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00:00Did the Dodgers just ruin baseball?
00:03I don't think so.
00:05John, fresh off his parade, fresh off back-to-back championships in three and six years,
00:10the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brandon Gomes, joins us.
00:14Yeah, great job by you getting, Brandon.
00:15Great job by Brandon being willing to do this at this point.
00:18I don't know if he's still gotten any sleep.
00:20Sure, coming off an amazing high.
00:23One of the best World Series ever, if not the best ever.
00:26And I'm anxious to ask him about all the plays that went down that made it the best World Series.
00:32Yeah, what a great series.
00:34The 121st World Series was.
00:36We'll ask him about all that, the key players, where the Dodgers are moving forward.
00:40Are they ruining baseball or not?
00:42John and I will break down our thoughts on the World Series and where the Mets and Yankees are
00:46as the hot stove begins.
00:48We'll play hit and error at the end if you stick with us on the show with Joel Sherman and John Heyman.
00:56We went through this together.
00:59It was a great, great World Series.
01:01We're sitting there side by side for game six and seven in Rogers Center.
01:08It's right up there with one of the best I've seen.
01:11I'd have the conversation for me.
01:13It's 2016 World Series and 1991 World Series.
01:16I put this one right there with it.
01:18It was thrilling to the end.
01:20We didn't know the outcome to literally the final pitch of an extra innings.
01:25Go wherever you want, John, about what will linger for you from the World Series.
01:29Well, so many plays by inches would have swung it the other way.
01:32So that, to me, is the thing for game seven that we really hadn't seen.
01:3691, to me, I love that World Series, a 1-0 pitcher's duel with Smoltz and Morris.
01:42You know, tough to top that one for me.
01:44But I think for excitement, this probably did with the Rojas backhand play, getting IKF
01:50by inches at the home plate with the liner to Muncie, a couple inches one way or the other.
01:57You know, inserting Pais into center field.
02:01The guy was kind of forgotten because he hadn't been hitting.
02:03Him running over Kike to make that play in center.
02:06Obviously, the two home runs, the Rojas home run is an all-timer right there with Bucky Dent
02:11and Carter and Mazurowski.
02:15But for a surprise, you know, it's there with a Bucky Dent home run.
02:20And in the ninth inning with two outs to go, even more exciting.
02:25You know, it's an all-time great World Series, as we can see by the fans that watched it worldwide.
02:3151 million.
02:32Obviously, you've got an international element with great Japanese players.
02:36Obviously, in Canada, Toronto, all excited about their team, which really deserves a lot of credit.
02:43They really came together.
02:44I didn't see this coming.
02:45Only Mike Puma saw this coming, I think, in the whole world.
02:49And, you know, we've got to give them credit.
02:51They really, by runs at least, outplayed the Dodgers.
02:55They won one more game than the Dodgers in the regular season.
02:59It's just an amazing, amazing job by them.
03:02But, of course, the Dodgers are a truly great team.
03:04And we know they're not ruining baseball either.
03:07Yeah.
03:08You know, John, you went someplace I wanted to go, which was to give some love to the Blue Jays,
03:13who had the best record in the American League.
03:14One, beat the Yankees, beat the Mariners when they were down 0-2 after losing the first two games at home
03:19and came all the way back to do that.
03:21And I just think it's got to be impossible for their fan base and for the people who are employed as players, executives, etc.
03:30It just feels like if it was a boxing match, the Blue Jays won around 10-8.
03:35Like, I thought they outplayed them in almost every way.
03:38But there were three close games, and the Dodgers won all three close games.
03:43One was a double game, right?
03:44It was 18 innings, game three.
03:47And it's just a reminder of – I know fan bases are always like, our team sucks.
03:52Why don't they win?
03:53It's just – these are hard to win.
03:55I mean, the Blue Jays are – literally came as close – to me, I don't think of all the Game 7s I've covered
04:02that a team has come as close to winning the World Series without winning it as the Blue Jays did this year
04:08because even in some of those other Game 7s, I wasn't sure that the winning team was outplayed.
04:13I think the Dodgers were outplayed.
04:16And I just – you just went through it.
04:17The ball to Muncie, three inches this way or that way.
04:20It's Miguel Rojas beating you and not Otani or Betts or Freeman.
04:24And it's Yamamoto doing a supernatural thing for the last two days of the World Series
04:30besides throwing a complete game earlier in it, which, again, marks the Dodgers as champions.
04:35But it is hard to win a championship.
04:38And I guess the thing I could say is the Dodgers won it.
04:42I don't really feel like the Blue Jays lost it.
04:44I feel they were noble in how hard they – you know, outmanned star-wise how great they played to the end.
04:51Yeah, amazing.
04:52I mean, I was in that clubhouse, the losing clubhouse, before I went on the field with the Dodgers.
04:57They were wrecked.
04:58And I can't blame them.
05:00I would expect it.
05:01I don't think I've ever seen a clubhouse this wrecked.
05:04I saw the 2001 Yankees.
05:06They were shocked.
05:07They were as shocked as any losing World Series team you'll ever see.
05:11This team was wrecked.
05:12There were a lot of tears in there.
05:13There were a lot of red eyes in there.
05:15They were – you know, they thought they had it.
05:18I mean, they had their closer, who was going great guns, with two outs to go.
05:24I mean, they would have to face Otani, so it was no guarantee.
05:27But certainly, I think they'd get past Miguel Rojas.
05:30They had it all set up.
05:31In terms of the pitching, they seemed to have it much better set up than the Dodgers,
05:35who, you know, found a way with Yamamoto, unbelievably coming back after throwing a complete game in two, six innings in six.
