St. Louis Symphony Orchestra President Marie-Hélène Bernard!- h4

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Perfect.

This is awesome.

This is awesome.

Rachel and I, by the way, have been texting behind both of your backs.

She texted me and said, Wheeler's blushing.

I'm excited, man.

I'm getting excited.

I don't get it.

It was adorable.

It was very, very cute.

It was very cute.

It was just nice to see Kevin in that light.

To me, it's like talking baseball with like Ozzy.

Yeah.

Like in the sense that it's just something you don't get to do very often.

And it's extra cool.

It's cool to watch you be so happy.

Yeah.

It's a thing I don't get to do very often.

You know, Ozzy is a symphony fan.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

It's fabulous.

See?

I'm just going to leave.

I'm just going to let you guys know you do the interview.

I just want to listen.

So introduce yourself personally.

Just tell us about you and your background.

Wow.

I've been in St. Louis for 11 years.

Came in 15 and found a husband in St. Louis.

I'm now a happily married woman.

Congratulations.

I know.

Webster high school by the way.

I guess you wonder.

Yes.

Born in Montreal.

Now we know everything about him.

Born.

And he doesn't still, he still doesn't speak French.

Born in Montreal.

My dad is Belgian.

So Belgian is Belgian.

My dad, my mother was Canadian.

So moved to the US about 30 years ago.

But St. Louis is one of many orchestras I've led.

And I was after music.

I was a tax attorney in Montreal.

Wow.

Before I moved to the US 30 years ago to work in orchestra management.

So that's my story.

Are you a musician?

Yes.

I did all kinds of instruments and yes.

I remember, I'm assuming it was Powell when I was little and I'm 61 now.

So when I was grade school, young grade school, you take the traditional trip and I was blown away.

And I'm a musician as well, a lifelong drummer.

And I just remember being so taken by the timpannies.

Yeah.

And it was magical, magical.

It's not like, I'm an attorney as well.

It's not like going to a law firm and you're like, oh, I remember the first time I saw someone do a brief.

Well, that was magical being in that environment and that space and just.

And you know, the orchestra is also a visual experience.

I'm glad you mentioned this because I think what you see through your eyes is enhances what your ears hear.

And that's why the film series has been so popular because people watch a movie they love.

But you see the orchestra live in front of them, play the music, the soundtrack.

It's very powerful.

And it makes it so accessible.

And I think that one of the problems that all orchestras have, I'm sure you agree, is people feel sheepish.

People feel like I'm not going to wear the right thing.

I'm not going to do the wrong thing.

So when I came 11 years ago, I was committed to creating access to music for all.

And it meant physically to create a space where so I remember having conversations with ushers and creating a more welcoming environment.

To also programming a broader range of music and really invite audiences to city orchestra in a different life.

Yes, there's a great classics. It's like you love food.

You eat a great chicken, roast a chicken or a great lunch.

But occasionally you're going to just expand your palate and eat other things with the same in music.

So now in coming up this spring, we have of course films and we have country music and we have rock shows.

And we have all kinds of things.

So over the last 10 years, you have seen a progression in programming.

There's more inclusive.

And it has brought a lot more people to this symphony.

And knowledge is not essential to enjoyment.

So I think we've done a decent job of reminding people, don't worry so much about what you know or don't know.

Let your heart speak to you. If it sounds good, it's probably good.

And if you don't like it, you know, you probably have a reason.

I wonder if you agree, sometimes knowledge can be an impediment.

If you go in that knowing anything, it's complete sensory over that.

Yeah, your expectations are different.

Now, I know I've done my job.

After a show, you feel change in some ways or whatever it is, the emotion that it brings you.

And then you say, I want to come back.

Yeah.

And I want to explore.

I love when people come back for different things or just pay attention and say,

oh, wow, you're doing this or that. I'm going to bring my mother.

I'm going to bring my friend.

So I think life is a learning experience that we should always, it's fertile.

We should always feed that learning.

What was your opinion, knowledge, if at all, of St. Louis before coming to St. Louis,

and particularly the orchestra?

Yeah. So my knowledge of St. Louis was mostly about the orchestra.

And I saw the era of Leonard Slatkin.

So there's, it's fascinating that generations of audience members know of St. Louis through Leonard.

So I knew that. I have a brother who's a cellist with the Cleveland Orchestra.

