Bubba Chandler & Braxton Ashcraft Looked Good In 2 Pirates Losses

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2:00Yo, yo, yo, welcome to the North Shoreline Podcast presented by Fandall. I'm your host, Anthony Denardo. With me, we have once again the man of the people, Dougy Fresh. Doug, it is Friday, the second week. This is our last game or last night here. How you doing? I'm tired, but I'm also, I'm a little sad. This has been fun. You know, we've been putting in a lot of work. We've been having a great time. But yeah, I'd like to stay another week. Yeah, I think I said like on the pre-game show, say with Nate, it's kind of bittersweet, right? It's been, it has. I talked about week one, you guys are transitioning and jokingly with Cody and Jim. And you know, Cody's like, I can only do a week. And like, I kind of feel it right now. I feel like this year was a lot different last year. Oh, for sure. Yeah, I mean, things are still interesting. And right, and all the interesting stuff is yet to come. It's, you know, roster cuts are going to start happening. You know, we're going to get a clear sense of is Griffin going to make the opening day roster?

3:00We'll have a better sense of how these pictures look when they start going four and five innings. That sort of thing. So while what we've seen has been fun and it's been great and it's mostly been pretty encouraging, you know, the real stuff is still yet to come. And yeah, I'd love to be down here for it. For sure, for sure. But it certainly has been a grind. The sum was brutal the past two days. And that's even coming from me. The sum has been brutal. Like I said, it makes it seem like the days go even longer. Can't wait to be done. That's the bitter. I'm sorry. Yeah, the sweet part of leaving, like it's over. But the bitter part is, of course, like it is over. It's done. This was the last game we're going to see. And you know, our two weeks being down here is over. And I felt like we looked forward to this for so long. Talked about for so long. And now it's actually coming to an end. But what a day to end it on and sense of pitching at least. I know there's two losses. If you're really worried about spring training, win the loss record. Yeah, it's two losses. But regardless, the things that matter today, Baba, Chandler took the mound in Dunedin against Toronto.

4:00Bradson Ashcraft took the mound today right here in Leacom. We saw that start. Both pitchers. Now again, we can speak to one. We'll be here and see of the other. Right. Both pitchers look to be quite effective today. Yeah. Yeah. Bradson Ashcraft looked great. He looked fantastic. He went three innings and sort of ran into the same problem that Mitch Keller did yesterday. Not quite ready for that fourth inning. Everything in the bullpen. I mean, he left without any runscored and somebody named Brandon Kane. 19th round pick from last year's graft out of Oklahoma who has not not any minor league or major league statistics. And you could tell. He just didn't have it. And he gave up a bunch of runs and then was it Longshore? Long counties? Longshore. Longshore came in and gave a low short. Sorry, low short. Yeah, low short. That's what it was. So yeah, again, a guy that was just drafted. You know, it was a split squad. So things were a little thinned out. But those three innings that Ashcraft picked,

5:00he looked fantastic. He really did. Yeah. I mean, I am much more confident in him at this point than I am, Baba. And Baba looks good. But Baba still has the walks issue. You know, he still has some of the command. That's fair. And Ashcraft does not. Ashcraft, he just goes about attacking hitters, attacking the zone and it looks pretty good. Yeah, that's the difference in the two. They both had very similar results. Like you mentioned, they went three strong, head into the fourth, didn't make it the whole way through. But again, I feel like this week it was kind of like, can guys get into the fourth? That's what happened. You mentioned Mitch. Mitch went into the fourth. He gave up two. He allowed two base runners and he left, you know, that's where his earn runs came. Oh, no, actually he got the home run. Regardless, regardless, he didn't look as sharp in the fourth as he did in the first, second and third. And you kind of talked about that a little bit. Like, you've been here for longer. Then when the guys pitched two innings the first inning, they looked really sharp. Second would not so much. And it seems like it was right now. That's what's kind of taking place. In the third, they looked really good. They're not stretched out. So as they get in the fourth, their stuff isn't as sharp.

