A's & Tigers Treehouse Happy Hour | Jacob Wilson, Mark Kotsay, David Forst & Jim Leyland join Towny!

Start of the show e e e e e be able to come out and see us today here at the Treehouse we got a guest list because of the commander it's second tonight you're always fired up when you bring on smok and Jim the new Hall of Famer Jim Leland well let's see so for Jim leelin um he went into the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer he went into the Pirates Hall of Fame with Barry Bonds this summer and I believe Detroit just retired is number 10 as well so it's been a big year for Jim uh smok and Jim Leland one of the greatest managers of all time World Series champion in 1997 with the Marlins three-time manager of the year 9092 and 20 2006 he got 93.8% of the vote in the Contemporary baseball era committee vote and went in this year and also was a part of a gold medal team in Los Angeles 200 17 in the World Baseball Classic you want to talk about a career managed 3,499 games won 1,769 lost 1,7 28 it's amazing when you look at A's Cast Guest list baseball and a little bit later today we will be talking to Mark Kat it's the mark Kat show and also the David 4 show so we got the GM and the manager together today both their shows which one's going first uh David Forest David Forest at five o'clock and then we'll have uh Mark Kat after that Jacob Wilson is going to join us here in the treehouse we just don't know what time it'll be sometime after after batting practice a lot to talk to we haven't talked to him since he's been called up have we no last time was when he was in Midland because he got called up and he got hurt yeah and I think I was on vacation no he got or was I on TV you think you're on TV because yeah you're on TV so out the he gets called up boom gets hurt then he goes back down and then we don't get guys when they're injured but uh Jacob Wilson will join us today but talking to Mark Kat it is special the relationships that happen in our business our business is just different because of the time you spin together we are together constantly and we we and you know sometimes and maybe I'm a little Hy because it's the end of the season right and I'm kind of I'm ready to start winding it down I get tired of talking about the players the players are paid handsomely they're we take care of their every wants and needs and oh by the way in my career players come and go they come and they go but the relationships that are built like with someone like Jim Leland and Mark Kat or myself and Mark Kat I've known Mark Kat a long long time heck we played against each other in college the amount of time we spend together the amount of time we all spend together working in this organization you know that that that that's what makes our sport truly different is the amount of time invested in each other and when you look at a relationship like Mark cat because think of how many players played for Jim lelan and what a guy like Mark Kat meant to him as Mark Kat was just a first round pick out of Cal State Fullerton he came up with the Marlins and next thing you know Jim Leland's teaching him how to bet the ponies we will have to get into that today that to this day markk Kat still likes betting the ponies and the reason why it's because of the Hall of Fame manager Jim Le Jim Leland taught him how to do that but that friendship lasts a long time and to watch now a guy that you mentored now manage in the big leagues it's the same thing with Bruce bochi and Mark Kat Bruce Boi had how many players play for him but obviously the relationship with Mark Kat is something special as Mark Kat was on his staff for the All-Star Game in Texas so I'm really looking forward to talking to Jim Leland uh about that I mean we could talk about the tigers tigers with a huge win parkco 2024 Detroit Tigers preview vs the A's Parker Meadows last night they were down it looked like San Diego who has the best record in baseball since the All-Star break uh it looked like the Tigers were in trouble down at Petco Park and then they hit a grand slam and end up winning it kind of stealing one on the way out there and something that a lot of people haven't talked about in rebuild mode because no doubt Detroit's in rebuild mode and crazy to think that this is their only time at the Coliseum like we haven't seen Detroit yet this year but Detroit is 71 and 70 you talk about a rebuild that's kind of going pretty quick TK scoel GNA be on the mound today he is the front runner right now if you're betting on American League Sai Young he is your front runner he is in line to be one of the few pitchers in the history of the game to win the Triple Crown that is wins wins still matter right yeah uh ER in strikeouts and he's going to be on the mound against Mitch Spence so uh Detroit a game over 500 they come to town and Jim Leland is still a consultant for the Detroit Tigers yeah usually when we talk to him he's always like scouting the Eerie team or you know the team in akan or sorry Toledo the lake eie team they got a team in Lake Eerie I believe they have a team in Toledo so he's always every time we talk to him he was always telling me how he's out on the when he texts back he's out on the road or whatever but he didn't say anything this time but I mean he has great stories about just coming to this this venue also so like there's a still angry about 12 and 13 against Jim Leeland you know I mean you think about that I mean what how things could be A's vs Tigers 2012 & 2013 different Our Lives could be completely different if the A's would have won either of those Series against Detroit may not be it may be you know a team can go on a run and a lot of things can happen after that you know 2012 this A's team had something it was something special what what if they get past Verlander in Detroit what about 2013 that team was stacked what if they get past Detroit what if they get past Detroit both times I mean a you know it didn't happen so we don't I mean obviously we don't know but what if they do get past those teams are they able to keep moving on can they go to a World Series what if they win a World Series H how different I I remember after 2012 it was it was so deflating 2012 losing to the Tigers after all that momentum it was just and then of course the Giants would go on and win the World Series to make it even worse but it was so deflating I will never forget walking my dog I live in an area called Willow Glenn down in San Jose and I remember getting coffee with my wife had the dog and Josh Donaldson called me and I remember standing where I was and the wife went on she was looking at Shops and stuff and talking to Josh Donson because he didn't play well against Detroit he didn't hit and he was upset and to think about all the passion and everything that we had in that Series this place was rocking obviously you know when you think about some of the great times in Coliseum history I think 2012 where all the Tigers players and we can ask Jim Leland about this where they all said this is the last Stadium they've ever been in it felt like a Raider game and when it all ended I remember that postgame show I remember hugging Ray FY and Ken and Vince and just being very emotional because you couldn't believe the roller coaster ride was over you couldn't believe that this ride the adrenaline rush the just the push for the playoffs to chase Texas down and how is this happening oh my God it's unbelievable you know back then I was still doing the Billy Bean show and and to think that it was all over it was done and I remember a few days later Josh Donaldson calling me and he was so bummed I think we all were right it was just it's one of those moments in A's history that we're NE you know for us fans that were around it we're never going to forget it it's our We Believe team when we talk about the We Believe Warriors in the run to take down the Mavericks who were the number one seed but this was the We Believe team what if that team seemed like a team of Destiny what if they would have got over the hump what if that team had won that series who knows and then what confidence does that bring the next year's team as you're as you're now introducing new players and you're introducing a much better team that was a really good team in 2013 that once again loses to Detroit who knows who knows what Bas I mean does the does the city does Ian it's it's tough to play the what F does the city change does there everybody get fired up about A's baseball I don't know it's Jim Leland and his Tigers it's his fault and we're going to bring him on to unfortunately rehash that no but a lot of respect for Jim Leland uh you know you think about one of the great managers and friend of this program the great Tony larusa are we calling Jim by the way yeah we're calling we still got a couple minutes okay um you know Tony larusa what Tony larusa the Hall of Famer and Ace Hall of Famer what Tony larusa me to Jim Leland's career you know Jim Leland is a is a very accomplished man and Mark Kat will tell you all the time we didn't get much into this but he's also really brilliant he's a very accomplished piano player he's a great singer there's like all these things about Jim Leeland no you just see the old grumpy baseball guy with the cigarette uh I guess CLE it's still wearing spikes and yet he's like this great piano player he's funny but he's a really good singer and now more importantly he's a Hall of Famer yeah it's about it's welld deserved three-time manager of the Year people forget that he was a manager of the Rockies because he didn't really do much there but you remember him with the Marlins winning the World Series there what he didn't I remember him with the Marlins I remember him with the Pirates I remember him with Detroit I do not want to remember him with the rocky yeah it's it's like it's like a footnote it's like one a guy plays on a team like Mike Piaza as a as a Marlin where are we with the Rockies like the Rockies are like so like every single time every single night when I'm watching Quick Pitch and the Rockies come up and if they're not playing of someone significant it's the Rockies they're just like the Marlins they' except for the Marlins won two World Series they've either one of them have never won their division which is still remarkable that you've been around since the mid 90s and you've never won your division still it's the Rockies it's the rocky there there's like nothing about them by the way what are you wearing what do we got it's the uh it's for La it's for Latin um I have I have so we for Latin Hispanic heritage night presented by Corona so we turned it into a soccer jersey it's a Hispanic foot football jersey I took many years of Spanish football jersey so that's that's a giveaway today for the game so I wanted to wear it they my other thing I had on was the no one cares no one knows them Milwaukee MERS here what do you mean no one knows the merer everybody knows the merer well I'm just okay the merer one of the he made Milwaukee famous is he showing up today the mer he's supposed to be here yeah so I I gotta tell you one of our great fans tremendous artist and wrestling champion uh yesterday Vince is like hey the Mer's here and I yeah I know he's the big dude standing behind home pler in BP he's like yeah you can't miss the Milwaukee merer no he's a barista how many how many championships did the mher win I don't know for certain I we'll have to we'll have to get I never asked them I mean do are we are like how many officially did Ric Flair end up winning 16 time world champion don't you forget it I mean Tom Brady everybody talks about Tom Brady what about what about the greatness of Ric Flair well the big thing not to get into it but the big thing is uh John Cena is retiring and they're both 16-time Champions so one Cena wins how is John Cena 16-time champion he's done it only one company Flair's done it multiple companies oh we got our happy hour list we got the old happy hour list Izzy came by it's happy hour time okay I'm calling Jim Leland D Chris car Chris Chris krey you gonna wave high wait where is he wave high that's Chris Carrey you might see him a little bit later today on NBC Sports California I think we might have them we'll see Jim is are are you there hello Jim welcome back to a cast Jim Leyland (Hall of Fame Manager) live how are you hey how you guys doing well I gotta tell you uh we recently just did our Hall of Fame induction ceremony here your good friend Tony larusa was a part of it as he brought Jose cono out to get his green jacket and I got to talk to him about you going in obviously so thrilled just what is it like now that you've had that time you've done the speech you've been to Cooper Town what does it truly mean to be a Baseball Hall of Famer well you got to pitch yourself once in a while to to really believe it but it's been a wonderful ride this summer it's been a hectic ride for me and my family but a nice ride so uh you know very pleased it's a special place and very difficult place to get to and to think that I'm got there is quite an honor you know we we talked earlier to a guy that loves you to death every single week week we have the mark Kat show and this week's show uh we let off talking about you letting Mark know that we're going to have you on the program today and you know th this this business is truly about relationships and all the different places that you've been in professional baseball just not the big league level but the minor league level what was it like when