Latest / Bucco Territory: A Pittsburgh Pirates Podcast / This is Bucco Territory! Josh Harrison hosts, how the Pirates can Bucc Up into contention in '26

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This is Bucco Territory! Josh Harrison hosts, how the Pirates can Bucc Up into contention in '26 · Bucco Territory: A Pittsburgh Pirates Podcast

0:07
Speaker 1: What's up, everybody.
0:08
Speaker 2: Welcome to the first ever episode of Bucco Territory on
0:13
Speaker 2: the Foul Territory Network. My name is Noah Hiles from
0:16
Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Most of you watching this are
0:19
Speaker 2: probably familiar with my work covering the team over parts
0:23
Speaker 2: of five seasons, especially the last two as the lead
0:26
Speaker 2: Pirates beat writer at the Post Gazette. Some of you
0:29
Speaker 2: might be familiar that I started on a new professional journey.
0:32
Speaker 2: I'm now the sports enterprise writer at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
0:36
Speaker 2: But there's still plenty of Pirates talk to be had.
0:39
Speaker 2: This is a new project that I'm getting started, and
0:42
Speaker 2: it's not just me involved, and it's something that I
0:45
Speaker 2: think all three parties involved are very excited about. Well
0:49
Speaker 2: introduced by two co hosts on this program. Now, first guy,
0:53
Speaker 2: I think you all recognize that face. Josh Harrison, former
0:57
Speaker 2: Pirates All Star infielder Jay Hay is on the program,
1:00
Speaker 2: and alongside him is Mark aka platinum Key. I don't
1:05
Speaker 2: even want to call you Mark, Mark, We're just gonna
1:07
Speaker 2: call you platinum Key.
1:09
Speaker 1: But fellas, it's great to be doing this with you. Uh.
1:13
Speaker 2: I'm gonna throw it over to you both. Now we'll
1:15
Speaker 2: start with Josh. Josh, how in the world did you
1:17
Speaker 2: get involved with this?
1:20
Speaker 3: Uh? Man, everything kind of comes full circle.
1:22
Speaker 1: Man.
1:23
Speaker 3: You know, baseball to take you places that you've never
1:26
Speaker 3: been and uh, not ever did I think I'd be
1:29
Speaker 3: doing a podcast, but you know, no stranger to you know,
1:32
Speaker 3: doing interviews or being on camera. And spoke with Mike mckinree.
1:37
Speaker 3: I think I did his show this past season, and
1:40
Speaker 3: he had actually reached out to me a good coming
1:42
Speaker 3: friend between I thank you and I know, and that's
1:46
Speaker 3: kind of how we got connected. When the opportunity was
1:49
Speaker 3: presented to me, it was kind of cool and I
1:51
Speaker 3: was excited. It was a way for me to kind of,
1:54
Speaker 3: you know, get back connected with the Pittsburgh fans in
1:57
Speaker 3: the city where I spent a lot of time and
2:00
Speaker 3: you know, it's pretty much sec an home to me.
2:01
Speaker 3: So's that's how we're here.
2:04
Speaker 2: And then Mark, I mean, you're a guy who doesn't
2:06
Speaker 2: live in Pittsburgh. You just became a Pirates fan like
2:09
Speaker 2: five years ago, and now you're hosting a podcast with
2:13
Speaker 2: Josh Harrison.
2:15
Speaker 1: How in the world did this happen?
2:17
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's rather surreal, But no reached out to me
2:22
Speaker 4: and about the opportunity, and I had to think about
2:25
Speaker 4: it for maybe half a second. Completely jumped a I
2:29
Speaker 4: mean completely just honored to be here, so excited to
2:32
Speaker 4: talk about KOs and can't wait to get started.
2:35
Speaker 2: I think I speak for all three of us when
2:37
Speaker 2: we say we really appreciate this opportunity from the Foul
2:39
Speaker 2: Territory Network. I myself always loved coming on their programming
2:45
Speaker 2: when I was covering the Pirates. I think they covered
2:47
Speaker 2: baseball in such a unique way, and I think we're
2:50
Speaker 2: all very excited to add to that coverage. You look
2:52
Speaker 2: at the three faces on your screen, and in addition
2:56
Speaker 2: to seeing three handsome gentlemen, you're gonna get three different perspectives.