05:45And then, you know, pitching and winning game seven, you know, it was an amazing performance.
05:53He's really, truly underrated.
05:55He's probably underpaid.
05:56I don't think we even believed that he was getting 325 at that moment.
06:00Philly was willing to go there.
06:02The Mets were willing to go there as well.
06:03They all knew it.
06:04He was a three-time Cy Young winner.
06:06He's got a big heart.
06:08You know, they're a team of superstars.
06:10That certainly gives you an edge in the end.
06:12But, I mean, I thought Toronto was winning this many times on the final day and even before that, going back to Toronto, up by two games.
06:23But you know what?
06:24They pulled it out in the ALCS, right, without the spring or home run that killed it for Seattle.
06:31They won it for Toronto.
06:32They wouldn't have been there.
06:33So maybe that makes them feel a little bit better.
06:35I don't know.
06:36They certainly looked very, very upset.
06:38And I understand it completely.
06:41Yeah.
06:41You know, John, you said something that really caught my attention there about like they almost had no place to turn and they turned to Yamamoto.
06:47The Dodgers did have a weakness.
06:49Their traditional bullpen was not good.
06:51And they employed a lot in it, you know, like a lot of money on Trinan and Scott and the Yates, et cetera.
06:57None of them, two of them weren't on the roster.
06:59And Dave Roberts ran away from his traditional relievers to use starters like Sheehan and Sasaki and ultimately Yamamoto here.
07:07This is the second year in a row where they kind of like we're patching together pitching and they're kind of a dynasty out of it.
07:14And it's my way of almost transitioning.
07:16The teams they beat last year were the Mets in the NLCS and the Yankees in the World Series to win the first of the back-to-back.
07:23And today, as the offseason begins, I feel like the Mets are much further away than they were at this time last year.
07:31It just felt like they were on the brink of a really good run and then somehow didn't even make the playoffs this year in a six-team league where maybe there were five good teams or five good teams.
07:42And they didn't make it with their high $300 million payroll and Juan Soto and Alonso, et cetera.
07:47John, as we go into this offseason and the hot stove has now fully begun, I wonder, let's start with the Mets.
07:54Where do you think the Mets are and what do you think they have to accomplish this offseason?
07:58Yeah, they've got a lot of work to do.
08:00They've got to put together a whole pitching staff.
08:02I mean, last year they made the biggest signing in baseball history.
08:05Well, in terms of interest, Otani probably beat it.
08:09But in terms of money, it was number one.
08:12And right now, it feels like they've got a long way to go, right?
08:15Their rotation is kind of in flux.
08:17The bullpen is kind of half empty or three-quarters empty.
08:22There's a lot of work to do.
08:24Alonso is a free agent once again.
08:26They don't have a center fielder.
08:27I mean, the Yankees are in good shape because they have a rotation that's really good with Cole coming back as well.
08:34Their rotation's in as good a shape as anybody except maybe the Dodgers.
08:38And, you know, they've got a few things to do.
08:41But, yeah, I'm with you.
08:42The Mets, I don't want to say starting in square one.
08:44They've got a $765 million right fielder and a $342 million shortstop.
08:52But they've got a long way to go.
08:55You know, John, I'm going to be a bit of a contrarian on something you said.
08:57I'm not sure the Yankee rotation's in a great place.
09:01You know, Shane Bieber had Tommy John surgery in April of 2024 and didn't pitch until late August of 25.
09:07I think we're making a bunch of assumptions about when Garrett Cole is going to pitch and to what level of success.
09:12He's Garrett Cole.
09:15I have a strong belief in his work ethic and his talent.
09:18But it is Tommy John surgery.
09:20And we act like it's like getting a haircut these days.
09:22And it's not.
09:23He still has to come back from it.
09:25Carlos Rodon is going to be coming back from a surgery as well, an elbow surgery.
09:30The hope is that both guys are back May 1st.
09:33You know, Freed is coming off the heaviest workload of his career.
09:36Schlitler we have not seen go through a whole season as a starting pitcher.
09:40Luis Heal was disappointing this year and has a hard time staying healthy.
09:44Clark Schmidt is August 1st at the earliest.
09:47I actually think they have to go get starting pitching this offseason to kind of at least begin the year well because they won't have a couple of these guys.
09:57Do you think I'm actually wrong about that?
09:59Well, you know, I still think it's better than most and almost all.
10:04But, yeah, I mean, there certainly are questions about I mean, it's quite you can me because there's questions about Yamamoto, too.
10:10Right.
10:10Because he had a big workload.
10:11Right.
10:12You can always come up with questions.
10:14I feel pretty good.
10:1525, though, as opposed to 31.
10:17Yeah, I feel good about Schlitler.
10:20I look really, really good.
10:22That was that was good.
10:23They hung on to him rather than trade him at the deadline, like I suggested.
10:28And so I think, you know, I think he'll, you know, sophomore thing.
10:34He's coming off an injury.
10:35I think he'll be better.
10:36I have faith in Max Fried.
10:38I know he had a bad start that last start.
10:40I don't know what was going on there because he was still throwing 97, 98 miles an hour.
10:45I feel I feel decent about about their rotation.
10:48They got to figure out, obviously, what's going on with the Bellinger and center field outfield.
10:53And, you know, are the kids going to be ready?
10:57Is Dominguez going to be better?
10:58That's a question.
11:00They're going to get help from the minors.
11:03They do have another outfielder with big potential.
11:06I mean, there are a number of questions with every team, except for the Dodgers, of course.
11:09Then we know they're going to be spectacular again.
11:11But with every team, there are questions.