you had everybody reaching out to you I'm sure there's people from way way back in your history who reached out what was that like so many people reconnect knowing that you were going to the Hall of Fame and they wanted to they wanted to pay their respects that's really one thing was really nice about it because I probably got more text from the guys that played for me in the minors than I did for guys that played for me in the majors so that was quite a thrill to me and they all tell me what they're doing now and their families and some of them are retired already and you know what their kids are doing so it was a you know we it brought back a lot of wonderful memories for me those guys are guys that you know didn't make it to the big leagues like I did as a player and I knew what they were going through so it was great to reconnect with a bunch of those guys yeah to think of how many young men that you you touch their lives do you ever get a chance to reflect on that so many different players just just all the different people that that you help them and probably still to this day they think about things that you taught them well I you know it makes me feel good obviously because you hope that you made an impact on their life whether they ended up playing in the big legs or not is irrelevant really you know so you hope that you made a positive influence on their life you hope that you made them a better person when they left baseball and to go on with their families and you know create their own career or their own business whatever they did so it's it's very rewarding to think that you touched a lot of people's life but you know all those guys touched my life too and that was very important for me as well so uh you know it was it was great relationships as you said it's about relationships over the years and you know guys that you men as young players and guys that grew up into you know young men and went on with their lives and whatever they decided to do so uh you know very impactful for me and uh very special well I gotta tell you mark Kat has told us the story multiple times and he retold it earlier today about here he is Cal State Fullerton he's the number one he's a first round pick by you guys with the Marlins you bring him up and he always jokes that he learned how to bet the ponies and he learned horse racing through you down there in South Florida what was it like having a young Mark Mark Kat come up you'd win a World Series but really it was 98 when he would really be a rookie and you'd play a big part in the start of his career well it was great and it was just a it was just another way to relax players young players you know give them something else and uh not put so much pressure on themselves Mark and I had a great relationship he was always one of my favorites to be honest with you he was golden spikes winner I believe yeah uh in California senior year so uh you know I i' had heard a lot about him and and of course he ended up being a very good player and played the major leagues for a long time and and is now a very good manager and it looks like they're starting to turn things around out there so I couldn't be happier for him he interviewed for the tiger job when uh AJ ended up getting the job but uh I think Mark was a very close second yeah he told us you drove him to the interview that's correct that's correct so how does that make you feel that somebody that you help mold is now doing so well here with the A's a guy like Mark Kat where I'm sure there's a lot of things that he's taken from you over the years well you know everybody has to be themselves you know I I was never a guy that you know when they used to ask me sometimes well who's this young player remind you I I always like every player to have his own identity and I like every manager to have his own identity you know marks his own man and uh you know he's going to make good decisions based on a long career as a player based on the managers that he played for he's going to think about things he's going to calculate and you know at the end of the day all managers are the same we make decisions that we think give our team the best chance to win the game you know we think about Coliseum memories and two memories that we were all a part of way better for you in the end than it was for us but I think about the magical Run for the A's in 2012 and then to finish that up with the way the A's played in in 2013 both would end in defeats to year Detroit Tiger teams and Justin berlander on the mound truly one of the great pitchers of his time when when you remember how packed H the packed house was here how loud it was here at the Coliseum can can you just give us some of your memories what it was like in 2013 and 2012 in the playoffs yeah you know it was obviously very loud and could be very distracting if you let it be because you know and I don't mean critically but you know the playoff the attendance at the playoff was a lot different than what we were used to playing through during the regular season so it was a whole new baseball World when you went to the Coliseum for the playoffs than it was during the regular season and it was something you had to contend with you know there was the the crowd was uh you know extremely noisy Extremely Loud I think they were playing trumpets and horns you know it was wild but fortunately uh you know uh Verlander came through and pitched two of the best games I've ever seen him pitch against those Oakland teams and I know I think we beat Sunny gray the one time with Cabo hit a two-run homer that's all we got so they were absolutely great games and it was kind of ironic because I was managing against a guy that I had as a player in the instruction League Bob Melvin uh who played for the Tigers and caught for the in the tiger organization so you know that was a little bit different to Bob's a great friend of mine and uh you know one of us was going to be happy and one of us wasn't going to be but you know that's the way it goes and we won two big games there very for forunate but Verlander set the pace for both those games there's no doubt about it you know when we look at Verlander's career stats against the A's we just always say we wish he would have been drafted by somebody in the National League and life could have been different for our organization if you could just talk a little more about that about Justin Verlander in those games because these were red hot A's teams these were red hot teams that had a lot of confidence feeling that they could beat your tiger teams in the postseason and in the end truly a few future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander was the difference game five two straight years yeah there's no question about that he was locked in he was zeroed in the whole time uh you know he's a pretty good big game pitcher obviously he's pitched a long time and certainly a first ballot Hall of Famer so you know it wasn't an easy task for those Oakland hitters even though they were hot as you said and playing good but you know the old saying good pitching normally beats good hitting and you know I think Verlander felt comfortable there because it sounds crazy but I think he really appreciated the foul territory where you know hitters could pop up and you know a Fielder could get to it and make a catch and and and not give the guy an extra couple swings because of that ballpark so I think he really enjoyed pitching there you know we know you're still around the Tigers organization and you know with the win yesterday in San Diego a late Grand Slam propelled them over the Padres and you're looking at 71 and 70 you know we heard so much about tigers in the rebuild but you know 71 and 70 during a re you know on the way up on a rebuild is not a bad record so just tell us what you've seen so far this season with AJ Hench and the Detroit Tigers well I think AJ's done a miraculous job you know he's been using openers quite a bit for the last month or so because some of our pitching got hurt just an absolute fantastic job he's been a miracle worker with that staff uh from that standpoint I think he might be the best I've ever seen using pinch hitters uh so that's that part of it and then we really have some good young players and uh they're good competitive young players they're getting better every day uh you know we're still a we're still a long shot maybe to get in but I think we actually have a chance yeah you know without putting any pressure on anybody I think the I think AJ's handling it right they're not really talking about postseason they just AJ's got them where they they believe they go in uh in every day and and and try to win that game and if they don't they turn the page and move on so I think he's created a great atmosphere and a and a great mental tempo for him and uh they're dangerous I'll tell you they're dangerous they're really good club and and of course you're going to see maybe the best pitcher right now in the American League tonight in the scbl so uh this is a very upand cominging team and whether they get there this year or not I don't know but uh they're going to be tough to contend with in the very near future well before we let you go Mark Kat was telling us about what a great piano player you are and and what a great singer you are like when people think about Jim Leland and they think about your battles with the media and they think about you know the the tough calls and battling with umpires people never bring up that you're a great Entertainer when did that come about and how often do you still do it well I'm not a good piano player but I used to sing a lot I used to sing in the choir I used to sing weddings for people and that carried on with me uh throughout my career I love the old music I love the old uh classic rock and roll type stuff or the soft rock like the liono Richies and those kind of people so that was just playing around you know getting the guys entertain him once in a while get have have let them have a good laugh on me we had a lot of fun with it over the years but uh I'm not a good piano player I was a former trumpet player not a piano player well I I gotta tell you you know because like you said with Bob Melvin obviously the great relationship that you have with Tony larusa and you you you've you've been around around this Coliseum for a long time but I can't thank you enough for for all the times you've come on our show we were so happy for you to get the nod to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame you're one of the great leaders one of the great leaders of men of all time in our game your speech was fabulous thank you so much for your time and uh good luck to the Tigers the wrestle away and uh we'll talk to you later on but but first and foremost congratulations on getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame well I I appreciate it it's always nice to be with you guys thank for having me out take care Jim okay the great Jim Leland now Baseball Hall of Famer baseball Legend Managers to make the Hall of Fame how many managers are in the Baseball Hall of Fame how many how many uh Connie Mack well you said three go in with larusa Tori and um uh Bobby Cox yeah Leland who are five now 24 we're at 24 and we got go I'll say it we got one man maning in American League West how do you know that you don't think Bo is going in he's an under 500 manager he's one three World Series he's under five four he's won four World Series oh yes that's he's under 500 I know uh well actually another guy will probably be not probably we'll be going in is uh Dusty Baker 2,000 wins won the World Series I don't know how you don't put Dusty in he has top 10 all time about all the losses all the big losses you guys in your future Hall of Famers your you don't want him in because he took the ball from Russell Ortiz game six in Anaheim remember that no and all the Angels were like what that's my wife that's not getting married to me my wife as a teenager that was her chowning achievement the Angels once well like haven't been in the playoffs since 2015 but they won the World Series did that really happen what the Angels won the World Series does anybody even remember it I mean everyone so long ago what everyone remembers from year was that the hadberg walk-off the 20- game winning streak all that's annoying I mean all right so you got Dusty you got Boi I don't know Dave Roberts gets another one or two because he's gonna have a lot of vict lot of Wis yeah uh what about Alex cor now the cheating scandal yeah that's think about that how about boony huh how about your guy my Yankee hack over here how's your boy boony [Laughter] doing uh Melvin's got to get a World Series yes Melvin's Melvin going I'm trying to Melvin's got to get a World Series is there anyone currently going and then and then now we're just completely diminishing the role of the managers so yeah you know managers going into the Hall of Fame may start to be like pitchers going into the Hall of Fame oh you're gonna like this I asked The number of pitchers used in baseball & how pitchers need to be stars again David Forest about it we are currently at what number of pitchers use this season uh updated since yesterday 822 now 822 how in the heck can you as a front office and I've been trying to condition our callers on the clubhouse show that we need to stop stop with the he's an ace or he's a middle of the rotation guy or he's a 4 five guy what are you talking what are you talking about you're gonna use 14 guys this year like you