3:00
Speaker 2: You have someone who is just a diehard fan like
3:03
Speaker 2: he who is living and dying with every pitch on Twitter,
3:08
Speaker 2: pumping out all those Pirates clips during the games. He's
3:11
Speaker 2: there to just kind of feel how you're all feeling
3:14
Speaker 2: the listener. Then you have Josh Harrison, a guy who's
3:17
Speaker 2: been there in the dugout. He's seen what winning baseball
3:20
Speaker 2: looks like in Pittsburgh. He's seen what losing baseball looks
3:22
Speaker 2: like in Pittsburgh as well. He understands what the fans
3:25
Speaker 2: want to hear. He understands what the fans need to hear,
3:28
Speaker 2: and he also understands how the players are feeling in
3:31
Speaker 2: the clubhouse and on the field. And I don't know
3:33
Speaker 2: if there are any other shows in this market or
3:35
Speaker 2: that cover this team that can offer a perspective like that.
3:38
Speaker 2: And then for me, my job simply not to screw
3:40
Speaker 2: it up. I've covered this team for a while, I
3:43
Speaker 2: have some sources, I have some insight, but I think
3:47
Speaker 2: my job here in this role is just to tie
3:50
Speaker 2: it all together and make sure we put together a fun, unique,
3:53
Speaker 2: informative product for Pirates fans. I'll ask you both those guys,
3:56
Speaker 2: I mean, what are your expectations for this show?
4:00
Speaker 3: Uh? As you said, I think you pretty much hit
4:03
Speaker 3: everything on the nail. But honestly, just to give, as
4:06
Speaker 3: you said, a little bit more in depth insight that
4:09
Speaker 3: you know, most people might not necessarily get from somebody
4:11
Speaker 3: inside of a clubhouse. And as you said, Noah, I
4:15
Speaker 3: believe we've done an interview one of your early years
4:17
Speaker 3: in Pittsburgh, so it's kind of, as I said, things
4:19
Speaker 3: come full circle. But even then, instead of the you know,
4:23
Speaker 3: one to two minute answer that they may get postgame.
4:26
Speaker 3: You know, this is you know, a thing that I
4:28
Speaker 3: can speak on for twenty twenty five minutes or however
4:31
Speaker 3: long our show goes, and just give a little bit
4:33
Speaker 3: more you know, personal experience, but also a viewpoint that
4:38
Speaker 3: you know yourself, no or platinum key, you know, your
4:42
Speaker 3: situation might not necessarily you know, had taken a step
4:45
Speaker 3: back to look at and the same thing for me,
4:46
Speaker 3: I get to see it from a different viewpoint.
4:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, so oh sorry, go ahead, Mark, No,
4:53
Speaker 1: you're good.
4:54
Speaker 3: You're good.
4:55
Speaker 2: Oh I was gonna say, I feel like, you know,
4:57
Speaker 2: we've set we've We've set the groundwork, We've set the table.
5:01
Speaker 2: Let's talk some baseball here. First episode, I personally don't
5:05
Speaker 2: expect to get too deep into the weeds. This is
5:07
Speaker 2: going to be a show that runs two days a
5:08
Speaker 2: week in the off season. Our target goal is to
5:12
Speaker 2: air an episode every Tuesday and Thursday, and so be
5:16
Speaker 2: sure to subscribe on our YouTube channel where you can
5:21
Speaker 2: get the updates and make sure that automatically pops into
5:25
Speaker 2: your YouTube feed every time a new episode drops. In
5:27
Speaker 2: the regular season will have three episodes a week, and
5:30
Speaker 2: there will also be some other content that I'm sure
5:32
Speaker 2: we come up with as the season progresses. There's going
5:35
Speaker 2: to be some inspiration and maybe come up with some
5:37
Speaker 2: new ideas and we'll roll with that then. But for now,
5:39
Speaker 2: be sure to follow us on our social media pages.
5:42
Speaker 2: We'll have more information on those when they're all officially
5:44
Speaker 2: laid out. But first things first, subscribe to this channel
5:48
Speaker 2: so you can get the latest on all of our thoughts,
5:50
Speaker 2: and those thoughts will start right now. Guys, the Pirates
5:54
Speaker 2: said into the off season, following a tough twenty twenty
5:57
Speaker 2: five campaign, another last place finish. The goal, as they
6:01
Speaker 2: said heading into spring training, was to compete. They wanted
6:04
Speaker 2: to make the playoffs. They got further away from that goal.
6:09
Speaker 2: It was a rough season for fans, it was a
6:11
Speaker 2: rough season for players. I think it's easy to say
6:14
Speaker 2: that everyone's frustrated with how things went. Josh, just as
6:19
Speaker 2: a former player, I'm curious to get your perspective from
6:22
Speaker 2: AFAR on how you viewed their twenty twenty five campaign.
