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Speaker 1: As always, we welcome in our inside scoop with our

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Speaker 1: insider and friend Ken Rosenthal. Ken, always good to be

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Speaker 1: with you. It's been a crazy week, of course. What

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Speaker 1: do you think as the topic of conversation of our

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Speaker 1: sport has been the shake up within the Major League

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Speaker 1: Baseball Players Association, what do you anticipate being maybe the

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Speaker 1: biggest challenge or struggle, if you will, for the new

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Speaker 1: interim executive director.

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Speaker 2: Bruce Meyer will be the same as it is for

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Speaker 2: every executive director every time there is a negotiation, and

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Speaker 2: that's just holding the union together. And as I wrote

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Speaker 2: the other day, Bruce Meyer has been the number two.

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Speaker 2: He's like a bench coach moving up to manager, and

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Speaker 2: you never know how that transition is going to go.

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Speaker 2: If indeed he can be a leader in a grander

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Speaker 2: way than he has been before. He of course has

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Speaker 2: led negotiating teams, he has done other things in leadership

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Speaker 2: capacities in the Union, but this is bigger and he

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Speaker 2: has some challenges. I know the vote was unanimous, and

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Speaker 2: obviously that's a good thing, but these votes always tend

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Speaker 2: to be ananimous, and not everyone is a Bruce Meyer

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Speaker 2: fan within the union, within the Union offices, so he's

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Speaker 2: going to need to keep that going. Now, his supporters

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Speaker 2: would say, hey man, it's unanimous and he's come a

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Speaker 2: long way in he's seven and a half years with

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Speaker 2: the union, and all that is true. But once this

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Speaker 2: gets down to the nitty gritty and once the negotiations start,

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Speaker 2: once the offers start flying back and forth, it will

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Speaker 2: be a challenge as it is for the other side

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Speaker 2: as well, to keep the constituency together.

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Speaker 3: My question to you is Ken, after all said and done,

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Speaker 3: you see more players now coming out and verbally talking

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Speaker 3: more about you know, the situations, the salary caps and

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Speaker 3: what's going to happen twenty twenty seven kind of like

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Speaker 3: now the players it seems like their voices are are

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Speaker 3: even more heard. So do you see them getting more

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Speaker 3: involved with Bruce are do you do you understand that

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Speaker 3: or is it just going to be Bruce Meyer taking

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Speaker 3: over and just listening to what the players have.

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Speaker 2: Well, he'll always listen to the players, and that's what

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Speaker 2: the job of the executive director is. And he has

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Speaker 2: done and is doing right now outreach toward players. He's

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Speaker 2: touring camps in Arizona, and it does seem that at

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Speaker 2: this point the players are galvanized. The owners are galvanized.

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Speaker 2: We're nine months away from negotiations or at least the

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Speaker 2: expiration of the CBA, and I would fully expect both

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Speaker 2: sides to be talking as much as they want to talk,

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Speaker 2: and talking tough again. Once this all gets going, then

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Speaker 2: we'll see how tough everyone is and we'll see how

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Speaker 2: this evolves. But if there's one positive to come out

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Speaker 2: of this for the union, and it's something Chris Bassett

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Speaker 2: mentioned to me the other day, he's a member of

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Speaker 2: the executive subcommittee, it's that they feel like there's going

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Speaker 2: to be more transparency now between the union and the

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Speaker 2: players that that's been lacking before. And that's something that's

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Speaker 2: come to the Ford as this investigation of Tony Clark

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Speaker 2: by the FBI has come to come into their come

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Speaker 2: to dominate their conversation, or at least enter their conversation.

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Speaker 2: So they feel like this is going to get them

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Speaker 2: to a better place, this transition to Bruce Meyer, and

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Speaker 2: it might very well do that. Then they still have

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Speaker 2: the owners to contend with and the quest for a

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Speaker 2: salary cap by management side and all of that.

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Speaker 4: Ken now that this is done, Bruce Meyer has been elected,

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Speaker 4: I know we have a bargaining negotiation coming up CBA

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Speaker 4: in December. Can we stop talking about this? I mean

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Speaker 4: we can't because Bruce is elected. The baseball starts today,

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Speaker 4: games start today.

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Speaker 5: Can we stop? Please? Can you? Maybe it's you, it's

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Speaker 5: just you can.

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Speaker 2: Well, we can stop talking about what's going on with

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Speaker 2: the union. That was a story that dominated this week

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Speaker 2: for obvious reasons. Aj, I'm sorry. Spring training is going on,

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Speaker 2: but the head of the union did resign, so we

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Speaker 2: had to kind of cover that story. But what I thought

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Speaker 2: you were getting at is will we stop talking about

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Speaker 2: labor for the next nine months.

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Speaker 6: No.

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Speaker 2: I know that it's going to be the backdrop to

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Speaker 2: the entire season, and certainly there'll be plenty of baseball talk,

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Speaker 2: as there should be, that's what we all love to

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Speaker 2: talk about. But this is hanging over the sport right now,

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Speaker 2: and there will be negotiations that begin at some point,

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Speaker 2: probably after opening day, and we'll see how it goes.

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Speaker 2: I don't expect much progress early on. I don't expect

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Speaker 2: progress even before December first, because both sides are dug

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Speaker 2: in and here we go.

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Speaker 6: Ken.

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Speaker 1: You were at Red Sox camp today in Florida. Of course,

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Speaker 1: what did you go in thinking, what did you want

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Speaker 1: to find out?

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Speaker 6: Kind of what's going on there.

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Speaker 2: I'm most curious about their offense and what it's going

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Speaker 2: to look like with our ralvi Ol Devers, without Alex Bregman,

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Speaker 2: without either of those players. And certainly they're very high

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Speaker 2: on Roman Anthony and he looks like he's going to

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Speaker 2: be a superstar. They brought in Contraras, and he of

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Speaker 2: course as a productive offensive player always getting older. It

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Speaker 2: just seems to me that while William Abreu is a

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Speaker 2: potentially dynamic offensive player, while Trevor's story can build off

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Speaker 2: what he did last year, there are a lot of

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Speaker 2: ifs there. It's not like David and Manny. It's not

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Speaker 2: like Euglos and Pedroia. It's not like any of those combinations.

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Speaker 2: Not that uglosm Padoya were dominant, but they were parts

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Speaker 2: of a greater whole. And that's my concern with them,

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Speaker 2: that they will not be able to hit enough. In

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Speaker 2: my view, even with the addition of Chad Derbott from

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Speaker 2: Milwaukee recently, there's still one bat short, and maybe that

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Speaker 2: bat doesn't come until the deadline, maybe the season starts

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Speaker 2: and they're much better than people think all of this

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Speaker 2: is possible. But when I assess them, I love their rotation. Obviously,

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Speaker 2: they've done a great job building that, both with veterans

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Speaker 2: that they've brought in and with the youngsters that they've developed.

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Speaker 2: And their bullpen should be fine Chapman certainly at the

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Speaker 2: back end. But will they score enough runs? That is

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Speaker 2: the question lingering over the Red Sox right now.

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Speaker 5: Ken.

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Speaker 4: I'm glad you corrected yourself. It was Perzinsky and Patroya.

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Speaker 4: That was a great duo in Red Sox history.

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Speaker 5: For godd You're right.

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Speaker 4: I just want to make sure that we correct you properly.

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Speaker 4: I don't want people on Twitter to come after you.