have to like get it out of your mind of a fiveman rotation you got to think of yourself as like hey do we got like 13 guys that can start this year how many guy like so I I asked David Forest I'm not going to tell you what he said but I'm gonna ask David Forest like how do you plan on a road to how do you plan on pitching staff you've got no idea week one who's gonna be here in July who's gonna be here in August who's gonna be here in September you got know he brings up beo by the way and it's a great example right not bedo B do I got Amelia shimel voice of the stadium told me B do beo and now she's get she now she's throwing an accent in there now she's flip-flopping beo well it's not French beo yeah so that's what I'm going with look at you guys all festive can they see you look how festive you guys are I like it how are we doing everybody good uh we're 12 starters by the way the a the a have used 12 we've used 12 starters who I mean what would you have said in spring training could you name me hey these are the 12 guys are gonna start for us what do you think uh Dave Roberts said when he goes oh you know by the way we have 17 different starting pitchers already this year 17 the angels have 18 this will be the one thing that football happened last night everybody was watching and just to kind of give you an idea of the problem is after the game Kermit the Frog's up there talking oh wow Chiefs hate already oh Taylor Swift's in the building T Sizzle Travis Kelce not a fan of his mustache and at the end of the game who's got the football Lamar Jackson the quarterback into of the game he's throwing it catch boom on the line no touchdown John Harbaugh was going for two but the my point is who had the ball Lar the quarterback the quarterback do you know who he is it's two-time MVP have you been watching him for years I have since Louisville is he a star player yes who's who's got the ball at the end of the game for us random unknown reliever for the Detroit Tigers will be and for them random unknown reliever for the no offense but when Tyler Ferguson takes the mound a guy who's a career minor leager and he comes in the eight let's say the A's have the let's have the we'll use us an example let's say a have the lead in the eighth inning Tyler Ferguson comes in he's a career minor league pitcher is going to be in the eighth inning setting up for Mason Miller how many people in the Detroit Michigan area the Great Lakes area know who the heck Tyler Ferguson is I'm gonna go with none but yet Thursday Night Football the guy with the balls Lamar Jackson that is the point I've been saying this the guy with the ball needs to be something and we've diminished it so much that we have 822 you said 822 different pitchers this year there's not 822 men qualified to pitch a Major League Baseball there's just not Scott Emerson has admitted that the pitching coach of the ace there's not 822 and and David Forest goingon to talk about they've depleted all the pitching like they've deplete like we're lucky Midland the Midland Rockhounds are going to the postseason they are lucky they're going to be able to have a staff to pitch in that postseason they've been able to put together a staff and you have this Mone you got the hey those people in doublea they're paying money yeah right we're talking about people paying money here in the big league level well those fans are paying money and they're going to the games and we're like scraping together pitching staff for our doublea team just to play in the postseason well what the hell is going on around here I love that drop that quote it's uh who was that is that Steve or uh this Vince Lombardi what's what was W what the hell is going on around here doesn't W have a good one too though Sam we Sam we had a lot of great ones because he was a nut job Hank stram had some great ones the old Kansas City Chiefs coach but the famous one he's in a visor I believe it's at the Rose B what the hell is going on around here that's Vince Vincent Lombardi they the trophy when you win the Super Bowl is named after I love when they you might have heard of them Green Bay Packers not to talk too much football but when they showed uh they were showing the images around Kansas City and at Arrowhead and I saw the Lenny Dawson I'm like I was I think of was a fresco photo when he's smoking a cigarette halftime at the Super Bowl with a Fresca and a folding out chair that's all I can think boy things have changed I'll tell you what if you ever do get a chance to go to a Kansas City Chiefs game I worked a couple there uh College likee atmosphere it's incredible when the Raider buses pull in everybody signals that you're number one and they're you know throwing stuff at the bus it's great but see that's why you called him Kermit the Frog when you're when you're on the field it's incredible arrowhead's old school it's old and it's just like the way the way it's designed it's super loud in there and uh everywhere everybody wears red it kind of it's like a college atmosphere like if you went to a game in Nebraska and everybody wears red at Nebraska um pretty cool but that's like the whole point that I get to it's like at the end of the game Steph Curry's got the ball he's a star we don't have like unknown random dude with the ball at the end of the game looking to get Klay Thompson the ball the guy who handles the ball in sports should be I'm not saying he has to be the best player but he's going to be one of your best players right the point guard may not be your best player but he's going to be somebody that matters our sport has dimin diminished that and on this date check to see the uh on this date Dodgers Mets Dodgers Stadium on this date down at Dodgers Stadium it had to be in the 80s you had Dwight Gooden up against Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Mania 51,000 people at Dodgers Stadium Mets Dodgers Fernando went like 11 Gooden went nine but this is I mean that's what people came to see people people should be sitting here today going hey Terk sco's on the mount I got to go see that fathers and mothers should be bringing Sons and Daughters I mean this guy it this guy could win the Triple Crown this guy is Hell on Wheels out on the mound but this is modern day baseball I'm hoping he goes six maybe olden days and people go the game's different the game's only different because you made it different like that's what kill me as we go oh the game's different like I heard Steve Phillips the other day with our guy mad dog going oh the game's different the game's only different because you made it different right like how many times now we're now hearing this all the time well it's deep in the season got to monitor those Innings well wait wait wait a minute at the beginning of the Season you say it's the beginning of the season and I gotta worry about a guy ear it's early no but for pitches were worried about pitchers at the beginning of the year yeah now we're worried about the end of the year then during the middle of the season season they're saying what w they're starting to rack up Innings well say because right now they're like well you know he's he's pitched a lot of innings like when can we pitch these guys the beginning of the season it's like well he's not ramped up you know you know limited innings in Spring trading like that's the whole Blake Snell thing he do really ramp up yeah when can we pitch these so when you think about that think think about back in the day 51,000 Dwight Gooden Fernando Valenzuela and for some of you go Fernando was he that good yes Fernando Mania back in the day Fernando was Hell on Wheels early 80s he was awesome he was incred I mean he was incredible I mean he lasted a long time he pitched was like 46 and D Gooden was also really good Dwight Gooden back in his day we didn't talk about performance enhancing drugs we they were doing different types of drugs they weren't performance enhancing they were career killing yes that's a good way to put it was the 80s it was a as A-Rod would say it was a very Loosey Goosey era in the80s was I don't even that was a that was that was the kind of deal where the authorities were getting involved it was a it was a it was the 80s were I was a I was a pre-teen into a teenager in the 80s so that wasn't really my era I'm more a 90s guy but the 80s was cocaine was flooding into our country right yeah and major league baseball players had money they go out at night they were in the party scene Club are still going on you're you're in New York City in the 80s they didn't have apps swipe right swipe left whatever you kids did wow you're with dating apps now wow they didn't have that back in those days they didn't have Uber you yeah there was no Uber they went out to the clubs so I mean Dwight goodon doesn't get involved in all that I mean could have been maybe a Hall of Fame pitcher truly one of the greats all time I did a deep dive but the point is on his numbers they're incredible look at Dwight Gooden for Valenzuela when they pitched on this day what year was it they just asked who we looking for I'll do it they're back here drinking that's what they're doing they're back here drinking they're back here drinking yeah he's back here drinking yeah there he is there's my Yan I we can't see you you can't reach for Here We Go speaking of drinking anybody want to up for happy hour that's what we got here in the treehouse Freedom lemonade September 6th 1985 1985 51,000 Dodgers Stadium they didn't have free Freedom lemonade for $14 then in 1985 no I can tell you that uh Blue Moon draft and also hop Valley Citrus right here Citrus mistress right here you yep here you go here you go Fernando won 11 Innings give up no runs struck out five 11 Innings Fernando went what would happen if a guy went 11 Innings today well well you got to save him for the postseason why why do I have to save a guy for the postseason you don't let him pitch in the postseason either you pull him early uh doc Gooden was uh he was only 20 and he went nine innings and struck out 10 am I right on that yes wait a minute aren I it we know now managers have a quick hook with starters in the postseason so why are we saving them for the postseason it's a great question when's the last time we saw a hi Mustang when's the last time we saw a starter go seven Innings or more in the postseason we had I think we had a couple last year yeah I mean if you look at the if you when was the last time we saw a guy go a complete game oh boy uh Roy Roy no hitter what are we saving starters for in the postseason I don't know what they're talking about anymore what's the set I I I gave it before and I forget it like the Dodgers have gone like 15 straight postseason games without their pitcher going into or getting through five innings yeah it's incredible the old quick hook so yeah by the way 51868 at at Dodger Stadium yeah it's awesome right can we get that back because you know yesterday into the game not unknown quarterback not unknown random dude handling the ball you're telling me Chad Henny didn't come in there Lamar Jackson had the ball stars have the ball at the end of the game who's got the ball star LeBron's going to have it step de's going to have it somebody's going to have it who's of it's not random guy off the bench hey random guy take your sweats off you're not going to come in and play at the end of the game the only time that Happ that's not how other sports work the only time that happens is a March Madness when you don't know who the guy is correct but you don't care that yeah yeah um a note in baseball I'm not shocked by this but I am shocked by this Jerry depoto who we were just talking about I talked to our guy Ryan divish I went down talk to him a little bit Ryan divish who you've heard and seen on this show great job covering the Mariners Seattle Times one of our favorite beat writers funny guy SC Guy funny guy was he what did he say other day about um uh um Kellick he could be like a bouncer you guys talk about him being a bouncer that was so good he's not trying to be funny but he's funny yeah you know like you have that friend who's super funny but he's not trying to be funny that's Ryan div he started the show by at the interview by saying I Hate Everything I hate Christmas just don't like anything he's a funny guy uh and we talked to about Jerry depoto and he's like Jerry depoto is not GNA be gone I'm like really how is Jerry depoto keeping his job he's the guy who's the president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners he uh just fired his manager and yes he uh he's keeping his job now the Houston Astros are keeping my Mariner hot take still alive because if you're not following it folks The Big Red Machine just swept the Houston Astros and the Houston Astros are like not playing well right now so all of a sudden when I look at the standings I go damn so there's no I I think Seattle has no chance at the wild card but they're not that far back Kansas City's been struggling I know they won the other day but they've been struggling they're not even listing Seattle oh yeah they are they're five games back that that ain't what are they in division four and a half but in division with Houston they're four and a half and Houston struggling verland is a pitch well for them this is this isn't Verlander from 2012 anymore this is old man Verlander now and you know what and I know we're gonna talk like I don't think I don't know if you want to talk about it but we have some matchups here people want to play the matchups because especially