All right, the baseball's hitting the water.

That means it's another episode of splash Hit.

We're excited joining today.

I'm fp Santanselo, broadcaster for the San Francisco Giants, joined by Susan Slusser, beat writer reporter for the Chronicle for the Giants.

She's nice enough to join us today, But first we got to take care of some business.

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So we got to take care of some business first, Susan.

But things are going well so.

Far, are Yeah.

We're having a lot of fun with this.

We've got some guests we're trying to get some guests coming up, and uh, you know, I'll be coming and going as my schedule allows.

I'm a I'm not you're the you're the permanent guy, but I'm gonna.

I'm going to join as I can.

So so when we got today FP.

Well, we're going to talk about Joe Madden had some strong comments on K and b R.

Then we're going to talk about the GM meetings.

Obviously there's a lot going on in Las Vegas right now.

There's a new hitting coach and some free agent possibilities and maybe some guys that the Giants already have in house for options.

So let's start with Joe Madden and and what he said on CAMBR.

He said it was insulting that the Giants hired Tony Vtello as their manager.

And I was just listening to to it the other day, and insulting is a strong words.

So your thoughts on what he said and what Joe Madden said on KMBR.

You know, I this is a weird one for me because, look, I know Joe Madden's out there.

I'm sure he's been trying to like get back in to the managing game for a while, and it probably is frustrating for him to see somebody who does not have pro experience of any kind get a job like this.

But he's he's usually known as a classy fella, and I think he maybe misspoke.

He's kind of a fun loving guy.

He might have even kind of meant it.

I don't know, slightly jokingly.

I don't know.

What I do know is that in the SF Standard, my former chronicle colleague and good friend John Shay talked to Tony Vtela at the GM meetings yesterday, and Tony responded to this as graciously as you could possibly imagine.

He said, you know, he's got nothing but like huge respect for Joe Madden.

He knows Joe Madden's one of those guys where the reputation is he's got a big personality.

He likes to let a team show its character.

That's one of the reasons he's won.

He's so well regarded by players for that.

And Tony vt tell us that, you know, he thinks he's that kind of guy.

He'd like to be that kind of guy.

He hopes Joe Madden's not so mad at him getting this getting hired for this job that he doesn't want to talk to him because he's a guy who was on his list to talk to.

He really wants to kind of, you know, go straight to the source and find out some of like how did you do this?

So I suspect they will probably talk very soon, and I bet that's a hilarious conversation when it does.

I hope we hear about it because I think Tony, I mean, knowing Joe Madden and from what we're learning about Tony Vitelo, I think those two are kind of natural friends.

But Tony really handled this beautifully.

And that's you know, the first kind of high profile guy who has said on the record, like what are they doing here?

So interesting?

Yeah, it gave me.

It gave me I didn't get an interview vibe giants.

And it kind of had old man get off my long vibes.

And I think you're right in the said Susan that he realized what a strong statement he is that was, because he's not stupid, but he realized how strong a stated that was.

And the whole rest of the interview, if you listen to the whole thing, he tried to backpedal the rest of the way, and what else is Tony going to say publicly.

I'm sure amongst his friends he's like wow right out of the gate.

And I'm sure there's some sentiment through.

Major League Baseball, just like Joe Madden said, where hey, you know that is insulting.

There is guys that rode the bus for twenty seven years.

There are guys that paid their dues.

But I think also what Joe Madden said was, you know, it's more about relatability with the players.

It's more about getting through to the players.

And I've talked to a lot of coaches in Major League Baseball and they've said it's not so much the message, it's how you connect with players.

It's all about connectivity with the players.

So I asked Tony the RUSSA one day, Susan.

This was in the press box in Washington, DC, and I said, Tony, I always want to be a big league manager.

That was one of my dreams.

And I said, I'm still tinkering with the idea.

The broadcasting things going really well right now.

What would be some advice you would give to a young big league manager?

And Tony just pulled me aside.

One of the nicest guys I've ever come across, and I consider him a good friend, he said.

FP The biggest mistake young managers make is they want to show people how much they know versus getting your players to play for you.

