Latest / Rosters to Rings Podcast / Managing October: Scott Servais on the 2026 World Series

Transcript

Managing October: Scott Servais on the 2026 World Series · Rosters to Rings Podcast

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Rosters to Rings. Alongside Chet West, I
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: am Thad Levine, and we're ecstatic to be joined today
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: by Scott Service. Before we list Scott's bona fides, it's
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: worth noting that Scott is one of our first return guests.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: With his second appearance on Rosters to Rings, Scott is
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: just three appearances away from receiving a commemorative Rosters to
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Rings mug and pencil set. I encourage listeners to listen
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: to our full conversation with Scott that aired on September 4th, 2025.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: where we learned about what makes Scott an elite strategist
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: and a culture builder and a championship caliber manager. In
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: an era in professional sports where there has never been
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: more intelligence in front offices and clubhouses, Scott artfully pairs
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: a progressive mind with an incredible care for developing, motivating,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: and inspiring the people with whom he's worked. Scott draws
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: on truly remarkable experiences as an amateur player representing the
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: United States in the Baseball World Cup, Pan Am Games,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Intercontinental Cup, and Olympics, where he won a gold medal.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: His 11 years in Major League Baseball as a player,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: playing with the Astros, Cubs, Rockies, and Giants, and his
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: post-playing career, gaining invaluable experience as a scout, a director
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: of minor league operations, assistant general manager, and manager of
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: the Seattle Mariners. Scott, welcome back to Rosters to Rings.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Thanks, Thad. Great to be back.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: I can't wait for my Got to make that fifth
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: appearance to get the special bonus package you're putting together.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Chet, nice to meet you, man. Looking forward to it.
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: Nice to meet you, Scott. We're going to have to
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: talk to Jason and Wyatt about a swag package of
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: some sort. I wouldn't mind having a mug myself. I
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: believe that I've been on this show a few times
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: so far. So where's mine? I don't know.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Tea is never tastier than in a rosters to ring mug.
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: Than in a rosters to ring mug. Exactly. Exactly. So, yeah, Scott,
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: on Rosters Ring, Stad and I are kind of committed
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: to taking the listeners behind the scenes, offer some insights
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: into pivotal decisions and dynamic people that impact sports teams,
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: pursuits of championships. One of the fascinating things about your
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: career is that you've seen baseball from so many different angles.
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: You've played, you've helped build organizations, you've managed at the
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: highest level. I still hearken back to your playing days
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: as being when I became a Cubs fan back in
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: the 97, 98, those two seasons there. We want to
• 2:21
  Speaker 4: take advantage of that perspective today and talk about what
• 2:24
  Speaker 4: really happens behind the scenes. When a team gets to October,
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: it's that time of year. Okay. We got the playoffs.
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: We're well into it here. We're going into the world series.
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: Our beloved Thad Levine and his brewers are going to
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: be taking on the Tampa Bay Rays. They've, ousted the
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: evil Dodgers in four straight. You know, let's start here
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: with a big picture. You're managing 162 games during the
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: regular season. There's obviously a balance between trying to win
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: tonight and keeping your team healthy and productive over six months.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: When October arrives, how dramatically does your approach to managing change?
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: It certainly changes.
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  Speaker 3: And I'm excited, as you guys are, to see how
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: the World Series plays out. I think the playoffs have
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: been fantastic. It's the best time of year. Whether it's baseball,
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: the highest leverage games are going on. You find out
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: a lot about teams and players and managers. On the
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: flip side of that, you've got their sports, the football,
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: NFL season, college season.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: It doesn't get any better than this.
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: Going back to your question, Chet, I think obviously the playoffs,
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: the intensity rises. There's a lot more hanging on every pitch.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: Collecting outs are what managers are focused on. you know,
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: and all those bullpen decisions and how it plays out. But, uh,
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: I think it's going to be an awesome world series.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: I think we've got the best two teams in baseball
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: matched up. And I think the background of those teams
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: and how those teams have been put together really makes
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: it that much more intriguing. So, uh, you do manage
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: a little bit different at this time of year than
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: you do throughout the course of the season. Just, and
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, the wild card series, you know,
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: it's two out of three, then you go to the
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: best of five and then you just get through the
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: seven game series.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: Uh, You know, that was complete.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: And every series is a little bit different. But, you know,
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: having a few days off leading into the World Series
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: for both these teams, I think it's probably a good
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: thing for the pitching. Those guys need a little bit
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: of a blow, maybe a little bit of a negative
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: for the offensive players. They want to keep it rolling.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: But I think it's going to be a fascinating World Series.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: It's two really good teams. There'll be a ton of
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: decisions that need to be made. It's going to be
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: fun to watch.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: So you think we've had a little break here. You
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: think the seven days off for the Brewers will help
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: their pitching a little bit, kind of catch their breath?
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: We haven't seen much offense in this postseason as it
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: is right now. I think what was the batting average,
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: 212 or something like that crazy?
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really a credit to the quality of pitching.
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: But I do think, you know, the bullpens get run
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: so hard at this time of year that those guys,
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: you know, they start leaking oil a little bit and
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: it gives them a chance to kind of regroup. And
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: I think it'll really help them. Again, the quality of
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: the pitching is just unbelievable in our game right now,
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: and that's why we're seeing just limited opportunities throughout the
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: course of a 9-8 game to actually put rallies together.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: That's why the home run just plays so heavily in this,
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: but these are two teams that didn't hit a lot
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: of home runs throughout the season, so it's going to
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: be intriguing.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: It's going to be really cool.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: I think we were missing not having part of your
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: introduction as saying you were a diehard Brewers fan growing up. So, uh, you're,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: you're hearkening back to, uh, so, so some guys like
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: Jim Gantner and Robert Yount and Pete Vukovic and Moose Haas.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: Gorman Thomas.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: And Gorman Thomas, who is really remarkable that Gorman Thomas
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: used to patrol center field. He's like built like an
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: offensive lineman. We, we, we have a slightly different, uh,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: physical profile for center field now than they did in 1982. Scott,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: you touched on it. If you were the manager, you
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: have seven days off. You don't have seven days off
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: at any time in the regular season, not even during
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: the all-star break do you have seven days off. How
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: do you balance managing the roster during that time where
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: you want to keep guys sharp? As you mentioned, you
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: want to get the relievers a chance to restore themselves
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: and replenish and you don't want to do anything to
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: risk injuring anybody, but you want to maintain that level
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: of intensity and competition during that week. How do you
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: manage that balance?
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: It's really challenging. And if anybody's going to come up
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: with a plan, it's going to be Pat Murphy. Murph's
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: pretty creative in everything he does. So obviously you're going
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: to got, you know, you want your starters throwing, you
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: want to get your hitters to get some live ABs,
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: but it's just not the same.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: The intensity level's not there. And I would be obviously
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: during the course of a series, but you know, you
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: got to do the best you can with it. And
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: I think you're starting to look at, you know, certain
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: tendencies that these teams have. You'll start directing your team
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: about how to maybe control the running game a little
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: bit differently because both these teams do like to run.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, situational hitting will be big and
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: neither one of these teams strike out a whole lot.
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: So the defense is going to play really big in
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: this series. And those are things that, you know, you
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: can try to stay on top of your game, but
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: there's nothing like real reps, you know, in the game.
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: So I think the one thing that downtime does more
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: than anything else, it just gives players a chance to
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: think maybe too much about, you know, you've worked your
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: whole life, your whole career, try to get in a
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: situation like this and you want to enjoy it and
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: you want to have fun. But on the flip side
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: of that, you've got all these family members, all the
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: guys you played high school baseball with that want to
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: come to the World Series and see you play. So
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: you've got to be able to balance all that stuff.
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: And I'm sure the players are just anxious to get
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: out there and start competing.
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: So I got to imagine, my understanding of this from
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: a fan point of view is you guys kind of,
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: you have an advanced meeting with your staff before each
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: series in the regular season, kind of break some things down.
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: I got to wonder what that's like and those advanced
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: meetings for the postseason are like. Is this a game-by-game thing?
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: Is it a series-by-series thing? How often are you doing it?
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: What kind of details are we getting down to?
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: It's a great question, Chad, and I think That's probably
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: how the game has changed more than anything, even in
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: the time that I was managing from when I first
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: started my first year, it was like 2016, to when
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: I ended my time in Seattle. Just so many more
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: people are involved. There's so much more information. You know,
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: typically you will sit down with a larger group. It'll
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: be just staff. You might have advanced scouts. You're certainly
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: going to have people from the analytics department in that meeting.