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Speaker 4: But what about Tristan Cassas. You didn't mention him, and

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Speaker 4: we've kind of talked about him, and he's kind of

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Speaker 4: been there for years. Can he be a force that

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Speaker 4: they need, whether it's DH or first base or whatever

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Speaker 4: it is. Can he finally be healthy and be a

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Speaker 4: force for them?

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Speaker 2: Well, that's a really good question, and he is healthy

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Speaker 2: and apparently he looks good. Of course it's early. They're

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Speaker 2: just playing their first exhibition game today against Northeastern University.

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Speaker 2: But with Contrera's coming aboard and with the four outfielders

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Speaker 2: that they have for three spots, I don't really see

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Speaker 2: a place for him right now. Now. Of course, players

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Speaker 2: get injured all the time. Tristan Cassas has been the

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Speaker 2: one getting injured at times. So maybe down the line

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Speaker 2: he does become a contributor to this team. We all

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Speaker 2: know that it's not just twenty six players that carry

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Speaker 2: you through a But right now, I don't see a

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Speaker 2: spot for him. I don't see a spot for Yoshida.

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Speaker 2: I don't see a spot for Christian Campbell. They have

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Speaker 2: some interesting pieces that are kind of surpluses for them.

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Speaker 2: Christian Campbell's on somebody I would give up on. He

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Speaker 2: could be part of their future. But they are a

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Speaker 2: team that is a little bit top heavy, or actually

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Speaker 2: just position player heavy. I should say not top heavy,

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Speaker 2: but just a surplus of position players does exist with

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Speaker 2: this club. Could they still make a trade to maybe

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Speaker 2: balance out the roster differently, Yes, they could. They could

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Speaker 2: even trade a starting pitcher. They've talked about that, Patrick Sandoval,

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Speaker 2: Ryan Beyo. So right now, AJ they're in a decent place.

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Speaker 2: I don't know that they're in the place they're going

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Speaker 2: to be even opening Day and certainly at the deadline.

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Speaker 3: Is there anyone else at camp right now that you're seeing,

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Speaker 3: maybe young er role that you're like, Oh, this guy

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Speaker 3: right here, can't wait to watch him this year, Maybe

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Speaker 3: in a year or two come up and go out

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Speaker 3: and dominate for the Red Sox. Or so that's in

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Speaker 3: camp now, That's like, we haven't really brought up his

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Speaker 3: name yet. This is a dude.

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Speaker 2: The two left handers, Peyton Totley and Connor Early, those

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Speaker 2: guys are interesting pitchers, to say the least, and it

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Speaker 2: seems to me that well they might not be part

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Speaker 2: of the equation initially for the Red Sox. We saw

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Speaker 2: them both last year. It's Connolly Early, by the way,

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Speaker 2: and they were both good. So those two guys intrigued me.

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Speaker 2: Campbell still intrigues me. At this time last year, they

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Speaker 2: were talking about him as a starting second baseman, one

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Speaker 2: of the best young hitters you're going to see all that,

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Speaker 2: and all of a sudden he's not that anymore, at

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Speaker 2: least the way this thing has evolved. So they do

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Speaker 2: have young talent, and it's interesting young talent. They've got

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Speaker 2: more coming, So, yes, Todd, certainly there are some guys

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Speaker 2: you can look at there and say he might break

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Speaker 2: out this year.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, no doubt about it. Now I want to jump

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Speaker 3: to a manager. Pat Murphy, as we all know and love,

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Speaker 3: great guy. He just signed a new what three year

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Speaker 3: contract extension?

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Speaker 2: Is that what we call actually contract? Todd? It's a

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Speaker 2: reworked part of his last year reworked at gave him

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Speaker 2: two more years.

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Speaker 3: I knew I would screw that one up. That's why

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Speaker 3: you're right. Talk a little bit about him and what

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Speaker 3: the Brewers thought. You know, getting a guy like Pat

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Speaker 3: Murphy was the biggest thing to do, especially to sign

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Speaker 3: him for three more years.

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Speaker 2: Well, it's so interesting to me, Todd. With the Brewers,

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Speaker 2: they take pieces away all the time, and yet they

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Speaker 2: still remain strong. Who am I talking about? Josh Hater

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Speaker 2: Corbyn Burns, Willia Domas Craig Counsel. When Craig Council left

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Speaker 2: a couple of years ago, a lot of us thought

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Speaker 2: this could be a turning point for them in a

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Speaker 2: bad way. They elevated Pat Murphy from the bench coach

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Speaker 2: role he had managing San Diego way back kind of

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Speaker 2: on an interim basis. Didn't get that job and he

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Speaker 2: was a bench coach, and I mentioned before with Bruce

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Speaker 2: Byer the bench coach becoming a manager. It's always an

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Speaker 2: unusual transition, but obviously Murphy has done quite well back

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Speaker 2: to back National League Manager of the Year and last

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Speaker 2: year the Markey Brewers. This small market team in a

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Speaker 2: sport where small market teams can't possibly succeed one ninety

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Speaker 2: seven games, most in the majors. So he's done a

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Speaker 2: tremendous job there, there's no doubt about it. He has

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Speaker 2: a little bit of a different style than some managers.

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Speaker 2: He's more gregarious, perhaps, but he challenges those players to

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Speaker 2: play a certain way. They do that. Yellich plays a

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Speaker 2: big role in helping him establish the tone there, and

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Speaker 2: really it made a lot of sense for them to

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Speaker 2: get this done and keep him in place because he

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Speaker 2: is a big part of their success in the last

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Speaker 2: couple of years.

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Speaker 4: Always need you work for Rob Manfred with your small

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Speaker 4: markets can't succeed, Ken, So it's good to hear you

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Speaker 4: finally admitting it.

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Speaker 5: I appreciate that with all of our people out here,

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Speaker 5: we really do appreciate.

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Speaker 2: Actually, AJ, if you're listening AJ and Rob Manfred and

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Speaker 2: everybody else, you might be talking about the small market argument.

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Speaker 2: Is one that the owners and mister Manfred are arguing against.

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Speaker 2: So that when I say the Molonkey Brewers won ninety

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Speaker 2: seven games, it's contrary to the MLB position like these

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Speaker 2: teams can't possibly compete.

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Speaker 4: I know I'm aware, But anyways, let's go to the Orioles,

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Speaker 4: Jordan Westburg's out, Jackson Holidays out. Can they compete with

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Speaker 4: what they have? I know they brought in Chris Bassett,

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Speaker 4: but do they have enough pitching? We showed World Series

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Speaker 4: odds earlier they were high on the list for being

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Speaker 4: a World Series team?

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Speaker 5: Or are they that good? Am I missing something here?

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Speaker 4: In a tough al East with the Yankees, Je's Dodgers, Yankees,

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Speaker 4: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles Rays, are they really a

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Speaker 4: team that could win the World Series? Because I could

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Speaker 4: make a case that could finish fourth or fifth in

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Speaker 4: the division.

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Speaker 2: Sure, I agree with you, aj either way. It could

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Speaker 2: go either way. And I do expect their starting rotation

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Speaker 2: to be good, maybe not great, but good. And when

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Speaker 2: you come back with Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish, both

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Speaker 2: of whom excelled last season and in certain cases will

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Speaker 2: be not on anything's restrictions, but you can't expect two

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Speaker 2: hundred out of them, but they're good. Then you bring

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Speaker 2: in shame bas, you bring in Efln, you bringing back

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Speaker 2: You've got Dean Kramer, and you're in a better spot.

