Culture, Community, And The View That Changes A City

A five-story landmark from 1856 just became Pittsburgh’s most intriguing clubhouse on the river. Its part rooftop restaurant, part private cigar lounge, part music venue, part distillery and much more. We step inside the Drawing Room to trace how a decrepit shell turned into a South Shore destination with a skyline overlook, historic structural beams saved from the past, and a culture obsessed with fit, not flash.

We break down the vertical blueprint: a rooftop built for sunsets and city photos, an events floor that swings from weddings to corporate nights, a members-first cigar lounge with two simple rules and serious ventilation, a forthcoming restaurant concept shaped by neighborhood demand, and a ground-level deli, bottle shop, and distillery linking daily life to late nights. Along the way, we talk partnerships that matter city life, hotels, venues, local teams. They want highlight the riverfront so it becomes a destination circuit instead of a one-off stop. Draft week turns the volume up even more, with the Dan Patrick Show broadcasting from the Drawing Room and a calendar packed with parties, foundations, and live sets.

Sports and city identity thread everything together. We swap memories of terrible towels and summer nights at the ballpark, and we wrestle with expectations: what “winning” really means, how culture beats clout in a clubhouse, and why a fanbase that fills seats and keeps TV numbers strong year after year. We explore the Pirates’ outlook with their young talented arms, O’Neil Cruz’s ceiling, and what it takes to keep generational stars through the lens of legacy deals and the city’s history of creative solutions. If you care about urban revival, hospitality strategy, or how a curated community can turn a building into a beacon, this show is for you.

Subscribe, share with a Pittsburgh friend, and leave a review to help more people find the show. What would you add to the South Shore to make it the city’s next great night out?

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Transcript

Welcome To The Drawing Room

SPEAKER_02 0:07

We are at the drawing room. Not drawing a gun, not drawing pictures, but drawing cigars. And I'm with Meatball and Double Douche. Right here. Yeah. He's calling me train wreck because I have a broken leg. Um, for real though. Um, this place is beautiful. Thank you. Like, tell me a little bit about how this all came to be. You never stopped working, but you're also honestly in a little kid's like dream house right now. It's it's uh it's been a journey. It's been about seven years since we first started the project. We bought a building from 1856. Rehabbed the building, and then we added on to about 30,000. Were you born in 1856? Um maybe. Maybe I'm retailing it. Who knows? Yeah, yeah, recording. No, you look young. Okay. Maybe a vampire. Yeah. We have terrible members. That's you know, terrible members. Hey, hey, watch out. That's my BFF and we like to. Yeah, I can I can see it. I can see the ball in it. Yeah. So close. Yeah, so we added on 30,000 square foot to the building, and we started with the rooftop, which is a whole restaurant with a bar with an outdoor overlook to the city. We bought this building for the view, as you can see, the view in the picture. What do you mean? You don't get it? I don't get it. Do you get it, Mr. Chaos? Double D.

unknown 1:35

Yeah.

Events Floor And Riverside Outlook

Private Cigar Lounge Culture

SPEAKER_02 1:35

He doesn't say much, you know. Yeah, he's a music. Yeah. So, and then on floor five, we have a wedding reception area, corporate event center that we rent out, and that's going to be the very popular area as well. That's the view. We have a river side, and then we have a cane side, as we call it. Um, that will be rented out probably full time, probably within a year or so. Um the fourth floor is the cigar bar, which is mostly membership-driven private lounge, and we have a small public area for people to smoke. Which this place is sick. And you you gave me, before I go any further, the engagement. Yes, by principal cigar. I didn't know if it was a little awkward when you said that. Well, no engage. Yeah, I was able, I was wondering, but yeah, it's very, very tasty. Um, yeah, good pick.

unknown 2:27

Yeah.

Future Floors And Restaurant Plans

Music Venue And Beam Wonderland

Speakeasy Dreams And Simulators

Deli, Distillery, And Local Partners

Why The South Shore

Building A Riverfront Destination

SPEAKER_02 2:28

So we had an event with principal cigars last weekend, and we did really well with them. So people were really, you know, surprised by the cigars because no one's really heard of the brand, and uh it's been a big success in this part. Um, so on the other side of four is the catering kitchen. And Tom and Plea does all of our catering for all our events. Um, then the future floors are one, two, and three. And we know that's how much fair floors. Yes, I will. I'll get it. Oh, but it's still so amazing. So three is going to be the restaurant concept. We're waiting to see what Station Square does. Um what sense? Um, we don't want to copy restaurants. We want to see what they're gonna do. We're gonna have a meeting with them and see what restaurants they're gonna put in, then we're gonna do our concept after what they do. We don't want to have the same type of if you can have it your way, because I know you're a foodie, but what would you want? Because I just ate awesome, uh pepperoni, it was hot honey, the wings were outstanding. Probably, I don't know, a steak concept. We might even do like a galley-style restaurant up there where you can order from six different kitchens, oven, things like that. So that's still what it works. Yeah, yep. And then on two, we're gonna have a music venue, and we are gonna have the release of the Chris Higby single that he's coming out with on April April 14th. So that that'll be fun because we did a Nashville night here, and we had 12 bands in the building. I wasn't invited to Nashville night. Well, we didn't know you. It's kind of a theme material. Look me up. Yeah. So that's gonna be the music venue, and then the other side's my favorite part. Wait, hold on. You didn't do any justice to the beam wonderland. I didn't go to that yet. I said, That's floor two. That's floor two. I got asked all over me because that's the other side. I got excited. Sorry. So sorry, train wreck. Yeah, training. Yeah, he can't even feel it. He burned his legs in the field. No, so on the other side, in my favorite floor. No, it is okay. All right, so on the other side is where all the old beamworks are from the 1800s, and it was all hand-hone lumber, and it is just unbelievable. We had to take out every other floor to get floor height up there because the floor height was about six and a half feet, and they were two by twelve. And you can still see the joints where it's where it is. It's it's so cool. So that's gonna be a speakeasy VIP area over there, and that's gonna be a very popular area in the building. I'm still trying to get golf simulators over there as well. Those days are perfect. Yeah, I'm just saying, maybe maybe a baseball simulator too. They go hand in hand. We don't have a good baseball. It's just wow. Why would we do that? If we had a catcher once in a while, you know what I mean? Is it a slap or what? I don't know, maybe we'll off the point. I'm not sure. Very sensitive. Yeah, yeah. Um, and then on one is gonna be the deli, the bottle shop, and the distillery. It's the offshoot from the Belafon area, which is Big Spring Spirits that we own as well. So it's an exciting project. It's been a long time coming, and Pittsburgh needed something like this. And who all is involved? I mean, you named a bunch of different companies throughout the city, which I love that you're bringing in local business. You're kind of touching all these different markets. How did you bring a group of men together and put that together? And it seems like you you're here every single day, especially in the cigar bar. That was more of your like baby. Yeah, but like just talk about how this all came together because you talk about a giant building, five stories, rooftop, beautiful view, and you guys settled on different areas, which is crazy. So Tony Mazzarini is the brains behind everything. Uh he's he's been into developing things, and um he just had this thing that is going out, going to be a place in Pittsburgh. And they found this building, and they're like, Wow, should we do apartments in here? What should we do? And then he got with some buddies that he's dealt with in the past, and there's a buy like there's five major partners, and there's about 22 investors in the building. So they all came to decide this is what we should do, and this is how it came to was that a tough process? Or like, did they did did you sell them on the vision, or was it like a lot of people that you've known the past, done investing with the past, or was it like a almost like a little bit of a fight, a grind? It was, it was a grind because you had this old building that was all decrepit. We had to re redo the whole building, and most of the contractors said you should tear the building down. But we're like, we can't, we have to save this building. So I was like, no, you can't. I don't care what it costs. And it was right before COVID when COVID hit, the cost went up 30%. So it was a struggle. So we have a good team behind us, and you know, the contractors did a good job on the building, as you can see through the building. Um, but it it's been a struggle from start to finish. And why this location? You're on the other side of the Allegheny, yeah. See in the back, like why this spot? I think it's a really neat spot. I think this area is often overlooked. Like, why did you pick here? Tony mentioned Oh, welcome. You are in part of the view where you have the view. That's what's happening. It's a view that no Pittsburgh doesn't have this view. No, you do. Yeah, but you do have this view. Mount Washington is an awesome view. You don't see it from this aspect. You have the trolley going by, looks like New York City. You have to do it.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

