guys like his teammates that helped that process deserve 339 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,440 Speaker 3: a ton of credit for being willing to get their 340 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 3: hands dirty in season. And just like you know, we 341 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 3: talked about that mindset and mentality of just the whole 342 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:18,199 Speaker 3: organization always thinking that way is is really important. But 343 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:20,680 Speaker 3: he's such a great example, like the work that he's 344 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 3: done with JJ and the outfield to really elevate his 345 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 3: game to be like not just a guy that has 346 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 3: to play the corner outfield, but somebody that you're excited 347 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 3: about playing the corner outfield. 348 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 4: And now, like, what's the next step for that of. 349 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 3: Being you know, wherever he is in terms of the 350 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,480 Speaker 3: excuse me, the metrics of a corner outfielder, Like, what's 351 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 3: the even better version of that? 352 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 4: How can we tie that to how he prepares. 353 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 3: In the senc nutrition space, Like all those things matter, 354 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 3: and I think his willingness to attack those things in 355 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 3: season in like a very interesting transition year speaks a 356 00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 3: lot to the type of mindset that you want your 357 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:01,160 Speaker 3: best players to have. 358 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: And I think when you're looking at the Cardinals fan base, 359 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: I mean, they're a very loyal fan base, as you know, 360 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 1: and they really know their baseball. So when you're able 361 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: to see a player in real time, like Burleston adjust 362 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,880 Speaker 1: and adapt, like that's tangible evidence that they can see. 363 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: They may not realize it in real time. I know 364 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:20,720 Speaker 1: sometimes I don't either. Where you look up and after 365 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: a month you say, wow, this player has really expedited 366 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: his growth or has really made these adjustments, because when 367 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: you're playing every like a game a day for almost 368 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: two hundred days, including spring training, it can be hard 369 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,200 Speaker 1: to really see that on a day to day basis. 370 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: But Girlsten to your point as an example, Herrera offensively 371 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: as an example. We can go down the list. Kyle Lahey, 372 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: Mike McGreevey in terms of the minor league system though, 373 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: something that isn't as a parent or easy to access 374 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: as the major league team on TV every day. What 375 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 1: changes can fans expect to see because we have made 376 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,879 Speaker 1: whether it's the organization or media, we made such a 377 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,719 Speaker 1: big idea about the revamping of the Cardinals minor league system, 378 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:01,719 Speaker 1: and there hasn't really been a lot of clarity as 379 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: to what exactly these fans can look like other than 380 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 1: adding staff members and adding technology. What can you point 381 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: to fans where they can look and identify and see, Okay, 382 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:13,040 Speaker 1: this is different and here's why it's being done. 383 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a great question, and it's in some ways 384 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 3: it's a hard question to have like a real black 385 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 3: and white answer to because you know, I said this 386 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 3: comment earlier of like, developments never linear, and there's no 387 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,840 Speaker 3: better example of that than minor league baseball, where you're 388 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,080 Speaker 3: working with a bunch of eighteen to twenty one year 389 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 3: olds and not only are they developing as human beings 390 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:41,439 Speaker 3: and adults, but you're asking them to develop skills and 391 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:47,120 Speaker 3: knowing that those skills take time to see real change towards. 392 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,920 Speaker 3: But I think there's a whole bunch of things behind 393 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:51,120 Speaker 3: the scenes, right of process. 394 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,040 Speaker 4: You talked about technology, right, like that's such. 395 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 3: A broad thing, but there's real specificity to like exam 396 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,680 Speaker 3: samples of that. So I think everybody knows, like major 397 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 3: league stadiums they have hawkeye technology, and that allows you 398 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 3: to do so many things in terms of performance. Can 399 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 3: be a lagging indicator, like you talked about sometimes you 400 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:17,159 Speaker 3: have to actually wait a month for to have a 401 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 3: big enough sample size or just enough confidence that okay, 402 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,439 Speaker 3: this change was real. And some of this technology allows 403 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,679 Speaker 3: you to really like shrink the amount of time that 404 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,120 Speaker 3: you need to feel confident that a change is happening, 405 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:34,720 Speaker 3: and a change is happen there's guesswork there, right, It's 406 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 3: it's a hypothesis. We think if this player does this 407 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 3: movement differently, that it'll allow them to perform better in 408 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,680 Speaker 3: this way. But if you do that for a long 409 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 3: enough time and you mess up a lot of them 410 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 3: like I have, you can figure out which ones have 411 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,680 Speaker 3: some proof of the putting to it. And so you know, 412 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 3: I think hawkeye is like an example of something that 413 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,639 Speaker 3: we are expanding to all levels of our minor leagues, 414 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 3: and you kind of work backwards from here are things 415 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,639 Speaker 3: that we