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: There might be upwards of 20 people in that meeting,
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: you know, as you're going through the tendencies of the
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: other team, breaking it down. And then, you know, up
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: to the coaching staff then to sit down with players
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: and start delivering some of those messages there.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: You know, that'll happen at the beginning of the series.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: And then you'll have a daily meeting, you know, as
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: you go over, you know, what the starting pitcher might
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: be throwing at us that night, who's going to be
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: available in their bullpen just to keep your hitters in tune.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: And then on the flip side, you know, kind of
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: how to deploy your bullpen each night.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: Who's available?
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: What are the matchups we want? What are the pockets
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: we want? Um, you know, in those meetings, you know,
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: there'll be a lot of people. Um, it's not just
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: the pitching couple pitching coaches and maybe the manager and
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: a bench coach. Um, there will be front office people
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: in those meetings and those are organizational decisions. You know,
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: you're working through it and to get to the point
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: where we're at in the season right now, you do
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: have a system. There's a rhythm to it. Um, and
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: everybody kind of understands, you know, what you're trying to
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: get to, uh, at that conclusion of that meeting, going
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: into the game. Now you can have the best laid
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: plans in the world. And all of a sudden, the
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: game changes on a dime.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: Maybe there's an.
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: Injury or maybe your starter doesn't have it that night.
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: So you have to be able to think on the fly.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: You really do.
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: So you've got a plan, best laid plans typically go
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: to waste. And then you're reacting on the fly. As fans,
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: we see now, as a fan, I watch a game
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: and I see AJ Hinch, right? And he gets his
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: iPad out in the middle of the game. He starts
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: looking at things. And as fans, we always wonder like,
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: is the iPad giving them all the answers or is
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: there still some, some instinct and intuition woven there and
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: how much. How much do they go off script at times?
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: And is that happening more in the regular season versus postseason?
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: Or is postseason kind of a you trust your gut
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: and you go with it type of a thing? What
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: is the balance there?
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: I think both of these managers, really all the managers
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: that have been in the playoffs this year, you got
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: there because you're taking all the information and these scripted plans,
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: but then you have enough baseball instinct to trust what
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: your eyes are seeing and knowing that this particular player
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: may not have it tonight.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: Or this team, they're just on him. You know what
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: I mean?
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: And, you know, it may change some things a little bit.
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: And then, you know, based on availability of guys out
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: of the bullpen, you may have to be a little
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: bit more patient and let this guy play out tonight,
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: because as you get into the series, you might have
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: less options to play with out of your bullpen. So again,
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: it's a seven games. You cannot win the world series
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: by winning or losing game one. You have to win
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: four games. So I think the big thing here early
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: on is you have to understand, like, don't chase it.
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: If you are down two or three runs in a game,
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: you know, you may back off. You know, you may
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: throw some more of the middle relievers. Fortunately for these teams,
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: the quality of these bullpen arms, they're really good. So,
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: you know, they can just put different guys in there
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: to hold it tight and hopefully your offense can get
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: back in the game. But you've got to be very
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: careful not to chase it early in a series.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: You know, Chet, one thing for our listeners to understand
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: is advanced scouting for the playoffs is very different than
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: advanced scouting in the regular season. By and large, It
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: used to be that every team had a scout in
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: the field who would actually be watching the teams you
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: were about to play. They would watch them live and
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: then submit a report to the manager and his staff.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Now we're doing, by and large, almost all of that
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: on video and through data sources that we have. However,
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: during the playoffs, we do send somebody on the road,
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: and we're sending them on the road not to see
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: what the pattern of pitches that Freddy Peralta pitches, but
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: rather to to stare for innings on end at the
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: third base coach to understand what cadence does he have
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: when he delivers signs, when they're actionable versus when they're
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: not actionable. As small things as sometimes a third base
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: coach will always walk towards the batter when he's giving
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: a sign that's actually active. He doesn't know he's doing this.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: We're trying to pick up those tells. We're looking at
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: the pitchers to see if there's tipping going on. So
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: we're looking at those subtle things, the communication from the
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: manager or the dugout to the base coach's So that
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: is also going on, and that is very unique to
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: the playoffs that you don't normally see during the regular season. Scott,
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: you talked about so many elements there that I would
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: love to dive a little bit more into, and we
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: will do so after this break on Rosters to Rings.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Rosters to Rings. We're having a wonderful
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: conversation here with Scott Servers, taking us behind the scenes
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: into the dugout, into the clubhouse as we prepare for
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: the World Series. Scott, I'm curious, when you have conversations
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: pre-series with some of your staff, your players, how do
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: these conversations go? Guys who are your fourth and fifth starters,
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: who maybe are going to take a more junior role
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: in the postseason, your early... relievers who maybe don't even
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: make the roster, your utility infielder, your backup catcher who
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: isn't going to play much. These are guys that you
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: relied on heavily throughout the course of the season, more
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: so than ever now. It used to be you needed
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: four starters to make it through the playoffs. Now a
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: lot of teams are going with three. Heck, the Atlanta
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Braves were going with two starters by and large through
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: the first two series this season. I'm just curious, how
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: do you manage those conversations when you're telling guys, who bled, sweat,
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: and cried for you throughout the whole season, got you
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: where you needed to get to, that maybe they weren't
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: going to play as big of roles, or in some cases,
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: aren't even on the roster in the postseason.
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: It's really challenging, and there are tough conversations to have,
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: but it's so important that you're honest and upfront about it.
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: And I think you want those players to understand how
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: much we've appreciated what they've done to allow us to
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: get us to this point. But You know, it could
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: be a bullpen guy that just doesn't match up as well.
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: Maybe you want an extra lefty in the bullpen or
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: a different left-handed bat on the bench or a speed guy,
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: you know, that could play a role late in the game.
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: So there's much more nuance to your bench and the
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: extra players in the playoffs than maybe you will see
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: during the regular season. And it happens with every squad. Sometimes,
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: you know, you'll insert younger players, maybe haven't even been
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: with you the majority of the season, but because they
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: have that one tool that you're looking for. Like I said,
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: it may be a defensive replacement on a specific arm
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: out of the bullpen. And, you know, the point you
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: mentioned that, you know, you might have, you know, some
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: of your back end starters that carried big loads of
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: innings and got a lot of meaningful outs for you
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: during the season. They just didn't fit with the roster
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: you have based upon the team you're playing. So tough conversations.
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: You got to have them, have them up front, let
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: the players know where they're at. And I think guys
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: appreciate that.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: They understand.
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: How's that working with like the player health? We hear
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: a lot during the season about innings limits, pitch limits.
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: You know, we're kind of trying to keep everybody in
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: decent shape. You don't want to ride a pitcher too much.
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: You don't want to throw their arm out halfway through
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: the season. But when we get to the postseason, I've
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: heard many times and had conversations with friends of mine like, hey,
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: we got this guy as a rental for the second
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: half of the season here. they're probably going to ride
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: him through the playoffs. You know, he's going to throw
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: to his arm falls off in the playoffs. Is that,
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: is that a reality? Is there, are, is there, is
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: there still attention being paid to the, to the health
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: of the player? You kind of pushing, pushing it all
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: in to get the, to get to the promised land there.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: No, there, there certainly is.
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: And, and players, nobody's ever going to be honest with
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: the manager at this time of year, Chad players will
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: never tell you the truth.
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: They're all good to go. They all want to play.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: I look back, you know, in history and certainly a
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: brewer's history that year that they acquired CC Sabathia, he
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: did some things for the brewers that I don't think
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: we'll ever see again in a free agent year where
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: he was headed to her a big payday. He said, Hey,
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: just jump on my back guys. I'm going to take
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: you to the promised land. And he, he did, he
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: did some incredible things. So, uh, very unique. It doesn't
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: happen very often. I think as the manager, the pitching
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: coach really in tune to it, because they'll be a
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: little bit more honest with the pitching coach than they
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: will be with the manager. And you really have to stay,
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: stay in tune with that because it's a real thing.
• 16:25
  Speaker 4: Is that part of your preseason or your pre pre-series
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: or pre-game prep in the post-season kind of looking at
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: your pitching coach and saying, Hey, is this guy really
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: got anything left in the tank? Or is he kind
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: of laboring a little bit? Is that kind of stuff
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: you're looking to pick up on?