I was just gonna say that was the coolest thing.

Signature Events And Foundations

SPEAKER_02 8:28

It is like a brain, yeah. It's unbelievable. And it it seems like I I've said for a while, especially at the airport coming in, billion dollars airport, honestly, didn't have to spend any taxpayer money, which is really cool. I feel like this is the next Nashville. I moved out of Nashville three years ago and I watched it boom. And I think it's things like this that when people come here, they get the vibe of what this is because there's tech here, there's music, sports are off the charts when we probably believe. Obviously, we don't win all the time. Yeah, but I think you guys are a little bit ahead of it. Well, we're trying to do a partnership. We're trying to make this a destination point down here. So we're partnering with the river house, the sheriff, station square, the glass house. We want this to be a destination point. Sold by cutter. Take it easy. Just a quick plug. Okay, yeah, yeah. Where's the sign? We got the sign. We're here, we're here, we're here. Yeah, we want to make this a destination point. We don't need a sign. That's the sign. That is the sign. That is the sign. Yeah, so but that we want this to be a destination point for you guys. Some reason to come down to the South Shore. It's not station square anymore, and it's not Southside. We are the South Shore. Yeah, that's where we want you to come.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

That's been for a while. Pittsburgh, everybody talks about the bridges and the rivers, but we don't have anything on the rivers.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

That's so true. They can put a barge out for the draft.

SPEAKER_03 9:52

And then we finally just got a restaurant that is like seasonal on the river, but there's nothing like this. Is the only thing that's on, like feels like you literally could jump in the river right here.

NFL Draft Week And Dan Patrick

The Grind Of Redevelopment

Locker Room Vibes And Membership

SPEAKER_02 10:03

So both said, and how do they find you? What goes on here? We just heard a birthday party over there. We took my man's spot, which we're gonna talk about later on. But the reality of it is like we're talking about events coming from charities to retirement parties to anything. Talk about some of the things that have happened, what is coming, and then do not leave out that draft. Okay, so uh, in the past, we've done a Nashville night where we had 12 bands in the building from no bad juju to Chris Higbee, jazz bands, everything. It was a really good night. We had about a thousand people in the building. I'm gonna call you Juju. I love that. Yeah, Juju's just there. Yeah, double, just too nice for double ish. Shut up, Juju. Is he too nice? Well, for now, yeah, yeah. I thought I was the nice one. No, it's kind of you know, yeah, shut up. Yeah, we do have laughter from the cheapest. We always have a live audience 100%. Yeah, yeah. We got groupies, those are our guys over there. Yeah, well, Calvin's been a groupie of mine for a while, so he's pill killed. He's the first person you gave engagement to, right? Right. I understand. Yep, got it. So we did the National Light. We've got the Charlie Batch foundation, where we were at the end. Yeah, that looked awesome. I couldn't make it. So far, this we set this aside for the private area. So, all this was a safe area for all the players. Charlie kept coming down and saying, guys, we gotta get you up playing ping pong and they didn't want to leave this area. This was such a cool body. So it was a very successful night. Um, we've had several events here for private people that wanted to be, you know, not knowing where people were going. We've done um taste the events. Yeah, taste of events coming up. Soon to be moonshine. Soon to be moonshine. We have um we had the after the left the final cast party for the Milton Hershey movie, and we have some of their furniture in the building we bought from the set. So cool. So we're gonna have to do that. Really cool stuff. Yeah, really cool. Um, what's up and coming is the draft. The draft is gonna be insane in Pittsburgh. Anywhere from 800,000 to a million people coming into the city. This place is going to be phenomenal. We have all kind of Hall of Famer parties and steeler parties and so forth. But we also have the Dan Patrick show going to be in the drawing room broadcasting from here all week. So we have some other teasers that we won't say right now. We're probably gonna be booking. Talk about a mic drop, right? Dan Patrick show's coming together with this view, it's gonna be natural. It's incredible. How did how did that come to be? Because we met probably two months ago before I wrestled a gorilla and he hurt my knee. I didn't win the fight. Um so he's a baseball player, so it wasn't a gorilla. It was probably uh yeah. Okay, so four counts was a lot, but yeah, yeah, how did it seem like even though you started during COVID, it seems like you guys have an unbelievable report. All you guys have met, and it seems like you guys are on the same page because stuff like that doesn't come together easily. I mean, we've we've been to this podcast a little over a year, and it's not it's not easy to just get aligned. You're talking about big, big players, good pieces on maybe one of the biggest days in the city, and it's definitely recent couple decades. Yeah, they're actually you're there's people coming to us. You know, they'll they're finding you now. Yes, and they'll they'll say, yeah, we're looking for a space, and they'll say, You guys gotta go to the still at the stop school. They come over here, like a producer will come over and say, Man, this is the spot. We have we have such a unique like every forward, this is to it. Right. It's almost like you're going like forward in time and backward in time. Yeah, it's really cool. And like the weddings we've had, they love it because they can take pictures of like the old architecture with the modern, the view, the rooftop. It's been like a very cool experience to see people's reaction to the whole building. So speaking of weddings, we did a Hallmark mini-series here about it. It was a wedding that for older people that are getting remarried after several years. And we did a six-part mini-series in the building. So that's gonna be a pretty cool thing. I think that'll be out later this year. So Hallmark? Yep. And New Year's Fitness. Yeah, Hallmark Christmas. Now we're in Hallmark Weddings. That's a lot. I mean, tell me about that. How? It's random. Um they they scheduled or is it because you're a loyal, loyal Hallmark? It is. I have my Hallmark socks. Yeah. You know, so um they were planning on doing it at the casino, but you can't film it. So they panicked and they told us about our place, and they came over and we signed a deal with them. So that's where we ended up having the Hallmark mini-series and talk about how many people, you know, closet watchers of Christmas movies like yourself, all year round, all year round. That same love story with a different different scene in the background. It's Christmas porn. It's what it is. Yeah. Jingle bells. Can we talk about this?

SPEAKER_03 15:29

Just look at it. Just look at it. Just look behind you. Just look at it.

