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Batman Returns: A.J. Burnett joins from Pirates Spring Training · Bucco Territory: A Pittsburgh Pirates Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let me make sure my phone on do not disturb
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: people that need to call me upstairs. So I'm good.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Good My parents texts Harley Quinn Josh. So sometimes I
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: have it really loud and it's like.
• 0:16
  Speaker 3: In the wrong place. The hell was that my wife?
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Dude?
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  Speaker 3: That's my wife? I bet all right? Here we go, cool,
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: all right?
• 0:40
  Speaker 4: What's up? Everybody?
• 0:41
  Speaker 5: Welcome back to another episode of Bucco Territory, presented to
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  Speaker 5: you by the Foul Territory Network. I'm your host Noah Hiles,
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  Speaker 5: and joining me as always are my co hosts Josh
• 0:48
  Speaker 5: Harrison and Platinum.
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: Key a k A.
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  Speaker 5: Mark, And we've got another guest on today's show, this
• 0:53
  Speaker 5: one being former Pirates All Star right hander AJ Burnett
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  Speaker 5: joins the show to talk about what's been going on
• 0:59
  Speaker 5: in spring training and maybe answering some other questions just
• 1:03
  Speaker 5: about his time in Pittsburgh.
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  Speaker 4: A J. Thanks so much for coming on the show
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  Speaker 4: with us.
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  Speaker 3: Man, absolutely thanks for having me.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, if if only the listeners can see just the
• 1:14
  Speaker 5: interaction between these two before we were recording, it was
• 1:18
  Speaker 5: just like two buddies getting right back together.
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: It's like homecoming here on this show.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: So you tell me right now, you when you you
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: you have memories for people that you play the game with, obviously,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: but when you win with the team, you you really
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: like your brothers for life. Like we're brothers for life
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: in Maiawa because we played this game and it's we're big,
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: tight family. But it's something about them winning teams. It's
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: just like we'll never we'll never lose that. I'll see
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: if I don't see Johnson ten years, it'll be the
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: same thing, right, I don't know, it's crazy, it's crazy.
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: I love it.
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  Speaker 4: That's awesome.
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  Speaker 5: Well, we're we got a lot of questions to ask
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  Speaker 5: about that and the whole bunch of topics, and I'll
• 2:01
  Speaker 5: let Mark kick it off.
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  Speaker 6: Yeah, Aj, thank you so so much for not only
• 2:06
  Speaker 6: being on the podcast but helping the Pirates out being
• 2:09
  Speaker 6: willing to come down to spring training. I know it
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  Speaker 6: means a lot to us fans. Seeing that leadership still
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  Speaker 6: continuing on to this day is really really special. So
• 2:19
  Speaker 6: just want to preface this by saying thank you for that.
• 2:24
  Speaker 6: And so my first question is focuses on like during
• 2:27
  Speaker 6: your own playing career, were there any veterans or former
• 2:31
  Speaker 6: players that offered you the same leadership that you're offering
• 2:35
  Speaker 6: the Pirates now.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Absolutely more so when I got more to New York
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: later in my career.
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  Speaker 3: You know, earlier in my career, I was around.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: Young you know, young players, you know, Florida, and we
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: had a veteran until my third.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Year, right, yeah, and.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: Everything, and then there veterans everywhere.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: But it's just nice to have that around, you know, Like,
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: I really didn't know what the thing coming back into
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  Speaker 2: this and I'll do it one me here? Do they not?
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: You know half of them? And like, who's day j Burnett?
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Because they were in like fifth grade, right, you know.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: So it's like but it's been such a warm welcome
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: and so awesome to be able because I was always curious,
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: you know, we always talked about Johnson, tell you can
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: you be the same as a coach as you were
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: as a player. Do you have that same impact fifteen
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: years down the road than you did? And I hope so,
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: you know, I don't know, but it's been great and
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: I'm just very grateful that I got a phone call
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: from Donnie.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: Love it.
