Speaker 1: The Bench. We have Jacob Hester and Matt Flynn.
Speaker 2: Okay, here we go where.
Speaker 1: The plays get broken down and science gets denied The Bench.
Our two of Off the Bench Live from the Raising
Kine studio.
Speaker 3: All right, welcome back in our number three about TB reminder,
little hashtag go to your mail bag. In this segment,
while we're waiting on some of those questions to come in,
I'm gonna catch up on the chat here. Flenda wants
them to work out in the afternoon so they have
to buy more of my high.
Speaker 4: There all the my huh, that's hot in the morning too,
Let's be honest.
Speaker 3: I was waiting on the sales pitch.
Speaker 4: Yeah is good anytime any temperature, even more so when
it's cold. That's a little chilling baton rooster today, how
about that?
Speaker 3: So I had like a shorts and short sleep shirt,
which I never do. I was like, I'm tired of
being hot, and I go outside and I'm like, oh,
I at least gotta grab a.
Speaker 2: Hoodie something to see.
Speaker 4: I always check my watch, got the temperatures right there,
and I look down expecting to see like, you know,
sixty eight degrees right now, high eighty four nope, said
fifty four.
Speaker 3: All right, let's go ahead and get to some oh
TB mail bag.
Speaker 5: I help this special delivery for the bench and look
it is marked most urgent.
Speaker 2: We'll be writing to you the internet. What the is
the internet?
Speaker 3: Hashtag oh to be mailbag? If the early bird gets
the worm? Why do good things come to those who wait?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Good one. Worm's not always good. Wire's not always good.
That's a good point.
Speaker 7: I mean, that's a good point.
Speaker 4: It just because it's a worm doesn't mean it's a
good worms.
Speaker 8: True.
Speaker 3: It could just be a matter of survible because you
haven't eaten, right, not good yep.
Speaker 7: I also think they mean two different things.
Speaker 6: The early bird gets the worm, like you take the initiative, right,
mm hmm.
Speaker 7: Good things come to those who wait. Just be patient.
Speaker 2: Yeah, take the initiative. Yeah, also be patient. Yeah.
Speaker 7: No, but that's a great question.
Speaker 2: Do less.
Speaker 3: Hash I'd never thought about that. That's a greatreat question
and blows the mind. Hashtag go to be mail bag?
Are we there yet? No?
Speaker 2: No, we're not there? Cons never any self improvement?
Speaker 3: Yes, hashtag go to be mail bag. Did Matt put
on his flashers this morning?
Speaker 8: No?
Speaker 3: But I bet he did last night.
Speaker 7: You probably did.
Speaker 2: Wherever he was, wherever he was going. He had a
morning dawn.
Speaker 4: I don't feel like we get light light light rains
or light thunderstorms anymore. Like thunderstorms used to be more prevalent,
you know, a decade or two ago. Remember like as
a child, there's thunderstorms all every summer, but like it
wasn't sheets of rain as well, Like you'd get a
moderate rain with a thunderstorm. Well, we got a thunderstorm today.
Like me and my wife are fired up. We love
sleeping in a thunder something.
Speaker 7: It's the best.
Speaker 4: It's the best. But like, does it gotta come down
that hard? You know, it's all or nothing right now
with the weather.
Speaker 9: Well that's the thing around here, Like it won't rain
for a month and a half, then it'll pour every
day for like six days.
Speaker 3: Yep, how does it go with last night?
Speaker 2: Then we get in the end, he gets.
Speaker 4: Fire ants coming out. I'll be walking around my yard
spreading that firewood poison, fire ant poison whatever.
Speaker 3: I say, why are you poisoning your firewood?
Speaker 8: Shouldn't do that. Don't do that CAUs you're wood wet. Anyways,
I don't like that at all. I was talking about
building a fire us my gosh. Hashtag go to the mailbag.
My family is planning a vacation this summer. Any Rex
drivable from the north Shore nothing too pricey?
Speaker 6: Wait oh anyway, Okay, I'm gonna just go with what
I know. San Antonio really is a great family spot.
That's driving oh from the north Shore. I don't actually know,
never mind.
Speaker 9: Or something.
Speaker 3: If you're yeah, yes, I love all. I love the
paintandle I love the beaches there. It's always fine if
you're trying to do something. Flake Martin a little bit different.