So also he's kind of my, my feeder of information growing up.

So that was my knowledge. And I don't think it went beyond that.

So when I first came here to interview in a fall of 14, I lived in Boston then.

And I was blown away. I thought, whoa, this is an amazing community.

So I'm really glad I came.

Tell us about the expansions and renovations that have been done to power.

Yeah. So when I came 11 years ago, I asked my board permission to explore it.

Initially, there was skittish because it was a big undertaking.

So over years of, you know, support and listening.

And we were able to get the green line to do this.

So what we did is basically an expansion.

So expanding the footprint of our concert hall.

60,000 square foot footage extra to Power Hall.

And it was meant as a wrap around the existing Power Hall.

Power Hall is a historical landmark.

We didn't want to fix it or change it.

We just wanted to repaint, make it look good again as it did in 1968 when we moved in.

And also it's a 1925 building.

So the mechanical systems were out of day, the electric.

I mean, we could not find balls to replay.

I mean, it was crazy.

Wow.

We wanted to do a light show at some points and the outlets were no longer up to cold.

So we took the opportunity to renovate, but also to bring the building up to cold, which is necessary.

One big part of the project, this wrap expansion, was also to create an education learning center.

4,000 square feet of space.

We have extensive education programs, which began in 1921.

A real backstage for artists.

Procussion is temperness, dear drummer.

They now have two rooms to just store all of their percussion, temperney, and so on and so forth.

Ultimately, one of the greatest outcome of all of this is expanding the audience experience.

Very important.

And I will say to you that from kids to older adults in wheelchair walkers with disabilities

to see what we did, how it allows them to come and hear a concert in a ways that they could never have access to before.

Just last fall, a young man in a wheelchair came to hear his sister play in the youth symphony orchestra.

And he was wheelchair bound.

And he was able to go up to the top level to see his sister play from a box in an environment.

His parents said, never did we have this opportunity.

So this kind of access was very important and now it's possible.

Yeah, that's great.

Guys, jump in anywhere you want to.

Rachel, you got any questions?

Yeah, I'm just thinking of my experience with the symphony as a kid.

My school participated in picture of the music.

Oh, yeah.

And that's where you listen to a piece of music and then you do a piece of art that goes with it.

And I actually won for 6-3 years.

I get to like, it was such an incredible experience.

And it made me feel so special the whole thing.

And just being at Power Hall and, you know, the seats are velvet.

And there's gold on the walls.

It made such a lasting impression on me and the way I view the arts.

What was your drawing?

It was a little girl walking through the forest.

The piece of music was green sleeves.

And I did like a mixed media art piece on it.

My mom still has it at her house.

It was a big deal for the veterans.

Yeah.

It was a big deal.

But just talk about how you're connecting people to music through, you know, education like that and other outlets.

I mean, that made such an impression on me.

I'm assuming you have, you know, a hundred stories you've heard like that before.

Yes.

I love that you share this story because we want to hear those.

Because I think it continues to affirm the generational impact of this symphony.

And that's very important.

From people who say my great-grandfather was in New York, to someone like you who participated as a kid.

And I think those impressions are lasting.

And that's what we want.

And when we say creating access is this kind of give these experiences.

So in the last decade, we've worked really closely with teachers.

To really bring teachers to us and be of service to them.

Because teachers oftentimes don't have the budget or the time or the idea.

So we really listen to teachers and expend our pool to well over 1300 teachers who work directly with us in this region.

But across the straight in 48 states and across probably 13 foreign countries.

So we do a lot of teacher professional development, giving them tools to teach music in their class.

So just two weeks ago, we had a live concert at the hall for probably four, five, six-ish music without boundaries.

So the focus of it is to understand through music the differences among cultures, people, races.

This is an important topic and this is something these kids learn at.

How differences make us stronger.

And we did distance learning.

So we live streamed that concert to several schools outside of the region.

Because teachers in Kirk'sville, Springfield, wherever Kansas City, it's too far to bring.

So we had 14,000 kids watch live.

The concert was happening on the stage.

So imagine the power of this.

To say this is someone we bring music to you, but you can come to the music as well.

And I think that connection evolves over time.

And what we like to see is people in their 20s come.

We have playlists this week, which is an hour show.

We drink and fun.

And it's younger audiences for them to come back.

Have fun.