6:28
Speaker 3: From Afar, definitely everything you spoke, even mentioning the fans
6:32
Speaker 3: disappointment upset. Kind of like same old story. You know,
6:38
Speaker 3: at some point you know you don't want to live
6:40
Speaker 3: a comparison mode, but you see your counterparts in the
6:43
Speaker 3: division making moves and doing things. You know, I'm sure
6:47
Speaker 3: there's questions of why not us when it's our turn?
6:51
Speaker 3: And I've been in those shoes before, not saying why
6:53
Speaker 3: not us when when it's our turn? But you know,
6:56
Speaker 3: as you've mentioned, I've been through, you know, some losing
6:58
Speaker 3: seasons in Pittsburgh, but have also been through some winning seasons.
7:01
Speaker 3: But I'm sure you know, at some point, especially when
7:04
Speaker 3: you have you know, a pictures you know in Paul Skins,
7:08
Speaker 3: a nice you know form system. I mean, at some
7:11
Speaker 3: point you want to see things come to fruition and
7:14
Speaker 3: make it to make its way to the big league
7:15
Speaker 3: level and translate into you know, some postseason success.
7:19
Speaker 2: Well, and I want to follow up on that, Josh,
7:21
Speaker 2: because you mentioned the pitching, the farm system, Paul Skins
7:25
Speaker 2: prospects for such a big piece of the puzzle. When
7:28
Speaker 2: you were here, When you see those guys coming up
7:31
Speaker 2: and you were at one point in time one of
7:32
Speaker 2: those guys. That's great, and you understand the importance of that,
7:37
Speaker 2: but do you find an equal amount importance. I mean,
7:40
Speaker 2: you look back to when they were winning when you
7:42
Speaker 2: were here, I think there were two very big moves
7:44
Speaker 2: they made that change the entire fabric of the organization,
7:48
Speaker 2: and that's when they acquired Aj and that's when they
7:50
Speaker 2: got acquired Russell. And do you feel like that those
7:55
Speaker 2: are the moves that are missing right now? Because we've
7:57
Speaker 2: seen the prospects come up and for the most part,
7:59
Speaker 2: especially the pitching side, the prospects have performed pretty well.
8:02
Speaker 2: But the big move from someone who is in their prime,
8:07
Speaker 2: someone who has played winning baseball, that's kind of been
8:10
Speaker 2: missing right.
8:11
Speaker 3: Oh, for sure. As you mentioned AJ and Russ being signed,
8:15
Speaker 3: that definitely brought an expectation to the team won, but
8:19
Speaker 3: also to the city. You know, two guys that have
8:21
Speaker 3: won the World Series. You know that that you know
8:25
Speaker 3: it was about winning. And you mentioned earlier, you know,
8:28
Speaker 3: about competing. I had even said it in my brief stint,
8:31
Speaker 3: well not even my brief stint with the Pirates long stint,
8:34
Speaker 3: but towards the end, you know, I said, you know,
8:37
Speaker 3: I'm not interested in competing, because that's what you're supposed
8:39
Speaker 3: to do. Every night, two teams are going to compete.
8:42
Speaker 3: You know, you gotta want to win. And when AJ
8:45
Speaker 3: and Russ came over, you know, there was a belief
8:48
Speaker 3: that we were going to win along with you know,
8:51
Speaker 3: us that were no longer prospects coming up. So that
8:54
Speaker 3: blend of you know, somebody that's been there, done it
8:56
Speaker 3: with guys that were hungry to do it. You know,
8:59
Speaker 3: it's pretty much like a match made in heaven. And
9:01
Speaker 3: you know it wasn't just a J and Russ, you know.
9:03
Speaker 3: You look, you had Clint Barmis, there were some other sounds,
9:07
Speaker 3: you know, pitching wise, Leriano, and then you know, you
9:12
Speaker 3: just look around at what they did when we went
9:13
Speaker 3: for you know, they signed Marlon Byrd, you know, they
9:15
Speaker 3: traded for Those were moves that you know, ignited us,
9:19
Speaker 3: you know, not only just the city, but in the clubhouse,
9:22
Speaker 3: you know, because we felt like, okay, these are not
9:25
Speaker 3: only names, but people that you know, night in and
9:29
Speaker 3: night out. You know, they they played a win.
