Hour 3: Shannon Drayer on the Julio MVP Train

Get in the freaking auto! From the Quantum Fiber Studio, this is Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports. I don't read the internet, guys. Take the bull by the hands. And Brooke Huard. Huard. And Brooke Huard. Now here are your hosts, Brock Huard and Mike Salk. And that's fire! Alright, we're rolling on. It's Brock and Salk in Peoria. Mariner Spring Training. The sun is shining. Going to be 90 degrees again. It was toasty yesterday, by the way. It was hot. You needed a Gatorade, didn't you? I did. I needed a second. You almost canceled on me last time. I did. I was not feeling well after golfing. You think I would have had any sympathy for you whatsoever? No, which is why I didn't cancel. Which is why I didn't cancel. Instead, I chugged a Gatorade, took a shower, and then was able to rally. What is today? I'm a pretty tough guy. No, here's the thing. No, here's the thing this week. No, it's too hard. More is here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's just as much as it would be great to do that. I think we did do it last year because we did get a classic from Zane on the Sunny Hills retirement community in Arizona. Oh, that's right. That's right. Well, I didn't get there yet. I haven't made my way over to Sun City West. I'm going to play there on Friday. Yep, take their money on Friday. I do like going over to see the old folks on Friday and playing all of that. Hope you got your Social Security check. Yep. Mildred, I'm coming for you. Remember that woman I had to yell at a few years ago? Oh, yeah. Oh, man. I would yell at her again, given the opportunity. Let's do some Blue 88. This is Brock and Sock's Blue 88. We're going to go red, right, tight, close, sprint, left, G, U corner, halfback, flat, on one, on one, ready. Brock Heward tackles three football questions as only he can. Blue 88. Now here's your hosts, Brock Heward and Mike Sock. I got some great sound. I think I called her an old back. So if I remember right, were you playing with somebody that had a gun in their golf bag too? That was two years ago. And then was there something written in one of the stalls? No? I don't remember that. Or you went to the bathroom and you overheard them talking about how handsome you were or something? Oh, no, the women, yes. I came back from getting some food. Yes. They were very intrigued. Who's this young one? Who's this young stud? Are you moving in here? I hope he's 55 plus. I felt harassed. I legitimately, it was the only time in my life I've ever had a small sense of what it must be like to be sexually objectified. To be a sex symbol. Yeah, it was awful. Well, not bad. But, yeah, that happened. There was the guy with the gun. Yep. All right. He was like, yeah, no, I'm packing. On the golf course? Yeah. Yeah. Why? That's a lot of money out here. No, there's not. What are you talking about? You guys play for like $10. You can never be too careful. Like, I think you can. I stayed on his good side, though, the rest of it. I'll tell you that much. All right, Brock, let's start here. Mike McDonald spoke yesterday, Schneider, the day before. Yep. What do you get out of it? Yeah, there's a couple things that jump out. And I have said this before about John. Just the demeanor, the body language, the tone, the age. None of it says brilliant evolution. I'm ahead of everybody else, and I'm smarter than everybody else. But, man, is he a forward thinker. And I love this from Mike McDonald yesterday. Cut number 13, Brady. I tell you all the time, Saul, don't try to be an imitator. Don't try to copycat Mike McDonald. Go ahead. Go ahead and try to copy what we do. Good luck with that. Here was Mike. I've said this before. You can't copy. Don't copy, Pete. Just have a vision of what you're trying to create, the systems that you believe in. What are the principles that you want to hang your hat on as a football team in each phase of the ball? And then go attack it. There's so many different ways to play schematically to play great defense. what you can't sacrifice is how you play. You can't. And John, actually, with Rich Eisen and others, McAfee referenced again and again that Baltimore blowout, that it wasn't just a physical humiliation, which we all saw, and the numbers were as bad as you can ever play in a football game. They had like six first downs. I mean, it was humiliating. It could have been 60-3 that day. It was leaving that place going, what in the world did we just see? What in the world? Listening to Kirk Cousins last week on a podcast, talk about going up against Mike's defense and going, what in the world am I looking at? The tails, the things that I'm supposed to look at, the safety rotation I'm supposed to look at, the defender running with motion as a man. He's busting these tails. He's breaking systems. He's a forward thinker. And John and Mike ahead of the curve, certainly compared to many of their peers. All right, question number two. speaking of Mike McDonald again more from him yesterday how good was this football team speaking my language does he think you want a Vegemite sandwich he is speaking my language I said this is one of the greatest Seahawks teams ever Mike McDonald yesterday to Rich Eisen listen to this took a lot of pride in in delivering that to our to our fans into the 12s I think it take take me and the coaches out of it, but what our players did, this team, at Michigan, we would like number the teams, teams 142. Oh, yes. I know about 144. You were on 142, right? Yeah, I believe