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Cardinal Territory: Ryan Helsley talks free agency and time in STL · Foul Territory

0:06
Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and welcome to a brand spank and new
0:09
Speaker 1: edition of Cardinal Territory. Met Holiday and Lancelin are out
0:14
Speaker 1: doing what wealthy folks doing their free time. But I'm here.
0:18
Speaker 1: I'm Jim Hayes. Kyle Gibson is here and we have
0:21
Speaker 1: a special guest, Ryan Helsley, joins Cardinal Territory today.
0:27
Speaker 2: Hello, Ryan, what's up?
0:30
Speaker 1: Thank you for coming on, and yeah, welcome. My first
0:35
Speaker 1: question is this, It's great to see you. By the way,
0:39
Speaker 1: you set records as the closer with the Cardinals, right,
0:44
Speaker 1: and you go to New York Trade and you're the
0:49
Speaker 1: setup guy and suddenly the role that you've flourished and
0:54
Speaker 1: set the franchise record for saves is changed. So my
0:58
Speaker 1: question is how much of an impact did that have
1:02
Speaker 1: on what happened in New York.
1:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, obviously, you know I got traded in New York.
1:08
Speaker 3: Going into it, I knew I was wasn't gonna be
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Speaker 3: the closer. You know, they have a guy there who's
1:13
Speaker 3: been pretty stinking good his whole career too, and you know,
1:15
Speaker 3: has a lot of talent and had a great year,
1:17
Speaker 3: and so I knew I was gonna kind of be
1:20
Speaker 3: a guy in that sixth seventh eighth inning slot. And
1:23
Speaker 3: you know, had a great conversation with Mindy when I
1:25
Speaker 3: got there and the coaching staff, and you know, so
1:27
Speaker 3: I know my role was there's a little bit of adjustment,
1:30
Speaker 3: you know, figuring out your new you know, time slots
1:33
Speaker 3: to get ready and things like that.
1:34
Speaker 4: But uh, you know, overall, I felt I felt great.
1:36
Speaker 3: There, and you know, the coach staff was great, and
1:39
Speaker 3: you know, my time there was good. As a player,
1:42
Speaker 3: you know, I could have done some things a little better,
1:44
Speaker 3: but uh, you know, I enjoyed my time there with
1:46
Speaker 3: the coaching staff and the players.
1:50
Speaker 5: Hell's getting traded in the middle of the season, did it?
1:54
Speaker 6: Twenty one?
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Speaker 5: Traded to a contender, right, you know, traded to Philly.
1:59
Speaker 5: We're trying to make the playoffs. And I know the
2:02
Speaker 5: tough thing for me was I had a couple of
2:03
Speaker 5: stars where I threw well, really down the stretch. I
2:06
Speaker 5: didn't throw how I wanted to throw. And it's frustrating, Right,
2:10
Speaker 5: you get brought to a team and you're this guy
2:12
Speaker 5: that's hopefully going to make a difference. How'd that wear
2:15
Speaker 5: on you? How'd you deal with it? And I know
2:18
Speaker 5: the guys are greater that I'm sure. I know Jeremy Helfner,
2:20
Speaker 5: he's a stud. But you know, how is overall that
2:24
Speaker 5: transition to a new team, because I know, you know,
2:26
Speaker 5: in our conversations in twenty four, you know, I think
2:28
Speaker 5: we were hoping that Ryan Helsey was a Cardinals whole career, right,
2:32
Speaker 5: So you know, how how was that transition and and
2:36
Speaker 5: you know how is that time with Heffner and those guys.
2:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I for sure wanted to be a
2:41
Speaker 3: Cardinal the whole time I was there. That's all I
2:43
Speaker 3: ever knew, you know, I was there are parts of
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Speaker 3: eleven years, you know, seven years in the big leagues
2:47
Speaker 3: and four years in the minor leagues.
2:48
Speaker 4: And.
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Speaker 3: You know, there's I've had a lot of trade talks
2:52
Speaker 3: about my career there, and you know where we were
2:55
Speaker 3: currently at before the trade downline, you know, just felt
2:57
Speaker 3: that that's what the Cardinals were going to do. So
3:00
Speaker 3: I think I saw the riding on the wall, you know,
3:02
Speaker 3: like it wasn't a total shop and I got traded.
3:04
Speaker 4: So I think that helped.
3:05
Speaker 3: But you know, being there in New York, the guys there,
3:09
Speaker 3: you know, I had a lot of fun.
3:10
Speaker 4: And like you said, trying to you know, make a difference.
3:12
Speaker 3: You know, I don't know that I put any more
3:14
Speaker 3: pressure on myself, but I definitely expected a lot more
3:16
Speaker 3: of myself, you know while I was there, and you know,
3:19
Speaker 3: felt felt good. You know, I was healthy. Just obviously
3:21
Speaker 3: the results were bad. You know, started out good and
3:24
Speaker 3: had a tough four to five weeks stretch there and
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Speaker 3: end of the year pretty well. But yeah, it's just
3:29
Speaker 3: it's just a weird feeling being on such a good team,
3:31
Speaker 3: you know, and you're making a push, and you know,
3:33
Speaker 3: that's probably the most talent I've I've had on a team.