I mean Biloxi, fair Hope. Fair Hope's going.
Speaker 2: Hotel. Yeah, and it's a it's a really nice family
Actually that might be a good answer.
Speaker 3: I would say the Grand Hotel and fair Hope. That's
a good spot. It's a little bit closer than Pensacola
and some of the other spots. It's a little bit
closer in gold Shore. So if you don't want to
do that, which that's always a great time, let's go
to the Grand Hotel Fairhoe.
Speaker 2: They're gonna reopen blue bye you here at some point
where you have them uh.
Speaker 3: Hashtag OTB mail bag Why are they called a part
mints when they're connected in the same building? And why
is it called a building when it's already built because
a part?
Speaker 7: What are what these questions apart?
Speaker 2: Apart? They are apart?
Speaker 9: I got it, because a compartment is one, right, but
they're separated by walls, different rooms, so they're apart from
each other in the one compartment.
Speaker 2: They're apartments, all right.
Speaker 4: I like it a one building, different dwellings that are
apart from each other, separated by a wall, sometimes a
thin wall, mostly than you gotta get your rois a builder?
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 7: Yeah?
Speaker 2: What was the second part of that question? Why is
it called buildings with they already built?
Speaker 3: They're already built.
Speaker 2: It should be built ins.
Speaker 7: Why is the riddler in our chat?
Speaker 9: Right?
Speaker 7: Now?
Speaker 4: That's a Again, it's too early to like think too deep?
Speaker 7: Yeah, I can't. I got nothing for you.
Speaker 2: I'll just say just switch the D with a T.
Then it's buildings.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 3: While they're asking hashtag go to me mailbag. Do you
only stay in hotels or will you stay in a motel?
Speaker 7: I will never in my life.
Speaker 2: I got a door on the outside, no situation.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a motel.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I'm not doing it.
Speaker 4: But I mean you would consider, like not all motels
have to have the door on the outside, right.
Speaker 2: I thought that's what. Yeah, I mean maybe it's not.
Speaker 4: I thought it just like a long two story situation.
Sometimes there would be a hallway, Okay, motel would be
door on the outside.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 7: That one thing about me, I'll pay for comfort.
Speaker 2: It's true. M last time I did a motel.
Speaker 7: I don't think I've ever stayed in a hotel.
Speaker 4: I think if I think I was driving from Batonies
to Green Bay at some point, probably with my dog.
Speaker 3: I remember growing up, like going to like any All
Star Baseball tournament, like the team would in the hotel.
Speaker 2: I remember being like maybe in the middle of nowhere Illinois.
Speaker 4: Illinois is a real long state from top to bottom
in there a while, and like I was falling asleep.
It was like three in the morning. I was like
falling asleep. I was like, I gotta find so I can't.
I is not safe in my first thing I found
was a motel.
Speaker 2: That's such a good point.
Speaker 10: Uh.
Speaker 9: The MSA and the check gos Disney calls those resorts
like all Star resort just motels what it is.
Speaker 3: There's a ludicrous song in there. But I'm not gonna
get in trouble here for they keep one seeing it,
I'm gonna move on.
Speaker 2: It'll turn a mow into a motel.
Speaker 3: That's right. Hashtag OTB mailbag. Did Matt swap his winter
flashers for spring flashers yet?
Speaker 2: I don't know what that means your lights?
Speaker 7: I think everybody wants to know how you do you
replace your flasher?
Speaker 2: Fluid hasher flight. I'm here for a check up. Yeah,
what do you need? Make sure my flashers are working?
Like you actually use these? I mean you're the one,
You're the one that's the safest.
Speaker 3: This is more of a comment than a question. Bloxi
is basically Vegas for LP folks.
Speaker 2: Yeah, dang it is.
Speaker 3: Hot Springs, Arkansas was another one I was gonna throw
out there too. That's a little bit of a drive
from the north Shore.
Speaker 2: We did Hot Springs a couple of two years ago,
had a great time.
Speaker 3: Let's it going. How far is that drive? Do you remember?
Speaker 4: Uh?
Speaker 2: It was six and six. I know I was about
to say six or seven.
Speaker 3: Mm?
Speaker 2: Yeah the six seven done? Is it over? I hope, sir?
This is a five thing.
Speaker 4: It's amazing how many times I use those two numbers concurrently,
like it's it's incredible, it's used so much.