Culture Rules And Inclusivity

Pittsburgh Roots And The Exhale

SPEAKER_02 15:32

Yep. I mean, it really is silly. It's a bit yeah, you you are, and talk a little bit about how you got involved with all this. You have a very interesting story. I do want to get the giant evil stuff because that was hilarious. But like, I think kind of going back telling you guys uh why? Why this? Because like you have the train stuff, it's hard to run up. So hard. So I got involved. I've actually done gone for quite a while and uh used to buy stuff out of them and it's all introducing Tony. I was down here in 2018. So when did that start? So you said 2018, 2020, you guys started making it. But like when did the like process start? Like, maybe there's a napkin to restaurant, he's drawn out this is what I want, this is my big, I guess, hoorah to walk away. Do you remember that? Sound like there was a specific hoorah moment. Um were you guys always dreamers when you were together? It developed over time and just bouncing like this and you know, Tony's like Tony's been doing this job for a while, and uh he got around and he's gonna be a little bit. Oh, yeah, we're gonna bring him on for sure. He's the one that really saw a lot of us. That's so cool. But what made you actually commit that? Because it's not easy. I've been I've been in businesses, I've invested in like some wins, some losses, and I could tell you right now, like my biggest loss was what I thought I could have been the biggest win easily, but the people always are the problem. Right? It's not necessarily the idea, idea shift because they're panic, they were kind of in, but they said they're all in and out, all in. So just talk about that because like that's the one thing that really drew me to you guys. First time I'm here, it's me, Greg Brown, Steve Tanzelli. I mean, you guys are all around us, and we're just cutting up like it's a locker room. All of a sudden I'm calling you meatball, you juju, and that's for an athlete, the guy that's you know not in the locker rooms consistent as I am now, but I was like that's a missing piece of my life. And I felt it like that. That's not easy to do. So it's funny, cigar shops seem to be on the East Coast and West Coast, they're totally different. East Coast, it's it's shit talk. You shit talk, I have two rules in there no politics and no race. Everything else was good, you know. We talk shit. You talk about running race? Well because I'm fast for a time. You don't know, you know, bionic. Well, the bad facts, I could still beat you in a race. I love that. Okay, just remember that. Just remember that. Even when you're healthy, I'm probably eating a race. Healthy? Healthy? Is there such a thing when you alright? 90. No, they're that we're coming. We'll talk about that. 90. No, 88. 90. 88. 90 on camera. So when I was here last night, Buckle's making all these trades. We have a little wager. He says Buckles will win 90 again. No, no, no, no. I said they won't. They won't win 90 again. Excuse me. I said, no, they'll probably win 88. Greg Brown said 90. Shouldn't Greg Brown 90, sugar, please, 88. That's how it went down. I'm gonna call the bureau. We're gonna figure out. I don't drink. You were drinking. I wasn't drinking. Oh yeah. Yes, you were. Yeah, like I like Apple juice. Oh, see, the lies already are spark. I drink out of a Civic Cup. That's a lot. 90, whatever. So yeah, so we're selling at 89. That is 90 games. They will play 90 games, yes. Okay. They will not win 90 games. Yeah, they're gonna win 88. Okay, then you're gonna owe me a box of cigars. Yep. Yep. I'm not gonna win this. Fourth.

SPEAKER_03 19:29

As I say, I don't think there's a way you win it. But the the good thing is we're gonna smoke them all together.

Crossing Rivers And Neighborhood Loyalties

Sports Loyalty And Global Fanbase

Memory, Family, And Game Nights

We Are Family And Branding

SPEAKER_02 19:33

So you just said that, and I'm like, that's a win. But for Greg, it's actually 94 wins. I think I heard 94. Oh, that works. Yeah, the coach is really cool. He's done an amazing job with like you know, his personality and the people coming in. We do some amazing members that make this place. Like, yeah, you're you're I mean, you can't say enough good things about the peanut company. Yeah, that's a veteran peanut gallery. Yeah, we've turned we've turned people down because I know it's gonna wreck the culture in here. That's really cool. We I sit down with people when you want to join here. I sit down, have a cigar with me. I want to see how you interact with other people, and I've turned people down. It's not for everything. I don't one person could ruin everything we built with one bars. What I love is like this gives a high cost feel. And I I met a police officer the first time from New York. We're calling Boston. Boston Bryant. Boston Bryant, because he hates Boston. And I'm like, wow, there's a police officer. And then my best friend now, right? A veteran, low key asking if I need anything. See if we walk around, you just don't find that. I think Pittsburgh has always had that knack of being a little bit better of the city, especially when you think about the north. It's really a city that I believe should be in the south. Like, I think you've got to come out and put this in a box and put it in a room. I don't know how you did it, but that makes more sense. It's wild to me. It really is. Like, what made you come with that concept of sit down, meet these people, make sure this culture is right? Because culture right now in baseball and in sports in general is a taboo. They don't want to talk about it. Culture doesn't matter, we need the best players. That's not true. Yeah, right? Because I need to function on a daily basis. I've married for almost 20 years. I don't like her every day. I love her all the time. Our culture's based on that love, and you don't have that in a team atmosphere like this. I don't see how these places survive. Yeah, because we we just want to make that culture where everyone gets along. It's like everyone's the same in here. I don't care if you you're a janitor or if you're a president of a company, it doesn't matter. Everyone, this right here brings everyone together. It is. And cigars bring everybody together. There's a story I heard guys in New York, and he was a big Wall Street guy. Billionaire. They met in a shop. A janitor from the building that he works in. And they are now best friends. They meet for lunch every day in New York City and they smoke a cigar together. It doesn't matter what the cigar is, but this is what brought them together. So you have a multi-billionaire with a janitor in New York City, and they are best friends. And you're never going to break that up. And that's caused by this. We're all here for the same reason. Relax. Enjoy cigars. Enjoy like morality. Yeah, we have people from all over Pittsburgh. I go to places in Pittsburgh. I never thought I would go. But I go over there and I'm welcome with open arms. It's over cigars. It's phenomenal. So did you see it? Did you see it happening like that? Because of some situation for you guys? What was that situation? Well, because there are some shops that aren't friendly. Agreed. And it's terrible. You walk in there, you feel like an outcast. And I never want anyone to feel like it feels like you're walking into like a biker bar like every name's group that's like, and we have a lot of women in here smoking cigars, and they don't feel like they're judged in here, which is great. No one gets judged. I don't care what kind of cigar you're smoking or whatever. So it's it's that whole culture that we really wanted to do in here. And you have that, and people come in here with the ventilation system we have. Women are like, I don't need to go home and shower right away because I hate cigar smoke. But they're comfortable in here because the smoke is dissipated so quickly in here. It's really cool. What about you? Come on, Juju. What about you? Like, when did it when did you realize this was a lack relaxing space for you? I know you cut it up. You ask phenomenal questions about baseball, but like this. Yeah, I mean, I think like the culture here, I put a lot of that on John. John's talking about that culture. They saw that vision from 48 of like, this is what I want. I don't want to be in the shop and walk in and know this is not going to help and shoot. Like we all get along with it. And uh, you know, I've met so many of the members of just when this place opened seven months ago. And it's amazing. And it's hard to believe it's only seven months. Because like it does feel like it's been open a while. Yeah. It's just uh a lot of the credit of the culture does go into hard. Yes, that story will come out at some point. Um I mean, can I share a little bit of it? Sure can. So we're talking about culture, and you know that meatball from the mop, the tagged mop. He's a hitman. Come in, and you beat him up with those Hallmark socks. You rolled up cigars in that thing, just beat him with it. So that's why he's called Meatball. It's a tell we're still trying to prove, but yeah, the story's out. There's no no Italian mobsters coming around here because they know Hallmark socks are coming at you, right? Isn't that what you heard? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so where like why Pittsburgh? You guys born and raised here, like that's the one thing about this podcast. We want to highlight great people, we want to tell stories, then we want to wrap it together at Pittsburgh, and then also the sports culture here. And I I think you know, being from Tennessee, it's crazy unique. I don't think people get it. I mean, even like the people that live here, the Yenzers, I don't think they even get how cool it is until something weird happens. Yeah, and what's wild is like I've moved several times throughout my career. I always came back to Pittsburgh. Where where'd you move to? So I've been in New York, New Jersey, and I've been in Fairfax, Virginia. Oh, so easy pick for Pittsburgh. It's easy to so easy, and it's just the people are so different here. And you know, you can always tell when someone's from Pittsburgh in another town. I've been in other places for business, and I'll be sitting there, and they're like, you hear someone talk and they're like, You're from Pittsburgh. Yeah, that unique whatever it is. Yeah, yes, feed. What do you call that? Yeah, I'm a yelzer, so still trying to figure it out. Still get the twang, but trying to get the ang.