He said, the number one thing for a young manager is getting your players to play for you, not to show how smart you are, like with bunt defenses and strategy and pitching moves and bullpen usage.

It's getting your guys to play for you.

And I think that's the number one thing Tony Vitello has going for him right now.

And there's going to be naysayers.

There's going to be a lot of old school baseball guys.

It's the only sport I think we're really stuck in our ways.

Like there's all kinds of new stuff coming out in other sports, but baseball so stuck in their ways that when you do go out of the box and hire somebody that's a college coach, it's going to ruffle some feathers.

You know, Larissa would be a good resource.

You know, he was kind of non traditional too.

You know, he'd gone to law school, you know, hadn't been a big league player.

You know, he didn't check every single box.

He had paid his dues as a as a minor league guy.

But he wasn't the traditional guy for sure.

And look at his career.

You know, he's a Hall of Famer.

There are plenty of guys who pay their dues and come up and don't do anything.

I mean, it's not a it's not a guarantee that you're going to be a great big league manager.

We've talked about this already, the fact that Buster Posey has taken this big swing, he's behind him the way to Buster Posey.

And then you've got, of course, Dusty Baker, now Bruce bochi is guys to bounce things off of right there with you.

You've got your your buddy Jay Singler right next to you as whatever title it's going to be, probably bench coach or assistant manager, something like that.

He's got so many positives around this.

I don't think he's worried at all about Joe Madden.

Joe Madden's not really a factor right now in the big leagues anyway.

And I can tell you what the Giants players are going to look at something like that and go like, oh no, don't come after our guy.

You know, that's a way to get guys to get come together a little bit too, is like, Hey, maybe we could say that internally, but nobody outside better be saying something like that about our guy.

And I think that's that's going to be a little bit of a plus too.

It's really interesting situation.

There are going to be times and Tony Vitellos said this repeatedly.

Look, I know I don't have pro experience and something I'm going to have to deal with.

He very much seems like a guy who knows what he doesn't know.

And they always say that's so important for leaders, particularly coming into a new job.

You just can't assume you know everything, and he knows he doesn't.

He's been very upfront with that, pretty self deprecating too, But I really just like the sort of generosity of spirit he showed in responding to this.

I think that was that and that will be noticed too, particularly by the other big league managers.

Well public please got to say that.

I'd love to hear what he said privately about it.

But if I know Tony Vitella like I think I do already and spending some time with him, he's been a sam and Swish swimming upstream his whole career, so I mean, I think he takes this and it motivates him.

So when you're always the underdog, and even the Italian underdog, and I could speak to this stuff like this, it's fuel in your tank.

So this will motivate him, especially if he starts to think, well, if that's the sentiment.

And I think we'll change subjects here in a minute.

I think that the Giants and I talked to Tony about this afterwards.

I said, you got to be the most hated team in.

Baseball this year.

You got to piss everybody off.

This isn't making friends and going out there and hugging people before the game.

And like, if the Giants and Tony Bytello are doing it the right way, they got to piss people off this year.

They got to be the most hated team in baseball, and that means they're doing their jobs, they're doing things the right way.

It's funny you mentioned that because I know Buster has said a few times like, you know what, I don't like this players hugging guys from the other team before the game.

Like, that's not what we're here for.

This is you know, this is a competition.

You know, Buster the ultimate competitor.

Of course he doesn't love stuff like that.

Uh.

And you know, baseball has gotten to be a little clubby, Like you know, you see guys just hanging out before the game all the time.

You'll see guys from the other teams sometimes come over and hang out behind the cage.

I don't remember that that used to happen.

That's that's all a little unusual.

So uh, I don't I don't mind going in with a little bit of an edge, you know, hang with your buddy after the game, that's fine.

But pregame, we're you know, we're in it to win it.

You know, go away.

I'm not talking to you now.

I'm not even gonna say hi at first base or whatever we wesed.

To yell when guys hug, no love making on the field, and if and if you like him that much, taken to dinner.

Is that the word you used.

No, we did say, don't love making on the field, and if you like him that much, take him to dinner.