Speaker 3: Probably why I became a thing.
Speaker 2: Any place you go it is, it is what you
make it.
Speaker 4: You can have a good time anywhere with the right people,
right attitude, right mindset.
Speaker 3: The motel steven says, I used to draft to Chicago
a lot, had a brother that lived there. I remember
taking my cousin with me once and she got excited
when we got to Illinois state line, thinking we were
almost there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not it's a it's deep. It's a long boy,
it's a long play.
Speaker 4: Always would time my drive to where whether I was
driving from Green Bay to Batteries or Batteries to green Bay,
a time to drive up to where I hit Chicago
in the middle of the night. The Chicago traffic was
a bear and get.
Speaker 3: It not for long think I moved to Indiana.
Speaker 2: It's true, but it was.
Speaker 4: It was it was rough, so usually by when I
was going through Illinois, it was dark, middle of the night,
so it was it was a long boy.
Speaker 3: Hashtag go to be mail bag. What's the first and
last eight digits of your debit card?
Speaker 2: You don't want it. You don't want it.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I ain't got no money. You're not gonna You're not.
Speaker 2: There's a zero in there.
Speaker 7: I just mike Houn's actually in the negatives right now.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 9: See I just pulled out. I just pulled out a
lot of money to spend it again, you don't want it.
Speaker 2: How is the car search going up? The people? Sure
they're wondering.
Speaker 9: Oh yeah, end of an era, guys, Big Red's gone.
It's gone out the driveway yesterday.
Speaker 2: It's a big deal. It's to say good bye to
be That.
Speaker 9: Truck has been part of my life pretty much more
than any person I know.
Speaker 2: Gone out the door. I really thought it was gonna
be Razors one day, and uh dude, I would have
loved it.
Speaker 9: And I always told Victoria, I'm gonna drive this thing
til the wheels fall off, and almost did.
Speaker 2: I almost did. So.
Speaker 9: Uh next week or so, we'll have the We got
to get the truck, uh like delivered?
Speaker 2: So how you driving around right now?
Speaker 9: I'm just taking Victoria works from home, so like I could
use her car for like a week.
Speaker 2: Not a not a big deal. No, I know, man,
it's get rid of it.
Speaker 3: Somebody asked this earlier and I can't find it, but
I'm going to give you an update. They're asking about
Team Italy and where their players are actually from.
Speaker 7: They're all from America.
Speaker 3: Players born in the USA, twenty four of them. Players
born in Italy, three Venezuela, two Canada.
Speaker 2: One Ah, pray you go.
Speaker 3: So Team Italy twenty four players born.
Speaker 2: They're not saying that spaghetti that's pretty good.
Speaker 4: I feel like it was solid espress.
Speaker 2: Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 4: I can't hide because that acts I get it. I mean,
either been to Rome seeing the coliseum.
Speaker 3: I've been to Rome, Georgia.
Speaker 2: Counts sorry, been to Paris World traveler here, I've.
Speaker 7: Seen the Eiffel Tower in Vegas.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that I've done. I've never been.
Speaker 9: I've never been to Paris and run. I gotta catch
up to y'all. I've the Facus side of the talents it.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, find you gotta get out, you gotta see
the world. Did some say that's the original?
Speaker 7: I don't even have a passport.
Speaker 3: You should give them.
Speaker 7: You should get one inspired No, I've never had one.
Speaker 3: Expire six years ago.
Speaker 2: Aren't they good for like eight years? Or good ten years?
Speaker 3: You know how I got one because we played in London.
Speaker 2: I should just get it one.
Speaker 6: Going to Mexico, we used to just have to be like, yeah,
we're citizens, and then you passed we're from here, bra right.
They would literally ask you, are you an American citizen
and we'd be like, yes, sir, and.
Speaker 7: They would let us go.
Speaker 2: Watch.
Speaker 7: Oh they wouldn't let me back.
Speaker 3: That's the let me back.
Speaker 7: Make sure has never gone to passport.
Speaker 2: I think you'll just get a passport.
Speaker 7: I'm not going out the country.
Speaker 9: Anytime I got from our honeymoon, we went to a
room and I'm I love having it because I'm like,
I go anywhere in the next ten years. I'm already said,
well like seven now.
Speaker 3: But the train ride from Venice to Rome was amazing,
so beautiful. Easy says, can't had money, Easy say something
for the rest of us, Bud.