Then in your 30s, when you start having a family, you bring your three-year-old to a concert this evening.

And in your 40s, your kid is a teenager.

You bring them to a movie.

And then you have date nights and then 50s and see.

Whole generation of people in my age have now our emptiness.

There's been looking for things to do.

So I think this kind of generational experience is really important.

And that's why the programming is so important.

Because people come for the music and the experience.

And they will remember how you made them feel.

And that's really the focus of my team from a cultural standpoint is, how do we want people to feel?

Ultimately, the artistic integrity, anything we put on that stage needs to be the best we can do.

And this orchestra is amazing.

They're young.

The first orchestra has to have more women within our ranks than men.

We had a big wave of retirement.

So this orchestra is the orchestra of tomorrow.

They're agile, nimble, they're sharp.

They choose St. Louis as their home.

They raise families here.

They're invested in other art forms and other things.

And I think they're pretty cool.

So I always tell people, come and hear them but get to know them.

Because like a baseball team, they have amazing personalities.

And they're really great to talk to.

So this playlist show we do Thursday.

Orchestra players come out in a lobby and have a drink.

And it's a good opportunity to get to know them.

That's great.

I think it was last year I saw something.

I think it was CBS Sunday mornings.

And there's only one teacher in the world who teaches old oil painting in the style of like Rembrandt.

And there's only one guy left who's doing that.

And it made me think about orchestras.

I'm sure there are modern day virtuosos writing orchestral music.

Oh, absolutely.

I don't know them.

Yes.

How do you learn about the people doing what they did 300 years ago doing it today?

Oh, absolutely.

We have a very, very large network of composers who write all kinds of music.

And I would include in that pool arrangers.

It's very important.

There's a lot of people who arrange music.

For example, when we did the Tina Turner show with the soccer team,

all the Tina Turner songs were arranged for three voices and with orchestra charts.

So because Tina Turner did use orchestras, what she used other.

So we work with arrangers.

And that's a very important part of our business.

But composers, they're living composers.

We know them because they reach out to us.

So because they develop music for initially chamber groups.

And then they go to orchestra somewhere right for opera.

So when we are with opera theater, we do a lot of new commissions.

But also there's a lot of commercial music that's written.

So all of these films that you watch today.

The music is written by composers who make a living writing music for films.

John Williams is the most famous of this week.

One of those shows I've ever seen.

Yes, well this week.

This week we're playing John Williams.

So come this weekend or Thursday night playlist is John Williams.

But there's others.

There's many other great composers.

And there's a new generation coming in.

And I think that's very video games.

The new shows that we're planning to do next year.

Where the music is written by living composers.

So composers are as important.

They're less visible to the audience.

But whenever we can, we invite them.

So this coming month alone, I'm going to have four living composers in the house.

One is Kevin Putz, who's coming in.

Actually his piece contact is being played this week.

Next week there's another program where we feature a work.

We commissioned by him.

Peter and April Carlos Simon, who's a very vibrant American composer,

is writing a double concerto for Valin and Cello with Hilary Hahn,

who's very well known.

She's very active on social media.

And lastly, Natalia Eoshe wrote a piece for our Indianism chorus,

a black chorus that has been in existence for over 32 years.

She wrote a piece for them and we're closing the season with that.

So these artists make a living and they live in all parts of the world.

But they come here and St. Louis is seen as a leader in new music and creation of new project.

We've always been cutting edge in some interesting ways.

So I think it's not just a tradition.

It's what I call stretching the boundaries of symphonic music.

Yeah, it's lovely to meet you.

Thank you.

And I hope we have a relationship.

And we can do some DGS night at the symphony.

Yes, DJ, we do that too.

Actually, and if you come, I'll show you that room that drummer is loved to see.

He might try to buy it.

Yes.

Yeah, we've discussed.

We both have the same problem.

Or you can make a donation and allow us to buy more symphony and more drums.

Let me come out there and just go.

It'll give you a thousand dollars.

That's perfect.

Thank you so much.

Very nice to meet you.

That's me too.

Yeah, that's me.

Exactly who I'm supposed to be.

Welcome back, DGS 425.

I think we all fell a little bit in love and worry there.

Yes, it's awesome.

Yep.

Accents should be illegal.

They're just magic.

It is a remarkable thing that it all depends on where you are, right?

