WEBVTT - Former Twins GM Thad Levine 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.200 All right, bad Leban's going to join us in a moment. 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.160 He's already checked in, so we'll get ready for him 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:12.159 coming up. We have a lot to cover with the 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:13.320 Minnesota Twinkies. 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.119 When did he leave Minnesota? Got a look? 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:19.079 I mean in the past six months or so, you 0:00:19.120 --> 0:00:21.560 can ask him about he's live, he's with us. Bad 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:25.040 Lebin joining us. So hired by the Twins as SVP 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.560 and GM in November twenty sixteen. Has a podcast called 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:31.000 Rosters to Rings that you should check out and that 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.080 AJ just asked, when officially did you leave? So we 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:38.080 can do the chronological order of the career in our head. 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:41.120 I left after last season, so this is my first 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.240 season of being a free agent sabbatical. I've and joined 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:44.919 the heck out of it. 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:46.479 Oh I love that. 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:49.239 Okay, Well, I want to start with the juice here, 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.680 and I appreciate the time. The Twins are super popular 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.960 right now over this last week they are selling. I 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:58.800 know they've been competitive for a long period of time. 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:00.880 They're going to take a step back right now. What 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:03.240 have you seen? Just you're a free agent, you're on 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:05.119 the outside, but you were in the thick with all 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:06.920 of these players for a long period of time. Most 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.520 of the guys moving you acquired. What do you think 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:10.600 of what they've done so far? 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:13.160 You know, I think we went into the season or 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:14.880 they went into the season. I probably shouldn't say we and. 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:17.120 We, well, we sorry about that. 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:17.440 Agent. 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:21.000 First of all, I should say this, like Scott, you 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:23.039 do a great job as a point guard on the show. 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:25.880 A tremendous watching you guys and Eric. You and I 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:29.399 never crossed paths, but I always heard exceptional things about 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:31.560 your chemistry, your culture, and your makeup. 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:34.160 Thank you. I appreciate that. 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:36.920 Thank you, Thank you that I really appreciate that, and 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:38.920 obviously great to have you on here for the first time. 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:43.960 Miss Oh. 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.000 He said, I hate the white socks. That's what he said. 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:49.240 That's what he said. We're going to get into our 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:52.400 history later. Let's focus on trade. First. 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:53.720 He say something nice about you. 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:54.600 First, he's got something. 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:54.840 Yeah. 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:57.880 So I also wanted to apologize for AJ when I 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:00.520 worked for Texas before you were with Texas. I think 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:03.720 Vicente hit you every time we played, and he should 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:06.120 have apologized to you. But I'm certainly apologizing to you 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:06.800 today for that. 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:09.400 Well, you know, every time he didn't hit me, I 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:10.960 went deep off of him, So it was either hit 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:13.239 me or I was hitting a homer, So I can't. 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:14.600 I know, you have to choose one or the other. 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.000 I think the man had a little funny stuff in 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:19.080 his hair that he may have used as an excuse 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:23.560 for the ball slipping from time to time. 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:25.960 I know he hit me twice in one game one time, 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.840 and Hawk went down allegedly into the clubhouse after him. 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:32.399 No security wouldn't let him in there. So yes, certain. 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.640 Slightly funny story about him was that Kevin Millwood at 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:38.560 one point said if he had his spikes on in 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:41.960 the dugout he hit Kurt Suzuki when he was playing 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:43.520 for the A's. He said he would have charged the 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.400 mound to fight Pitty at that point, which would have 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:48.640 been epic to have your own teammate charge the mound 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:49.160 to fight. 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:55.960 You about let me put my GM quarter zip on. 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.600 Okay, well while you do it so that we don't. 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.840 Mess up, tell you so I get getting back to 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:05.600 to your actual question. You know, I think that the 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:09.560 team went into the season with high expectations. They were 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.120 hoping to contend and compete in the American League Central. 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:15.400 The season hasn't gone quite to plan. I think they 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:18.880 took a bold step here because they're still within fighting 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.360 distance of the wild card. But they made an executive 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:23.720 call here, which is they didn't want to straddle the fence. 