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: Well, I think as the series goes on, you know,
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: your guys go out every day. They're, They'll all say
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: they feel great at 2 o'clock, and then they go
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: out and play catch and see where they're at. They
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: might get off the mound and throw 7 to 10 pitches,
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: something like that. And then you'll kind of get a
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: check-in after batting practice, you know, that somebody may be
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: a scratch. Or if we can stay away from this guy,
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: it'll really help him tomorrow. Again, if you're getting to
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: the end of the season, you take off the gloves
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: a little bit. And players want to. Players want to
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: pitch in these games. They want to go out and
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: be big contributors in key moments. So you just have
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: to do what's best for your club and, you know,
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: try to do what's best for the health of the
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: player as well.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: You know, Scotty, we saw kind of two ends of
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: the spectrum in the NLDS. The San Diego Padres have
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: Michael King come back on one day's rest and throw
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: two innings out of the bullpen in a must kind
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: of a must win game. And they did ultimately win
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: it in contrast. In game six of the ALCS, the
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: Cleveland Guardians decided to not start Gavin Williams, but save
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: him for game seven. Just take us a little bit
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: behind the scenes. From your perspective, what goes into those decisions?
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Why yes for Michael King? Why no for Gavin Williams there?
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: Who's involved in those conversations? I'm certainly happy to chip
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: in there, but why don't you start the conversation on that?
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: Well, it's a good point, but both of those players
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: are really at different points of their careers. You know,
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: Michael King has kind of been through the wars. This
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: is a guy who had pitched out of the bullpen,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: come into a starter. He's a little bit older. He's
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: going to be able to handle it maybe a little
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: bit differently. And there are different type of pitchers. Michael
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: King has got really good stuff, but he's an east-west guy.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: It's a slider and a sinker where Williams is more north-south.
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: And you may see a little bit, if you're not
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: right on top of your game with the north-south stuff,
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: it could be a little bit more challenging. But I
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: respect the decision that both the organizations made because I
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: think it was the right one.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: At the time.
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: And I know the people in Cleveland and, you know,
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: the year that Williams has had for them and how
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: important he is. But again, you've got to, they would
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: have had to win game seven. And I know you
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: just want to get there, but you got to win
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: that one to get to the next level. I believe
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: they made the right decision, but for me, it's two
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: different pitchers at two different points in their career.
• 18:50
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: And I think just for the listeners to understand that
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: that's not resting on the shoulders of the manager alone
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: or the pitching coach. That's, Scott used the term earlier.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: That's an organizational decision. The training staff is weighing in.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: Maybe even doctors are weighing in. There's a lot of
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: people you're consulting to make that decision. I'm quite certain
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: both franchises were exceptionally thoughtful in those decision making. And
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: to Scott's point, probably both made the exact right decision.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: In one case, San Diego wins the game. In the
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: other case, unfortunately, no. For Cleveland, they don't win the
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: game and they don't get the opportunity to have Gavin
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: Williams pitch, but they're looking to the long-term of Gavin Williams'
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: health and how important and vital he will be to
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: the success of that franchise moving forward.
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: Dispel something for me. I'm curious about, as watching these
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: postseason games, you see, and I can never tell if
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: it's just the broadcast putting so much focus on the
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: dugout and the manager and the moves they're making. uh
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: in the postseason we sometimes see managers criticized for over
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: managing oh yeah making pitching changes or substitutions you may
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: not make those changes in june right but in the
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: postseason all of a sudden you you get an itchy
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: trigger finger and you're like get so and so up
• 19:59
  Speaker 4: we're going to change things up here is that is
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: that a real deal is that a real thing or
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: is that just a perception thing that that those of
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: us fans watching the game have.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: No, it's real.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: And we all know anytime a starting pitcher starts to
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: work through that lineup a third time, it gets challenging.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? So all those pregame bullpen management.
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: Meetings, they all kind of are, you know, geared around,
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: you know, when is the starter going to come out
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: of the game? You know, that's the toughest. That's when
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: that first decision gets made, the rest of them kind of.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: Roll, obviously, very quickly. Yeah, yeah, after that.
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: So, You know, looking at top of the lineup, matchups,
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: what's the stuff look like? Again, you can map it
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: out ahead of time. But in real time, you've got
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: to really trust what your eyes are seeing. And then,
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: you know, it's not just the manager either. You're talking
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: to the pitching coach. And some teams now, they have
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: two or three pitching guys on the bench with the
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: manager or strategist. So there's a lot of people involved
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: in those decisions. But, yeah, there are a lot more
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: moves made. You want to put your best guy out
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: there in the most critical, high-leverage spot with the best
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: hitters out there. You're going to see it in this series.
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: I guarantee it. You know, between when Caminero gets up
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: there or Contreras or Jelic. These guys, you know, you've
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: got to have the right matchup, especially once you get
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: in the fifth, sixth inning and they're working towards the
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: back end of the game.
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: Your pitchers are kind of down there ready for that, right?
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: They're like, we're going to see some different stuff than
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: we normally do in the regular season.
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. Yeah, you're talking to those guys ahead of time.
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: Okay. So that's a planned thing.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it really is. And they kind of know who
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: they're going to face. You know what I mean? They
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: do ahead of time.
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: Hey, there's my– You know, Ashby has a good idea
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: when he's going to get in the game and he's
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: been dominant for the Brewers.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: And Uribe is going to be the same thing with
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: the Tampa guys. They kind of know what pockets they're
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: going to be in. And that's all communicated ahead of
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: the game for those guys.
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: Thad, I'm curious about something. I want to bring you
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: into this conversation because I want to know for front
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: office guys and people that help, you know, the managers
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: and the coaches kind of with the information and data
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: that you guys provide. You ever sit up there and
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: watch him make these decisions and sit there and say, no, no, no,
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: what are you doing? Hang on, this isn't what we
• 21:59
  Speaker 4: talked about. This is not the right path here.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: I don't know if people are watching this, but no,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: I've never done that. So Chet, all joking aside, so
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: typically the front office guys are all sitting together watching
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: the game. We all have this similar information that the
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: manager has, if not the same, because it's produced and
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: we get to see it. So we see the matchup
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: grids We see the pockets it's got referred to. I've
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: always viewed this through this lens, which is I want
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: to provide the manager with the absolute best information we can,
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: but then I also want to entrust him to make
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: real-time decisions on the fly. By that, I mean sometimes
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: he only knows that the pitcher who we should go
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: to had a rough night's sleep because their two-year-old child
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: has a sickness and was up all night. And so
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: I never want to just go ironclad by what the, the,
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: the grid shows. I will say I've sat with a
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: lot of people in front offices who do do that.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: And they're literally mapping along with every pitch we make.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: And there were, they're questioning in a very positive and
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: healthy fashion what's going on on the field. I have
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: never done that just because I am respectful of this,
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: the stress and pressure on the manager to make those
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: decisions and My rule of thumb with managers has always
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: been this, which is I want you to make real-time decisions.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: If we're making big philosophical decisions, an example of that
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: would be I just don't want Bryce Terang to hit
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: against lefties because I don't think he can hit against lefties.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: That's a conversation we need to have. If the manager
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: wants to go with D.L. Hall instead of Aaron Ashby,
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: two of our better left-handed relievers, when the matchup grid
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: says Aaron Ashby is the right guy, I trust there's
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: a reason that he has for why he's pulling. And I,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: you know, let's have the conversation later, but I'm not
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: asking in an accusatory fashion. I'm asking more in an
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: inquisitive fashion as to why that was done. If it's
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: a bigger picture thing, let's talk about it before we
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: make those moves, those, those real time decisions. So I
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: think the, the manager needs to have jurisdiction over and
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: he's consulting with, as Scott said, two to three pitching
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: coaches with his bench coach, with anyone else on the bench,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: he may trust that, So it's not like he's making
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: those decisions in isolation. He's got a very strong leadership
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: council that he's leaning into.
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: And again, I'm going to ask this question. I want
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: an answer from both of you guys. I'm curious, how
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: much does experience matter? Like, you think a manager has
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: been through the postseason, the wars here, approaches it differently
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: than the second or third time? You get a first
• 24:30
  Speaker 4: timer through the postseason? Are you kind of like, he
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: may not know what to do here? Or is that a?
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: that goes by the wayside too.
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: I think the strategy part of it, whether you've done
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: it one or two years or you've done it seven
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: or eight years in the playoffs, I think the strategy
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: is the strategy. I think the longer, the more opportunities
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: you get to manage in the playoffs or play in
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: the playoffs, you just relax a little bit. You maybe
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: don't get quite up or down based on the flow
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: of the game. You stay a little bit more consistent
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: through it. But I think the strategy is the strategy.
