• 17 hours ago
Transcript
00:00He knows this on the River Islands guest line. I don't think he's offended by it. He's our second favorite Buster
00:05It's it's Buster Olney of ESPN. How are you?
00:09I'm doing great. It's that's a great compliment, you know earlier this offseason
00:14I talked to Buster and mentioned that he's the only human Buster that I've ever met adult that I've met in my life
00:22Most of them are dogs and cats and I'm just glad you know
00:25Somewhere maybe ahead of some of the dogs and cats named Buster
00:29Yeah, do you guys have like monthly meetings and talk about your experience as a Buster in life and stuff like that?
00:35No, it's really funny that you asked because you know for the first time I ever spoke to him
00:40It was just when his career it started and you know
00:44He called me on the phone when I had reached out to his agent to talk to him and he goes
00:47Hey Buster, it's Buster and neither one of us said anything and that's how we greeted each other for years
00:54And then, you know last fall was the first time we actually talked about it
00:59And he told me we talked about how many dogs and cats we both met named Buster
01:03And he mentioned that there would be times when he'd be walking out for warm-ups in the bullpen and a fan would yell out from
01:10The stands. Hey Buster, I
01:12Named my dog after you I named my cat after you and he said he said I don't know if that's a compliment or not
01:18I'm like it absolutely is a compliment
01:21Definitely it definitely is but Buster I want to know how many compliments you're hearing around baseball about the hire
01:29Itself like how has the arrival of Buster changed the perception of the Giants around baseball if at all?
01:38well, you know Farhan was
01:40Very respected within the industry for his knowledge for sure
01:45I will tell you that
01:48The early days of Buster Posey, he's impressed a lot of people
01:51Look, I think that you know, if I think of the best general managers in baseball, okay, there is a common
01:59Trait that they share and that is humility, you know Buster Posey's not coming into that job saying I know everything
02:08I don't really need a lot of help. I could take care of things
02:11She's going in understanding that he's got a big learning curve as a former player and there's things that
02:17He'd be not aware of until you actually get in a front office and you start to deal with it
02:22You know
02:22He reminds me a lot of Chris Anthonetti of the Guardians who might be the best or Alex Anthopoulos the Braves or Brian Cashman
02:30You know, these are people who don't assume they know everything and I think that's a great first step for
02:37For
02:38For Buster, you know when Derek Jeter took over the Marlins
02:41One of the things Derek did is he didn't hire a lot of outside people. He just brought in people that he knew
02:47It was almost like he didn't like pushback
02:51And a reminder of what he didn't know. I think Buster's gonna be you know, an executive is a former player who's gonna welcome
02:58Feedback where people saying hey, you might want to think about this
03:01You might want to think about that in a way that maybe Derek didn't and how big of a job is in front of him
03:07And put aside the gap that is seemingly big between them and the Dodgers at the Major League level
03:12But how big of a job does Buster have to try to get this organization back on a good track?
03:20It's a big job because of the gap
03:23Right because the Dodgers are so entrenched the best team in baseball, you know
03:28I heard a story recently
03:30about a player a friend of mine was
03:32Going on a golf outing with a player and when news broke about the Dodgers getting
03:37Saki this player who is not a member of the Giants looked at him and said what's the point?
03:42Like even players are feeling like man. The Dodgers are loaded
03:48And you know the Giants in recent years have obviously not had success in drawing big-name players to their team
03:55But I think they're gonna be better than what people expect this year cuz I think Willie Adamas is an impact a guy
04:01He's a great clubhouse leader
04:04You know someone every day comes through the door, you know excited to play baseball a
04:10Teammate who's very positive and their pitching could be pretty good
04:14I'm really curious to see what Justin Verlander brings this year Buster on the ESPN with us here Willard and dibs
04:19Yeah Buster about Willie Adamas comment. You just made and we got to meet him for the first time on Friday
04:24He came on the show and my goodness is he impressive. Yeah, I like like what?