11:14And I just feel like the Yankees are in better shape than the Mets.
11:18I agree with you.
11:20I think the Yankees start from a higher platform than the Mets.
11:23I just think that I don't think the starting pitching is a giveaway.
11:27Let's wrap this up with one Yankee thing because you mentioned the Bellinger issue is probably like issue number one as they begin this offseason.
11:35Will they or won't they?
11:36And I've seen this framed a lot as Bellinger or Tucker.
11:39And to me, if I'm the Yankees, it's Bellinger or something else.
11:44Like, I've got to say, I get it on a piece of paper what Kyle Tucker looks like.
11:49But just the idea of, like, the Yankees must throw money into the mouth of the offseason to satisfy a certain kind of fan and fan base.
12:00Like, to me, Kyle Tucker is not a $350 million-plus player.
12:04If you told me it's not Bellinger and they said, hell, we'll have bad defense at first base, we'll sign Kyle Schwarber to play first base.
12:10I'm not suggesting they don't spend money.
12:13If you, say, sign Alex Bregman, a goddamn winner, to play third base and you trade the third baseman you have back out into the industry, I'm for it.
12:23But I don't see this as Bellinger versus Tucker.
12:26Bellinger fits with the Yankees, and I would not be spending, you know, $35-plus million a year for 10 years on Kyle Tucker.
12:35That's me.
12:35He leaves me cold when I watch him play.
12:39Is that a fan thing?
12:40I don't see that at all with Tucker with the Yankees.
12:43I mean, I could see the Phillies.
12:44I see potentially the Dodgers, the Giants.
12:47I kind of think if it's the Blue Jays perfectly.
12:50He's the Blue Jays player, right?
12:51He doesn't swing and miss, and he could be a supplementary player, which is, I think, what he wants to be in the Vlad world.
12:57Yeah.
12:58Yeah, is there a supplementary $400 million player?
13:01Because I think he's going to, if he doesn't get $400 million, he's going to get close.
13:04There are a lot of reasons Bellinger fits the Yankees better.
13:06First, he did it in New York, so we know he can do it in New York.
13:10He can play center field, which is a question.
13:12Now Grisham, also a free agent.
13:13He can play first base, right?
13:15Goldschmidt, also a free agent, probably not coming back.
13:18And he's a lot cheaper.
13:20And, frankly, the Yankees are not owned by Mark Walter.
13:23They're owned by a guy who's looking at the bottom line, right?
13:26So, to me, they're going after Bellinger, and that's it.
13:31I don't see Tucker for the Yankees.
13:33Now, will they talk to him?
13:34They talk to all, everybody.
13:35They talk to Harper.
13:36They talk to Machado.
13:37They talk to everybody.
13:39But, I mean, they also have the best right fielder in the world, right, overall hitting and defense, right?
13:45So Tucker, to me, is a non-fit for the Yankees.
13:48If that's the way it happens, a lot of things will have to go a little bit haywire, I think.
13:53Right.
13:54Like, if he plays, I guess that means – if you sign Tucker, it would mean you're trading Dominguez.
13:59Like, what are you doing, right?
14:01Because putting Judge back in center seems like a non-starter at 34.
14:04So, unless Tucker says he's going to play center.
14:08Again, like, I just think that there's this, hey, you're not trying if you don't get the most expensive player.
14:14I'm all for them spending money.
14:16I mean, he's about to –
14:16That so am I.
14:17I'm ready to do the swamber.
14:19I think he should spend money like Mark Walters spends money, right?
14:24It certainly isn't – the Dodgers have done a lot of things great.
14:27You know, they obviously own Japan right now, which is a really smart thing that they did.
14:33It isn't only about the money, but they are about $80 million ahead of the Yankees at this point.
14:38And right now, their revenues are neck and neck.
14:41It's hard to know exactly.
14:42You can see different lists.
14:44Who knows what the revenues are?
14:45Maybe the Dodgers' revenues are a little bit ahead because certainly Otani is a cash cow.
14:50So that probably helps, but both teams are way ahead of everybody else, and the Dodgers are way ahead of the Yankees in payroll.
14:58So I'm not against them spending money, but Tucker makes no – to me, Tucker fits a lot of the big market teams.
15:04It's not a real fit with the Yankees.
15:06Yeah, I wasn't trying to save Halstheimer's money.
15:07As I mentioned, I would think about Schwarber.
15:09I would think about Bregman.
15:10I certainly – again, I think they need a starting pitcher or two because just hoping and praying that a couple of guys come back from elbow surgery when you want to be good seems to be a folly to me.
15:20And they have to rebuild the bullpen a little.
15:22I'm not in the trust fund business for Hal Steinbrenner, but I just – I've just seen this framed in too many places as Bellinger versus Tucker, and Tucker doesn't make a lot of sense to the Yankees for me.
15:35The team they're all going to be chasing yet again next year is the Los Angeles Dodgers back-to-back champions three times in six years.
15:42Their general manager, Brandon Gomez, joins us on the show next.
15:50John, I don't know if we could get more timely than this.
15:53The Dodgers won the World Series over the weekend.
15:58Brandon Gomez has been employed with them for nine years in a variety of jobs, the last four as the general manager of now the back-to-back champion Dodgers.
16:09Brandon, we know you're busy, still enjoying this, trying to plan the offseason.
16:13Thank you so much for joining us on the show.
16:15Yeah, thanks for having me, guys.
16:16You know, Brandon, it's four days, and I still kind of am like – I'm personally riding a high of having covered that series and covered that last game.
