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