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Speaker 2: And of course Bassett only adds to that. Now with

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Speaker 2: the losses of Holliday, who is expected back sometime early

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Speaker 2: in this season, and Westburg, whose condition is not exactly clear, yes,

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Speaker 2: it's a challenge for them. Now they have Kobe Mayo.

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Speaker 2: Kobe Mayo was a top twenty prospect in this sport

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Speaker 2: only a year ago. He's a guy who can certainly

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Speaker 2: step into third base. He is there. They could also

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Speaker 2: maybe make a trade for someone, but I don't expect

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Speaker 2: them to do that. I expect the Westburg injury to

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Speaker 2: mean that Mayo gets a long look now and a

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Speaker 2: real runway if indeed Westburg is out for a while

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Speaker 2: to establish himself as a quality major leaguer. That doesn't happen. Yes,

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Speaker 2: they've got to do to some things. But to get

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Speaker 2: to your original question, are they a world Series I

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Speaker 2: don't know that I would go that far. I do

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Speaker 2: like what they've done. I do believe they're on the

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Speaker 2: right track, but as with almost every team in both

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Speaker 2: are Arizona and Florida. There are questions. There's a lot

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Speaker 2: of what ifs, and that's why the sport is so

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Speaker 2: great because we don't know how these questions will be answered.

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Speaker 2: And if they're answered in the affirmative in the Oil's case,

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Speaker 2: great they're a playoff team. If not, then you've got

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Speaker 2: something else.

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Speaker 3: You kind of lead this into my question. You talk

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Speaker 3: about what ifs. We've been talking about the Dodgers all

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Speaker 3: day to day. Are there any ifs of them not

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Speaker 3: winning another World Series?

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Speaker 1: Like?

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Speaker 3: Do you see them even if they're not healthy? Do

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Speaker 3: you see them finding a way to get back to

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Speaker 3: the World Series?

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Speaker 2: At least Todd The only thing I would say there

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Speaker 2: is for all of their dominance the past couple of years,

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Speaker 2: even beyond that, for the past I don't know, decade plus.

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Speaker 2: The last two years they nearly lost in the playoffs,

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Speaker 2: and in twenty four they nearly lost in the Division Series.

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Speaker 2: It was as good as they should be, and they

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Speaker 2: should be really good. Obviously, you never know, and I'm

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Speaker 2: not totally convinced it's going to be a total juggernaut.

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Speaker 2: We talked about one hundred and twenty wins last year,

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Speaker 2: and I heard you guys talking before it came on.

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Speaker 2: They don't need to do that. They don't necessarily even want.

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Speaker 6: To do that.

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Speaker 2: They'll slow play the regular season and then try to

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Speaker 2: get hot in the playoffs. But the playoffs do have

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Speaker 2: a randomness of outcomes. It's not fat a complete that

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Speaker 2: they're going to win. You look at them now, with

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Speaker 2: Tao simly in a better place physically, with Mookie Bets,

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Speaker 2: Dave Roberts saying he is going to be more like

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Speaker 2: the old Lookie Bets this year, and not just Atani

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Speaker 2: and Yamamoto and Glass now and all that they have

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Speaker 2: in their rotation, but the younger pitchers coming off injuries

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Speaker 2: like Gavin Stone and River Ryan, it looks like they're invincible.

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Speaker 2: I think we all know better than to expect that.

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Speaker 5: Ken who's playing shorts off for the Dodgers.

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Speaker 2: Mookie Bets, who Mookie Bets.

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Speaker 5: I just love the way you say it.

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Speaker 4: I just like, well, I just want you to keep

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Speaker 4: saying it, Mookie Mookie Mookie Bits.

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Speaker 5: I like it. I like it, but that wasn't my question.

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Speaker 5: I love. I could just listen to you say that

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Speaker 5: all day long.

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Speaker 4: Uh Alana doesn't know this Todd doesn't know this, but recently, Ken,

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Speaker 4: I'm gonna congratulate you. You want a trophy That is

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Speaker 4: the Ken Rosenthal Award for being a great human being,

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Speaker 4: voted on by Ken Rosenthal, awarded to Ken Rosenthal. So

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Speaker 4: what I want to know is do you travel with

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Speaker 4: that trophy when you go to other camps and do

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Speaker 4: you take it around with you and show it to

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Speaker 4: like Alex Korra when you met with him today, You're like, look,

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Speaker 4: I won my own award, Alex, shouldn't you congratulate me?

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Speaker 5: All right?

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Speaker 2: Since you brought this up a jay, I'll have to

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Speaker 2: reveal what this is.

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Speaker 5: I just what it was.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, No, you need to say it correctly. What a

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Speaker 2: shockin gave me this trophy at the winter meetings for

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Speaker 2: being a good teammate.

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Speaker 5: That's all it is.

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Speaker 2: And no, I do not bring it with me on

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Speaker 2: the road. In fact, it doesn't even have a prominent

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Speaker 2: place in my office, as you learned the other night

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Speaker 2: when you were at my house. So it's very nice

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Speaker 2: and I'm very honored, honored by any award anybody might

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Speaker 2: give to me. But that's the whole thing. It wasn't

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Speaker 2: invented by me.

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Speaker 1: Ken the biggest mistake you've ever made in your life

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Speaker 1: is welcoming Aj into your home to be able to

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Speaker 1: see the trophy.

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Speaker 6: To begin with, a.

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Speaker 2: Lot of that is correct.

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Speaker 4: I will say that he's got a very lovely home

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Speaker 4: and his wife Lisa was very accommodating. They had a

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Speaker 4: great habachi Helena. It was supposed to.

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Speaker 5: Be the great.

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Speaker 4: It was great appetizers, the whole deal. You know, Ken

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Speaker 4: has like seven Emmys right in his office and then

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Speaker 4: he has the Ken Rosenthal Trophy presented by Ken Rosendal,

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Speaker 4: voted by Ken Rosendal down on the.

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Speaker 5: Put up by the Emmys.

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Speaker 1: Ken, I apologize for Aj. I apologize for all of

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Speaker 1: us for Aj. Thank you so much. I appreciate you.

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Speaker 1: Have a great weekend. Enjoy camp and don't get guys,

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Speaker 1: fair territory with Ken Rosenthal airs every single Monday and Thursday.

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Speaker 1: We are at Dodgers camp at camel Backgrant Jack of

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Speaker 1: course is here and we appreciate you being here.

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Speaker 2: Jack.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much making the change from the La

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Speaker 1: Times to the California Post. And here we are as

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Speaker 1: the Dodgers do make that quest for a three piece.

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Speaker 1: So let's start with Yoshinobu Yamamoto getting the start tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: What have you talked to Dave about or Yama about

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Speaker 1: in terms of workload. I mean, this is a guy

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Speaker 1: that posted every fifth day last year, pitched huge innings

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Speaker 1: in the World Series, and here we go again.

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Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean I think you know, the question coming

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Speaker 7: off last season for him was like, how is his

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Speaker 7: arm going to feel? How is his body going to

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Speaker 7: feel after throwing as many as many innings as he

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Speaker 7: did over the course of the full season, obviously with

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Speaker 7: what he did in the World Series, pitching back to

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Speaker 7: back games a game six and seven, throwing two complete

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Speaker 7: games in the playoffs, and it was interesting to hear

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Speaker 7: him say, like, you know, I felt good right like

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Speaker 7: I went through the off season.

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Speaker 6: My body felt strong.

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Speaker 7: He's coming to camp looking just bigger, more physically imposing.