6:01Yeah, I mean, Baba in his first inning, he went one, two, three in the first inning. And then I think walked four guys into the second inning. Yeah, right? I mean, it was not pretty. It wasn't pretty, right? But, you know, now this time he's gone three innings. They're building up. It's spring training. They're working on stuff. All that kind of thing is going on. But both the very encouraging addings from both the young pictures that we are relying heavily on. Right. For the success of this team this year. So the differences, like you mentioned, Ashcraft was throwing strikes. He was certainly pumping them. No walks allowed. But he was. He had his swing and miss stuff going on. Especially the secondary with Baba. He did allow three walks again. That is something you want to start seeing decline. But with that being said, he was actually kind of efficient for what he did. Again, he allowed the three walks. But he struck out. Both struck out five guys. You know, Baba was striking out. I mean, his swing and miss was certainly there today. So, you know, both were showcasing the stuff that they have. The things that make them very enticing pictures. Guys that make you very encouraged about this rotation.

7:02Heading into 2026. This is the reason why people in baseball are looking at this pirate's rotation outside of just schemes in a Mitch Keller. And again, I know the three walks by Baba is something you want to see decrease. But it was more encouraging from the previous starts. And again, outside of that was like he looked really good in the Ashcraft. I mean, yeah. Ashcraft. He pitched. He threw 14 pitches each of the first two innings. And then 17 in the third. You know, you could see. You know, and it was like he got the first out, the second out took a little longer. So, you could sort of see maybe the fatigue or lack of focus, whatever it was. And then that fourth inning was, you know, he, I think he pitched the two batters as well. Sure. But yeah. I mean, my goodness. He looked fantastic. And he looked good all of last year. Right? Well. We didn't let him pitch more than four innings too much. Yeah. You know, that sort of thing. But so yeah, it'll be interesting to see how he is moving forward. Taking on a little bigger reload, of course, for he's not throwing 200 innings this year. But, you know, I think we can help from 150.

8:03Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So again, two really good outings. I'll actually have the chance to talk to Braxton Ashcraft after his outing today. So, let's go ahead and listen to that interview. But first, let's hear a word from our sponsor. This episode is brought to you by IQBAR, our exclusive snack hydration sponsor. IQBAR protein bars, IQBIC's hydration mixes, and IQ Joe mushroom coffees are the delicious, low sugar, brain and body fuel you need to win your day. The ultimate sampler pack is a great way for you to try all IQBAR products and flavors. You get nine IQ bars, eight IQ mix sticks, and four IQ Joe sticks. All IQBAR products are clean-label certified and entirely free from gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs, and artificial ingredients. With over 20,000 five-star reviews and counting, more people than ever are feeling their lifestyles with IQBAR's brain and body boosting bars, hydration mixes, and mushroom coffees. The ultimate sampler pack includes all three. My personal favorite, so far, have been the almond butter chip

9:04and the iced tea lemonade hydration mix. It's just really full flavor. I love starting my day with it, and I couldn't imagine starting my day with anything else other than IQBAR products. Right now, IQBAR is offering our podcast listeners 20% off all IQBAR products, including the ultimate sampler pack, plus free shipping. To get your 20% off, text MLB to 64,000. That's MLB 6400. Message and data rates may apply, see terms for details. All right, sir. Braxton Ashcraft. Braxton, now first, I want to ask you something. You played high school football. Incredible season. About 2,000 yards, 37 touchdowns. I want to ask you, could you put Bubba Quarterback, you and Connie outside? Is there anyone in baseball that stopped in E3? Oh, man, I don't know. It's hard to, I mean, it's hard to say that. There's a lot of really good athletes around the league. I mean, there's some guys that can run, there's some guys that can move a little bit better.

10:06It's hard to say that, but yeah, I mean, it would be pretty formidable for sure. I like the humbleness. All right, so you come in last year. Your role was kind of undefined. Your reputation starter, 690ings, what, four, I'm sorry, 2.71 at ERA, I believe. This year a little bit different. I think, you know, you're going to be in the rotation. What are you trying to do differently into this offseason in the spring, post-alast? Yeah, you know, I think that, like, going into the offseason, you kind of know that you're going to have to, you're going to have to know that, like, you're going on a, you're going on to a year where your workload's going to be higher. You know, so, the whole offseason is tailored for that, right? Like, I mean, I think the biggest amendment in this offseason was just trying to, trying to build up, like, connect it to you just in my, like, in my arm, in my legs, in my cord, just to be able to sustain a high workload, in a dispersal load throughout the year. And I'm really happy with the body work I put in over those three, four months.