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  Speaker 6: And now that you've been in camp a few days here,
• 3:33
  Speaker 6: from what you've seen and given your experience, as I
• 3:36
  Speaker 6: will be picture yourself what can players fans expect from
• 3:39
  Speaker 6: the pitching staff this year?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'm looking forward to coming back, hopefully with the
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: game Star, I'll be able to see more when they're
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: out there during competition, how they handle themselves. My presence,
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: I've seen a couple of live vps and watched pretty
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: much everybody's pen. There's arms for days in this place. Man,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: everybody throws one hundred. They're starting rotation right now, is
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: just a joke. They got a couple of great arms
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  Speaker 2: spot battling for the fifth spot, I think, but just
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  Speaker 2: I think with the pitching staff and the additions they
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: made hitting wise, it's going to take a lot of
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  Speaker 2: pressure off them, and they're gonna be able to go
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  Speaker 2: out and cruise because you know, they added some they
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  Speaker 2: add some sticks.
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  Speaker 6: Oh yeah, I can't wait. So I'm going to turn
• 4:24
  Speaker 6: things back over here to know her real quick. I'm
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  Speaker 6: pretty anxious to hear this conversation between you and Jay Hayes,
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  Speaker 6: so I'm not going to take up too much of
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  Speaker 6: your time. You're looking forward to seeing what they have.
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  Speaker 5: For you, Yeah, a j I'm gonna start with the
• 4:38
  Speaker 5: obvious one here, as a guy who's covered Paul schemes
• 4:41
  Speaker 5: for a couple of his whole major league career. Really,
• 4:44
  Speaker 5: I've had a lot of cool conversations with him, but
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  Speaker 5: I'm sure your conversations are a lot different than the
• 4:49
  Speaker 5: ones that I've had. What what has it been like
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: to interact with him, and what have you kind of
• 4:54
  Speaker 5: gathered just from your your minimal time being around the
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  Speaker 5: ragining cy Young.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Pretty impressive, I'll put together. He is already h for
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: fun and not just like pitching wise, just as a
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: human being on and off the field, like both. He's everywhere,
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  Speaker 2: you know, all day long, and he accepts that and
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  Speaker 2: he knows that he's, you know, the leader on that team.
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  Speaker 2: But you know, I didn't really get a chance to
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: the first couple of days. You know, he was throwing,
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  Speaker 2: he's in his routine. I ain't about to go in
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  Speaker 2: there to that man when he's throwing, because nobody came
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  Speaker 2: near me. So I get it. But everything has a purpose,
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: Every single thing has a purpose. And a lot of
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: these guys are looking at him and watching him, and
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  Speaker 2: then they're they're feeling it. You know, they're understanding that.
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  Speaker 2: You know, catch is important, you know, in between starts
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: and important. Every little thing you do to you're able
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  Speaker 2: for that fitth start is important and he really shows that,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: and that's why he's so dominant, man like, he is
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  Speaker 2: so in tune with his craft at that age, it's
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: impressive to watch.
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  Speaker 5: You mentioned how you got to see just about everyone
• 5:55
  Speaker 5: throw their bullpen. Who's a guy whose stuff kind of
• 5:58
  Speaker 5: surprised you maybe some and he was a little under
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: the radar.
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  Speaker 4: That really caught your attention.
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  Speaker 3: Was a couple of new names.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously, you know I didn't know about because you know,
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  Speaker 2: I've been away for a few years.
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  Speaker 3: I know you don't know. I know, Bubba Chandler, I
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: know you.
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  Speaker 2: Know obviously Paul Mitch Nasty, Uh Ashcraft.
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  Speaker 3: Ashcraft is a new guy. It's just he's a tree.
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  Speaker 3: But he is such a talent.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: And uh, they have a couple of arms like that
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  Speaker 2: big fan of Santana.
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  Speaker 3: You know, I've never seen him throw before.