16:26So I just wonder if I could start as broad as possible and just say what lingers four days later for somebody who was an architect of this and obviously living and dying with every pitch?
16:38Yeah, I don't know if you can tell in my voice or I'm a little sick.
16:43So it turns out sleep and stress or lack of sleep and stress for an extended period of time isn't great for your health.
16:50So that's one lingering effect.
16:52But I think more like each day at some point, you know, it's kind of like, oh, my God, I can't believe that happened.
16:59And, you know, the joy of last year and all that work that everybody put in, coaches, front office, going into this offseason to try to do it again.
17:10And, of course, that's the goal in knowing how daunting and challenging it is and to actually get back to that spot.
17:18Incredibly gratifying.
17:20Couldn't be more proud of our, you know, players and coaches and the way they all came together and continue to fight, you know, every single day.
17:30So there's a little bit of different times throughout the day, kind of a pinch beat moment.
17:34Like, man, that is some kind of cool.
17:37Take us through the emotions of the biggest plays.
17:39And to me, the Rojas home run is number one.
17:42And, obviously, they've got the liner to Muncie when he's playing in.
17:47You've got the Pajas catch at the wall running over Kike.
17:53Obviously, I mean, the Will Smith game-winning home run, that's probably, you know, almost number four or five.
17:58But what, you know, take me through the emotions of all those plays as you're watching.
18:05I mean, you must have thought you were going to lose a couple of points, right?
18:08Yeah, I mean, you go through the whole game.
18:13Game six was so intense and such an amazing performance by so many people.
18:17And you get to game seven, you know, kind of having opportunities here and there.
18:22And then Bichette hits the hole and you can kind of, the place erupts and there's a little bit of the, you know, the wind knocked out of your sails.
18:30So, you know, we kept chipping away there.
18:32But there wasn't any, like, one point of, like, okay, we're, like, gaining momentum.
18:36And, you know, we had to, like, go back and re-watch the game.
18:40All of those things that you talked about, the liner of months where he's, like, just in self-preservation mode.
18:46His body's facing second base.
18:48And he's, like, you know, don't die.
18:51The goal there.
18:52I had, you know, I had my son sitting in my lap who's six years old for, like, the last four innings.
19:00And I was, like, he's not a small child.
19:02I was, like, picking him up on some of these moments.
19:07And he's, like, dad, dad, that kind of hurt.
19:09Like, take it easy.
19:11I mean, there's just so much emotion.
19:13There was a big group of us in the box watching it together.
19:16You know, my wife and kids, Andrew's wife and kids, and a bunch of people from the front office.
19:21So it was really cool to enjoy those, the ups and downs together.
19:26You know, everybody's in it and pours so much time and energy into the day-to-day, you know, as everybody does throughout the industry.
19:33But it's so fun to be able to enjoy those moments.
19:36And, like, you know, when you're feeling bad and down, you have that group to support you as well.
19:41So it's a big collective unit that's, you know, very similar to a family.
19:45You know, Brandon, we often talk about kind of the crapshoot nature of this time of year.
19:53John and I were, you know, fortunate.
19:55We covered the last kind of dynasty back-to-back teams very intimately.
19:59That was the Yankees who went 96 and then, more importantly, 98 to 2000.
20:04And I thought one of the things that stood out about that group, there were two things that I thought made them better at this time of year.
20:11It was almost like any starting pitcher they started was really good.
20:14Like, you just trusted it.
20:16And it felt like it took some of the crapshoot away.
20:18And then they had so many reps at this time of year that there was a calm about them that they'd figure it out.
20:25And I just wonder, do you see some of that?
20:27Like, I get it.
20:28Like, you could have lost in 10 different places in this World Series.
20:32But you didn't because I think, like, your team has, like, reps and knows that, like, hey, get all 27 outs before we concede anything.
20:41I think that's definitely part of it.
20:43I think, you know, as you said, there has to be some good fortune along the way.
20:48I think when you go out and play good baseball and do the little things, you create some of that good fortune.
20:53And then certainly a group of guys that have been together for a long time.
20:59You think back to 2020 being down 3-1 with the Braves and the CS and being able to come back.
21:05So I think there's plenty of these moments along the way that, okay, we're down, but we're not out.
21:12And, like, just keep chipping away and, like, force and apply the pressure to the other team.
21:18And when they make mistakes, then we'll be ready to strike.
21:20And I think that's a lot of the culture, the reps, the belief in each other that, hey, let's just keep going.
21:29And we will find a way to get this done because, A, we're talented and, B, we've been there before.
21:35So I think it's a testament to the work that those guys put in and the fact that they've been there quite a bit before.
21:41Well, it seemed like the moves of the last couple days that they've made and the front office to some degree really paid off.
21:49Take me through those moves.
21:51The ones that stand out to me are inserting Rojas into the game and having him be a player and putting Edmund in center field.
22:00And then also, even though Paz had been removed, putting Paz in.
22:05And I thought it was in for his arm.
22:07But you can explain to me exactly why Paz was in that game, to make that great play.
22:11And then also, you know, obviously moving Will Smith up to the number two spot.
22:16I mean, he ended up hitting the game-winning home run.
22:19You know, I guess whoever bets behind Otani, that's the key spot for me.
22:25I don't know.
22:25You tell me.
22:26You explain it to me, though, because they all seem to really work at the end.
22:29Yeah, obviously a lot of conversations going along the way.
22:32And, you know, we talk about this all the time.
22:36And there's like, you know, there's a process.
22:38And, hey, kind of go through X, Y, and Z and give some rope.
22:42And, you know, the difference from the regular season you get into the postseason, you just don't have the same wiggle room, right?
