Speaker 1: Well, we're here with one of my favorite guys and
Speaker 1: the guy that everybody loves on the team, and that's
Speaker 1: Dodger catcher Austin Barnes. Austin, thanks a lot for the time.
Speaker 1: I know you don't do too many of these.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but you know I always make an exception for you.
Speaker 2: And then, uh yeah, just don't ask me do this again.
Speaker 1: Perfect, perfect, Hey, before we get to baseball, you love
Speaker 1: fantasy football as much as anybody.
Speaker 3: So last night the team had its fantasy draft.
Speaker 1: You had the number nine pick in the draft out
Speaker 1: of a twelve team league.
Speaker 3: Are you happy with the way it turns? Things turned out?
Speaker 2: I had the eleventh pick in the league, and yeah,
Speaker 2: I like the team. I don't love the team. I
Speaker 2: don't know. Sometimes sometimes it just doesn't go your way.
Speaker 2: But sometimes those are your best teams too, So I
Speaker 2: uh yeah, I mean I like my players.
Speaker 3: I like my players. Who was your first pick at eleven?
Speaker 2: Jonathan Taylor? Yeah, I like Jonathan Taylor. Then I went
Speaker 2: Garrett Wilson, Then I went.
Speaker 3: H I went.
Speaker 1: While you think about that, you can't, he revealed to
Speaker 1: us some of the scouting reports on your teammates on
Speaker 1: how good they draft and maybe some that you feel
Speaker 1: like you could take advantage of.
Speaker 2: I think everybody did pretty good. I probably like I
Speaker 2: think I think I think Buehler actually did good for once.
Speaker 2: I think I think Phillips teems pretty good. I think
Speaker 2: Huddy and mcguinnis zud the number one pick. And then
Speaker 2: I think I think I think Kershaw really messed up.
Speaker 2: But you know, tom time will time will tell.
Speaker 1: See Kershaw's got such a big heart. He takes on
Speaker 1: a marginal staff member as his teammate, whether it be
Speaker 1: the video coordinator in years past, now one of the
Speaker 1: player relations guys. Why does he hand the keys over
Speaker 1: to these guys that really don't know?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Wandrato I think is the co cohner And yeah
Speaker 2: that's he. But he Kirsh does pretty good every time.
Speaker 2: He doesn't really know much about fantasy, but he kind
Speaker 2: of wins a lot.
Speaker 3: I heard he demands at least one cowboy.
Speaker 2: Yeah he and if you don't win, he gets really mad.
Speaker 3: So he, like Jandrados, has a tough job. All right.
Speaker 1: Austin Barnes, thank you for the fantasy advice. Can we
Speaker 1: move on to baseball now?
Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1: Saint Louis the Cardinals. You guys split four games in Milwaukee.
Speaker 1: Where would you say the team is at right now?
Speaker 1: And the level of urgency considering the race is tighter.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think every game, you know, we played
Speaker 2: to win the game, so level of urgency. You know,
Speaker 2: obviously we're aware of the situation, and you know, obviously
Speaker 2: it's uh they're playing some good baseball in the NOL
Speaker 2: West right now. You know, we're getting healthy. I think
Speaker 2: having Mookie back was a big boost. We played some
Speaker 2: you know, tough Milwaukee team out in there. We played
Speaker 2: pretty good the first two days, and you know the
Speaker 2: second second, I mean the third and fourth day we
Speaker 2: didn't didn't get the w's and I felt like we
Speaker 2: probably should have the third. You know, we just got
Speaker 2: to keep going, keep moving forward, and I think we're
Speaker 2: in a good spot.
Speaker 1: You're the longest tenured position player on this team. You've
Speaker 1: seen a lot of different races. You've seen dominant Dodger teams.
Speaker 1: You've been on those teams. Obviously, does this resemble maybe
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen or twenty one when you guys were in
Speaker 1: a dog fight.