know, like evidence based approach. We know that 416 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 3: these things work at the highest level in the big leagues, 417 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 3: and now how do we bring that to a player 418 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,479 Speaker 3: that's in a ball And you might not see that 419 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 3: player in a ball necessarily throw harder that next month, 420 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:22,159 Speaker 3: but we are then able to connect things about how 421 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 3: they move and their delivery, how we build a great 422 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 3: like throwing program and plyocare routine. Same thing for a 423 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,879 Speaker 3: hit or we can see the speeds that they create 424 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,240 Speaker 3: with their bat and the angles at which their bat 425 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 3: like by way of how their body moves works through 426 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:40,639 Speaker 3: the zone, and we can see if that's what great 427 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 3: major league hitters do or don't do, and then we 428 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,920 Speaker 3: can help that player in the immediacy. So it really 429 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,720 Speaker 3: allows you to shrink the amount of time that you 430 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 3: need to wait for performance to stabilize or you don't 431 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,239 Speaker 3: get tripped up by Okay, well this guy was an 432 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 3: a ball All Star. Is that actually mean he's going 433 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 3: to be a major league All Star? Definitely not. There's 434 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,159 Speaker 3: players that are really good in the minor leagues that 435 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 3: just don't have the skills to even get to the 436 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 3: big league. So it really allows you to like isolate 437 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 3: the skills that major leaguers have, and then there's a 438 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:15,480 Speaker 3: bunch of things around that of like being winning baseball 439 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,879 Speaker 3: mentality and running the bases and knowing game awareness and 440 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 3: all those things like on the margins, Yes, but it 441 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 3: allows us to have it allows us to miss less 442 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 3: of those big rock skills that major leaguers just have 443 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,679 Speaker 3: more times than minor leaguers have. So that hopefully is 444 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 3: a little bit of like a window into that answer, 445 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 3: but it's really complicated, and ultimately you're just trying to 446 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 3: have the most evidence based process that you possibly can 447 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 3: have and use a bunch of people that are experts 448 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 3: and information that give you as much data as possible 449 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 3: to just make great decisions to help our players. 450 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:54,959 Speaker 1: And I think that makes a ton of sense when 451 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,160 Speaker 1: you think about what the organization is doing currently, there's 452 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: going to be a reliance on the young core, some 453 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 1: youth players, some guys coming up, so being able to 454 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: identify these skills early and really analyze what they could 455 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: project to be outside of just gained performance, because you're 456 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 1: absolutely correct, obviously, development is so much more than what 457 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:16,720 Speaker 1: you did in the box score in double A that day. 458 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:21,240 Speaker 1: And with the I think him said it best last year. 459 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: This is probably the most dramatically changing and quickly changing 460 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 1: aspect of professional baseball, just in terms of how teams 461 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 1: evaluate development, the technology available, and the resources available. So 462 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: being able to give fans some sort of insight as 463 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 1: to why this is important and why more money is being. 464 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 2: Directed to these things should, in theory. 465 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 1: Help maybe the kind of confusion or lack of clarity 466 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 1: as the Cardinals embark on their first true rebuild in 467 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 1: a very long time. But speaking of young players coming 468 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 1: up in the pipeline, we are going to check in 469 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:56,399 Speaker 1: in our final segment about the some top prospects coming up. 470 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: A lot of different names that Cardinals fans are excited about. Well, 471 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:01,680 Speaker 1: here for our sponsored me Undy's first, and then we'll 472 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,720 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about JJ weatherhol Quinn Matthews, Liam Joyle, 473 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,000 Speaker 1: you know the drill. We'll be right back, Crats. 474 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 6: I'm going to steal a line right from the top 475 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:13,879 Speaker 6: here about me Undy's a cut for every butt. I 476 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 6: took a line that I feel like you would enjoy, 477 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:18,960 Speaker 6: But then you stole my thunder with Show and tell. 478 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 5: What do you have there. 479 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,959 Speaker 7: Besides a huge Baduca dunk? This is my pair of 480 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,360 Speaker 7: me Undies that I got. I'm not going to show 481 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:29,240 Speaker 7: you the other pair right now because I got them on, 482 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:31,480 Speaker 7: but it doesn't even feel like you have them on, 483 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 7: super soft, flexible and yet holding everything together. 484 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,160 Speaker 6: I love the twenty different styles, one hundred different colors 485 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 6: and prints, and the micro modal fabric is what you're 486 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 6: talking about. Breathable, stretchy, unbelievably cozy and right now, as 487 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 6: a listener of FT, you can get cozy and spooky 488 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:54,880 Speaker 6: for less with deals up to fifty percent off at 489 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 6: me undies dot com slash foul and enter promo code foul. 490 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,520 Speaker 6: That's me undies dot Com slash foul promo code foul 491 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 6: for up to fifty percent off me on these comfort 492 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 6: that's made for fall. 493 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 3: I'm having a hard time holding composure after that, but 494 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 3: I will say I am a Meundies fan, so that 495 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:18,480 Speaker 3: wow worked pretty well with the with that ad right there, a. 496 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 2: Double sponsor, amazing. 