11:07And, uh, nice pan off right now, for sure. I've never felt this good in spring. Yeah. I think a lot of that has to do with mindset. And just, like, it's kind of where you are, where I am, and just, in terms of, the way I go about my work. But, yeah, I mean, it's a, it's a different, it's a different feeling, it's a different feeling in camp, not just for me, but, um, just the vibes around here really great. Awesome. Well, yeah, I mean, you're spending it pretty well today. Don't worry if he comes in now, do a pitching coach. Anything different with Bill? That you're working on too, or anything you see from him? Yeah. I mean, like, Bill does a really good job of kind of bridging the gap between what, what we see on iPads, what the technology is. He's telling us, and then what you see with the naked eye right, like, so like, to me, that's the, like, that's the biggest, the biggest plus, and having somebody that knows how to bridge that guy. I've noticed how to communicate, um, and it's willing to have conversations, um, just throughout

12:08the entire work, you know, the entire body work on that given day. Um, he does a really good job of, you know, finding time to spend with everybody, get eyes on everybody, to be able to have educated, and, uh, just, in depth conversation about that body work on that given day. Um, a lot more bandwidth than I have. I'll tell you that. But yeah, man, I hear that though. He's really cerebral? Yeah. He's, he's incredible, man, and it's been really fun to work with him for this, this past, a month or two, long we've been down here. But, yeah. Um, it's been great. I love him. Cool, cool. And then, obviously, this very young, upcoming rotation, a lot of excitement around it. What are you trying to do to leave your mark on this rotation? I mean, I think the biggest thing for all of us, really, is just, like, there's so much town, there's so much, like, from the top to the bottom, like, whether it's, you know, you got, like, the top of our rotation, to the last guy in the rotation, to the mind of these, like, there's so much depth in this organization, like, it's just,

13:08it's so fun to watch we get, and be a part of, because everybody feeds off of that with each other. Um, and, we, I think we've done a really good job of creating a culture where, and everybody asks questions, everybody loves the answer questions, and, and trying to get better, um, even whenever you're the one that's being asked the question. I don't know if that makes sense, but, like, yeah, I mean, it's, it's really, it's really cool to be able to experience that, to be a part of it, and be able to add to it. Um, and that's, that's really the main goal this year. Just to be able to add, in any way that I can, gives a chance to win anytime I get the ball in my hand. Um, you know, just like a devasher, and, I think, building off of that, it's just, like, having that desire to be able to, like, go about your work every single day, regardless of, you know, good result, bad result, and different. Um, just being able to execute where we know that we're good at, most times, like, when you have really good stuff,

14:08and we look around our stuff, everybody's got really good stuff, like, you execute what you need to do, and you do it well, like, most of the time, the, the blocks fall into place. Yeah. It's, it's fun. That's, that's kind of, like, all of our, all of our perspective, about how we're going about our work back now, and looking towards the screen, like, in the screen, into the season, it's just, you know, building on that, um, dominating that, and turning down, maybe, other haters. Excellent. What a pretty sure time, Braxton. Good game today, and I'll let you cool off. Thank you. Alright, so yeah, so those are some words from Braxton Ashcraft. I mean, I've got to say this, like, just sitting down with him, the first thing I take from it is, like, that dude just loves to talk about his craft. So that's some pretty insightful stuff, uh, that he provided. So good stuff there, um, but let's go to the offense side. Was it a whole lot of offense on each, each side? I mean, I guess I'll put it this way. The game, uh, and not even ones that are most likely going to be on the team, you know, this year, is lower guys. So, I mean, props,

15:08right? But, you know, for the guys you really want to see this spring and stuff, not a whole lot of offense from them, but let's go and start with, you know, the one in Lee Calm. Uh, Ron or her did have a three run shot. Right. Uh, he's been having a really good spring. Yeah, he got, he got walked, he got hit by a page, and then he hit the three run Homer. So, a good day. Right? I mean, he's getting on base. He's, you know, hitter, and we haven't seen a lot of that. And, uh, he's really going to, it'd be a boot for this line up. And he's, right now, man, he's also a great start. Yeah. He, he really is. It's taking Homer to spring. So, now, all that's all we had before the show, about Alika Williams being tied with all of them. Alika is now second. Yeah. So, we're going to earn. So, uh, Alika Williams. And that's, that is a high bar. That is in the conference, right? Right. Right. So, I just want to say, Alika Williams hit what really hard today. And the, the outfit ran it down. And I just thought, if he'd worked out a little harder at the ice contest yesterday, he hit that just a little harder. And he's got a