22:50It's kind of a little bit more like, hey, what are we betting on today, not over the next week or two?
22:56And, you know, having a lot of conversations of who's going to provide a spark, what does it look like, what's the best defensive orientation?
23:05You know, and a lot of it, along the way, like trying to find ways to get Miggie in is such a key part of our clubhouse and our team and provide a spark.
23:15We're just in a little bit of a tough spot, like not sure of Tommy's capability of playing center field, just not being at 100%.
23:22And, you know, he came in and said, hey, Doc, if I can, you need me to play center, I'm good.
23:27And Doc was like, okay, let's get Miggie Rowe in there and see if he can provide a spark.
23:33And look, we weren't producing offensively very well at all across the board.
23:38So it was like, let's see what Miggie's got.
23:41We know he's going to compete and he's going to play an 80-grade defense and just be locked in on pitch one.
23:46And, man, was he ever.
23:48And then, you know, Doc's move to put Andy in in case we needed to throw.
23:53Obviously paid off of him essentially trucking Kike there.
23:58But, you know, I think it's one of those things where we talked about, do you have guys that have been there before
24:04and you keep trying to prepare everybody as much as you can along the way.
24:09And when things happen, guys just go out and make plays.
24:11And the talent rises and they know that Doc has full trust in them.
24:15So they go out and perform to the best of their abilities.
24:18You know, Brandon, not long before we began this interview,
24:21I got an email from MLB that 51 million people worldwide watched this World Series.
24:28So I guess maybe that's the answer to this question.
24:30But did the Dodgers just ruin baseball?
24:32I don't think so.
24:35It feels like there's sounds like ratings are as high as they've ever been.
24:41Obviously, like it's not like we just walked through the regular season by any means.
24:45We did not, you know, from what the expectations were to where we ended up, pretty big gap.
24:50And I think that's, you know, part of the beauty of the game.
24:53There is no like you can just do X and you know that the output is going to be Y.
24:59Like people are playing the game.
25:01There's a ton of variance in what we do.
25:03Other teams are really good, too.
25:05And it's really hard to get here.
25:07And I think, you know, it was the Blue Jays were a great team, incredibly well prepared.
25:13That offense was like relentless.
25:16They did such a great job with that group of guys.
25:18You know, I think it's it's good for baseball and like, you know, there's more parity in baseball than there is in any other sport.
25:26So the ruining baseball thing, like whatever people can say what they want.
25:30We were tasked with taking care of business on our end and trying to put the best team out there.
25:35But it feels like ratings were up and interest in baseball was up across the board.
25:40So I'd say that's a good thing.
25:42Yeah, you're not rooting baseball.
25:43I mean, I think the proof's in the pudding, right?
25:46It's good to have a great team, but, you know, it's not an automatic team.
25:50You know, and speaking of that, I was there a year ago waiting for the Mets to come in and you play and play the LCS, whether it be the Padres or you guys.
25:59And you guys kind of really came close to being eliminated.
26:03You know, you were down two games to one.
26:06You had a bullpen game against Dylan Cease in game four in that division series, then won two to nothing back at home against the Padres.
26:15I know you probably at this point don't want don't look back at it.
26:18It doesn't really matter that much, but I'm curious, you know, Dave Roberts, I think it said to Bob Costas, you know, I'm not sure I still would have been a manager if we lost to the Padres again.
26:29I don't know if you want to relive that or not, but do you ever go back and think about that?
26:34I mean, talk about, you know, close calls.
26:37That was a close call the year before as well.
26:39And we know you beat the Yankees and the Mets not taking it to the limit, but how would things have changed?
26:45Is Dave right that he that he might not have been around had you lost that series to the Padres?
26:52Dave's done such a tremendous job for us along the way.
26:55You know, he's been such an integral part of the success.
26:58So obviously at each point there are these you can go back, you know, back to before I was here, 17, 18.
27:04If this were to happen, if that would have happened, you know, the sliding doors of all of those things.
27:09The fact that, you know, our coaching staff keep going out there, putting out players in the position to succeed each and every day in the regular season and the postseason, you know, is is so special.
27:23And a lot of we've talked about this before.
27:26We can always go back and fit narratives after the fact.
27:29It's way easier.
27:30Well, that decision was great because it worked and that one was bad because it didn't.
27:34Like, that's not always true.
27:36I talk to Dave a lot about this.
27:38Like, it can't be like good, smart, bad, stupid.
27:41Like, that's not actually how it works.
27:43That might be how it's viewed externally.
27:45But like internally, we're just we're a tight knit unit and we know better than that.
27:50And it's like, hey, let's just keep going about and, you know, be the casino and try to be smart with each thing we do.
27:57And like I said, I think we've kind of seen that come to fruition here over the last couple of years.
28:04And mind you, doing it in very different ways, like a very bullpen heavy group last year, very started pitching heavy group this year.
28:11So kind of speaks to the fact of there's a lot of different ways to get at it and there is no formula.
28:17And, you know, sometimes things play out in a way that people think, oh, that was a bad move.
28:23But just because it didn't work, you know, if it worked, you would have said that was a great move.
28:28So it's just way more gray than people want to make it out to be.
28:32But as far as Dave and our coaching staff, like they've done an amazing job over the years.
28:36And, you know, we can't wait to, well, we're going to take a little break, but can't wait to get back out of the game next year.
28:42You know, I never thought I'd see, Bryn, where a guy could hit a home run in extra innings to win a World Series in Game 7
28:48and kind of get as little fanfare as Will Smith just got.
28:52But I think that the Rojas homer was so Bucky Dent, Bill Mazeroski surprising,
28:58and the series in total was so amazing and closely played.
