Speaker 1: And a guy that's never satisfied is the man that
Speaker 1: has put together sustained success and a World Series championship,
Speaker 1: and he obviously is doing great. Daddy daycare this week
Speaker 1: and a Dodger fest that is the president of Baseball
Speaker 1: Operations for the Dodgers, two time World Series champion, Andrew Friedman. Andrew,
Speaker 1: thanks a lot for coming by and love that you're
Speaker 1: showing the balance of life and being a champion.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 3: Brandon Gham's daughter and my daughter, Sadie wanted to come
Speaker 3: hang today and so they're getting the full experience.
Speaker 1: I'm glad they both look like their moms. That's a
Speaker 1: big win for the family. So is this a dad
Speaker 1: thing where they love being with dad because Dad will
Speaker 1: allow them to have a sprite.
Speaker 3: No question about it. You can ask my daughter. I'm
Speaker 3: not great at saying no to her.
Speaker 1: So both of these young ladies here where they were
Speaker 1: they pestering you and their dad, Brandon about ta Oscar Hernandez,
Speaker 1: who was just sitting in that very seat.
Speaker 2: They definitely were, so were my boys.
Speaker 3: Like dad, we're getting a lot of stuff at school,
Speaker 3: like we got to re sign.
Speaker 2: Tao said, I agree. We're working on it.
Speaker 1: Andrew, what's it like coming back here and seeing these
Speaker 1: guys maybe for the first time since the parade, it
Speaker 1: feels like there is still a sense of hunger from
Speaker 1: all of them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, we've talked about this a few times
Speaker 3: this winter. I think it's really hard to win. It's
Speaker 3: even harder to repeat. And part of the difficulty in
Speaker 3: repeating is a sense of complacency that can come overcome
Speaker 3: a group, and that coupled with pictures getting kind of
Speaker 3: redline through October, that combination, for me, I think is
Speaker 3: a big factor in the difficulty in repeating, and so
Speaker 3: for us. Fortunately our pictures didn't get redline. Made it
Speaker 3: a harder not great for quality of life, but we
Speaker 3: got through it. And the complacency thing I just have
Speaker 3: never worried about with this group, just the way they're wired.
Speaker 3: Everyone is so focused and committed to making this a
Speaker 3: golden era Dodger Baseball. The way these guys are wired,
Speaker 3: their work ethic, their desire to win is awesome.
Speaker 1: Did it factor into you bringing in guys like Blake SNeW,
Speaker 1: Michael Confordo Tanner Scott that these guys may help that
Speaker 1: part of the equation where they haven't won before. Kirby
Speaker 1: Yates talked about it yesterday. They want to win a
Speaker 1: World Series championship. Does that help feed the beast that
Speaker 1: you were describing?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean again, I don't think this group needs
Speaker 3: that at all. But adding in guys that are hungry.
Speaker 3: You know, we had a number of guys that we
Speaker 3: had last year that were hurt and missed that October experience,
Speaker 3: they're hungry as well. I think we have a really
Speaker 3: talented roster and all focused and committed on winning, and
Speaker 3: so it sets up for the possibility for really special things.
Speaker 1: Among the players that I've sat in that chair today
Speaker 1: is none other than snell Zilla, the two times cy
Speaker 1: Young Award winner, your first sunning of the off season.