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Speaker 7: He's going to pitch for Team Japan and the World

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Speaker 7: Baseball Classic, and there's a lot of optimism around camp

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Speaker 7: here that he's going to be able to handle the

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Speaker 7: WBC workload, is going to be able to make it

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Speaker 7: through another full season feeling healthy and fresh. And you know,

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Speaker 7: he's already talking about I'd love to compete for a

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Speaker 7: Cy Young Award. Dave Roberts has mentioned him, along with

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Speaker 7: a couple others of his pitchers as Cy Young candidates. So,

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Speaker 7: given how much he had to pitch last year, the

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Speaker 7: fact he's coming to camp looking as good as he is,

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Speaker 7: as far ahead of schedule as he is to be

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Speaker 7: pitching in the first Cactus League game is a good

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Speaker 7: sign for someone who, again, I think had the biggest

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Speaker 7: question marks about how last year's workload was going to.

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Speaker 5: Impact him this year. Does he get a heavier javelin is?

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Speaker 7: I mean it might be at the workout training methods

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Speaker 7: he explained he does right, It's like body weight stuff.

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Speaker 7: It's like handstands and push ups and all these other

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Speaker 7: things that you know, his trainer, YadA sense, who was

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Speaker 7: a big reason why he pitched in Game seven last year,

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Speaker 7: kind of convincing him like, hey, you know, let's see

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Speaker 7: how you feel tomorrow when you come in.

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Speaker 6: So he trains in a really unique way.

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Speaker 7: He takes care of his body in a really unique way,

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Speaker 7: and at least at this point a couple of years

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Speaker 7: into his big league career, it's worked out.

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Speaker 6: It's worked out, all right.

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Speaker 1: Can you expand on that a little bit because he

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Speaker 1: was saying, Todd, I'll get to you in a second,

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Speaker 1: but I wanted to follow up with you Jack on

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Speaker 1: that because it's almost as if he said, I, if

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Speaker 1: you can align your body correctly and feel a certain way,

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Speaker 1: you're gonna be okay with pitching in Game seven. So

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Speaker 1: it was kind of was it more Was it more

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Speaker 1: of a mental approach? Was it a physical approach? I mean,

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Speaker 1: he relied very heavily on that advice. What more can

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Speaker 1: you tell us about that?

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Speaker 6: Yeah?

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Speaker 7: I think it speaks to just the really clean mechanics

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Speaker 7: he has, Like he talked about when he went out

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Speaker 7: there in Game seven last year, he felt okay and

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Speaker 7: he was able to stay in his delivery. That was

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Speaker 7: the thing like Dodgers people watching it in amazement notice too,

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Speaker 7: is that even for as much as he had thrown

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Speaker 7: last October, going into that game, he was able to

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Speaker 7: repeat his delivery and his throw in a way that

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Speaker 7: just not many guys can do with the amount he

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Speaker 7: had pitched.

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Speaker 6: And that speaks to, again.

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Speaker 7: The way he takes care of his body, the way

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Speaker 7: he's out there multiple times a week throwing his javelins

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Speaker 7: around on the backfield. Some of the other things he

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Speaker 7: does that are a little different that are unique, but

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Speaker 7: have really been good for him, even at the size

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Speaker 7: that he plays at, to take care of his body

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Speaker 7: and be in a spot to not only pitch as

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Speaker 7: much as he did last October, but turn right around

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Speaker 7: and be ready for this season to.

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Speaker 3: I want to go to Sho Hao Tani a little bit,

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Speaker 3: talk a little bit about his spring training. Is he

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Speaker 3: a full go I've heard he looks electric out there.

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Speaker 3: Talk a lot about him. Is there anything that we

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Speaker 3: need to know that is going to hold him back

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Speaker 3: from being one hundred percent doing everything they want?

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Speaker 7: Nothing's going to hold him back physically. And one of

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Speaker 7: the things that's been really good for him this offseason,

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00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:44,159
Speaker 7: it was his first off season being completely healthy with

439
00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,560
Speaker 7: the Dodgers. He didn't have to He's passed the Tommy

440
00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:49,639
Speaker 7: John recovery, he was past the shoulder surgery that he

441
00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,080
Speaker 7: had last offseason, and it's allowed him to come into

442
00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:55,000
Speaker 7: camp and as good of a spot this early on

443
00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:57,399
Speaker 7: as the Dodgers have seen him. Obviously, there's going to

444
00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,560
Speaker 7: be some complications for him ramping up as a pitcher,

445
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:01,560
Speaker 7: just because he's going to the WBC. It might be

446
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:03,879
Speaker 7: hard to face hitters that whole time there, but the

447
00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,000
Speaker 7: Dodgers still think he's going to be ready to make

448
00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,240
Speaker 7: starts from the beginning of the season. You're going to

449
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,840
Speaker 7: see them be still a little more methodical with how

450
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,040
Speaker 7: he's used over the course of the year, given the

451
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,080
Speaker 7: two way workload and the fact that they want him

452
00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:18,199
Speaker 7: to be as fresh as possible come October. But this

453
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,080
Speaker 7: is as close as we're going to see you back

454
00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,840
Speaker 7: to a full time two way show, Heyotani. And the

455
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:24,919
Speaker 7: way he's come into camp, the fact he's already been

456
00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:27,560
Speaker 7: facing hitters as a pitcher. He's been getting in taking live,

457
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,680
Speaker 7: live batting practice as a hitter the last couple of

458
00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,639
Speaker 7: days is another sign of a guy who, even with

459
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:35,800
Speaker 7: a short off season, was able to come into camp

460
00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,760
Speaker 7: feeling really good, feeling ready to go and take on

461
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:40,919
Speaker 7: a big workload in his own right this year as

462
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:42,919
Speaker 7: he goes back to being a full time two way player.

463
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:44,520
Speaker 4: How does that work though, Because he's not pitching in

464
00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,959
Speaker 4: the WBC for Japan, right, So how's that going to work?

465
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,560
Speaker 4: How are they going to continue to Is he gonna

466
00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,359
Speaker 4: have to throw live vps bullpens because those are not

467
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:53,680
Speaker 4: the same. It's pitching, even though it's spring training, and

468
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:55,720
Speaker 4: they're still different than a big league game.

469
00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:57,679
Speaker 5: If they go all the way, if they make a

470
00:21:57,720 --> 00:21:58,680
Speaker 5: run from the to the.

471
00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,080
Speaker 4: Finals, he's basically going to I missed three weeks of

472
00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,040
Speaker 4: camp where he could be pitching in Great Fruit or sorry,

473
00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:05,040
Speaker 4: Cactus League games.

474
00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:07,679
Speaker 7: How do you ramp them up? Yeah, that's going to

475
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,960
Speaker 7: be part of the challenge. I think that the specifics

476
00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:12,720
Speaker 7: of that plan even they're still kind of working through,

477
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:14,040
Speaker 7: and in terms of is he going to be able

478
00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,000
Speaker 7: to throw live vps or face hitters while he's hitting

479
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,280
Speaker 7: in the WBC, I think at a bare minimum, their

480
00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:21,080
Speaker 7: hope is that they're going to be able to keep

481
00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,040
Speaker 7: his arm moving, that he's going to be able to

482
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,600
Speaker 7: stay in some sort of throwing programs, whether it's bullpens

483
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,359
Speaker 7: or long toss, and that when he comes back to

484
00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:29,440
Speaker 7: the Dodgers at the end of March, they can maybe

485
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:30,800
Speaker 7: get him a start or two at the end of

486
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 7: spring training in the Freeway Series. My guess is he's

487
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,480
Speaker 7: not going to be fully ramped up for six or

488
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,760
Speaker 7: seven innings the first time the first couple times he

489
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,040
Speaker 7: takes the mound this year as a pitcher. But again,

490
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,480
Speaker 7: Andrew Freeman is confident they'll be able to find a

491
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,639
Speaker 7: way to keep his arm in a spot where he

492
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:46,639
Speaker 7: can come back, maybe throw two or three innings in

493
00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:48,600
Speaker 7: a Freeway Series game, and then be ready to go

494
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:50,879
Speaker 7: to make starts at the beginning of the season.