3:37
Speaker 3: You know, talked to bottom, especially in a bullpen. You know,
3:39
Speaker 3: I was I was the youngest guy in the bullpen,
3:40
Speaker 3: which is crazy to say. I'd never seen it. You know,
3:43
Speaker 3: I was really thirty thirty one years old, and I
3:46
Speaker 3: think I was the youngest guy in the bullpen. So
3:48
Speaker 3: we had a super vet bullpen, you know, guys that
3:51
Speaker 3: pitched the World Series and all this and that. So
3:53
Speaker 3: that was cool to learn from those guys. And you know,
3:55
Speaker 3: see baseball through a different lens. And you know, such
3:58
Speaker 3: a big market in New York, and I mean the
4:01
Speaker 3: fans are great, you know, they're super dedicated they're probably
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Speaker 3: a lot like Philly fans as you know, you've you've
4:05
Speaker 3: experienced that, you know n L East rivalry and the
4:09
Speaker 3: crowds there, and.
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Speaker 4: You know it'll be it'll be exciting to see what
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Speaker 4: they do this year.
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Speaker 3: And but overall, you know, I really enjoyed my time
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Speaker 3: there huge.
4:20
Speaker 5: Well, Jim, Jim, you told me I'm asking questions today,
4:23
Speaker 5: all right, you know.
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Speaker 2: We're going back and forth.
4:27
Speaker 5: Oh, okay, go ahead, Jim, Yeah you're fine. No, you go,
4:29
Speaker 5: you go go, uh the real quick and then I'll
4:34
Speaker 5: let Jim ask a question. Tell me about the different
4:37
Speaker 5: What do you like about New York? I mean, obviously
4:39
Speaker 5: you've been there multiple times, but you know, how do
4:42
Speaker 5: you how did you get acclimated?
4:44
Speaker 6: What do you and the family do you know?
4:47
Speaker 5: I'm I'm a big fan of a pizza place over
4:49
Speaker 5: there in Brooklyn that's a little bit closer to Queens.
4:52
Speaker 5: But tell me, tell me what you guys did and
4:54
Speaker 5: how'd you like that?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, we didn't ever get to make it over there.
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Speaker 3: I really tried, but traffic in New York a different beast.
5:00
Speaker 3: And you know, we only had a couple off days
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Speaker 3: while I was there, and I think we only had
5:04
Speaker 3: like one off day.
5:05
Speaker 4: While we were at home.
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Speaker 3: But yeah, the traffic in New York is definitely makes
5:11
Speaker 3: you think twice about your plans every day, you know.
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Speaker 6: Especially on an off day.
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Speaker 3: You're like, I'm gonna spend half my day trying to
5:17
Speaker 3: get here and get there. And you know, we lived
5:20
Speaker 3: out on Long Island near Garden City and it wasn't
5:24
Speaker 3: too bad. It was definitely different, you know, a lot
5:26
Speaker 3: different than Saint Louis. And you know, I think overall that,
5:30
Speaker 3: you know, if we were to be able to pick
5:33
Speaker 3: a place to live, you know, for a full season,
5:35
Speaker 3: you know, getting traded during the middle year and trying
5:37
Speaker 3: to find a place to live is just so hectic
5:39
Speaker 3: and it's really hard when you have a family and
5:41
Speaker 3: you got to I mean you've experienced like you got
5:42
Speaker 3: to move everything, and you know, it's just there's so
5:44
Speaker 3: many things that people don't think about that you have
5:46
Speaker 3: to deal with, and.
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Speaker 4: You know, it's it was just a hectic time. But
5:51
Speaker 4: I really enjoyed it there.
5:52
Speaker 3: And you know, we had an off day there and
5:55
Speaker 3: we took the family out to Central Park and got
5:57
Speaker 3: to do some you know, bluey stuff for the daughters,
6:00
Speaker 3: and I think my oldest daughter. She got to go
6:03
Speaker 3: to Danny go. She got to watch him in concert.
6:06
Speaker 3: You know, I think they skipped the game one day
6:07
Speaker 3: game went and watched Danny go downtown in Manhattan.
6:10
Speaker 4: So my daughter loved the city. You know.
6:12
Speaker 3: She every time she would see the skyline, she's like,
6:14
Speaker 3: we're going to the city.
6:16
Speaker 4: So she she had a blast.
6:17
Speaker 3: And you know, overall, I think our experience is pretty good.
6:20
Speaker 4: Yeah.
6:21
Speaker 2: No, I have a two part question. I say two
6:24
Speaker 2: to let.
6:27
Speaker 6: It's two questions. Okay, that's about right.
6:31
Speaker 1: Yle Kyle Gibson as a teammate, was he as bossy
6:34
Speaker 1: as he is as a member of this podcast.
6:38
Speaker 3: Teammate No Give You was one of my I think
6:41
Speaker 3: favorite teammates of all time. And me and Kyle on
6:44
Speaker 3: the road once we got to know each other a
6:45
Speaker 3: little more because obviously we only played together for one year.