So I would I love it to be the fighting Giants this year and pissing people off and bat flip it and all this stuff they did at Tennessee within reason.

But like you know, when you talk about the chip they have to have on their shoulder.

Maybe it starts with the manager and your direct reflection of your manager.

I always thought this could this could be interesting, and I think it could be a fun season.

And Tony definitely is going to use this as fuel in the tank.

And like we talked about, you know, the last show, his first speech in spring training, you think it'd be something about attention to detail and how the Blue Jays missed the World Series by this much on the play at the plate, and if we just increase this much in our defense and our base running, in our energy level every day, in our two strike approach and whatever whatever they implement, I think they're going to win a lot more games than they lose this year.

Well, it's funny you mentioned the Blue Jays because our next topic is Blue Jays related.

The Giants have a one at least one new hitting coach that we now know.

It sounds an awful lot like a Giants player.

Of note, it's not Hunter Pence, Hunter Mints.

What do we know about him?

What do you think we can expect from a guy coming from the Blue Jays And he's not a household name either.

This was an assistant hitting coach.

So what do you think he brings and what do you know?

I don't know a lot about him.

I do know a lot about the Blue Jays.

One of my best friends is a broadcast for the Blue Jays, Joe Siddle, So I tuned into a lot of games this year just to hear his voice.

And then all of a sudden, you start to fall in love with a scrappy bunch of players that didn't strike out a lot.

And I think when you talk about some things that Giants need to improve on, I think they were nineteenth in Major League Baseball and strikeouts this year with a little over eight a game.

And when you look at what the Blue Jays did, they were second in baseball.

They struck out six point seven eight times a game.

They put the ball in play, but they didn't sacrifice power and they didn't sacrifice average.

And what does that mean.

It's just a mindset.

We used to say two for yourself and one for the ball club, meaning let it brit for two to your first two strikes come out of your shoes.

But then when you get to two strikes, make an adjustment and spread out choke up a lot like Dom Smith did last year a lot like Wilmer Flores has done in the past, where you put the ball and play, good things happen.

What's your batting average when you strike out, it's zero zero zero.

It's always going to be zero zero zero.

And the old I guess the new philosophy with analytics is you know, what's what's a ground ball to short do?

With two strikes, you can still do some damage.

And I think there's some certain guys in the Giants lineup that, yeah, like Raffie Devers, swing out of your ass with like two strikes.

I don't care.

But Matt Chapman could be a two seventy hitter.

Willia Damas could be a two seventy to eighty hitter with a two strike approach.

And now you're putting pressure on the defense.

You're putting pressure on the pitcher.

I got the Padres numbers right here.

I'm sorry, the Blue Jay's numbers right here.

The Padres were third.

That's why I said that.

I'm reading it.

The Padres struck out eleven hundred and sixty one times.

That was third in all the baseball The Blue Jays were second with one thousand and ninety nine.

The Royals were first with one thousand and ninety six.

So the Blue Jays were just three strikeouts more than the.

Royals last year.

And I think moving forward with the Giant Susan, they got to be better with two strikes and they got to put the ball in play.

You know what this I had a long conversation with Matt Chapman right at the end of the year and Rostoria after the season ended about Matt Chapman's approach with two strikes because it was terrible, and he would tell you that, and he talked to me about it on the record.

He was really disappointed in it.

There were some reasons, and absolutely this was the last thing he mentioned.

But you know that the hand injuries he had, which by the end of the season it was both hands.

The one had the ligament strains that were so severe, you know, for a while they thought they were torn, and then the other he had that huge, absolute like wound on the heel of his hand, and he really couldn't choke up any He has choked up some in the past with two strikes.

He just couldn't.

He could not hold the bat any further up or it was right.

He was feeling it right there, and he couldn't wouldn't have swung with a bat with any authority doing that.

But he said early in this season, the two strike approach, it wasn't just him, it was a lot of guys because nobody was hitting and everybody was trying so hard to you start going a little bit out out of the zone.

I mean, this is typical of any team in a slump, but particularly with two strikes, you're really trying to like protect and it just he you know, it kind of snowballs, but particularly for a Chapman, and then the physical stuff.