04:30Maybe a little more about what is that wraparound baseball and how you see it applying to the Giants situation currently?
04:38well
04:39The reputation is excellent. You know when in the Juan Soto stuff was just starting up in the winter time
04:45He was just starting to talk with people what you heard from a lot of clubs was you know
04:51Juan Soto to be someone who's gonna upgrade your lineup and make your offense better Willie Adamas is gonna make your clubhouse better and
04:58He's gonna make your team better
05:02You know, he was so valued in Milwaukee
05:06Because of the way he could connect with players in all corners of the clubhouses and I mentioned, you know
05:12He's a really positive personality which you know in some sports look every Sunday NFL players get up for that day
05:21Baseball players have to get up every day
05:23You know, they they they have to prepare to play six seven days a week
05:28and so when you have a guy who is arguably one of your two or three best players coming through the door and
05:34He's super positive and he's got something going with everybody and he's excited to play that can make a difference and it goes back
05:42I think to you know
05:44When I did talk to Buster
05:45Right after he got the job last November and I asked him sure what he was looking for and he talked about wanting baseball
05:52Players Willie Adamas is a baseball player
05:55And I think that you know getting him really moves them forward and we talked with him about
06:00The fact that he missed one game only last year and he was lamenting the fact that the manager kind of made him
06:05So you think about a left side of the infield with with Chapman and Adamas and you got Jung-hoo Lee in center
06:12How important is it for any baseball team to have mainstays which is something the Giants haven't had in a long time
06:20100%
06:22Look, I think that you know on paper
06:25It sounds really like it sounds like a good idea to have a lot of platoons working and we saw
06:33What was it in?
06:342021 when the Giants won, you know so many games won the National League West and it can work
06:39But it's such a fragile equation
06:42You have to have everything go, right?
06:44And if you get a series of injuries suddenly, you know that the the advantages of having all those platoons
06:51Evaporates now, you know every day, you know, you're gonna have one of the best shortstops taking the field
06:57You know every day you're gonna have one of the best third baseman taking the field
07:00You know
07:00You hope that Lee comes back from the injury last year and he can be a productive player on a daily basis
07:05You know that that is the hallmark when Buster talks about winning baseball players, that's a hallmark of that
07:11You know
07:11It's part of the reason why I think that in recent years
07:13The Braves have been so good because they've got this lineup of guys who post up
07:18On most days the same thing with the Philadelphia Phillies the Dodgers. I you know that that it's a defining characteristic
07:26Buster what version of Justin Verlander are the Giants getting at age 42? I
07:32Don't know I wish you could give you a you know a great answer to that
07:38I know this he burns to be great. You know, this is not a case where you've got a guy barely hanging on
07:47You know, he's just looking to get one or two more milestones then head off to the sunset and satisfied being the number five starter
07:54And I remember having a conversation with Justin last September when he was trying to come back from neck problem
08:00He knew that he was short on stuff. He was really
08:04you know blunt in his own self-assessment about what he needed to do and where he needed to get to and
08:11He doesn't have the finish line in sight in his mind
08:14You know his baseball hero growing up was Nolan Ryan and I asked him when we had this conversation
08:19You know back in 2011
08:21You know, why is Nolan Ryan your guy goes because he was a power pitcher in his mid 40s
08:26And that's what Justin wants. He wants to pitch to 45 46 and not only pitch
08:33To that point but also to continue to be a high-end power pitcher now
08:39He's made adjustment in recent years. He's kind of remade himself a couple of times
08:44But I think he wants to certainly get back to being a frontline starting pitcher
08:50And I mean if that happens the Giants could have an excellent rotation
08:5438 wins away from 300 two-part question buster
08:58Which my partner always cautions against because usually only one part get it gets answers. I never gets answer
09:05First part does Verlander get to 300 and the second part is if he doesn't will anyone ever again?