Speaker 2: No, he's talking to Venice, Louisiana. It's a Georgia. Yeah,
we took a train. We took a train. Train is
from uh where was it? We took like a three
hour train ride to Roam is awesome.
Speaker 3: I mean the train rides that even in the northeast
portion of our country, Like you can take a train
up everywhere. It's such a great way to Like.
Speaker 4: The entire time I was on a train around, I
just kept seeing Maximus Decimus Meridius walk into his house
with his hand in the bushes are not.
Speaker 3: Recreated that I pretty much did. I think Maximus went
to see you. All right, we'll take a break when
we come back. We'll have some munchies with chef Michael
Johnson right here on o TV off the bench. You know,
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Speaker 2: Russell Pools.
Speaker 9: I'm gon.
Speaker 2: What moan sounds?
Speaker 3: Baby?
Speaker 2: What's sunshine?
Speaker 9: Who?
Speaker 2: This sadso's crazy? All rights work?
Speaker 3: That's cool.
Speaker 1: Two thousand and seven Champs Purple and Gold to the core.
This is off the Bench with Hester and Flynn Baton
Rougees go to for all things Louisiana sports.
Speaker 3: All right, welcome back in ot B. It is time
now to get to your munchie questions. Where I got
Chef Michael Johns.
Speaker 1: Get ready to tantalyze your taste buds and leave this
segment hungry. This is Monkey's with Executive Chef Michael Johnson.
Speaker 3: Chef, what's going on? Brother? How are we doing?
Speaker 5: I'm good? Happy anniversary?
Speaker 2: Happy?
Speaker 8: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Wait are you pulling in so you can cook something.
Speaker 9: Man.
Speaker 5: You know, I don't know if I told you this
last week either, but I turned fifty this weekend too.
Speaker 3: Let's pick.
Speaker 2: Happy by biggest your life.
Speaker 5: It's a big week.
Speaker 3: What are we doing to celebrate that that milestone?
Speaker 5: Yeah, so, you know, honestly, I'm not big on birthdays,
but I did pull a string and got a gotta
see the commander's spouse on Saturday night.
Speaker 2: So nice.
Speaker 5: I've been commanders in like, I don't know, fifteen or
twenty years, and I met the chef down there the
other day. I was in New Orleans and she's incredible,
and I'm looking forward to spending the weekend in Orleans
this weekend.
Speaker 2: Hey, you just made her and now you're calling her
a favor.
Speaker 5: That's right, Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3: I love that. Okay, I love this question as well.
Hashtag munchies. How sloppy was Joe to get a sandwich
named after him?
Speaker 5: The best question? You know, he had to be pretty full. Yeah,
that's a great question. Yeah, you know, I mean I've
I've partaken of many a sloppy Joe and that song
has never crossed my mind. Man, And now I feel
like I've just been shorting myself, you know, by not
thinking deeper about the foods.
Speaker 4: So great question, No, chef, I know you can make
any time of like culinary delight. You can go fancy,
you can go.
Speaker 2: Whatever it is.
Speaker 4: Have you ever one of your athty tables? Have you
ever served a sloppy jew?
Speaker 5: I mean, uh, I think we actually did at some point.
I think, like during COVID we did. We were we
were kind of focusing on comfort foods, and I believe
it was like a special request, like somebody specifically requested it,
and if if, if that's the case, we will. But
I don't. I don't typically go out of my way
to serve fluppyjos, you know, like, uh, do you guys
remember the Adam Sandler song lunch Lady? You know, like
every time I see a sloppy Joe, that song comes
into my head and I have a little Harry warp
pop out of my face.
Speaker 3: I love it. What a What a great reference there,
hashtag munchies. I'm only Daniel Fast for lent, which basically
means that I am a vegan without caffeine. Any good
vegan recipes that you enjoy?