SPEAKER_03 26:19

Everybody talks about how gritty Pittsburgh is all the time, and I don't think that anybody realizes like the moment that we're all talking about is like when you get home from work and you take your shoes off, like we're all looking for that moment. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

And that's kind of what this kind of is that because like the the the I guess lunchbox tail, go to work, get it done. Yeah, come home. Go home and take that breath. It's pretty much yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

And like that's what I feel in here is all these people just got done with their busy day and they're coming here to like room right now. Yep.

Expectations, Standards, And Winning

Riverhounds And Soccer Growth

Pirates Outlook And Young Arms

SPEAKER_02 26:53

It has that feel. Yeah, yeah. It does. It does. You can smoke in your living room. Yeah, used to be always changed a little bit. Um, but like, so you move around, you get to Pittsburgh, and yeah, it does have a unique set of people that are nicer than most. Uh Rock King, I think, said it the best. Pittsburgh's the place that when a grocery line opens, everybody goes, Hey, you were here first. And you can go almost anywhere on the planet, even Nashville right now, which just sees volunteers say it's changed a lot. You're not gonna get that. They run in, right? But here, and it literally happened to me recently, and I just laughed. Because it is like it's fair. It's probably the best way to put it. It's it's it's polite and it's fair, but when it needs to be a little bimsy, it does. Now, I have some friends from out of town and a lot more than legs than Pittsburgh. And uh they always say Pittsburgh's especially friendly, and it's hard to make friends. You being from out of town, did you experience any of that? Yeah, I think the north-south, everything's cut into I mean, I can't keep up with the townships. Holy snakes. You have like you go here, like I live in Venetia. If I go 14 feet on Peters, I'm gonna go to the 14 feet on Washington County, and then I'm in Upper St. Clair, it's like, where am I? Right? And I think that's why because I think Pittsburgh falls into processes. So the church they go to is the one that's right here that's in Upper St. Clair. They live in Upper St. Clair. It's just like I think it's very wholesome. But it's weird in Pittsburgh. You if you live in the north, you don't travel across the river and go to the south. Yeah, it's and I go in the north all the time. Yeah, it's why restaurants, it's it is very odd here. Because I talk to Boston Bryan about this all the time. Don't travel two hours to go to a restaurant here. If it's not, if it's across the river, I don't care if it's they will not cross the river. Well, yeah, and I'm from my entire background is moving and trying new things. So I go to the north, I go to the south, I go to West Virginia. West Virginia is as close as going to Mars for me. So for me, it's been neat. But yeah, it is difficult because I think the the wholesome loyalty of like friendship here. When you find your friends here, like you guys are considered friends, it becomes a loyalty thing. And it's like, hey, what do you need? You good? What's going on? Um, I mean, we hadn't met much. I get heard I'm in the ICU. You guys said you're praying for it. It means the little. There's people having for a long time. You're like, You good? Like, yeah, just almost died. Hey, we're good. Yeah, then when we know you're okay, and then we serve a fonting year. Yeah, he just said I was a weekly and uh you know, maybe don't worry about panties so much. Whatever. Yeah, but that's also Pittsburgh's thing. Right. Yeah, it's baseball players. You said it earlier, we're panties. Yeah, that's why we play more games than everybody else. That's why we have a spring training that's six weeks long. That's why we take a hundred to space. No big deal. Well, we eat pizza and wings all the time. I'm retired. Eventually I gotta go gluten-free like you, meatball. So you're gonna be elite hard like me then. That's true, that's true, that's true. But I do feel bad when I do that. Um, good spirit for you. Yeah, born and raised, down for a little while in the Texas, and then I moved right back. Oh, lungs hardest thing? Did you feel bigger in Texas? No, they would try to pick on me about like the way we we speak up here and how fast I talk. Did you give it back to them and say, uh, buy cowboy goods? I would be like, oh, from where I'm from, if someone spoke like you, they wouldn't broke your smartphone. Ah, okay. I that's bold in Texas. Yeah, that cowboy Randy would come back to you. I I also find Pittsburgh so unique. Well, because we are such native people, especially back in the day, like you knew the people in your neighborhood, whether it's like Greenfield, Hazen, Four Channel, or anything, and they stuck in that group, and that's what you knew. So you have your friends, you whole money. We don't move like to the outside of the city. I stay in the South Down so we all made each other. Which is white. That's what's wild to me. Um so sports culture. We've already we've already talked about performance dealers, hosting events here, um, Hall of Fame stuff. Obviously, the Dave Howard Show is gonna be here. I mean Yeah, sports is a big thing here. That's fine. But like for you guys in general. Yeah, big time. Like what would what made that step because I just adopted the Steelers. I'm a penguins fan. I mean, I haven't been a fan of the Broncos, I haven't been a fan of the Titans. But like go into a Steelers game and I did it the way I really was excited about. I went in the Yinter section, I went to the third deck. I'm like, I wonder where they are all in, and it was an incredible experience. I didn't want anything of anything but that experience, and it was better than I could ever imagine. And loyal to the soul, and I still can't decide if you like the losing or the winning. I'm in between there still, because you guys get so fired up either way. Well, we have the pirate, so we're used to losing. So that was a shot too. Can you still say that if you've been up? Yeah, then I get a box of scrolls. Anyways, I've never heard you just want. What do you mean? I can't say much. I know. Me. So just consider enjoy money tonight. Yeah, but even so, like, uh to that point, to that point.

SPEAKER_03 32:37

Yeah, to that point. I grew up watching you, and you guys grew baseball in this area without winning. Like, I think that is what Pittsburgh, like, that shows Pittsburgh and nothing. Yeah, I think that's I think that's a good one how much people care about.

Cruz, Confidence, And Development

SPEAKER_02 32:56

I think that's something that in this city you can grow something special without money.

SPEAKER_03 33:03

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 33:04

Without some of the things that maybe the Yankees are gonna have, the Dodge are gonna have, or the Cowboys are gonna have. And it's because the loyalty here, and it's it's I say it's the roots that if you can show that you belong here and that your roots go deep into Pittsburgh, whether you're from here or not, they'll wrap your arms around it. That's kind of what I felt when I came here.

