1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:01,840
Speaker 1: I think when you're looking at what the Cardinals are

2
00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:04,640
Speaker 1: going to do going forward, how they play heading into

3
00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,200
Speaker 1: the All Star break will ultimately force Johnasy allowed to

4
00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:07,880
Speaker 1: make the decision.

5
00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,680
Speaker 2: Here we go, Katie Wu from Cardinal territory and the

6
00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,279
Speaker 2: athletic covering the Cardinals joining us right now on FT Katie.

7
00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,200
Speaker 2: Great to see you, and finally we have the Cubs

8
00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:23,560
Speaker 2: and the Cardinals meeting up.

9
00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:25,160
Speaker 3: I'm like, when are they going to face off?

10
00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,319
Speaker 2: I know that people didn't expect the Cardinals to be

11
00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,200
Speaker 2: good this year, but now that they are, this is

12
00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,520
Speaker 2: a fun week for us. How is it going so

13
00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,159
Speaker 2: far with the Cardinals dominating in Game one? And is

14
00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:36,560
Speaker 2: this a good litmus test to see what the Cardinals

15
00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:37,960
Speaker 2: are going to do at the trade deadline?

16
00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:41,080
Speaker 1: A super fun series? Here a bus, JADM. It only

17
00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,760
Speaker 1: took eighty nine days for the Cardinals and Cubs to

18
00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,080
Speaker 1: see each other. That's about the amount of time that

19
00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,960
Speaker 1: AJ goes before texting me or needing me for something.

20
00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,199
Speaker 1: So Agent, I'm glad to see you two shows in

21
00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:54,080
Speaker 1: a row with you. We're on a better track now.

22
00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:56,200
Speaker 1: But let's talk a little bit about the Cardinals and

23
00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,080
Speaker 1: this upcoming or this current series with the Cubs.

24
00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,120
Speaker 4: Katie, don't get started, because I have friends in high

25
00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:05,480
Speaker 4: places in Saint Louis. That so just know that I

26
00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:06,920
Speaker 4: have friends in high places.

27
00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,280
Speaker 1: So just befaure, what are you talking about, Daniel Descalzo.

28
00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,520
Speaker 4: No higher than that way. I know the cat, So

29
00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,200
Speaker 4: I had the cat on speed dial. Jim Hayes. There's

30
00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,399
Speaker 4: a guy even above him named Chip Carrey, who I

31
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,840
Speaker 4: can call in text at any time. They can give

32
00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,360
Speaker 4: me all the scoops. So let's just say, you know,

33
00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,200
Speaker 4: we need to stay in our lane. Like Ken Ken,

34
00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:28,960
Speaker 4: Little Ken says, we need to stay in our lane.

35
00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:30,680
Speaker 3: Katie, I will.

36
00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,399
Speaker 1: Do my best to stay in my lane, but as

37
00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,600
Speaker 1: we all know, I'm not super great at that. Back

38
00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,679
Speaker 1: to Cardinals and the Cubs, this is a huge series

39
00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:40,679
Speaker 1: and a huge test for the Saint Louis squad that

40
00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,400
Speaker 1: I think has remarkably surprised a lot of the industry, candidly,

41
00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,680
Speaker 1: including myself, and how good they've been, how consistent they've been.

42
00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:50,440
Speaker 1: The Cubs too, I mean, they've pretty much had the

43
00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,720
Speaker 1: division since the season started. And you guys know this.

44
00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:55,960
Speaker 1: Every year we come and we talk about the five

45
00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,360
Speaker 1: hundred NL Central, it's oh who can win eighty one games,

46
00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,400
Speaker 1: they're probably going to win the division. Now we have

47
00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,000
Speaker 1: the Cardinals, Cubs, the Brewers, and to some degree the

48
00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,280
Speaker 1: Reds all kind of vying for this division, and I

49
00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:09,359
Speaker 1: have no idea how it's going to go. I do

50
00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,240
Speaker 1: know this series. Anytime you have the Cardinals and Cubs

51
00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,079
Speaker 1: play each other, it's a big deal. But this one,

52
00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,600
Speaker 1: particularly because these teams are so close atop the division,

53
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,520
Speaker 1: and as we head into the trade deadline just where

54
00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,639
Speaker 1: you know, with just one week away from July, it's

55
00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,080
Speaker 1: going to have a lot of ramifications on how each

56
00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,440
Speaker 1: team proceeds further. So I'm excited to see how the

57
00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:29,080
Speaker 1: rest of the series shakes out.