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: I think the one thing on the strategy thing we
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: talk about, you're always talking about your team, but Part
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: of it is, too, you want to have a really
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: good understanding of the other team. How are they going
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: to deploy their bullpen? Who is going to pinch hit
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: here and things like that? So when you're in the dugout, yeah,
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: you're focused on your club, but you're also like, if
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: I make this move, how is he going to counter
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: that move?
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? And that may stop you.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of things that go on there.
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: Even the commentators, often those guys think they've got it
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: all buttoned up and they know what's going on, but
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: there's a lot of things behind the scenes that you know,
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: every move you make, they are going to react to it,
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: that other manager and knowing what he has on his
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: bench and how he's deployed that throughout the season and
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: in the playoffs. Those are really valuable things to know.
• 25:44
  Speaker 4: So there's a pressure aspect there. And, you know, and Thad,
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: jump in here. I'm curious to know your thought on this.
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: Like you go into the postseason, are you looking at
• 25:54
  Speaker 4: your manager and saying like, oh, this is his first
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: time through this rodeo? Like, let's see how he, how
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: he handles it. Or do you have a pretty good
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: idea that based on, you know, the regular season and whatnot,
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: is it that much different for them?
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Well, I love Scott's thoughts on this. So, so I
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: feel as if we've never had more information that we're
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: providing the manager today. So I guess in so much,
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: there's really a high floor and very good guardrails for decision-making.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: I hearken back. There was a time, uh, You mentioned
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: it earlier, Chet, the late 1990s and early 2000s, where
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: I think there was a long stretch of time where
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: no manager won the World Series who was managing their
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: first team until Mike Socha did it. And Mike Socha
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: had been with the A & M Angels for quite
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: some time when he won it. I think that was
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: an era where we had less information that we were
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: providing the manager. I think they were a little bit
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: more singularly responsible for making some of these decisions and
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: assimilating and aggregating the data. We're helping them in such
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: great regards. I mean, I'm sure Scott can account to
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: when he was a manager. The Milwaukee Brewers have a
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: support staff that sits behind the coaching staff that are
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: there singularly to help them decipher all the information and
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: utilize it to the best of the ability to make
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: the best decisions in game. We just didn't have that before.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: So I think we have better resources for first-time managers
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: than we ever once did. If you look at the
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: last 10 World Series winners, I think a lot of
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: them actually are guys who are managing on their first team.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: And they're doing exceptionally well. So I think gone are
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: the days where you have to be too consumed with
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: concern about a less experienced manager being able to manage
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: through the playoffs. Now, Scott may tell you that managing
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: the nerves is an entirely different thing. And I'd be curious, Scott,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: take us in the dugout here. The pressure and intensity
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: is so incredible in these games. The fans are engaged
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: at a level that they're just simply aren't during the
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: regular season. As a manager, how do you manage that
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: for your staff and players?
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: I think you've got to try to be as consistent
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: as you can be. And I know I was talking
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: to Craig Stammen with the Padres before the Brewers series,
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: and I just kept telling him, hey, no matter how
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: crazy it gets, just try to keep a smile on
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: your face. I was never really good at it because
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: you're just turning inside. It's just turning up. You're very
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: into the game, and you want the best for your guys,
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: and you want to get the best results. But I
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: think trying to be as consistent because your team is
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: looking at you.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: So being on the emotional roller coaster is not a
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: good thing. I think Murph does a very good job
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: of it. Kevin Cash, you know, these guys have been
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: through it a little bit. They handle the ups and downs.
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: The opposition gets a big hit or a big homer,
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: you know, and your guy. And then there comes a
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: point when the good things happen, you have to let
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: it out a little bit. I thought it was interesting
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: after the couple big home runs in the Tampa game.
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: You don't see much reaction out of Cashy, but he
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: got pretty excited, as I would have. Those are huge,
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: huge homers in that game to seal that series. So
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: And you may even see a little bit more out
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: of Murph. You know, I know Murph tries to hold
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: it in a little bit, but I know it's churning
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: inside of him.
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: But, you know, you got to be who you are.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: But I think being consistent is the big thing.
• 28:59
  Speaker 4: Does it help to have veterans on the roster? Is
• 29:01
  Speaker 4: this a real thing? We hear a lot about that,
• 29:03
  Speaker 4: you know, veterans for postseason.
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: It does.
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: And I think both these teams have great leadership. You know,
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: you talk about what Tampa's got. Yandy Diaz is that
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: guy for them. You know, and he's starting to get
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: hot with the bat right now, but he kind of
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: sets the tone. And you know what Christian Yelich does
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: for the Brewers. So they're not like loaded with veteran players.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: They've got some.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: Guys that are kind of in their prime right now.
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: They've got some young players that can really impact the game,
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: but the veterans are huge and not just, you know,
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: in game, but helping the manager drive message around the game.
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: You know, it's pregame, it's keeping it loose. It's it's
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: not trying to take things too seriously, you know, and
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: those guys are super, super valuable at this time of year.
• 29:42
  Speaker 4: You ever had a situation where like a key player
• 29:45
  Speaker 4: didn't handle it well, kind of got to the post
• 29:47
  Speaker 4: season and just let the pressure get to them a
• 29:50
  Speaker 4: little too much.
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: Sometimes.
• 29:51
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: It's guys that maybe they have played five, six, seven
• 29:55
  Speaker 3: years in the league. And now this is the first
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: chance to get into the playoffs and and they really
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: want to do well, obviously to drive the train, so
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: to speak, and lead us to the promised land, and
• 30:05
  Speaker 3: they put a little bit too much pressure on themselves,
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: it can certainly happen. You see it with pitchers once
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: in a while, the guys that have maybe bounced around
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: a couple different teams, and all of a sudden they've
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: had a great year, and they've helped this team get
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: in that position, and now they just want to turn
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: the dial up a little bit. So I think both
• 30:21
  Speaker 3: these managers do a good job of just like, hey, guys,
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: be who you are.
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: Trust your ability. It's plenty good enough, and let it
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: play out.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: You know, Scotty, I've experienced both sides of this. I
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: think the adage of you need experience is tried and true.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: I will say that I've had some experiences where sometimes
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: the less experienced guy, the young guy, maybe even the rookie,
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: he just doesn't know better. He doesn't know that we
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: shouldn't be up there or that this is a rarefied error.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: And they just go play with their hair on fire.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: And I'm thinking back to some times I've had with
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: Minnesota and 2017, we made the playoffs by winning something
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: obscene like 85 games, which this year somehow you would
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: have gotten a buy in the first round. We went
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: to Yankee Stadium back in the time where the wild
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: card was a one-game playoff, and we went up 3-0
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: in the first inning. It was incredible how silent the
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: building was, and I remember distinctly The two key veterans
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: on that team were Irvin Santana, our number one starter,
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: and Joe Maurer, who, you know, future Hall of Famer.
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: Irvin Santana is pitching that game. He goes and warms
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: up on Yankee Stadium Mount. I mean to tell you
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: the first pitch he threw was like 54 feet. He
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: spiked it directly into the ground. I turned to my
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: father and said, uh-oh, I think we've got a problem here.
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: And it was in that moment that I realized, you know,
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: the only risk I think you have with a veteran
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: is they understand the magnitude of how tough it is
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: to get there. And sometimes that's what swallows them up.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: Another instance we had in Minnesota was we ended up
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: going in 2023. Sonny Gray was one of our best pitchers.
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: And I remember the celebration to get to the playoffs.
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: Edouard Julien had come up in August that year and
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: lit the league on fire. He was running around the room,
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: smoking a cigar, dancing as if this was just something
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: he planned on doing every year. Sonny Gray was sitting
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: in the corner, taking it all in, acting as if
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: he didn't know if he'd ever get back there. And
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: so sometimes... I think that magnitude and that weight that
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: the veteran carries, I imagine is another thing that as
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: a manager, you have to be attentive to and make
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: sure those guys just go out there and do what
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: they've done all season and not feel any additional weight.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: Just knowing that it's so tough to get here, go
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: and play the best of your ability and be nothing
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: more than just the best version of yourself.
• 32:35
  Speaker 3: No, those are great stories and great shares, Thad, because
• 32:38
  Speaker 3: there is a lot of those behind the scenes things
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: that do happen. And I think Being a manager and
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: understanding who those players are on your team.
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 32:46
  Speaker 3: And those guys that have, like I said, they've busted
• 32:48
  Speaker 3: their tail their whole career to get in this position.