Speaker 2: You know all, I mean, all these teams have you know,
Speaker 2: different you know, identities, different personalities, and yeah, I mean
Speaker 2: we obviously been in a race. Is a little bit
Speaker 2: different than you know some years. Some years we just
Speaker 2: you know, we win the division, look into the playoffs,
Speaker 2: and you know, maybe it's good for us to play
Speaker 2: some meaningful games early on, you know, going in the
Speaker 2: playoffs and take care of business. I think I think
Speaker 2: from you know, from here on out, we got to
Speaker 2: treat every game, you know, like we obviously we treat
Speaker 2: every game like we have to win, and we play
Speaker 2: every game to win. But you know, that mentality might
Speaker 2: be good for us.
Speaker 1: Gavin Stone the only ten game winner on this Dodgers
Speaker 1: starting staff. What have you appreciated the most about him
Speaker 1: and his rookie season?
Speaker 2: His consistency, his demeanor, his ability to be the same
Speaker 2: every day. You know, in this you know sometimes it's
Speaker 2: a little bit of a pressure creaker of the big leagues,
Speaker 2: you know, when you're not playing well, not pitching well,
Speaker 2: or just doing anything. And you know, he's the same
Speaker 2: guy every day, puts his head down, just comes to work.
Speaker 2: And I can't say enough good things about Gavin Stone.
Speaker 2: I think he's gonna be a really, really good pitcher
Speaker 2: in this league.
Speaker 1: For a while before I let you go. I hate
Speaker 1: always asking you about curve shop, but it seems like
Speaker 1: you guys have had this tight bond. What have you
Speaker 1: seen from him as far as taking the steps forward
Speaker 1: to where he needs to be by the end of
Speaker 1: the year.
Speaker 2: You know, he just he goes out there, he pitches.
Speaker 2: You know, I think he's pitching really well right now.
Speaker 2: I thought he mixes stuff really well in the walk end,
Speaker 2: and you know, the next day he moves on and
Speaker 2: it works to the next start. So I think that's
Speaker 2: really just commendable, just just how you have to work,
Speaker 2: keep going every day, you know, keep getting better, and
Speaker 2: he works for the next the next start, the next win.
Speaker 2: He doesn't hang too long on what happened in the
Speaker 2: last game, and uh, you know, he keeps moving. So
Speaker 2: I think I think he's gonna be a good spot.
Speaker 2: I think he's mentally and physically in a in a
Speaker 2: really well good spot to you know, pitch these gains
Speaker 2: for us.
Speaker 1: How do you the game and the seasons differently for yourself? Considering,
Speaker 1: like I said, you're the longest tenured position player on
Speaker 1: this team.
Speaker 3: You've seen almost.
Speaker 1: Everything as far as different seasons, different paths, do you
Speaker 1: do you feel like you have that experience now that
Speaker 1: nothing is going to surprise you.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean it's just you can't let let things really,
Speaker 2: you know, affect it during the season. Obviously, there's gonna
Speaker 2: be most in the road. I think at the end
Speaker 2: of the day, it's about a team who you know,
Speaker 2: kind of comes together and gets hot together and in October,
Speaker 2: who plays a certain type of baseball. I kind of
Speaker 2: feel like, you know what wins in the playoffs. You know,
Speaker 2: obviously we've been there enough and played in some important
Speaker 2: games that you know, I feel like we know what
Speaker 2: wins and doesn't win.
Speaker 3: So we have some experience there.
Speaker 2: And I think as a team, you know, you just
Speaker 2: have to come in there and you have to play baseball,
Speaker 2: and you have to play a kind of a fearless,
Speaker 2: you know, type of ball that you know, the playoffs
Speaker 2: are different than regular season, so I think it's a
Speaker 2: it's a fun test and you know, luckily enough, we're
Speaker 2: in the playoffs every year, so you know this will
Speaker 2: be fun.
Speaker 1: Barnes Magic for another year here in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: Thanks a lot for the time and good luck and
Speaker 1: fantasy football.
Speaker 3: Thanks David