so. And so, like the 2025, 2026 Seattle Seahawks, I think deserve to be one of the, recognized as one of the all-time great teams, great performances. I mean, find me a stat and compare it to everybody else. But that's important, you know, in the history books and our guys deserve that recognition, I think. That's so good. That is. I mean, that's what I've said. What do you want? What number do you want? You want the team that had to beat all the 12-win playoff teams? That didn't happen. They did it. Do you want to come out of the toughest division in the history of NFL football? They did that. Do you want to talk about scoring differential? Do you want to talk about DVOA? Do you want to talk about special teams offense? What do you want to talk about? Because when you talk about it, the numbers are that good. The numbers will tell you this was one of the 10 best teams in the history of the NFL. And no one will ever say that. and put some respect on their damn name, would you? That is never going to happen. Put some respect on their name! I appreciate the thought. It's also never going to happen. Question number three. I'm not saying it shouldn't happen. Don't get me wrong. I'm saying it's not going to happen. Right? I mean, you know that. Yeah, they don't have the star power. They don't have the Hall of Famers. They don't have all the buildup. They don't have all the hype. They don't have any of that. But the beauty of it, the beauty of it in this world that we live in with all these numbers and stats for the years to come, their production will be there for everybody to look at and go, oh, maybe we should rethink. They will probably be 10 years from now more respected than they are right now. That could be true or completely forgotten about because they didn't have the star power to keep people remembering. All right, Brock, question number three, spring ball right around the corner here for the Huskies. Jed Fish is trying to – you're going to have to help me through what he said about DeMond Williams. Well, I appreciate Jed. I said it at the time. He's got a lawyerly way about him. He's got a tremendous way to convince. He's a terrific recruiter and knows how to sell very, very well. Arizona is doing it right now. Washington, their class for 27 is number seven in the country the last time I looked. We know what he did in 26 and 25. He's a great recruiter. And he was on a pretty big college football podcast and just said, well, and the way he spun it with DeMond. Well, he didn't leave. You understand the way that all these guys, how it works, right? They all leave, and our guy didn't leave. And he spent 48 hours kind of testing the waters, but ultimately he didn't leave. And I was like, you know what, Jed? Good job. Good for you. You are a spin master. I believe in my heart of hearts. That sounds delusional. I believe in my heart of hearts that at some point, Demond, just have a full, like, just say, man, I screwed up. I tried to test the waters. I tried to push the envelope. I hurt people. Certainly the timing of it. And I know he did it in a mild way. Just have a two, three-minute interview. Just have a two, three-minute like, hey, man, this is the way the world works. This is how college football works. Everybody's constantly creating their value. And now I get to test it each and every year. And it was more about the timing on my part, and I didn't do a good job with it. And it'll be over. It'll be over. But trying to spin cycle it or not really tackle it in a very long. Our guy just didn't want to leave. He just wanted to stay here. I think it's pretty clear that while everybody else is transferring around the country, our guy loves it here. He just wants to be husky for life. He didn't say he didn't want to. He said he didn't leave. All right. Sounds good. That's great. Yeah. All right. College football is so wonky. Words matter. That is everything you need to know. I'm sorry. That is Blue 88 at a weird time. It's a weird time. You can't see a doggone band. I can't see anything. The sun is so bright. Do you feel blind? Yes. You feel like now the folks at Sun City are actually on a level playing field with you? Maybe. Why did you call her an old bag? I don't remember that. Oh, you don't remember? I don't remember that. She got mad at me for something I did wrong, which was fair. I had taken too long to get off the green on 18. Okay. Because I was playing with these other guys that were super nice. Right. And we were having a good time. Just lost track of time and space. And she came over afterwards to yell at me in my car, like as I was getting into my car. Oh, in your car? As I was like putting on my cleats in my car, she came over and started yelling at me. And I was like, ma'am, you're absolutely right. I take full accountability for that. I'm very sorry. I blew it. And she's like, well, I'll tell you what. You did this. Going on once more. And I was like, as I said, you're absolutely right. I was in the wrong. I totally blew it. You were very nice to me. And I'm really sorry about that. It would never happen again. Well, good. Because the people your age and this, that, and that. And finally, I was like, shut up, you old bag. I've apologized to you twice what do you want my first born what else you want me to do stop watching cable news and chill out oh my god I was so mad like I've apologized to you as sincerely and nicely as I can and what happened when you called her an old man that was about the end of that altercation We be right back with everything you need to know