495
00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:51,120
Speaker 6: I mean.

496
00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,000
Speaker 7: The other nice part that they have with him is

497
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,840
Speaker 7: that because he's like an extra pitcher on their pitching staff,

498
00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,080
Speaker 7: they can get away with him being shortened up a

499
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:00,879
Speaker 7: little bit at the start of the season because they

500
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,960
Speaker 7: can almost piggyback him or do some other things.

501
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:04,040
Speaker 6: So they have some flexibility.

502
00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,280
Speaker 7: But that was one of my big questions coming into spring. Yeah,

503
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,800
Speaker 7: like they have their own rules. The Dodgers have their

504
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:10,520
Speaker 7: own rules a lot.

505
00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:12,320
Speaker 6: Just get over it.

506
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,000
Speaker 4: And the only team that defers money, I mean the

507
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:17,919
Speaker 4: one that's a.

508
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:19,360
Speaker 5: Fans say, look the Dodgers.

509
00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:21,560
Speaker 4: They have their own rules, they can do whatever they want,

510
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:26,120
Speaker 4: have their own TV deal, they have their own I'm

511
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,240
Speaker 4: not I think Dodgers are awesome.

512
00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:29,320
Speaker 5: I love the Dodgers.

513
00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:29,760
Speaker 2: I think.

514
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:32,800
Speaker 6: On the margins, you're.

515
00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,080
Speaker 4: Supposed to do though, so you win, so you went

516
00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:36,479
Speaker 4: back to back World Series.

517
00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:36,959
Speaker 2: I know.

518
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:39,360
Speaker 5: I'm not. I'm not mad at the Dodgers at all.

519
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:41,119
Speaker 5: I just think it's funny. He's like, we know they

520
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:42,560
Speaker 5: get to carry the extra picture.

521
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:44,919
Speaker 4: The problem is no one else can figure out how

522
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:46,119
Speaker 4: to make a two way player.

523
00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:57,360
Speaker 1: Go get yourself another. Then you can also have Jackie there, but.

524
00:23:57,359 --> 00:23:58,440
Speaker 5: Only on the Dodgers side.

525
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:01,160
Speaker 1: The White Sox there, they don't have those trees.

526
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:03,520
Speaker 5: They don't trust me. I walked over there today. They

527
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:04,000
Speaker 5: do not have.

528
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,399
Speaker 1: You had teed earlier today jack that Dave Roberts was

529
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:13,520
Speaker 1: a little bit bullish about Mookie Bets. What more can

530
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,520
Speaker 1: you tell us about that because he was trying. I

531
00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,600
Speaker 1: assume it's the way that he was playing defense last year.

532
00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:20,680
Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean, I think if you look at Mooki

533
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:24,879
Speaker 7: this season, the Dodgers hope is that, Okay, last year

534
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:27,560
Speaker 7: and the offseason going into last year, he spent so

535
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,680
Speaker 7: much time focusing on defense, learning how to play shortstop

536
00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:32,639
Speaker 7: at a high level, and then translated that to a

537
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:36,880
Speaker 7: good season defensively. Amid all that, obviously the offense dropped off.

538
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:38,680
Speaker 7: There was the stomach virus he had at the start

539
00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,000
Speaker 7: of the year. It's apt him of a bunch of

540
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,919
Speaker 7: weight and strength and then led to some bad habits

541
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 7: over the course of the season. And then you couple

542
00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:48,720
Speaker 7: the fact that he was still taking you know, dozens

543
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,720
Speaker 7: hundreds of ground balls before every game.

544
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:51,480
Speaker 6: It was tough for.

545
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:54,000
Speaker 7: Him, I think to maybe balance that that workload on

546
00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:57,920
Speaker 7: both the defensive side and offensively once he started struggling

547
00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:00,720
Speaker 7: at the plate. So their hope this offseason is he's

548
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:02,080
Speaker 7: able to kind of get back to the basics. He

549
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 7: explained it as almost rewiring his swing. He's not changing

550
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:07,359
Speaker 7: what he's doing at the plate, but he's trying to

551
00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:09,800
Speaker 7: get back to a place where, you know, for him,

552
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,600
Speaker 7: it's really important the way his hands load, the way

553
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 7: that the whole swing connects for him to maximize the

554
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,240
Speaker 7: strength he has and what is another guy with a

555
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:19,000
Speaker 7: smaller frame.

556
00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:21,240
Speaker 6: He felt good about the offseason work he did.

557
00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,359
Speaker 7: The Dodgers feel like he was able to kind of

558
00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:25,159
Speaker 7: get his mechanics back to where they need to be.

559
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,720
Speaker 7: And the hope is that now because he's grown so

560
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:30,960
Speaker 7: much defensively as a shortstop, he's going to have a

561
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,800
Speaker 7: little bit more bandwidth to do both things. He's going

562
00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,199
Speaker 7: to have the strength back that he lost last season,

563
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,440
Speaker 7: and that you'll see a Mookie Bets who Dave Robert said,

564
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,359
Speaker 7: like offensively, he expects him to be an MVP caliber player.

565
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:44,440
Speaker 7: You couple on the defense and the fact he was

566
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:47,400
Speaker 7: a Gold Glove finalist at a premium position last year.

567
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:48,960
Speaker 7: They still think he can be one of the best

568
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,600
Speaker 7: players on their team. But it's something that's going to

569
00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,119
Speaker 7: be interesting to watch, especially, you know, even in these

570
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,080
Speaker 7: spring training games. Is how does Muki's bat look. Does

571
00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:58,960
Speaker 7: some of that power come back that he was missing

572
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,520
Speaker 7: last year? Is there a more consistent swing that he

573
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,440
Speaker 7: just couldn't really find for an extended stretch a year ago.

574
00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:07,080
Speaker 3: I want to ask a little bit about one of

575
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,200
Speaker 3: the newcomers, Kyle Tucker. How is he acclimating with his

576
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,520
Speaker 3: new teammates. Looks like we saw one video of him,

577
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:15,760
Speaker 3: he was smiling left and right.

578
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:15,960
Speaker 5: Man.

579
00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:18,840
Speaker 3: Is he starting to get comfortable over there as a

580
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:19,880
Speaker 3: new guy with the Dodgers.

581
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:20,760
Speaker 6: Yeah.