16:08double or triple. But, you know, I'm just saying, just saying, you know, get it in the weight room. Just saying. But, yeah. So, and outside of that, uh, in the game in Leacom, you also want to talk about Duke Scorson. I do. Yeah. Duke, Duke Scorson had to hit the stolen base. I think scored a run. Um, I'm convinced, uh, from what I've been hearing and what I'm seeing, the Duke Scorson is going to get more than 200 bats with his team. He's going to impact his team in a positive way. Like, we didn't hear if I had not heard of him, you know, until Anthony Murphy brought him up on Bucklebrook with you guys. And then I read one of the, well, I can't remember which one it was. But one of the prospect sites said, here's an underrate, our guy that can, can come up fast. He moved up through, you know, a couple of, uh, levels last year really quickly. He doesn't do anything great. But he does everything, pretty good. Yeah. He can play multiple positions. He has good at bats. He can, you know, he fields well. He can, he steals bases. He's, you know, he's into dirt. He's working hard. He does everything it

17:08takes to win. Uh, we interviewed him last week. He seemed, you know, seems like he's got a, you know, a great focus and approach. And I really believe there's going to be opportunity for him. And that he's going to get, he's going to get chances in, and he's going to be another guy. Like Jake Mangle had two hits today. But he's, that's, we're going to have a couple guys there that, you know, I mean, back in the old days, they would have batted first in a second and just created havoc on the base passes. Right. I'm sure now, you know, one might bat lead off near a little bat ninth type. So, you know, it's a little different. But, uh, do scores and it's going to be a part of this team. He's going to, he's going to impact it in a, a very positive manner. Yeah. I mean, that's the name we've been talking a little bit, you know, in the office he's in, like, maybe a guy to keep your, your eye on. And now he's seen him in spring. I think, you know, like, that might sound like a hot take to a lot of people. To some people, they might sound like, you know, like, yeah, like, you should believe in him. I mean, I think the best way to put it is I've described I think a few of us have on the show. And he's almost like, you know, that typical, like, St. Louis prospect. Yeah. You know, the carnal's guy

18:08that comes up and you've never heard of him, but he mixes, they'd be on, of course, they'd be, they'd use, they'd use against the Pirates. And he gets four for four. And he gets four things. He feels two benches. Right. He makes, like, an unbelievable plan. You know, you know, you know, like, in, in the inferior they have for wherever he's going to be, they get, you know, it's eight, nine, ten, pitch it bad. They, they, they knock the starter out of the game. That sort of thing. Yeah. And that's exactly what both these guys, you know, both Magnum and, uh, but, uh, of course, it looked like. But it's like, you talk about those guys, the same those carnal's. It's, that's why they weren't a highly talented prospect because it's like, they, they didn't have this, you know, enticing power, you know. It's the 70 grade power that like, you know, it's one trade. They just did a lot of things really good. And they come up and, like you said, you never heard of them, but they typically carve out some type of a career. Yeah. And, you know, I think as Pirates fans, we always talk, like, well, where's our guy? Like, where's that guy in our system? Yeah. Why haven't we been developing guys like that? Right. Right. So exactly what this team needs to do. Yeah.

19:08They have failed at it miserably. And now it looks like, maybe they've got, got a guy or two who can do stuff like that. Yep. So, you know, keep her out and do scores. And he's having a really good spring. How to good day to play. Also, Jared Shriolo. You know, you didn't want to mention as well. You're not going to get some run. But, you know, guys are definitely getting a lot of run right now than normal. They badly lead off. And they've been doing that a lot. And he came through with two hits. He had another hard hit ball. You know, how excited I am about exit philosophy. But he looks different than he hasn't, you know, in past years. He's not just dropping it over the second basements and, you know, hitting the ground or that type of thing. These were all line drives today. All nice, you know, well struck balls. So, maybe he did what he did in last six weeks of the season is something he can replicate. And if he can, the piers got themselves the third baseman, I think. See that again. Am I good here, Joe? Can you say that again? I forgot. Right. Somebody, someone, you know, we've got a trailer stand here. I forgot about that. So, hey, all I asked for is like,

