WEBVTT - Harper Is Heating Up 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:16.840 Hi, everybody, Welcome to the Phillies Show with Rubern Tomorrow 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.640 Junior Jim Salisbury. I'm todd z a lucky It is Thursday, 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:25.080 May ninth, twenty twenty four. The Phillies just snapped an 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:28.080 eleven game home winning streak with a five to three 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:31.920 loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday. They left the 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:33.800 tying run on second They had the tying run on 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:36.800 second base with one out in the ninth A couple 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:40.160 pop ups ended it. But the Phillies are twenty six 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:42.640 and twelve. They still have the best record in baseball. 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:46.040 The Dodgers are. The Dodgers are hot now. They swept 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:48.760 the Braves over the weekend. They pummeled the Marlins this week, 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:50.760 and I think they're a half game back of the 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:56.560 Phillies right now. And the Phillies have done most of 0:00:56.560 --> 0:01:01.600 this so far this season without a really super Bryce Harper. 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:07.000 But we might be seeing signs of a hot Bryce Harper. 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:12.600 Homer three consecutive games Sunday through Tuesday. Last four games, 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:16.240 he's batting four hundred three home runs ten RBIs. This 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.679 is a guy who never sees pitches in the strike zone. 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:21.880 Zach Wheeler was talking about it the other night saying, 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:25.039 this guy, I think it's nothing to hit, and you know, 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:27.840 a guy like him just wants to hit so badly, 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:33.160 so his patience is really impressed. Zach Wheeler and then JT. 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:35.560 Real Muto, I thought I had something interesting to say 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:38.080 the other night in terms of Bryce getting things turned around. 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.880 He said, you can tell in his takes how good 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:44.039 he feels right now. I thought that was an interesting 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:48.560 comment from JT. I And you know, maybe that has 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:49.440 something to do with it. 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:52.560 What is that? Yeah, yeah, I think so. 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:55.280 The big deal for me was who was going to 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:58.480 protect this guy in the lineup, like JT was was 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:00.840 protecting him. Early they had him in the four hole 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:04.320 and Alec Bohone got super super hot, and you could 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.760 tell that at some point you just didn't know when 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:08.760 Rob Thomas was going to make the move. He made 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:11.400 the move, he slid him into the four hole to 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:14.400 protect Bryce Harper, and I think from that point on, 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:17.720 I think he started at they almost had to start 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.800 pitching to the guy because if they didn't pitch to him, 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:23.560 the next guy was going to pummel him. And I 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:26.560 think the fact that I think there's a couple of 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:29.760 factors here. I think he made a little minor adjustment 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:34.560 with his swing. But additionally, and most importantly. 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:35.480 He's got some protection. 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:35.760 Now. 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:37.799 You know, there's a reason why Trey Turner was doing 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:41.280 really well because he's got protection from Bryce Harper. Now, 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:43.840 Bryce Harper's got a little protection from Alec Bohm because 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:49.600 Alex is legit threat for a pitcher. And you start 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:53.799 backing guys up and protecting them, then I think you're 0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:55.920 going to start to see more pitches, get better pitches, 0:02:55.960 --> 0:03:00.800 and have more success. I'd like to think that the 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:02.960 fact that I said he's going to be the greatest 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.639 you know, Philly of all time publicly, that that got 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:07.079 him going. 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:09.120 But that is not the truth. 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:13.000 Bryce Harper's gonna be a great player regardless of who 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:14.600 says what about him. 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:16.320 But I think a lot of it has to do 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:16.840 with protection. 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:21.520 Gym Yeah, and going nut comment that JT said that 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:24.160 his takes are good. I actually put some stock in 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.880 that as well, because you know, a lot of times 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:31.200 we judge a hitter by the result or by a 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:36.880 good swing. Sometimes just a good watch can tell you 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:39.440 a lot about how he's picking up the ball, how 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:44.119 he's seeing pitches, how he's seeing spin is he got 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:46.680 a good feel for the strike zone at that moment 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:50.320 in time. Uh, And it appears that he does because 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:54.520 it's led to, you know, three great swings on two 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:58.040 three run home runs and a grand Slam. So Bright 0:03:58.120 --> 0:03:59.960 we talked about it all along that you know, Bright 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:02.560 hadn't even begun to fight yet. You know, it was 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:06.520 kind of kind of you know, Mosy along getting his hits, 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:08.480 but he hadn't gotten hot yet, and he's gotten hot, 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:14.680 and no one is surprised. And you know, I often 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:18.160 over the years, I like to talk to Larry Anderson 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:22.520 about pitching, and he would tell me stories about when 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.440 he was a young minor leaguer in the seventies that 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:28.520 sometimes on the teams he was on, this is how 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.360 baseball's changed a lot. Sometimes on the minor league teams 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:33.520 he was on, there wasn't even a pitching coach. You'd 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:36.680 have a rover come in once every two or three 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:39.719 weeks and you'd throw a bullpen and he'd make an adjustment. 