SPEAKER_03 33:27

Watching you guys play the game the right way and have so much fun doing it. If win, lose, or drop. Like you're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_02 33:33

We travel. It's fans in every city you go to, there's a stealer bar, there's a pirate bar, there's a penguin bar. It's unbelievable. You go to Dallas, there's a steeler bar. Like you would never have a Dallas bar here.

SPEAKER_03 33:48

Never.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

It would be never had that. And then the drug bus, right? Yeah, 1,000% burned out. Like, how weird is that? Like you go to away game, there's Steeler jerseys everywhere.

SPEAKER_03 34:03

I was I was in Greece and there was a Steeler bus.

Legacy Deals And Keeping Stars

SPEAKER_02 34:10

We always represent one of the teams. It's funny. Like when you're out and about up here in the Vegas walking town, you'll see people that are like buying the television. Yeah, and it's cool that the city has the same colors, all the sports teams. Yeah, yeah. But like, tell me a moment that you remember, maybe it's a childhood moment that either just completely engulfed you in the love for this city of the sports. Because one thing people ask me my favorite part about my job outside of getting constantly being able to grow in the game I love to be able to get back, it's the stories. How many times, and I was here for three years, every single year, and it's getting to the point where it's a dozen times, it's 21 times a year where someone's coming up and they're telling me about a story with their dad. Their dad passed away that year. There was a moment I had a great game, or I've even heard funny things that I've done done different people talk about like, wow, and they're 22 and they are die hard from a moment. And I can go anywhere on the planet, you're not gonna hear that much. And it's not just me. See we've all here's it, Brent Brown, here's it. It's it's the coolest thing. And then I've watched fans talk about moments and it brings them together like a cigar. Do you have one of those moments? Go ahead. I mean, I I grew up with my dad, like literally quizzing me about like the seven years. Like he would ask me, like, who's that? Like, mean Joe Green, graduate. I wasn't even alive when they wanted to switch. But you knew, you know, he was like instilling that stealers call for it. Put up my gathered season tickets. So I was lucky, like I have a ton of good memories of going with David's life. Um, you know, so when you mentioned the bad thing, that was one of the first spots in my life. But like also, like just going to like a pirate stadium a summer night on bike. Like it's just a great time. Sports are very like like they bring back great memories. Yeah. Like you can buy like the nicest thing in the world, have a nice car, and I always challenge people, like, what'd you get for Christmas lecture? Most people don't remember. Yeah. When was the last pirate game? People remember that. It's an event. That's what's in it's it's a moment. Before you you talk about it, name name a steeler's game, and a pirates game that jumps out. A memory that's like, dude, I'll never forget that moment. I was at in the city, and that's your give you like even still like playoff games. Yeah, I was at most of it. I would say we're just this will probably be somewhere in the 70s of episodes. I say we're about 69 out of 70 with that. Then I think the one that didn't say it just like got flustered, and then actually seven. Everyone says that.

SPEAKER_03 36:55

Because that's that's Pittsburgh. Like that's Pittsburgh effect in baseball.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

And then that just series of events, can you, alcohol, drunk, and then um like it's flooding. Like I've never seen a sporting event in my life. Yeah, what about Steelers? Completely agree. It was just the thing I've ever been to in my life. I mean, just I have so many like Steeler memories. Um you only get one. Specific game. What's it the against the Colts when they uh he threw that hail Mary at the end of the game and it wasn't the end zone? Um that that that was exciting, but still nothing even there. Even the old Steelers games and three rimers with the stands and bounce and people cheering. What do you mean? Literally, oh yeah, because they moved. They moved it went from baseball to football stuff. So they run higher. The answer's monthly. Oh, yeah. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:57

Well, they didn't Jimmy D's in the Southside, the floor still shakes in there. They're not that's like that's what we did. We make places shake.

Ninety Wins Bet And The 90 Club

Partnership, Purpose, And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_02 38:08

My dad just for the last playoff game, my dad sent me a text that was like a picture of one of the original terrible towels that he has from like 77 or something like that. Still yellows. It's it's a little faded, creamy, faded. Yeah, yeah, it's just it's just a towel now. Yeah, be still sharp. The the towel's a little under the weather, yeah. What about you? What do you got, meatball? So the biggest thing that I became a sports fan was with uh the pirates when it was we are family. We tell me because I believe that's the path to the greatest success is when you become a family, and I love that, and we have not doubled down on that. It drives me insane because like there's guys I'm taking bullets for. You know, I probably did it for anybody because I'm an idiot, but those guys, they're going to war with every day. And I think that family thing is real. In fact, they got a song about it, you know, it was like a bunch of weird groups of characters that came together. Yeah, and it was just that moment right there. It was just like I'm a sports fan. And from that moment on, I was always into Pittsburgh sports. Um how did they I mean I wasn't born in 1856. So I didn't how did they brand those guys that well? Because like how big Cobra's personality was, how how big those guys, its presence was. We met the guy who came up with that smoke. We used to smoke cigars as an agency. Yeah, his agency came up with that. How were you smoking cigars at three? You were young, man. I was kidding. You look great. Yeah, I was I was at least my knees marked. So um but's fire. So but I have no idea. That's just that whole culture again. It's uh it's that it's for everyone surrounding themselves with these winning teams. And even when they're not, you're just you're always backing that team. Are they in the public for? Like what because we have social media, like there's commercials for the pirates team. These guys are everywhere, and I still feel like the presence that those guys had, even Steve Blast, it's like they had an aura now that I'm like, how did you do that then? And even winning, non-winning, it's just like it's national. It's it's kind of wild to me. Back then we had four channels. We had two, four, eleven, and fifty-three. That was it. It was black and white TV. Is that how they counted in Pittsburgh? Pretty much. Yeah, it's Pittsburgh. Still worked, yeah, it worked. I'd love to count like that. Wait till you get your bill on that cigar. So it's like four, twelve, four, fifty. There you go. There you go. Yeah. Like it. Dude, I don't know. I I have it's hard to explain. It really is.

SPEAKER_03 40:59

They were just uncontained.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

Like yeah, it just seems like they mixed a bunch of dudes that were different, yeah, and they all had a loud loud rebooks that you think.