French accent in French Canada doesn't strike anybody.

It's interesting here.

It's like, oh, interesting.

Australian accent.

Oh, interesting.

And when we go overseas, American accent.

Oh, my God.

They've got a million questions for you.

Yeah, but do they think it's cool when they hear it?

It depends.

It depends.

It depends on where you are.

But yeah, I had plenty of people that were like, oh, American, I got to talk to you.

You know, that happened in Italy a couple of different times.

People you don't know.

It obviously was that way in France, but in France, I haven't been there for years.

A long time ago.

Language is insane.

It's great, though, isn't it?

The fact that humans all over the world almost simultaneously developed completely different

way.

It's just nuts.

It is a cool thing, and it's really cool when you're looking at how related some of

them are, right?

And obviously, it's all where they have their roots in, right?

Like the Latin root languages.

It's all cool to see like, okay, it's a little different, but that's pretty close.

I'm fascinated.

And I've read a few articles on this, so I know a little bit about it.

It's like, what did the founding fathers sound like?

And how soon did they lose, you know, how soon did people who came here lose that classic

British accent?

My guess would be it was probably closer to British at that point.

And where did the southern accent come from?

Was that like a, an amalgam of French and Creole and, well, it depends, you know, because

obviously even in the south, the, you know, the southeast over on the coast, Virginia,

that is going to be way different than what you're going to get in Louisiana or you're

going to get even what you're going to get in Alabama and Arkansas.

Those are going to be different, a little bit different.

It probably, I mean, I haven't studied it, but I would guess the original part of this

is basically who settled there and how they spoke English.

And then that became, you know, kind of common.

And then it, you know, when you little live together, you pick things up, right?

And when you grow up somewhere, you absolutely pick it up.

Yeah.

But even if you're in the south for like, you would have spent three months in the south,

you would pick things up.

You would be saying things like y'all occasionally because it's going to be so common, you're just

going to pick up on it.

I don't practice pandaria, I ain't got it.

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Have you or a family member been diagnosed with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer

that can be removed by surgery?

Consider talking to an oncologist about your treatment options.

Why?

Because knowing your options before you have surgery can help your care team develop a

treatment plan that's right for you.

Learn about a potential treatment plan before and after surgery at askbeforesurgery.com

that's askbeforesurgery.com and talk to an oncologist before your surgery.

Testing season is right around the corner and this is when confidence really matters.

When kids take time to review key concepts and strengthen their skills before assessments,

it can make all the difference.

I-X-L helps reinforce what they're learning right now so they walk into every test feeling

prepared, capable and confident.

I-X-L is an award-winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand

what they're learning, whether they're building math confidence, strengthening reading

and writing skills, or reviewing science concepts.

Designed for students from pre-K through 12th grade, I-X-L delivers personalized interactive

practice that adapts to your child's level and pace.

It's an easy, effective way to support learning as the school year heads into its final stretch.

Studies show kids who use I-X-L score higher on tests, proven in all 50 states.

I-X-L is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the US.

Make an impact on your child's learning.

Get I-X-L now and listeners can get an exclusive 20% off I-X-L membership when they sign up

today at I-X-L Learning dot com slash audio.

Visit I-X-L Learning dot com slash audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.

I know Chris the ball.

We're back DGS for 37.

Another late start tomorrow.

Barrel of all game is at noon and we'll be on tomorrow around 2.30 probably like we were today.

Opening day is a week from tomorrow and we are going to be there broadcasting live from Cardinals Nation at Barrel Park Village.

I believe wheels and I we have a shift together between noon and 1.35 so come on by and say hello.

It should be good man.

I don't know who's going to stop by but somebody usually does.

I mean cool people too like it's been Ozzy in the past.

Yeah, just about anybody.

Don't know yet.

Well at least we don't know yet.

Maybe somebody does.

Yeah.

Looking forward to it.

Very excited.

Good time.

I haven't always gone to opening day.

Like it wasn't a thing for me in my 20s.

Right, right.

But since you know last 10 years or so it just now I get it.

Yeah.

Oh, it's so fun.

Yeah, I don't think I missed many in the last 19 years.

Yeah.

Maybe one.

So highlights low lights of spring training so far.

Well, I mean, the low lights are the obvious ones we talk about, right?

Like Jordan Walker really still struggling.