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  Speaker 2: He's just slinging it at a hundred. Pretty much every
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: one of them, you know, could help his team this year. Honestly,
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  Speaker 2: every single pitcher they got can help his team go.
• 6:43
  Speaker 5: You obviously, you had a long, successful career in the
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  Speaker 5: major leagues. It's been a decade since you you know,
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  Speaker 5: put the uniform on.
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  Speaker 4: How much is pitching change since you last played? And
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  Speaker 4: do you recognize those changes a ton?
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  Speaker 2: It's uh, there's a lot of information out there, that's
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  Speaker 2: for sure, and a lot of it is not bad,
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  Speaker 2: you know, it's it's good information. You know. I was
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: always a picture, you know, I had to keep it simple.
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: If I had too much, you know, there was an overload.
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  Speaker 2: So I didn't meet a lot. I didn't have a
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  Speaker 2: lot of I don't know, spreadsheets or information.
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  Speaker 4: You know.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: I asked a few questions about certain hitters at certain times,
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  Speaker 2: but if I had too much of his overload. But
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: some of the stuff they have now, I just it
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  Speaker 2: would have made anybody better. And they care here about
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  Speaker 2: these pictures, and they're making them better day in and
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: day out. But I would say just the like, the
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: analytics part is not just just analytics.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: I don't know if that makes sense.
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  Speaker 2: Like there's analytics and there's stuff that helps you get
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  Speaker 2: better that's not overkill, and I'm kind of mixing both now,
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  Speaker 2: which is great.
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  Speaker 3: So it's just it's gonna make these kids way.
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  Speaker 2: Better, like the girl, and they have these you know,
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: the kids in there from college that are smart as whips, right,
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: like just little geniuses. And I was like, where were
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  Speaker 2: you at ten years ago? You know where we at
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: fifteen years ago? I could use this stuff. He's like
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  Speaker 2: I was in fifth grade. I was like, that explained,
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  Speaker 2: I'll explained it. But just really good stuff going on
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  Speaker 2: there information wise that not necessarily has to change anybody,
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  Speaker 2: but just gives them an idea how to get better.
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  Speaker 5: My last question for you before we throw it over
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  Speaker 5: the Josh is the last show we talked about how
• 8:27
  Speaker 5: they're going about the Pirates are going about trying to
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: establish a winning culture. That's kind of something I think
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  Speaker 5: that's been missing since, you know, the turn of the pandemic.
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  Speaker 5: It felt like buy in was kind of scattered, but
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  Speaker 5: that was a big message from Don Kelly obviously the
• 8:43
  Speaker 5: first week of team workouts. I think that's a big
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  Speaker 5: reason why they brought you back to kind of be
• 8:48
  Speaker 5: around the.
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  Speaker 4: Guys and everything.
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  Speaker 5: How did you go about trying to establish that winning
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  Speaker 5: culture when you first arrived in Pittsburgh in twenty twelve.