6:48
Speaker 3: But you know, every day on the road, unless one
6:51
Speaker 3: of us slept in, we'd go get coffee together, we'd
6:53
Speaker 3: walk around whatever city we were in. So those will
6:56
Speaker 3: be memories that I always hold on to. And you know,
6:58
Speaker 3: something I tried to carry over you know, this year,
7:00
Speaker 3: and because it's fun, you know, spending time with your
7:03
Speaker 3: teammates and getting to know them, and you know, you
7:05
Speaker 3: spend way more time with them than you do with
7:07
Speaker 3: your families throughout the course of the years, So just
7:10
Speaker 3: trying to build that bond, and you know, Gibby's going
7:13
Speaker 3: to be up on my list for a long time.
7:16
Speaker 1: Now, I'm going to stipulate that you guys are both pitchers,
7:20
Speaker 1: and I'm a mediocre broadcaster that really doesn't understand the
7:23
Speaker 1: nuances of this.
7:24
Speaker 2: So help me with this if you would.
7:26
Speaker 1: Ryan, Okay, I know from interviewing guys like Izzy over
7:31
Speaker 1: the years that being a closer, there's a certain mental preparation.
7:36
Speaker 1: There is a certain mentality that you have to have.
7:39
Speaker 1: So my question to you is, I know you, and
7:41
Speaker 1: I know you want to say all the right things,
7:42
Speaker 1: but how much of a mental change did you have
7:48
Speaker 1: to make going from the guy at the end of
7:51
Speaker 1: the game, the guy who's going to get the ball
7:54
Speaker 1: to put the win in the win column, and then
7:57
Speaker 1: transition that to being a setup guy where you're not
8:01
Speaker 1: exactly sure you know when you're coming in.
8:04
Speaker 2: How much of a mental change did you have to make?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's definitely a lot different, you know, like you're
8:10
Speaker 3: so as a closer. Kind of weird to say, but
8:12
Speaker 3: throughout the season you're so routine oriented. You know, you
8:16
Speaker 3: have everything you do inning by inning, you know, you
8:19
Speaker 3: start doing Like for me, I would go to the
8:21
Speaker 3: training room as soon as the game started, and innings
8:24
Speaker 3: one through four, I was doing all my prep in
8:25
Speaker 3: there and try to get to the bullpen by the
8:28
Speaker 3: fifth inning, you know, sit there for one inning. Sixth inning,
8:31
Speaker 3: I'm starting my stretch routine with the thera gun. Seventh inning,
8:34
Speaker 3: I'm doing movements, you know. Eighth inning, I'm doing my band.
8:37
Speaker 3: So like you have your so regimen as a closer,
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Speaker 3: and I think that helps you kind of get locked
8:41
Speaker 3: in and keep your focus, you know, because as a closer,
8:44
Speaker 3: you know your role is really defined, and you know,
8:48
Speaker 3: I'm either throwing if the game's tied or for up
8:51
Speaker 3: by three, you know, maybe four if I haven't pitched
8:53
Speaker 3: in a few days. But as a setup guy, it's like,
8:56
Speaker 3: you know, I could throw the fifth or sixth. I
8:58
Speaker 3: might get hot twice today and maybe we go up
9:02
Speaker 3: by five or sixth.
9:03
Speaker 4: And the ninth and now I have the ninth, you know.
9:05
Speaker 3: So it's definitely a lot different and there's a lot
9:07
Speaker 3: more you know, peaks and valleys out there.
9:09
Speaker 4: I think as a setup guy. And you know, with
9:11
Speaker 4: my time.
9:12
Speaker 3: In New York, it not that I forgot what a
9:14
Speaker 3: setup guy was like, but it made me have more
9:16
Speaker 3: of an appreciation for what those guys do day in
9:19
Speaker 3: and day out and kind of what they deal with
9:22
Speaker 3: on a daily basis. And you know, just constantly having
9:25
Speaker 3: to stay ready and you know, be ready for when
9:28
Speaker 3: the phone rings.
9:29
Speaker 4: But I think, you know.
9:31
Speaker 3: That's also a fun part of it, is kind of
9:33
Speaker 3: always living life on the edge. You know, you're just
9:35
Speaker 3: you know, sitting there itching ready for a moment's notice
9:38
Speaker 3: and you hear your name, you know, and you shoot up.
9:39
Speaker 3: And but it's definitely it's definitely a lot different going
9:43
Speaker 3: from that closure role to you know, being a guy
9:46
Speaker 3: that could throw from innings five through nine.
9:49
Speaker 5: You know, all right, so Jim's gonna ask all the
9:52
Speaker 5: baseball questions, you know, just typically guy here trying to
9:56
Speaker 5: get baseball inside. What the that's perfect great timing. What's
10:00
Speaker 5: the coffee you got this morning? What's your coffee spot?
10:02
Speaker 5: You're on the West coast right now, you know, where'd
10:05
Speaker 5: you go this morning? Because like how said, you know,
10:07
Speaker 5: we we did a lot of coffee runs in the morning,
10:10
Speaker 5: kind of getting our day started. And definitely some of
10:13
Speaker 5: my favorite times in my career from twenty twenty four
10:16
Speaker 5: was was doing that and finding those coffee shops. So
10:18
Speaker 5: where'd you go this morning? And what's getting ready for
10:21
Speaker 5: this golf match?
10:22
Speaker 3: So this is called a place called Fairgrounds. It's up
10:26
Speaker 3: here in Beverly Hills. It's pretty good. I think it's
10:31
Speaker 3: more of I don't really know like my roast yet.