9:33
Speaker 2: Mark, I'm gonna ask you a couple questions now, I mean,
9:35
Speaker 2: as from the fan perspective, what do you feel like
9:40
Speaker 2: this group gives you any sort of positivity heading into
9:44
Speaker 2: the offseason or is it just something where you say, hey,
9:47
Speaker 2: look we have pitching. We knew we had pitching going
9:51
Speaker 2: into this past season. It's the same group with the
9:54
Speaker 2: same problems, and something has to change.
9:56
Speaker 4: I think that's the hardest part of last year was
10:00
Speaker 4: there was actually some hope going into the year. It
10:02
Speaker 4: felt like you just had the rookie of the year
10:05
Speaker 4: starting pitcher who's possibly the best pitcher in the league,
10:08
Speaker 4: and there you're hoping that some of the young guys
10:11
Speaker 4: were going to take a step forward. It felt like
10:14
Speaker 4: they were close, and the end of twenty twenty four
10:17
Speaker 4: was just it felt like things were finally clicking and
10:21
Speaker 4: then it all fell flat and it was just that
10:23
Speaker 4: was the biggest disappointment for me, was just the I
10:28
Speaker 4: had some expectation this year, and so I feel like
10:30
Speaker 4: going into twenty twenty six, I'm a lot more cautious
10:34
Speaker 4: to get optimistic like that. I was told the exact
10:37
Speaker 4: same thing last year that this team was going to improve,
10:39
Speaker 4: They're gonna compete, They're gonna do things in the twenty
10:42
Speaker 4: twenty five offseason and make the team better, to make
10:45
Speaker 4: players in the clubhouse believe that this club wants to win,
10:49
Speaker 4: surround themselves with players like that in the past, like
10:51
Speaker 4: they've done in the past, and then it just didn't
10:53
Speaker 4: really happen. I will say that like Adam Spencer Horwitz helped,
10:58
Speaker 4: but you got to do that few more times. So
11:02
Speaker 4: we'll see not exactly the most optimistic, but there are
11:06
Speaker 4: some positives obviously.
11:07
Speaker 2: So yeah, and I could speak from my experience covering
11:11
Speaker 2: the team, it felt like they entered this past season
11:16
Speaker 2: with a ton of pressure because they were all expecting
11:20
Speaker 2: help to arrive.
11:22
Speaker 1: They knew what prospects were going to be here.
11:24
Speaker 2: They knew eventually Braxton and Bubba and Burrows and all
11:29
Speaker 2: of those young arms that they were going to be there,
11:31
Speaker 2: and they were banking on that, But they were also
11:33
Speaker 2: banking on the other flaws from twenty twenty four to
11:36
Speaker 2: be addressed. And I think it was pretty clear, and
11:39
Speaker 2: obviously my reporting covered this extensively that when they reported
11:44
Speaker 2: to camp, everyone kind of looked around and said, where's
11:49
Speaker 2: the difference. We have the same manager, we have the
11:51
Speaker 2: same GM, we have the same prospects, and we pretty
11:55
Speaker 2: much have the same lineup. Find us a few guys,
11:57
Speaker 2: you know, you trade out a Michael A Taylor or
12:00
Speaker 2: a Tommy fam you trade out at Rowdy Tiles for
12:03
Speaker 2: Spencer Horowitz. But for the most part you have the
12:05
Speaker 2: same core as there and players expressed that to me,
12:10
Speaker 2: where it was frustrating knowing that you learned last year.
12:14
Speaker 1: That this all, this puzzle wasn't good enough.
12:17
Speaker 2: And when you go into it with the same puzzle,
12:20
Speaker 2: obviously you want to compete to be better. But I
12:25
Speaker 2: feel like that pressure to play perfect baseball win on
12:30
Speaker 2: the margins was what they kept saying over and over again.
12:33
Speaker 2: It weighed on them, and that's why you saw a
12:36
Speaker 2: team play super tight and make a lot of mistakes
12:39
Speaker 2: and played so bad of a brand of baseball that
12:42
Speaker 2: by the end of April their year was over. They
12:44
Speaker 2: were ready to fire their manager and start focusing in
12:48
Speaker 2: on next year. And that's got to be frustrating. That's
12:52
Speaker 2: got to be frustrating to the fan base. Obviously it's
12:56
Speaker 2: not fun to cover from a journalist perspective, but the
12:58
Speaker 2: players they that's why they were able to kind of
13:02
Speaker 2: come to me and voice their frustrations on these things.
13:05
Speaker 1: Because these guys want to win.