58
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:31,800
Speaker 3: Does it really come down to this series? Though?

59
00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,959
Speaker 4: How the Cardinals determine what they're going to do the

60
00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,280
Speaker 4: rest of this year? Is it really on this series?

61
00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,360
Speaker 4: Because they're in a good spot. They have young guys playing,

62
00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:42,920
Speaker 4: they're performing, they're pitching I think has been better than

63
00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:43,680
Speaker 4: they expected.

64
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:45,680
Speaker 3: So do you really think it comes down to this series?

65
00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:47,720
Speaker 4: Because if so, they're off to a great circus. They

66
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:48,840
Speaker 4: whooped the Cubs last night.

67
00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:51,920
Speaker 1: Well I would have said if they got swept in

68
00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,160
Speaker 1: four games, that would have I think been a pretty

69
00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:56,240
Speaker 1: solid tell, but that's not going to happen because they

70
00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,040
Speaker 1: did when on Monday. I think when you're looking at

71
00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:00,960
Speaker 1: what the Cardinals are going to do going forward, how

72
00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,040
Speaker 1: they play heading into the All Star Break will ultimately

73
00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,840
Speaker 1: force John Roseaeilo to make the decision. But I want

74
00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,720
Speaker 1: a caution. Just like all year long, it's not black

75
00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,360
Speaker 1: and white about the trade deadline. Just like the Cardinals overall,

76
00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,240
Speaker 1: it hasn't been black and white versus player runway versus

77
00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,160
Speaker 1: team results. There is a way the Cardinals can do both.

78
00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,240
Speaker 1: And when you're looking at where this team stacks up

79
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,240
Speaker 1: heading into July, they're very much in contention for the division,

80
00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,920
Speaker 1: They're very much in contention for the wild card. Do

81
00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,680
Speaker 1: you focus on the long term goal, which was the

82
00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,200
Speaker 1: overall priority for this season, of player development and knowing

83
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,560
Speaker 1: what you have in twenty twenty six or beyond, or

84
00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:38,920
Speaker 1: do you recognize that so many of these players who

85
00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,720
Speaker 1: just saw Alec Burlison him include it have taken steps

86
00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,400
Speaker 1: forward much earlier than the team maybe would have expected.

87
00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,320
Speaker 1: And now you're sitting in a spot come July where

88
00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,000
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you might be a contending team

89
00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,520
Speaker 1: this year even if that wasn't always the plans. So

90
00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,640
Speaker 1: it's not just this series, it's their play through the

91
00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,440
Speaker 1: rest of the All Star until the All Star Break,

92
00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:00,200
Speaker 1: but they do have a lot of division match it's

93
00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,680
Speaker 1: coming forward. They played Pittsburgh next week and then three

94
00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:04,760
Speaker 1: more games at Wrigley Field over fourth of July, so

95
00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,160
Speaker 1: we'll see how the team shapes up heading into the

96
00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:07,840
Speaker 1: All Star Break.

97
00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,880
Speaker 5: Kittie, I think that a lot of baseball fans out

98
00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,240
Speaker 5: there are have been surprised by the Cardinals success this

99
00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,520
Speaker 5: season because of the way that the last year year

100
00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,800
Speaker 5: and a half have gone. And you cover this team

101
00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,760
Speaker 5: very closely, So what do you think the biggest differences

102
00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,320
Speaker 5: between this year and last year? What has accounted for

103
00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,240
Speaker 5: most of the success and having them be right there

104
00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:32,120
Speaker 5: at this point in the season.