10:33
Speaker 3: It tastes a little darker. I just know if I
10:35
Speaker 3: like it, if it tastes good, you know, it's a
10:37
Speaker 3: solid I'll give it like an eight out of ten.
10:38
Speaker 3: Not my favorite, but it's getting the job done, you know.
10:41
Speaker 3: And I'm thinking, what the I was thinking? What the
10:43
Speaker 3: quad shot here? Gibby got me on that you talk
10:47
Speaker 3: about used to be a flavored guy, you know, get
10:50
Speaker 3: some vanilla surf from there. But you know, I grew
10:53
Speaker 3: up a little bit and leaned myself off all the
10:55
Speaker 3: flavorings and sugars, So enjoying the coffee flavor a little bit.
10:59
Speaker 6: You know, it does happen everybody.
11:01
Speaker 5: Everybody grows up at some point else and then you start,
11:04
Speaker 5: you know, drinking your straight gasoline in the morning.
11:07
Speaker 6: So that's good fair ground. That's a unique name. I
11:09
Speaker 6: like that.
11:10
Speaker 4: I like that.
11:11
Speaker 5: And what was so in your time in New York?
11:13
Speaker 5: You know, we went to a couple but we were
11:14
Speaker 5: in uh, you know, we were more.
11:16
Speaker 6: In the city.
11:17
Speaker 5: What are those spots that you found where you guys lived,
11:20
Speaker 5: Did you find a good one?
11:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, we would go to play I think it was
11:25
Speaker 3: go with the place we went to common grounds.
11:27
Speaker 6: Or common grounds.
11:29
Speaker 5: Yeah, there's the one pup of black Fox as well
11:31
Speaker 5: in New York then too.
11:33
Speaker 4: Yeah, we went to the common grounds. It was south
11:35
Speaker 4: of Garden City.
11:37
Speaker 2: Cool.
11:37
Speaker 3: So every every morning we do that and go find
11:39
Speaker 3: a playground, you know, for the girls to play on
11:41
Speaker 3: and just get out of the house and spend.
11:43
Speaker 4: Some family time together.
11:44
Speaker 3: But you know, when I got to New York, I
11:46
Speaker 3: think my caffeine then take like Triple Dude.
11:48
Speaker 4: They had they.
11:49
Speaker 3: Hadn't They had the law Marzaco. You've seen that brand, right,
11:54
Speaker 3: like all the coffee brands, the Italian brands. So they
11:57
Speaker 3: had the really nice like home set ups in the
12:02
Speaker 3: weight room and.
12:03
Speaker 4: They traveled with one on the road.
12:05
Speaker 3: So it was like you just had the best coffee
12:08
Speaker 3: at your fingertips all day long, So like, how could
12:11
Speaker 3: you not just ingest a thousand milligrams of coffee, you know,
12:14
Speaker 3: every single day, So I was especially caffeinated my time
12:18
Speaker 3: in New York.
12:19
Speaker 1: You are watching Coffee Talk on this edition of Cardinal Territory,
12:24
Speaker 1: And since I have control, I'm going to fire out
12:26
Speaker 1: a quick question here, Ryan, you're a free agent. Now,
12:30
Speaker 1: what's that process like for you? Like, how does that work?
12:33
Speaker 1: Does your agent like give you updates that you're getting
12:37
Speaker 1: a nibble here? How does that work? And what's it
12:39
Speaker 1: been like for you?
12:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty pretty surreal to be here, you know,
12:44
Speaker 3: I know it's a blessing and not a whole lot
12:47
Speaker 3: of players get to experience free agency, you know. So
12:49
Speaker 3: I'm definitely excited and you know, thankful, and you know,
12:54
Speaker 3: my agent will text me, you know, every other day,
12:56
Speaker 3: maybe because I think the GM meetings are going on
12:58
Speaker 3: right now.
12:58
Speaker 4: So talks and stuff have picked up a little.
13:00
Speaker 3: Bit, and you know, I like to I've called it
13:03
Speaker 3: windows shopping so far. You know, it's like, you know,
13:05
Speaker 3: teams will say they like you, and but there's no
13:07
Speaker 3: there's hasn't been you know, real numbers talk or anything
13:10
Speaker 3: like that. Yet, which you know, I think that'll obviously
13:12
Speaker 3: pick up, you know, as the off season goes on.
13:15
Speaker 3: And but overall, it's it's pretty cool, you know, it's
13:18
Speaker 3: it's a it's crazy to be here in this moment,
13:21
Speaker 3: you know, to be here seven years down the road
13:23
Speaker 3: and you know, have an opportunity to you know, hopefully
13:27
Speaker 3: have an opportunity to pick pick where you play, and
13:29
Speaker 3: you know, have multiple options.
13:32
Speaker 2: What uh.
13:34
Speaker 5: You know one thing that Brian Doser told me kind
13:36
Speaker 5: of going into my last year in Minnesota, he had
13:39
Speaker 5: just become a free agent. He's like, Gibby, don't be
13:40
Speaker 5: afraid of free agency, like, you know, enjoy the process.
13:44
Speaker 6: Take it in.
13:45
Speaker 5: I was fortunate to go through it a few times.
13:48
Speaker 5: How how are you and the family dealing with it?