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  Speaker 2: Man, to be honest with you, I didn't have a
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  Speaker 2: choice filled up there, and everybody in that locker room
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: made me who I was and Johnsoul tell you like
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  Speaker 2: I had a presence, you know, I had a confidence
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: about myself. But when I showed up there, like there
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: was no like I was, You're gonna leaders, like you're
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: you're our guy, no matter what. I didn't even know
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  Speaker 2: I had that in me until I filled up in
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  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh and those guys brought it out. So it's just
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: a special time, man, in special spot for me in
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: my career where I could easily went home, you know
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: after twenty twelve, but went in there with open arms
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  Speaker 2: and it was the best damn thing.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: That ever happened. Awesome.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: Well, I think that Segway is right in the media
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: obviously with that question, my guy, what you're saying, a JJ, what.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: You're saying that good to see you, man. I brought
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: that foot ball up to them. I bought the roof
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: ball up earlier.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: They're like, I was like brought getting thanks off the
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: TVs that came up and then I went over.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: But yeah, what they know is we're talking about rain delays.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: We used to be in the locker room and J
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: had to hit left handed, and you know, position players
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: got a chance to pitch. That's probably why I pitched
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: so well when I got a chance to pitch.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: But the slow duce, the slow duce, everything with that
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: good time, it only works.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: But that just goes into pretty much what you said
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: in the beginning. You know, winning teams, you're gonna have
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: these memories, You're gonna be brothers. You you know, you
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: hold on a certain moments and memories. And with you
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: been down there in spring training obviously yesterday or the
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: other day being the first day of you know, full practice,
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: I was telling no one Mark that like that's the
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: real first day because you know it's no longer pitchers
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: and catchers or position players reporting. And with him speaking
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: on that culture, it's funny. I was laughing when you
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: said that you didn't know you had it in you
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: because the last episode you had us all food when
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: you came because you know, to us, we thought that
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: that's what you had been doing. And that's something that
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: I think this team needs. And from what I can remember,
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: being the spring training, we didn't have guys like yourself
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: that were able to come back or and when I
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: say yourself, I would say from like a younger presence,
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: And that's no disrespect to you know, Bill Mazerowski or
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: you know Bill Verden, you know those guys that came
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: because you know, those guys had a lot of knowledge
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: and uh, you know we always walking them back. But
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: you know, as well as I do, being able to
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: you know, resonate with somebody that is just a little
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: bit closer to you in age can can definitely you know,
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: add a little bit more value. And that almost seems
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: like the way that DK is going. And it's something
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: that Pittsburgh has missed. Am I wrong in saying that?
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: No, You're right.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: D K gets it, Jay, he gets it like, uh,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: you know, he mentions grit, you know, he mentions you know, competing.
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: Blue callar between the wide lines.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: And you know that's all I did, Jay, Like I
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: just went out there and pitch and I didn't worry
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: about AJ for the first time in my career, and
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: every thing played out, you know, like you just got
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: to go there. The winning culture is built on the
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: field in the clubhouse, like we all know that. But
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: they're gonna respect you when you go out there and
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: you just compete day in and day out at one
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: hundred percent. And if you get your ass hand to you,
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: guess what, I'm gonna come out tomorrow. I'm gonna compete
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: one hundred percent day in and day out. And that's
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: what we did, and that's what they saw, I think, Jay,
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: and that's why we had to see a black in
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: the playoffs because they're proud because we went out there
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: and just competed and didn't take no ship from nobody.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: Facts.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: We didn't care who was on the other side, Like, hey,
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: we didn't care who was playing. We knew what we
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: had in the locker room. And you might not feel
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: like it, but I had said it in the last episode.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: I said before you came, and granted I had only
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: debuted in eleven, but just being in the organization on
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: where they were said you you brought a sense of
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: freshness of like pretty much letting everybody go be free.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: You know, where we had had so many losing seasons
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: as an organization, everything was kind of uptight. You were
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: pretty much what we needed at that time to kind
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: of you know, hey, get off their back. I got it,
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: And whether you realized it or not, that was something
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: that helped a lot of us throughout the course of
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: our career because you know, when you got a team
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: that's losing nineteen twenty years in a row. Everything's gonna
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: be micromanage. Having guys like yourself come from other places,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: that was a breath of fresh air because you know,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: it was no longer a you know, he I'm gonna
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: just do it like dumb and dumber. I'm pointing at
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: aj like he bas coach, go to him, you know,
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: like it gave us a sense of like, okay, we know,
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: if anything, we got each other's back in here. And
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: that definitely led to what was on the field. And
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: do you see a little bit of that possibly obviously
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: these offensive hitters, they've signed some veterans I see. Obviously
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: we know how special Pittsburgh is as a place, and
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: Pittsburgh is yearning for that that winning team I can see.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: Would you agree that this is a year that Pittsburgh,
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: this team has a chance to I don't want to
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: say etch themselves in like history, but we know how
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: how serious of a matter of winning is in Pittsburgh,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: and they make the playoffs this year, I think there's
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: an opportunity for this team to kind of be put
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: in the limelight of, like, you know what, we're to
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: be made for history, because I mean, you got to
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: start somewhere and I mean we didn't even as you said,
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: we didn't even win the World Series. But you know
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: you mentioned those teams that we were on, you would
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: have thought that we won the World Series.