29:03But this was a guy, he had a hairline fracture in his hand not very long ago,
29:06and maybe he still does for all we know.
29:08He caught 18 innings in one game and still had this at the end.
29:13I wonder if you could talk to the Will Smith of it all, who seems just like a brilliant player,
29:17but on a star-studded roster maybe doesn't get the flowers that you anticipate a player of his skill level should get.
29:25For sure.
29:26What, you know, Will's just this all the time, right?
29:29He's like, steady Eddie, which is great.
29:32It's a calming presence for the pitching staff.
29:34You know, what, we know how challenging that position is defensively,
29:39which anything that you then get out of it offensively is a plus,
29:44and for him to produce at that level and to come up clutch over and over and over again at your time.
29:50You can go back to the CES of 20 where he's done this.
29:53How many walk-off homers does he hit along the way?
29:56In these big spots, his heartbeat just stays right there.
29:59And whether it's like shooting a single into the 3-4 hole because that's wide open
30:03or, you know, pulling a hanging slider for a homer,
30:08he has all of these tools in his toolbox.
30:10And, you know, he's not the most outspoken guy,
30:15and he is surrounded by a group of mega stars.
30:19But, you know, Will's a superstar in his own right,
30:22and, you know, he's as trustworthy and dependable as anybody we have in that team.
30:27Yeah, Mark, just to add to that, Mark DeRosa tells a story,
30:31and he says that Will Smith is a killer.
30:33They run the WBC, DeRosa managing.
30:36He's the backup catcher.
30:37The star catcher at that point was JT Ruamuto.
30:40And he tells a story that Will Smith said somewhere in the middle of the game,
30:44something like, put me in there.
30:45You know, I mean, you know, the guy's a competitor.
30:48There's no question about it.
30:49Very quiet confidence there.
30:52He's as humble as they come, but he does not mean he's not confident.
30:55Absolutely.
30:57So, I mean, obviously, people talk about ruining baseball, you know,
31:00$400 million payroll.
31:02It's not fair.
31:02You know, I think the scouting, I think the foothold in Japan,
31:06there's so many great things that you guys did, even beyond the money.
31:11But since you're here, we should ask you, how's your budget looking?
31:16It seems like, it feels like it's limitless to even people in New York.
31:22Are you going to do some big stuff this winter?
31:26I don't know.
31:27I mean, you don't really have any weaknesses,
31:28but obviously you have some strengths that are greater than others.
31:33Or do you have to pull back?
31:34Do you have to, you know, cut back this year?
31:37I mean, we, to be honest with you, you know, the parade just finished.
31:40But it feels like a few hours ago, we haven't even, you know, huddled up.
31:45We'll start chipping away at that here in the next couple of days.
31:47And obviously, GM meetings next week,
31:50we'll be able to fully dive in and wrap our arms around it.
31:53Look, our ownership group has been nothing but supportive along the way.
31:57So, each and every chance we have to improve our team, that's the goal.
32:02And kind of that looks like, that could look like different things along the way.
32:06But, you know, if we've proven anything, et cetera,
32:09our ownership group will be supportive and do everything we can
32:11and put another championship-caliber team out there.
32:14And to your point, we don't have any weaknesses.
32:17But that doesn't mean that we can't find ways to get better.
32:19So, that'll be the goal as far as what the payroll is.
32:23We haven't even gotten to that point yet.
32:25But we do feel confident about putting out a championship-caliber team.
32:30You know, Brandon, John and I are slipping when we could get 18 minutes
32:33to the interview with the Dodgers general manager.
32:36And we haven't asked the Shohei Otani question yet.
32:39It feels like a real failure.
32:42Look, you kind of played him perfect this year for kind of when you began
32:47to use him as a starting pitcher so he could be fresh to do it.
32:51It's never going to stop being a question, right?
32:53How long can he do both?
32:56So, do you go into 2026 thinking he's both?
33:00And how long do you think he can do this thing which feels supernatural
33:04and superhuman for anyone?
33:09Take it away.
33:10Yeah.
33:11The beauty of this year and the buildup and the unique nature of it
33:15is just talking with Shohei along the way.
33:18Because I know that there's nobody else on planet Earth
33:21that can articulate what he's going through because nobody else can do
33:26what he does.
33:27So, it's like, hey, Shohei, how do you feel?
33:28What do you need?
33:29You've done this before.
33:30You've done it for a while at an incredibly high level.
33:34So, a lot of that rehab process and then really finishing his rehab
33:39in the major leagues was with the idea of, like, hey, you know,
33:43what's the ultimate goal come October?
33:45Okay, pitch through the entire month.
33:47Great.
33:47Let's kind of think about it this way and build up so that, you know,
33:51you're hitting your peak when needed.
33:54And, you know, going into that last regular season start,
33:58talking with him, we all felt like it was important to try to get that
34:01sixth up, get into the sixth in.
34:03It was like, you know, we were all on the same page knowing that, hey,
34:07this is – we're taking the reins off now and you're going to go out there
34:11and be used like a normal pitcher.
34:12And nobody was more excited about that and adamant that, like, hey,
34:16I'm ready to do whatever you guys need.
34:18So, it's – you know, there are no words to describe what he's capable of.
34:24And I'm sure it's heck not betting against him that he's going to do it as
34:27long as he possibly wants to because he's as good as they come on both sides
34:33of the ball.
34:34And, you know, I think there's a little bit of, like,
34:36I can't believe that this is happening again.
34:39It's like, oh, that's the greatest thing I've seen.
34:40Oh, that's the greatest thing I've seen.