SPEAKER_03 41:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:09

Yeah. Like you know, I think it plays in the winning like one like one or two instead of 90s, we keep her bees, they didn't even want well seriously good. I mean, in your days, you know what I mean? Like, there's things that catch on and it and it's highly that's set. Yeah. You can feed off. You know what I mean? But they don't do that every month. They don't. They do it here. And then I always tell people, like, you would assume our TV ratings go down when we lose. Do we hit we hit the same numbers or better every year because of the loyalty? And it's just like they're just waiting. It's gonna pop off, it's gonna pop off, right? But I still don't understand how outside of everybody having an influx coming here and moving here because of work when we're going through so much in the war times and then they bounce. So we have this huge world presence. But even to the day, if you can't stealers are five and five, there's gonna be sixty thousand people. If they're three and five, there's gonna be sixty thousand people. There may be some unhappy people here, right? But even if they don't go, they're watching. But look at the loyalty, even in the coaching staff with the steelers. I love Mike Thomas. Three coaches, even the guy they got from Texperts. Yeah, throwing move. 69. Since 1969, we've got that's loyal. It goes back to roots. Yes, I truly believe roots matter. Yeah, roots matter. Like, I mean, you think about Ben Rothesberger who's been the guy that's stable quarterback, we haven't been able to have someone in. Think about how long they stay. Because you have to wrap your mind around, I'm betting on him. Because you have if there's a human side to this, and I can get to a tangent about this, but it matters. You have to pick the right people. We've been very, very lucky for the people. Look at hockey. You had Yarmor Dogger, you had Mary LMU, you had now you have Malcolm, you have Crosby. We've been blessed. Three guys right now have played 20 years together. 21. 21. 21. I don't know if that'll ever be mean again. No way. No way. What's the calories? You know, it's unbelievable. And they're three of the best players. Yep. And at one time they probably were the pretty best players. Yeah. I always joke and say it's like total Pittsburgh mentality that they win three Stanley Cups in those 21 years, and somehow it still feels like a disappointment because there's so talented, you know what I mean? And the expectation is so high every year. And I like we are so spoiled that three Stanley Cups, there's cities out there that are dying for uh a win. Yeah, I mean, let's be honest, Mike Tomman never lost. Yeah, and he got fired, right? Nobody else can say that. I think it's he did it in his in his own way, which I really respect. Um, but I think it's because like the city is hungry for it all the time and the expectations voice that very, very high. But I love that about it. I want as a player, I want the city to be hard on me, but I also want him to recognize when things are good. And then if you can find the balance in that, I we watched with Trey Turner a couple years ago. He everybody decided we're gonna do a bonker sport because struggle, we need him. He went off because the power of enthusiasm is real we have that tenfold. Well, and you look at all the ex-players that still live here. It's kind of mind-boggling. It is, it is blind, especially in hockey and kid, it's crazy how many still live here and raise their kids because they want their kids in this culture because they see how special this is here. So that's bottled. Yeah, and I think too, you guys probably get to see this a lot. Like, yeah, Andrew McCutch is a good friend of mine. If I went to dinner with him, nobody's bothering me.

unknown 45:06

No.

SPEAKER_02 45:07

We're like, we would go to Arizona if they didn't think he was Fitzgerald, which was always hilarious. Or me, Wes Walker. Um, they'd literally like go up come up to him every time. It's like here, it's like they just tip their cap, they wave, walk off, and I'm like, right? Then we're thinking that may be the only time you meet that thing. Yeah, and they'll do that. I wonder what that is about them. I I that's that's been an oddity. Like, an oddity.

SPEAKER_03 45:37

But I think like places like this, that's why I think those guys came down here and I always say this is one of the only cities where you guys hang out with like a lot of cities.

SPEAKER_02 45:47

That's kind of same restaurant.

SPEAKER_03 45:49

When you go to bigger cities, they don't hang out in the same place.

SPEAKER_02 45:51

Yeah, like when we went to Milwaukee, we went to St. Louis, we would sneak into the place we ate. Yeah, because like you couldn't go anywhere with inter at the time.

SPEAKER_03 46:01

Yeah, um I tell people all the time, like it wouldn't be weird when Juju was here for like the Steelers to win on a Sunday, and then you go to the flats on Southside and Juju's in there with you. Like it was not a weird thing.

SPEAKER_02 46:12

So maybe that's what the 70s were like that, because they're always around.

SPEAKER_03 46:15

Yeah, that's a really good point. And then Christian's the same way. Christian Goons, he tells me, like, uh after after they beat Baltimore to get in the playoffs, he was in uh tequila cowboy. He was like, nobody knew, but like I was in there and everybody like they leave him alone because like he's a person. They don't they don't see him as anything crazy because he's in there with us. It's like, oh, he's a person, he does a really cool job.

SPEAKER_02 46:40

Well, I appreciate it. No matter what, I appreciate you asked that question about how how do the athletes perceive us. Well, I mean, I wasn't on the the level of Andrew McCutchimer or Roth Spurger, but like I think it's just they respect you, but they're not easy on you. They're fair. If I'm wrong, I want it to fan call me out. If they think I'm wrong, they call me out. But like then I'll have a conversation with you. They'll come at me in every way possible about spending money and everything. Just sit down and listen. Um, and sometimes like they just want a power back, they just want offense, they just want what they want, and that's even better. Like, dude, don't change, don't change. And I've just come to love everything about the old school thought here, the new school thought, how somehow it's very exciting. It's been engaged. It's why.

SPEAKER_03 47:31

I just have to remind the fans sometimes that they're not more frustrated than you.

SPEAKER_02 47:36

It's yeah, it's it's it's hard. I think that that's a question I have for you guys. We'll wrap this up because we're gonna do this a lot. I think sometimes, you guys correct me if I'm wrong, the miss we have, especially with the pirates, is the PR game. I think we did great this offseason. Um, we were out there the whole time. But I know fans have said why do I care about it? You know, it's not my team. And I feel like that feeling comes because they're not out front all the time. They're not kind of discussing this is the model we're following. Do you guys feel that? Because I mean, when the Steelers lost, I felt the tension for the game's for me this year for the playoffs. Like this one's different. The pressure was weird, and it's like that's a crazy expectation that we have a winning season again, and the only thing that matters is that one game, right? Because it can go either way. But like when you're watching a team and whether you think they need to spend their money, whether they need to send guys to multi-year deals, right when they're indifferent, you're right as a fan, because you're a fan, you're allowed to say whatever you want. So, like, how do you however you want to kind of digest that? I know that'd be hard for you, people, but tell me what like your thoughts, because like it has been a boy, but I do see excitement about it. I mean, I think like once again, there's this expectation of winning it's that's all creative. That's the same part, you know. Uh but defined winning, because like we talked about this a lot when I played. It was never enough to just have a winning season because that's still a loss. You want to win your last game, period, right? And for me, I was instilled at an early age, winning a division matters. Like that should be the yellow expectation of a year. We're gonna win our division. Because after that, you're a champion, because you won something that you fought all year for, and then you go to the playoffs, and that's a whole other call game. That's why I love the Braves growing up, because what they do all the time, they won their division. That means they're the best in a consistent era. So if you're a fan, what else could you ask for? That's more of a player's aspect. Yeah, yeah. The World Series is it. No, and I get it. For a fan, it's all or nothing. But if you knew that, that was the standard. You knew every single year that was the standard, it changes your mindset, doesn't it? Absolutely. Well, that's kind of the care factor of like how you put it out there, because you guys are gonna perceive it however you want. But there's a reality that they're not whether they're able to share or going to share, there's a lot of algorithms and numbers and models that they use to predict. You know, that would betting. But when they're saying still with all the moves you made, that we're gonna win 79 games on 90. The reality of it is like as fans are like, what? No, we're gonna beat that, but it's because of the y'all. That's what I'm saying. It's like I think you can win a battle. Brownie says all the time, you have to win before you win. You have to win the fans, you have to win the city, you have to win the players, it's exciting, and then you win the free agents before it happens. But there's also a culture where I grew up, we we call them city of championship. You know what I mean? So like that's where that whole like it's not just we weren't winners, but so like are the other stuff, yes, but like it's the way the city's got a build.