20:08you know what? I can believe this guy. If he's got to be the open-ended shortstop, though, Conor comes up. I'm good with that. Now, things might change or still some debate going Conor and what's going to happen to Jared's going to be the third baseman it looks like, at least for right now. But yeah, I mean, I do believe in Jared Trill is back to some level. And I'm not here to say that he's going to do it. He's going to replicate what he did the second half there, obviously. He's a good platoon. He's shown that, like, there's some legitimacy there. If he can just sustain it over a longer period of time, then these stretches. And I'm with you. And the glove certainly plays. So, it's nice seeing Jared also having a good spring. You know, carrying over. And Don Kelly has speaking, you know, quite highly of him in his approach and what he's doing different now. He's like getting back to his old 20, 23 ways. You know, there's a lot of stuff that's similar in that sense. So, you know, Jared Trill having a good day. You did bring up Mangum, so go to the other game. Right. He was the other game. Jake Mangum had two hits. And like, that's a guy that he's having a tremendous spring.

21:08Yeah. Yeah. I mean, everything it's advertised. Right. He was a rookie. He hit 297. He stole some bases. He's got some nice highlight reels of his defensive plays. But, like, I've seen a lot of rookies have a nice start to their career, you know, get off. And then the league scout some figures out what they can't do. Sure. And, you know, again, it's spring. But Jake Mangum looks like he is exactly, you know, the player that he was last year. There could be a very valuable fourth outfielder. A guy that can pitch hit. A guy that can come in and pitch Ron. A guy that can play B. A defensive replacement. You know, he's going to add value. And you just, you know, when we talk about vibes, Jake Mangum's got vibes, man. Well, again, we keep hearing the mayor of the mayor of the mayor. And all you're seeing were more memorable. Conner Griffin said a Mississippi legend. There you go. Right. So, you know, it's, it's, it's, it sounds like it, it looks like he's the real deal. And then he's going to help this team. And, you know, we, I talked all

22:10last season about having a roster full of 26 men. And that's not the case now. We've got, there's, there's players on this. We might only have one 26 man on the roster this year. And he might be a 25th guy instead of yeah. There you go. Two guys tied at 25. Yeah, it is nice seeing the depth. And again, like it's, I'm not here to, to, to, to, out the height train and say, like, this is a playoff team and they're going to go out there and take intent for World Series. But it is such a different vibe. Just a different look, you know, again, seeing Reynolds and her and her. And Laugh and Meng I'm doing what he's doing and Marcelo, Zuna, like, we know what he can do. The dislike of this does look deep. And Connagriffin, like, you just keep hearing more and more about him. Yeah. He could be a different smaker. So there's a lot of reasons to feed into the vibes here and whatnot. Um, and you know, what that said, I'm excited. Um, you're Donny Dale Santos帶 to home tonight. He did it was a shot. And that's another thing, these young guys, right, that we, we heard about We heard about all last year that typically in pirate land

23:12or flame out by the time they get to out to them. I mean, they're all having good springs. I mean, these guys that the highly talented one that you're hearing could be different makers. And they're looking good in spring. It's, I understand. You know, we've watched guys hit, we watch Kevin Newman lead the Great Fruit League in batting in spring. Sure, right. And then that not really translate. We've seen Jack and Henry last year have great springs in it, not translate. I'm not, I'm not delusional, but these guys look good and it doesn't look fluky, right? It just doesn't look fluky. It looks like sound fundamental baseball players that have been like well-coached and well-developed and, you know, seen to know what they're doing, haven't approached. They're not all swinging out of their, you know, out of their socks, that sort of thing. So what you're saying is like, unlike Kevin Newman, who was very fluky because all those bloops were like 60-mile per hour exit velocities. These balls hit very hard at a very high exit velocity.

24:14I don't know if that's what I said. Which leads to maybe these trends that you make think that, hey, this is sustainable on bus and your balls here, dog butt. But no, you're absolutely great. They're getting them all high up. You know, there's, of course, you try to look past the numbers, right? Like the batting averages. Like, actually, for example, it's like Connogriffin, right? You look at batting averages low, but he's crushing the hell to the baseball and you would think it's like great defense today. He's going to add value there. He's going to be up there in defensive run saved and it's going to contribute to his war, that sort of thing. Right, batting average is not the only thing. I'm not so old that I'm still. I know, I know, we've got average. We've got to get on you. I want to go back and forth all year. I've watched many times. And you know, he can get on base. I believe that. But again, batting average might be there, but he's crushing the baseball. The scene that he's crushing the baseball looks probably going to go on the good side here shortly and numbers will normalize. Whereas Kevin Newman, the batting average was high, but he's blooping here, blooping there. Things will normalize as they did. So that is good to see. Now, you bring up the young guys.