in the central we have some matchups and in the matchups the twins in the Royals going after it right now the twins in the Royals Twins now have a half game lead oh the Royals for the last wild card but here's the deal these things only matter if you sweep the team you're playing it's better like what we just had for Astros and Seattle let it if you can have another team sweep the team you're playing right yeah right and you can because what happens is when you play these head-to-head matchups a lot of times you like when the A's had to sweep going back to 2012 the A's had to sweep the Rangers four straight yeah which is so rare it happened it was magical right it's m usually when you play three games somebody takes two out of three and there's hard that's not that much movement it's easier it's easier when you're playing against somebody else and the team you're chasing is playing against somebody else because remember it was also the Rangers tanking all those games against other teams that led to being four uh forb back and the A's sweeping them on that day so we got some good matchups I mean Twins and Royals but if if if you take two out of three there's not a lot there's not a whole lot of movement there the Royals have been I mean after the after being what if they if they would have swept Cleveland they would have been in first place they went on like a long seven game losing streak and then you know Seth Lugo had be the stopper for him that's what they paid him for and now they're now tring the Twins and the twins weren't playing well for a while either they they're the like they're the remember earli in the year they were the streakiest team in baseball they were winning a bunch and they were losing a bunch and then they finally took off and then you know Korea got kare's hurt uh Roy Lewis is back but he's not homering as much he's human he's not homering all the time uh I don't I don't know I still think I still like Kansas City to to come out of there and for one of the wild cards well they have them they're all gonna be in Kansas City Anda yeah yeah the next the next closest teams are five back oh it's right Boston fell apart that's right so Jerry depoto got canned by the Angels then got hired I want to say 2015 I think that's right is it 15 or 14 tooto 15 running the Mariners I think it's 2015 here we are in 2024 he was GM think I promoted to ba president of baseball operations if the Mariners don't make the playoffs he's been to the playoffs one time running that franchise once one time no I get it everyone's get well he's said winning seasons that's great but they they didn't make the postseason one time should he or does this go to what I talk about hedge fund baseball yes he's won some they're making money the organization is always going up in value owners are fine with that hedge fund baseball if you're not playing hedge fund baseball you're like this dude's been running this franchise for how many years he's made the playoffs one time and remember they had a 10 game lead they had a double D it's not like he's played The Little Engine That Could they had a 10 game they squandered a 10 game lead and it was all quickly because Houston got so hot and then they don't have any offense and I know they scored some runs the last two games of the series here but their offense is they're strikeout prone they have a low they have a low batting average and depoto hasn't been able to develop any position players they developed a lot of good starting pitching which is great but they have no I mean where's the position players that coming Cal Ry and Julio Rodriguez is really the only guys they have that they developed the rest of the guys are journeyman when's Jacob Wilson coming uh I'm I'm I'm I keep checking for Tex I haven't got anything yet okay um Jacob Wilson is going to be here moments let's do a quick little break just just coming up the news about the A's here in the second half and also from the allar break and Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker I mean just it's amazing these numbers these numbers are amazing not as amazing as The Treehouse do we have Bingo going yet it is what you know I don't speak Spanish it's Mexican Bingo can you kind can you can you what she what Uno can you here come on Isabella come here come put the headset on tell everybody what's going on put the headset on here you go here you go here you go this is one of the great employees for the Athletics you see her on the field telling everybody what to do you sing The Anthem you throw out the first pitch you go here you go there players get your big butts off the field you you control everything that happens in the game I do and I love it I love every part of it it's super fun all the prompts that you see on the video board got a great team doing all that good stuff it's awesome you're welcome that I carried you and your Hall of Fame ceremony that day you are welcome literally couldn't have done it without you T you're welcome that I stepped up cuz I mean they needed to get out of the pen you want out nobody out of the pen it was hot I was in a suit and I still perform you did I want that to be that might be my that might be one of the last times I've ever been nervous because I haven't been nervous in a long time well when you do TV all the time and radio all the time you just kind of you need to get nervous I I told my kids that if you're nervous it means something I was nervous as hell because you got to read yeah it's not like into that you got to read not mess it up it's a lot of eyes on you too big old crowd for a Hall of Fame ceremony and it's on TV it's it's a big deal you really big deal the bigger the spotlight I'm all in okay okay okay all right too far what do we got all right so today in the treehouse we're playing leria but this is like A's themed leria this is what's a little bit different right so we have some new spots um that include nachos and a helmet and a Siri Ruiz and spk at the Ballpark those are like a themed right and then Mexican Bingo kind of like regular Bingo you're going across full thing you're welcome um and yeah so if you oh by the way on top of that we play with beans so like raw uncooked beans okay and you that's how you mark your spots as opposed to like you know using markers or how we chips or whatever so that's kind of like the difference Mexican be Bingo is pronounced again loia there you go it's happening right now at the Treehouse coming up next Jacob Wilson will join us in the treehouse right here on A's Castle L calling all trading card collectors mark your calendars for Saturday September 14th because Topps hobby rip night is back and bigger than ever head to your local hobby shop to open packs trade cards and connect to fellow collectors over 500 shops participating in some surprise appearances from athletes and celebrities this is a night that you don't want to miss join the fun find your nearest shop at topps.com rpn night that's topps.com rpn night and be a part of the excitement on September 14th this is Commander Cody and fall is upon us and Link Soul has drop their new Fall Line new pants fit for a more custom experience with elevated layers and performance polos to help transition from season to season no matter if you're wearing the m the golf course out to dinner or just hanging out with friends some effortless looks to help you find the right look and feel for any occasion go to their website link soul.com that's link soul.com and find out how you can unlock 20% off your next order remember in the big leagues to play good you got to look good where does one Community end and the next begin across the railroad tracks on the other side of the river is it between the east side and the west side at cica bank we believe it's all one community and we're all part of it that's why cerica has invested over $20 million for affordable housing Financial education and Workforce Development in lower income communities because when we raise expectations for everyone we all rise member FDIC equal opportunity lender hi fans this season Kingsford Capital Management is the official hedge fund sponsor of the Oakland aids at Kingsford down to business is their way of seeing the world investing has its pitfalls treacherous chasms of half truth and disp be kingsford's mission is to create opportunity through application of proven Innovation and entrepreneurial focus with trust tenacity loyalty and growth establishing a strong reputation as a proven intendent and validated Bedrock of American Finance Kingsford Capital down to business if you haven't been to the chicken pie shop in Walnut Creek what are you waiting for you're going to love the new menu and it's a great place to watch all the penet race action and the upcoming NFL and college football seasons come taste the world famous chicken pie that has been served in Southern California for 86 years spacious indoor and outdoor dining perfect for your next corporate party or birthday celebration don't forget free parking for more information go to Chicken pyop wc.com that's chicken pyop wc.com hey Oakland A fans step up to the plate with Xfinity Internet get the fastest speeds and lowl lag streaming for an incredible viewing experience that knocks it out of the park and you'll have a consistent connection with reduced buffering in and freezing so you can stay in all the action inning after inning when it's game time make sure to catch it all with internet that's powerful and reliable stream Sports from the best seat in the house with xinity because it's only live once actual speeds vary not guaranteed many factors affect speed for factors affecting speed visit exfinity.com Network management this is the place where you can dance like nobody's watching win like nobody's business and get away like you mean so what are you waiting for come join the party take that evening out and make it at night you'll never forget this kind of action can't be [Music] beat with more Sunshine returning it's time to get outside and make the most of what cabar Hills Golf Club has to offer like 27 Championship caliber holes tucked in the beautiful Hills of San Jose and take advantage of their amazing Bay Area views for your next special event it's all for you at cinear Hills Golf Club an award-winning venue designed to peacefully take you away from the bustle of Silicon Valley go to cinear hills.com that's cinear hills.com being a Chevron car these days has been quite the adventure Miami to Seattle ocean to Ocean I've stopped at so many states and collected so many bumper stickers sometimes I feel like a moving passport book it's just so so great what I can do with Chevron with Techron cuz it gives me unbeatable mileage and keeps my engine clean plus there are so many Chevrons along the way now the only thing I'm worried about is where to go next and where to put all my new bumper stickers Chevron with Chron fueled by possibility if you're looking for a new mattress Nest betting has you covered sleep on the same mattress Hall of Famer Ricky Henderson sleeps on Nest betting is the number one brand of online mattresses in the bay area's favorite mattress store take home the easy breather pillow the New York Times is it their number one pick you can navigate their easy News website Nest betting.com that's Nest betting.com green and gold fans use the coupon code Oakland and you get 10% off your entire order Nest beding love where you sleep and the underdog Oakland Athletics win their first championship since they were in Philadelphia in 1930 hi I'm Raley fingers Hall of Famer three-time World Series champion with the Oakland A's and World Series MVP winning takes teamwork skill and heart so when you need an ace for a personal injury lawyer that will win you the game go with the winning team call vardi zata at 833 VZ for me or go to VZ lawfirm.com Berardi zata the official injury law firm of the Oakland A's like sports business is about winning Championship decisions are business decisions based on what it takes to help your company win and that's why there's ubo Business Services specializing in helping you win every day by streamlining workflows managing documents and providing the best-in-class office technology make your Championship decision with ubo Business Services visit them at uo.com that's ubbe eo.com unlock offers and receive exclusive in-game features by downloading the MLB Ballpark app for iPhone and Android today plus get the latest information on game times schedules and more aast live continues from Ricky Henderson field here's Chris Townsen what was the year we were in San Diego at the winter meetings heckling AJ Hench that was 19 that was 2019 that was pre pandemic no no no sorry yeah it was after no it was after because uh the cheating scandal came out during 2020 I thought because remember Dusty took over so it was after that so we we didn't know about the cheating scandal so there was no when so it would have been 22 Yeah because he would have been with Detroit then yeah yeah so I think it was when he was with Detroit so we're in downtown San Diego in the gas lamp and we're walking behind AJ Hench now manager of the Tigers at this point and we bang trash cans as we're walking behind him he didn't get the joke yeah he didn't then I think we end up texting melbour about it we T Robert melbour we texted about it he thought it was funny I thought it was funny and then if he would have been mad I would have said too soon I said well if you're mad about that do you remember You' be striking your ass out