105
00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,719
Speaker 1: Honestly, Trevor, I hope this comes across the way that

106
00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,440
Speaker 1: I mean it. I think it's the lessoned expectations and

107
00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,960
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four of the Cardinals are coming off their

108
00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,760
Speaker 1: worst season in almost thirty years, and the twenty twenty

109
00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,320
Speaker 1: three season was embarrassing on all records, and in twenty

110
00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,320
Speaker 1: twenty four, there was a lot of internal pressure to

111
00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:51,360
Speaker 1: write the ship that's why the Cardinals went out and

112
00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,160
Speaker 1: loaded their rotation with veteran guys like Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson,

113
00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,080
Speaker 1: Lance Lynn, and the young guys that they called up upon,

114
00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,920
Speaker 1: whether that's Jordan Walker, whether that's Win Nolan Gorman. They

115
00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,240
Speaker 1: faced immense pressure to perform now because the direction of

116
00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,560
Speaker 1: the franchise rested solely on the twenty twenty four season,

117
00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:10,920
Speaker 1: and the Cardinals were much better in twenty twenty four

118
00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:13,240
Speaker 1: compared to twenty twenty three, but still missed the playoffs.

119
00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,880
Speaker 1: And when the Cardinals decided to do their transition season

120
00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,720
Speaker 1: this year, the expectations overall relax. And that's not to

121
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,000
Speaker 1: say that the organization expected them to lose and we're

122
00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,400
Speaker 1: okay with losing, suggested the opposite. Actually, it was, Hey,

123
00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:29,080
Speaker 1: we're going to give these young players that we believe

124
00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,760
Speaker 1: are going to be permanent fixtures in our club going

125
00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,440
Speaker 1: forward the amount of time that they need, an amount

126
00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:36,800
Speaker 1: of playing time to become accustomed to the major leagues

127
00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,480
Speaker 1: without having to worry about the team result. And what

128
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,719
Speaker 1: that allowed these players to do is focus on their game,

129
00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,200
Speaker 1: focus on performing. They're not worried about if they're going

130
00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:46,919
Speaker 1: to get sent down to the Triple A after a

131
00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,640
Speaker 1: bad week, they allowed to grow through the game and

132
00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,680
Speaker 1: early mistakes, and that's directly led to wins. I don't

133
00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,960
Speaker 1: think it's unfair to say that the correlation between letting

134
00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,719
Speaker 1: the kids play if you will and the win column

135
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,039
Speaker 1: directly ties into each other. Because this Cardinal's team was

136
00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,520
Speaker 1: afforded the ability to just relax and go play baseball.

137
00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:07,880
Speaker 1: They've done exactly that, and it turns out they have

138
00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,159
Speaker 1: a lot of good ballplayers on their roster.

139
00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,760
Speaker 2: Well, if you're a normal human, you can't speak English

140
00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,560
Speaker 2: to your pup, But what you can do to understand

141
00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,279
Speaker 2: what they love, which is spotan tango on kibble, is

142
00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,200
Speaker 2: to see how they react when you put the unkibble

143
00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:29,720
Speaker 2: in the bowl. And my pup, pinal Lope, loves it.

144
00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:35,360
Speaker 3: So does Bella. Well, Bella speaks Spanish, so she says, moibeen,

145
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:37,080
Speaker 3: I love this stuff.

146
00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,200
Speaker 2: She says, wow, Dad, thanks for creating a custom plan

147
00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:45,719
Speaker 2: based on my age, weight, breed an activity level.

148
00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:47,039
Speaker 5: You nailed it.

149
00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,280
Speaker 2: And also it's made with one hundred percent whole fresh

150
00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,800
Speaker 2: ingredients like real USDA meats, fruits and veggies. But it's

151
00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,960
Speaker 2: forty percent less expensive than frozen food, So upgrade your

152
00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,839
Speaker 2: pet's bowl with spotan Tango unkibble and for a limited time,

153
00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,760
Speaker 2: go to spotin tango dot com slash foul and use

154
00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:06,360
Speaker 2: code foul for fifty percent off your first order. That's

155
00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,840
Speaker 2: spotantango dot com slash foul, code foul to get fifty

156
00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:12,240
Speaker 2: percent off your first order.

157
00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:18,400
Speaker 4: Katie Cards Fin Cards fan Caine wants to know. I

158
00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,120
Speaker 4: understand why Burlison is getting the opportunities he has, but

159
00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:26,920
Speaker 4: have Gorman and or Walker gotten enough opportunities to prove themselves.

160
00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,400
Speaker 1: This is a super good question, and this is exactly

161
00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,760
Speaker 1: where the organization is looking right now. All year long.