13:07
Speaker 2: And when you go into a situation saying, hey, we
13:11
Speaker 2: know what our strengths are, we know what our weaknesses are,
13:14
Speaker 2: and those weaknesses aren't addressed, that's that's tough to go
13:19
Speaker 2: into battle. So we can pivot now, on that note,
13:23
Speaker 2: into the off season, same same scenario. Really, we know
13:28
Speaker 2: what the strengths are, we know what the weaknesses are,
13:31
Speaker 2: we know we we have a pretty good idea of
13:35
Speaker 2: what the budget is.
13:37
Speaker 1: Right.
13:37
Speaker 2: I don't I don't think it's fair to expect these
13:39
Speaker 2: guys to bring in a Kyle Schwarber or a Kyle
13:42
Speaker 2: Tucker or someone can. Yeah, but I mean, what what
13:50
Speaker 2: should be the goal this offseason for this team?
13:53
Speaker 1: Josh, I'll start with you.
13:56
Speaker 3: Go for this team you got you mentioned has been
14:00
Speaker 3: holding up this end of the bargain. Offense Obviously, we
14:04
Speaker 3: know that can fluctuate, but you have to solidify on offense.
14:09
Speaker 3: That was one of the biggest things when we were
14:11
Speaker 3: successful was our lineup one through nine. Even though pitchers
14:14
Speaker 3: were hitting for the most part, we knew who won
14:16
Speaker 3: through eight were and you know, guys knew where they
14:20
Speaker 3: were gonna be. But not only that, we had a
14:23
Speaker 3: good blend of speed, good blend of power, but we
14:26
Speaker 3: were a team that made contact. I didn't really dive
14:29
Speaker 3: into the numbers, but what did the strikeout numbers look
14:31
Speaker 3: like this year? I know, all across baseball it is alarming,
14:35
Speaker 3: but you look at the two teams that played in
14:37
Speaker 3: the World Series Toronto. Tough at bats. That's ultimately what
14:42
Speaker 3: you need. You need professional at bats. And when you
14:44
Speaker 3: mentioned a team full of you know, uncertainty, a lot
14:48
Speaker 3: of pressures, sound like a lot of guys that doesn't
14:50
Speaker 3: that don't have a lot of time to where they are,
14:54
Speaker 3: you know, comfortable in that situation because they're not used
14:58
Speaker 3: to it. So if you got a team of that,
15:00
Speaker 3: who is there to bounce off? You know, there's only
15:03
Speaker 3: so many catches out there, you know, and cutches and
15:04
Speaker 3: plant every day, you know. But at the same time,
15:07
Speaker 3: how many guys in that clubhouse have the confidence or
15:10
Speaker 3: let alone the experience of cutch. It's just cuts for
15:13
Speaker 3: the most part, and when you're counting on the whole
15:16
Speaker 3: line to kind of do its part. And as you
15:19
Speaker 3: say that added pressure, I think you got it. You
15:23
Speaker 3: have to go out and try to take some pressure
15:25
Speaker 3: off of the lineup. You have to go get a back.
15:29
Speaker 2: Mark, anything to add on that. You're muted, Sorry, you're
15:38
Speaker 2: all good? Yeah, I mean they need to add power.
15:41
Speaker 2: They were thirtieth in the league and home runs and
15:43
Speaker 2: it wasn't close. They were thirtieth in the league in ops.
15:49
Speaker 2: There has to be some kind of threat. I get
15:51
Speaker 2: PNC Park is not exactly the friendliest place to be
15:54
Speaker 2: a power hitter, but at the same time, you need
15:58
Speaker 2: that threat. You're playing in Cincinnati, play make up for
16:00
Speaker 2: it there, So I think that has to be the focus.
16:04
Speaker 2: And like maybe like U Hangio Suarez or something, you know.
16:09
Speaker 2: I don't know if he can replicate the season he
16:11
Speaker 2: had in twenty twenty five and if the Pirates would
16:14
Speaker 2: be interested in signing someone to that caliber, but someone
16:17
Speaker 2: who brings power first, I think would be a natural fit.
16:23
Speaker 2: So last season, this organization, there were tons of reports
16:30
Speaker 2: about it, how they made a larger commitment to the
16:33
Speaker 2: analytical side of the game, and some people had a
16:35
Speaker 2: problem with that because the payroll didn't jump up a time.