Speaker 5: Daniel Fast every year between between Thanksgiving and Christmas and
being a chef going on the Daniel Fast between in
that specific time frame is extraordinarily difficult. So kudos to
whoever that person is. That's uh, it's taking that task on,
you know. For me, the Daniel Fast meant lots of
nuts and a variety of nuts because if you eat
too many almonds, like you can actually do yourself, uh,
it can actually have a bad impact on your on
your body. So variety is important, lots of different colors
for me. Also when it says fruits and vegetables, you know,
like I take that to the extraordinary. I eat a
lot of fruit and vegetables. You know, there's there was
no protein involved in it, and I drank fruit juice
as well. It's it's been a few months since I
did this, but I'm getting kind of PTSD from it
because I found out that I was diabetic coming off
the off the back end of it, because I went
from fasting to going back to my full bore self
and it's sent my body into like a panic, you know,
like it And so yeah, you got to be careful
doing fast, man, because you have to mentally prepare yourself
going into it. And you have to physically be careful
coming out of it that you don't, you know, like
go back to eating too much fat and too much
you know. I also was abstaining from alcohol, so that's
I only used olive oil off the bottle vocados, you know.
And I was eating whole foods. I wasn't cooking them
too much. I was leading a lot of whole foods
because you get more nutrition out of it before it's cooked. Right,
So eating fresh avocados, fresh tomatoes, fresh stuff with balsamic
vinegar and and and olive oil, you know, nuts, copitas
are great, but you need to make sure that you're
eating fibrous foods because if you don't.
Speaker 2: So chef you were saying that no so vegan, no alcohol,
no caffee. You all this is.
Speaker 5: Voluntary, right, yeah, right, yeah, And it's looks walking around
a kitchen all of food. And actually, you know, my
job is to taste foods, right, So I have to
you know, I have to push that responsibility off to
other people and and and make them force them to
taste food. I mean, it's part. I mean, it's it's
we taste a lot of food in the day, brothers.
So yeah, it's it's temptation everywhere, right, So uh yeah,
there's a lot of prayer involved in specifically because it's
the Daniel Fast. You do it for religious reasons and
spiritual reasons, and so yeah, it's it's a challenge, man,
It's it's it's you're you're you're suffering, you really are,
you know, like you're and it's sometimes people take it
to the extraordinary limits. And you have to be careful
of denying yourselves things, you know, like if you're not
eating enough. I was. I was tracking my calories and
tracking my output of of caloric output as well, so
that it doesn't say you have to starve yourself. It
says you are, you know, denying yourself of these fows
to to make yourself healthier. Right, And there is some
suffering that's involved in it, but you don't want to
put yourself into partiac arrest or or you know, like
something crazy diabetic coma, you know, so you have to
be careful doing it. And I talk to my doctor
about it every year before I do it too. Because
the Daniels Fast is twenty one days, right, and so
that's that's three weeks of really you know, like you
don't get used to it until day ten, which is
about halfway through, right, and and there's some fussiness behind it, man.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so I kind of like when you were talking
earlier about it, do you say that you had a
diagnosis that came because of it?
Speaker 2: Like that, like it made it clear because of this fast?
Speaker 9: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Well, I was eating super healthy, super healthy, super healthy
for three weeks, and then when I stopped the fast,
you know, like it was at Christmas and I went
straight back to you know, eating prime rib and drinking bourbon,
and I just you know, my body was in this
loll Like I felt like I was in mud, you know,
like I wasn't hospital or anything, but it just I
went from having all this energy and feeling great to ooh,
you know and draggy. And it was because my blood
sugar was was having such ups and downs from it,
and you know, I didn't know that I was diabetica
stuff to that point. So that that was when I
found out. Was when I came out of the past.
Speaker 2: Dang, you found it because of it, not yeah.
Speaker 5: Yeah, not because of it, it was, but yeah, yeah, man,
I don't.
Speaker 3: Like after that, it's like where do you go?
Speaker 2: You go to the good question, Yeah, what does food
art mean to you?
Speaker 5: Well, I think that you have different purposes for food, right,
Like there's sustenance, there's socializing, and then there's art, right
and and art I think is you know, it's a gastronomy.
It's putting science and and food together to make something
not just flavorful on the on the plate, with something
beautiful on the plate. Is you know, Luisiana is well
known for jambalayas and and and gumbos and stuff like that,
but it's not necessarily artistic. If you go to if
you know, there's a there's a handful of restaurants that
I've been to that even looking at the plate, You're like,
how much did I just pay for that? And the
reason for it is is because the amount of labor
that goes into bringing the food and the and the
dish to that point is extraordinary. You know, like there's
hours of labor probably that goes into it from some
very high dollar chefs that you know, how to handle
the food that way. And so I've seen I've seen
that food on TV, you know, but very few restaurants
you see that. I mean, even at Commanders you can
get both. I think, you know, like you can get
some food art, but you can also get some comfort
food out of it, So I don't know, I tend
to go the other direction.