And they did say today that he's going to be with the team.

They think the best place for him to get better

is to be with the Major League Hitting Coaches.

So we think that it worries me.

I'm not, you know, like I do want to kind of like

lay this out there as a blanket thing for everybody.

Probably no need to stress about any of these things.

Like as far as winning games, lineups and all that.

Like it's not the same tone.

This is not a contending team.

With that, you have to understand that it's not the end of the world

if they're not putting their quote, best lineup out there every day.

What I'm worried about is the individual.

I mean, I'm more worried about whether or not it's going to be the right thing for Jordan Walker.

Like continuously failing is not a good thing.

And maybe he'll bust out of it.

Like that's the whole thing we have to hope to see is that hopefully you'll see that progress.

Because it's awful right now.

I mean, he was in there today.

He went over to with two more strikeouts.

And you know, he missed a middle, middle cutter that just hung.

He's fouled it off and then struck out the next pitch.

The second at bat, he swung at a change up probably six inches below the strike zone.

And then struck out, struck out on a change up that was six, eight inches above the strike zone.

Like you can't swing it both.

You really shouldn't swing it either, but you definitely can't be swinging it both.

If you're at swinging it both, you're just you're lost.

And that's what my worry is is that he gets into the season and it stays this way.

And then what?

Then the demotion will eventually come.

And does that hit you harder than it would if you just stayed down there to work

and went to Memphis to start the year to kind of get your feet underneath you?

Don't know. We'll find out.

It's so for me, it's more of a worry than a criticism.

I'm worried that it's not going to go well because it hasn't gone well.

It's been getting worse.

It got from year one to year two, got worse.

Year two to year three got worse.

And this spring has been the worst.

That was my next question is how often does that happen

where the trajectory goes from this to that?

Oh, it can absolutely happens.

It absolutely happens.

I mean, there are guys, Dave, that when they're 23 years old,

are still in double A and they've not even gotten close to the big leagues.

And then they've become stars.

Josh Donaldson was really a famous late bloomer.

Max Muncie for the Dodgers was a really late bloomer.

Those were guys that were not in the big leagues

and any contributing way when they were in their early 20s.

They were in double A triple A trying to figure it out.

So it happens.

And he's got the physical ability to make it happen.

I mean, his bat speed is the same as Aaron Judge.

His sprints, he's in the top 15% in terms of speed, running speed in baseball.

And he's got like a in the 96th percentile on arm strength,

like the tools are there.

What's not there is the aptitude and the skill

to like put those things to use.

And it's going to, it's hard.

Like that's the, once you have the physical ability,

the hard part is the aptitude.

What is he lacking defensively?

Instincts.

It looks like everything has to be thought out.

And it shouldn't be that way anymore, right?

It was okay that I was understandable that it was that way his first year

because he didn't play much outfield in the minor leagues.

What do you play?

I have third base, which was, it's my biggest beef when it comes to Jordan Walker

with the previous front office and player development group.

He should have never played a day at third base.

There are no six foot six, two hundred sixty pound third baseman.

They don't exist.

He was never going to play third base.

So, but when you can run and you throw 96 miles an hour,

you shouldn't be a first baseman either.

You should be an outfielder.

You should be a right fielder with a cannon for an arm.

You should have been there from day one.

And all of these hitting things that we're talking about now

should have been addressed when he was 19 years old,

not when he was getting to the big leagues.

And to me, it's a mistake.

And you can't really unring the bell kind of the way it went.

Man, okay.

Just talking about the fact that opening day is eight sleeps away.

Have you guys heard about this sinkhole?

Near Bush Stadium?

No.

It's right near the right field entrance.

I'm looking at pictures of it now on reddit.

I mean, this is a huge sinkhole that is opened up.

And I see Bush Stadium right there in the background.

How big?

Like two, like the size of maybe two cars.

How many sleeps until it consumes the state?

I mean, I'm a little worried.

These sort of things kind of have a tendency to get worse and worse.

How have we not heard about that?

Yeah, I'm not sure.

Man, I haven't been over there or anything, but it's yeah, wow.

You see it wheels?

Yeah.

When did you first see this just now?

Yeah, I just saw this on the ground.

Okay.

So did it start today?

I wonder, like did it form?

Did there like a bunch of ground?

No, so it was reported about six weeks ago.

Why?

