 Welcome to another edition of Yes, we are here, Meredith Marocovitz and Zach Britton. Zach, how are you doing? How are you holding up? Things are pretty good. I'm just spending a lot of time with my kids and my wife and just trying to keep them busy. I'm still able to do baseball stuff, but yeah, I just cooped up at home right now. Now you mentioned the kids. I know they're a little bit on the younger side. How have you been keeping them busy? Because I know for a lot of parents out there, that's been a big task in trying to keep the activities going. Yeah, absolutely. We're lucky because their school has online schooling. Actually, they use the Zoom app, what we're doing right now and they put them in the classroom with their classmates and their teacher and they go through daily activities, whatever lessons that they were learning. Right now, obviously, they're learning basic math and the alphabet and things like that, but it keeps their attention for a good hour and they do two sessions a day actually for my son who's older. He does two different class sessions a day, so that takes up a lot of time and then, like I said, yeah, we just find ways to keep them busy right now. Have you had to jump in as teacher at all and if you did, what subject would you be most comfortable teaching? I think, obviously, art class would be the easiest one for me, especially in that age group. Five, six year olds. I think I could handle myself in the art class, but anything over that age group then we'd have issues. What has been the most creative things you and your wife have come up with to kind of keep them stimulated and keep them having a good time in this crazy time right now? Just recently, actually, I think the one thing we just did is they made their own soap with different colors and things like that and my daughter and my son and even the baby daughter, she got a kick out of creating their own soap with any types of different colors they wanted to make. It turned out interesting. Now it looks like you're in your gym, am I correct? Yeah, absolutely. Now, you have a pretty intense setup in your personal gym. What kind of equipment do you have there? Yeah, I pretty much have everything in here that I would have in New York or in Tampa in those weight rooms and then I have a bullpen here, which is really nice, so I can, I can throw out to about 120 feet, which is about what we would do, you know, if I'm Chad Green's my throwing partner, so that's about what we would do during the regular season, you know, before every game it's about work our way out to 120 feet, so I can do that at home and I can throw a bullpen, so pretty much anything I want to accomplish other than obviously facing hitters and things like that I can do from home, which, you know, I'm pretty lucky a lot of guys right now don't have that and unfortunately I couldn't even bring guys over if I wanted to, right? Because we have the shelter in place order here in Texas, but, you know, hopefully, you know, at some point in the future we can get the guys back together. Everyone is trying to make the best of what is really a bad situation and I have maybe a little project for the kids, I don't know if you're feeling this or not, but why not have them color a Chad Green maybe like head cut out that you can just put over there so it kind of feels like you're still throwing a Chad Green, what do you think? I can, I have this like, I don't know if you can see it, there's actually like a, it's like a fake hitter in the background and I thought about, you know, putting the faces of guys I would face like in the regular season, so not in my teammates, but it was a thought that it come across, you know, a few days ago I was in there like, I could put a picture of somebody that I'm gonna face or whatnot, but I think my kids out of anybody miss Tommy Kainley, you know, so fortunately when we play, you know, our man football league, you know, Tommy's on our chat and my son can talk with Tommy. Now you guys season two of Madden right now, right? Yeah, it's underway, I feel like we should be getting better at this stage, but some of us have not, some of us I think are regressing and I'm one of those people. Oh no, now athletes in general, competitive by nature, I imagine a team Madden tournament, it's the same, so have you been doing anything to try to gain an edge and get yourself at least back to where you were last season? Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm trying to practice obviously being at home with the kids, I don't have as much time as somebody, you know, that doesn't have kids or whatnot, but you know, just trying to practice and you know, training trying to improve our teams and stuff like that, but I think I played Luke Boyd last night and I beat him and it gets, it gets really quiet because we talked with each other during like we're playing, so as the scores get out of hand, like it just, it gets this awkward silence and like no one wants to talk because, you know, and Luke was, he was getting irritated, he was getting irritated, but it's funny because it does bring out that competitive fire that we have, but it's also a great way for us to keep in contact with each other right now. Anything else aside from the Madden league that you guys are doing to try to remain as a team, as a unit, even though y'all can't be together? Yeah, we're in a group text and you know, early on I was keeping these guys informed with a lot of stuff with the union or, you know, things that were going on, you know, just in baseball in general and we've kept that group chat up and so we're texting each