13:50
Speaker 5: You know, what are those conversations? You don't have to
13:52
Speaker 5: let us in on all of it, obviously, but you know,
13:54
Speaker 5: it is an exciting time. But I mean, I know,
13:57
Speaker 5: especially for me last year, a little bit you know
14:00
Speaker 5: set in as time went on and I didn't have
14:01
Speaker 5: a job. It's like, man, all right, maybe this is
14:03
Speaker 5: maybe this is it now. Obviously you're not going to
14:05
Speaker 5: be in that situation, but you know, are you guys
14:08
Speaker 5: kind of just waiting on a little bit of you know,
14:11
Speaker 5: what are these opportunities or or do you guys kind
14:13
Speaker 5: of have you know, those talks of man, we'd really
14:16
Speaker 5: like to be here with that group.
14:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's natural to want to be somewhere,
14:22
Speaker 3: but I also think, you know, for me, I'm trying
14:24
Speaker 3: to go into it as open minded and like willing
14:27
Speaker 3: to play anywhere, you know, so you're not like, you know,
14:31
Speaker 3: just harden to if you don't go to the place
14:33
Speaker 3: you want to go to, so to say. So really
14:36
Speaker 3: just going into as an open mind, you know. And
14:38
Speaker 3: it's an exciting time, and you know, a lot of
14:42
Speaker 3: a lot of teams that are looking for back end
14:44
Speaker 3: guys or bigger market teams. So you know, I think
14:47
Speaker 3: a lot of that stuff is exciting and appealing to
14:50
Speaker 3: my my wife and daughter who loved the Big Apple
14:52
Speaker 3: City she called it in New York. So selfically, you know,
14:57
Speaker 3: I'd love to stay close to home, you know, like Texas,
14:59
Speaker 3: maybe Reunion with the Cardinals, you know, Kansas City, just
15:03
Speaker 3: because I have a lot of family members who like
15:04
Speaker 3: to travel.
15:05
Speaker 4: And obviously the further.
15:06
Speaker 3: You are away from Oklahoma, it's a little harder to
15:09
Speaker 3: travel and a little more expensive than driving. So but
15:12
Speaker 3: obviously I'm open to plane, you know, anywhere, and you know,
15:15
Speaker 3: I just want to compete.
15:17
Speaker 1: Are you Are you hoping that the Cardinals come and
15:20
Speaker 1: call him? By the way, the kids say, they call
15:23
Speaker 1: it getting the bag, So wherever you end up, you're
15:26
Speaker 1: getting the bag.
15:26
Speaker 2: But are you hopeful?
15:29
Speaker 4: Jim?
15:30
Speaker 5: I apologize he does this to Lance and Matt and
15:33
Speaker 5: sometimes me more of those guys because they have a
15:36
Speaker 5: bigger bag than I have, So I mean they he
15:38
Speaker 5: does this to everybody every show. So I apologize that
15:42
Speaker 5: he does this, all right, go ahead.
15:43
Speaker 1: Because because I'm because I'm I'm I'm jealous. But is
15:48
Speaker 1: that is that in your mind a uh a reab
15:51
Speaker 1: possible reality that the Cardinals start, as you say, windows shopping,
15:55
Speaker 1: maybe kicking the tires on a return.
15:59
Speaker 3: I think I expect them to reach out, you know,
16:02
Speaker 3: I think I don't know if it'll be you know, serious,
16:06
Speaker 3: but maybe to check in and you know, kind of
16:07
Speaker 3: gauge the waters, so to speak. And you know, I
16:10
Speaker 3: had a good talk with him after I was I
16:12
Speaker 3: was traded, and you know, it was really encouraging the
16:15
Speaker 3: possibly maybe you know, coming back there, and you know,
16:18
Speaker 3: obviously things changed. That was three months ago, but you know,
16:22
Speaker 3: you know, I really enjoyed my time getting to know
16:24
Speaker 3: how m a little bit and think that the Cardinals
16:27
Speaker 3: future is in really good hands with him.
16:30
Speaker 5: So let's let's dive into some of that Cardinals time, right,
16:33
Speaker 5: you know, this is Cardinals territory, so I guess you know,
16:36
Speaker 5: Jim probably wouldn't be too happy if we don't bring
16:38
Speaker 5: up the Cardinals other than possibly coming back. But you know,
16:41
Speaker 5: what were some of those moments with the Cardinals of standout?
16:44
Speaker 5: I mean you, like you said, seven seasons, sub three
16:48
Speaker 5: all Stars, I mean just just you accomplished just about everything, right,
16:52
Speaker 5: So you know, tell us about that time in Saint Louis.
16:55
Speaker 5: What are you gonna remember most if you know, for
16:57
Speaker 5: any reason, you know that reunion doesn't happen at some point.
17:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think obviously, you know, my rookie year stands out.
17:04
Speaker 3: You know, obviously it's everything's so new that year, and
17:07
Speaker 3: you know, we made it to the NLCS, so we
17:09
Speaker 3: you know, made a deep playoff run. Obviously we got
17:11
Speaker 3: swept by the Nats, but you know, we made the
17:13
Speaker 3: playoffs my first four years, and it's.
17:16
Speaker 4: Kind of crazy as to play.