582
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,240
Speaker 7: I mean it's funny. For as much attention that was

583
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 7: paid to Kyle Tucker's arrival this winter, he's almost kind

584
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,159
Speaker 7: of blended into the background here early in camp. Like

585
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 7: even today, he's walking out on the field with Will

586
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,280
Speaker 7: Smith and Freddie Freeman and all the fans are shouting

587
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,199
Speaker 7: at Freddie and Will and then he's just kind of

588
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,040
Speaker 7: like one of the guys there, which is part I

589
00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:41,000
Speaker 7: think of what the appeal was or why people felt

590
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:42,640
Speaker 7: like this was going to be a good fit for him,

591
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,679
Speaker 7: is because he doesn't have to come here and be

592
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,320
Speaker 7: the biggest name guy. He doesn't have to be the

593
00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:49,919
Speaker 7: guy that's you know, speaking for the clubhouse or anything

594
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:51,880
Speaker 7: like that. Now, he did talk in their first team

595
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,560
Speaker 7: meeting of the spring about why he wanted to come

596
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,399
Speaker 7: to the Dodgers, what his perspective on them was playing

597
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:01,200
Speaker 7: against them over his career, how much he's admired the

598
00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,119
Speaker 7: kind of team they've built and the way they played.

599
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:05,280
Speaker 7: You know, Max Muntzky talked about that being like a

600
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,480
Speaker 7: refreshing thing for guys on the team to hear, just

601
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:09,919
Speaker 7: to remember, like, Okay, we've set a standard at this

602
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,399
Speaker 7: point that even other players in the league kind of

603
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,320
Speaker 7: look up to and admire. But yeah, on the field,

604
00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,679
Speaker 7: he's you know, he's just one of a bunch of

605
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,480
Speaker 7: star players here. We're gonna he's gonna talk to the

606
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,959
Speaker 7: media today for the first time. So it has been

607
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,639
Speaker 7: interesting to go from a winner where there was so

608
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,879
Speaker 7: much angst about Kyle Tucker joining joining the Dodgers to

609
00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:30,880
Speaker 7: where now you know, He's just kind of like another

610
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:32,520
Speaker 7: one of these guys out here on this team that

611
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:34,000
Speaker 7: has so many big names.

612
00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,439
Speaker 4: Just another way the Dodgers broke the rules because the

613
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,320
Speaker 4: way they set up his contract is breaking rules left

614
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:39,760
Speaker 4: and right.

615
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:43,760
Speaker 5: Uh, they're just better at it, I know, I know.

616
00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:49,000
Speaker 4: Uh, Blake Snow he threw one hundred innings last year

617
00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,160
Speaker 4: and he said his arm is fatigued before we even

618
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:53,760
Speaker 4: started basically camp.

619
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:55,520
Speaker 5: What's going on there?

620
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's been a.

621
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,680
Speaker 4: You know, two hundred inning ish one two young guy

622
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,640
Speaker 4: pitch GiB keep in the postseason before utand innings.

623
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:05,720
Speaker 5: What changed?

624
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,879
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think last year, you know, he as another

625
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,760
Speaker 7: new arrival to the Dodgers, was really eager to like

626
00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,280
Speaker 7: start the year strong to you know. He started their

627
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,280
Speaker 7: home opener after they came back from Japan. One of

628
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:19,639
Speaker 7: the problems with that is that his shoulder started bugging

629
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,480
Speaker 7: him during the spring, and he tried to pitch through it.

630
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:21,880
Speaker 6: At first.

631
00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:23,240
Speaker 7: He made a couple of starts at the beginning of

632
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,040
Speaker 7: the year, and then it got worse and then he

633
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:28,439
Speaker 7: missed four months, you know, letting his shoulder recover. He

634
00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,000
Speaker 7: comes back late in the season and wow, you know,

635
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:32,880
Speaker 7: he was able to save some bullets, and the inning

636
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 7: count wasn't huge.

637
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:35,720
Speaker 6: He did have to ramp up quickly.

638
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:37,560
Speaker 7: And one of the things he said looking back in

639
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:39,280
Speaker 7: hindsight is it just kind of felt like he was

640
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:40,719
Speaker 7: playing catch up the whole season.

641
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,920
Speaker 6: He was able to pitch well in the playoffs, but

642
00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:44,920
Speaker 6: the shoulder really started bugging him again then.

643
00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:47,960
Speaker 7: So at like another Dodger thing, you know, they get

644
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:49,880
Speaker 7: into this winner they say, Okay, look, if your shoulder

645
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 7: is not feeling right, if there's some lingering stuff there,

646
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:53,960
Speaker 7: take your time, slow it down.

647
00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:56,240
Speaker 6: We don't need you to make thirty starts next year.

648
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:58,040
Speaker 7: We don't need you to be ready to go from

649
00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,239
Speaker 7: opening day if it's going to you know, cause us

650
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,640
Speaker 7: to push you in that shoulder more than we want.

651
00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,360
Speaker 7: Take your time with it and let it come along

652
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,760
Speaker 7: at a pace that will allow him to come back

653
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:10,280
Speaker 7: at some point this season. I think he's gonna be

654
00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 7: unlikely to start Opening Day, but to be able to

655
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,719
Speaker 7: come back and pitch fresh again. Everything about the Dodgers

656
00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,080
Speaker 7: is being ready for October, and that's part of this.

657
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,880
Speaker 7: I think maybe it's a different situation or a different team,

658
00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:24,080
Speaker 7: like he's maybe trying to push himself a little bit

659
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 7: more right now, or the team's pushing them a little

660
00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:27,760
Speaker 7: bit more, but they're going to play it conscious with him.

661
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:29,640
Speaker 7: I think you'll see the same thing if any of

662
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,720
Speaker 7: our other starters start feeling little things over the course

663
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,480
Speaker 7: of the season. They're going to be really, really protective

664
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:37,560
Speaker 7: of these guys. This is one of the things that

665
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,120
Speaker 7: coming into last year, after the Dodgers won in twenty four,

666
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,040
Speaker 7: their front office sat down and looked at, Okay, what

667
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:45,360
Speaker 7: are the biggest challenges of repeating as a World Series champion?

668
00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:47,800
Speaker 7: And the one thing Andrew Friedman pointed to was if

669
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,360
Speaker 7: you push your rotation really hard in an October run,

670
00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:54,000
Speaker 7: there's usually after effects the next year. So that's something

671
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,720
Speaker 7: they're going to have to manage this year. That's part

672
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,120
Speaker 7: of why Blake Snell's being slow played. That's part of

673
00:29:58,120 --> 00:29:59,480
Speaker 7: why I think, you know, when it comes to a

674
00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:02,080
Speaker 7: tani Yamamoto, like, if there's times they can maybe give

675
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,160
Speaker 7: them a little extra rest here or there between starts,

676
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:05,840
Speaker 7: they're going to do it. They're going to rely on

677
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,320
Speaker 7: their depth, and yeah, when it comes to Snell specifically,

678
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,040
Speaker 7: I think you'll see him back in the relatively early

679
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:13,160
Speaker 7: part of the season, depending on just how his ramp

680
00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,920
Speaker 7: up goes as he starts to increase the intensity here

681
00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:18,280
Speaker 7: in spring. But yeah, it's just another example of like

682
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:22,719
Speaker 7: a team that has the luxury of not needing a

683
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,400
Speaker 7: Blake Snell, a two time sy Young Award winner, to

684
00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:27,840
Speaker 7: make thirty starts in a season and still feel good

685
00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:29,280
Speaker 7: about the pitching options they're going to have.

686
00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:32,560
Speaker 1: Jack two part question for you second base, with Tommy

687
00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,080
Speaker 1: Edmund not being ready for opening day, who do you

688
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,479
Speaker 1: see getting the bulk of reps at second And also

689
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:43,360
Speaker 1: besides that, is there any other question going into this season?