25:14I thought it was funny because Nate actually talked with Joey Bart today and we'll get to that. And I thought it was funny because Nate asked him a question that maybe the young guys are helping out, right? Joey Bart was something. So that's a great question. Let's hear what Nate had to ask Joey. Everyone, I'm here with Pirates Catcher, Joey Bart. How are you doing today, Joey? It's hot, man. It's very hot. We've been standing in the shade over there just watching the whole game. So I wanted to start this off with the whole ABS thing. As a catcher, so you didn't have it going through the minor leagues, is that correct? A little bit. Yeah, parts of it. So you're still kind of like learning the entire system. So I guess the big question is, have you had to go towards some of these younger guys, like Andy, or Rafael Flores, ask their perspective, how are you looking at attacking this whole ABS situation? I think it's something you just kind of pick up during the game. It's going to change a little bit, definitely. So I think it's really just we're up some experience, spring training is a great time to do that. Try to figure it out, have conversations about it, and then yeah, ask those guys if they have any input on it.

26:16You know, anything we can do to try to take advantage of it and prepare for it, I think that's smart. Yeah, and I wanted to ask you about all these other younger catchers that are in this whole catching group. Yeah, yourself, Henry Davis, Andy Rodriguez, what's it like looking all these younger guys coming up with you? There's a ton of talent, man. I mean, when I was young, it was like a lot of veteran catchers in camp. This camp's just full of talent. This guy's all got a lot of power. I mean, it's impressive. It really is. I think the games evolved, the position has evolved. This guy's got a lot of power. They got rockets for arms. It's not really like the old guy that can barely get it to second anymore. You know what I mean? It's the talent that's in camp and it's been impressive. Yeah, and speaking of the talent, like the pitching staff, you get to work with these guys. You've gotten to work like Paul Schien's coming up. He's already won a Sai Young Award. Braxton Pitch today, Bubba coming up as well, Barco as well. So what's it like working with all these young arms as their catcher? Yeah, man, they're talented for sure, but they're young. So there's a lot to learn.

27:16And that's our job as a catching unit to, you know, pair with the pitching unit and try to get these guys as comfortable and as ready as they can. And you know, it just takes time, really. You just got to get your feet wet and the big leagues get comfortable, get used to pitching in those situations that are uncomfortable, you know. You can't really prepare for that anywhere else. So just full support, you know, and these guys are fun to watch. And it'll be fun to see where they, you know, how they grow throughout the season. Yeah, definitely. And I guess final question to get you out of the heat a little bit. So, are there anything exciting coming up for Pittsburgh? Like you're excited to get back to the city, like anything you're looking forward to. Yeah, I think we got a good team, man. I'm excited to get this thing going, you know what I mean? Spring training's fun for a little while. And then it kind of gets long. So, you know, we'll be out of here before long and we'll be playing some meaningful games. Yeah, well, thank you very much, Joey. Best of luck, we appreciate you guys. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Shopify is the home of the number one checkout on the planet. And then not so secret, secret.

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30:20Thanks. So yeah, so that actually wraps up, I guess, our last interview on this week with Joey Bar. Good stuff from Joey and Braxton today. And I guess we'll move on slightly talk about the believers. I know there wasn't an either game too many interesting believers to talk about in order that they really do their job. But again, there was mostly guys that are very young. There were two. Let's just say, yeah, there were two today in the Braden in the game. Because Isaac Madison came in and pitched two scoreless in. Yep. And Brendan Bedouin came in and scored it. Those were the only guys that you would expect to see on the roster. So the other guys were guys that came over because of the split squad. And we just needed exactly. And it was early in the game, that sort of thing. But yeah, Madison came in and just like you asked him in the interview, why can't people hit your fastball? And then I was sitting right behind home plate and watching guys swing under his fastball. And I mean, he just attacks the zone, which is a thing we love, right? Oh, yeah.