497 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,439 Speaker 1: I need to start actually watching these videos before I 498 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,359 Speaker 1: press play, so I should so I'd like prepared because 499 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: I was not prepared for that one. 500 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, but at least I didn't have to read that 501 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:30,600 Speaker 2: ad read so Weston. 502 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,119 Speaker 1: Now I've learned my Lesson actually watched the videos before 503 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 1: you press play perfect. 504 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:39,159 Speaker 2: All right, it's a good humor. It's great humor. 505 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 1: I mean we're like at the end of the season basically, 506 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,880 Speaker 1: I think we're all kind of just trying to anything can. 507 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,200 Speaker 2: Make me laugh. These days. I have such a hard 508 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:46,119 Speaker 2: time like. 509 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 1: Paying attention in all these pregames scrums sometimes because like 510 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:51,159 Speaker 1: someone will say an off hand comment and then I 511 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: just lost it and he'll be like can you can 512 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 1: you walk back? 513 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 2: And I'm like, no, I really can't. Posure I'm trying, 514 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:57,440 Speaker 2: but I really can't. 515 00:25:58,400 --> 00:25:59,720 Speaker 1: All right, No, we have just a couple of minutes 516 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 1: left because you are a very busy man and have 517 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,040 Speaker 1: lots of things to do. We've had a lot of 518 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:08,120 Speaker 1: discourse about JJ Wetherholt this season, obviously for rifle reasons. 519 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:12,080 Speaker 1: He just I think has really seized an opportunity this year, 520 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: and we'll come in the spring training next year as 521 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: someone with a lot of eyes on him. And then 522 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 1: you look at someone like Quinn Matthews, who came into 523 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 1: spring this year with a lot of eyes on him 524 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,399 Speaker 1: after a stellar season in twenty twenty four. As fans, 525 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:28,119 Speaker 1: all they really want to know is like one of 526 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:29,479 Speaker 1: these guys going to be at the majors and one 527 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:31,679 Speaker 1: of they can to impact this club and just how well. 528 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,400 Speaker 1: And that I understand because I want to know that too, 529 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 1: But the priority for these guys especially you'll throw in 530 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: someone like a Liam Doyle and I know to Coo 531 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 1: Robe had Tommy John but up until that he was 532 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: very much a part of this group. For a young 533 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: core that should impact the major league level, how important 534 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,120 Speaker 1: is it serve to really make sure that they are 535 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: ready to be promoted to the majors and ready to contribute, 536 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 1: rather than just rush them up out of need or 537 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,200 Speaker 1: maybe a desire to see them at the big league level. 538 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a it's a great question, and it's this 539 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,360 Speaker 3: is a hard question when, like people ask all the time, 540 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 3: it's like, well, why isn't this player were promoted. It's 541 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 3: there's so much that goes into it. It's always not 542 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:16,520 Speaker 3: just the well what's their box score, what's their stat line? 543 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 3: Like I think, first off, the gap between the major 544 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 3: leagues in Triple A has probably never been wider. And 545 00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 3: some of that's just like straight out of the player's control, right, 546 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,119 Speaker 3: Like there's over the last couple of years, like the 547 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 3: minor league shrunk. You know, there's less total players that 548 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 3: you have, so as a result of that, players have 549 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 3: really moved faster. And so when you have the opportunities 550 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 3: to expose these guys to to just do everything that 551 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 3: they would be asked to do in the big leagues 552 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 3: before they get there. I've always thought of it as like, 553 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,480 Speaker 3: you know, you're the farm director's job is to ensure 554 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 3: that we're not asking a player to do something for 555 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,679 Speaker 3: the first time in the big leagues, and we spend 556 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 3: so much time like Larry Day and his crew that's 557 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,400 Speaker 3: really managing the day to day. They're spending hours trying 558 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,359 Speaker 3: to answer that question, and that's one of the fun 559 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 3: parts of it. But it you know, makes it less 560 00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:18,880 Speaker 3: black and white. But if you have that mentality to everything, right, 561 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,640 Speaker 3: it's like how they go about their pregame routine, how 562 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 3: they're studying film. You look at like a guy like 563 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:27,560 Speaker 3: Jimmy Crooks that comes up to the big leagues. And 564 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 3: by the way, catching is really hard to do, much 565 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 3: less harder to do when you're a rookie and you 566 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:35,080 Speaker 3: don't have relationships with all of the pitchers that you're 567 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 3: catching orth And so how we really tried to use 568 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,720 Speaker 3: the clock with him this year in the mind and 569 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,320 Speaker 3: in his time in TRIAA to here's exactly what they're 570 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,520 Speaker 3: going to ask from you in a pregame meeting with 571 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 3: your staff, and let's really make sure that not only 572 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:54,520 Speaker 3: can you run that play well, but that you understand 573 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 3: the why behind that. 574 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 4: And we coach Jimmy. 