in 1995 and I beat Stanford when they were number two in the country you remember that J hunch think he remembers that no no you don't think he remembers that I struck him out the Bas is loaded too blew it right by him yeah I don't think he probably remembers that or cares uh but yeah I Gotta Give a lot of credit to AJ Hench I can't believe I'm doing this even though he kind of fessed up to the cheating scandal but it was out of his hands which is garbage um you have to give them a lot of credit tigers are in rebuild and they're 71 and 70 well this is the year they were supposed to take that leap that step forward with this is still the building process with Tolson and rley green Parker Meadows the pitching staff was scooo and mice who's coming was coming back coming back from Tommy John the guys they had they were not a complete 26-man roster or 40 man roster no but they were they were expected there was expectations to get better they're only 500 this is impressive no because they were bad the start the year yeah they were not good this is they're 500 right now this is impressive it really is like it kind of shows like they don't have a monster payroll they don't have really any payroll oh yeah carer's gone now yeah they don't have a payroll they finally got rid of his old you know what and it just goes to show how fast you can turn things around in baseball yeah they've and their GM's uh Scott Harris the former Giants GM under farhart it be yeah I remember when he did the uh press conference and everybody's kind of like who is this guy he was in San Francisco for a year and he talked about changing a lot of different things I just got a text from a buddy of mine who says teams around the league talk about changing things around our guy Bob Nightingale is reporting that Scouts by the Cubs and Scouts for the Red Sox have just been dismissed that's uh as of today Cubs have just uh had Cubs have dismissed four Scouts and the Red Sox have dismissed three veteran Scouts I believe the White Sox just recently got rid of some guys too yeah so in a time when the G the game continues to evolve the game continues to change we had no idea how long how long was it going to be for them to actually be competitive the Detroit Tigers are competitive and they're just a game but one of the reasons why I want to bring that up is when you look at the a since the allstar break they're 24 and 19 but even a longer span the A's are 31 and 24 since July 1 that is a I mean that's a long sample size that's the eighth best record in Major League Baseball but that 31 and 24 record since July 1 that's the third best record in the American League and the two teams ahead of them we know the Houston Astros were definitely hot but the other team is the Detroit Tigers Detroit and Houston are 33 and 24 while the A's are 31 and 24 unbelievable when you think about this turnaround for the A's uh if Jacob Wilson are we gonna get him or we gonna It's Five O'Clock It's Five O'Clock Somewhere what do we want to do we got uh we got the GM and we got the uh yeah we could probably play I haven't heard anything sorry I'm trying our iPad's dying so I'm trying to get it to charge um yeah I haven't gotten anything from what's going on so all right I want to get these in for the fans yeah uh David force is like 12 minutes so we should be able to get it in hopefully we can do it if we do it right now all right so uh this was really good a lot to talk about with David Forest the general manager uh gotta get into the pitching gotta get into Lawrence Butler gotta get into Brent Rooker the general manager show right here on a cast live now for the David Forst (A's General Manager) general manager show right here on a cast with David Force how are you I'm great Chris how are you I'm uh ever since July 1st and really since the All-Star break I'm a lot better how about you yeah I think that that checks out uh obviously a couple losses the last two nights against the Mariners after two exciting wins to start the series but um no the big picture guys are playing great what is the the big thing for you when you look at progress with your team obviously records the easy thing but what do you want to see well we've seen more of the last two months is finding a way to win I mean I think that has been the thing that uh we haven't been able to point to the last year year and a half when we've had these like you know we talk about sort of Silver Linings and taking positives away from Individual performances pitching you know position players developing at the plate what we haven't done as a group is found ways to win uh and that's starting to change and that's that's really good for the guys in the clubhouse it's good for Mark and his staff to see um but it's obviously it's apparent in the record I mean I don't want to downplay the individual performances of guys like law and rook and the way JP's pitching things like that um but as a group we're staying in games I think Mark mentioned the other night you know when we were down to the Mariners it didn't feel on The Dugout like the game was over like there's a sense now that we're if we're in a game we have a chance to win you know I I know people probably get tired of me talking about this especially on the postgame show and and in a world in sports now where we talk so much about mental health players player players players players we forget the coaches like how much these guys put into this and they have in the end no control over the pitchers the hitters they had that you know what happens on the field but they pour their lives into trying to make these young men better players and when you lose and you have tough Seasons especially last year we never really talk about the mental health of the coaches and I just that's the the group that I'm happy for the players but to me our coaching staff knowing how much and how hard they have worked I'm so happy for them the RO results really kind of helps with all the work they've put in without a doubt and and just being away from home like those guys coaching staff training staff strength staff Club some of the clubhouse St all these people that are away from their families during the season um and you're right you you I think we do talk about a lot but you can't say it enough how much time they put in and how nice it is for them to get the results at the end of the night and then for you guys knowing that you know you're helping them with data and you're helping them trying to implement to the players just to see it start to work what does that do for your staff at the front office I think it's it's a nice motivator for our guys um I should say guys and girls obviously the front office staff has put in a lot of work over the last few years and it it can be demoralizing when you go certain amount of time without a win and um you know it's nice that that we have something to show for the work we've put in over the last 12 months you know Lawrence Butler it's just been incredible Mitch Spence is like yeah it's like playing with Barry Bonds I mean but but it's like we've seen the low and when now we've seen this crazy high my question then what's the Baseline what what what's when he when he grows into being an everyday player he's in his prime what is Lawrence Butler yeah I mean this has been a real journey for Lauren since he got called up last year in Washington U you know we're talking about a little over 13 months now I think from when he first got to the big leagues and and he did get sent down and had to come back and he's struggled here I know Mark spent a lot of time with him earlier in the year on a road trip where he was frankly pretty close to getting sent down again um and had to make some adjustments but yeah we've seen what it looks like when log gets hot and it's you know outside of Rook it's as good as anybody on this club right now anybody we've had here for a while um so you hope that he settles in because because you don't want the highs and lows you want that consistency you want guys to sort of know what they can do every night but it's been fun to watch yeah Brent Rooker to me is a great example of a guy figuring it out but also what happens when you stop striking out as much he has double the infield hits which helps the batting average right it's like all these things that you see and the power is great at 35 this is going to run all week long or for two weeks and hopefully he gets to 40 but it's been a lot of fun just to watch him grow and to hear Mark cat say you know last year I was telling him he's the 26th man on the roster to where he's now having a career year I don't know if he'll have a better year in his career that's how good this year is just talk about what you've seen beyond the power because when you start talking about you know his recent hitting streak he's hitting over 400 yeah yeah I mean you mentioned cutting down strikeouts which is so hard to do in today's game when strikeouts are higher than they've ever been in the history of the game so for for Brent Rooker in 2024 to make that kind of adjustment cut down on swings and misses cut down on strikeouts and you see the increase in average and he doesn't lose any power to go along with it I mean that's that's a really impressive adjustment and and uh I think either it was either Vinnie or Chris mentioned on the air the other day that you know him missing the All-Star game every day that goes by becomes more of a crime that Brent wasn't there for a second year in a row and I think people forget that you know with the arm issue that he is having that whatever will be done in the offse seon to fix it you know we talk so much about the Outfield next year because I'll ask about JJ blade it's been a phenomenal year I love me some JJ BL but Rooker will be back playing some Outfield next year yeah yeah we've always felt like you know the lineup the roster is a lot easier to manage when you don't have that sort of set DH when you can move guys in and out of that spot give guys a day off their feet obviously we've made room for rook in that spot because of the Season he's having but uh but cat is definitely looking forward to getting back in the Outfield so he does have a a little more flexibility it'd be nice you know Shay's been back behind a plate so much there's a guy who could benefit from some DH days we just don't have that luxury right now and sometimes getting mcan's bat the left handed in there that's another way to get a lefty in the lineup when yeah when mccan could get there but right now I'll let Rook have every one of those at bats the rest of the way I have noticed and this is not a comp Jed Lowry to JJ blade but there is something about guys who know how to hunt doubles and Jed Lowry I mean you and I might be able to beat him in a 40 Dash but that guy hunted a double soon as the ball off the bat he was I mean JJ I've noticed that with J with JJ just talk about the allaround game because because you know what a tremendous Talent he is but now he throwing all these extra base hits the power and he's gotten better defensively in Center for sure for sure and a year ago we were sitting here just saying guy we hope JJ gets back on the field we got to keep him healthy did get back for a few games towards the end of the season last year but now he stayed healthy all year he has he has made similar adjustments to what we talked about with Rook the power is there 20 plus homers is he 30 plus doubles now oh he's almost 40 he's almost 40 doubles so um you know all while playing in the center of the diamond and and again you and I have talked about playing center field for cots is not easy to do because he's got some ideas about how the position to be played and he's been very complimentary of the adjustments JJ's made out there both coming in and going back on the ball and uh it's just it's nice to have him pen hold the lineup every day and I'm going to be bullish on this because watching him play When I look at size speed combination I still think Zach gof is as good as anybody you have yeah how do you get it going I I mean the thing about Zach is like you still see when he puts the barrel on the ball it jumps almost like nobody else in our lineup I mean he'll put up a 108 or 109 exit vo with what looks like barely swinging so obviously his his issue this year has been contact and I know bushy and cot have spent a lot of time with Zach talking about his approach to the Zone his hand position all these things that the league adjusted to him they're busting him up at the top of the Zone with fast balls they're making him Chase sliders now he's got to turn around and adjust to them but the reason the reason he's still here the reason you see double digit homers is because when he does put the barrel on it it really jumps he did play through injury and you guys that do that can get a little out of whack yeah would you would I'm not going to make excuses for and I don't think Zach would either but yeah but you can't forget about that I mean it's it's a part of every one of these guys I mean again rook's playing with this thing in his elbow that's gonna be after to fix after the season all these guys when you get to September have something but Zach missed time earlier in the year and you shouldn't discount that when it comes to like looking at his whole season and an doar like that was a guy that I mean it's like this guy could ever stay well if he ever could stay healthy he wouldn't be here uh but but you think about what he did in the spring he was he was didn't strike