690
00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 7: Yeah, at second base, I think you'll see Miguel Rojas

691
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:47,800
Speaker 7: obviously get a lot of the at bats, and then

692
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,200
Speaker 7: there's somewhat of an open competition for maybe like a

693
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,000
Speaker 7: platoon partner with him. I think hayes On Kim is

694
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:55,920
Speaker 7: a guy that has looked good, at least in the

695
00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,040
Speaker 7: first couple of days of spring here. The Dodgers have

696
00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:00,920
Speaker 7: felt good about some of the strides he made with

697
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:08,120
Speaker 7: his swing over the offseason he spent we saw a

698
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,320
Speaker 7: little bit last season. He's going to be in that mix.

699
00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:13,080
Speaker 7: But it is funny, like you get into spring training,

700
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:15,960
Speaker 7: you're looking at where the position battles are and the

701
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:18,440
Speaker 7: biggest one is for a part time platoon role for

702
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,600
Speaker 7: maybe like the first couple of weeks of the season.

703
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,200
Speaker 6: That's just the reality of the roster they have. I

704
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,000
Speaker 6: think outside of that, if.

705
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,080
Speaker 7: Blake Snell's is going to miss some extended time at

706
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:28,600
Speaker 7: the start of the season or not be ready for

707
00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,200
Speaker 7: opening Day, they're probably gonna have to find another starting

708
00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:33,600
Speaker 7: pitcher to put in there. I think Justin Robleski is

709
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:36,440
Speaker 7: an option. Gavin Stone and River Ryan coming back from

710
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:39,960
Speaker 7: their injuries both look good physically, have bulked up over

711
00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:41,120
Speaker 7: their rehab process.

712
00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,560
Speaker 6: And then at the back end of the bullpen, probably.

713
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,440
Speaker 7: A few spots up for grabs two where guys like

714
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:47,400
Speaker 7: Will Klein at Gardo and Riquez are going to be

715
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,040
Speaker 7: trying to take the success they had in the postseason

716
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,920
Speaker 7: and are in a little bit more permanent big league time.

717
00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:54,040
Speaker 6: But yeah, when you look.

718
00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:55,400
Speaker 7: At this roster, there's not a lot of questions about

719
00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:57,240
Speaker 7: how it's all gonna come together, what the lineup's going

720
00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,400
Speaker 7: to look like. And again, like outside out of the

721
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,120
Speaker 7: Hayesung Kim Alex Freeland competition for a for a part

722
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:06,200
Speaker 7: time platoon spot, everything else is pretty much.

723
00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:09,080
Speaker 5: Said, Okay, two things in what he just said.

724
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,920
Speaker 4: One who doesn't come in the first couple of days

725
00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,560
Speaker 4: of spring training looking good. You never hear anybody coming

726
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,760
Speaker 4: and say, man, that guy's a fat funk, a junk

727
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:18,280
Speaker 4: like man, he looks terrible.

728
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:19,600
Speaker 5: Everybody's in the best.

729
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:21,920
Speaker 7: This has been a good camp for the best shape

730
00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,760
Speaker 7: of the light. That's everybody's a lot like the Oscar Fernandez.

731
00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:28,680
Speaker 7: The Oscar Hernandez is down you, Bruce gar gratter All,

732
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:30,400
Speaker 7: even though he's dealing with the shoulders, lost some weight.

733
00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:32,360
Speaker 7: Even Dave Roberts is saying like he's in the best

734
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:34,200
Speaker 7: managerial of.

735
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:35,880
Speaker 5: Course because he's got back to back World Series.

736
00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:41,720
Speaker 4: And then my other question is you mentioned how everything

737
00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:44,800
Speaker 4: is in place, Key k Went's he back? And the

738
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:47,200
Speaker 4: other one is in the outfield. We have my new

739
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:50,320
Speaker 4: favorite player, Alex Call. Right, we have Tao, you have

740
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,640
Speaker 4: pa Hees, you have Tucker. So where does Alex call.

741
00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:54,480
Speaker 5: Fit in this roster?

742
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:54,800
Speaker 6: Yeah?

743
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,360
Speaker 7: I think right now you'll see him probably being a

744
00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,440
Speaker 7: little bit more of a bench bat. Somebody bring in

745
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:02,360
Speaker 7: and in different spots. You know, he still has left

746
00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 7: for which guy ready?

747
00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:04,880
Speaker 6: Right, Tucker?

748
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:07,520
Speaker 7: I mean I think even when you're trying to figure out,

749
00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:09,400
Speaker 7: you know, where he fits in it. It might even

750
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,640
Speaker 7: be you know, once they're at full health and they

751
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:15,160
Speaker 7: have some of the versatility, like with a Tommy Edmund

752
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:17,200
Speaker 7: when Key k Hernandez comes back. Like you know, if

753
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:18,560
Speaker 7: you have a Hayes on Kim in the lineup and

754
00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:20,560
Speaker 7: then a lefty comes in, Okay, maybe you can throw

755
00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:22,960
Speaker 7: Alex calling there and then rearrange the defense however you

756
00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:25,600
Speaker 7: need to. But yeah, I mean, you know, I go

757
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:27,120
Speaker 7: back to the start of the off season. Someone like

758
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:29,480
Speaker 7: Ryan Ward got added to the forty man he was

759
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,640
Speaker 7: the MVP of the Pacific Coast League last year. You know,

760
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:34,200
Speaker 7: there's a lot of talk like, hey, this guy could

761
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:35,640
Speaker 7: take them at bats, he could be a big part

762
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:37,400
Speaker 7: of the puzzle. And then they get Kyle Tucker and

763
00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,160
Speaker 7: suddenly the whole math changes. So I think Alex calls

764
00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:42,480
Speaker 7: another one of those guys that probably saw his at

765
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:44,800
Speaker 7: bats go down with the way things have played out.

766
00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:46,680
Speaker 7: But you know, there could be injuries, there could be

767
00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:49,479
Speaker 7: other things. I think that's where kyk Hernandez, who's probably

768
00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,200
Speaker 7: going to be back around mid season, you know where

769
00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:54,960
Speaker 7: he fits in right now? It's it's tough to say

770
00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:56,520
Speaker 7: because you look at the roster you go, okay, like

771
00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:58,880
Speaker 7: where are you gonna get at bats for him? But

772
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,440
Speaker 7: over the course of a year, there's always stuff that

773
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,160
Speaker 7: pops up. The Dodgers would rather have more depth obviously

774
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:04,480
Speaker 7: than not.

775
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:05,400
Speaker 6: Uh.

776
00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,880
Speaker 7: And then with Key k specifically, they know that, you know,

777
00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:11,640
Speaker 7: if someone gets hurt going into October or someone struggling

778
00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:14,080
Speaker 7: and we need to inject some life into the lineup,

779
00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:16,439
Speaker 7: He's somebody that always performs.

780
00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:20,520
Speaker 4: That time chuirst thing of all time, Kik coming back

781
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:22,960
Speaker 4: to the Dodgers, it was like, well, like, where's KIK

782
00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:24,520
Speaker 4: gonna sign Dodgers?

783
00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:25,560
Speaker 5: Duh? Yeah?

784
00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:27,800
Speaker 7: And I mean even with guys like him and Evan Phillips,

785
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:29,960
Speaker 7: you know, like they had to wait this offseason until

786
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,239
Speaker 7: spring started and sixty man il spots opened up, and

787
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,080
Speaker 7: they could have explored some other opportunities. Kevin Phillips talked

788
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:40,040
Speaker 7: about like some teams called during his free agency this winter,

789
00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:42,480
Speaker 7: but the fact that they were willing to wait to

790
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,720
Speaker 7: then come back to the Dodgers. I think Max Munsey's

791
00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:47,800
Speaker 7: contract extension is another example of this that the guys

792
00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:49,759
Speaker 7: that are here really like being here and really want

793
00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:51,359
Speaker 7: to stay here for as long as they can What.