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:27.200 And I think from an executive standpoint, you always aspire 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:29.359 to do one of two things. One is you're trying 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:31.680 to build for the today. You know, to try to 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:33.959 win today, and so you're buying, or you're trying to 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:36.680 sell and try to win tomorrow. I think the toughest 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:38.360 spot to be is that when you feel like you're 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.600 standing still, because when you're standing still, I think people 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:42.840 are running past you. So I give them a ton 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:46.000 of credit. They're making real moves here, and I think 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:49.160 the plan, originally, i'm sure, was to really focus on 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:52.440 the guys who had expiring contracts with them, But as 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.960 they made their calls, my guess is that that there 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:57.080 was a lot of interest expressed in other players, and 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:59.240 you've seen them trade two of them. Rock Stewart was 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.560 traded very recently to the Dodgers. He has controlled beyond 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:05.280 this year. And the bigger deal, of course, was John Durant, 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.280 who they traded who has controlled through twenty twenty seven. 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:11.720 Those deals usually take place because you may be calling 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:13.680 another team and saying, hey, listen, we're open to talking 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:16.680 about some of our guys with expiring contracts, and you 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:18.600 know they have a few of those guys if you 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.600 left to trade, probably Danny Coolom, Willie Castroid. Keep an 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:25.200 eye on those two guys, for sure. But then Dave 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.640 Dombrowski comes in calls and really gets aggressive on Joe 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:31.120 on Duran. I don't know because I'm not there, but 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.760 I do wonder if the unfortunate news that we heard 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:38.119 about Emmanuel Klasse the other day. I'm sure that only 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.680 intensified the interest in Joe on Duran. They probably didn't 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:44.200 start this process with the intent of trading Joe on Durant. 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:47.120 They probably weren't necessarily shopping him around, but I think 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:49.920 teams started calling, they got super aggressive, and they got 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:52.000 to a point where they required two top one hundred 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.120 prospects for him, and I think that was just so 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.279 far above the bar that they decided to press go. 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.200 So I give him a lot of credit for, you know, 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:01.160 not straddling the that's the easiest thing to do, I 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:02.960 think would be to stand still and try to stay 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:05.760 in this thing. I think they're making active steps to 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:07.719 trying to help the team and then not so just 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:09.960 at future. I would expect that they're going to hold 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:11.919 on to most of the guys they could control beyond 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:14.200 this year because I think they'll try to contend again 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:15.280 as soon as next season. 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.600 Okay, well, then the next question is how good are 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.000 the prospects are getting back? 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:21.880 And if I. 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.919 Mean the Twins, listen, we know my feelings on the Twins. 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:27.560 I love my time in Minnesota and I love what 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:30.760 the Twins do well. I've always said that, but the 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:32.440 Twins the last couple of years have kind of been 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:34.760 the favorites to win this division. You were there for 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:37.520 a couple last year, especially when it didn't happen. So 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:39.280 why are they doing this now? And how good are 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:40.839 the guys they are getting back and can they help 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:43.719 them soon in the future to help Twins fans stop 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:45.640 crying about how they never do anything. 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:48.279 Yeah, and aj, I think we all have to be 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:51.960 accountable to the decisions we made and the impact on 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:54.200 the franchise. And I think you nailed it. You know, 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:57.560 each of the last three seasons, the Twins were preseason 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:00.640 picked to win the division, not by a huge margin, 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:03.599 but they were picked to be the favorite in the division. 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:06.040 They'll end up winning the division once. Last year, as 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:09.800 you referenced, unfortunately, there was a really a bad end 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.400 of the season. It was an epic decline. I think 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:14.599 at some point in the season we had prohibitive favorites 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.200 to make the playoffs and the team ultimately fell short 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:19.480 of that, and then this season again fell short. And 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:21.120 so I think you've got to really look yourself in 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:23.760 the mirror and say, maybe the best laid plans here 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:26.760 haven't worked out, and so the current constitution of this 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.760 roster isn't taking us where we need to go. We 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:31.240 have to look ourselves in the mirror. We have to 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:34.120 hold ourselves accountable to that. We've got to make decisions 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:36.840 that change rather than continue to do the same thing 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.320 and expect some different outcomes. So, you know, I think 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:41.720 a lot is made with the Twins about the fact 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:43.880 that three of the most talented players on the team 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:46.719 have unfortunately been snake bit with some injuries over. 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.720 Their careers, Royce Lewis, Carlos Korey. 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.080 And Byron Buxton. And you know, I think a lot 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:55.560 there's a lot of levied criticism against us about Hey, 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:57.520 how do you build a team around three guys that 0:06:57.600 --> 0:06:59.000 you just don't know are going to be on the 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:01.680 field as much. It wasn't like that was plan a 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.840 that we were planning on taking on such extreme health risk. 