16:37
Speaker 2: I personally didn't because I understand that that's kind of
16:41
Speaker 2: how you have to win in this era of baseball, Josh,
16:45
Speaker 2: when you guys are here, analytics played a huge part
16:48
Speaker 2: in your success. I think it was probably more on
16:51
Speaker 2: the pitching side and then the fielding side, learning how
16:53
Speaker 2: to shift, learning how to play to the strengths and
16:56
Speaker 2: go and find wins in areas where you can't find them.
16:59
Speaker 2: I think now that this new technology that they've invested in,
17:03
Speaker 2: these hires that they've made to their front office these
17:05
Speaker 2: last couple of seasons, it's time for them to work
17:08
Speaker 2: their magic. This is not going to be a team
17:10
Speaker 2: that can go out and buy the best power bat
17:13
Speaker 2: or maybe even the most experienced, established solid three war
17:18
Speaker 2: player out there. But when you look at a way
17:21
Speaker 2: that this team can win, I think is finding a
17:23
Speaker 2: way to make your pieces gel better together one through
17:27
Speaker 2: nine in the lineup. I look at a team like
17:29
Speaker 2: the Milwaukee Brewers. They have a couple of really good players.
17:32
Speaker 2: You know, Cherio is an incredible player, Yelich has obviously
17:36
Speaker 2: been a guy for a while. But what makes the
17:39
Speaker 2: Brewers such a tough lineup to pitch against, in my opinion,
17:43
Speaker 2: is because their number two hitter is a great number
17:45
Speaker 2: two hitter, because he knows exactly what he needs to
17:48
Speaker 2: do to make the number three hitter better, and so
17:51
Speaker 2: on and so forth and down the lineup. And when
17:52
Speaker 2: you see teams kind of built to play off of
17:55
Speaker 2: each other's strengths, find a guy who gets O'Neil Cruz
18:00
Speaker 2: looks when he's at the plate some lineup protection. Find
18:02
Speaker 2: a guy who's gonna see a whole bunch of one pitch,
18:05
Speaker 2: so the guy behind him if he hits the other
18:07
Speaker 2: pitch really well. Find guys who bat well behind each other,
18:12
Speaker 2: in front of each other. Put your pieces together in
18:14
Speaker 2: a better fashion. Right now, I think my biggest flaw
18:17
Speaker 2: with the Pirates lineup construction, aside from what you pointed out, Mark,
18:22
Speaker 2: is the fact that they don't have a lot of
18:23
Speaker 2: slugging is they have a lot of the same types
18:26
Speaker 2: of players. They have a lot of guys who are
18:28
Speaker 2: rather passive at the plate. They have a lot of
18:30
Speaker 2: guys who are trying to pool the ball, I think
18:33
Speaker 2: too frequently rather than maybe trying to hit something up
18:36
Speaker 2: the middle or try to hit something to the gaps
18:38
Speaker 2: a little bit. And I think that a mix of
18:41
Speaker 2: approaches could benefit this lineup a ton. I think that
18:45
Speaker 2: you look back to twenty twenty four when Nick Gonzalez
18:48
Speaker 2: came back and came up in May, and he's a
18:50
Speaker 2: notorious you know, first ball hunter, first pitch hunter.
18:54
Speaker 1: That gave the entire lineup.
18:55
Speaker 2: A spark, because when you have nine guys with the
18:57
Speaker 2: same entire approach, it's easier a game plan for in pitching,
19:02
Speaker 2: especially in today's analytical era. So I want to see
19:05
Speaker 2: the front office, these investments that they made, These people,
19:08
Speaker 2: who I think have pretty good backgrounds, make the most
19:11
Speaker 2: of what they're the responsibilities that they're given.
19:15
Speaker 1: Find things that find.
19:17
Speaker 2: Traits and players that you can afford or can afford
19:20
Speaker 2: to acquire via trade that gel well with the pieces
19:23
Speaker 2: that you're going to depend on. Find other players who
19:26
Speaker 2: will maximize the talents of a Spencer Horowitz, of a
19:29
Speaker 2: Brian Reynolds, of an Oneo Cruz and other guys too.
19:33
Speaker 1: That that I think should be the mission.
19:35
Speaker 2: It's not a specific player, it's not a specific name,
19:38
Speaker 2: it's not a specific trade, maybe not even specific traits,
19:42
Speaker 2: but complement what you have and try to extend that lineup,
19:46
Speaker 2: like Josh Josh said one through nine.
19:48
Speaker 1: So the anything to add on that.
19:51
Speaker 3: Is because the analytics side, I am on the opposite
19:55
Speaker 3: end of that. Okay, not that I'm against analytics, but
20:00
Speaker 3: it's got to be blended well with what's already in place.
