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<v Speaker 1>We'll get back to your phone calls in a second,

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<v Speaker 1>but here is my conversation with Andrew Friedman. We are

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<v Speaker 1>in Dallas for the Winter meetings, and man, not too

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<v Speaker 1>many people get dressed up for me. Clayton mccullaugh did

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<v Speaker 1>earlier because he's a fancy new manager and now the

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<v Speaker 1>president of Baseball Operations. Andrew Friedman the best dressed I

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<v Speaker 1>have seen him in quite some time. Thank you so much.

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<v Speaker 1>He didn't have to be so formal.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, no, Dave, anything for you. I've got to return

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<v Speaker 2>this by six, so if we can get this going,

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<v Speaker 2>that'd be great.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm well aware of those deadlines on suits and stuff

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<v Speaker 1>when you walk through the lobby. I know you were

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<v Speaker 1>asked this earlier. What is the feeling for you coming

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<v Speaker 1>off this World Series championship compared to twenty and just

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<v Speaker 1>compared to come in here the last few years.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, in a lot of ways people said, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>how long did you get to enjoy it? And it

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<v Speaker 2>really was like forty eight hours. Those forty eight hours

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<v Speaker 2>were incredible. But then it was on a flight to

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<v Speaker 2>San Antonio for the GM meetings and everything focused on

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<v Speaker 2>the only twenty five season, and so you know, walking

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<v Speaker 2>through the lobby, a lot of you know, hey, congratulations,

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<v Speaker 2>so it's like a half second bite of like, oh, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>we won the World Series last year. But obviously for us,

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<v Speaker 2>so much of our focus and energy right now is

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<v Speaker 2>on repeating. You know, winning is really really hard. Repeating

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<v Speaker 2>is even harder. So we've got a lot of work

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<v Speaker 2>to do to try to do that. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>talking to different guys, I think everyone's mindset is that,

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<v Speaker 2>which is great.

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<v Speaker 1>If we can go back to the day of the parade,

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<v Speaker 1>I asked a lot of players this question, and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>just curious, from your standpoint, did you realize how much

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<v Speaker 1>that team, those group of players meant to the city

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<v Speaker 1>before that day?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, for me, right or wrong, Like, I've always

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<v Speaker 2>associated winning with a parade, Like the parade is the

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<v Speaker 2>cherry on top of the winning and you know, the

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<v Speaker 2>kind of tying it up in a neat bow, and

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<v Speaker 2>I've always associated that with winning so much so that

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<v Speaker 2>the night before the parade, I said to my wife,

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, God, I've built this up so much

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<v Speaker 2>in my head, like there's just no way it can

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<v Speaker 2>match what my expectations are. So it just kind of

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<v Speaker 2>thinks that we're going to do this and it's definitely

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<v Speaker 2>going to come in below what I've built up in

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<v Speaker 2>my head. And then to go experience it the next day,

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<v Speaker 2>it demolished anything I had in my head because my

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<v Speaker 2>brain couldn't even fathom that. Like, it was so incredible,

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<v Speaker 2>the outpouring of love and support, the passion that the

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<v Speaker 2>fans have for our guys. It was just so palpable,

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<v Speaker 2>the energy. It was an incredible moment for everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>I saw how emotional you were, how the group of

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<v Speaker 1>players were. And now, like you said, you've turned your

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<v Speaker 1>attention to trying to repeat and put together the best team.

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<v Speaker 1>How do you detach the emotions you have for some

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<v Speaker 1>of the players that have the opportunity to test free

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<v Speaker 1>agency and make the best decision for the way you've

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<v Speaker 1>done it in years past.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I think for us, all we can really

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<v Speaker 2>do is be honest, and that's the most important thing

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<v Speaker 2>to me. And so when free agency hits, right before

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<v Speaker 2>it opens, you know, all make sure and touch base

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<v Speaker 2>with our guys and be open and honest about how

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<v Speaker 2>we're kind of viewing it. You know what potentially works? Now,

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<v Speaker 2>does it mean that we wouldn't go up a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit here or there like, No, it doesn't mean that,

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<v Speaker 2>especially with guys that we have relationships with, but it's

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<v Speaker 2>all we can really do is just be straightforward and honest,

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<v Speaker 2>and a lot of times that results and something getting done,

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<v Speaker 2>and sometimes it doesn't. But the most important thing for

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<v Speaker 2>me is that they feel the love, support and respect

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<v Speaker 2>from us during that process, and so touching base with

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<v Speaker 2>the agents and making sure that you know that we're

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<v Speaker 2>checking in and they know that we're thinking about him,

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<v Speaker 2>and we're just we'll be honest, and that's all I

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<v Speaker 2>can guarantee.

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<v Speaker 1>Before I let you go. Everybody focuses on the Winter meetings,

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<v Speaker 1>but the Dodgers have been aggressive already, signing Michael Conforto,

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<v Speaker 1>bringing back Blake Trining, and so far the centerpiece of

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<v Speaker 1>the winter signing, the great Blake Snell. Snell Zilla, congratulations

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<v Speaker 1>on that.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, I listening to you over the years. I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>know you'd be supportive of that.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people think I had some influence, but I that

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<v Speaker 1>was all you.

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<v Speaker 2>No, I think it was all you. But I'll take

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<v Speaker 2>the victory lap for us. You know, Michael's a guy

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<v Speaker 2>that we've had a lot of respect for from Afar

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<v Speaker 2>It's not often that you can say, on one hand,

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<v Speaker 2>you think that this player will be a really good

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<v Speaker 2>floor raiser and at the same time have upside. Michael's

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<v Speaker 2>a guy that will hit middlest somewhere in the lineup,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, we think driving a lot of runs

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<v Speaker 2>and be in the middle of a lot of different

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<v Speaker 2>run scoring up opportunities. Blake is a guy that obviously

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<v Speaker 2>has been a huge part of the success we've had

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<v Speaker 2>over the last five years. What he did this October

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<v Speaker 2>was incredible. When we got to the end of the

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<v Speaker 2>parade and guys are starting to go their separate ways,

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<v Speaker 2>Blake said, hey, it's a priority for me to come back,

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<v Speaker 2>and we said, hey, it's a priority for us as well,

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<v Speaker 2>and so that's always a helpful jumping off point. It

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't guarantee anything, but both sides kind of lived up

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<v Speaker 2>to that and kept working at getting a deal done

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<v Speaker 2>and couldn't be happier about him returning.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Andrew, thanks a lot for the time. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>catch up with you back in LA and hopefully you

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<v Speaker 1>get to have those moments continue where you enjoy what

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<v Speaker 1>you built and continue to build upon. Thanks a lot.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks Dave,