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:06.240 I think the only one of. 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:07.920 Those three guys who really we knew. 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:11.000 Had significant health risk was Byron. The other two guys 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.960 kind of it's somewhat manifested after we invested in them. 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:17.080 But by the same token, they have tremendous upside talent. 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:20.880 But nonetheless, here's where the franchise is, which is in 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:24.920 three consecutive years, they had probably slightly higher expectations in 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.520 what were meant two years ago. They ended up winning 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:29.840 a playoff series at home, which was really important for 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:32.120 the franchise after losing as many playoff games in a 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:35.080 row as they had. But they have fallen short and aggregate, 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:38.120 and so they're making changes. They're making substantive changes. How 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:40.880 good those players are who they've acquired, you know, I 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:43.240 think I'm sure that the scouts would tell you that 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:45.600 they're great. I do know that a lot of them 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:47.440 are pretty young, so they're going to be a couple 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:50.040 of years away. The farm system itself is a very 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:52.720 solid farm system, so it's adding to that and maybe 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:55.679 giving them opportunities to spend some of that prospect capital 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:58.680 to go buy and buy as soon as this offseason potentially. 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.080 But you know, another factor involved with the Twins right 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.640 now is that they're up for sale, and so I'm 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:06.679 not sure how much pressure is being levied behind closed 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.200 doors right now that could be impacting some of these 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:11.720 decisions about getting a little bit more aggressive about selling 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:14.520 today just due to the fact that the team's up 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:16.960 for sale. That's something I don't know, But those are 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:19.000 things that you know, the GM and the President of 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:21.520 Baseball Operations over there would never say publicly, but those 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:23.920 are things that we had to deal with. You know, 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.160 when you're in those seats, those are some of the 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.960 pressures and factors that go into some of your decisions 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:32.280 that you wouldn't have otherwise expected when. 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:34.680 You're sitting in that GMC, when you're sitting there and 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:38.840 there's discussions about building your team, whether it's analytically, I 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:42.000 like this guy for the clubhouse, Roco has a connection. 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:46.800 Are the words world series discussed or the world? Are 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:50.520 the words playoffs? Because the al Central is kind of 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:53.040 mess so we're just going to make sure we get 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:55.760 a little bit better than everybody else to make the playoffs, 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:57.680 and then hey, see what happens. 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:01.679 Eric, I think it's a great philosophical question about how 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:05.240 we approach decision making because I remember, you know, you 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:08.160 would always do these offseason speaking engagements at the local 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:10.880 Kiwanis club or whatever, and they'd say how many games 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:12.400 are your team going to win? And I would always 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:14.240 answer it, our goal is to win at least one 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:16.960 more than the team in second place, because we wanted 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:19.080 to win our division. We wanted to somewhat control our 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:22.240 own destiny. Especially with today's playoff format, you want to 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.080 play home playoff games. But I'm not sure I've ever 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:27.599 perfectly subscribed to the theory that once you get to 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:30.240 the playoffs anything can happen. You know, I think you 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.840 need to be very talented. I think you need to 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:34.280 be healthy. I do think you need to be a 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:37.120 little bit lucky at times when you're playing in the playoffs, 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:40.200 because at that point every team is exceptionally talented. But 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:42.040 I don't think you want to walk into the playoffs 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:45.360 as the least talented group and expect great outcomes. So 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:49.600 I would say that philosophically, I wanted to win, you know. 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.960 I wanted to be in the in an opportunity to 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:55.640 win and to prevail and to be a prohibitive favorite 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:58.080 when it came to the playoffs. I always felt like 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:01.240 the best time to make a sign magnificant acquisition at 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:04.080 the deadline was when you were going to win your division, 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:07.680 and now you're setting your team up to succeed and 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:11.520 excel and extend a playoff front. I don't want to 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.440 try to buy my way into the playoffs and limp 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:16.360 in and have a chance to maybe get knocked out 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.760 in the first round. When it says ninety percent playoff 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.320 chances next to my team's name come July thirty, first, 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:25.160 I want to add a stud to that group so 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:28.200 that we can really vault our chances forward to win 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:30.120 when we're in the playoffs and ultimately get a chance 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.319 to play in the World Series. So that would be 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:35.160 the approach I would want to take. I do understand 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:37.199 the theory about, hey, once you get in the playoffs, 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:40.800 anything can happen. You do sometimes see teams you know 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.240 extend themselves in the playoffs who maybe weren't quite as talented, 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:46.040 and you all of sudden find them. Maybe in the 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:49.199 World Series, but more often than not, the best teams 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:51.160 are winning once they get in the playoffs. I want 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:53.400 to be the general manager of the team that is 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:54.240 the most talented. 