20:03
Speaker 3: I think the big issue right now is analytics. Sometimes
20:07
Speaker 3: it's being used as a tell tale or all in
20:10
Speaker 3: when we use the analytics to kind of match with
20:15
Speaker 3: our intuition of what we felt because if you go
20:17
Speaker 3: back and look at some of those games, you'd see
20:19
Speaker 3: some of our pictures and the way AJ would be mad,
20:22
Speaker 3: why we over here when my sinker? You know, analytics
20:25
Speaker 3: says to do this, but no, but I'm pitching this
20:28
Speaker 3: guy this way. But at the same time, it's a
20:31
Speaker 3: different error. We were all in tune with what type
20:33
Speaker 3: of player we were, what type of hitter we were.
20:36
Speaker 3: Analytics has caused some of these guys to think that
20:39
Speaker 3: they're pull hitters when they're really not. You just said it,
20:41
Speaker 3: no line up full of pool hitters. That's because analytics
20:44
Speaker 3: says to pull the ball and hit it in the air,
20:46
Speaker 3: especially at P and C, because if you go in
20:47
Speaker 3: the gaps, it's probably called I've made my living going
20:50
Speaker 3: gap to gap and I'm not the biggest dude. I
20:52
Speaker 3: understood my strengths. Marte a blend of speed and power.
20:56
Speaker 3: Plancho a blend of speed and power. Cutch was cut,
21:00
Speaker 3: no need to speak on that. Then you got Pedro
21:03
Speaker 3: bringing up. Then you got Garrett. It was a blend
21:06
Speaker 3: of speed and power. But guys that also understood and approach.
21:09
Speaker 3: Right now, baseball doesn't have an approach, so analytics has
21:13
Speaker 3: also gotten in the way of that, in my opinion,
21:16
Speaker 3: because for a guy to understand the type of hit
21:19
Speaker 3: or he is, it doesn't matter what the analytics is.
21:22
Speaker 3: You have to understand the intuition in the field of
21:25
Speaker 3: yourself and then put that with the analytics. And I
21:27
Speaker 3: think that's where the gap is because some know, but
21:31
Speaker 3: the majority of people don't.
21:33
Speaker 1: Thank you.
21:34
Speaker 4: So that in twenty twenty five with the Pirates, just
21:37
Speaker 4: the way the lineup would come out, there was almost
21:41
Speaker 4: next to zero consistency. It was unique almost to see like, oh,
21:45
Speaker 4: they used the same lineup from yesterday.
21:47
Speaker 3: Wows have happened?
21:50
Speaker 4: Yeah, And so like, obviously, I feel like that's like
21:51
Speaker 4: analytics driven. You're like, Okay, this guy needs to slide
21:54
Speaker 4: right here, right here, right here. But then how does
21:57
Speaker 4: that feel like for the players? Josh, Like, when you
21:59
Speaker 4: don't know where you're hitting in the lineup, does that
22:01
Speaker 4: matter have an impact on things?
22:04
Speaker 3: I'll be honest with you, it sucks. Yeah, especially when
22:07
Speaker 3: you look across the way and you see teams that
22:09
Speaker 3: win or have been winning, and they know who's hitting first,
22:13
Speaker 3: they know who's hitting second. Okay, six through nine might fluctuate,
22:17
Speaker 3: but we had a time where we were coming in
22:19
Speaker 3: and every single day was we don't know who's hitting first,
22:22
Speaker 3: We don't know who's hitting second. And I can remember,
22:26
Speaker 3: you know, for as good as Couch was, we knew
22:29
Speaker 3: he was hitting third. We had a year where the
22:32
Speaker 3: lineup got jumbled up. He got moved to second, Guys
22:35
Speaker 3: get moved around, and for the first month it was, oh,
22:39
Speaker 3: we are kind of discombobulated because we just a little uncomfortable.
22:44
Speaker 3: Not it's still the game. You still got to play
22:46
Speaker 3: the game. But as I said one hundred and sixty two,
22:49
Speaker 3: games creatures of habit being where you need to be
22:51
Speaker 3: understanding your rhythm, your routine. You throw that off in
22:54
Speaker 3: every day something different. I mean, it's kind of hard
22:57
Speaker 3: to ask a bunch of young dudes that probably don't
22:59
Speaker 3: even really their full routine how to come and prepare
23:01
Speaker 3: because they don't know what to prepare for. Preparation is
23:04
Speaker 3: very key, that's everything.