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:43.680 And in the rest of the time, you know, you'd 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.440 have to self evaluate and try things in the bullpen. 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:49.880 You'd have to help yourself get better, and part of 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.360 the process in helping yourself get better was talking to 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:55.599 your teammates. They would notice things, you'd pick up things 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:57.680 from them trial and error. Hey try this, see what 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.600 you know you'd learn by speaking. 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:01.120 With your peers. 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:05.640 And I was kind of reminded of those conversations with 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:09.080 Larry when I was reading something you wrote Todd this 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:12.320 week about Bryce and about his swing and about his 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:15.840 production that he kind of feels like this little hot 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.480 streak could have been the result of a chat, a 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:22.760 batting practice chat with Trey Turner. I found it fascinating. 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:23.680 What did you learn from that? 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:29.200 Yeah, so after Bryce homered on Monday, you know, Bryce, 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.839 everything he says, he says, you know, he knows what 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:33.520 he's saying at all times, and he made a point 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:37.760 to say, I'm doing a little bit better laying off 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.560 pitches out of the zone, recognizing pitches in the zone, 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:42.479 doing damage. But I did have this little chat with 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:46.160 Trey the other day Sunday before I made that first hit, 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:49.560 that first home run, and yeah, maybe it helped a 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:52.040 little bit. And so that kind of stuck out to me. 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:56.480 And it stuck out to me because Johann Rojas had 0:05:56.520 --> 0:05:59.159 a similar comment about Trey Turner a couple of weeks 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:03.080 ago in Cincinnati, talked at length about this just great 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:05.560 conversation I had with Trey Turner, and it meant so 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:07.279 much to me that he would spend so much time 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:10.520 with me, and that Trey was showing me videos of 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:12.799 the of the players and himself to get me on track. 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:18.159 I went up to Tray yesterday, I said, so, what's 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:21.440 with all these players talking about you, uh and these 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:25.159 conversations that you are having in the batting cage And 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:27.240 he kind of laughed, he said, and he said this 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:31.599 probably fifteen times. He said, listen, total luck, total luck. 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:33.560 I have nothing to do with their turn around. He's like, 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:37.920 but I did have some conversations with these guys over 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:41.400 the past, you know, a few weeks, And the one 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:44.560 he said he had with Bryce was Bryce felt he 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:48.200 was getting frustrated because he felt he was coming, you know, 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.720 not not able to get to the pitches that he 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:52.560 wanted to hit in the strike zone and he couldn't 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:55.719 figure out why. And so Trey actually went and watched 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:59.400 some twenty twenty one video of Bryce, and because he says, 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:02.359 Bryce love was that video of himself, obviously, because he 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:04.640 won the MVP that year, so he started watching the 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:07.200 video and then he started watching what Bryce is doing 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:09.320 this year, and he said he noticed his hands were late, 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:12.120 and Ruben, you could speak to that better than me, 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:14.360 but I guess that just means either they got started 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:16.800 later or they're late firing through the zone. And so 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:20.240 he found himself missing some pitches and Tray said, I 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.800 think maybe your hands are a little late, and Bryce 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:27.600 said okay. And so it was funny because Tray says, now, listen, 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:31.320 Bryce is such a natural hitter. That part of me 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:33.120 was like, oh, man, I hope he doesn't go out 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:36.360 here and just sucked tonight because he gave him some advice. 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:39.680 But so he said, the first at bat, if you 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:45.720 remember on Sunday, he took had like three really good 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:48.080 takes and then he hit a rocket up the middle. 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:49.680 It wasn't out, but it was like one hundred nine 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.240 miled hour ground ball up the middle. The next at 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:54.360 bat he crushed a home run off of logan web 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:56.720 and then Trey was like, wow, that that was it. 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.360 And then interestingly enough, Trey had a similar another talk 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:03.320 with Alec Bohm in Saint Louis in mid April early April, 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:07.000 Boom was off the slow start, and Turner knows a 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.480 couple of mechanical things where he was kind of sliding. 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:12.000 I guess his front hip was sliding towards the mound 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:15.239 instead of firing his you know, turning as he was swinging, 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:18.480 and Alec Boone got hot. So I don't know what's 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.320 going on, but again, Trey, it was just funny because 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.640 Trey did say, it's like a bunch. I'm just lucky 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:26.880 right now. I'm on a crazy run right now. I 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:28.200 don't want to get to I don't want to take 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:30.640 any credit for this. It's a crazy run, but it's 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:32.559 kind of that's that cool stuff that you hear inside 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:34.600 the clubhouse that makes baseball fun. 