SPEAKER_03 50:56

Pittsburgh just won a soccer national championship or whatever at a professional level, and it's not like the top tier. But like Pittsburgh went crazy. The second that Pittsburgh found out that we were in the playoffs and had a chance to win a championship, they it took hours to get into that stadium. Pittsburgh are diehards. You can start a pickleball club in it, and if we have a team in it, Pittsburgh's there.

SPEAKER_02 51:21

So that's the thing. Like, we're having an event here on Tuesday night, meet the Riverhounds. All the new players are coming over on five. Get to meet with all the River Hounds, and you get your jerseys signed, all kind of stuff. So that's all part of the partnership that we have with them, which is really a cool aspect. All across the world. It's about to get real big because World Cup's coming out. Absolutely. It's about to grow enormous. So yeah, it's cool. It's cool to have another champion in the city. Yeah. Yep. So all right, we can't not talk about the parts just a little bit. Expectations, pretty hot, right? Under 90. Box was we don't work. On film. Yeah, yeah. Um what are your thoughts? So, like, let me give you my 10,000 cookie to me. We have never chased what we chased. We bought wins. What is your thought? Is it what you wanted as a fan? Is it what we needed as as a fan base? Is it what we needed on the field? Like, give me your like I don't know, juggernaut. I like some of the guys that brought in. Um, you know, it gets you it's that exciting. All the season, we got this guy, we got this guy, and people are talking about it. Um you know, trying to build that expectation. Um, I like some of the moves they make. Do I see if they need a couple pieces? Yeah, arms. All right. Tell me about it, YouTube. What do we need? Couple arms, I think. You know, we can find it about it early. Uh you know, as they're in it, the running performer, like that would be age, like, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Who are you most excited about outside of schemes and griffin? If you had to pick, pick to click, guys gonna come out of. Did I uh did I ask you again? That's exciting. No, I said that earlier and that's that's why you said it. You can really say that. I've said to yourself. No, I didn't I didn't say I've said it, I've said it out loud about Baba Chit like Baba, you know what I mean? Like there's a lot of guys out there. I mean, but ultimately, like, we had the greatest picture in the game. Like um, you know, he he's just so excited for himself. I'd love to see the attendance between like games and starts versus not. Yeah, that's why I thought I just put him on a five-day meeting so it's at least predictable for the fans, right? Right? And like even a TV, I want to use pictures. 100%. We hit we we agree to the classroom. 100%. We attended. I want them to blow the 90 out of the park. I'd love to buy you and Greg Brown box of cigars. Think it to 100, those two pirates of PC for me. Absolutely, 100%. Yeah, we get 100 wins involved. 100%. Okay. I I yeah, with a sword. Yes, absolutely. I'll have two. I'll have my sword. Yes. All right, so your pick, you kind of went a little all over the place. Yeah. Is bubbling your guy? I I I'm excited to see what he can do this year. I like it. Got a little taste of it at the end of the last year's. Saw some flashes and amazingness, and there's some early ginners, you know what I mean? But like I think he's uh I've got a chance to be something special with him in his feelings. Yeah, I think he's gonna be a tone stepper for us. We needed a pirate. Him and Jones are the other guys on the mounds. They may stab you to win. I like those type of guys. So I like Bubba who picked. I I said the other day, we have the rookie of the year on our team. Just which one's gonna win? Sonor Griffin or Bubba? You know what I mean? How excited is that. That's really exciting, right? All right, cruise. Okay, okay. All right, let's go bold then, Mr. Beatball. Your pick on our team or your pick in the league. I think Bubba's gonna have a hell of a year. That's cool for you guys to say that because his first start was weird in his pre-training. And I think it's because of like the way he carries himself. You walk around that kid, he's humble in in the moments he needs to be, but then he turns on some type of psycho when he's pitching. I think the pitch was falling out of the game. I think right. Yeah, it's an exact type of coach we love. Yep, yep. So Cruz, what what what's Cruz gonna do this year? I think he's gonna hit the most home runs he's ever hit. I think he's gonna go 30. Okay. Um for me is still suspended. Um, but I think he's gonna have the best batting year he's ever seen. It's really gonna help us get to the win. Every move we've made, that's the greatest move we can make. We talked about this earlier. He needs people behind him, so they're afraid not to pitch to him. Yep. So I think it's four years helped too. That's all we'll improve. Yep. Yep. There's no reason he can't put in everything. He has all reasons.

SPEAKER_03 56:45

He is absolutely we have not seen anything like what's missing from his output game? Like, why is it not connecting?

SPEAKER_02 56:52

What um I'll go off of what Michael Taylor touched said. Um it's it's owning the position. So he does things that I think he can surprise himself by how he's being taught. Because uh Andy Haynes told me this about Gozuna, actually, when he was in Miami, they didn't know what to do with it. He was struggling and he was getting disengaged because they were overdoing it on him, and they got in a meeting, and he's in that meeting, he's the manager in the way, and he goes, I think we just leave him alone.

SPEAKER_03 57:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:26

And he was literally the big loops with the negative, and he hasn't turned back. Sometimes you look at a guy and you're like, he's just better than everybody on his back deck. We need to leave him alone. And I think they're really close to understanding that. Like, when you throw this guy in a forest in Africa, he's gonna run with his helps. Just let it be. We don't understand that. So, like, when you're telling him he's gotta take this route, does he? Because he's gonna get to it, and he's gotta fail enough to understand it. We've got to step back and be like, I don't think people understand how misread the ball.

SPEAKER_03 57:59

I don't think people understand how hard that transition is.

SPEAKER_02 58:02

It's 40 mile-an-hour wind blowing across, and he's literally where the ball should be, and it blew this way, but the wind just shifted, but they didn't come out and say that, and he's gonna beat himself to pieces.

SPEAKER_03 58:13

And these these are things he's never had to calculate. He's been so close to the ball, and he's a freak of nature, so he's just been letting reaction take over his entire life.

SPEAKER_02 58:22

And you know, invitation communication, and then like shifting. A lot of people don't understand how difficult it is when Jack's went to key was in left and they ran into each other. Yeah, that doesn't leave all your and then he goes down, comes back, three balls full in front of Jack. Because he's similar because Cruz kicks the places. The fear of mine was when you put Connor Griffin on his team, he's gonna get five balls through a 40 feet out of an outfit. You have a super demon in the center, too. And you have two guys that are out positioned in the corners, but that that's gonna take a lot of work. But the one thing you can say is like bad news fairs. Hey, Bruce, everything's yours. And I think if that confidence, to your point, there's no reason this guy can't win a goal above, be an MVP. It's gonna be impossible to beat Butani, but he's second MVP voted. Because that's how special, like, I've not seen like yeah, like he's he's in the same class of superhuman as Steens, Bhutani, the Mike Trouts, touching his prime. Like, how is this? Are you hitting 3-8 and 3-1 stuff? What is happening? Everything you're hitting is all the screws. It's just like he's like, look at four dialogue, stop. Stop, you know, but I think that's an advanced cut hat compared to the work cruise house. The cutch kind of had a moment I would never forget in 2011 because I'm telling him, I was like, whoa, does it because I'm gonna do me. That's how he got to me. We forget that he's out. You know, like we chase we're chasing something, he's like, Am I chasing what I intended at the beginning of this, or am I chasing what they want me to be? And you have to freak out identity. I think Cruz is gonna find that this year because he has dudes around him that's done it.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:06

I think there's just a confidence piece missing. The second that he finds that, he's like Ozuna, if Ozuna's not hitting, Cruz has a back end, Ozuna's gonna get to it.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:15