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:56.679 All right, I have two questions Forere you have to 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:57.040 let you go. 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.000 One, How handicapped were you the last two seasons because 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.760 by the ownership with the Twins? Because twenty three you 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:05.200 guys did nothing, still won the division, won your first 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:08.360 playoff series in Forever. Last year, again you guys did nothing, 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:10.240 and I hate to say this, but kind of collapse 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.760 at the end after having a ninety percent chance to 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.440 make the playoffs. How handicapped were you? Because you said, 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:17.160 if you're a ninety percent chance, you want to make 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:19.680 the big move. You guys did nothing. How handicapped are you? 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:20.360 Buy ownership? 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:25.640 So you know, I was told rumors that if you 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:27.760 come on the show that AJ asked tough questions. 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.160 Oh wait till the next one, Wait till the next one. 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:33.680 Is the next one about the idea? Is there anything 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:35.320 to do about Padita on the horizon? No? 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:39.120 No, the quartership is bringing out the best in you 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.959 here on the on the executive side of things. So hey, listen. 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:44.960 I think I'm going to answer this as diplomatically but 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:47.959 as also insightfully as I can, which is to say, 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:51.480 when you enter a season, typically ownership gives you very 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.520 clear understanding of what the payroll parameters are going to 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:57.800 be for the season. It's then somewhat up to the 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.480 front office group to determine how much do we want 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.760 to leave in reserve for the trade deadline in the 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.559 event that we're winning and we can add players. Now, 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:09.360 the hope always is that if the team's doing well, 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.640 you're going to be drawing attendance, maybe beyond what your 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:15.360 expectations were, and maybe you'll have more money to spend 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:18.000 than you even thought you would. You know, one thing 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:22.480 that has happened in this marketplace is attendance hasn't necessarily climbed. 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:24.800 It hasn't even necessarily held over the last couple of years, 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:27.880 for reasons I'm not perfectly sure I can put my 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:29.720 finger on. You know, I think we're far enough removed 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:33.080 hopefully from COVID and the George Floyd incident, but there's still, 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.600 you know, like a lack of resurgence of fan interest 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:38.760 downtown to watch our games. So the revenue probably wasn't 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:41.360 exactly what was projected. It left us at the trade 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:45.720 deadline probably being a little bit more conservative. 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:47.000 Than we otherwise would have been. 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:51.160 But I also thinks there's a responsibility of honestly assessing 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:54.080 where your team is and are you really poised to 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:56.800 strike in the postseason, versus whether or not that you 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.720 are that genuine one move away. I think we both 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:03.200 did determined we didn't have the resources to necessarily make 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.720 that move, but also that it wasn't necessarily the time 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:09.440 to really push ownership into an uncomfortable position based upon 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:11.040 our projections of how the team. 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:12.840 Would do if it got into the playoffs at that time. 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:15.160 Okay, the last one before you go. 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:16.320 First of all, I think you should be in the 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:18.080 game because I think you're good at your job, But 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:20.320 you have one made. You've made one huge mistake in 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:22.760 your career, and it wasn't bringing me back to Texas 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:23.559 in twenty fourteen. 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:25.959 So listen, we all can't be perfect. 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:27.600 We all have our one miss and that was you 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:29.240 not bringing me back in twenty fourteen. 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:31.160 I don't know why, I don't care why, but that 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:31.840 was your mistake. 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:32.040 Then. 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:34.720 Well, so AJL, I will say this one thing, We 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:36.960 didn't know when we didn't bring you back, was that 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:39.040 you were going to curse us, because I'm sure you 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:42.400 didn't follow the twenty fourteen Rangers, but we led the 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:44.440 major leagues and days on the AL we had, I 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.400 think twenty one hundred days on the AL as a 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.720 roster group. So I don't know what type of voodoo 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:51.640 dolls you had somewhere, but you were sticking a lot 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:56.199 of pins in and it was it worked against us dramatically. 