out and then that's the knee and then he played the last half of his season hurt obviously done for the year I mean get I mean it's a core thing so get him healthy what do you expect from if he can have a full spring get in like whatever a lot of ifs there with migy but we knew for a while he was playing with you know we didn't know exactly what the diagnosis was till we did the MRI but he had this this abdomen issue that was probably robbing him of his power what he still found way to do was get his hits I mean he kept his average up near 300 he'd get two or three hits a night at times and put up a professional at bat and you you really see since he came out of the lineup it shortens things up a little bit I mean we we you know you get to that five6 spot instead of that six s spot it makes a difference in how many guys you have reliable at bats in the lineup so uh yeah we'll get that taken care of hopefully it's not a long rehab and he's got most of the offseason to really get healthy for next year we saw online SRM yeah got a home run I guess the wrist is doing better is there any chance we see him again yeah I think there is so he's he went out in DH last night like everybody he's got a playing progression that takes him through the next eight to 10 days we'll see how he responds to you know swinging and then being in the field playing first base but I think there's a good chance we see Tyler before the end of the year how how's kurts I can't ask about him coming up now because obviously he's I believe he's on the I yeah it was a pretty good hamstring strain from stretching uh that night in Midland so uh he's rehabbing down in Arizona we're hoping to get him out for some instructional leue get bats before the end of the month and then the fall league actually is always a possibility for guys like that so maybe we make up some of those Ms with with the fall league I want you to remind me next year in mace at spring training something because I ask you all the time we talk about pitching right now where we are on September 6 Cody how many pitchers 22 I think I think we're at 8 122 pitchers used in Major League Baseball I'm never going to ask you about who's your starting staff and your Bullpen because it's it's kind of ridiculous we're at a point where there's no way you can tell me hey opening day and what you think you're going to look like in July what you look like in sept it's crazy we didn't in in Mesa this past March we didn't have beo being one of the best pitchers in the big leagues in August so it's kind of foolish to try and guess like how would you know like Mitch Spence was a rule five guy you're like hoping and starting the V and now you need him I told Cody in December last year Mitch Spence was going to be my guy so he's done a great job right is't it crazy to think about how to build a pitching staff today when you have this many people being used to make because it's crazy depth on top of depth on top of depth can you have enough starters no absolutely not I mean Vegas is completely out of starters we've taken all their guys they're running out Bullpen games they're running out you know Austin puits back now pitching multiple Innings there so yeah it's it's tough and the domino effect is real luckily Midland who clinched a playoff spot last night has enough to put a playoff rotation together and we're hoping hoping to keep them there but it's hard it's hard on everybody well good stuff thanks man we'll talk to you before the end of the season finish up strong sounds good the David for show right here on a cast always great to have the general manager on David Force Jacob Wilson has now joined us here in the treehouse where have you been I've been looking for you what you're over there playing Jacob Wilson (A's Shortstop) bingo I know yeah I was reading off some Bingo cards in Spanish on my Spanish I was working on it I don't know if it sounded too good but I was working on it did you do Spanish at Grand Canyon uh not too much not too much spish a great can maybe a couple classes in high school but uh you know I thought I was getting pretty good how are you I'm good how are you uh it's great to see you as we told you you're gonna be here we have we realized we haven't been able to you haven't been on the show since Midland I've have not no you're right when we FaceTime or we Zoom called in right so there the running joke was I in spring training to look around size everybody up you're going to be here and now you're here so just what is the experience been like no it's been amazing you know this is a dream coming true for sure be able to be here be able to play at the Coliseum and just be able to be on this team and just meet all the guys be able to play with them share the same field and just this coaching staff has been you know so amazing to be a part of so it's just been a great you know experience so far I'm really just enjoying it and uh you know looking forward to you know finishing out the season and uh you know see where it goes it was so tough in that first first game right you get the hit you get hurt and you were on such a heater leading into that was that kind of tough after you get hurt you got to go down and kind of find it again and find that Rhythm and speed yeah yeah know for sure I think going in the All-Star break everything was you know going in the right direction for me everything was going great you know we were winning down there in uh in Vegas and uh you know it just it was awesome then really get cold up come up here you know get a win in my first game and then obviously get the first hit and then unfortunately we had the injury and uh just to be to start the process all over again you know it's definitely tough to take four weeks off you know seeing a pitch and then know going down there did my rehab assignment now you know getting up here just trying to you know kind of speed the ball up a little bit trying to get back into the flow of things but uh like I said it's been amazing really just enjoying it and uh just enjoying the game what has it been like from a standpoint of yeah this is different when you're up here is there anything that defense offense what's different once you get here and you start playing more on a regular basis yeah I think just overall the game is just you know faster you know the guys guys are faster you know you got lead arms on the mountain that you're facing every day you know the hitters are all everybody's just better you know this is just this is the top of the top you know the top League that you can play at and uh just be able to get here and just really just start to adapt your game to be able to play at this level every day that's kind of my goal right now is just go out there do whatever I can to help this team win you it's offensively or defensively just going out there and just being a part of this team so I think that for me it's just really being able to adapt to how fast this game is and just being able to you know keep up with the with these pitchers and the hits that you know they're all Elite so it's pretty awesome to be a part of this field and I think about how once people get to know you you start looking out they start defend you they start defending you a little different don't they yeah have you seen that so far how the the changes yeah you I think obviously you come up you're just you you're the rookie you're the new guy that's trying to learn everything so you know pitchers are you know trying to take that your advantage that you're the new guy you haven't seen this type of stuff yet this type of electricity so like I said for me I'm just trying to go up there and just battle you know battle these guys you know put up good at bats and just trying to you know do whatever I can to have good bats get on base and like like you know with me in my situation you know I got Lawrence Butler and Rooker and valde and langers behind me so my job is if I get on base you know with those guys behind me we could probably put up a run so that's just my job as it is right now I don't know what Lawrence Butler's eating I don't know how much he's sleeping I don't know what the heck he's doing but whatever he's doing everybody should be doing it because my God he's like out of his mind right now no yeah he's unbelievable right now he you go up there you when you know you're watching as a it's just like all right this guy is on every pitch he's hitting everything hard right now he's just he's you know it's working all full cylinders for him right now so it's pretty awesome to watch and just be a part of uh you know what he does before the game you know how he prepares himself and how he goes out there you know he uh he accomplishes his goal every day just go out there and have a great at bat so it's pretty awesome to you know see that firsthand you know we haven't been able to ask you this but when you first came up I got to see a little bit because I was on vacation when you first came up and then you know I I got to see when you come back and and the family the whole experience I know you've talked about it but let's just go over it again just Mom Dad the whole thing just how cool was that oh you know it's amazing you know with your parents you know your siblings like those are people you have your entire life you know they help you every single day you know try to achieve this goal and you know to be able you know get here to this level and you know that you've had their support this entire time and just even to this day you know they they still call me after every game text me after every game they watch everything so it's just to be able to have such a great support group that I have back home you know I'm just I'm just super blessed to have that and uh the debut they all showed up they all got here I had a bunch of family and friends here so it was just overall a special day unfortunately with the injury but you know still with that with that happening it was just still an awesome day to be able to have my support group here Was it crazy for them how fast it happened for you to get called up I think I think for sure it was definitely you know a little a little surprise for them obviously my dad went he played in the minor leagues he got drafted and he spent a couple years in the mon leagues and then you know for him to experience me getting here in the First full season that I've had he was he was definitely surprised for sure but it was it was definitely you know part of the plan try just try to get here as fast as possible go up there and just continue to get better every day with you know having him being able to call him being able to you know go to my mom and my sisters with everything anything I need to talk about with life and uh you know it's just been it's been awesome just to have them and just being able to call them every day and have them help me you know each and every day so it's been super cool what's the number one thing thing that you're really working on right now now that you're healthy now you're star to play every single day what's the number one thing you're working on just go out there you know like I said it's final month of the Season you know we're pushing you know win as many games as we possibly can so my goal is just to go out there and just really just play my style of the game you know keep up with these guys and go up there and just really do whatever I can like I said to help this team win my main focus as a player is to go out there and do whatever I can to win baseball games so like I said go out there you know really focus in really you know take the game you know breathe through it slow the game down just being able to go out there Step In The Box you know get you know go play short or wherever they need me to play and just go you know be a team player go up there and just really want to win games this is kind of my mentality right now and it's not Li lip service because you guys are winning games you have one of the best records since July 1 one of the best records since the All-Star break you can tell things have changed inside this clubhouse oh yeah you know these guys are fully bought in right now to winning baseball games doing whatever they can before during after the game to really prepare themselves for the next day to go out there and just you know continue to win you know we have great you know cot gives great meetings before every SE every series and you know it kind of motivates us to go out there and just really you know just have fun you know we're going out there we're having a blast you can see Lawrence Butler has a smile on his face every time he gets on base and it's four times the game it's unbelievable but uh you just see these guys are going out there and they're just playing just having fun with the game and I think that with this team when we have fun playing this game is when we're going to win a lot of game so I'm just I'm really you know proud to be a part of this squad and it's just you know words can't describe how it is to be able to go out there and be a part of this team yeah he only got a hit yesterday I'm like what's wrong what's is he okay you only got got a hit let's end on this has there been a time maybe when you're out on the field maybe when you're in the clubhouse on the plane on the bus whatever and you start looking around all the guys and you go you know what next year we're going to be tough this is g to be a tough de you know you look at at Detroit they've turned it around pretty quick you can turn it around quick do you