And they've been waiting on repairs.

But it's getting worse.

It was about two feet wide when it was first reported on.

It is now much, much wider.

And it's, you know, they have it, they have barriers around it.

But it still seems like it's going to be a huge problem

on opening, like even if it doesn't open up and swallow someone,

which is kind of worse than case scenario, right?

Just the foot traffic alone on opening day,

that is going to be a major problem.

I'm kind of stunned that it's been six weeks and we're approaching like

kind of the one thing that the downtown area has to be an economic boost.

And we're squabbling over like, you know,

whether or not there's cobwebs in the basement of the police station,

meanwhile, there's like a sinkhole consuming Broadway,

it's just about it.

So it's, so the where it is, you guys picture the right field side,

you know, outside the stadium.

That's not the most heavily trafficked area,

but it's still going to be a lot of, because there are a lot,

I mean, that's going to, it's kicking up like a lot of lane there.

So those are the largest crowds you ever see in downtown St. Louis

or an opening day.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know how, I mean, I'm guessing this takes a long time to fix

because it's pretty big.

But yeah, it's, yeah, it's, it's definitely,

so you can see the highway to the one side, like the overpass.

So you're out there beyond the right field fence kind of beyond.

It's almost right right center field behind the Coca-Cola sign.

And yeah, it would be worse if it was over on the ballpark village side,

because it's right in the middle of everything,

but it's still, it's a traffic disruption.

It's going to be a foot traffic disruption.

It looks like it's right near one of the main parking lots.

So we have two sinkholes in right fields.

I'm sorry, I was right there.

Wow.

He was just sitting there.

You went straight cold right there.

That's pretty good.

So upside things that you were happy with spring.

There's a lot to like.

I mean, you know, JJ Weatherhole is going to be around and be a part,

he's going to be there on opening day, your second basement.

And he's an exciting young player.

Matthew Libertor has gotten better and shown some really good signs.

Dustin May looks great.

He looks great.

Dustin May is out there blowing 99.

And I can't remember the last time as Cardinals had a starter throwing up or 90s.

I mean, literally can't remember.

I mean, Carlos Martinez would hit 97, 98 as a reliever,

but he was more 95, 96 as a starter.

They haven't had many guys like that.

So big red is looking good.

Anyone 81 pitches.

That's great.

Yeah, he's ready to go.

I mean, he's, you know, he's going to give you his five or six innings,

depending on efficiency.

The bullpen looks really good, Dave.

I think the bullpen should be a real strength.

I mean, Matt Swanson,

pitch two shutout innings today.

He looks amazing.

I was telling you about Ryan Stannick,

the veteran relever they brought in.

He's throwing 97, 98.

I don't know much about O'Brien lately.

How's he doing?

It's up and down.

He started off with the calf injury,

which slowed him down,

but it sounds like he's going to be available for opening day.

Okay.

Yeah.

So and again, he's, you know, they've got,

they have way more gas in the outfield than they've had a long time.

I mean, I'm sorry in the bullpen than they've had in a long time.

I mean, O'Brien is upper 90s.

Swanson is 95 to 98.

Stannick's upper 90s.

You know, JoJo's not quite upper 90s,

but he gets to the mid 90s.

So I mean, they got more stuff back there than they've had.

Gardedly optimistic.

George Soriano.

I don't know if you've seen him.

He was a waiver claim.

He's another guy that's like 97, 98 all the time.

Just a little bit of a command issue,

like in his past, but another guy with a big arm.

And you've been pretty happy with Gorman.

Yeah, he's doing the things he needs to, right?

I mean, like,

does you look at his spring batting average

and you'll be like, oh, he's hitting 230 or whatever.

He's hitting who cares?

But he's striking out less than he's drawing walks.

He's only struck out four or five times the whole spring,

which is a good sign because that's what he needs to work on.

He needs to work on, you know,

and this is what we're looking at for players in the spring.

What are you needing to fix?

What do you need to get better at?

And are you doing that thing regardless of what the statistics say?

Yeah. And he's doing that.

And he's not only is he doing that,

but he's hitting for power too.

We'll see. I'm excited.

It's not again, it's a different kind of excited.

It's more of an exploratory excitement.

Like you're hopeful about what it could be.

It's not a, we're going to win the World Series thing,

but there's some a lot of interesting players.

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