17:17
Speaker 3: You kind of take that for granted sometimes then when
17:19
Speaker 3: you don't make it a couple of times, you realize
17:21
Speaker 3: how hard it really is to make the postseason, even
17:24
Speaker 3: with so many teams getting in. Now, you know, the
17:26
Speaker 3: league is just so competitive, and you know, I think
17:29
Speaker 3: the talent gap is probably the smallest it's ever been,
17:32
Speaker 3: and it's just you know, things like that, you know,
17:35
Speaker 3: make the game fun and making the playoffs is just
17:37
Speaker 3: a surreal feeling. And you know, obviously, I think twenty
17:40
Speaker 3: two stands out was the first year I really kind
17:43
Speaker 3: of stepped onto the scene and you know, pitched hot
17:46
Speaker 3: wanted too and kind of became you know, Ryan Helsley
17:49
Speaker 3: to the baseball world, and you know, through immaculate inning
17:52
Speaker 3: that year, I got to play with Albert Yachti and Wino,
17:54
Speaker 3: So that season is always super special. And you know,
17:57
Speaker 3: we come to the NL Central that year, and you know,
17:59
Speaker 3: one of my favorite pictures is when we clinched in
18:01
Speaker 3: Milwaukee with Wayne O, Yachty and Hour. You know, just
18:05
Speaker 3: kind of the pillars of Cardinals baseball the last twenty
18:07
Speaker 3: plus years. And you know, guys, I grew up watching
18:10
Speaker 3: so that you know, I felt like a kid in
18:12
Speaker 3: that moment, just to you know, and a fan, you know,
18:14
Speaker 3: being a part of that team and you know, just
18:16
Speaker 3: getting to sit there and you know, just kind of
18:18
Speaker 3: cherish that and take it all in.
18:19
Speaker 4: And then you know, the longer you get to.
18:21
Speaker 3: Play, you know, it's like you don't want to admit
18:23
Speaker 3: that you're getting older, that old guy in the locker room,
18:26
Speaker 3: you know. But like it's like every time you show
18:29
Speaker 3: up the spring, it's like in twenty three, like Dang
18:32
Speaker 3: Yachty's not here, Alburt's not here, you know, and then
18:34
Speaker 3: twenty four, Wayno's not here. So it was it's pretty crazy,
18:38
Speaker 3: and also the blessing obviously the longer you play, but
18:41
Speaker 3: in twenty four is obviously really special too, just you know,
18:45
Speaker 3: getting to pitch all year and having forty nine saves
18:47
Speaker 3: and just being a part of, you know, such a
18:50
Speaker 3: storied franchise with so many good players, and you know,
18:54
Speaker 3: there's there's a lot in there to to really take
18:56
Speaker 3: in and you know, to hold on.
18:58
Speaker 1: To Ryan by the way, great guy. I'm going to
19:01
Speaker 1: tell you a little story. So I'm doing the postgame
19:04
Speaker 1: interview for Hellsley. He gets to say it was like
19:07
Speaker 1: save fourteen that season, and he's holding onto the ball
19:10
Speaker 1: and I'm thinking maybe it has some significance. So I
19:13
Speaker 1: just said, hey, does Eppel have some significance? He goes, no,
19:15
Speaker 1: I'm just holding it.
19:16
Speaker 2: He goes, do you want to give it to your son?
19:18
Speaker 1: So my son has saved fourteen one season for Ryan
19:22
Speaker 1: Helsley Ran. I want to ask you, like, when you
19:25
Speaker 1: got traded, right, the Cardinals put stock on a lot
19:28
Speaker 1: of the young guys in the bullpen. You know them
19:30
Speaker 1: very well, guys like Swanson, Leahey, you know O'Brien really
19:35
Speaker 1: really good of course, Jojo. I want to ask you
19:38
Speaker 1: particularly about like Swaonson who became dominant. Did you know
19:43
Speaker 1: that these guys were ready to take the next step
19:46
Speaker 1: back when you were part of the team.
19:48
Speaker 4: Yeah.
19:48
Speaker 3: So I met Swanson in twenty three when I was
19:50
Speaker 3: rehabbing in Springfield and he'd just gotten traded over from
19:53
Speaker 3: I believe the Blue Jays, you know, and I knew
19:55
Speaker 3: I saw him then. He was a big kid and
19:58
Speaker 3: kind of funky, you know, and you know, kind of
20:00
Speaker 3: a steep approach. It seemed like with the heavy sinker
20:02
Speaker 3: and you know, he obviously threw hard and he had
20:05
Speaker 3: a great year last year in Double A. You know,
20:06
Speaker 3: I think he led the league and with saves, with that,
20:08
Speaker 3: and you know, the stuff was there he saw as
20:11
Speaker 3: soon as he came up, you know, throwing ninety seven
20:13
Speaker 3: ninety eight and with two really good Auste pitches, and
20:16
Speaker 3: you know, he attacked his own well all the things
20:18
Speaker 3: you need to do as a bullpen guy. And you know,
20:20
Speaker 3: just the way he carries himself. You know, he kind
20:22
Speaker 3: of had the idea that this guy could you know,
20:24
Speaker 3: be a contributor. And you know, I think they saw
20:26
Speaker 3: that down the stretch this year.
20:27
Speaker 4: And you know, I was always a.