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:35.520 So this is the. 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:39.640 Beauty of what this ball club does and why they're 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:43.720 sort of special, and how they really care. There are 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:45.440 a lot of ball clubs and there are a lot 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.480 of players in this day and age who would not care, 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.240 who would like, let just let the hitting coach do 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:54.679 and of assisting hitding coach and the other assistant, let 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:57.600 them do the work. These guys really care about each other, 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:00.920 are watching and they're observing and they're helping. I got 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:03.880 to tell you, I as a player in the minor leagues, 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:05.800 I had a good friend named David Escer who worked 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:07.839 on hitting. All the time. We talked about hitting. He's 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:12.080 now the head coach at Stanford. I actually got sort 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:15.160 of lucky that I got sent back to the A 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:18.240 lower minor league level and Quad Cities to work with them, 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:22.200 because all he did was observe every single one of 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:24.560 my at bats, and after every at bat we talked 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:27.200 and broke broke it down and it really really helped me. 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:29.360 We did the same thing when I was in the 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.120 big leagues with Kevin Jordan. Kevin Jordan was a benchmate 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.560 of mine. We talked about are at bats, We threw 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:36.760 BP to each other. 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:38.800 We did it all the time because. 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:43.640 Frankly, at that time, Hal McRae, who was the hitting coach, Frankly, 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:47.000 he was working with Scott Rowland, he was working with 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:49.080 Greg Jefferies, he was working with Regoe Brynan. 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:51.680 He didn't give two craps about Ruben Tomorrow and Kevin 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:54.760 Jordan because he wasn't making them the money, and so 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.200 it was important for us to observe each other, what 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:00.600 we did well, what we didn't do well. There wasn't 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.199 the same video and there wasn't the same stuff that 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:05.400 you could break down, but you could watch yourself and 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:07.079 you give yourself a good picture. 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:09.280 And you know, we would do that with each other. 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:11.160 I mean I do it with friends on the golf course, 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:11.679 now you know. 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:13.600 And I do it with Paul holmger and stuff on 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.960 the golf course and good and good friends I work 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:18.520 with because you care about each other. 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:21.280 And that's what the difference. That's like the big difference 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:22.800 that you see. 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:23.319 In this team. 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:27.240 It's sort of an old school team. 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.040 Where guys actually care about each other and want to 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:33.200 help each other have success. And that's a really cool 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:36.760 thing and a really cool piece of information that you 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:40.920 wrote about, Todd, And it's something that you love about 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:44.680 this team and why they really do care about playing 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:47.520 with each other and why they seem to gel so well. 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:52.920 And I also think it shows. I mean the disappointment 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.200 of twenty twenty two losing in Game six of the 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:58.600 World Series, the disappointment of twenty twenty three losing in 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:05.440 Game seven of the CS, I mean, those disappointments still smart, 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:09.199 and I think they still I think I'm sure they 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:13.280 fuel this team and it's strived to end this season 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:17.480 with something other than disappointment, end the season with a 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:20.920 victorious feeling in a world series. So I don't think 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:23.480 they care how they get it done, or where they 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.200 get advice from, where they get tips from, where they 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:29.040 find their success. They're all in it together, and if 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:30.679 it leads to where they want to go, then it's 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:33.920 going to be They're gonna be all ears and it's 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:37.080 going to be worth it. I mean, and it's great that. 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:39.439 I mean, Turner's going to have probably five more weeks 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:41.920 to make these contributions. It just shows you go on 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:44.119 the il, you're still a contributor. 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:45.240 That's why I tht. 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:46.840 I mean, it was so important for me that, like 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:49.440 when Chase was down and hurt, I want to Chase 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:51.200 to be in the dugout. I want to Chase to 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:53.439 be around so we could help people, so we could 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.160 observe and help. And I know he was trying to 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:58.679 take care of himself, but that's why it was so 0:11:58.720 --> 0:11:59.760 important to have him around. 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:02.959 You talk about the disappointment in two thousand and seven when. 