But he said, that's what he is spending the off season working on, is the two strike approach, hitting with two strikes choking up.

I think that, especially with Matt Chapman doing that, we're going to see an emphasis in spring training from everybody because he's he is really, you know, one of the leaders of the position players by far, very forceful.

When he's doing something, I think everybody is going to get really right on board and serious with it.

So that's going to be an interesting development.

But if Matt Chapman can start and having like a league average two strike hitting approach, that's massive where he hits in the lineup.

Yeah, And it's just a mentality too, It's just wanting to put the ball in play with two strikes.

I think guys that strike out a lot, Susan are afraid to strike out.

And what happens when you're afraid to strike out?

You're afraid to get to two strikes.

So what do you do early in the count?

You swing, You want to put the ball in play.

You don't want to get to two strikes because now you start overthinking it and I'm going to strike out again, and then you go out of the zone again to get to two strikes.

Where the mindset is not so much the two strike approach.

It's like, I'm not afraid to hit with two strikes.

I'm comfortable in a one to two count.

A two to two count now I fight.

Now, i stick my nose in the dirt and I'm going to battle you.

And I think if you have that mindset one through nine and everybody or most guys are buying into that, now you're making it really tough on a starting pitcher, and you're getting into bullpens.

And I know, maybe getting into bullpens isn't what he used to be, because everybody throws a million now, so at least you're making a picture work to get through your lineup two times.

Yeah, I mean put the ball in play.

You know.

One of the Giants better hitters with runners in scoring position with two strikes was Patrick Bailey.

And this was a guy who really struggled at the plate most of the year until toward the end.

I like the fact that he finished strong, by the way.

I thought that was, you know, but I don't think anybody was going to talk up much of what he did in the first half.

But he was reliably coming through with runners in scoring position because he was willing to put the ball in play.

You know, he was moving guys over, he was hitting sacrifice flies.

I love that.

But you mentioned Don Smith and Wilmer Flores.

Both of them will choke up, both of them, like, really focus on putting the ball just in play with two strikes, really good approaches.

It's possible neither comes back obviously.

That position right now sort of first d h A lot of bodies Devers has got, you know, first DIBs.

Eldridge is probably big in the mix now, very much looks like will be on the opening day roster if if you know, you talked about trading him last week a little bit, I don't know that's certainly there's a lot interest in him.

I don't think that's a joke at all.

I think if they want a big piece, that's probably the guy that they're going to have to move.

Who knows whether they do or not.

They certainly value him.

But I really liked what dom Smith brought a lot.

I would love to see him come back.

And you know, I think everyone knows I'm big Wilmer Flores staying like I'm just I love the guy.

I know he's on the down side of his career, but look what he did earlier this season, last year, and then Dever shows up.

His playing time dips, of course, his numbers dip, but that guy's a professional hitter.

Uh.

He's never going to be a fast guy.

He's not gonna steal you a base.

He's not good in the field.

But as a bench guy, come on, I still think he's got value.

There's no way they keep both.

But I know I'm kind of throwing this out of the blue, but do you have strong thoughts on either guy?

If he could keep one, which do you keep I'll.

Keep Tom Smith all day.

Tom Smith is a winning player.

He's a championship player.

He's gold glove first baseman.

He gets your clutch hit.

He's a winning player.

The Giants need more winning players.

I would sign Tom Smith.

He can play the outfield.

It's not just a first baseman.

He can play left field, whatever he can dh.

He's a defensive replacement for devers every single day.

So there's your safety net with a two or three run lead in the seventh inning.

And more importantly than all this, or just as important, I should say he's a good teammate.

Yeah, And I think that's something that isn't the biggest commodities that used to be back in the old days, where this is a guy that's joyful to be around.

He's in a good mood every single day.

He's always pumping guys up.

He's a little bit quiet, but he's always got a smile on his face, and he's ready to play at a moment's notice.

He got a bunch of big hits.

He was the guy for when he played they won.

Yeah.

And then when he got hurt on that stretch against the Dodgers on the double play, and he messed up his hamstring.