Speaker 1: It feels like in this twenty four to seven news
Speaker 1: cycle we forget about maybe the biggest fish landed being
Speaker 1: the two times sy Young Award winner. He already said
Speaker 1: that he sees something in Bobby Miller that he wants
Speaker 1: to help bring out of him. Was that part of
Speaker 1: the equation of bringing him in as well as the obvious.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I've known Blake since he was eighteen,
Speaker 3: and I guess it means that I'm getting old but
Speaker 3: more experienced, yes, thank you, But just seeing the maturation
Speaker 3: from him over the years, and when he was with
Speaker 3: the Padres, would run over and talk to him every
Speaker 3: time they'd come to town for a little bit and
Speaker 3: just connect with him, and just seeing each year it gradually,
Speaker 3: you know, and then I think fatherhood, and so he's
Speaker 3: always been focused and dedicated on how to be the
Speaker 3: best picture he can be. But I've seen a real
Speaker 3: growth in terms of how he can impact others and
Speaker 3: winning and just things that you see in that cycle
Speaker 3: for a young player as they start to become more
Speaker 3: of a veteran. And I've talked to him a number
Speaker 3: of times this offseason. He's asking me about guys. He's
Speaker 3: thinking about our roster and awesome ways. You know, we
Speaker 3: have so many guys.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: The natural cycle of a player is they're focused on
Speaker 3: doing well for themselves and making money, which makes sense,
Speaker 3: they're the best players in the world. And figuring out
Speaker 3: how to navigate that I think is really important and
Speaker 3: hard and it's stressful, and with more experienced players that
Speaker 3: we've signed a longer term contracts, that's out the window
Speaker 3: and it is all about what can I do to
Speaker 3: help us win? And it aligns their interests perfectly with ours,
Speaker 3: and it is all about winning and you know, how
Speaker 3: we can impact and make players better and keep them
Speaker 3: in the right positions to succeed. And Blake is definitely
Speaker 3: in that mindset and is looking at ways beyond when
Speaker 3: he pitches every fifth or sixth day, of how he
Speaker 3: can impact this team and help us win.
Speaker 1: I know you're always got the mine and the wheels spinning,
Speaker 1: But when can Andrew Friedman sit back and say, I
Speaker 1: feel pretty good about the team that I'm taking to
Speaker 1: spring training.
Speaker 3: You know, I'm never very good at like taking stock.
Speaker 3: Like every day we have stuff to do and things
Speaker 3: to focus on, and we do feel really good about
Speaker 3: this team, but there is an importance of integrating new guys.
Speaker 3: There's how to manage Roki and Yamamoto and a show
Speaker 3: Hey comes back, and you know glass now schedule. There's
Speaker 3: just so much mini factors that are all really important
Speaker 3: that we don't really have much time to ever kind
Speaker 3: of sit back and take stock of anything. It is
Speaker 3: much more about like, Okay, here's the to do list,
Speaker 3: here are things we need to focus on.
Speaker 2: I think.
Speaker 3: I won't really get perspective for any of this until
Speaker 3: I get fired, and then I can look back and.
Speaker 1: That's never happening. That's never going to happen.
Speaker 2: That jolted my daughter's Wait.
Speaker 1: No, no, that's never happening. You got to keep Dad
Speaker 1: here for a long time, because without Dad, this machine
Speaker 1: does not keep going again. Look there he is to
Speaker 1: askar Hernandez. Hey, I told tayl if he was not
Speaker 1: going to be here, I was not coming today.
Speaker 2: Me neither, Yes, right me neither.
Speaker 1: You couldn't have come today? So hey, speaking of Hernandez,
Speaker 1: is I refuse to believe the door is closed on
Speaker 1: Keik rejoining you guys, I know he's a free agent,
Speaker 1: but do you feel like it's a little premature to
Speaker 1: slam the door on any more significant moves?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't think the door's ever closed on Kik.
Speaker 3: That being said, it doesn't mean that it will necessarily
Speaker 3: work out. But we've required him a lot of different times,
Speaker 3: and through trades and free agency, you know, twice through
Speaker 3: trade and you know, I don't know how to play out.
Speaker 3: We'll never close the door on him, but you know,
Speaker 3: if he does sign somewhere else, and hopefully we'll have
Speaker 3: a chance to trade for him or whatever. But the
Speaker 3: most important thing is for he and his family. We
Speaker 3: want them to make the best decision for them and
Speaker 3: whatever that means. And obviously we're biased and we hope
Speaker 3: it means us, but we'll see how that plays out.
Speaker 1: It was encouraging to see him at a Utah hockey game.
Speaker 1: It feels like he's just drifting, waiting for the time
Speaker 1: to drift back to la. I mean, Kik had a
Speaker 1: Utah hockey game, Andrew, I never thought i'd see that.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Either.
Speaker 3: He's good friends with the gm oh and I talked
Speaker 3: to him about it during the season. But when I
Speaker 3: first saw it, I was like, wait a minute, and
Speaker 3: then I remembered that connection.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, Hey, I'm gonna ask you one more roster question.