31:20Isaac Madison doesn't go three and two on a lot of people. He gets out, man, he just gets out. And you love that on any pitcher in the team. You really love it with really rich, you know, don't waste time throwing balls, don't be too fine, don't try to be too picky, throw strikes. And for his, for some reason they can't touch it. But if they do, it's weak contact. And you know, we quickly get him out. Right. And like he's mentioned, he goes two meetings today. That was something nice to see. Two, two effective innings. And yeah, like Isaac Madison, he's just that guy that I think a lot of people, you know, do you trust him, do you not? Like he really came out of nowhere. He was pitching for the wild things. I mean, it's a great story. Story is not about the wild. But that makes you add to the skepticism. I'm like, okay, it's just like one of your fluke guy who has a fastball that people can't hit that you're not sure of, but he continues to do it. And he's continuing to keep proving himself and today he goes to winning. So it's becoming more encouraging to keep seeing guys that come in and beat wild. Like the wall could be, that's also a guy that you look like maybe he could be like the next to some level.

32:22Like, you know, I never really, a lot of fans like never heard of this guy. And now he's in the bullpen this year doing things. That's like, oh, wow. Yeah. It was another piece. Yeah, that, I mean, in the early part of the bed tenure, he wasn't very good at developing the bullpen. But since the chat, the Del Pozo days are gone. Right. But yeah, we've got arms now. We've got options. And look, this staff, we're not going to have a lot of seven and eight inning outings from at least three fists of the staff, right? So you're going to need the bullpen. You're going to need guys that can go multiple innings. Madsen, I mean, maybe when Madsen come up last year, I thought he was getting the Drew Maggie type story, right? Local kids. It was unbelievable. It wasn't like that. But you know, I mean, pitching an independent league ball, he's coming up, he's front pit. Oh, what a nice story. And then before long, he's pitching an eight inning, and he's the guy I want to see. Yeah. Right, it's not like, oh, no, you know, you're watching between my fingers type thing. It's like, no, bring in Madsen for crying out loud. Nobody can hit him.

33:23And it's a great story. And yeah, I think he's going to, I mean, I believe in him. I'm not, I'm not like, hey, bring him in the eighth. It's fine. If Santana's pitching two days in a row, bring him in the ninth. It's good. And I feel that way, you know, we have other guys too. I think Soto and Lawrence are going to be good. But yeah, Brandon Benoit is going to pitch for this team this year, you know, it's almost a certainty. You know, you've heard me mention it a couple times over the past two weeks. We used 29 pitchers last year, and I would assume that we're going to use about the same amount this year. Right. Yeah, for sure. So there's the bullpen. Let's go ahead, we do want to cut to a video as well. So Don Kelly spoke to us before the game, because he had a head out to Dunedin. So he did speak as well. We cut a tease it earlier on the, I could say, a pregame show. He talked about Bubba and stuff. And again, Bubba came out working on something. So let's hear what Don had to say earlier today. Don Kelly, what you just want to see from Bubba, I know it's been, you know, to kind of rough out in terms of the other command. But what you just want to see from him today,

34:24just in terms of kind of split in the sweatshirt. Yeah, I think the fastball command is one thing. The breaking ball has shown up really well. Continue to see that. And see Bubba, Bubba, have that edge out there and continue to compete like he does. You think it's better maybe that he kind of goes through some of this stuff in the spring training, just kind of figure it out. And just, you know, that way, once the regular season does start, you know, he's just himself and back to working. There's no doubt. Everything builds on each other, you know, when you have your first major league spring training game, there's that anticipation and those nerves. And as a young kid and then you get up to the big leagues and then to come in the camp and, you know, pitching for a spot and going through all those emotions, there's no doubt this will be good for him in the long run. And there's no doubt that he's going to figure it out and get that, get the fastball back in the zone. Is there a point where it does become concerned to you? Obviously it's spring, obviously it's early. It's better to have it now. But is there a point when it does start to worry you a little bit? I think at some point it might,

35:25but we're not, we're certainly not there. And especially with the way that Bubba works and his mindset, how he competes, not worried about it. What is Christmas ramen to you as a Benchco Chau as far as running this camp and maybe being a guy that you can really turn to on the dog out in person? Oh man, he's been great. Just who he is as a person and his baseball experience, his knowledge of the game, the way that he's gone about camp so far and running in it. How he cares about people. And, you know, it's been, you guys know I didn't really know him before we hired him as Benchcoach and couldn't be more happy with the decision we made and how he's gone about it. And, you know, feel that with the whole staff. It's been great, you know, Bowman and Chris have worked hand in hand and in running things and done a phenomenal job. You love knowing that some really big shoes to fill. Chris, I have it. He said one call was all it took for him though. After talking to that hour and a half about family, about baseball, everything was one call really all it took to solidify that choice for you too.