next Need to know. 15 minutes past every hour with Brock and Salk. Presented by Marquee Data. Here's what you need to know. Up first. Turn my mic on. I got a lineup for you. Turn on your mic, you old bag. Come on. Am I out of line there? I mean, old bag is maybe a little, but certainly by the third time saying enough. Like enough. How many times do you need to apologize? I think that's what I would have said, like enough. And by the way, it's not like I had injured her. No. I had caused her maybe 30 to 45 seconds of wait time. I got you. I mean, like, I feel like there was a moment at which it needed to end. I got you. Mariner lineup for today. What do we got? What do we got? Play at home against the Guardians. Yep. Donovan leading off. Cal batting second. Julio batting third. Randy batting fourth. Luke Raley, the DH batting fifth. Dominic Canzone batting sixth. Connor Joe is the catcher today. And then you go right back to Michael Arroyo and Colt Emerson. Wow. I mean, other than Cal getting the day off, that's once again. Will Cal DH in? No. I thought you said he's hitting second. No? Oh, I'm sorry. You're right. Cal is, Connor Joe is playing first. Excuse me. It's the C that gets me. It's a C, Joe. It's very bright. I screwed this up. Naylor has the day off. Excuse me. Yeah, you old bag. Get it right. That's an old story. That story's like five years old. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. I was mad. We're going to be there. I'm going to sit with the people today. I think I said old bag. I don't want to exaggerate. I definitely said stop watching cable news. Yes. Well, you also yelled that at someone that said River. when you had rented the house. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you also didn't have to. I was in band. In band, yes. Yeah, those people are gone. You know, the woman that owned the house that I was renting told me the next time to tell her, and she'd come back and beat the hell out of those people. She was so mad. She was more mad than I was, which is hard to imagine. Good. Now, a lot of, you know, we've talked about that. One of the things for our time here is, and it's always a great time, it's always a wonderful time, but this week in particular with the WBC and guys leaving, And Shannon was asking, I know Matt Treboni and some of the others earlier, when are you leaving? When are you leaving? They're all leaving, like, this weekend or early next week. So get the bats, play together, gain a little continuity, because that old WBC will be right around the corner. It will. Hey, let me play you this from Logan Gilbert. This was with us yesterday. We did ask him any progress towards a new deal, because he would be sort of next up and next in line. Cut four. Here was Logan's answer. I really haven't heard much lately. and yeah I kind of thought that with Cal last year you never know how things are going to work out but every year it's crazy like we're just talking about how many years it's been already I'm starting to feel old and then free agency is right around the corner and it's like it's it's exciting but unknown at the same time because this is all I've known my whole life and my best friends here and stuff like that so again I would love to stay here I haven't really heard much but you know maybe a good tryout here in spring training and things work out. You never know. Two things there. Number one, what does he have? One more year left this year and then one more? Does that sound right? I think so. Yep. Secondly, I'll be just really curious if any deals get done with what's right now looming at the end of this season, and that's the negotiation with the new CBA. Right? I think part of Cal's impetus and all of that was, you know, that was two years away, and if I can get that deal now, do you think we're going to see a lot of other deals? I don't know. That's a great question. My instinct in my gut, and I think yours as well, would say, eh, just too uncertain. Don't know. But you have seen, I mean, big free agent signings this offseason. Yeah. So, yeah, I don't know. I'd be very curious to see whether or not something like that could get done. Here's the second thing you need to know. My buddy Nick just texted me. Those 30 seconds are pretty meaningful for a person of advanced age with a short life runway. You know what, Nick? You're right. That's my bad. Thanks, buddy. Thanks for pointing that out. Appreciate you. Mike McDonald, meeting with the media yesterday in Indy with the combine going on. I like this one, Brock. Cut eight. He was asked about some of the proposed rule changes. Tell me this isn't a Mike McDonald answer. Oh, I don't know. I just tell us the rules and we'll go try to play by him better than anybody else. So it's just, how do you want to do it? Okay, that's fine. Who does he sound like? He's Bill. That is Bill Bell. 100%. I mean, he even answered it with the same, like, file. So I had an administrator tell me this. I think you'll like this. I'll get an administrator tell me this about a certain coach. He said, you know, this coach just got a great right hand. Incredible. And it was a basketball analogy, but that right hand was so good. But there was never development of the left hand. and I was actually telling my mom and dad about this. This is what my dad was so good at. He'd come with the right hand and it would be hard and it would be urgent and it would be aggressive and he would challenge you, but then he'd come around with the left hand and just soften that blow. And Mike's got that. He could be Bill if he wanted to. If all he wanted to play was that right hand and give short little snippy answers and everything else, he could do that. And that's kind of what Bill was early. He wasn't always like that. Was he? Uh-huh. In Cleveland? Early in New England. Was he? Yeah. Okay. I don't remember early, Bill. Look, he was not Pete Carroll. Let's be clear. But was he Mike McDonald? It wasn't. No, but it wasn't as far to where he eventually got. Gotcha. If that makes sense. Okay. Here's the third thing you need to know. You're not going to let this one go today, are you? That's so good. You're not going to let this one go. I believe I forgot that one. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Rofet Re-Entre used the phrase earlier for the Kraken last night. They get back to it and got whooped in Dallas once again, 4-1. They gave it the first four goals. Riker Evans. Avery was happy because Riker Evans got a goal, so good for Avery. Is he the best-looking guy on the team? I mean, it seems like it's a three-way tie right now. On Avery's scale. What's Avery's scale? It looks like it's a Riker-Evans, Ryan Winterton, Berkeley-Catton combo. And I will say we were – Berkeley's only seven, eight years older than her. Well, less. I think he's five years older. He's 19 and she's 15 or 14 rather. Yeah, she was at practice. We went and she was like right at the glass for a few minutes. And he definitely made eye contact with her. I'm not accusing him of anything. I'm not saying he was leering or anything like that. Seriously, he was not. No. He just saw a fan. Honestly, I don't want to make that weird at all. He was not. And she saw. He did not do anything to make it weird. She did. She totally blushed and looked at me. and I was like, yeah, he definitely, you know, made eye contact. Oh, my God. She was a lot happier than his coach yesterday. Poor Lane Lambert. Cut 15. Apparently. Not wild about some of the team's effort last night. Apparently. We just, we failed to execute on a lot of different situations. For whatever reason, you know, we had a, apparently we had a pass-first mentality instead of a shoot-first mentality. You know, it just doesn't work with our hockey team. And, you know, there's no excuse for it. There's no reason for it. We've got to be better. Hockey is so weird. Only in hockey would you hear someone get mad for too much passing. Like every other sport's like pass, pass, pass. Hockey's like, ah, just pass too much. Give me a little bit more. Cut 17. Here's a little more grumpy lane. They can, you know, shots create shots. Shots create traffic. So, you know, we have opportunities to shoot the puck. And we didn't. That was just the bottom line. And so we need to get more bucks to the net. That's what I'm talking about. I mean, he's right. You can't disagree with the guy. They'll play tonight in St. Louis. Hopefully they'll shoot more. That's everything you need to know. Was it the old NHL hockey? No, which one was it? Connect the pass. Connect the pass. Connect the pass. That is Blades of Steel. That's Blades of Steel for original Nintendo. Connect the pass. Connect the pass. Brady, are you aware of Blades of Steel? I can't imagine. I am not. Yeah. Not the world's first hockey game. not even Nintendo's first hockey game. It was good, though. I like Blades of Steel. Because Nintendo had ice hockey with the four players. You had the tall skinny, the short fat, and then the little medium guy. And you could create whichever ones you wanted. They just had different skills. But you played four on four. It was bizarre. But then eventually you got Blades of Steel where you could fight and you got the punching thing and the shootouts. But, yeah, every time you would skate down the ice, any time your player had the puck, it would go, connect the pass, connect the pass, connect the pass, connect the pass, connect the pass, connect the pass. And apparently the Kraken were playing that video game the night before. And when you first turned it on, it was, Bleed! Oh, steel! What a ridiculous game. All right, I think Shannon's going to come by for a little bit. We'll chat with her as we have every day. And then it sounds like Bryce Miller, we think, at like 9-ish. And my dad's going to come by a little bit later. And we're going to, you know, hopefully not embarrass him with, Are you smarter than a fifth grader? We'll see where it all goes. Stick around. Brock and Salt. See all sports on 7. Connect the pass. From the Quantum Fiber Studio, this is Brock and Sock. Weekdays 6 to 10 on Seattle Sports and 97.3 FM HD2. So cool to talk to Julio earlier today. If you missed that, it'll be up on YouTube. If it's not already there, about 10 minutes? No. Oh, 10 a.m. I'm sorry, 10 a.m. At about 10 a.m., it'll be up on YouTube, and you can watch the whole interview with Julio. He was great. He was just chill and happy and chill and chill. I think that's the word that I would just keep coming back to to describe what we got from him. Shannon, you've been around him not just this year, but every year of his career. Chill was definitely the word I got from Julio. Did he seem older Yes Yeah Or mature both physically and emotionally and mentally i mean thoughtfully yeah he just able to kind of express it you know it you have to learn to not be a people pleaser i mean that's that's part of the gig when you're a superstar at that level and everybody wants a piece of you and mike kind of asked him like over the course of a day how many times do people want a piece of you and it's a lot i mean it's it's a