162
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,920
Speaker 1: We've talked about balancing runway and results, right well, what

163
00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,960
Speaker 1: about extending runway to the players who have provided the

164
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,200
Speaker 1: results Like Burlison. You're seeing that a little bit more

165
00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:45,120
Speaker 1: with Nolan Gorman, maybe not to the extent that the

166
00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,119
Speaker 1: Cardinals wanted to, but Jordan Walker's on pace for about

167
00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,440
Speaker 1: four hundred of bats this year, same with Gorman, maybe

168
00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,800
Speaker 1: a little less. Around three to fifty four hundred of

169
00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,880
Speaker 1: bats to me is a solid enough sample size to

170
00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,040
Speaker 1: decide what this player is going forward and what is

171
00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,160
Speaker 1: going to be a really different decision for Ali Marmal

172
00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,440
Speaker 1: going forward is does he continue extending runway to players

173
00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,840
Speaker 1: who don't have the same production or stat line as

174
00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,920
Speaker 1: players like von Herrero when he's healthy and Alec Gurlson,

175
00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,320
Speaker 1: And unfortunately for Jordan Walker's case, he fits into that.

176
00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,040
Speaker 1: So can the Cardinals continue seeing what they have in

177
00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:19,360
Speaker 1: Jordan Walker and playing him those six hundred of bats?

178
00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:22,480
Speaker 1: They can, But if they continue to contend, there's going

179
00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:24,720
Speaker 1: to be a lot of pressure to play the guys

180
00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,160
Speaker 1: that are performing, and at some point the organization is

181
00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,520
Speaker 1: going to have to decide can they change the runway

182
00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:33,960
Speaker 1: between players. I don't think they're going to switch the direction.

183
00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:36,200
Speaker 1: I still think the Cardinals should stick to what they

184
00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,560
Speaker 1: plan for twenty twenty five and pledge for the future,

185
00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:41,120
Speaker 1: which is finding out what young players can help the

186
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,320
Speaker 1: team going forward. But maybe what changes is the players

187
00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:48,000
Speaker 1: they're evaluating. So I'm not quite there on Jordan Walker yet,

188
00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:49,920
Speaker 1: but I do think if the Cardinals keep up their

189
00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:51,880
Speaker 1: winning ways, we'll see a focus to the players that

190
00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:55,680
Speaker 1: are performing, regardless of who the organization pledged playing time for.

191
00:08:55,960 --> 00:09:01,000
Speaker 5: Early in the year, spoke on a couple of the

192
00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:04,480
Speaker 5: young guys trying to get more opportunities but there has

193
00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:06,880
Speaker 5: been one guy who's been absolutely rock solid for the

194
00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,120
Speaker 5: last three years and got a little bit better every year,

195
00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,959
Speaker 5: and that's Brendan Donovan. Let's talk in your words, what

196
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:14,720
Speaker 5: has he meant to this team and just kind of

197
00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:19,640
Speaker 5: literally being the cornerstone, the consistent guy putting the bat

198
00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:21,480
Speaker 5: on the ball every day in the day out. What

199
00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:23,600
Speaker 5: does he meant for keeping kind of everyone on that

200
00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,600
Speaker 5: in that lineup kind of even keel and the production continuing.

201
00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,080
Speaker 1: I love a good Brendan Donovan segment because he deserves

202
00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:33,280
Speaker 1: all of the praise. When the Cardinals were at their

203
00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:36,680
Speaker 1: their peak, think early twenty tens, they had a bunch

204
00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,199
Speaker 1: of gritty guys who played around the infield, played the

205
00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:41,439
Speaker 1: game the right way, did the small things. For lack

206
00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:43,480
Speaker 1: of a better term, they played to the Cardinal way.

207
00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,760
Speaker 1: And Brennan Donovan reminds me a lot of those guys.

208
00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:49,160
Speaker 1: And he has been invaluable to the team a year

209
00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:51,640
Speaker 1: after year, but this year you can make the argument

210
00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,400
Speaker 1: that he's been their most valuable player his defense at

211
00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:56,439
Speaker 1: second base, though he can play around the diamond, as

212
00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,800
Speaker 1: we know, he's a utility Gold Glove winner, But what

213
00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,480
Speaker 1: he's been able to do at second base has really

214
00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,600
Speaker 1: solidified the infields. What he's been able to do with

215
00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:05,520
Speaker 1: the lineup, whether he's batting in the three hole or

216
00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,080
Speaker 1: batting leadoff, he gets on base, he hits the ball.