23:07
Speaker 2: I can't help but laugh when you say that, though, Josh,
23:09
Speaker 2: because I mean, you literally became famous for being able
23:11
Speaker 2: to be plugged in in every position, in every spot
23:14
Speaker 2: in the order.
23:15
Speaker 1: But I get it.
23:16
Speaker 3: But I prepared every day everybody.
23:18
Speaker 1: That's exactly Yeah, yeah, I get what you're.
23:22
Speaker 3: Saying, videos showing to say hey do this. No, I
23:25
Speaker 3: knew what I was capable of and I worked at it,
23:27
Speaker 3: not being told and not saying that's what the pirates do.
23:30
Speaker 3: I'm just speaking in general. I think there needs to
23:33
Speaker 3: be an attention to detail as to the individual.
23:36
Speaker 2: I think the biggest takeaway here from just this, and
23:41
Speaker 2: I think probably the best goal that they could.
23:44
Speaker 1: Achieve, is this team needs an identity.
23:47
Speaker 2: Josh, like what you were talking about, you know, the
23:50
Speaker 2: combination of speed and power, and you talked about how
23:54
Speaker 2: you used analytics to enhance your game because you guys
23:57
Speaker 2: knew what types of players you were.
23:59
Speaker 1: You knew what your skill sets were.
24:01
Speaker 2: You knew what Cutch did well, you knew what Russ
24:03
Speaker 2: was going to do well, you knew what Neil was
24:05
Speaker 2: going to do well. You knew what some of the
24:07
Speaker 2: bench guys could provide and what they couldn't provide, and
24:09
Speaker 2: you use that information to enhance what you could do.
24:13
Speaker 2: This team doesn't have an identity, especially offensively. I think
24:16
Speaker 2: on the mound they clearly have one, and that's why
24:18
Speaker 2: you're seeing success. That's why they've been able to develop
24:21
Speaker 2: these guys so young. And get to get them to
24:23
Speaker 2: the major leagues to perform at a high level at
24:25
Speaker 2: such a young age, but offensively. Somewhere along the development process,
24:30
Speaker 2: it feels like they've lost their identity at the plate.
24:32
Speaker 2: That either they're trying to get everyone to be the
24:35
Speaker 2: same hitter or they don't know what players to tell
24:38
Speaker 2: to do certain things, and they've got to figure that out.
24:41
Speaker 2: They need to have a lineup that together one through
24:45
Speaker 2: nine can say this is how we're going to beat teams.
24:49
Speaker 2: It could be you know, boom or bust. It could
24:51
Speaker 2: be taking advantage of speed and playing a little bit
24:54
Speaker 2: of small ball. It could be trying to hit the gaps.
24:56
Speaker 2: It could be something. But that's what you pay your
24:59
Speaker 2: analytics department for, that's what you pay your development people for,
25:02
Speaker 2: and that's what you pay your players for as well,
25:04
Speaker 2: is to figure out that identity as a whole and
25:06
Speaker 2: become a better baseball team.
25:08
Speaker 1: So I think we can wrap it up there.
25:10
Speaker 2: I think that was some good ball talk right there,
25:12
Speaker 2: and we can put a pin in it for next time. Guys,
25:16
Speaker 2: first episode in the books, how we feeling feeling great?
25:20
Speaker 3: Excited for the next one.
25:22
Speaker 4: That was so much fun. Make sure you subscribe hit
25:24
Speaker 4: the little bell on YouTube, but we'll post on our
25:28
Speaker 4: socials too, let you know when we're coming out with stuff.
25:31
Speaker 4: But can't wait.
25:33
Speaker 2: I think, in true Josh Harrison fashion, next time he's
25:36
Speaker 2: got to have like a different spot in the screen.
25:39
Speaker 2: We'll have him in the second and then we'll have
25:41
Speaker 2: them at third the next time.
25:42
Speaker 3: You know.
25:43
Speaker 1: That's how we'll do this. But guys, this was a
25:45
Speaker 1: lot of fun. Thank you both for being a part
25:47
Speaker 1: of this.
25:47
Speaker 2: Really excited to go on this journey with the two
25:50
Speaker 2: of you and all of you watching and listening at home.
25:53
Speaker 2: Like Mark said, hit that subscribe button, Stay tuned, follow
25:56
Speaker 2: us all on our social platforms. You can find those
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Speaker 2: by just with typing our name and we're not hard
26:01
Speaker 2: to find. And stay tuned for the next episode of
26:04
Speaker 2: Bucco Territory, presented by the Foul Territory Network,