Speaker 1: Then I got Andrew Friedman, baseball fan. There he is,
Speaker 1: Gavin Stone. Don't be scared of the boss, Gavin. It's okay, Hey,
Speaker 1: let me introduce you Gavin to Andrew Friedman. I mean,
Speaker 1: are you really surprised to see him? Hey? By the way,
Speaker 1: Gavin Stone pitched more innings and made more starts for
Speaker 1: the Dodgers than anybody else last year was awesome.
Speaker 3: That's another guy who you know missed the October run
Speaker 3: that you know will be a big part of future
Speaker 3: October runs.
Speaker 1: And there's the Bozukah. He's coming back. What June first, right, Bazukah?
Speaker 1: All right, all right, okay, no problem, Bruce Star graderol
Speaker 1: More reinforcements come in. Who knows who else is gonna
Speaker 1: pop out of that door, that's sure. Andrew fans love
Speaker 1: coming to spring training. Obviously, everybody's anticipating show A pitching
Speaker 1: for the first time in a Dodger uniform this year.
Speaker 1: What should be our expectations of what we see him
Speaker 1: do on the mound during the time at camel Back Ranch.
Speaker 2: I don't know yet.
Speaker 3: You know, he's playing long toss and he will start
Speaker 3: progressing and advancing. I don't know yet as far as
Speaker 3: win he will start facing hitters. We haven't figured that out.
Speaker 3: We want to get around him, be a part of
Speaker 3: a stowing program with our pitching guys, and you know,
Speaker 3: each and every day he's with our trainers right now,
Speaker 3: and you know he's kind of moving out of rehab
Speaker 3: phase and to go compete mode, and so exactly how
Speaker 3: that progresses we haven't figured out yet.
Speaker 1: But there is a possibility a fan might be there
Speaker 1: on a Tuesday afternoon and see him maybe just pitch
Speaker 1: to somebody.
Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe LEFTI or underhanded or something. Sure, Yeah, I don't,
Speaker 3: I don't. I don't know when he's going to face
Speaker 3: hitters yet, but I do know he is going to
Speaker 3: pitch for us this year and be a big part
Speaker 3: of what we do on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 1: All right, Andrew, before I let you go, I remember
Speaker 1: hearing this story about you waiting in the hotel for
Speaker 1: one of your favorite players as a young man, Tim Rains,
Speaker 1: Tim rock Rains expos Fame. One of my favorite players
Speaker 1: growing up was Eric Davis, same generation a player. I
Speaker 1: contend peak Eric Davis better than peak Tim Rains.
Speaker 3: It's not surprising with your takes and how oft they
Speaker 3: typically are that this is just another one of those
Speaker 3: that's off.
Speaker 1: Was Tim Rains ever? Compared to Willie Mays? Did Tim
Speaker 1: Rains almost just because you never did? That was the
Speaker 1: other people out there.
Speaker 2: I guess.
Speaker 3: Rain's ability to impact on the basis on defense in
Speaker 3: the box was incredible and also had a much longer
Speaker 3: run he did.
Speaker 1: He stayed healthy than Eric Davis. But Eric Davis ran
Speaker 1: into the brick wall at Wrigley Field, or he would
Speaker 1: have been the first fifty to fifty player.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Eric Davis was great. He was great. Just wasn't
Speaker 3: a rock range, but he was great.
Speaker 1: All right, agree to disagree.
Speaker 2: That seems to sum up a lot of our conversations.
Speaker 2: We're just gonna have to agree to disagree.
Speaker 1: I one thing I will agree with. You are not
Speaker 1: quitting and you're not getting fired. I would agree with that.
Speaker 1: You are staying here for a long time, right right,
Speaker 1: Dad's staying around, right, Zadi, for a long time, Brandon
Speaker 1: Gomes staying around? Is your dad staying around? Yeah?
Speaker 2: He better?
Speaker 1: Well he brought back to Oscar so they could stick
Speaker 1: around a little bit longer, right, Thanks Andrew, Thanks a lot.
Speaker 1: I think it's great to just see how you balance
Speaker 1: all of it, and you've been able to bring two
Speaker 1: World Series championships to LA. We're looking for a third. Yes,
Speaker 1: we're letting Daddy go. And there's skittles inside the room
Speaker 1: to go with your sprite. It'll be great. Thank you, Andrew,
Speaker 1: Thank you, Brandon Gomes