217
00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,080
Speaker 1: And there's been some tremendous growth from Donovan. From a

218
00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,320
Speaker 1: personal standpoint. Entering the year, he's twenty eight, and he

219
00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,360
Speaker 1: was kind of in the middle, not old enough to

220
00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,240
Speaker 1: be an established veteran, not young enough to be considered

221
00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,480
Speaker 1: in that runway playing time development group. So we kind

222
00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,240
Speaker 1: of came into the season without an identity and decided,

223
00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,840
Speaker 1: you know, I'm not someone's gonna talk about myself or

224
00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,480
Speaker 1: boast myself up. I'm not one of those loud leaders.

225
00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:32,920
Speaker 1: But I'm going to find a way to be a

226
00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,720
Speaker 1: really good teammate and really take this club under my

227
00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:37,800
Speaker 1: wings and try to be a leader in my own way.

228
00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:40,600
Speaker 1: And he's done exactly that. So we'll focus on the

229
00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,480
Speaker 1: stats and the production because that's what wins ballgames. But

230
00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,360
Speaker 1: Brendan Donovan as a leader, he's also grown tremendously. Has

231
00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,000
Speaker 1: the respect of the veterans across the board because he

232
00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,360
Speaker 1: goes out and plays every day, and as you're looking

233
00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:54,480
Speaker 1: for this Cardinals team and twenty twenty five and beyond,

234
00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:56,520
Speaker 1: and you look at the future of who could lead

235
00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,440
Speaker 1: this core. I think Brendan Donovan has solidified himself as

236
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,040
Speaker 1: a key member this club going forward.

237
00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:04,920
Speaker 5: You need those guys in your team if you want

238
00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:08,560
Speaker 5: to be successful long term. Let's switch gears quickly to pitching.

239
00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,640
Speaker 5: You wrote recently wrote an article previewing the Chicago cub series,

240
00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,440
Speaker 5: and you talked about the Cardinal's rotation and being much

241
00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:17,120
Speaker 5: more of a strength than they were projected to be.

242
00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,920
Speaker 5: They're six in the league in innings. They have about

243
00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,840
Speaker 5: a league average right in the middle era, which you'll

244
00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:27,240
Speaker 5: take with everything that we were anticipating. But one thing

245
00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,160
Speaker 5: interesting you mentioned was the organization has been extremely intentional

246
00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,480
Speaker 5: about maximizing rest and keeping guys on a six day rotation. So,

247
00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,360
Speaker 5: in your opinion or maybe things that you've heard, where

248
00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,680
Speaker 5: does that six rotation thing come from? Is that like

249
00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:42,880
Speaker 5: a concerted effort to get guys a little bit more

250
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:44,840
Speaker 5: rest so that they can you can let them go

251
00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,240
Speaker 5: deeper into games and we can have the starter's eating innings.

252
00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,000
Speaker 5: Is that because the bullpen was projected to be maybe

253
00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,160
Speaker 5: a little weaker or an experience you want more out

254
00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,720
Speaker 5: of your starters. What's the thinking behind the six day

255
00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:56,360
Speaker 5: rotation thing.

256
00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,720
Speaker 1: It's actually it comes from a lack of depth in

257
00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:03,800
Speaker 1: the organization overall, outside of Michael McGreevy, who will take

258
00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,160
Speaker 1: a spot start for the Cardinals tonight. You can make

259
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,720
Speaker 1: the argument that McGreevy should be in the rotation full time,

260
00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,160
Speaker 1: and I wouldn't push it, but this goes back to

261
00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,600
Speaker 1: our original point. The Cardinals do not have really any

262
00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:18,439
Speaker 1: depth in Tria outside of Michael McGreevy. Their top pitching prospects,

263
00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,200
Speaker 1: while talented and exciting, aren't yet built up to the

264
00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,000
Speaker 1: major league level, and they just have a gap in

265
00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,240
Speaker 1: terms of health. Trevor, you can speak to the importance

266
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,880
Speaker 1: of this. Pitching health is top notch, and unfortunately we've

267
00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:32,200
Speaker 1: seen a rise in pitching injuries. The Cardinals are one

268
00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,440
Speaker 1: of the very few teams knock on Wood that have