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah right.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think honestly, talents there. We all know
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: that it's the big leagues, it's the big leagues. But
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: there's a stance in that cluveous now that like they
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: want to they want that culture back, they want that
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: that that unification back. They want the family, you know,
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: they want you know, the pictures, want to hang out
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: with the position players cool sense players.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: When I hang out the pictures cool, you know, everybody,
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: like we all hung out together.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: It didn't matter what position you were, It didn't matter
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: who you were, and we were just we enjoyed being
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: around each other. And they really want that. And my
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: main message is like, look, go get it.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: Like it could be anybody. It could be you know.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: Or Hear and it could be Schemes, it could be Davis.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: Anybody can step up and unite. You just got to
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: want to do it, you know what I mean. And
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: you know I didn't give y'all a choice, you know,
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: sometimes you know, it was like let's go, We're going
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: but the fact that we all just did and y'all
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: did it made us all stronger and tighter together.
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: So I think something special as possible. For sure.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: I'm not gonna sit here and say, Pittsburgh don't win
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: the World Series, but don't be surprised if there's a
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: see a Black at the end of the season again,
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: for sure.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: But yeah, just to add on to that, I remember, man,
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: you were in the back of the playing and the
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: plane ain't like that now you know, there's no everything's changed.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: You know, it used to be a if you ain't
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: got three years of service time. You sitting in them
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: first couple of rolls and you doubling up, you better
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: look straight. And I remember one flight, you go, if
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: you want to have some fun, come to the back.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: I said, I take this is my cue. I'm the
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: youngest three. All you got to do is tell me once.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: And from that, from that moment on, I was in
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: the back. But at the same time, I think that's
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: when our team realized, like, yeah, this ain't the days
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: of the past. Were like, yeah, you're gonna take a
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: little bit of crap being a young dude. But like
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: doing that to say, hey, you got to be able
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: to take it because you got you you definitely got
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: a dish it. And that was one of the stories
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: that I think I told, like when you say, hey,
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: if you want to have fun, come to the back
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: of the plane. It was back there, you know, playing cards,
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: listening to music, and I'm like, all right, cool, cool,
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: you know, like you know, and that was just a
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: good time. And before I open it up to Noah
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: or Mark to possibly ask us a question to end,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: I just wanted to leave you with this because you
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: know my family they rock with you, and my pops.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: I remember you said something to him that I'm living
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: now and I'm like, I heard you say it back then,
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: because you know your boys were when we played, they
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: were what eight and like sixth.
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: Grade Like yeah, yeah, around that time, and uh yeah, my.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: Oldest is in sixth grade, youngest is and second. And
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: I remember you was talking to my dad one time
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: after the game in Cincinnati, and uh I think they
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: might have been there and you had mentioned something to
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: him like, yeah, man, when I'm done, I'm excited because
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: you had pointed to your kids, you know, both of
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: the boys, like just you know, to coach basketball, to
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: coach baseball, here I am. I don't coach volleyball and
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: coach basketball like too loving it, man, but I just
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: wanted to tell you, man, those memories definitely real, never fade.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Pops told me tell you hello. And as I said before,
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: I just wanted to get you know, say that before
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: no one. Mark maybe closed up with a question maybe
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: tell mo absolutely definitely will him and my mom.
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: I never didn't know volleyball though, you got me beat
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: on that one.