do you look around and go look out next year's going to be a different story yeah I think for sure next year is going to be you know a phenomenal story for this squad we have a bunch of young guys we have a good young group along with a couple you know older guys who are leading this clubhous couple veteran guys who you know taking their taking their their young guys and really just trying to go out there and win games so I think that you know with the with the guys we have coming up in the minor league system and then guys we have here already I think next year is just G it's we're gonna be we're gonna be a really good squad I think it's really exciting to see what this this future holds for this team you know I think we're going to be in a great spot I think we're going to win a lot of games next year and I'm just you know really focused on finishing this year this year out strong and then you know going in the next year just getting better over the offseason and you know come back and help this you know great Squad win I'll never forget it camel back Ranch over there playing against the Dodgers you're playing shortstop and I was I was doing the color on the broadcast and afters when we got you on Ace cast and I'm like I'm watching this kid he looks like every he looks like the rest of the guy and that's what I was telling you eye these guys up because this is your job it is your we told you we told you this was going to be your job told and you know what go to this offseason this is your job hey it's great to have you and we're going to be doing this for like a long long time so you just got to get ready a cast live will be a big part of your future awes let's do it finish strong thank you so much we got more coming up now we we got the mark Kat show next we got the mark Kat show next right here on a cast live step up to the plate with Xfinity Internet get the fastest speeds and lowl streaming for an incredible viewing experience that knocks it out of the park and you'll have a consistent connection with reduced buffer and freezing so you can stay in all the action inning after inning when it's game time make sure to catch it all with internet that's powerful and reliable stream Sports from the best seat in the house with Xfinity because it's only live once actual speeds vary not guaranteed many factors affect speed for factors affecting speed visit xfinity.com Network management calling all trading card collectors mark your calendars for Saturday September 14th because tops hobby rip night is back and bigger than ever head to your local hobby shop to open packs trade cards and connect to fellow collectors with over 500 shops participating in some surprise appearances from athletes and celebrities this is a night that you don't want to miss join the fun find your nearest shop at tops.com rpn night that's topps.com rpn night and be a part of the excitement on September 14th where does one Community end and the next begin across the railroad tracks on the other side of the river is it between the east side and the west side at C Bank we believe it's all one one community and we're all part of it that's why cerica has invested over $20 million for affordable housing Financial education and Workforce Development in lower income communities because when we raise expectations for everyone we all rise remember FDIC equal opportunity lender this is the place where you can dance like nobody's watching win like nobody's business and get away like you need so what are you waiting for come join the party take that evening out and make it at night you'll never forget this kind of action can't be [Music] beat this is Chris Townsen and it is summertime you want to look your best and I can't tell you how excited I am Commander Cody we've got our new shipment from link Soul all the summer G here so whether you're playing golf or you're going out for dinner you're hanging out with your buddies or you're going to the beach go see our friends at link soul.com and right now they have an offer where you can get 20% off go to link soul.com remember in the big leagues look good play good hi fans this season Kingsford Capital Management is the official hedge fund sponsor of the 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chicken pie shop is one of the hottest restaurants in Walnut Creek you're not going to find a better menu and come try the world famous chicken pie that has been served in Southern California for 86 years spacious indoor and outdoor dining perfect for your next private party or corporate event don't forget free parking for more information go to Chicken pyop wc.com that's chicken pyop wc.com and the underdog Oakland Athletics won their first championship since they were in Philadelphia in 1930 hi I'm Raleigh fingers Hall of Famer three-time World Series champion with the Oakland A and World Series MVP winning takes teamwork skill and heart so when you need an ace for a personal injury lawyer that will win you the game go with the winning team call venardi Zera at 833 VZ Forme or go to VZ lawfirm.com venardi zata the official injury law firm of the Oakland A's like sports business is about winning Championship decisions are business decisions based on what it takes to help your company win and that's why there's ubo business Services specializing in helping you win every day by streamlining workflows managing documents and providing the best-in-class office technology make your Championship decision with ubo Business Services visit them at ube.com that's uo.com the a YouTube page is your go-to destination for a video content get access to Great highlights exclusive behind the seates content classic games a cast live and more visit youtube.com/ Athletics you're listening to aast live here's Chris Townsen all right you want to hold it up one more time happy hour here in the treehouse we're playing you want to try and pronounce it isn't it leria is it leria we got drink specials the freedom lemonade blue moon draft hop Valley citrus M mistress all going on right here at the Treehouse we got gifts we got prizes it's packed right now there's a lot of people here there's a lot of people here I do have to say this I have no affiliation or anything with the Detroit Tigers right no family in that area nothing my grandfather didn't play for him nothing right I have always loved the Tigers gear and when I went to Tiger Stadium with the A's the Stadium's awesome there's tigers everywhere but they do probably the best job of celebrating their history which is a long and illustrious history their their ballpark is awesome Detroit not so much but uh the ballpark and their uniforms the cursive D the white uni the road un Detroit's got a pretty sweet look yeah I mean I have to kind of pay attention to them because my wife's entire family's from Detroit and they're big tiger fans so her grandfather calls me all the time and talk about the Dodgers but also the Tigers and I'm like Dave I'm sorry I'm not grinding every Detroit game but I I I believe I if you're gonna tell me how great ter scoble is I mean I I believe you so um they're they're having a great Renaissance right now and the city of Detroit is besides the besides the Pistons CU what's name who used who owns the Cavaliers Dan Gilbert Dan Gilbert is done an unbelievable job with his company rejuvenating the city of Detroit I have a buddy that lives a guy the great Dave Jennings who I played baseball with at San State longtime roommate our catcher he lives just outside in Birmingham Michigan and he sends me stuff all the time Dan Gilbert as he's trying to rejuvenate Cleveland once again it's not the politicians it's the private sector that's having to do it Oakland hey Oakland and that's what you're hoping with AA AAS yeah it's the private sector I mean Dan Gilbert is doing that in Detroit there's all kinds of um you can go online read all about it Dan Gilbert owner of the Cavaliers has doing a great job trying to rejuvenate Downtown Detroit and they're talking about how it's pumping again there's more life to it they've a ton of stuff has been built places to live restaurants that whole thing and that Detroit is is slowly but surely becoming a m much better place because downtown Detroit has been B has been pretty rough for a long time yeah you got the I mean you got the the Red Wings are on their way back up which that was like the Staple in Detroit was the Red Wings and Joe Lewis Arena and they were good every year and then you got the Lions winning now which is unheard of but the lions are good Dan Campbell Jared goof they're doing a nice job and then here come the you know they're a little lull and here they come again so I guess you know good for the city of Detroit it's been pretty bad the last you know 10 plus years I mean it's been rough in Detroit for many many years right I'm just basing off of re revisionist history for myself well you're just talking about from the sports standpoint but what what Detroit meant in our country well GM and everything Ford yeah the car industry and when that kind of changed and all the jobs and all these different cities in Michigan that were all fil filiated with somehow through the car industry I mean it's it's harsh I mean when you go back there I mean wasn't that long ago I want to say 2019 you know we stay that's where we stay the towns and hotel is Birmingham Michigan and where all the teams stay and you're taking the bus in and still as you're going as you're heading into Detroit you just see factories that are still they've been left for for Dead Forever yeah they've been rotted out for years so just building after building after building after building sounds like Western PA and that's what Dan Gilbert is is trying to reju rejuvenate and trying to uh change the city of Detroit which once was one of the jewels of our country yeah I mean you mention it with the automotive industry GM Ford everything going on and then Chrysler yeah I mean Pontiac and we're talking about car companies that are no longer so it's uh it's and good and you start thinking about as you mentioned when you start talking about because I think the Pistons haven't they moveed back towards downtown they used to be Auburn Hills but I think they moveed back I think they got a new did they get a new Arena I think they did they wered wings and then of course the football and the baseball are right across the street from each other yeah and then the uh the Red Wings got a new Arena finally uh the Little Caesars I think it's called Little Caesar because the illich family they obviously owning them so good for Detroit new stadiums Lions playing well Ford Field is beautiful Stadium from what I've seen on T you mention the illich family A A and the dad who passed away seem like everything that you heard was a wonderful man but did exactly what I hope we never do even when you have money don't go out and blow it on a couple few guys it is just it's a disaster I get it you want to pay Verlander you you so overpaid Miguel Cabrera which set you back yeah they were throwing money at it they had a chance lost to the Giants in the World Series in 2012 but they had their run but it's like you got to be smart you gotta have payroll flexibility we're seeing it over and over again when you just dump a ton of money into a group of players they get expensive they get old and it really hampers you for a long time yeah don't do it I'm not saying don't spend money but you've got to have a certain threshold of where you want to spend and then that gives you the flexibility remember they dumped way too much money into Victor Martinez that too much money to Miguel Cabrera Jordan Zimmerman and then next thing you know what what' you have I mean what God they had U the guy from Vanderbilt went for the Rays David Price David Price they I mean they were throwing so much money at guys and in the end you didn't win and then you go through a long period of time you got to be flexible with your payroll in a sport that doesn't have a salary cap which hope to God someday we get you got to be flexible with the payroll yes you got to spend money but don't don't don't don't spend way too much you want to have that flexibility and you got to utilize your farm system you constantly got to produce younger players because what happens with guys in their Prime they get old they get expensive and then they're not good and then you're losing that's my two cents am I that far off no because they did a really bad job with the look at Philadelphia and after Philly wins they won in what 08 then lost an 09 to the Yankees and then they fell off a cliff because they signed all those guys to long-term deals and it killed it killed the franchise as Ricky Waters once said for who for what don't do it oh speaking of great Philadelphia athletes 49er yeah Notre Dame Fighting iris is it time you want to get C alrighty everybody The Treehouse this is great to see this reminds me of what the Treehouse looked like when we first opened it up vibrant people everywhere people happy people drinking people eating people having a good time that's what it was meant for it's great to see we'll have one more time in the treehouse when the Bronx bombers are in town and that's when I can bust out my really bad Yankees impression or Yankee fan impression because you know there'll be all the front running Yankee fans here by the way right there last time I checked the uh Yankees last 81 games were 40 and 41 yeah yeah they're not playing well they Rizzo got a big Ovation today Wrigley Bullpen not