269
00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:36,839
Speaker 1: not had a significant injury to a pitcher in the

270
00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,920
Speaker 1: rotation or in the bullpen, and that is because Ollie

271
00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,600
Speaker 1: Marmel and pitching coach Dusty Blake have been so intentional

272
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:46,680
Speaker 1: about keeping guys on a six day schedule. That extra

273
00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,240
Speaker 1: day of rest, as you know, matters so much, and

274
00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:52,240
Speaker 1: when you have a staff that's mostly veteran Miles Michaelis,

275
00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,320
Speaker 1: Sunny Gray, Eric Fetti, those things matter. Then you have

276
00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,040
Speaker 1: your younger two guys and Andre Pilante and Matthew Livertour

277
00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:00,920
Speaker 1: who are becoming starters for the first time in their

278
00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,959
Speaker 1: careers on a consistent basis. You also want to manage

279
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,040
Speaker 1: the innings a little bit, so giving these guys and

280
00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:09,120
Speaker 1: maximizing the off days, utilizing mc greevy when he can.

281
00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:11,439
Speaker 1: Stephen Mattz took a couple of spot starts when needed.

282
00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,920
Speaker 1: That's allowed the rotation to stay on the schedule. And

283
00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,720
Speaker 1: it's one to benefit the pitchers, but it's two to

284
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,079
Speaker 1: cover the lack of depth in the organization. Because if

285
00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:22,880
Speaker 1: you are down two starters in this rotation, we are

286
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,320
Speaker 1: no longer talking about how surprisingly good this rotation has been.

287
00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:28,840
Speaker 1: We're facing a much bigger crisis in the overall state

288
00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:30,160
Speaker 1: of pitching in the organization.

289
00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,920
Speaker 4: Wow, okay, crisis crisis mode for Katie will Yeah, here's

290
00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,079
Speaker 4: the thing, Olie marmal is he the manager of the

291
00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,320
Speaker 4: year and how has he done this? Because I think

292
00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,640
Speaker 4: going into this year people were saying, man, this guy's

293
00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:45,319
Speaker 4: on the hot seat.

294
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:46,480
Speaker 3: He's in trouble.

295
00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,520
Speaker 4: You know, heim Bloom's going to take over for mozey

296
00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,360
Speaker 4: Lock at the end of the year, he'll won his.

297
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:51,000
Speaker 3: Own guy in there.

298
00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,280
Speaker 4: You can't get rid of Ali Marmal with what he's

299
00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:54,480
Speaker 4: done so far this year.

300
00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,240
Speaker 1: Look, Aj, I know you want to hype up your

301
00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,160
Speaker 1: high school classmate. I get it, Jirst.

302
00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:03,520
Speaker 4: Of all, first of all, he's much older than I am.

303
00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:05,480
Speaker 4: Oh did you tell by the beards?

304
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:06,080
Speaker 1: No?

305
00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,120
Speaker 3: Actually, I'm Whaled. That's Whaled?

306
00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:08,520
Speaker 4: Are you?

307
00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:09,720
Speaker 3: Oh?

308
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:10,200
Speaker 1: Wow?

309
00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:11,000
Speaker 3: Are you kidding me?

310
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:13,560
Speaker 1: Until Ali I said that, I didn't know?

311
00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:18,040
Speaker 4: Okay, continue to see the Manager of the year and

312
00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,800
Speaker 4: has he earned himself a long term extension? Possibly because

313
00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:25,240
Speaker 4: again people were saying heim Bloom might be thinking about

314
00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:27,280
Speaker 4: going a different direction, but he's done such a good

315
00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:28,480
Speaker 4: job you can't get rid of him.