lot it's not just the fans and and then you walk deadline. You never want to disappoint a young fan, but you've got to do your work and just kind of navigating. I felt last year there was a little edge. Last year I thought, okay, kind of a little edge. I didn't feel any of that. Well, last year he was a little defiant, right? Like, no, we think we're good. And we were like, do you? No one else seems to think you're that good. He's like, no, we're good. And he was right for the record. He was absolutely right. They were good. And yeah, I think you're right, Brock. Last year there was a little edge. That's why I just keep coming back to chill. Yes, He was definitely more mature, Shannon. There's no doubt. Yeah, and I think the motor's a little bit different as well. I mean, he's still, you know, he is Julio, and he's very confident in who he is. But I think there's maybe a little bit more of a calmness to him now than we've seen in the past. He did also admit that last year it took a little of that pressure off him, having Cal hit 60 home runs. Not necessarily on the field. That's not what I was asking about because I wasn't looking to create a rivalry situation or anything like that. No, but more like, hey, all those people that want something of you. Right. Was it lessened a little bit because everywhere you went on the road, everyone needed to talk to Cal about this historic season he was having. Yeah. It was like, yeah, it helped. It was nice. Yeah. He seemed completely fine with that. I mean, he does love, I think, and that was what was so impressive about him not going to the All-Star game last year. I don't think there is anybody that enjoys an all-star game and the trappings of an all-star game more than him. You know, he likes the spotlight, that kind of spotlight. And the fraternity of his peers. To be around the best of the best. He likes to run in that. He likes the opportunity to do the red carpet and all of that. And, you know, I will never forget that when they put that video out of Dan Wilson announcing that he had made it, The look on his face, and he was even moving slowly as he got up to accept the envelope. And you could just tell that, I don't want to do this. Yeah, and also like, I don't want to do this. I don't think I should do this. It's what I kind of got. I'm not at my standard of greatness, you know. And as he told us, there were a lot of things going on in his life. There was a lot going on. On the field, off the field, everything sped up, and it was a chance to just kind of slow down. And he still managed to play through that. and to manage that. It's so funny because I'm very hard on him in my head, and I'm sure that translates sometimes to the airwaves or things that we write because the standard for him is just so high. The bar has been set so high, and at times I don't think it's fair to him. And there are times when you expect him, and I'm sure a lot of the fans expect it too, for him to come through in every single big situation. And when he doesn't, you almost get angry sometimes. You're supposed to be this. You're supposed to do that. I find myself having to temper that. And, you know, at the end of the season, going back and taking a look at his season, not just the overall numbers, but how he did it and how he got there, he had a heck of a season last year. And if that is his starting point this year, it's... You believe he's poised for, I mean, a 25-year, as we were chatting before and after that interview. Like, this is enough in the rearview mirror? Like, enough banked experience? enough at bats, enough time on tap, all of it. But you're also physically, you should be in the absolute prime of your career. Science tells you after 25, we start aging, Shannon. And all you got to do is look at Salk and I. I mean, 17 years ago, our first spring training, you know, we were the best shape of our lives. And since then, it's been a little bit of a decline. But physically, tell me, I mean, this should be his absolute prime, should it not? I would think so. I think he can probably keep that prime because of everything that he does and the discipline, which is different when he came up he was you know he acted like a kid as far as diet and workout and things like that go yeah that was something he changed i think the minute he hit big league camp that was something he you know recognized early on so he's i think he will age very well and i think he's getting you know he's way far away from the us category yep but i i do think that the experience the mental side the confidence and who he is and he can be who he wants to be out there and i think probably the biggest thing is the balance that he is able to say no now that he is able to juggle things that i do think his circle has been tightened up a little bit and i do think the mariners are part of that circle i think he connected with the hitting group that they have right now and i think that's important and i think he trusts himself more i mean he's talked about he's to the point where he's learning that he needs to be his own best coach you can't be that your first year in the league you can't be it in your second and your third and it probably is a little bit early for that still but he has all that experience now and he's got good well and he's so mature and and you know you do allow for some just advanced thought from him like that he can accelerate that a little bit just because he's a bright he's clearly one of the things that i think gets left out on julio is just how smart he is just a smart