34:41Oh, that's the greatest thing I've seen.
34:43So, I think two of the things that we may never see again is the three homer
34:48and pitch six innings in a playoff game.
34:51And then, to give Yamamoto credit, I'm not sure we'll ever see, you know,
34:56six-plus innings and then close out a game in back-to-back days.
34:59We may not ever see that again.
35:01So, two of the most amazing things certainly my eyeballs have ever seen.
35:06You guys have seen more baseball than I have.
35:08But I'm not sure there's something that will ever happen again.
35:11Yeah, I mean, I think you guys do a lot of things great.
35:13One thing the other teams have noticed about, and a couple of them are,
35:16I don't know, either regretting or annoyed,
35:18is the foothold you seem to have in Japan.
35:21You're two best players this year.
35:22You have two superstars and potentially a third one with Roki this year
35:26serving in the bullpen, Japanese players.
35:29What was the key for that?
35:31How did you get this foothold?
35:33When did you realize this is the way to go?
35:36They have great players in Japan, obviously, you know,
35:39the best player in the world and one of the best pitchers on top of that,
35:43Yamamoto.
35:44And also, while I'm at it, when did Yamamoto – because I wrote foolishly,
35:49everybody's available and said Yamamoto.
35:51I should have said presumably Yamamoto.
35:53When did he tell you that he's going to pitch again?
35:55And could you believe it?
35:57And were you nervous at all about putting him in?
35:59So, back to the first question.
36:02Our scouting group has done an amazing job led by Galen Carr, you know,
36:08in Japan, dating back to this before I got here.
36:11But I remember, like, you know, them talking about Shohei in high school
36:16and then hearing about Roki in high school.
36:18And Yamamoto, like, you hear about these guys.
36:19They just spent a lot of hours there with eyeballs on these guys,
36:23you know, showing them love, showing our interests along the way.
36:29And then, you know, as you kind of take a step back, like, okay, culturally,
36:35you know, organizationally, we feel like we're set up in a very good place
36:39to support, you know, guys coming over.
36:43And then, you know, we're in a good position to win.
36:46So, there's a lot of boxes that are checked along the way that, like,
36:51oh, that makes sense why those guys want to go there.
36:54So, we've been very fortunate that, you know, Shohei chose us.
36:59And then I think it kind of helps solidify some of the other options
37:05when talking to Yama and then obviously going through the process
37:08with Roki and plenty, obviously, plenty of times along the way.
37:11It's like, man, I don't know how this is going to play out.
37:14But, you know, really happy it turned the way it did.
37:18And, you know, Roki, you ask Roki, his regular season certainly didn't go
37:22the way any of us expected.
37:23But for him to be open to going into the pen, like, hey,
37:27I just want to help the team any way I can, to go out and did what he did,
37:33having never done that role before, really impressive and super excited for him,
37:38you know, next year to get back to starting.
37:40And having had this, you know, this amount of success,
37:43knowing that, use that as a springboard going in.
37:45And then back to Yama, I think it was, like, late that night of six,
37:54getting messages from Will Ayrton saying, like, hey, he's going to –
38:00he's thinking about trying to find a way to pitch tomorrow, just so you know.
38:04So don't rule it out.
38:05He's, like, this is something that is on his mind,
38:10and let's just see how he comes in tomorrow.
38:12So we're, like, okay, like, certainly not expecting anything,
38:16but then went out and played catch, and I said he was ripping it.
38:22It's okay, I'm good.
38:23Like, I don't – obviously I'm not 100%, but I feel good enough,
38:27and, like, I want to pitch.
38:28And it was incredible.
38:29This stuff didn't even take a step back from the night before,
38:33after throwing 93 pitches, and we did it for, you know, two-plus,
38:38still throwing 97 with 93 one-hour splits.
38:41So, like I said earlier, it's absolutely remarkable,
38:43and I'm not sure we'll ever see that again.
38:46But for somebody to be that mentally and physically tough,
38:49to even say I'm willing to do it, like, the amount of respect
38:53that he's gained from his teammates and coaches,
38:57and obviously all of us, we already had the highest amount of respect for him,
39:00and that's just a whole other level.
39:03It was just amazing.
39:04Will Ireton, the interpreter, of course.
39:07Had a couple of semi-housekeeping-type questions for my last questions.
39:13Kike Rojas, amazingly clutch.
39:17Obviously their salaries aren't enormous by baseball standards.
39:21I can assume you're going to hope to bring them back.
39:24And what's the value of someone just being clutch?
39:27And then also, Max Muncy, he's been a great performer for you guys, too.
39:32I'm assuming he's got a reasonable option.
39:34He'll be back as well.
39:36Yeah, all those guys have had such a huge impact on our culture,
39:41on performance, playoffs, you know, all the things that we've talked about,
39:44leadership.
39:44So those are all questions we'll get into next week,
39:47and, you know, obviously we'll spend a ton of time on that,
39:50and those guys have been a huge part of our success,
39:53and, you know, we'll get into those decisions here soon.
39:56As a way to wrap this up, you used the word culture.
40:00I think John used it as well.
40:02Again, if I was drawing a parallel between the last dynasty and this one,
40:06it was amazing how hungry those Yankees stayed to keep winning championships,
40:11that they were not satisfied with anything that was in their past.
40:15And I know at the parade a couple of your people were already talking three-peat.
40:19And I'd like to, like, let a fan base, like, people who are nice enough to listen to us know,
40:25look, we could talk Dodgers ruining baseball all the time.
40:28If you're at a ballpark that the Dodgers are playing in four hours before a game,
40:32Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are on the field working out, okay?