other, it's not always baseball related, it's just checking in and goofing off with each other. Like I said, it's been such a long time since most of us have been home this time of year and I think you don't realize how much you miss being around your teammates until something like this happens and you know, I mean I think it's cool, we have a great group of guys that like keeping in contact with each other which is nice. You mentioned the union, you're the player rep for the Yankees, I imagine that was quite a bear to try to figure everything out when there are so many unknowns still out there as far as when baseball is going to start again. Yeah, I think the hardest part is there's so many guys in different situations when you're talking about, you know, financial situations or service time situations, guys that may be on the 40 man and not on the 40 man and so yeah, there was a lot of questions I was getting asked but, you know, Garrett Cole, you know, Jay Hap, James Bax and it really helped me out and trying to, you know, give as much information out to guys as they could too so I wasn't alone which was nice, we have a great great clubhouse and everyone wanted to help out. What was the sticking point for you? What were you really hoping that the union would fight for in regards to this season? Yeah, you know, I think my mindset was that, you know, baseball is so little on the scale of everything that's going on and we understand that it's a business and we had to take care of, you know, certain things within the CBA that needed to be changed because of the period that we're in, the time that we're in with things going on around the world so we were trying to be very conscious of that and and just try to make, you know, not be public with it really honestly because it's not important at all in the scheme of things and I just wanted something that was that was fair for both sides that we can kind of get an agreement on and then start focusing on, you know, hopefully an opportunity to start the season at some point, but I didn't, I don't think anybody wanted anything big. We just we wanted, you know, the players to be treated fairly. We wanted guys, you know, like I saw the minorly guys got to take care of financially today. So it wasn't just about people that are represented by the union. We wanted everybody in the baseball family, whether that's stadium employees and things like that, to be taken care of right now. Do you expect that when baseball is back that you guys are going to be playing in front of your fans or do you think it's a real possibility that you may be providing some comfort for people, but they're going to have to watch it at home? Yeah, you know, unfortunately I think the reality is is that there's a good shot that we might start the season without fans. And I think it just depends on each state honestly. I think it depends on the situations. Obviously we need, we know how bad it is in New York and you know, I think that that might be a state that doesn't allow those gatherings for a lot longer than a few others. So I think it depends on where the team is located, but you know, unfortunately I think we might start the year without fans and you know, we want to play in front of our fans and I think baseball is, you know, it's an escape for people, you know, everyday life. So we don't want to put anybody in danger though by, you know, letting fans in the stadiums and things like that. But you know, like I said, I think it's going to be difficult for a little while until we get this thing under control. It's uncharted territory for everyone. Safety of course, as you mentioned, is at the forefront of everything. Now you mentioned Tommy Canley a lot and we know he has very colorful personality. There are a bunch of them on the team. If you had to be stuck with somebody for a quarantine period, who would you choose? Man, like so just, just one, like one guy? One guy. You can pick two. What else you pick two? All right, so wow. Put me on the spot. Hopefully no one gets offended. You know, I got to have Tommy, right? So Tommy serves two purposes in this world, right, of the core team people. So I'm assuming my children are still like with me in this. So Tommy can interact with my kids because they love Tommy. He can keep them entertained. He has just as much energy as my kid, which is a plus, right? And then, you know, then it gets difficult. I mean, I could go with, obviously the guys in the bullpen are going to be the best relationships that I have because we're with each other all day. You know, it would be between Greeny and, you know, probably Autovino. I think Chad keeps Tommy and check the best. Take that back because Otto played with Tommy in Colorado. So like it's between those two guys and it would be difficult for me to pick. You know, I could go with Chad because he's so just, he's so chill and relaxed that, you know, you're, whatever you're going to do, he's just going to be on board with it. So like I could lead Chad. They really are like ying and yang because Tommy is very out there. Chad couldn't be more quiet and more reserved. I know. It's, it's, it, their interactions are some of the, the best parts of my day when we're together because it starts as soon as, you know, in spring training when we get there early and they drive together someday. So it starts immediately when the door's open and so it's pretty cool to watch. If you had to watch one baseball moment, whether it's that you were involved in or just that you remember growing up that you've been a part of during the quarantine period, what would it be? Yeah. It