Which that's how it should be. You know, I think it's unfair for a guy three years in to get worn out for making mistakes when he's unorthodox or short because he's six seven, unorthodox turns. You haven't seen either sized person do either one. Right, right. So it's like, well, just kind of give it a little time. That's what's special though, too, like in my opinion, he's talking about like I would be a huge power, especially when it's getting to like, like, but there's a lot of great acting. But that's just something about him, fans just like lose the lot. Where does he live? Where did he start his charity? Where did he throw his own events? He was the first guy in maybe in the 90s they had PR teams, but he was the part that kind of started on run with uh Def Carson's out of charity here with multiple guys doing events, Tyler Steelers team, and multiple guys living here in the off season if they didn't look here doing events here. And it's just it's sort of a move because he was a staple. And I think it goes back to Greece, marrying a girl for America, sweet on Abraham's first kid steel, right? I just think that really matters. And I think guys like him and even Steens, I think he would love to be here lifetime because of the feel of the city, because it you can see the blue-collar like work is in his blood, and he loves it. He wants it for the city, in my opinion, as much as any wants. Because I think that's how he's that makes sense. If there's a will, there's a way. And I can that you guys probably remember this. Well, I mean, to be honest, if we can do his arbitration numbers for next year, it's kind of dumb. Um, this could be a number where we've never paid anybody, in my opinion. So, yeah, if they do the same thing and play the baseball game and don't get creative, yeah, it's a huge concern, especially going into this year's bargaining agreement. Um so yeah, I think you gotta get really creative, and I think the city would be behind it. Um, how they do that, but I I I don't know, but I'm gonna go to something uh Cobra, right? Just kind of putting the Hall of Fame to the side and I didn't know a ton, so I started researching. Did you ever see his contract? So he kind of broke baseball. He's the reason why, in my opinion, we really have an MLBPA with free agency and everything else. He he had incentives for how many people were in the seats, he had ownerships in apartment buildings and housing units in the city uh because they had to figure out some way to keep him. And that's what I think about with schemes. If you really believe, and obviously there's lawsuits, there's a settlement, it's a mess. I don't know if a lot of people know that. That's one reason why he was so tough to the city, the city was so tough to him, but he was beloved somehow. I think that's what's true. We understand this grace. But when Pittsburgh wants something, he's the proof that it happens. It was one of the cooler things I've ever read, and maybe the union for remote BPA started right here. So Bill City Union guys started our union. Pittsburgh's deep rich, the Negro League. My favorite things I've studied about growing up as a kid. My grandmother gave me a Jack Routes book, the Josh Gibson book, and it's all I knew. That's my thing. Dwight Goodon was next. And I didn't know, didn't know anything about anything, but I love those guys. I didn't even know it was another league at the time. And coming here, going to Homelstein, blew me away. I'm like, what do you mean, Josh Gibson? Jack Robson walking down the street, going to Johnstown, three point stadium. And that's the cool part about Pittsburgh reality. So, like, when you say, Do you have a chance to sign Skeens? You see how excited I am. I never thought I'd live here about uh genuine love. Everything you guys have said, a player like that. That gives pirates hopefully fans hopefully they sign someone like him, now it looks on the outside that they're trying to win. No doubt about it. I mean, that's even running jokes. It's the market. You hear a lot of people saying it should be a Yankee, you know what I mean? Um I think that's the fear of a lot of it. No, you can't sign someone to a seven million dollar new contract, you know. Um he's making two million dollars. Yeah, you're furry. But that's what I'm saying. They're creative. Yeah, it it's it's hard. I mean I can't imagine. Like I always say all the time, I wouldn't want to be Bob Nobody. I wouldn't want to be like that's tough. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:04

Especially because it's not just one, he has to figure out how to keep two. Especially because it's not just one, he has to figure out how to keep two now. Because honor's right behind you, he's gonna be just as big.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:15

Well, I think about this, you're a billionaire, you can't learn it all. Like, I can't I can't learn business the way he's learned it from his dad, and even understand what it's like to throw down a$15,$20 million investment. So it's like, I don't understand that side, so he's still a lot of trust. And you can go in these meetings and hear the numbers, and it's like, yeah, that makes sense. And I try to look at everything from good bad up, and then like if you want to make something out, how could you? Like, couch isn't a pie right now. And I could argue why it should be, I could argue why they didn't do it, and I could stay right in between because it really depends on what you're looking at. Do I think it's better for the team? Sure, because I know the human being. So going back to schemes, you bet on the guy. No matter what, how do you justify the tiny 70 million? It's because they get a billion dollar one. How do you justify scheme 70 billion? I don't know, villager. You know what I mean? Like you're getting paid back for Italian people. If schemes, it's like, yeah, you have this kit, it's really, really good, it's special. You could justify the giant lump sum, but then you put the human in it. We want you around it till you're done. I mean, in the dirt. Now, if it's a billion dollars, these 70, like last was, I think we've got our play. You know what I mean? That's that's the only way in my mind. That's uh because that lives on. But I think that's what a guy like him, from everything I know about it, and you talk to him, just not that makes sense because that's what the city is for me. You guys like that? Right? I think you can just as a principle of you saying that teams delight you and look like the hobby replacement, it gets like the little Pittsburgh in me, like, like, yeah, come on. Like, I think if that got out there, too. I mean, I don't know if it should force ownership standards, like there'd be so much public pressure to put it. This guy guns to be public if you can figure something out. Yeah, and that's a balance for me and the agent. We have a devil's out there right in the middle, because they're trying to get theirs and like when you put the numbers on paper, that agent can get a big number. So would you rather get that big number or fight for something that we always want now? Right? Where you have something bigger, and I think guys like him think about legacy. Okay, you know, it's like why didn't you defer that much money? Well, he has a$16 million a year. Right. So like he's still getting$63 million a year. So it's like it's just range, you know, and I don't know if LA had anything to do with that, but that's what you can do. So yeah, I think it's here as head. I I love talking about this stuff to you guys. So what do you think win was? Last question. Uh I'm gonna go, I'm gonna set the bar a little lower to you guys. How about two? Obviously 90. I think if they win 90, you should get like those two seats in the back quarter. We'll call it like part of the channel. Oh, the 90 club. No, it's not even the 90 club over there. Yeah, yeah. The 90 club. Yeah, I'll make you do they make over 90 wins, I'll do something. Yeah, deal. Yeah, I like that. Like you heard it here, folks. You heard it here. So last thing, this is gonna be a new spot for Greg Brown, myself, all my cover. We're gonna interview guests, we're gonna come to events, um, and it's because of for me helping the good people with it. I feel like we have that in common. We're really excited about it. Highly, highly appreciated. I I try to try to break fit for you guys for us. Yeah, I completely agree. You seem like a bit a lot deep down. Dude, it's in my blood. Yeah, I mean, I really do love this city. Me and me and Brownie talk about all the time. It's hard to care this much, but I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't change it. Because I think the care has shifted to wins and losses to the fans. I genuinely love the people. Yeah, well, it's because you guys, you guys are the perfect picture of success in the Yins are way. We haven't forgot any of where you came from. And this puts us together. Absolutely. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thanks for having us. Yeah, absolutely. Watch Holebotter, find it everywhere. Keep going, keep going. It's all about this.