316
00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm with you, and I think it's natural to

317
00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,760
Speaker 1: be to call in the question a new front office

318
00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:36,720
Speaker 1: coming in if a manager will change as well. Also,

319
00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:38,920
Speaker 1: when you look at the last two years for the Cardinals,

320
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,320
Speaker 1: just did not perform well. But I think Olie Marble

321
00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:46,080
Speaker 1: has done an incredible job managing so many different things

322
00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,520
Speaker 1: that most managers don't have to think about because not

323
00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:51,160
Speaker 1: only is he managing to win as many games as possible,

324
00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:53,760
Speaker 1: he's also managing for the long term, long jefty of

325
00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,080
Speaker 1: the organization. And to your point, AJ, there was no

326
00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,640
Speaker 1: guarantee he'd be here after twenty twenty five. Now I

327
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,560
Speaker 1: think that is changing, but nothing's for certain. He's done

328
00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,600
Speaker 1: an exceptional job. He has has the Cardinals seven games

329
00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,880
Speaker 1: over five hundred. They were projected to be one of

330
00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:09,840
Speaker 1: the worst teams in baseball. Well, I never thought they

331
00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,080
Speaker 1: were going to be as low as twenty five out

332
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,680
Speaker 1: of thirty like I saw in many projections. I certainly

333
00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,240
Speaker 1: didn't see them as playoff contenders come the last week

334
00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,040
Speaker 1: of June. And he's been able to do that by

335
00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,160
Speaker 1: managing playing time, promising playing time to players at the

336
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,920
Speaker 1: front office highlighted, while also keeping tempers and egos in

337
00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:29,960
Speaker 1: check in that clubhouse. As you all know, it can

338
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,320
Speaker 1: be very difficult when you have players that you have

339
00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:36,240
Speaker 1: to sit because other players were promised playing time ahead

340
00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,160
Speaker 1: of them. He's managed all of that extremely well. He's

341
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,680
Speaker 1: kept his pitching staff healthy, he's kept a lot of

342
00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:44,600
Speaker 1: these young players on track, if not ahead of schedule

343
00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:47,960
Speaker 1: for the future, and based on just where the club

344
00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,840
Speaker 1: was a year ago to where they are now. Everyone

345
00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,560
Speaker 1: seems to be on board this transition season that could

346
00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:56,320
Speaker 1: have easily gone sideways, especially in April where they really

347
00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:58,520
Speaker 1: just didn't have a good month. But he has just

348
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,120
Speaker 1: done some tremendous work, and I hope we continue to

349
00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,880
Speaker 1: talk about this narrative because in my opinion, what he's

350
00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,640
Speaker 1: doing in Saint Louis is not talked about nearly enough.

351
00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:12,520
Speaker 2: By the way, we've got a ten year differential between

352
00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,720
Speaker 2: Aj and Ali. I just looked it out, so I

353
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:20,200
Speaker 2: just made no no, I mean, are you kidding me?

354
00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,320
Speaker 2: I'm not worried about Ali, Katie. I'm more concerned about Aj.

355
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,800
Speaker 2: Ali goes with the flow. Now we've got Aj on

356
00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:29,240
Speaker 2: vacation thinking he's ten years younger than he is.

357
00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:30,240
Speaker 1: This is good, Aj.

358
00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:31,680
Speaker 2: You got next question, big boy?

359
00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:32,840
Speaker 3: All right?

360
00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:34,720
Speaker 4: Before we go, Katie, I have to ask you this

361
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,840
Speaker 4: you mentioned we kind of mentioned in the last question

362
00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,200
Speaker 4: him in mosay Lock. This is Moe's last year before

363
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,280
Speaker 4: he steps down and goes into a different role in

364
00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:45,080
Speaker 4: his life. Is he going to go for it? Is

365
00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:46,600
Speaker 4: he going to go for it at the trade dealing?

366
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,000
Speaker 4: This is last This is the end of his legacy,

367
00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,360
Speaker 4: and he nobody wants to go out on a low note.

368
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:52,920
Speaker 3: Do you think that.

369
00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,040
Speaker 4: Dewitz and the owners of the Cardinals will say, Mo,

370
00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,080
Speaker 4: here's some extra money at your last year, Boom, let's

371
00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:00,160
Speaker 4: let's throw it all in and.

372
00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:00,720
Speaker 3: See what we can do.

373
00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,240
Speaker 1: That is such a fascinating question because I can see

374
00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,679
Speaker 1: both sides of this, and you are right that this

375
00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,160
Speaker 1: is ultimately going to be an ownership decision, and ownership

376
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,040
Speaker 1: that has prepared for a recession in terms of both

377
00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:16,880
Speaker 1: gate revenue, ticket sales and then the restructured television deal.

