00:00Yeah, I'd love to sit here and say that we were amazing weathermen
00:04and told you that Edward Cabrera's first start at Wrigley Field in March
00:08was going to be 70 degrees.
00:10So I'd love to say that that was the magic sauce there.
00:16But I think a couple things.
00:18Just as you're lining things up to start the year,
00:22you obviously see teams you're playing, you're looking at guys' schedule,
00:26days off, things that come into play.
00:28Obviously the WBC and when we got guys back
00:31and how we got guys was going to play a big factor
00:34in some of the pitching decisions as well.
00:36But I do think being able to mix, separate the lefties and righties up a little bit,
00:43putting Shota between Cade and Edward,
00:46it's just giving teams different looks and different things
00:49they have to deal with throughout the course of the season.
00:53And I think for Shota, I'll be honest,
00:57when I was working and getting prepped for the Nats series,
01:02I was going through games, I was watching Shota's game since the Nats,
01:05and he didn't face him last year, but he faced him twice in 2024.
01:08And I'm watching the video, and I know Shota had a fantastic year in 2024,
01:12but I think his stuff's better right now.
01:14I really do.
01:16I think Davido's better.
01:17I think he's got a bigger repertoire and a bigger pitch mix.
01:21I think he's got more confidence in using all those pitches.
01:25And I know in the first inning he pulled one split down in the roomer,
01:30but he gave up like a jam shot single, like back-to-back kind of weak hit singles,
01:35and really it was one swing that kind of set the tone, I would say,
01:40for his whole day.
01:42You know, we all understand what the home run means to Shota,
01:46but he punched out that, and he had a lot of swing and miss.
01:49The below, he averaged 92,
01:51which is the highest he's averaged in a game in a long time.
01:55I mean, there's so many positive things to take away from what Shota did
01:59and what he's been working on.
02:00And I do.
02:01I believe he's a better pitcher right now than what we even saw in 2024.
02:05I think the stuff, his understanding, how he wants to use everything.
02:10You know, with his mix, he is going to give up homers at times.
02:13That's just how he, the type of pitcher he is.
02:16But he also threw a sinker down the way to a righty to get a double play ball
02:20in that game too, which kind of goes unnoticed.
02:22Like the new pitch that he just added,
02:25or is adding a different version of it this spring training,
02:28and to get that result with the wind blowing out in a big moment
02:33and get a ground ball double play,
02:35like those are little things like such good wind for him
02:39to see the work that he's putting in with getting the results he wants.
02:42And obviously there's two ways to avoid homers.
02:45Swing and miss or balls on the ground.
02:46That's really the only two ways you can 100% avoid giving up a home run.
02:51And so those are things we're working on and he's working on.
02:54And I was, you know, I know he was obviously frustrated with giving up the homer,
02:59but again, he composed himself and pitched extremely well the rest of the way,
03:03kept to see the ball game.
03:05So I was very pleased with the show, the first outing.
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