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: Hey, hey, I got two girls man, we volley.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Hey, but yeah, so awesome. They're crazy how I mean,
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: it's really fast and how everything works out. But you know,
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: you wonder how life's going to be after retirement, Like
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: my first two years was you know, character said, hey,
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: go back, you messing up everything we're doing here. But
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: it was so right, you know what I mean, Like
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: it just felt so right to be home every single
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: day with them. Yeah, you're just away from so long for.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: Sure, I feel it. So with that fellas Mark, Noah, any.
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: Questions, Mark, do you want to start us off here?
• 18:45
  Speaker 6: Kick it off for us now?
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: All right?
• 18:47
  Speaker 5: I mean I'll start off with a very easy one,
• 18:49
  Speaker 5: A j what is your best Josh Harrison's story that
• 18:52
  Speaker 5: can be shared on this podcasts story.
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: You know, I'm not really crazy, you know, there's more
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: like it's like when he just comes up to you
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: the blue just something you're gonna say, something is gonna
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: make you laugh, you know.
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: Or I can give you one.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: Remember y'all used to look for me after the game
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: where I would be hiding.
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: That's right, I forgot man bringing all that.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: That just that just popped in my head. Yeah, and
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: I can't remember that.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: I want. I don't know. I don't know if this
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: is a story or not, but I remember before you
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: started playing.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: Every day he comes in and dug out and he
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: just sit by me and say, hey, just let me play,
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: just tell him just they just let me play. And
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: when that man got a chance to play, he played man.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: And it was so fun to watch Jay. I just
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: love him run around the circles on the diamond making
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: big leagues looked like dummies.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: Dude.
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: That was the best part of anything, Like you just
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: go try to find trying to catch out you know
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: it ain't happening, but just just a joy to be around.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: Dude. And they did you did? You did walk up
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: me there one time? I think, what did I have
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: won my first game. And then I got shoved by
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: Saint Louis. I think, and I think I ran off
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: like eight or something, and Josh comes to find me, goes,
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: how you doing this with two pitches?
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: Like what do you mean? He goes, you out here
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: dominating with two pitches. I'm in the infield.
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: I'm like, fastball, curbo, basketball, bath off, curbo, back off.
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: I'm observing.
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: I was like, that's all I got. No, I can't
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: throw up else first right.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: And don't let them lie. Wasn't a normal fastball. It
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: was a sinker. If you was a lefty, you was
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: getting eight in a row at the front hip that
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: they either filed off their foot or took. And it
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: was it was I'm telling you it was a twelve six.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: And I'm back there like, bro, if i'm if I'm
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: facing me, which I did, get to face you first,
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: A bat struck me out. I got you for a triplet.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: I hung that thing too, hey, But I remember going
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: back to the duck out like, man, I see why
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: everybody swung and missed. I was like, man, his fastball,
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: like I said, he slow play you with the arms.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: Then the ball come out and then I said. He
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: would throw the curve and you think it's the fastball,
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: it's like the curve sweep from one end to the other,
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: or if it's bit like I said, hey, y'all, hey,
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: you better get it ready. I know it ain't the
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: ninety eight and he used to throw, but that ninety
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: four is gonna get on you. But yeah, I do
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: remember that two pictures. That's that's why I was like, hey, fastball, curve.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: Just make sure you hit the strike because it's gonna
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: look like a ball, but it's gonna come back.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: It was so fun.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: I learned that two steamer. Dude, I didn't have it
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: before I came there. I learned like a year or
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: two before I came there, And boy, it was his fun.
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: Dude.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: It was nasty.
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: It was just here, here, here, and then until you
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: yanked it.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: And then we're gonna change. Like Rizzo, he jumped me
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: in opening day. He said three feet that way and
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: hit that.
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: Come on Rizzy first pitch, but he never got another one.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Oh no, I mean burn me once, all right, but
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: he was that was gonna.
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: Make the adjustment.
• 22:09
  Speaker 6: Ye all right, I got one other question for you guys.