Speaker 10: You know.
Speaker 5: Food art to me is also expression so it's you know,
artistic chefs that way, they they get their expressionism through
what the plate looks like. And then I think, you know,
for other chefs, the art of it is is taking
what's inside of you and putting it into your food, right,
and it's that's that's almost more thought food, but I
think it's still an expression, right, and expressionism is kind
of ties into art, so you know, it's interpretive. I think.
Speaker 3: All right, there he is our guy. Chef Michael Johnson,
executive chef for LSU Athletics, joined us every single week
to answer your munchie question. Chef, we appreciate it. Happy birthday,
happy anniversary, Happy Saint Patrick's Day, and we'll catch you
again next week.
Speaker 5: Likewise, you guys think here all right, you as well?
Speaker 3: All right, we will step away when we come back,
going to be joined by the head baseball coach for
the LSU Fighting Tigers, Jay Johnson. Right here on OTB
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Speaker 1: Blocked in on LSU Football twenty four to seven. You're
listening to Off the Bench, all right.
Speaker 3: Welcome back in OTB here live from the Raisin Kines studio.
Always our pleasure to have our guy Jay Johnson join us,
of course, head baseball coach for the LSU Fighting Tigers. Coach,
we appreciate hopping on with us. Hope you're doing well,
doing great. How are you guys doing fantastic? And like
I said, glad to have you back on the show.
Obviously getting ready to head to Nashville to start the SEC.
Hard to believe coach already an SEC play.
Speaker 11: Yeah, I'm excited hopping on the bus right now, heading
over to the airport and get over there practice today
and get it going with Vanderbilt, you know, ten weekends,
highest level of baseball at least in college baseball, and
excited for that challenge.
Speaker 3: Coach. Whenever you're going into a situation where okay, the
non con is over it's play. And you've got a
ton of players on your team that obviously have been
through it and been through the fire at the SEC.
But for the ones that haven't, be it a freshman
or be it somebody who came over through the transfer portal,
is that a hey, before we do this, you know,
maybe yesterday, the day before, whenever it is, let's have
a conversation. Make sure you're locked in because this is
about to be a ten week crime.
Speaker 11: Yeah. I think the conversation was a little bit different
for our team the last couple you know, days, and
definitely last week of there's some steps like we need
to take, you know, to just have our own house
in order and understand that in baseball that you know,
there is some uncomfortable moments in a game, there can
be some frustration. If you let those things creep in
in the middle of trying to execute a game that's,
in my opinion, harder than any other, you have no
chance of success. And we lived in that a little
longer than we probably needed to. And now it's our
task to take that experience and turn it into you know,
I guess what I would call resilience and toughness. Learning
you know where we need to be better and then
applying that and you know, it's only been you know,
one opportunity since then.
Speaker 10: But I thought our team did a good job of that.
On Tuesday night, we found.
Speaker 11: Ourselves in a very similar position, but the response to
that was much higher level than what it had been
to this point in the season.
Speaker 4: So you've certainly had probably more coaching moments than you
wanted to up to this point of the season. But
what what is a couple of things that you've specifically
worked on with the team? Yeah, I know a lot
of the things you do is you know, you're it's
the psychology of the player. You got to learn how
to fight through adversity.
Speaker 2: But how do you do that?
Speaker 4: Like what what is the what is has a team
come together? Like how did they kind of flip a switch?
And how do you need what? What do you need
from them going into sec play?
Speaker 11: Yeah, I think it's showing up, you know, mindful and
then tinful for what's required. And you know, like we
were here for six hours before we even played the
game the other day, and you could look at that
as a player and you've been through that deal where
you look at the practice plan and go like, man,
this is a lot and then we're going to be
here for a four hour game and you can make
a decision like you know, the stinks and I'm not
going to invest in it and the day's probably not
going to go very good. It's like, how do you
choose to look at what's ahead of you? And we
point blank needed to get better and the only way
I know how to do that is to spend time
on it.
Speaker 10: So that's what we did Tuesday.