guy like i think you can tell talking to him and I never ceased to be amazed at how great his English is after, you know, originally being accused by one person of not speaking very good English at all. But he didn't grow up speaking English like this. His English is incredible. And you just can't pull that off without a lot of hard work and a lot of natural intelligence. And one of the things that I love that comes with a natural intelligence is a curiosity and other interests. And he has those. He travels in the off season. You know, he went and he chased a soccer team in Europe this offseason. He went the offseason before to visit Ichiro in Japan and go through all of that. He's very into anime. And, you know, he's getting into music. He's starting to get into photography. It's great. Have you ever, like, want to give him a compliment? Him and Randy Johnson. No, he's not on that level at all. But he's starting to, like, on his Instagram picture, there'll be a picture, and you can tell that he saw that. He thought it was neat. He took a picture of it. And, yeah, just baby steps there. But it's fun. You threw out the phrase home MVP train for Julio. I think the other day was what you said. I'm on the MVP train. So I was thinking about that. And I was like, all right, well, what does it take to win an MVP in the American League right now? And that kind of brought me to judges' numbers from last year. It's absurd. It really is absurd. And it's the only way you beat a catcher hitting 60 home runs. It's the only possible way. Dude hit .331, 53 home runs, 114 driven in, an 1144 OPS, which was a .215 OPS plus. 115% better in the league. Looks like a half a performance to me, Mike. Yeah. No, I know. Look, I know all the rest of it. We know the Cal argument with the catching and the defense and the leadership and all of it. But think about what it takes to win an MVP now in the American League, assuming judges numbers are even close to what they were last year julio i think it's going to be really hard to actually win the mvp i'm not putting it past him that'd be great but it shows you if he even comes close if he's even in the running what it does for this lineup and for this team this year and i i think that's something that a lot of people were just even saying at the end of last year because of course Cal can't do anything close to what he did last year can he maybe he can but I mean that's the next person that you look to and as Brock said he's in his prime right now this is the time and I do think that he worked out some things last year and I we'll see we'll see so far so good in spring training he has had very nice at bats and he's just going to the right side the right side everything just into right field some with two strikes it's a good start right now and so it could be interesting if you are if they were going to be blind to the catcher aspect of it what's it like if you have two outfielders and you know obviously julio rodriguez is a much better outfielder than aaron judge is does that perhaps give him a little bit of a boost because it is a similar no they'll just say well you were hitting behind cal i mean it's not like you did it all yourself you were hitting behind the guy that almost won the MVP last year. You have said to us multiple times this week, Shane and Dre are here with us, and yet again, and absolutely, this is the hottest it's ever been for us. Absolutely. I mean, it is just... I think these are record... For this time of year down here? Yeah, for this time of year. Yeah, not even in March yet, going to hit 90. I mean, just absolutely beautiful. And you have said multiple times this week, like, yeah, this team's different. The World Series expectations and the talent coming in, the completeness of it. How about the connectedness of it? Do you feel like these guys are more connected with their shared experiences than any other team you've covered here? Or is it too early to judge? I think it's too early to judge. The connectedness that I'm picking up is organizationally. Just every inch of this thing is for that 26. And there will be others that are added to that that will come from this camp throughout. And that, to me, has been huge. They're starting from a really good place. As far as the inner clubhouse connectedness goes, I don't know that they can get much more in that direction. Other than, and we talked about this yesterday, I think, I'm looking at this and seeing a veteran club. And I asked Dan Wilson about that yesterday. He said, ah, it's kind of a mix. And I'm like, not really. Well, I mean, what are their, I was trying to think. There are 26 roster spots, right? Yeah. In theory, assuming health, two are up for grabs, maybe. and one of them is either Colt Emerson makes it, right, or Leo Rivas. Like, that's the choice. And the other would be... Legamina Yeah the Legamina Two spots in the bullpen Is it two Maybe one spot Well yeah Is it going to be Young or is it going to be Colt Emerson I think is probably the question Oh, you think that if Colt makes it, it's at Cole Young's expense? No, I mean, because I just, it's hard to envision that they both do. They could make it work. They could. And I guess that would be a dream scenario. There's a lot of lefties. But I think that if Cole Young is on his game and looks ready to go, Emerson's going to have to do more because I do think that they would be okay saying, you know what, let's get them started. So that spot's not even really – let's say it's not even that up for grabs. They would prefer it to be