40:35Like, every day.
40:36It is damn impressive because both guys are going to Cooperstown,
40:40and both guys could rest on their laurels.
40:43And I just wonder if somewhere in there, Brandon, it's convoluted in too long already,
40:47there's a question about how you get from here to another parade,
40:51and is it kind of that route that your guys have stayed hungry to want to do this?
40:56Yeah, I think their work ethic, they're not driven by anything but excellence in winning.
41:04Therefore, in order to get to that point, they know the amount of work that has to go in each and every day.
41:10There are no days off for these guys.
41:13They are so focused on winning, and I think they're at a point where, like,
41:16hey, this is everything that they do from the offseason to spring training on.
41:21You're not talking about legacy for a lot of these guys.
41:24And I think, to your point, there's multiple Hall of Famers in that clubhouse,
41:27and they just want to win.
41:30And I think it permeates the culture of the clubhouse.
41:34It wears, you know, it rubs off on the younger guys, and they know the expectations.
41:40And that, look, that makes it a challenging environment in a good way, too, of like,
41:45hey, let's go.
41:46We're here to win.
41:49So I think the expectations are high.
41:51You hear a lot about, I'm sure it's this way, Jeter and the Yankees, you know,
41:55Jordan holding their guys accountable.
41:58Like, this is, we're here to win, and that is, like, the main goal.
42:02And how do you get there is you outwork the other guy.
42:05And to your point, Lukey and Freddie, every single day, are out there grinding,
42:10and they're doing everything they can to prepare.
42:13That goes same thing for Kirsch over the years.
42:15Shohei, you don't see it.
42:16He just does it in the tunnel beforehand.
42:19But that balance and that hunger is, like, this is just about winning.
42:24And when your sole goal is to win, like, you know how much work that goes into it.
42:28So there is a hunger there for sure.
42:31Brandon, it was a great World Series.
42:34I think at this point it's not hyperbole to say you have a great dynastic team.
42:39It's won two in a row.
42:41It's won three of the last six.
42:43It's been a permanent resident in the postseason for more than a decade.
42:48We talked about a lot of people, but the brainpower, you, Andrew Friedman, et cetera,
42:54it's a difficult – you could have money.
42:56You could also pick the wrong players.
42:57We've seen that along the way.
42:59And so, Brandon, some flowers towards you and your group as well for right people, right makeup, right talent, and now a dynasty.
43:09So, Brandon, congratulations on the championship, and thank you so much for joining us on the show.
43:15Thank you, guys.
43:15I really appreciate that.
43:17Congrats.
43:17Thanks a lot, Brandon.
43:24John and I, of course, thank Brandon Gomes for joining us on the show.
43:27Again, he's a repeat guest as well.
43:29We thank him.
43:30John, hit our error.
43:31I'm going to do a head for Major League Baseball.
43:33You might have done this last week or the week before.
43:35I'm not sure.
43:36My memory's fading.
43:37If you did, you and the five other loyal listeners will remember, so too bad.
43:43MLB, 51 million people watching that Game 7.
43:46I don't know.
43:47It was like the most worldwide in 30-something years, I think, since another time a Canadian team was involved.
43:54We've got to get the Jays in the World Series more, maybe.
43:57I don't know.
43:58It was a great World Series baseball.
44:00People are still talking about it.
44:02I was listening to Mad Dog Radio yesterday, and they're talking about baseball.
44:07There's stuff going on with the Jets, I hear, and other things in basketball and things going on.
44:13And they're all still talking about the World Series.
44:15So let's give a hit to Major League Baseball.
44:17It was a great World Series and a great year.
44:19John, I did.
44:22I stole it.
44:23No, but you also went to where I was going to go here, and I'm going to give a hit not to make an error.
44:31My hit is to how great this postseason was, especially the World Series.
44:35You mentioned the 51 million viewers worldwide.
44:38Perfect storm, right?
44:40A team with a lot of Japanese players and lots of stars and a Canadian team.
44:44So a big worldwide audience.
44:46But to your point, we're in the zeitgeist again.
44:48We're talking baseball, and I know it's not going to prevent it, but I wish that the people who are in charge of labor on both sides of the divide remember that there is a golden goose here, and it seems to be getting a little plumper again when there were really some questions about our sport and where it fits into the national psyche.
45:09And right now it's in the middle again.
45:10It might never be the national pastime the way it was.
45:14I assume it will never be, but it's a hell of a sport.
45:17It's a hell of a league with lots of great players, and you've got to figure out how to do this without destroying it again.
45:24And you've got about 12 months.
45:25December 1st next year is the end of the CBA.
45:29Please don't beat war drums publicly, though guys like John and I are going to ask about the war drums between now and then, and try to figure out a way to work together to keep the good times going.
45:40Because right now we're back at a good time, and to go in the wrong direction would be idiocy.
45:47Well, we're very positive.
45:49People are now going to view us as very positive people, but you did end it on idiocy.
45:52So thank you for saving us.
45:54Yes.
45:54John, I always stay in my lane.
45:57I appreciate that.
45:58Yes.
46:00Staying in his lane always.
46:01Tommy Hogan, our great producer, helps us so much with the show.
46:06Apple, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, please rate and review us.
46:09It does help the show, as does going to the New York Post sports YouTube page and giving a view of the show.
46:15And Hot Stove is fully open now.
46:18Nobody, I always say this, I mean it.
46:21It's sincere.
46:21Nobody works harder at this stuff than John Heyman.
46:24If you want to stay on top of it, nypost.com, follow John.
46:27And of course, stick with us on the show with Joel Sherman and John Heyman.
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