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:07.240 We got knocked out, Like immediately guys were like, man, 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:10.040 that ain't happening again. I saw it happen in Boston 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:13.160 when the year that we all got let go. We 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:15.040 got to the playoffs two years in a row, got 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.480 knocked out pretty quickly. We all got let go. I 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:20.120 know that those players, the Mookie bets Is and the 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:22.600 Ben Attendees of the World and the Jackie Bradley's and 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:26.520 all those guys, you know, they wanted to get back 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.080 to the World Series and win it. And that's you 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:31.000 know that that's the kind of stuff that sort of 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:35.680 fuels you. If you have a cohesive unit, some of 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:39.400 those losses can really help, uh, you know, help propel 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:40.520 you to the next level. 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.720 Riberty mentioned Mookie Bets. That was another thing that Johan 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:47.960 Rojas mentioned. He didn't he didn't mention it, but he said, yeah, 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:50.400 Trey took the time out of his day to like 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:52.200 pull up all these videos and show me how his videos. 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:53.840 And I asked, Tray, said, so, who were you showing them? 0:12:53.880 --> 0:12:55.960 He said, I was showing him a lot of Mookie Bets. 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:59.920 He's like, I talk about Mookie Bets a lot because 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.600 he is what is he He's under six foot right, 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.839 I mean he's he's five nine or five ten, and. 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:07.680 He's about one hundred and sixty seven pounds. 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:10.439 Yeah, and he hit thirty nine home runs last season, 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.000 So he said, a guy like him, he does so 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:15.800 many things, right, that's a guy I want to show 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:17.400 to a guy like Johann Rojas. 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:19.280 So obviously in the two years, I mean, he's one 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:21.240 of my favorite all time players and one of my 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.320 favorite all time people. But Mookie Bets, I used to 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:28.000 marvel at watching him take batting practice because he could generate, 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.960 because he had great hands. Man, he could generate bat 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:34.240 speed as well as anybody great athlete, but you know, 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:36.199 fast twitch muscles, all that stuff. 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:37.640 But his ability to. 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:42.800 To throw the barrel head was as good as anybody's 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:46.440 I've ever seen in that size, honest to god. I mean, 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:49.880 Chase Something was phenomenal as well. He's a little bit taller, 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.360 had a little bit more leverage, and had great, great hands. 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:58.240 They're different types of hitters, but their hands were just incredible. 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:03.200 Jose Al Tuve, who's five five or five six, great hands. 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.840 I mean you talk about, you know, manipulating the barrel. 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:10.800 These guys are special. And if Joann Rojas can concentrate, 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:13.000 because he's got pretty good hands, he's got pretty good 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:13.480 hand action. 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:16.600 If he can do that and trust it, he's gonna 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:17.600 become a better hitter. 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:22.600 Well, it's just it's really great to hear that. I mean, 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:24.440 Trey Turner is a great player, but to hear that 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:29.440 his contributions are now transcending the field and impacting others. 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:32.680 You know, that's gonna be music to the people who 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:35.280 signed that big check. It's gonna be music to their ears. 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:39.240 Yeah, it's probably probably not great music to Kevin Long 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:42.600 because those guys, because they work every day with those guys. 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:44.160 But really, I mean, this. 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:49.240 Is I would I would say that maybe Rob Thompson 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:52.920 and the coaching staff have created an environment, an inclusive 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.560 environment where everybody feels comfortable speaking up. So I would doubt. 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:00.840 I would doubt that's frowned upon. But it's an interesting point. 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.760 Well, you know, no question. Well, it's funny. 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:06.320 Kevin Long had been working so Johann Rojas's thing, I 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:08.640 guess was that he was firing everything at the same time, 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:10.920 and they were trying to break down his swing, start 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:14.800 certain things at different times. And Kevin Long was talking 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:18.120 about that in spring training and Trey Turner basically seemed 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.200 to almost reiterate that same point. But maybe just hearing 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:23.720 it from a teammate, which you guys talked about, you know, 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:27.480 with the Larry Anderson stories and whatnot, maybe that just 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:30.960 resonated more with Johan, you know, just hearing it, I. 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.200 Will tell you that there's no more impact. 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:35.320 I mean, with all due respect to all the coaches 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:38.520 I've had, there's a lot of impact on your peers. Man, 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:42.560 if your peer is is caring enough about you to 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:47.280 make a comment, and hopefully it's not it's not a 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:52.320 comment that is different from from what the coaching staff 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:56.160 is giving you, but it's something to help maybe bring 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:59.120 something to light that he was working on and to 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.120 see it or or to verbalize it in a different 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:04.080 way so that you accept it better. 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:06.280 Then what the hell is the difference? As long as 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.400 it gets it done right right. 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.040 Bryson Stott played some shortstop. It was funny if you 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:15.080 hours after we talked about Bryson Scott, when's he gonna 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:15.680 play shortstop? 