Rivas for now and Colt. Yes. So essentially your 13 position players are set. There's no real conversation. There could be a question of backup catcher, but, I mean, you know, you're talking about similar production. But why would Dan push back? Because you go through it all, right field, center field, left field, first base, catcher, shortstop. Pitching staff. Pitching's like everybody has been around the block a time or two. And especially those that were there last year, that accelerates what they went through last year. So for me, this is a very veteran club right now. And when you've added the pieces that you've added, we talked about how they're talking the game. That's a different level of connectiveness. And I think that that is something that we'd be more exposed to if we were in that batting cage over there. But I guess veteran also probably there's a bias and it leads your mind to maybe not being as dynamic, right? I think this lineup is more dynamic. Yes. And then when you take a look at, you know, Josh Naylor is a dynamic player. Brendan Donovan is a dynamic player. Julio is a superstar. Cal is a superstar. I think there's plenty of dynamic on this team. Randy's a dynamic. Did you say Randy? Randy's dynamic in his own way. Randy's something. I love Randy. I'm just so fascinated. Why do you love him so much? I don't know. Is it the Manny Ramirez? Probably. I mean, he's not Manny Ramirez. in terms of the style of play. But just marches to his own beat, and you always loved him. I do like kind of quirky outfielders who kind of march to their own beat. I always like, what was the guy who just left Texas? Big Jack dude. A role that's, no. No, outfielder from the Rangers. Yep. A lot I would know. Adolis Garcia. Thank you. Like, I like Adolis Garcia. I think I kind of put him in that same category. Even Runeiro Dorr, who everybody hates. I don't like Runeo Dorr, and I see why everybody hates him, but I kind of appreciate a guy like that. He's massively popular in that organization. I believe it. I like guys like that. I think that you need. Because of the way he played, a lot of that. Good person, too, from what we've heard. You need characters like that, and I think Randy is one. I think Robles is one in different ways. You can't have a team made up entirely of Brendan Donovan's. I love Brendan Donovan. Love the attitude. and I want guys like that on my team. I don't know if I want 26. Correct. Right? I want a Randy. I want a Victor Robles. I want a Luke Raley. And they're kind of, you know, loping around. There's a lot of intensity on this team if you put it that way. Because I would put Donovan, I would put Cal, Josh Naylor in game. Very much, you know, that intensity. Rosarena is in that category as well. Yeah, a little bit of a different personality that way. And a JP is a different personality, right? Well, different kind of intensity. I mean, he actually kind of brings out the calm. I mean, you take a look. He slows things down. Before the game, right, with some of the reggae music. Yep, and then he'll talk and he'll do, I think he gets on the microphone, or at least I know he has in some years, and he's kind of the hype guy going into the game. So I think you need that. I think you do need a little mix. So, yeah, I do probably bring up Randy more than my fair share, partly just because I find him fascinating and weird and funny, and I like watching him play, but also because I do think you need different styles. Newsy-wise, did you tweet yesterday about JP? I think it was you that tweeted about JP. What's going on? Yeah, we haven't seen him doing very much. He has not been in a game. Sometimes you see him out for drills and sometimes you don't. He's dealing with a sore shoulder right now. He dealt with the same thing a year ago. And if you watch a lot of the hitters, a lot of them have got the extra treatment going on the shoulders right now. Early in spring training and you're taking the most swings that you've taken in a long time, that kind of thing can happen. I asked Dan Wilson, he said, they're hopeful that they can get J.P. into a game next week, and he's not concerned at this point. What that has meant is we've seen more of Colt Emerson at shortstop. Is there anyone that you have seen that is not going to make this team this year out of camp that you are looking at like, oh, this person might come in handy a little bit later in the season? You know, the two pitchers I've been talking about, obviously. Okay. Anderson and Sloan. And Anderson is getting the start on Saturday over against the Padres here in Peoria. Did you just go lefty? Is that what you just did right there? I am lefty. I know. I am lefty. He's a little more out here. The lefty? He's going over there. Sloan and Anderson. We think probably at some point Colt Emerson. Anybody else? Anybody else? Michael Arroyo? Laz Montez? Yeah, I've got to watch Montez more. Again, I've been very impressed with the at-bats of everybody that's coming up from the minor leagues right now. there's been a shift. You definitely see the imprint of this is what you want to dominate the zone and whatnot from this group. Need to see more of Montez. Arroyo I would like to see in the outfield. I think that's going to be his best path. I think he's a little bit further off, but I think you could see him. Things happen and we've been watching Brennan Davis, which is he going to be an outfield possibility if they need something it's early in spring training you're hitting off pitchers if you're at the end of the game that you should