• 32:50
  Speaker 3: That might be the guy you want to talk to
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: a little bit more than just say, okay, he's a veteran.
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: He's got this. No, I'm going to keep this guy
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: a little close. I'm going to keep messing with this guy.
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: I'm going to keep him loose. I'm going to keep
• 33:00
  Speaker 3: joking with him. I'm going to try to distract him
• 33:03
  Speaker 3: as best I can. talking about how many tickets he
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: had to come up with the game and his uncle
• 33:08
  Speaker 3: from wherever is coming in and the different things that
• 33:11
  Speaker 3: are going on around the game just to distract him
• 33:13
  Speaker 3: a little bit and then try to get to the
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: point where, hey, go back to.
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: When you were playing in high school. Go back to
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: when you were a little leaguer.
• 33:20
  Speaker 3: That's how you need to play these games.
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: Free. Play them free.
• 33:24
  Speaker 4: Folks, we're going to take a break. When we get back,
• 33:27
  Speaker 4: we're going to put Scott in the manager's chair. He's
• 33:29
  Speaker 4: going to tell us a little bit about what he
• 33:31
  Speaker 4: thinks about Milwaukee and Tampa Bay in this World Series
• 33:35
  Speaker 4: when we return on Rosters to Rings. Folks, welcome back
• 33:49
  Speaker 4: to Rosters to Rings. We're going to apply some of
• 33:53
  Speaker 4: what we've been talking about previously in the show to
• 33:56
  Speaker 4: the upcoming series between Milwaukee and Tampa Bay, the World Series. Scott,
• 34:00
  Speaker 4: we're going to put you in the manager's chair. We've
• 34:02
  Speaker 4: got Milwaukee and Tampa Bay meeting in the World Series,
• 34:05
  Speaker 4: two organizations that have built reputations for maximizing their rosters
• 34:09
  Speaker 4: and finding competitive advantages. As a member of the Padres
• 34:13
  Speaker 4: front office, you had a front row seat to the
• 34:15
  Speaker 4: Brewers and the NLDS. As a manager, what do you
• 34:19
  Speaker 4: regard as the Brewers' biggest strengths and most noteworthy vulnerabilities?
• 34:24
  Speaker 4: And did that change at all for you having watched
• 34:26
  Speaker 4: them play in that four-game series?
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: Good question.
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: I think going into the series, the Padres-Brewers series was
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: a great series. Every game was right down to the wire.
• 34:36
  Speaker 3: But I think understanding defense, speed, bunt game. They put
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: a lot of pressure on you offensively. A ton of
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: respect for their bullpen. I think that stuff kind of
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: played out the way I thought. I think the one
• 34:49
  Speaker 3: thing that surprised me a little bit when you're watching
• 34:51
  Speaker 3: it in real time, both these teams control the strike
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: zone very well. They don't strike out. And the quality
• 34:57
  Speaker 3: of that bat. is when you're in the building and
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: you're watching it. It's one thing watching it on TV,
• 35:02
  Speaker 3: but when you're in the building, I'm sitting right close
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: to home plate there, and how deep the lineup that
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: the Brewers threw out there.
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: And it may not be the household.
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: Names that you're used to hearing, but some of the
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: guys throughout that lineup putting 7, 8, 10 pitch at bat.
• 35:19
  Speaker 2: Now, they may end up getting them out, but the quality.
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: Of an 8 to 10 pitch at bat in a
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: playoff game early in the game, I mean, that is
• 35:26
  Speaker 3: so valuable. So I think that's what stood out to
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: me watching the Brewers. And we've seen what Jake Bowers
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: has done. I had Jake as a player in Seattle,
• 35:34
  Speaker 3: and he has been phenomenal here throughout the whole year, really.
• 35:39
  Speaker 3: But the quality at bat and the fact that the
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: Brewers handled the starting pitching that the Dodgers threw at them,
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: the way they did, it was very impressive. So that's
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: what stood out to me. I think you talk about
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: what could get the Brewers in this series. The home
• 35:56
  Speaker 3: run will play into the game.
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: There's no doubt.
• 35:59
  Speaker 3: And certainly, you know, Bowers has hit some. Mitchell's hit some.
• 36:02
  Speaker 3: You know, Contreras has got the ability to do it. Trujillo,
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: they've got guys that can do it. Tampa knows those
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: guys can do it. So they're going to be very
• 36:12
  Speaker 3: careful in how they pitch and how they go around those.
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: But I think the team that, you know, he's going
• 36:20
  Speaker 3: to have to hit a few long balls, I think,
• 36:22
  Speaker 3: in this series.
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: And each team has.
• 36:23
  Speaker 3: Got guys, you know, Caminero and Yandy Diaz and Aranda.
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: Both teams have got guys that can do it. Some
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: of those guys are going to have to do it.
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: And oftentimes in a series like this, it's the guy
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: we're not expecting to do it that does it. I think,
• 36:36
  Speaker 3: you know, you go to what Garrett Mitchell has done
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: for the Brewers. I don't think anybody's expecting him to
• 36:41
  Speaker 3: hit home runs off Blake Snell.
• 36:42
  Speaker 4: I wasn't.
• 36:44
  Speaker 3: But he did it, you know, and that's what you
• 36:45
  Speaker 3: got to have. Guys do some things that are unexpected. So,
• 36:48
  Speaker 3: I think it's going to be a great series.
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: I really do.
• 36:50
  Speaker 4: Who's got the biggest vulnerability? These are two really well-constructed,
• 36:54
  Speaker 4: well-run teams. They both, you know, skill sets on both
• 36:57
  Speaker 4: sides of the ball are great. Who's got the biggest
• 37:00
  Speaker 4: vulnerability or weakness here, do you think?
• 37:03
  Speaker 3: I think the Brewers lineup is deeper than the Rays lineup.
• 37:06
  Speaker 3: The Rays are going to put the ball in play.
• 37:08
  Speaker 3: The speed factor has been huge for Tampa this year.
• 37:12
  Speaker 3: The stolen base controlling the running game. I think Contreras...
• 37:15
  Speaker 3: could really control the running game from behind the plate,
• 37:18
  Speaker 3: maybe a little bit better than Tampa catchers can, just
• 37:20
  Speaker 3: my opinion. But we'll see how it plays out. Stolen
• 37:24
  Speaker 3: bases are a big deal for both of these teams.
• 37:26
  Speaker 3: Like I said, getting that extra 90 feet, getting that
• 37:29
  Speaker 3: other guy in scoring position, you're going to see teams
• 37:31
  Speaker 3: take chances. I know Murph's going to do it. He's
• 37:33
  Speaker 3: played that way all year, and Cashy has really taken
• 37:36
  Speaker 3: on that mindset with his club as well.
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: You know, Scott, the irony, the slogan in Milwaukee is
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: win our way, and that is something that Pat Murphy
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: came up with because people were very critical of small
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: ball and the fact that the Brewers ended up hitting
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: the 29th most home runs in the major leagues. I
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: think Tampa was 22nd, so it wasn't as if they
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: were much better, but they were better. And so he
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: started just dubbing and just went our way. And I
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: think we all know the numbers. You win 85 plus
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: percent of the games when you out-homer your opponent in
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: the postseason. Runs are in such a premium, you got
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: to do it the fastest way you can, which is
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: hitting home runs. The irony is that our way for
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: the Brewers has been in the postseason so far has
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: been great bullpen play. You mentioned Aaron Ashby earlier. He
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: leads the team in innings pitch so far, which is
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: probably not ultimately sustainable. Hopefully it is for four to
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: seven more games. But in addition, we've just out-homered our opponents,
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: and no one would have ever thought that the Brewers
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: would out-homer the Dodgers or the San Diego Padres. I
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: echo what you said. The series with the Padres was epic.
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: Every game went down to the wire. No game did
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: a team lead by more than two runs. But for
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: a brace in the ceiling in Milwaukee, that series may
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: have gotten off to a different start. But it was
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: literally a game of inches. And I hearken back to
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: a friend of ours, Scott, Ron Washington, who always said
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: at the end of the game, if you can look
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: yourself in the mirror and say you were one hit,
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: one pitch, or one play away from winning, you can
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: rest easy at night. The Padres were that in every
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: single one of the games that they played. And then
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: the beauty of the Brewers so far, which has been
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: so remarkable for me to see, is just the resilience.
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: They've been down in the vast majority of the games.