They kind of went south after Dom Smith got hurt at the.

End of the season.

So when you have winning players like that.

And I didn't know anything about Tom Smith, and I.

Mean I watched him play in New York.

I was just like, oh, this's a big prospect.

The more I saw him play, he's as good as I've seen at first base.

And then just the two strike approach and the clutch hits and putting the ball in play.

I'm a huge Dom Smith fan.

I'm sure Buster and Zach are too.

That's a guy that I would make a priority to sign back for twenty twenty six.

Well, with what he did last year, there's gonna be a lot of teams after him.

He's a good all around player, and I mean he's a sweet fielding for ast Baseman.

I had no idea.

I said that to him one day, you know, I just don't remember seeing you play first base that much, and he was like, yeah, it's playing behind Pete Alonzo, Yep, yep, that'll do it.

But so I asked him how he learned to play first base so well, and he had steps behind his house in La growing up, and he just go throw like get the craziest angles.

He could just try to get the ball bounce off in wild angles by trying to hit different areas on the steps, And I was like, that's just so smart.

He had all sorts of smart smart ways.

Yeah, he just wanted to be a great fielder, and he really is good.

He just hadn't gotten a lot of opportunity to do with the big league level.

What were all these teams doing missing on this guy so long?

I know, I love when you guys goes to his right towards second and then he just takes the ball and he throws like a grenade up in the air and it's all slow and it's like right on the money.

As the pitcher's crossing the bag and then all the diving plays his feeds.

He's got a good arm.

I could do a whole show on Tom Smith.

I hope they signed him back.

Yeah, yeah, that's good.

Well.

Free agency.

We touched on free agency a little bit last week because the GM's meetings are, you know, are going going on.

We talked mostly kind of about some really super big names and then you know possible that you know, maybe Bryce Harper gets made available at some point.

What else you got, because it's clear to me that right field, maybe catcher or backup catcher Samarias where they're going to be looking free agency, and definitely in the bullpen.

We talked a little bit about starting pitching, but bullpen, right field, what you got.

I'm a big Harrison Vader fan.

I like what he did in Philadelphia when they traded for him.

I think he hit I got it right here.

He hit over three hundred with five home runs, kind of sparked the Phillies, and when he got hurt, they kind of lost their energy level, almost like what Drew Gilbert did for the Giants when he first got called up.

He's a plus center fielder.

Giants need to work on their outfield defense.

He's an energy guy.

He seems like he'd be Tony Vaitello's favorite player.

He can ruffle some feathers too.

He can piss some people off, so maybe that's what Tony wants to But he's only had two full seasons with an ops above league average twenty eighteen to twenty one.

There's a risk that he kind of comes back to the norm next year.

But I don't know.

I just two seventy one, seven teen home runs fifty four RBIs, he had one hundred and twenty four hits, And I just remember watching a lot of Phillies games down the stretch, and he was what made them go on a team with so many superstars, with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper and Nick Castianos and Trey Turner, he was the guy in their lineup that was getting all the big hits.

He was pumping him up.

He had an energy of that ball club.

I wasn't a.

Big Harrison Bader fan as a Yankee or even a met But the more I watch him with the Philadelphia Phillies this year, I'm like, that guy'd be a great giant.

Yeah.

Yeah, there's some good names out there.

You know.

I've mentioned Kyle Tucker.

I know he goes with a qualifying offer, but and they've they've given out a few, you know, over the years, and they've also been making noises about not tying up too much money and a lot of long term big deals.

You know, they have quite a few already, So you know, that might be a pipe dream him or Cody Bellinger, but I like the idea of one more big bat, and especially somebody that can go get the ball like a Bellinger.

So who knows.

And you know what, he's done a lot of one or two year deal, so maybe he is a guy that they potentially could consider.

I was watching MLB Network this morning.

J.

P.

Morosi said that the Guardians are listening to offers for Stephen Kwan, Bay area guy.

I mean, let's go, I mean, gold Glub.

Is there anybody better in left field than Stephen Kwan with his defense?

And you're talking about upgrading on defense?