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:19.600 He started at shortstop on Money Brethren Sooth Shop. 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:25.280 So the question I'm wondering is, you know, when does 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:26.920 he start getting in there a little bit more and 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:29.840 he's he is heating up. Wit Mayfield is kind of 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.160 heating up, you know, Wit Merrifield was last nine games 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.920 batting three fifty five, a couple doubles, a couple of 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:38.320 home runs. Bryson Stott in his last nine games, batting 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:42.840 three seventy three doubles, two home runs. You know, Edmundo 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:46.920 Sosa a good defensive player, good utility player. I'm thinking 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.280 Stott's maybe is early. Well, I shouldn't say this weekend 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.640 because they're going to face three lefties I think in Miami, 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:55.840 but maybe next week he starts getting in there a 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:58.000 little bit more at shortstop, giving with a little bit 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:01.800 more play in right at base. That seems to be 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:03.080 the way to go. That seems the way that way 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:05.159 it's gonna end up going, isn't that. 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:08.600 I think they're giving Sosa a little bit of a 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:13.360 a little respect here, Yeah, but ultimately I think that's 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:16.480 going to provide your best lineup. Now it's up to 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:20.600 you know, it's up to especially Merryfield to hit stay 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:23.919 in there. But I think that's gonna eventually over this 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:27.240 five or six weeks span, get a lot of looks, 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:28.359 but we'll see. 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:31.000 Yeah, And I think you know Merrifield has played, I mean, 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.640 just having watched him in a short period of time. 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:37.040 He's played a pretty solid second base. Not a liability there. 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.200 I mean he's that's the place that he has played 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:45.560 the most at and I think he feels comfortable there. Yeah, 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:49.080 I gotta believe that Stotts could end up being pretty 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:51.880 much the every day shortstop. And I think you're right, Jim. 0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:56.720 I think Rob Thomps has just given you know so 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:00.000 so some love and given give him an up to Hey. 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:02.399 Hey, let's let's face it. When Sosa gets in there, 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:05.560 it gets opportunities to play. He always somehow makes an impact. 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:07.480 I mean, it's pretty beauty. It's a beautiful thing that 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:08.600 the guy is off the bench. 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:13.880 If actually, you know, continue to provide some such sort 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:18.240 of impact every time they get a chance, just needs 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:21.080 to be something small. Yeah, Code has been great, And 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:22.880 that was one of the things I wanted to talk 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.160 about too, is the Cody Clements And I think there 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:28.040 was a comment that that that that that Topper made. 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:31.919 I thought that was really spectacular for a bench player 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:36.639 like myself, for the major league manager to tell to 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:41.600 say publicly, hey, when when I got sent out, Hey, 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:42.159 this guy is. 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:45.600 A major league player. He should be a major league player. 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:48.199 The numbers are working out such that he's not, but 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:51.040 he's a major league player. When I hear that, as 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:54.320 a player, you're going, Wow. 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:54.880 That's awesome. 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:57.240 And so when I get a chance to play and 0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.639 I get come back and he puts me in the 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.760 lineup up, you know, you're feeling pretty damn good about 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:06.879 yourself and you're and you and he's contributing, and so 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:10.240 I think that hasn't I mean, that's that's just brilliant stuff. 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:11.160 From Rob Thompson. Man. 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:15.160 I can't tell you how important that is to hear 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:18.639 that as a twenty sixth or twenty seventh man, To 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:21.439 hear that from your manager who is making out the 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:25.200 lineup every day and then giving you an opportunity, that's 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:29.760 great stuff. And it can translate into you know, into 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:32.400 w's and it can translate into some production too. 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:36.760 It's it's it just shows there's more to managing than 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:40.959 you know, putting on a sign calling for uh, you know, 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:44.560 an infield defense player making out a lineup. You're dealing 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:47.800 with human beings and you have to manage personalities and 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:51.640 part of that is building confidence, not bsing the guy, 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:55.160 but there's ways to build confidence, and you know, sending 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:56.680 a guy out the door saying, hey, it's a number 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:58.840 scrunch or a big league player. That guy goes to 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.520 Lehi thinking I'm the next man up when they need 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:04.240 me and I'm gonna perform. It gives him. It gives 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:07.440 him a little booster shot of adrenaline and feel good, 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:11.359 and that stuff works. That stuff works on the mind, 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:13.440 and the mind ends up leading the body in a 0:20:13.480 --> 0:20:14.160 lot of cases. 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:19.960 You mentioned mentioning managing people, Jim, I mean Rob Thompson's 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:24.600