• 22:13
  Speaker 6: So let's say the Pirates do make the playoffs this year.
• 22:16
  Speaker 6: October's back. Should there be another blackout at p n
• 22:20
  Speaker 6: C Park.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: I mean, if they were black as much as we did,
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: we just love black. We just dated the Grays. Man,
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: They're just nasty.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: Every time. It was like, hey, we didn't care if
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: it was a hundred degrees. We knew when AJ was pitching,
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: we for sure was wearing black.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: We we ain't wearing them damn Grays and sweating through
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: the youth.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Hey, hence Batman, you know. And then we had to
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: start where it was him and uh Matt Harvey, uh
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Batman versus Dark Knight, and you know.
• 22:51
  Speaker 7: He he had to let him know real Batman. But
• 22:57
  Speaker 7: that was my bibblehead day. I'll never I know, I
• 23:00
  Speaker 7: remember whole family was there.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Oh man, it was, but I would say blackout. I mean,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: I know we end up doing again a year after,
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: I think, but I mean it's been so many years,
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: yeah that I don't think it's anything that. I mean,
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't feel slighted. However, they gonna pack it.
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: I fact pack it. I agree, I agree.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: I mean it could be something that they kept going
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: and going, you know, like but it's it's you know,
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: it is a different team and it's their team.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: And got to get there first.
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: Yes, you got to get there first. Then they can
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: worry about what they were right.
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: I think part of the great thing about the blackout too,
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: was it was just organic, like it just it was
• 23:50
  Speaker 5: kind of like the city just decided on a whim, like, Hey,
• 23:53
  Speaker 5: this is what we're showing up in this is this
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: is the vibe, this is the energy we're bringing.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: And it was just I mean every in the city
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: driving the end dude, everybody had it all.
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: It was incredible and it was loud. It was.
• 24:10
  Speaker 5: Aj Having covered the team for a while, you hear
• 24:13
  Speaker 5: stories about the thirteen through fifteen years and just you
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: know some of the behind the scenes stuff. I've been
• 24:20
  Speaker 5: told by a handful of people who are around back
• 24:22
  Speaker 5: then that you were known to advocate for younger players
• 24:25
  Speaker 5: that you believed in. Sometimes you would go to coaches
• 24:28
  Speaker 5: and say like, hey, this guy deserves an opportunity. And
• 24:31
  Speaker 5: one of the guys that I heard that about is
• 24:33
  Speaker 5: someone who's on this screen. What made you want to
• 24:37
  Speaker 5: go to that for young Josh Harrison back in the day,
• 24:39
  Speaker 5: What made you believe in him?
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: Well, I just remember the first.
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: I think it might have been the first day of
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: full squad and I think I was out on the
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: field stretching. I think I think Jay and cushwalkked by
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: and two cool casts his cruise down, dude, like they're
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: going to work, and they both just looked at me
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: and josh Win Cush Win they just kept going.
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: It's like, who I like these two?
• 25:03
  Speaker 5: Man?
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: I like these two.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: And that's the first time it started right there, because
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: I knew he was a gamer. But that's what it
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: comes down to, is being a gamer wanting to be
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: in there every single day. And like I said, before
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: he became that guy, you could just tell, man was
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: he was tasting it.
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: He wanted it so bad. And why not.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: Man, that's a good player right there. Man, that's a
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: good player. He's a good teammate. And I'll go to
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: bat for something like that any day of.
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: The week, no matter if you're young, no matter if
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: you're old.
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: Mark, I have one final one, but I'll let you
• 25:34
  Speaker 5: ask something. If you got it, Nope, go for it
• 25:37
  Speaker 5: all right. Before we wrap this up, seventeen year old
• 25:41
  Speaker 5: Noah would have been pissed if I didn't ask you
• 25:43
  Speaker 5: this tell the story behind that the moment behind what
• 25:51
  Speaker 5: the STFU that the sit the f down to Handley
• 25:56
  Speaker 5: Ramirez that that sho.