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: They never seem as if they give up. They always
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: come back at you, including in that last game against
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: the Dodgers when they went down 4-0, and they just
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: never gave up. And I've got to believe from a
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: manager's seat, I feel this when I'm watching the game
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: from a front office seat, when you're up 4-2, but
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: you feel like you're losing sometimes because you haven't put
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: the other team away, I have to feel that sense
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: of dread is created by the opposition when you play
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: against the Brewers because they just never stop coming back
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: at you.
• 39:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, what happens when you're in that manager's seat? You
• 39:48
  Speaker 3: start counting outs. When you have a lead, and you
• 39:51
  Speaker 3: know what I mean, I.
• 39:52
  Speaker 2: Need 15 outs. We need 12 outs.
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: If I can just get the ball to Ashby and McGill,
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: if I can just, you know, that's how both of
• 39:58
  Speaker 3: these managers are looking at it, you know, because they
• 40:00
  Speaker 3: do have a lot of ways to get back into
• 40:02
  Speaker 3: the game. And it kind of starts, I mentioned earlier,
• 40:05
  Speaker 3: their ability to control the strike zone. They'll take a walk,
• 40:08
  Speaker 3: and it's pretty valuable. That's what obviously, it just continuously
• 40:11
  Speaker 3: puts pressure on the pitcher. And, you know, Cleveland almost
• 40:14
  Speaker 3: got back into the game the other day by, You know,
• 40:17
  Speaker 3: a couple walks, hit by pitch, you look up, the
• 40:19
  Speaker 3: base are loaded.
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: They're one hit away. You know what I mean?
• 40:22
  Speaker 3: So that constant pressure, and it comes from controlling the
• 40:24
  Speaker 3: strike zone. Both these teams do an outstanding job with it.
• 40:26
  Speaker 3: So the one thing I will throw out there, I
• 40:29
  Speaker 3: think it's going to be an advantage in this series,
• 40:31
  Speaker 3: and I'm going to say this very biased, I think
• 40:33
  Speaker 3: the crowd in Milwaukee is electric.
• 40:36
  Speaker 4: Okay?
• 40:37
  Speaker 3: And nothing against Tampa, you know, and their fan base
• 40:40
  Speaker 3: and all the other stuff there.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: But having, you know, I grew up a Brewer fan.
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: I grew up in Wisconsin.
• 40:46
  Speaker 3: But when I'm in there and I'm working for the Padres,
• 40:49
  Speaker 3: I want to beat them in the worst way. But
• 40:51
  Speaker 3: the electricity, the noise, kind of the vibe in that building,
• 40:56
  Speaker 3: they got it going on, which could be really a
• 40:58
  Speaker 3: difference maker at this time of year. And they host
• 41:01
  Speaker 3: the first two games. So I think they could play
• 41:03
  Speaker 3: into it.
• 41:04
  Speaker 4: We used to think the only time the Brewers sold
• 41:06
  Speaker 4: a game out was when the Cubs went up to
• 41:08
  Speaker 4: play it. And it was all the Cubs fans showing
• 41:10
  Speaker 4: up at the Brewer Stadium. Now, I'm not so sure
• 41:13
  Speaker 4: that's true here. I definitely see some energy in that stadium.
• 41:18
  Speaker 4: And I, you know, Thad, I'll flip this to you. Like,
• 41:22
  Speaker 4: what scares you about the Rays?
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: I think Scott talked about it. Their pressure that they
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: put on your defense is immense. They don't swing and miss.
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: They put the ball in play. You know, they have
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: guys capable of hitting home runs. But by and large,
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: what they're doing is they're just putting immense pressure on
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: your defense. And then when there's any cracks, they take advantage.
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: And then when they're on the base, they are a
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: major distraction to your pitching staff. The other thing which
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: I think is quietly taking place is while we're all
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: going to our bullpens extremely early this postseason, the Rays
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: are getting about six innings out of each of their starters.
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: And so their bullpens are a little bit fresher. Their
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: starters are giving them a little bit more length. Whereas,
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: you know, some of us, the Brewers included, are probably
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: averaging closer to four innings out of our starters. And
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: so the freshness of their bullpen, their back end has
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: been used extremely hard, but their middle of their bullpen
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: has not been used as much. They are also playing
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: with tremendous energy and optimism. You know, there's always that
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: balance between you, of course, would love to win for
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: nothing and sweeping the Dodgers was a monumental achievement for
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: the Brewers. But then you look at it, the Rays
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: have won three games since we've last played a game.
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: They have incredible momentum and you just don't know how
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: that's going to show up in the first game or two.
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: And then I think the last thing you have to
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: give your credit to is between Eric Neander, who is
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: the GM there, and Kevin Cash in the dugout and
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: several of their coaches, these guys are all-star caliber player people, humans,
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: and contributors to our team. And so as much as
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: we've talked and given some flowers to Pat Murphy and
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: he deserves every one of them, Kevin Cash is his
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: equal in the American League, a multiple manager of the
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: year award winner. This guy is going to be exceptionally prepared.
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: And to echo one thing that Scott said, the Brewers
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: have not been in this position since 1982. The Tampa
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: Bay Rays were in the World Series in 2020. So
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: I think there's a hunger in Milwaukee that is building
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: for for now 44 years, this city, this area, this
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: region is dying to see a winner. I cannot tell
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: you the electricity that's in this stadium. It's palpable, but
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: the electricity in the city right now is really off
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: the charts. They are going to represent this franchise exceptionally
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: well here, and I think that could ultimately be a
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: factor here.
• 43:48
  Speaker 4: So if we could just pause for a minute. The
• 43:51
  Speaker 4: electricity in the stadium. I read something this past week,
• 43:54
  Speaker 4: and as a baseball fan and a football fan, I
• 43:58
  Speaker 4: was very shocked to see this. But I believe the
• 44:01
  Speaker 4: cheapest ticket to this World Series has exceeded the cheapest
• 44:05
  Speaker 4: ticket to the Super Bowl this past season. I saw
• 44:09
  Speaker 4: a stat or a graphic on social media that said that.
• 44:13
  Speaker 4: I mean, how... How much of that has to do
• 44:16
  Speaker 4: with the fact that we have two teams? You guys
• 44:18
  Speaker 4: just sat and explained the strengths and weaknesses of these
• 44:21
  Speaker 4: two teams. You sound identical. One team could be the Brewers.
• 44:24
  Speaker 4: One team could be the Rays. And we could just
• 44:27
  Speaker 4: flip-flop them. I mean, you're basically playing each other and
• 44:30
  Speaker 4: you're playing the same team. I think the Brewers have
• 44:33
  Speaker 4: some starting pitching dynamic there that maybe the Rays don't have.
• 44:38
  Speaker 4: But just as you stated, the starters have had more longevity.
• 44:42
  Speaker 4: so far in these games in the postseason. They've gone
• 44:45
  Speaker 4: a little further. Now, you've had seven days off. Your
• 44:48
  Speaker 4: guys are going to be a little more rested. Maybe
• 44:50
  Speaker 4: there's a great equalizer there to some degree or another
• 44:52
  Speaker 4: where they aren't going to be as rested. Although, if
• 44:55
  Speaker 4: they're in a rotation like that, you're getting a starter
• 44:58
  Speaker 4: that hasn't pitched for over a week right now, probably,
• 45:01
  Speaker 4: based on how the schedule's gone. I think it's a
• 45:04
  Speaker 4: great matchup. As a fan of baseball, I love it.
• 45:07
  Speaker 4: I love the fact that And look, I'm not a
• 45:09
  Speaker 4: Dodger hater. I did hate the Yankees back 20, 30
• 45:14
  Speaker 4: years ago. But I'm not a Dodger hater. But at
• 45:17
  Speaker 4: the same time, it's cool to see two teams with
• 45:20
  Speaker 4: the bottom third of the payroll in the World Series.
• 45:23
  Speaker 4: And here we go. We're about to go into the
• 45:24
  Speaker 4: CBA thing and everything else. And it's setting the stage
• 45:27
  Speaker 4: for a very odd offseason. I'm sure everybody's kind of
• 45:31
  Speaker 4: bracing themselves to one degree or the other. But you guys,
• 45:36
  Speaker 4: I want to take this in a slightly... different direction,
• 45:39
  Speaker 4: we talked a lot about kind of identifying vulnerabilities. When
• 45:44
  Speaker 4: you're building a game plan against an opponent, are you
• 45:46
  Speaker 4: more focused on exploiting a weakness or making sure to
• 45:49
  Speaker 4: take advantage of your strengths? Or are you making sure
• 45:54
  Speaker 4: that they can't take advantage of your weakness? What are
• 45:57
  Speaker 4: you focusing on more?