John Hoolee is great, But if you put a Quan and left in a Bader and center and maybe John Houlei and right with his arm.

I think he has a right field arm and might might pan out as that.

I mean, here, you are you moving Elliott Ramos in this scenario.

I don't know.

I'm not a GM Susan.

Don't put me on the spot.

One hundred.

You're going with a four man outfield?

I am, I am.

It's gonna We're gonna have a rover.

Honestly, Tom posted one hundred and fifty six games last year.

To seventy two.

He's got a little pop in his bad and one hundred and seventy hits and he's just a baseball player.

He's a baseball player.

Yeah, I'm all in favor of that.

I and I'd also go out and try to get Joe Ryan, another local guy.

Absolutely do that.

Joe Ryan might want to be might want to be a Giant.

I've heard rumors, so that would be cool.

Oh yeah, absolutely, I'm sure he would.

He's friends with Logan Web.

They're really good.

They're we're real tight.

You know what, Logan is friends with I think at this point almost every everyone had a profile player in the major leagues because we throw it almost any mare, Like, I'm friends with Logan, So that's what happens when you're like one of the friendliest guys guys.

BI did we talk about him being fourth for the cy Young?

That's pretty cool?

Oh yeah we should.

I mean, since we're segueing in the Logan he was so great on the show the other day.

We can't thank him and the Giants enough for for for coming on the show.

But Logan Web fourth and the cy Young.

He led the league in strikeouts, he led the league innings pitched.

I don't I think people care about wins and losses anymore, But is he ever gonna win one?

With these guys in front of him right now, and does he even care?

I think he would trade that for a World Series championship any day of the week.

Oh, he would want that.

He'd take the title over a little bit of hardware.

Yeah, for sure.

It's tough in a division with skens now Yamamoto, My goodness.

I would take a guy who's in the top five every year, like Logan Web and is right up either leading or second and innings pitched.

This we're in the era of how many starting pitchers can you keep healthy all year?

The answer is often just a handful, you know, two or three if you're lucky, And Logan Web is just a horse and he's great, so I yeah, top five, that's fine.

Just he would say win a title?

I think he did.

Didn't he say something like that.

I don't know what we're asking him about world like X or y I or a championship?

And of course he said a championship, because that's what we're here for, right.

I think he means it too.

It's not BS like he absolutely means that.

He's so old school.

You know what look nice next to him is Freddy Peralta.

I'm just saying and maybe Willie Damas says, hey, Freddy, it's really good here in San Francisco.

Get your butt over here.

We're about to win.

I know, right, Suddy.

Yeah, He's like, yeah, they were next door neighbors in Milwaukee.

They are tight.

So that's a good call.

Giants need another FP.

I feel like, so Freddy Peralta should come to the Giants seventeen and six last year with a two seven.

O e er.

And he's a gamer man, and he's a legit ace, and you throw him in the mix.

And maybe these free agents were talking about and a new manager and playing with energy, attention to detail and working on the little things that win games, and playing the game with a passion for two and a half three hours every single night.

Now you're talking, you're talking October baseball.

But as we know, you to stay healthy and there's it's a long season for me.

I mean, they definitely need some more starters.

Greg Johnson was pretty clear when I talked to him that they don't want to do a lot of long term deals for starting pitchers.

So I don't I don't know, necessarily, I'd love to see it.

So maybe the friendliness with a Damas familiarity with Zax Menazzian.

Maybe those kind of things help.

You're right, he'd look fantastic.

Well, the Birds dealt Corbin Burns a year before he was up for free agency, Devin Williams the same thing, and Josh Hader, So that's kind of their mo Like there's a small market team, they don't have a lot of money, and right before you're a free agent, they want to get valued for you.

So they've done this before and I.

Think Freddy Peralta will look great in the orange of black.

Well, we've talked a lot about the outfield, but they've got some internal options.

You know, they've talked about some of the internal options in the rotation.

Is Marco Luciano ever going to be a factor?

Is Grant McCrae.

You know, he was up and down a little bit last year.

Obviously one of the best field or options that they have.

We talked last week about the fact that a lot of their young outfielders coming up not necessarily the best defenders.