Speaker 11: I think they made a good decision on Tuesday to
understand what and why we were doing and bring the
right frame of mind to that. And then you know,
it's one game, but they were rewarded for that, and
then there's another lesson of you know, last Friday night,
we probably played the best game that we've played all
season long, but that doesn't mean you've arrived. So it's
a daily decision to do that. So moving into a
road series or SEC play, you have to make another
decision of what is this about, Like what are we
going to do and accomplish this weekend? And if you
just kind of casually do it like hey, it's another
road trip or just another deal, and don't make a decision.
You're gonna get beat if you don't. If you do,
you're gonna give yourself the best chance to be successful. So,
like you said, it's a lot of psychologies. Some of
it's just pure baseball. You know of what we need
to do better, and we'll always attack those things. And
you get better at both of them, you're gonna play
a lot better and win more games.
Speaker 3: Guys, nobether LSU had baseball coach Jay Johnson here on
OTB a coach. On Tuesday night, you were able to
put in a leader on this team in the middle
of the game that I know you've been waiting on.
That's Chris Stanfield. He is you know, comes in as
a defensive replacement, gets in that bat on Tuesday. What
is mean to have a guy like that back? I
mean he feels like he is such a spark for
this team he was a year ago. And to slowly
work him back into the fold, Yeah.
Speaker 10: It's a big deal. You know. Somebody said to me
when he got hurt and was going to miss some time, like, hey,
maybe this could be a good thing for us.
Speaker 11: Get some other guys in there. I'm like, what are
you talking about? Like the guy was leading hitter on
the team and SEC play. Last year on a national
championship team, he led the SEC in doubles and he's
elite defensive outfielder and brings a lot of intangibles to
the table. And you know, this team probably needs and
needed his presence right more than even last year's team.
And he was one of the vital pieces of why
we have a championship trophy, a flag and rings, and
you know that happened. So I'm certainly happy to have
him back in the capacity that we do, and now
we just want to build it back to for where
he can can impact the game and impact winning, you know,
the way he did for us last year. And you
know even on opening day this year.
Speaker 4: Guys, every team's got to have somebody or multiple people
step up when when the adversity strikes, when the backs
against the ball a little bit. Certainly Jake Brown has
done that in the bad in the lineup, he's bad
over four hundred right now, What is he kind of
meant to your team so far?
Speaker 11: Well, he's the best player on the team right now,
there's no question about that.
Speaker 10: And you know, I'm proud of his development here. You know,
over three years.
Speaker 11: You know, he's a good example for the young players.
I mean, you know, part time players a freshman, closer
to a full time player as a sophomore, and as
talented as he is, you might look at it and
go like, why didn't he just play him all the time.
It's like, well, he was on the national championship team
and we had a way to do it that obviously
worked and was successful. But instead of what you know,
I would call, you know, take your ball and go
home or transfer any of that, he just kept working.
Speaker 10: And because he's so talented and he kept working and.
Speaker 11: Go back to that mindset piece. Now you're seeing all
the rewards of that for him, and he deserves all
the credit for that because of his mindset is talent
and his work ethic and the good great player for
us and a great example for his teammates.
Speaker 3: Yeah, coach too is a great mustache. But Coach, we
talked about LSU baseball like if you go back and
you look at the history, and certainly since you've been
here as well, it's continued on all the great LSU
baseball teams, they always have that guy from Louisiana that
has dreamed of playing for the LSU Tigers since he
is six years old, since he started swinging a bat,
And they're always kind of those guys that are kind
of the life of the team you go to. You know,
your Cade, Beloso's and Travinsky's. I mean, I could give
you one hundred names and you know them all obviously,
Like he is that guy. I think this year as well,
like somebody that has always wanted to be an LSU Tiger.
And you mentioned it, there's times where maybe he could
have done something else, but playing in that stadium, playing
in that environment, putting that uniform on, and you can
tell it means something different to him.
Speaker 11: Oh, there's no doubt about that. And I think, you know,
we're probably one of the programs that still has that
element to it and that you know, all the changes
in college athletics and it's a whole other conversation, but
you know, when you talk about him and his pride
in that and wanting to make this something that it's
always been and that he grew up idolizing and wanting
to be a part of, there's a lot of power
in that. You know, felt the same way about you know,
Kate last year. You know, Kate Anderson. You know, you
guys mentioned Kate Blosso, Davin Dugas. That's a very very
you know, real thing. You know, William Schmidt was committed
to Mississippi State until he wasn't because this is what
he always.
