I'm Andrew Stocky down here at lately com park in brampton, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates were down for spring training with manager Derek, Shelton Derek, this is your third spring training, You've never really had a usual spring training this time. You're starting a little bit later than usual. Is that going to be a concern for you as you get into the season? I think it is a little bit of a concern just because it is condensed three weeks of games, three days before we play a game and normally it's 10 days. So we're really gonna have to be conscious of bodies and how guys came in and soft tissue injuries and you know, hopefully we get back to a little bit of normality. Of course today is ST Patrick's Day, but it's also the eve before you start playing grapefruit league games, you have the Yankees tomorrow here at Lincoln Park. Tell me your level of excitement to finally get on the field with these guys and play ball, I cannot tell you, I mean, the opening address a couple of days ago, just being in the room, you know, it's a family when you get back and to be um a little nervous about playing a game tomorrow because of health, but I'm so excited to see a different uniform to get people into Lincoln park and to get Pirates baseball started. You got a lot of different faces though, you just signed daniel Bogle box keith, Henry picture relief pitcher? So you have some new faces on this team. How are you gonna incorporate those guys into the group that you already have? Well, I think we have a really good core that we're starting to build here with, with a group of guys and then we're always going to have to add into it. I mean we're two days in, I met him yesterday for the first time. Uh so I think how we're gonna immerse them in is just through conversation and uh you know, a little bit of florida sunshine, you know, a lot of Pittsburgh people obviously have not been here yet, they're excited to see the team, but it's been a long time since last season. What should people get excited about with this pirate team? I think they should get excited about the, the young core of guys we have. When you talk about David Bednar, when you talk about brian Reynolds, you talk about key brian Hayes and the strides we continue to make. And then the second thing that, that is really important is I think Ben has put a really good plan in place and we've really stuck with our process. We've done a nice job acquiring people. We've done a really good job drafting people and and I think there's really good things to come and uh for Pirates baseball, you're talking about young players, I mean, is that what really gets you excited. The fact you have so much young talent that given a chance to develop, you've got a pretty good looking team here. If these guys need to grow and mature as they have. Yeah, our, our player development system is really done a good job and we're continuing to get good young players. You know, the one benefit of being late is was able to spend a week over at minor league camp and see some of our young players you're gonna get an opportunity if you come down to see some of those guys in major league camp this year and when you have good young talented, it makes the manager excited. It makes you smile, you know, help on twitter all the time. I see these other teams making these big signs, these big name free agents that's not quite happening here. Does that concern you at all? You're not getting these top flight players who are gonna make that big money and be those big performers? No, not not not in the least. But I think the thing that's most important is we dwell on us, we focus on the guys we have here and uh we, you know, we just continue to get better. Finally, I talked to Bob knowing all the time. He says the goal is to win a championship realistically what is your goal for this baseball team in 2022 and 2022? It's to continue to get better to improve and to make sure we're making the right evaluation moves and I like the way he's thinking on that I think the same way and you know, I'm just excited to get started. So you don't go in saying, look, our goal is to be a playoff team or we're going to win. No, I don't think it's fair to do because there's so many different factors. I think the one thing that I've learned, like you said, it's my third year, like, uh, you know, when I took the job and the first day we met, I didn't plan on 2020 happening with Covid last year getting, so I think the one thing I've learned to do is adapt and adjust and, and not to really put parameters on anything just to continue to focus on the day. Well, Derek, good luck to you tomorrow and in the season ahead. Thank you. Pleasure to talk to you. Ladies and Gentlemen, Derek Shelton. I'm Andrew, Stocky in bradenton florida for Pittsburgh's action news.