20:29
Speaker 3: Big believer in in Riley O'Brien, you know, seeing him
20:31
Speaker 3: last year too. I know in twenty four he didn't
20:33
Speaker 3: pitch how he wanted to, but you know I'd always
20:36
Speaker 3: tell the coaching staff like, this guy's.
20:37
Speaker 4: Gonna be good, you know, just give him some time.
20:39
Speaker 3: And you know, you see it with all players, you know,
20:41
Speaker 3: not everybody makes that leap or figures it out, you know,
20:44
Speaker 3: as fast as they want to or as quick as
20:46
Speaker 3: everybody thinks they should. But you know, I think he
20:48
Speaker 3: figured it out a little bit this year, and you know,
20:50
Speaker 3: saw what he was capable of, and you know.
20:52
Speaker 4: JoJo's had a great year.
20:54
Speaker 3: We know what he's capable of, and you know, I
20:55
Speaker 3: think it was cool to watch Kyle really flourished this year.
20:58
Speaker 3: And you know, I don't think he gets enough credit
21:00
Speaker 3: for what he really did with how many different roles
21:03
Speaker 3: and situations he pitched in and played. And you know,
21:06
Speaker 3: like I said earlier, it's hard not knowing when you're
21:08
Speaker 3: going to throw. And he would throw one any one night,
21:10
Speaker 3: you know, up in the eighth by one, or throw
21:12
Speaker 3: four the next day down by seven. You know, so
21:14
Speaker 3: just having that wide range and to be able to
21:17
Speaker 3: pitch and compete and get the results that he did
21:20
Speaker 3: this year, you know, it hats off to him, and
21:22
Speaker 3: I think it's something he could be proud of and
21:23
Speaker 3: you know, build off of.
21:26
Speaker 5: So we've talked a few times on here over the
21:28
Speaker 5: last couple of weeks just about you know, what the
21:30
Speaker 5: Cardinals might do and what that looks like in him's
21:33
Speaker 5: first year. But you know, one thing that I brought
21:36
Speaker 5: up is preventing runs is always less expensive than scoring runs, right,
21:41
Speaker 5: so in a bullpen can be a big part of that.
21:43
Speaker 5: And you know in twenty twenty four that bullpen that
21:47
Speaker 5: we had was one of the main reasons, if not
21:49
Speaker 5: the reason, that we were in playoff contention for so long.
21:52
Speaker 5: So in that bullpen that they see that they have now,
21:55
Speaker 5: you know, with your we'll just assume you're not there.
21:59
Speaker 5: You know, who's that guy that kind of steps up
22:00
Speaker 5: as that veteran leadership because I feel like you, Kittridge,
22:04
Speaker 5: you guys had some guys down there in twenty four
22:06
Speaker 5: that really led that group, and then you led that group,
22:08
Speaker 5: you know, last year until the trade deadline.
22:10
Speaker 6: But who are those.
22:11
Speaker 5: Guys that can kind of step into that role assuming
22:13
Speaker 5: they don't bring somebody in and keep that to be
22:16
Speaker 5: a strength of this year's team.
22:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I think we see how teams use
22:21
Speaker 3: bullpens now, and you know, most good teams, I feel like,
22:24
Speaker 3: have you know, two closers, so to call it, especially
22:27
Speaker 3: in the playoffs. You know, you see how quick triggers
22:29
Speaker 3: are for starters and you know, but for the Cardinals,
22:32
Speaker 3: I think, you know, it's got to be Jojo And
22:34
Speaker 3: even though Riley's a little less time wise in the
22:37
Speaker 3: big leagues, you know, he's a little bit older and
22:39
Speaker 3: seasoned as a baseball player. So I think those two
22:41
Speaker 3: guys could be someone you know, they could lead that
22:44
Speaker 3: lead that bullpen. But I think the easy choice is
22:47
Speaker 3: Jojo just because he's he's been around so long and
22:50
Speaker 3: you know his pitch well, you know his whole career,
22:53
Speaker 3: and you know a lot of young guys are going
22:55
Speaker 3: to get more opportunities there if they don't sign guys
22:58
Speaker 3: you know which you know, I think it would be
22:59
Speaker 3: a thing to see, you know, what they have and
23:02
Speaker 3: see what those guys are capable of at that level.
23:05
Speaker 6: What did what did? Sorry I'm stepping in here, Jim.
23:07
Speaker 6: You did a two part earlier, so.
23:08
Speaker 5: I'm gonna go ahead and do back follow up here,
23:12
Speaker 5: and then I really want to ask about golf here.
23:14
Speaker 5: We're going to run out of time with Ryan, but
23:15
Speaker 5: I really want to know where he's golfing today. So
23:17
Speaker 5: this might be the last question, Jim.
23:19
Speaker 2: So you can do two parts. You can do two parts.
23:22
Speaker 5: Thanks, Thanks, thanks for that, you know, permission to do that. Riley,
23:26
Speaker 5: what was what was a big shift that.
23:28
Speaker 6: You saw in Riley?
23:30
Speaker 5: You know, when I was in a with the Rays
23:32
Speaker 5: kind of working back, you know, I saw him throw
23:34
Speaker 5: against this. In my word, it was like it was
23:36
Speaker 5: kind of a different guy. What what did you see
23:39
Speaker 5: from him when he got back up there, and what's
23:41
Speaker 5: going to make him so effective going forward?