very good who won that game Yankees did so the Yankees last 82 games are just 41 and 41 not playing hey does anybody have a good Bullpen San Diego but they bull it last night other than San Diego no they B it last night I mean whose Bullpen right now are you saying I mean lurk and spores last year the Rangers got through with basically two guys but who's going into the postseason right now where you go I love that Bullpen maybe San Diego and that's it pretty much yeah well they had to trade for all those guys Jason Adam they had to get Dbacks has been better yeah well they they I know they eventually want to get Seawall back into the closer role yeah but and AJ someone put a graphic up AJ Puck is like June 19th has been unbelievable uh you want JJ blade or AJ Puck I'll take blade but but we're talking about we're talking about for Arizona I told you so all right it's Friday so I'm doing TV tomorrow I'll be back on Sunday I'll be on the post game tomorrow alumni Sunday we we uh alumni Sunday we'll be here getting it done and then we're back on uh Tuesday we can see Astros we have Monday off it's off day yeah Tuesday against the Astros up next the mark Kat show I'll talk to everybody after the game on the a club out show 833 625 2278 thank you you gotta go slower for cabbie huh you gotta go slower for cabie oh cabbie uh thank you for watching a cast live enjoy the marcat show the markat show right here on a a cast brought to Mark Kotsay (A's Manager) you by Nest Bing love where you sleep check out their location in the Bay Area or you go to Nest bing.com it's the mattress he sleeps on and the mattress Ricky Henderson sleeps on how are you I'm well um we're not we're sitting on I think is this a nest Bing couch I don't know this is where when when you uh you're a little angry and you want to stay the night here this is where you hang out yeah we've only done that once and it's pretty scary I tell you it's a lot of ghosts in this place uh really cool and I know this is GNA play throughout the week but today the Tigers are in town and Jim Leland New Hall of Fame New Hall of Famer is a consultant still for the Tigers and he's been on the show plenty of times but we're having the new Hall of Famer Jim lelan on uh a cast live and I know how much this man means to you yeah he means the world to me he was my obviously first major league manager first influence uh in my career to become a manager really and and uh I mean I have such great memories of Jimmy my my call up in 1997 was July 11th and he's managing this team it's the World Series Championship soon to be team uh I was 21 years old I got called up from double A and I get to the locker room I I land at like 11:30 in the afternoon and I go straight to the field is this old Joe Robbie this is Joe Robbie Pro Player um I couldn't be more excited about being there and I and sitting in my locker it's probably 12:15 12:30 in the afternoon now guys are getting here these days at like 12:15 12:30 in the afternoon well back then you didn't have the batting cage that we did the interview in before you didn't have the facilities there wasn't food out for you this is 97 so I'm sitting there and Jim walks in and he says what the hell are you doing here can you imagine I'm 21 I'm like uh am I supposed I'm not you called me up right he goes ah congratulations you're hitting three good luck it's Kurt Schilling you know who he is I'm like yeah I know who he is so it was h i mean he he's an amazing person he's so well-rounded he's musically inclined his talents just like there's so many talents he has but the biggest one and the best one of all is just just his heart man his heart is so pure and so genuine and that Hall of Fame speech I sat here and watched that in my office and had tears coming down my eyes he just uh he's an incredible man what's so interesting about life and baseballs the same way is that the people who are the best managers of other people are truly great communicators we always want to talk about strategy and what your lineup is and data and all this but really the job of a manager is you've gotta you're not only your own staff but the players and when you think of guys like Jim Leland you think of like Bruce bochi Bob Melvin who you were under here I mean guys that you know great managers are people who understand and know how to treat people yeah you had definitely have to have a trust there's no question and and in any managing position I think that's first and foremost it's just developing the relationship and building the trust if you don't have that then you know I think the end of the day you're fail and Jimmy showed me that right away with building the relationship with me even started before the first time I got called up it was throughout spring training um you know Bo and I I mean i' my lasting friendship with bo uh was because as a player um you know he built that relationship and so um it's it's very valuable to have those types of relationships when you're managing people so how important is it for you to get to know these guys to know because there's going to be some days things aren't going so hot you don't know if that's because of what's happened away from the field just having the pulse of your players yeah it definitely helps and uh you know you just start from day one you you start to get to know them you try to get to know them you know not just as baseball players but but as people um you know things that they enjoy things they do off the field this group's been really great you know and um with with guys like Shay langier and and Brent Rooker they they host you know kind of team functions on off days they get guys over to the house they had a 15 16 people uh on an off day for a barbecue with the kids and the families and you you don't see that culture a lot in the major leagues sad but should you think it would happen more um when you start thinking about Lawrence Butler I know we can talk about keep your head still a little more weight on the back maybe a little change with the front foot but when you're going this hot there's something something special going on just talk about when a player is this hot Mitch Spence brought up the other day it's like it's like Barry Bonds I mean this has been really special hot yeah it has been and you know we always knew that there was um this ability in Lawrence the tools have always been there you know I've watched his progression I've really been one of Lawrence's bigger fans in this organization since I saw him as young kid um he reminded me um you know of of Michael Harris um you know with the Atlanta Braves which which they're really close they're they're friends Cliff Floyd a guy you Cliff Floyd and uh and Jason Hayward I remember Hayward when I was with the Braves in' 08 my first spring training I got traded from the A's to the Braves this young kid steps in the cage and I mean the sound off the bat was just different and that was Jason Hayward at like 18 years old or 19 years old and so Lawrence has um always impressed me with with the tools and uh and this season it's been more about the maturation it's been more about U the the mindset that that he's been able to to change you know if you watch him early in the season failure he takes it personal and he said that even I think on one of the MLB interviews that he cried when he got out every at bat and little league and that was confirmed this last road trip uh in Cincinnati by his father that I I got to meet um you know post game and talk to for 5 10 minutes about Lawrence and uh you know he would say hey even in Little League Lawrence would cry and he takes it personal he does not like to fail and and you know some people get pissed off I used to break helmets bats you know maybe some sinks in the bathrooms but hey look Lawrence is the opposite Lawrence will go there and put his head down put his hands on his head you know that's the way he copes but um to see him be able to transition to to see him understand that this game's really hard that there's a lot of failure you fail like you know 20 or you succeed 27% of the time now you're you're above League average well well above League average so um you know that growth has been great for Lawrence so what's interesting is we've seen the very low of Lawrence Butler and we've now seen the extreme High big question is what's the Baseline hey the Baseline would be something in the middle would be great and you know the success he's had over the last two months is incredible um I'm I'm hoping he can continue over these next 22 games to continue continue in that in that facet but you always know I mean this game is Peaks and valleys but um the the way to be great is to shorten the valley right to shorten that Valley to just be consistent enjoy the Peaks um but stay out of those valleys and I think he's done a great job of that speaking of young guys Jacob Wilson it it's it's he was on such a heater gets hurt now he comes back what have you seen so far and what do you expect the rest of the way well the expectation for Jason I mean Jason Jacob is to to stay on the field really we want to see him stay healthy for the remainder of the season um give him every opportunity obviously we're gonna have to give him a day off here and there um but uh I want to watch his progress you know the game sped up on him yesterday the game beat him it embarrassed him on a play at shortstop and that's a learning experience that's you know part of being young and that's part of my job to be patient but it's also part of my job you know to remind him and and to continue to help him uh become you know a solid above average everyday big leager and we've seen growth in that room from quite a few of those guys that are now I think you can refer to them as solid everyday big Leaguers um but we couldn't say that last year and I think uh Jacob's just a little bit behind that group in there but that's okay I mean he's a lot younger too so um you know for me he took some quality at bats he's taken some quality at bats he hasn't got the hits necessarily that that he gets rewarded for in Triple A or in double a it's a different game here you know and my message is is pretty funny when guys line out or guys hit balls 103 and they get caught at the warning track I say well I can always send you to Vegas and get rewarded there you know when I think of Brent Rooker everybody likes to talk about the future right we're talking about look how good this team the future of what this team could be I'm kind of reminding everybody you know when a guy has an unbelievable year this could be the best year of his career we need to sit back and enjoy it right 35 home runs now who knows maybe he gets to 40 what a huge number is and that's a number that you know old schoolers say back of the baseball card now it's your baseball reference page that stays there forever just talk about watching this season and how just sit back and enjy this year because it's been so special yeah it really has you know and he's done all this with a forum that he probably is going to have to have surgery on after the season which is another unbelievable uh character you know um outlier for Rook that no one knows about but um it's been fun to watch I I you know from last spring training when I said congratulations to him you're the 26th man on the team uh to today I couldn't be more happier for a player that's really grinding Ed persevered been you know uh designated from three teams and now you know as a as a Bonafide Big League middle of the order bat and I'm trying to remind people because we're always talking about Outfield right it's like well he'll be back next year playing some Outfield yeah he will he will because this thing will be taken care of and um you know he's a solid Defender he's a solid left fielder um you know it opens up that DH spot for some guys to go through and cycle through it next year but um couldn't be more excited about rook and and just the accolades that he's putting up again you know the big difference that I've noticed between you and Jim Leland is that when I come in here you never have like a cigarette going with your shirt off watching the ponies I've been watching the ponies him and I used to go to C their racetrack 12 o'clock in the afternoon he's the one that got me into it he got me into it you know and the other thing quickly I know we got to go but um Jim Leland drove me to my interview uh with the Tigers uh when that job became AJ inches um Jimmy was a part of my process um you know and I couldn't be more thankful just for the relationship and and for like I said the mentor that he was to me it's stuff like that that shows you how special our game is yeah how special and and really how um you know close-knit uh and in the relationship side uh you know of this game it can be we'll talk to you next week on the road all right Marat show brought to you by Nest bing.com love where you sleep this is Commander Cody and fall is upon us and Link Soul has Dro their new Fall Line new pants fit for a more custom experience with elevated layers and performance polos to help transition from season to season no matter if you're wearing them out on the golf course out to dinner or just hanging out with friends some effortless looks to help you find the right look and feel for any occasion go to their website link soul.com that's link soul.com and find out how you can unlock 20% off your next order remember in the big leagues to play good you got to look good this has been a presentation of the Oakland Athletics [Music]