378
00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,159
Speaker 1: So the Cardinals were expecting to lose some money this

379
00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,000
Speaker 1: year based on yours prior. But when you're thinking about

380
00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:24,959
Speaker 1: Moe's final year, the fact that the Cardinals have already

381
00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,840
Speaker 1: laid out their transition plan heading into twenty twenty six,

382
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,560
Speaker 1: it's a great question on what the Cardinals should do.

383
00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,240
Speaker 1: I'm under the belief that they can continue doing both,

384
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,439
Speaker 1: that they can continue building towards the future but still

385
00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,800
Speaker 1: upgrading their roster. The Cardinals are not going to go

386
00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,760
Speaker 1: up and do this full big blockbuster trade to improve

387
00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,320
Speaker 1: the roster and go all in right now. That's just

388
00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:47,439
Speaker 1: not something that they've done really in years where they

389
00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:50,000
Speaker 1: had no excuse to, and now that they do have

390
00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,920
Speaker 1: a legitimate excuse to keep the organization on track for

391
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,879
Speaker 1: twenty six I can't see moiviating from that plan. But

392
00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,520
Speaker 1: he also has to keep in mind that whatever decisions

393
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,160
Speaker 1: he makes in July will have you know, he has

394
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:04,640
Speaker 1: nothing to say with it after October. That's when him

395
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:07,200
Speaker 1: Bloom is taking over. So the whole point of creating

396
00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:12,520
Speaker 1: this transition plan was to implement a clean segue, a

397
00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,520
Speaker 1: clean slate for heim Bloom to take over next season.

398
00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,080
Speaker 1: That's not to suggest that the Cardinals can't be competitive

399
00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:20,959
Speaker 1: and can't continue pushing to be contenders, but when you're

400
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,639
Speaker 1: looking at what they're going to do with the trade deadline,

401
00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:25,000
Speaker 1: while they still haven't fully decided and likely won't for

402
00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:27,440
Speaker 1: a couple more weeks, there is a way for them

403
00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,880
Speaker 1: to do both, and I think that's the best look

404
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,520
Speaker 1: for the organization overall. They don't need to blow it

405
00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:34,320
Speaker 1: up and sell, they don't need to blow it up

406
00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:37,479
Speaker 1: and buy. They can incrementally improve at the deadline and

407
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:39,920
Speaker 1: still keep their transition plan in place for Hime to

408
00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:43,439
Speaker 1: take over. To ensure that successful. I don't know passing

409
00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:44,080
Speaker 1: of the power.

410
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:45,960
Speaker 3: You're okay with that?

411
00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,560
Speaker 2: AJ, Does that sound like a good plan?

412
00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:50,760
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, listen, I'd love teams to go for it,

413
00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:54,679
Speaker 4: and Saint Louis fans have always seen their team go

414
00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:56,960
Speaker 4: for it, so I assume Mozaylak would be like, I'm

415
00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:58,600
Speaker 4: gonna take my boat tie and I'm gonna throw it

416
00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:00,800
Speaker 4: all in and we're going to go. But we'll see,

417
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,080
Speaker 4: we'll see, we'll see what I mean. But they were

418
00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:06,240
Speaker 4: supposed to lose money, but they have they're doing better,

419
00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:08,280
Speaker 4: so Saint Louis fans will come out, so now they're

420
00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:10,920
Speaker 4: not going to lose money. So it's such an interesting

421
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:12,040
Speaker 4: choice for what they're gonna do.

422
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:14,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm happy for MO two to have a season

423
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,720
Speaker 2: like this because it could have gone really really wrong

424
00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:20,080
Speaker 2: for them, and it has not. It's already it's looking

425
00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:21,920
Speaker 2: like a win here in the first half. Katie, great

426
00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:24,399
Speaker 2: to have you on. Thank you always, great to see you.

427
00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:26,679
Speaker 2: I love listening to Cardinal Territory. There a bunch of

428
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,679
Speaker 2: player interviews too that were recently on there, so if

429
00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:31,560
Speaker 2: you want to check those out, go give them a look.

430
00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:36,280
Speaker 2: Learn more about Andre Polante, Matthew Libertire, right was on

431
00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:41,240
Speaker 2: one of the great Yes, those two are great together.

432
00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,000
Speaker 2: If you go further back there's more too to check out.

433
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,280
Speaker 2: So Katie, thank you, appreciate it.

434
00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:47,760
Speaker 1: You got a guys, talk to you later.