09:14So one I think you'll get there I think I'm the only person in baseball who believes he will
09:20Bang in this drum for three or four years because they've asked Justin about that. You know, what about 300? Oh, yeah
09:26Yeah
09:27I mean it absolutely is something that he's talked about in the past of wanting to get and
09:31He would be the last if he does because of the way starting pitchers are used
09:37You know, their innings are limited. They don't get as many decisions
09:40You know starting pitchers routinely come out in the fifth inning with one or two outs because no one cares about wins anymore
09:46Well, Justin, he's one of the old-school guys and he does care about it, you know, I hope he gets to 300
09:54And as they say if he if he does, I don't think anyone's getting a close to that number
09:59Buster on the ESPN with us Buster
10:01I know what the Giants are saying
10:03But I'd love to know what you're hearing in baseball circles about how they're going to play this season with their top prospect Bryce Eldridge
10:13So I haven't specifically talked to
10:16People in the Giants organization at this point about what they're gonna do with them
10:20You know given the fact that he's so young 21 years old
10:23It makes sense for them to bring him into camp
10:27You know, let him get comfortable
10:29See what he can do and have an open mind
10:33But my guess is especially when talking about a power hitter, you know
10:37Who hasn't so far had a year in the minor leagues where he's got like a 480 on base and a you know
10:43600 slug he hasn't absolutely
10:46Dominated at any level is that they will, you know continue to focus on development for him, but man
10:54He's an exciting player, you know seeing that the last home run he hit in the exhibition game
11:00He really does look like Aaron judge
11:03Just you know where he is physically and and you know
11:07What he could do to a baseball and and what a difference making presence
11:10For the Giants right in the middle of their lineup when he gets to the big leagues, you know
11:15We'll see if early in the year
11:17You know, he can force their hand and basically drive his way to the big leagues by dominating in the minor leagues
11:23That's my guess is to have them handle it. Did you just compare Bryce Eldridge to Aaron judge buster? I
11:31Compared him physically. I'm not saying he's gonna have 360 homers and you know six years
11:37But the way is watching him run around the bases after hit that home run
11:41I'm like man, he really does sort of remind you with that just overwhelming power
11:47Can we get 359 home runs out of Bryce buster? Yeah, right exactly
11:52It's hard to not make comparisons when you have stature and he's he actually won't be 21 until October
11:59So I wonder how much that actually plays into to the patients and are you seeing more and more buster that teams are?
12:07more willing to
12:09Accelerate guys potential and their development more now than back in the old days
12:14No question, you know, they have an open mind about promoting guys
12:19I mean look at what Paul schemes did last year
12:21You know where he gets a cup of coffee in the minor leagues goes up to the to the big leagues
12:27And he's one of the two or three best starting pitchers in baseball
12:29I think that teams feel like the players are better prepared to be in the big leagues
12:36They've been working with coaches
12:38They've been getting better instruction at a younger age
12:41Than they did in the past and you know, let's face it
12:45I think that just the exposure to the major league product is so different from when I first covered
12:50where it felt like the players had to learn so much about you know being away from home and being professionals and
12:57Before you know, they got to the big leagues, which is why part of the reason why I think teams left players in the minor
13:02Leagues for a while. All right buster. Do you think this is a wild card?
13:06I
13:09Don't think I'm gonna pick them at this point to make the wild card to be a wild card team
13:14But we haven't formally turned that in I got to see more of spring training and I'm going to Florida
13:20next week and
13:21Spending some time with some teams and talking to people and maybe I'll get back to you and see but I think they're right in
13:27That you know six to nine mix when we talk about who are gonna be the wild card team
13:32Well, I mean it's crazy with the Dodgers that we sit here in February and we're already begging for a wild card
13:38It's like you just assume
13:40what the Dodgers doing by the way buster would love to hear your take on on the Dodgers offseason and
13:47Sort of how you answer it when people say boy, this is bad for baseball
13:53So I remember it was Billy Bane who said to me this is when the Yankees were in their heyday and you know
13:59He mentioned to me that when people would complain to him about the Yankees and how they had so many stars
14:06compared to teams like the A's
14:09Billy would say look they're great for baseball
14:11You know to have the the evil Empire the the team that would be the traveling circus that would fill every single ballpark
14:19He said, you know that that's really good for the sport. I will tell you that
14:25You know boy, I'm hearing more and more voices within this sport like I heard from you know about that player saying
14:31You know, what's the point? That's not a good place to be
14:35You think about you know, they they won the World Series last year and then in the offseason
14:42They get Blake Snell. They get Roki Sasaki. They get
14:47Tanner Scott who might be the best relief pitcher in baseball
14:50They get Michael Conforto it basically is the platoon player, you know three or four of the guys Kirby Yates, etc
14:58it is going to be interesting to see how many games they win and
15:03Do I think that they're going to be held up?