36:26Yeah, I mean, I felt, I felt really good about it. And then when Allison and Chris came in or the off season and Karen and I got to hang out with them, felt even better, you know, just getting to meet Allison and spend some time with them. It was, it's been phenomenal so far. Thought of you're very active in doing, like in field drills, watching you, with Joey Bartek first year taking feats and whatever. Like, do you like that? Is that a relaxing for you to do that? I do. I like to, you know, I just, I like to be out there. I like to be with the guys and helping anyway that I can. And I think that anywhere that I can jump in and pitch in and help, really enjoy it. I know there's a lot of other things that go on and as a manager that, you know, it takes time away from being able to do that, but when I can, I love to be out there. What's kind of been your impression of Don't Murphy the way that he's kind of incorporated himself into, you know, leaving the pitching group here so far? Oh man, can't say enough about Emmy either. Just the, yes, he's smart. He's confident in his content.

37:29He cares about people and all of that together. I think he's resonated with our pitching group and not just the players, with the staff, the scrubs that they have going on all the time and beating things up and the collaboration that happens in that room has been really great. And I think that, you know, when you put all of those aspects together, you get a really special person. We're about halfway through camp right now. So you've gotten to see, you know, all your big name guys that will be in the roster that you've got to see the minor that you're seeing. Can you just talk about what you're seeing from the minors and how strong you think your pipeline to the majors is now? Yeah, it's really strong. When, you know, talking about, obviously, Conor has done a great job. Garcia coming over from the Red Sox has been great. You know, when you talk about the guys in camp, the young guys in camp that have done a great job too with Gorson and Tomar Johnson and Semilo, Jeb Fletcher coming in from White Sox, then you look at the young kids that are, you know,

38:29Taylor Santos is a guy that stands out that has come over as a backup and has done really well that, you know, feel really good about the, where our minor league situation is right now. How much of a difference have you seen in Tomar in this camp? I think it's its third or fourth camp, but you've missed the first one pretty much the whole camp. Have you seen a guy who's grown a little bit from last year to this? Growing a lot, you know, just the, his maturity, the questions that he asks his work, the way he goes about it, continuing to mature, continuing to get better from a skill development standpoint out on the field and also being around the big, around big league camp and maturing, definitely see growth there with Tomar. How long does it to judge, you know, a guy when he's 21 years old playing in AA, where the guys, you know, conservatively older than him to judge his development there, you know, especially when he came out as a draft Yeah, really difficult. I mean, shoot 21 years old, I certainly was not in AA, you know,

39:29I don't think there are a lot of guys, there aren't many guys that are for him to have the season he had last year and continue to show that growth and development and maturity on and off the field, you know, just really proud of me. That's right, right? Thanks to you. Thank you. So that was Don Kelly today and Doug, like I said, to throw off the show, this is our last wrap up, it's our last day here. So I guess let me ask you because you've been here for the entire two weeks, you've seen it all of any last words. I mean, look, I just want to say thank you to all the North Shore 9, you know, people that have been following us and talking to us at the games, the shadow, I've met somebody new every day that I've been down here. You've all been great, you're following along and it just, it's just been fantastic. Thank you to, you know, the Pirate Staff for giving us the access. Everybody has just been so accommodating, so helpful, so friendly. Absolutely. And last year was my first spring and I was someone intimidated by the process and people weren't as friendly, you know,

40:30it wasn't like, it wasn't as, again, vibes were different, right? You didn't feel as comfortable approaching somebody, like now I really don't want to talk to you guys and everybody was like, you know, oh yeah, let me give you more time and, you know, I met Christopher Negro in today and his wife and family, I sat with them, the wife and family watching a game and they were just delightful and it's just been fun. Thank you to everybody that's made it. Thank you to all of you for following along and, you know, listen, we're not in great into anymore but we'll still be bringing you Pirate's content. We've got a lot to talk about, a lot to tell you about. I can't add any more of that, that was said perfectly. To tip off this NBA season on Fandoo, you can choose your own rewards, which means you can play your game any way you want. I get to choose my rewards. Yeah, great. Now, excuse me, well, lock in. All customers choose your own reward right now in the Fandoo app. 21 plus in present in select states. 18 plus in Kentucky, opt in required. Rewards are nonwithdrawable, restrictions apply including bonus and token expiration, big requirement and max wage or amount.

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