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:59.000 You know what, one thing, Age, I've been listening to 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:03.040 your show pretty religiously over the last week or so, 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:05.040 just because I find you guys very informative and you 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.240 bring a great insight from a player's perspective, and you know, 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:09.960 as I said, Scott, I think asked a ton of 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.559 great questions, has great insight for both you and Eric 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:14.680 and some of the crew you bring on. 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:15.240 One thing that I. 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:16.920 Thought you guys were talking about the other day that 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.360 I just wanted to comment on, was, you know, I 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:23.080 do think the way negotiations have taken place have changed 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.800 in my tenure, and one of the biggest changes was, 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:28.200 you know, when Aja, you guys, you and Eric started 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:30.440 your career, the average general manager was a little bit 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:33.840 more like Kevin Towers and Jim Hendry and Omar and 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:36.720 I and guys like that. They were very open when 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:38.440 you called them. They would tell you exactly what they 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:41.040 were looking for, exactly what they were prepared to do 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:43.760 to acquire those players, and they were pretty damn aggressive. 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:46.760 Today's GM is a little bit different, you know. Negotiations 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:50.080 have changed dramatically now. I think you have to assess 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:53.240 is somebody seeking the best deal they can get, and 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:54.840 when they do that, they tend not to share a 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:57.520 lot of information with you. They have a long list 0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:01.119 of players that could satisfy their needs, are very judicious 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.240 about it versus the GM who's hunting a good player. 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:05.960 And that's the guy who gets on the phone with you. 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:08.200 It's Dave Dombrowski and he says, he I want John 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.000 duranm That's who I want. What does it take to 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:12.160 get him? And he's going to negotiate with you until 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:15.800 he gets the player. It's just changed very dramatically, and 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:18.040 I think it ties into the question you just asked me, 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:20.360 Aja about how much you go for it at the deadline. 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:22.320 I'm looking at some of the teams out there right now, 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:26.160 and saying, you know, are they taking aggressive steps towards 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:29.600 winning or are they taking steps towards just making prudent 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.520 trades that won't hurt them in the future. I think 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:35.640 now's the time. If you have the talent, if you 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.520 have the odds, it's time to go for it rather 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:41.040 than necessarily making just prudent moves that help you on 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:43.960 the margins. You want guys who can help you get 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.640 to the playoffs, but you ideally want guys who can 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:47.360 help you when you. 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:49.560 Do get to the playoffs. The best players do both, 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:50.280 but I. 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:52.200 Think now's not the time to just get players who 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.320 help you get there. You want players who can help 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:55.120 you win once you do. 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.000 It's a great call, and I'd love to get into 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:02.760 it more. Why said he regrets it and have a 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:04.320 n not. 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:06.920 Because of the It's fine. I get it. It's fine. 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:08.880 I get it. It's fine, we get it. We have 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:10.560 to go to break I get it. It's cool. We'll 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.160 talk off record, we'll get the real then I'll come 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:13.840 on here and I'll tell this. 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:15.920 Well, why why they didn't bring you back? 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:18.680 The reason I was told was beat us. But that's fine. 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:20.000 Wait, you don't want to wait? 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:23.640 We don't have time. We gotta go. He knows the reason. 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:26.240 I can come back for a segment later where you 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:26.760 can grill me. 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:29.200 Yeah, we know. 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:31.000 Was it something gucy or it's like. 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:32.880 Well, I don't know. I mean, I know why. I'm 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:34.280 pretty sure I know why, but we have to go 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:34.800 hunt Dad. 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:36.480 You know, I love you. You know I think you're 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:37.120 great at your job. 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.320 So I hope you get back in baseball soon, and 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.400 when you do, you can hire Crats to be your 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:42.760 assistant bullpen catcher. 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:47.440 Do his knee still have it in him? It was 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.000 great being on the show with you, guys. I really 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:51.440 appreciate what you guys do. Enjoyed listening was it was 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:52.640 a pleasure being on with you guys. 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:53.960 Bad thank you. 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:55.840 Yeah, this was great. We'd love to have you back, 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.000 so we'll work on booking you again. And in the meantime, 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:01.920 for everyone that's check this out, make sure you listen 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:05.080 to what Dad's got with his pod as well. Give 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.280 it a look and a listen. I'm sure you can 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:08.679