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: It's a good question.
• 45:59
  Speaker 3: I think that may be one of the things a
• 46:00
  Speaker 3: little bit different over a 162 game season and the playoffs.
• 46:04
  Speaker 3: I think though, over the course of a long season,
• 46:06
  Speaker 3: I think you're you tend to try to lean way
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: more into your strengths. It's going to play out, this
• 46:11
  Speaker 3: and that. I think with all of the information you have,
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: and these are the best of the best. The guys
• 46:17
  Speaker 3: on the mound have real command. They've got real stuff.
• 46:20
  Speaker 3: They are going to have the ability to attack certain
• 46:23
  Speaker 3: areas of the strike zone that certain hitters are going
• 46:26
  Speaker 3: to be vulnerable. So I think in these games, the
• 46:30
  Speaker 3: guys have a pretty good idea what their strengths are.
• 46:32
  Speaker 3: They've played a lot of games to this point in
• 46:34
  Speaker 3: the season and what they're really going to lean on.
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: The opposition also knows that. So there might be a
• 46:38
  Speaker 3: little bit more attacking the weakness. And I'm thinking more
• 46:41
  Speaker 3: on the mound or if I'm behind the plate calling
• 46:44
  Speaker 3: the game and who's in the batter's box. I think
• 46:46
  Speaker 3: you'll see that play out a little bit more. I
• 46:49
  Speaker 3: say that and you're going to see the same reliever
• 46:53
  Speaker 3: over and over again. So Yelich might face Seymour three
• 46:58
  Speaker 3: or four times in this series. He's going to have
• 47:00
  Speaker 3: a better idea the third or fourth time he sees him.
• 47:03
  Speaker 3: So you can't just go to the same well all
• 47:06
  Speaker 3: the time.
• 47:06
  Speaker 2: You know, with veteran hitters.
• 47:07
  Speaker 3: But if I had to answer the question, I would
• 47:10
  Speaker 3: say they probably lean into or are going to take
• 47:11
  Speaker 3: a look at the weaknesses a little bit more here
• 47:14
  Speaker 3: in the World Series than maybe you would over the
• 47:15
  Speaker 3: course of the season.
• 47:17
  Speaker 4: You get to an elimination game. Is it different? What
• 47:20
  Speaker 4: are you doing in an elimination game at that point?
• 47:22
  Speaker 3: I think when you get in an elimination game, you
• 47:24
  Speaker 3: get to the end, you really got to trust your instincts.
• 47:27
  Speaker 3: You know, you're talking about probably in this series, you're
• 47:29
  Speaker 3: talking about game six or game seven. The opposition is
• 47:33
  Speaker 3: showing you certain traits throughout the series.
• 47:37
  Speaker 2: That may change.
• 47:38
  Speaker 3: You may go into a series thinking one way, and
• 47:40
  Speaker 3: by game three or four, you're making an adjustment.
• 47:42
  Speaker 4: All of a sudden, strengths or weaknesses and everything is
• 47:45
  Speaker 4: flipped on its head.
• 47:46
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 47:46
  Speaker 2: You've got to be able to adjust on the fly.
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: Scott, you and I got the chance to work together
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: in Texas in 2010 and 2011. We go to the
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: World Series. I think we didn't realize it in the moment,
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: but upon reflection, I think we could say beating the
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: Tigers and beating the Yankees and the ALCS felt like
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: tremendous accomplishments. Dare I say, we may have even thought
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: those were the best teams we were going to face
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: in the postseason. We get to the World Series, we
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: lose both of those World Series. Jake Bowers has said,
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: in hindsight, last year when they played the Chicago Cubs,
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: their biggest rival in the NLDS, they win in five games.
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: They win the first two games, then they famously lose
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: the next two. They come back, they win game five.
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: He said that when they went to play the Dodgers,
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: they felt a sense of accomplishment that they already did
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: as much as they needed to do. And they were
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: playing with house money and then they lose four straight
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: to the Dodgers. As a manager, how do you strike
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: that balance of celebrating what are incredible accomplishments? Getting to
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: the World Series is such a unique thing to do.
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: You want to live in that moment. You want to
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: celebrate the highs, but also keeping focus on the urgency
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: of needing to compete and win that night and treating
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: your next opponent as the best opponent you've ever faced.
• 49:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's real.
• 49:01
  Speaker 3: And I think you just look at what different clips,
• 49:04
  Speaker 3: different things you hear from Murph and from Cassie about
• 49:07
  Speaker 3: how they're approaching that with their teams. And, you know,
• 49:10
  Speaker 3: you hear Murph talk about, hey, just keep your head down.
• 49:12
  Speaker 3: Just keep keep it's it's one step at a time.
• 49:15
  Speaker 3: You're keeping don't lose sight of what you're there to do.
• 49:18
  Speaker 3: And Kevin on a similar topic. comments coming out of
• 49:21
  Speaker 3: the last series versus Cleveland. So as the manager, as
• 49:26
  Speaker 3: the leader of the team, and really the franchise, you're
• 49:28
  Speaker 3: the one that has the microphone in front of your face.
• 49:29
  Speaker 3: You need to stay really consistent in talking about those
• 49:32
  Speaker 3: things because it's not the time you're going to have
• 49:34
  Speaker 3: a ton of team meetings. There's no Newt Rockne speeches
• 49:37
  Speaker 3: that go on before the World Series. You just need
• 49:39
  Speaker 3: to be very consistent in your messaging. And both these
• 49:42
  Speaker 3: guys understand that. I think they're doing a great job
• 49:44
  Speaker 3: of it. And I think they've been down the path
• 49:47
  Speaker 3: a little bit before. So, and then maybe they have
• 49:50
  Speaker 3: come up a little bit short because they did let
• 49:51
  Speaker 3: their guard down. So I've been, you know, you kind
• 49:54
  Speaker 3: of watch the comments that are made and the messaging
• 49:56
  Speaker 3: that's going on. And I think those guys have done
• 49:57
  Speaker 3: a really nice job to make sure that just, you know,
• 50:00
  Speaker 3: just keep your head down and keep charging, man. It's
• 50:02
  Speaker 3: just one step at a time, one game at a time.
• 50:03
  Speaker 3: I know they're cliches, but they really are a big
• 50:06
  Speaker 3: deal this time of year. Because if you start looking
• 50:08
  Speaker 3: at the prize off in the distance, you get run
• 50:11
  Speaker 3: over in this game.
• 50:12
  Speaker 4: Scott, this has been an education for me. This has
• 50:14
  Speaker 4: been fantastic. A serious look into what's going on in
• 50:17
  Speaker 4: the dugout. Fans don't get this nearly enough, and we
• 50:20
  Speaker 4: should have a lot more of it. When we come back,
• 50:22
  Speaker 4: we're going to do a listener question here on Rosters
• 50:25
  Speaker 4: to Rings.
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Rosters to Rings. This is a time-honored segment.
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: It's listener questions. Our listener question this week comes from
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: Jacob from Edina, Minnesota. And he wanted to ask this question.
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: He said, are the Minnesota Vikings an actual contender in
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: the NFC North? And do they have a chance to
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: represent the NFC in the Super Bowl? We've got Scott
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: Service here, a Packers fan, and Chet, an unapologetic Lions fan.
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: But we've got somebody who's going to weigh in from
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: the shadows, a friend of the program. Paul Allen has
• 51:06
  Speaker 1: some thoughts as to whether or not the Vikings are
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: indeed a legitimate contender.
• 51:12
  Speaker 5: Hey, Thad, Paul Allen, voice of the Minnesota Vikings. Let
• 51:16
  Speaker 5: me take a brief break from my KFAN show that's taking.
• 51:20
  Speaker 2: Place right now.
• 51:21
  Speaker 5: To address a very controversial issue that is emerging with
• 51:27
  Speaker 5: Rosters to Rings, this outstanding podcast.
• 51:29
  Speaker 2: And here it is.
• 51:31
  Speaker 5: My sources tell me Scott Service, who was an elite catcher,
• 51:35
  Speaker 5: is a Green Bay Packers fan. Now, having been on
• 51:37
  Speaker 5: the podcast, I already know that Chet's a Lions fan.
• 51:41
  Speaker 5: We'll deal with the Lions in a couple of weeks
• 51:42
  Speaker 5: at Ford Field. But like in 1991, when Scott was
• 51:47
  Speaker 5: a catcher for the Houston Astros, I think Art Howell
• 51:50
  Speaker 5: was the manager, did you ever have to go out
• 51:53
  Speaker 5: to the mound and tell the great Daryl Kyle, hey, man,
• 51:57
  Speaker 5: stop pitching from your back foot.