23:43
Speaker 3: You think, Yeah, I think just trusting this stuff in
23:46
Speaker 3: the zone. You know, I think that's the hardest thing
23:47
Speaker 3: to do in the big leagues, you know, even the
23:49
Speaker 3: best guys to get out. You know, we talk about
23:51
Speaker 3: all the time in pitches meetings it's seven out of
23:53
Speaker 3: ten times, you know, first pitch strikes or you know
23:56
Speaker 3: the key. And I think when he really bought into
23:58
Speaker 3: just attacking guys and you know, trusting his stuff in
24:01
Speaker 3: his zone is when he really saw a big jump.
24:03
Speaker 3: And you know, confidence, as the picture, can take you
24:06
Speaker 3: a long way, especially in the bullpen, good or bad,
24:09
Speaker 3: you know, and when you have those bad games, it's
24:12
Speaker 3: you know, hard to sometimes get past those. And I
24:15
Speaker 3: think when you rattle off a few good ones and
24:18
Speaker 3: you can kind of see, like how your success happens,
24:21
Speaker 3: I think is a big way and a big contributor
24:24
Speaker 3: to success overall for a player. And you know, I
24:27
Speaker 3: think this year, you know, I would watch Cardinals games
24:29
Speaker 3: when I left, and you know, he's pitching in close
24:30
Speaker 3: games and you know, just like you said, look like
24:33
Speaker 3: a completely different picture. And confident, and you know, it's
24:36
Speaker 3: fun fun to watch guys, you know, make that leap
24:38
Speaker 3: and you know, just to really compete out there and
24:40
Speaker 3: just to lay it all on the line.
24:44
Speaker 5: Ask about golf, Jim, Jim, go ahead, Oh, did you
24:48
Speaker 5: have another?
24:48
Speaker 6: You have another question?
24:49
Speaker 2: Jim? No, So I was gonna let you ask golf.
24:53
Speaker 1: Then I was going to close out with one and
24:54
Speaker 1: we'd wrap this whole puppy up.
24:56
Speaker 5: Okay, all right, great, So obviously hell's you gotta the
25:00
Speaker 5: hat that has the upside down words on it, so
25:01
Speaker 5: you're obviously going golfing. It says birdies for those that
25:04
Speaker 5: can't read upside down. So uh, one, hope you score
25:07
Speaker 5: a lot of birdies today, it'd be great. Uh where
25:10
Speaker 5: are you going golfing? Tell us to tell us the schedule.
25:13
Speaker 5: We already know that your cafeated ready to go, But
25:15
Speaker 5: where are we going golfing today?
25:17
Speaker 4: Yeah?
25:17
Speaker 3: I think I'm gonna go to bel Air today to
25:19
Speaker 3: start off with, and then maybe try to sneak onto
25:22
Speaker 3: La Country Club as well.
25:23
Speaker 5: So uh yeah, sure that's the place you can sneak on.
25:27
Speaker 5: So he I wouldn't try to sneak on to La
25:29
Speaker 5: Country Club.
25:31
Speaker 2: We might pull some strings and get in.
25:33
Speaker 3: Uh that's bad phrasing there, But yeah, I think today
25:37
Speaker 3: is going to be complete golf, maybe thirty six holes
25:39
Speaker 3: and you know, we'll see if we can't score some birdies,
25:44
Speaker 3: that's awesome.
25:45
Speaker 1: I'm gonna I'm gonna do what Kyle was doing early.
25:48
Speaker 1: This isn't a baseball related question. By the way, Kyle,
25:50
Speaker 1: you were great. He also he's the guy that booked
25:53
Speaker 1: Elsley for today. To kudos to Kyle Gibson. But we're
25:57
Speaker 1: talking about LA right now. We're talking about the Big Apple.
26:01
Speaker 1: I want to know what you miss about Saint Louis.
26:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I just always explained to people it
26:08
Speaker 3: kind of feels like home for me. You know, I
26:10
Speaker 3: grew up in a small town and you know, you
26:12
Speaker 3: grow up there and get there at a twenty, you know,
26:16
Speaker 3: four year old kid, and you know I left at
26:17
Speaker 3: thirty one, so matured a lot and seeing a lot
26:20
Speaker 3: there and it just feels like a big farm town
26:22
Speaker 3: to me.
26:22
Speaker 4: You know, there's not much.
26:24
Speaker 3: Traffic really, you know, it just everything's kind of spread
26:26
Speaker 3: out and easy going.
26:27
Speaker 4: It's just a slower pace of life.
26:29
Speaker 3: And you know, that just just felt like home to me,
26:31
Speaker 3: and what I was used to and what I knew.
26:34
Speaker 3: The people are great, the fans are great. You know,
26:37
Speaker 3: it's just it's a hard place not to like.
26:39
Speaker 1: Honestly, Kyle, you were great. Appreciate it. Ryan Helsley, thank
26:45
Speaker 1: you for.
26:47
Speaker 2: Joining us.
26:48
Speaker 1: Hopefully you have a very happy landing spot as free
26:52
Speaker 1: agency comes to a close for you. And that's going
26:56
Speaker 1: to do it for this edition of Cardinal Territory. We'll
26:59
Speaker 1: see you next time. Hope ate that edition won't suck.