be hitting off of but there's some interesting names out there maybe even just guys that aren't going to make the team but have been pros in the i mean miles master boney's probably not going to make the team he was with them for most of the year last year he has the unfortunate uh unfortunately for him he hits lefty if he hit righty i think he'd be a really strong candidate to compete and be on this team it's hard to see how that works right off the bat right so he's probably in tacoma he's out of options so that's a little bit of a yeah don't love that yeah all right all right something to think about uh will wilson is another guy who is a former 15th overall pick who we've seen play in third base he's come up with a couple of hits he's obviously got some talent right is that a triple a guy who maybe has a possibility and again i'm just not it's too soon to get excited about any of this because the pitching is just not there yet these are things that if they're doing that kind of thing in the third and the fourth weeks of spring training where you're like okay but they're going to need those guys regardless what about the reliever depth right i mean that's another one you know you're going to end up shuffling through relievers you're probably going to use 20 over the course of the year who were the next grouping of relievers that we may see this year well that's what we got to watch right now and that is this is what it's going to it's not they're not internal they're the ones that they brought in to take a look at for the most part uh can troy taylor perhaps bounce back he had a lot of injuries He was such a hot commodity when he came up. It was just kind of false start after false start for him last year. So, I mean, that is somebody that I would love to see healthy and have his confidence. And if he could be in that kind of picture and in that pot. But I don't think that picture is as clear right now. Work to do, Salt. Work to do. Yeah, it does seem like that's maybe a spot where, you know, we keep talking about all the incredible parts of this team and this roster. And this looks good. And that looks good. And this looks good. And this looks good. Yeah, that's maybe one spot. I guess now you're getting real nitpicky. Who are the AAA relievers going to be that are going to help this team this year? That is definitely a nitpick. And some are probably not even on the roster. And that's what I was starting to wonder about. Are there guys that end up kind of coming in here in the next couple of weeks that can help in that capacity? If those are the things you're worried about at the beginning of the year, that's a good problem. You know one thing that just always strikes me? You can tell lefty pitchers. I don't know what it is. They just have their son. Like Cade just walked behind us here, right? The glove is on the right hand. No. It is a hint. Even without the glove on. Just the way they walk. Lefties are just different. And I love that we have now a lefty coming up and a lefty in Ferrer. It just felt like for all the development over this last half decade, which has been incredible. Did you sit down with him? Cade? Ferrer. Yes. Well, give me a little something. Who's Ferrer? Oh, happy personality. Happy, happy, happy. And I've noticed that around camp. Like if the music's playing and he's warming up, he'll be dancing. Oh, a little joy. Yeah. He was over there warming up one day and ended up Leo Rivas was taking infield drills and got behind him and was doing everything that Leo was doing for a while. But it was great because when we asked, you know, what do you want, what do you bring to this team? And he goes, mucho zeros. That's pretty funny. I like that. And he also, he's in a good spot in that he said that, you know, when he was with the Nationals, Finnegan helped him out quite a bit. But to get into camp and have Andres Munoz here, who speaks Spanish, who does what he does, it's just been amazing for him. Muchos zeros. That was reminding me of another lefty reliever way back in the day. Do you remember the name J.C. Romero? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It was with the Phillies. Oh, who doesn't remember? Well, he's pretty random. But he came over to Boston, and I was interviewing him in spring training that year. And I asked Senator the same question. He's like, hey, what are you going to bring to the team? And he goes, well, first of all, I'm going to do some damage. It's like, I love this guy. He did not do any damage. He had a terrible year, and I think he was out of baseball the next season. But I always love the answer. All right, Shannon, thank you. Much appreciated. Muchos zeros for you as well. Thank you. Are you in here tomorrow, or are you not coming in because of the night game? Oh, no. I will not be here tomorrow morning. Enjoy. Let her sleep in. I'm just making sure. Let her sleep in. Hey, I love getting a chance. This is one of the cool things about being here. We get to talk in person with Shannon every day. Tell you what, I'll be here tomorrow morning if you're here tomorrow at 11 p.m. And everything in between. Mucho zero in terms of the chances of that. We'll be right back, possibly with Bryce Miller at some point here in the next little while. My dad's going to be over here in a little while. Yep, Larry Salt's on his way. I'm guessing Jane's bringing brownies. She has cookies? Are there brownies? Are there treats? I mean, she's incorrigible, Shannon. She's incorrigible. We'll be right back on Brock and Salt. Whatever that means.