• 51:59
  Speaker 2: It's going to get us beat.
• 52:01
  Speaker 5: Well, if you did, you might want to take that
• 52:03
  Speaker 5: to Lambeau and share it with Jordan Love and tell
• 52:06
  Speaker 5: him to stop throwing off his back foot or bad
• 52:08
  Speaker 5: things are going to happen. We ain't tripping on Green Bay, A,
• 52:11
  Speaker 5: because we already beat them. And B, Michael Parsons isn't
• 52:14
  Speaker 5: playing yet. Now, when Michael Parsons starts playing, that's when
• 52:18
  Speaker 5: we trip on Green Bay. And Chet, I fully expect
• 52:21
  Speaker 5: to have a conversation before the Vikings beat.
• 52:24
  Speaker 4: I mean, play the Lions at Ford Field.
• 52:26
  Speaker 5: This is 5-0 radio here at KFAN, about ready to
• 52:30
  Speaker 5: be 6-0 radio. And we'll deal with those in the
• 52:33
  Speaker 5: rearview mirror when we need to.
• 52:38
  Speaker 4: The Vikings are riding high now, aren't they, Scott?
• 52:40
  Speaker 5: Wow.
• 52:41
  Speaker 4: Goodness gracious.
• 52:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 52:43
  Speaker 4: I think they were.
• 52:46
  Speaker 2: Well, when you're not used to being in that position, Chad,
• 52:49
  Speaker 2: that's what happens.
• 52:50
  Speaker 4: Oh, Hey, this is new for me too. In the
• 52:53
  Speaker 4: last couple of years, we all haven't been Packers fans
• 52:55
  Speaker 4: our entire life. That's for sure. So, yeah, I, I
• 53:01
  Speaker 4: don't know. Where do we go? Paul Allen throws down
• 53:03
  Speaker 4: the gauntlet here. What is our, what is our take
• 53:07
  Speaker 4: on the Minnesota Vikings and their five and oh start?
• 53:11
  Speaker 4: Is this thing for real?
• 53:13
  Speaker 2: You know, I will give them a ton of credit.
• 53:15
  Speaker 3: And I want to start with, you know, they have
• 53:17
  Speaker 3: a couple new front office guys in there that came
• 53:19
  Speaker 3: from Seattle. They're friends of mine. So I have watched
• 53:24
  Speaker 3: the Vikings a little bit closer this year than I
• 53:25
  Speaker 3: normally do. I'd have to give them a ton of credit.
• 53:28
  Speaker 3: They are a balanced team. They are playing very well.
• 53:31
  Speaker 3: They are 5-0, and I'm going to leave it at that.
• 53:33
  Speaker 3: I'm not going to say anything else. I'm not going
• 53:35
  Speaker 3: to go where Paul went. But Kyler Murray is doing okay.
• 53:39
  Speaker 2: We'll see how it ends up.
• 53:40
  Speaker 4: I tell you, this is the only thing I'm going
• 53:43
  Speaker 4: to say. They scare me because if that offense gets going,
• 53:49
  Speaker 4: they are going to be real hard to beat. I mean,
• 53:52
  Speaker 4: all the way Super Bowl hard to beat? I don't know.
• 53:55
  Speaker 4: But we need to see them play some higher level
• 53:57
  Speaker 4: of competition first. But yeah, they look pretty scary right now,
• 54:02
  Speaker 4: especially if that offense gets going right now. they play
• 54:05
  Speaker 4: at two ends of the spectrum. They have the best
• 54:07
  Speaker 4: defense in the league and one of the worst offenses
• 54:09
  Speaker 4: in the league. So if somebody figures that defense out
• 54:12
  Speaker 4: and can, and it can match up well against it,
• 54:14
  Speaker 4: they may be in deep trouble because if you score
• 54:17
  Speaker 4: 12 points, it's not going to matter if you can't
• 54:19
  Speaker 4: keep the other team from scoring two touchdowns. So I
• 54:22
  Speaker 4: don't know. That's my take. We'll see Paul.
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: As the person who is the Baltimore Ravens fan, I
• 54:27
  Speaker 1: will just say this.
• 54:29
  Speaker 4: I do.
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: I do think Kevin O'Connell is a really good head
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: coach and, I think he's doing some special things. I
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: think he gets a lot of credit for accentuating the
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: performance of the quarterbacks he works with. There's something that
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: he's doing over there, Scott, that we've seen over the
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: last handful of seasons here in this market. They just
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: win a lot of games, and they win a lot
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: of one-score games. I hearken back, honestly, to your career
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: when you won a lot of one-run games, and I
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: wonder if that's analogous to the one-score games. I don't
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: think it's coincidence. I'm sure it's meant to be random,
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: similar to what it is in baseball. But you just
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: were better than most managers at that. Kevin O'Connell seems
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: to be better than most head coaches at that. So
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: in addition to what you guys are talking about, if
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: you're within one score of the Minnesota Vikings, they tend
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: to figure out a way to win those games. And
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: I do think Brian Flores is obviously doing a great
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: job as their defensive coordinator. When you clamp down on
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: the opposing team, they don't score much. It's easier to
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: win those games. But there's just something about Kevin O'Connell's
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: tenure where the yards gained versus the yards yielded don't
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: add up. The points scored versus it. The opponents don't
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: add up, but they just win a lot of football games,
• 55:35
  Speaker 1: and I think Kevin O'Connell deserves a ton of credit
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: for leading that franchise.
• 55:40
  Speaker 2: I agree with you on that.
• 55:41
  Speaker 3: He's certainly got a great reputation around the league, and
• 55:44
  Speaker 3: track record does say something there for those games. I
• 55:47
  Speaker 3: always thought on the baseball side of it, and I
• 55:49
  Speaker 3: think going back to the World Series and the year
• 55:53
  Speaker 3: that these two teams have had as well, it's not
• 55:55
  Speaker 3: so much your ability to win those games, you just
• 55:57
  Speaker 3: don't lose them. And what I mean by that is,
• 56:00
  Speaker 3: you know, in football, obviously, you're not turning the ball over.
• 56:03
  Speaker 3: You're converting on third down. You're keeping the ball a
• 56:05
  Speaker 3: little bit longer. You're getting off the field on third down.
• 56:07
  Speaker 3: And obviously, in baseball, you're not walking the number nine
• 56:11
  Speaker 3: hole hitter.
• 56:11
  Speaker 2: And here you go.
• 56:12
  Speaker 3: It starts, you know, in those close games like that.
• 56:14
  Speaker 3: So it's fundamentally, you're just not beating yourself. And there's
• 56:19
  Speaker 3: a lot to be said for that. You stay in
• 56:21
  Speaker 3: those games long enough. Your team starts to believe. Once
• 56:24
  Speaker 3: you win a few of those, now you.
• 56:25
  Speaker 2: Start to believe you're going to win all of them.
• 56:27
  Speaker 3: And it becomes contagious in your dugout. I'm sure on
• 56:30
  Speaker 3: the sidelines, they know they're going to win it. And
• 56:33
  Speaker 3: it goes a long ways. And it's what it takes
• 56:35
  Speaker 3: to put a good season together. You've got to figure
• 56:36
  Speaker 3: out a way to win those close games. The margin
• 56:39
  Speaker 3: for victory is so, so small in these leagues. And
• 56:43
  Speaker 3: you're going to see it in the World Series as well.
• 56:45
  Speaker 3: It's one key at bat. It's one key play.
• 56:48
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? And it's just not beating
• 56:50
  Speaker 2: yourself as much as anything.
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think the stars have to shine, but
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: it's the unsung heroes who oftentimes are the ones that
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: emerge that you never expected being the person who is
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: the difference because the stars kind of cancel each other out.
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: It's who else you have that's going to end up
• 57:05
  Speaker 1: winning the championship. Well, Scott, thank you so much for
• 57:09
  Speaker 1: your time. Again, in your quest for the rosters to
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: rings mugged, your two fists are the way there. Credit
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: to you. I just want to say before we sign off,
• 57:18
  Speaker 1: I hope the next time we talk, at least one
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: of us is soaked in champagne wearing goggles, and I
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: hope that that is me. Thank you all.
• 57:25
  Speaker 4: I side with you there, yes.
• 57:27
  Speaker 1: Yes, thank you all for listening to Rosters to Rings.
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: Do so this Thursday and every Thursday on Rosters to Rings.