575 00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,560 Speaker 3: Pretty hard on that, and it goes all the way 576 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,880 Speaker 3: back to April May, and to his credit, he leaned 577 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 3: into that even though when he probably thought we weren't 578 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 3: very nice about coaching him pretty directly, but hopefully he 579 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 3: now feels like, you know what, those guys were kind 580 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 3: of a holes back then, but they set me up 581 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,840 Speaker 3: for walking into that first pregame meeting and having the 582 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 3: skills that I need to excel. And so it's a 583 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 3: hard question to answer, like when is a player ready, 584 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 3: But ultimately the performance on field matters and the process 585 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 3: around that, who they are as a teammate, how they 586 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:35,520 Speaker 3: go about their business from a preparation standpoint, how they 587 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:38,560 Speaker 3: go about reflecting the next day from whether they had 588 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 3: good results or not, and how well are they learning 589 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 3: and responding to that. All of those things really matter, 590 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 3: And you know, there's not a it's not a math equation. 591 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 3: There's not one right answer if when a player is 592 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 3: right or ready or when he is not ready. 593 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 4: But if you really have a way to try and 594 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 4: uncover the. 595 00:29:56,640 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 3: Answers to those series of items, at least in my experience, 596 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 3: you feel more confident about when that answer is is yes. 597 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:07,360 Speaker 1: That's such a good point about Jimmy Crooks in his 598 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: short time in the majors. Ollie Marvel has praised his professionalism, how. 599 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 2: He comes in and he leads the meetings. 600 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:15,640 Speaker 1: To your point, he has less than thirty days of 601 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,440 Speaker 1: major league service time, and here he is with a 602 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: couple veterans on that pitching staff, and he's able to 603 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 1: identify exactly what the game plan should be, and he's 604 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 1: able to say something that really impressed Ben Johnson down 605 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:28,720 Speaker 1: in Triple A was you know, they'd come up with 606 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,520 Speaker 1: the scouting report and Jimmy would say, I, actually I disagree, 607 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:32,240 Speaker 1: and here's why. 608 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 2: And he's not afraid to have that discourse. 609 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:36,280 Speaker 1: That's the kind of player that you need at the 610 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: major league level, because, yeah, he's coming up, he's young, 611 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:40,880 Speaker 1: he's a rookie. There are things he's going to learn 612 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: on his own. But being able to have that skill 613 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 1: set for preparation and that confidence to know, hey, this 614 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,520 Speaker 1: is a different level. I still have things to learn, 615 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 1: but this is my job and I know this that 616 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: is going to be key in bringing winning players and 617 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 1: sparking them. 618 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:54,400 Speaker 2: Through this rebuild. 619 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 3: Yep. 620 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: Well, so all right, Surf, I know you've got a 621 00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,160 Speaker 1: ton of things going on. I want to thank you 622 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:00,920 Speaker 1: so much for making time time to do this. I 623 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: think hopefully fans can take a lot away from this. 624 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 1: We'll be seeing you and hearing you a lot more 625 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:07,600 Speaker 1: once this season comes to an end. 626 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:08,600 Speaker 2: Just nine more. 627 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: Well, I guess when this episode airs, a week of 628 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: games left, anything that you want to communicy to fans 629 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:16,680 Speaker 1: that they don't know, or where they can become more 630 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: familiar with your work and what you guys are doing 631 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 1: down in the minor leagues. 632 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 3: Well, I appreciate you having me on first off, and 633 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 3: maybe apologies in advance if it's true you said about 634 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 3: people having to hear my voice more frequently. 635 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 4: So, but no, I. 636 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:33,959 Speaker 3: Appreciate you you having me on anytime we can speak 637 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 3: to just the the work that you don't see the 638 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 3: necessarily immediate results of tomorrow is always really fun. To 639 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,200 Speaker 3: top through and that's why I enjoyed doing these is 640 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,960 Speaker 3: as much as I can not tell yourself, But you 641 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 3: know the rest of the group that's really doing a 642 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 3: great job covering all the things, major league development, minor 643 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 3: league development. It's all in an effort to try and 644 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 3: help us have future success. So appreciaking of what you 645 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 3: do to cover all. 646 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 1: That, and hopefully that success comes sooner than later. We 647 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: will see all right for Rob Sifolio, I'm Katie with 648 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:10,280 Speaker 1: this is Cardinal Territory. We'll be back with you for 649 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: the final week of the regular season. Thanks as always 650 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:13,320 Speaker 1: for watching. 651 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:14,040 Speaker 2: Talk soon