could be a particular at that. It could be anything. Right. Oh, so hold on. Hold on a little bit. Hey, Danny, hold on. I'm doing a phone. No, you're good. The dog is running around. Yeah, that's cool. Jackson. Yeah, no, you're good. I'll be, I'm almost done. Sorry. Oh, good. So one moment. Yeah. Baseball moment that you had to watch on loop during a quarantine period. What would it be? Well, watching it on loop. Man, so there's a couple, ones that, you know, I was a part of, you know, I would say, and it wasn't necessarily like the best day for me, but, you know, when I was able to close out the ALDS with the Orioles in Detroit after giving up like back-to-back doubles, and, you know, the game was tied, and I think show Walter, he ended up walking the go-ahead run and putting it on. I ended up getting a double play, and we were able to advance the ALCS. That was a cool moment for me. That was my first year closing, and I think the story is better because of how bad I struggled the years before, and I didn't like really know if I was going to be in the big leagues that year, and it turned out like here I am closing out, you know, the final, getting the final out of the ALDS. I would say from a fan standpoint, and I was warming up when this happened, me and Andrew Miller, when Jeter hit his, got his walk-off hit in New York, so me and Andrew were like staring at each other because they're like, who's going in to face Jeter? And like, no, you know, we were getting it from the Yankee fans too. They were like, you better not get them out, right? And you know, we just sat there, and we kind of watched it unfold, and I was like, this guy, like everything about this guy is storybook, right? For Jeter, like who else would get a walk-off hit in their final game at their home field, right? And to me, that was, um, man, it's hard to put into words, but watching that out from the bullpen, watching it happen, we were just pulling away. I was on the third base side, and you just got chilled as he walked to the play taking. This is going to happen, and think about the year that David Robertson was having, that he's the guy that blew the safe to set up the situation for Jeter to get there. Yeah, because it was like, yeah, I forgot that, yeah, New York was up on us, and I think maybe Steve Pierce or Adam Jones don't run, that could be wrong. And, um, man, I forgot that, yeah, because he was having a great year, and that was, was that his first year replacing Maoism, the full-time closure? It was. It was. Yeah, because Mao went out to the league before, and then Jeter. Right. So, yeah, that moment to me, that was, it was just a crazy moment, but you felt like he was going to do it. And, and we were kind of hoping that we didn't, I remember looking at Andrew, we had already quenched the division that year, and we were looking at each other, like, man, like, I don't want any part of this, you know, like, no matter what happens, it's like, you don't want to be a part of it. And we just had this feeling that he was going to do something big. And sure enough, I think it was the first pitch, base hit to right field, runner comes in, scores, and they win. And I mean, you know, just watching that unfold, I felt like a little kid again, watching Derek play when I was like a young guy. And I mean, it was, it was weird, but that was one of my favorite moments. Obviously, you know, it didn't impact my team, you know, positively, but that was a really cool moment. That was a moment that a lot of Yankees fans, certainly, will never forget. I'm sure, I'm sure. Derek Seater provided so many of them. If I were to tell you that Buck Showalter is now on Zoom, would you believe me? Wow. I mean, I would, I would, wow. Yeah, I mean, I would, I would guess I would believe you because like, I know he's doing more TV now, but I mean, it's just funny to see how things change, like with Buck. But you know what, when he was my manager at first, when I was young, like, his use of technology enhanced dramatically from when I was a rookie until when I ended up getting traded. And you know, Buck was one of those guys. I mean, he's in with the times. Don't let him pull you. I know he's got the old school mentality, but he's also in with the time. He's great. Anything you want to tell fans or anyone that's, that's dealing with obviously COVID-19 for one last message? Yeah, I think, you know, I don't know what I can say to really ease the burden on families that are struggling with this right now. But obviously, you know, we're in this together. And I think the best thing that we can do is follow, you know, the rules that are put in place right now to help, you know, stem this virus and get it under control so that we can, you know, for the people that are struggling financially, can get back to their jobs. And, you know, we can, you know, resume our, you know, everyday lives. And I don't know if we're ever going to get back to what a normal is, right, what the normal used to be. And I think it's going to be a new normal. But I think right now we're all in this together, no matter where we are, obviously, we can't be around each other. But, you know, there's so much support for the people in the medical field right now, which there should always be, right? And then, you know, I think the biggest thing is coming together and support each other through this time. And I think you see the best in people during these times and what it's like to really be an American when these things hit our country. Well, Zach, thank you for being so gracious with your time and stay safe in Texas. All right, thank you.