15:05They already have been held up some degree by people in the sport is a reason for
15:10Salary cap, which I think the owners are going to push for in the less next labor negotiations and a change in baseball's financial system
15:17I'd say this for baseball to get to that point
15:20You're gonna have to have a major major labor fight Union, which is one of the strongest unions not only in sports
15:27But in America, how much would they be willing to yield on any of this knowing that it's gonna cost their top-end players a ton
15:34of money
15:36So it's a fascinating question and and I think it's more relevant than ever because in the past
15:41You know when that this topic came up the Union would dismiss the idea of a salary cap
15:47Based on principle like we will never go for that. That was always the response
15:52I do wonder among the rank-and-file if there are more players who are asking the question
15:59Wait, would a salary cap mean more money for more players?
16:03Okay, the last round of negotiations. There wasn't really an effort by the Player Association to explore that
16:09I think there'll be a lot of players who'll be asking questions about it this time around
16:14I don't know if the Union would adopt it
16:17You're a hundred percent, right? If the salary cap came in that might mean that you know one Soto
16:24Type player would get not seven hundred sixty five million, but maybe five hundred million
16:29But other players would make more money and I do think there's gonna be a lot of support for that among the rank-and-file
16:36We'll see if it manifests at the leadership level. I don't know if one could survive on just five hundred million buster
16:45Exactly
16:49It mirrors it mirrors
16:51It mirrors the the PD conversation for me
16:55You and I remember for years and years and years player Association was always will never have drug testing
17:01No way privacy rights will never do it
17:03And then guess what over time more and more the rank-and-file said no
17:08I want drug testing because I don't want to have to take this stuff. I want to be you know, competitively protected
17:14And eventually the rank-and-file sentiment overrode the Union leadership. I'm curious to see if that happened with the salary cap
17:21Yeah, the world does change that that is for sure. All right, Buster
17:25I've left the most important one for the end OG and it's this because you said that you've only met one other
17:33Buster human being in your life and that's Buster Posey. Have you ever met Busta Rhymes?
17:37So
17:40Last year, okay
17:42I was at Citi Field the Mets before Mets game and Busta Rhymes thrown out the first pitch now
17:48When I covered the Yankees back in the day, they had a player named Homer Bush every time I'd walk in the clubhouse
17:54He'd yell out loud Busta Rhymes
17:56And so I've always thought you know, I should get a picture with Busta Rhymes
18:01He we were in the same ballpark that day. I didn't go down there and I'm an idiot
18:06We should have made that happen, oh my gosh, that's not the payoff I was looking I mean I seriously I
18:13Thought like we were heading for a story where you went and got a picture and then you guys went out that night you partied
18:19Until 3 in the morning
18:23No, I'm an idiot I just and I had so many regrets since that moment
18:28I think I was talking to someone I saw him on the field and the person thought you gotta run down there
18:33Yeah, yeah, but what about the you know, tomorrow's starting pitcher or whatever nerd conversation
18:37I was having and I should have cut it off and gone down there and gotten the picture
18:42Well, maybe I'm maybe he can do the forward in your Hall of Fame speech or something like that someday. Oh my goodness
18:53Hey
18:54Buster or Busta whichever way you like to go. Thank you very much for coming on the show
19:00Okay, guys. Oh, it's fun