Speaker 10: Wanted to do. And so it's been something that you know,
coming out here from.
Speaker 11: The West, like, I appreciate about those guys and you know,
it is a big part of our you know, fabric
as a team program and part of our success as
it's as it's always been.
Speaker 4: Coach Jake Brown said, yeah, I think you said this
yesterday that Zion Theopolis wrote every down on the team
a note just telling like positive, positive encouragement and just
at the bottom he just said, believe it. That is
that's certainly like an incredible type of leadership. But I was,
did can you confirm that?
Speaker 3: Did?
Speaker 2: Was there a note written to all the players and
what they kind of do for the team.
Speaker 10: Yeah, well it's massive.
Speaker 11: You guys have been part of great teams and you know,
there's the coach, and you know, I always believe that
the coach has to set the course and is is
the leader. I would never put that responsibility off on
an assistant.
Speaker 10: Coach or a player.
Speaker 11: But you guys know the power of pure leadership and
when a player a peer steps up and does the
right thing, that can really really impact the team.
Speaker 10: And it was amazing that that's what he.
Speaker 11: Did, because you know, we started with a meeting on Tuesday,
and there was three or four layers to that meeting,
and I didn't know that Diane had done that. But
the first layer was a reminder of why this team
can be successful, you know, and you start hearing him
talk about that, like why we can be successful, and
it was almost like a collective sigh of relief of like,
oh yeah, like we have something we can can build
off of here as tough as it's been. Well, I
didn't know he had done that, you know, right before that, and.
Speaker 10: So it was perfect timing. And he's a really good pitcher, and.
Speaker 11: That's high level maturity. He's got like a thirty five
on the ACT, so the intelligence levels there and the
care level, you know, and he's I think he's going
to be a key part of our team from the mound,
just on the pitching contribution. But you know, that's that's
very uncommon nowadays, you know, because young players a lot
of times they'd rather be liked than respected, you know,
and it takes some balls to you know, do something
like that.
Speaker 10: And I'm proud of him for that.
Speaker 11: And I brought him in the office yesterday to talk
to him, and I think he thought he was like
in trouble or something like that, and I was just like,
I really wanted to validate that because I thought it
was awesome, so easy, easy player for everybody to get
behind and proud of him, and I think it was
it was much needed for some players on our team
that he stepped up and did that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a hell of a comment.
Speaker 4: Belt like, especially this generation, people would be rather liked
than Yeah, I expect it exactly, great comment.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm right there with you, and for a young
player as well, coach, before we let you go in again,
we certainly appreciate the time on the way to travel
to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. So just maybe real quick,
just kind of a preview of Vanderbilt. I know they're
eleven and seven on this season, but it's Vanderbilt. It's
going to their place. We all know they have incredibly
talented players. Kind of give us maybe a rundown of
this team this year.
Speaker 10: Yeah, plenty of talent.
Speaker 11: I think they're second in the SEC and home runs.
Speaker 10: You know, they have a new hitting coach this year
that is very.
Speaker 11: Well thought of, so maybe a little bit better approach
at the plate, more physical players. They actually moved the
fences in at their stadium, so like they they're a
little more you know, I would say power reliance, and
they've been been a little bit more of a speed
base shrunning, disruption execution type team, which they still try
to do some of that, but they're taking a they're
taking a swing when they're in the box, maybe a
little more susceptible to striking out than in the past,
which you know, I think we have some pictures that
can take advantage of that part of it. Talented on
the mound. You know, they've gone through some some injuries.
You know, we just talked about Chris and you know
that impacts you team.
Speaker 10: You know, they have a few guys on the mound.
Speaker 11: That are out and.
Speaker 10: You know, so that's part of what they're going through
right now.
Speaker 11: But you know it's Coach Corbyn's probably the best coach
in college baseball since Skip and Augie Gurrito, so I'm
sure they're going to be ready to play. And we
haven't been here since my first year here, so I
think the team we're looking forward to to the series
and getting going.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely looking forward to watching it as well. Coach.
Can't thank you enough for your time, save travels, best
of luck, and we'll catch up again with you next week.
Speaker 10: All right, guys, have a great day.
Speaker 3: All right you as well. LSU had baseball coach Jay
Johnson good enough to join us every single Thursday here
on OTB. All right, real quick before you take this break.
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take our final break of the show. Finish it up
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Speaker 1: Off the bench,