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: So I didn't know that. You know, these guys do
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: stuff when they hit homers now right, Like I don't
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: pay attention to that kind of crap, Like I don't know.
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: Like, so I say this dude around second he's like
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: he's doing he's doing something, and I'm like, what is
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: this man? So it just fired me up.
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: And then.
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: I think I was I might've been down to oh
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: on him or something. I can't remember, but I was
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: just fired up. I just wanted to punch his tickets
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: so bad. And like after the game, I realized that
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: even wasn't even toward me, and he's just doing it
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: thing because they hit a homer, and I was like, dang.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: And uh.
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: I a couple of pitches and I threw one right
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: down the middle and he called strike and he was like,
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: I was like, oh no, you did not just question
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: that one, dude.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: No, no, if I think of a three two hook,
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: and I got him and then immediately drops the bat
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: down starts complaining about them.
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: I guess the other pitches and I.
• 26:52
  Speaker 8: Was just like, man, that's gonna said buck down, shut up, man,
• 26:55
  Speaker 8: let's go, you know, and I've said that a million
• 26:59
  Speaker 8: times in my maybe not that vocal or that you
• 27:02
  Speaker 8: know obvious, but I was just I was gone with it, dude.
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: I was like, just go, I'm tired of seeing you
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: up here, because go. And it's funny because I saw
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: him next being trading me and locker in left field.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: I think he got traded dope. Was it Red Sox? Yeah,
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: he came over to short sleeve shirt or jack, you know,
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: and looks like, boy comes too.
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: So we're just sitting there. He didn't bring nothing up.
• 27:24
  Speaker 7: Man.
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: He walked up to me and go, Poppy, how you doing.
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: I'm like, I grab his arm and I'm like, yeah,
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: you're getting all hookes, bro, You're getting all this year.
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: But he never said anything about it, so.
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: I think he understood that it wasn't really it was personal,
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: but it wasn't personal because, like I said, I don't
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: know what these guys do, but it obviously it wasn't
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: toward me, and I thought it was. But I was
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: fired up anyway, so it was it.
• 27:46
  Speaker 4: Was perfect, awesome, awesome, all in the game, right.
• 27:49
  Speaker 5: I mean, you can you can keep it between the
• 27:52
  Speaker 5: lines and you chatter and then you know, after the game.
• 27:54
  Speaker 4: It's it's over, you know, yeah, that's.
• 28:00
  Speaker 7: Well.
• 28:03
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 28:03
  Speaker 5: Before we wrap up, on to remind everyone to hit
• 28:05
  Speaker 5: the subscribe button if they haven't already. We're on a
• 28:08
  Speaker 5: mission to three thousand subs and we can't get there
• 28:11
  Speaker 5: without your help, so please continue to subscribe to Bucco Territory.
• 28:15
  Speaker 5: Also check out our Bucco Territory team shop where you
• 28:17
  Speaker 5: can get all the good merch.
• 28:19
  Speaker 4: Here, got the shirt.
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: I'm gonna be.
• 28:22
  Speaker 5: Able to do this by memory. What's after the hoodie? Here,
• 28:25
  Speaker 5: there's the hat, and I believe the bag's coming next,
• 28:29
  Speaker 5: and then you.
• 28:30
  Speaker 4: Get the ball cap. Oh yeah, yeah, there we go.
• 28:32
  Speaker 5: So yeah, we're working on it. It's still spring training
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: for us to aj so on behalf of our guest
• 28:41
  Speaker 5: a J. Burnette and my co host Josh Harrison and
• 28:43
  Speaker 5: Platinum Key. I'm Noah Hayle signing off saying thanks for
• 28:46
  Speaker 5: tuning in to another episode of Buco Territory, presented to
• 28:49
  Speaker 5: you by the Fat Foul Territory Network.