He's a good one.

Matos is a guy that some teams are targeting in trades potentially, So do they have an internal option that potentially could be in right or do they have to go free agent for right field?

That's great question, Susan, thanks for teaming up.

I think they got to go free agent.

And I love McCray.

Grant.

Mccray's one of my favorite guys to be around on a daily basis.

That throw he.

Made from right field this year in such a big game was incredible.

I think it was one hundred and something miles an hour.

And he can cover ground out there, he can run the bases.

The Giants need speed.

I think he has value at the major league level.

The one thing I will say about anybody in general in baseball, when you get your day in the sun, you gotta shine because you don't know when those opportunities are going to come.

And when I think of the young players that I covered back East, whether it was Bryce Harper, whether it was Juan Soto, they got their chance and it happened.

It either happens or it doesn't happen.

And with Lucy kind.

Of extreme examples FP, I.

Mean, yeah, that's this true.

But like Luciano's had some chances, Matzos has had some chances.

Yeah, And are they the type of player?

And I think just in general, with Zack and Buster and Tony.

Who you get in free agency has to be the style of play that you want to have for one hundred and sixty two, because you get in trouble if I want this guy just because he's good.

I want this guy just because he's good.

I want this guy just because he's good.

And then you got a hodgepodge and you got too many different types of players, Like what's our philosophy.

Are we gonna be scrappy?

Are we gonna run the bases, or we have speed?

Are we gonna play defense?

Or we're just gonna swing out of our ass and hit home runs and throw it as hard as we like?

What's our philosophy?

And then you sit down at that big long table and said this is the kind of team I want.

Then it helps you like folk us in and narrow in on what kind of players you want.

So with these guys, lucianle just he seems like a low energy guy to me, but I really I don't know him very well.

I've only seen him in snippets.

Matt TuS has had some opportunities where I'm like, this guy's the best, and then all of a sudden it goes the other way.

And he hasn't really wrapped his head.

Around not playing every day, and that's a big adjustment for a young player.

You play every day at A ball, you play every day at double A, play every day at triple A.

You get into a rhythm, you slow the game down.

All of a sudden, you get to the highest level with the best players and you're playing once a week or twice a week if you're lucky.

And that was hard for me late in my career to deal with that.

I couldn't imagine being a twenty three, twenty four year old and all of a sudden, like nobody ever.

Taught me how to be a bench guy in the miners and.

How to stay ready and how to keep my eyes locked in on one hundred miles an hour when I'm not playing.

And that's why veteran guys are so much better as bench guys, and it retards the progress of minor leaguers when you bring them up and just sit on the bench.

Yeah, absolutely for sure.

And I think we do have an idea what the team's looking for, particularly when it when it comes to the lineup.

They're they're looking for guys kind of like what we're talking about don't strike out a lot, put the ball in play.

They they I think that they feel like, especially with this ballpark, and it makes sense.

Power is not the thing that they are necessarily emphasizing right now.

They I think they want contact hitters and that's what they're got, that's what they're drafting.

They're drafting guys who don't necessarily profile as big home run hitters.

They took a lot of guys with high averages, decent walks, good on base percentage.

I think in that ballpark, that's probably a good way to go.

So I think that's we're going to see an awful lot more of that.

Let's go out.

Baseball's back, baby.

They're going to play some hardcore hard ball this year.

All Right, I know you had a long day.

You're in London right now.

I'm going to be visiting you in London.

I'm going to be your roommate for a week or so here coming.

Up after Thanksgiving.

I'm super excited for that podcast.

That's how close Susan and I are.

I'm traveling to London and staying with her in a couple of weeks, and she's going to show me around.

We're super excited about that.

Subscribe to splash Hit Territory on YouTube wherever we get your podcasts.

We are part of the foul Territory network.

We will see you guys next week.

Susan, thanks so much for joining me.

It's so much easier when you're here.

I know you're only going to be here on certain shows here and there, but the more the merrier, Man, thanks for coming on today.

Awesome.

Thanks FP.

We will or at least FP.

We'll see you guys next week.

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