794
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,319
Speaker 1: Do you need to see from Roki Jack. I mean,

795
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,400
Speaker 1: it seems like he's a big question mark still in

796
00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:59,560
Speaker 1: terms of implementing a third pitch, but just you know,

797
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:03,000
Speaker 1: get bigger physically, getting stronger mentally, what do you need

798
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:03,319
Speaker 1: to say?

799
00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:05,680
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think the third pitch as he goes back

800
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:07,600
Speaker 7: to being a starter, is going to be really important.

801
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,759
Speaker 7: At least is something to just mix up his looks

802
00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:13,640
Speaker 7: a little bit. Like I think even in the playoffs

803
00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:16,960
Speaker 7: last year, you saw when he was executing like the

804
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,239
Speaker 7: fastball with both the hundred miles hour velocity and the

805
00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:23,719
Speaker 7: command and then could play the splitter forkball off that

806
00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:26,400
Speaker 7: when both of those pitches are as good as they

807
00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:27,920
Speaker 7: can be, he can probably get away with being a

808
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:30,520
Speaker 7: two pitch pitcher. But even in the course over the

809
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:32,920
Speaker 7: course of the postseason, like the velocity dipped a little bit,

810
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:35,279
Speaker 7: the command dipped a little bit, and suddenly by the

811
00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:37,799
Speaker 7: end of the World Series, right, it was Yamamoto going

812
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:39,960
Speaker 7: back out there on zero day's rest instead of Rokie

813
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,439
Speaker 7: Sasaki coming into the game. So I think that part

814
00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,040
Speaker 7: will be important. I think the other interesting thing is

815
00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:46,920
Speaker 7: going to see is going to be to see like

816
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:49,319
Speaker 7: how he takes the confidence he did build from his

817
00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:52,440
Speaker 7: playoff success last year and translates that as he goes

818
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:55,319
Speaker 7: back into a full time starting role. I think you

819
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,520
Speaker 7: know times that he was asked like, what was your

820
00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,000
Speaker 7: impression of the big leagues last year, he always came

821
00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:02,279
Speaker 7: back to, well, when I was starting games, like, I

822
00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:04,560
Speaker 7: wasn't healthy, I didn't feel like myself. So I don't

823
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:06,399
Speaker 7: even know if I got a great feel about how

824
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:08,960
Speaker 7: my stuff plays at this level. So it'll be interesting

825
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,399
Speaker 7: to see as he builds up, like can he get

826
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:13,480
Speaker 7: his fastball back to where it needs to be both

827
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:16,719
Speaker 7: velocity and command wise consistently? And can he just have

828
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:20,000
Speaker 7: again some other pitch that moves right to left that

829
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,800
Speaker 7: can keep right handed hitters a little bit more honest.

830
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,600
Speaker 7: But the talent, as we saw in the postseason, is

831
00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:28,920
Speaker 7: still very much there, and the Dodgers are going to

832
00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:30,360
Speaker 7: give him a lot of runway and a lot of

833
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:33,480
Speaker 7: opportunities to prove that he can take that and translate

834
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,160
Speaker 7: it into being a more effective big league starter.

835
00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:37,160
Speaker 4: Are the Dodgers going to go one hundred and sixty

836
00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:39,440
Speaker 4: two and this year like everyone thought they were going.

837
00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,160
Speaker 7: To, Well, they started eight and oh last year, and

838
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,759
Speaker 7: it's kind of felt like, you know, a slim possibility.

839
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:44,320
Speaker 5: Uh No.

840
00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:45,000
Speaker 6: I think the.

841
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,920
Speaker 4: Biggest competition this year, there was this close, literally this

842
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:49,759
Speaker 4: close from losing the World Series last year.

843
00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:53,120
Speaker 7: Yeah, And I think that's the part that probably gets

844
00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:56,160
Speaker 7: missed or forgotten when you're talking like at this point

845
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:57,680
Speaker 7: of the year, when you're looking at the roster and

846
00:36:57,719 --> 00:36:59,560
Speaker 7: going like, how is this team going to be beat you?

847
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:00,200
Speaker 6: Times?

848
00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:04,000
Speaker 7: Last year offensively, they were really inconsistent. You saw some

849
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:06,960
Speaker 7: of their veteran guys are getting to places in their

850
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,839
Speaker 7: career where if they're not one hundred percent physically, if

851
00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:13,480
Speaker 7: they're dealing with some small nagging injuries, or even just

852
00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:16,600
Speaker 7: like you know, over time, right like your body changes,

853
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:19,160
Speaker 7: your swing changes, some of the things you would do

854
00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:22,040
Speaker 7: in the cage or mental cues or mechanical tweaks that

855
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,920
Speaker 7: would work in the past don't quite work as well anymore.

856
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:27,239
Speaker 7: And I think for the Dodgers, like one of the

857
00:37:27,239 --> 00:37:29,680
Speaker 7: things that is going to be important under the hood

858
00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:32,520
Speaker 7: this year is kind of figuring out a more consistent

859
00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:34,960
Speaker 7: offensive identity as a team, because when guys were not

860
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,279
Speaker 7: at their best, right when Mookie Betts was struggling, if

861
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:40,719
Speaker 7: Freddie Freeman was struggling to Oscar Hernandez was dealing with injuries.

862
00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,839
Speaker 7: I think you saw some issues in just like their

863
00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:46,520
Speaker 7: team wide approach at times where they were just too

864
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:49,239
Speaker 7: easy of outs at different points, especially in the postseason.

865
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:51,879
Speaker 7: So those are the little things that over the course

866
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:53,560
Speaker 7: of a year I think can pop up and give

867
00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:56,160
Speaker 7: them some challenges. But it's also a team that has

868
00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:59,280
Speaker 7: a lot of experience obviously, that really likes playing together,

869
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:01,319
Speaker 7: that has a good culture, and that I think the

870
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:03,800
Speaker 7: Dodgers hope is when they do meet those moments of

871
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,280
Speaker 7: adversity this year where they're not one hundred percent healthier,

872
00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:08,719
Speaker 7: the lineup scuffling a little bit, they're gonna be able

873
00:38:08,719 --> 00:38:10,759
Speaker 7: to lean on last year's experience when they had to

874
00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:13,040
Speaker 7: overcome that and be a little bit more prepared to

875
00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:16,000
Speaker 7: avoid those stretches of inconsistency that yeah, put them in

876
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,040
Speaker 7: some tough spots in the second half of the season

877
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:22,279
Speaker 7: in the World Series. But again, like you look around

878
00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:24,520
Speaker 7: the rest of baseball, that their margin for error is

879
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:27,719
Speaker 7: just so much bigger than everybody else, is that it's

880
00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:30,600
Speaker 7: hard to start doing the hypothetical game. Okay, well, like

881
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:33,200
Speaker 7: who could beat them? Like if they're playing their best.

882
00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:34,799
Speaker 7: They're gonna be really tough to be.

883
00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:37,279
Speaker 1: They just can't struggle at the same time. I just

884
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,560
Speaker 1: have to stay healthy not struggle at the same time.

885
00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:41,919
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Jack, We appreciate it very much. Guys,

886
00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:44,560
Speaker 1: don't forget. You can check out Jack's work on the

887
00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:45,640
Speaker 1: California Post.