WEBVTT - Dave Roberts (7-25-26) 

0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:07.000
<v Speaker 1>And an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talking, Well,

0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:10.200
<v Speaker 1>the best part of Dave Roberts road trip is right now,

0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:13.280
<v Speaker 1>presented by Downey Hyundai. We're in the manager's office at

0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:17.600
<v Speaker 1>City Field, Dave Man, what a great bonding experience it's

0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:19.280
<v Speaker 1>been with you and me for ten days.

0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:20.360
<v Speaker 2>It's been great, Dave.

0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:23.439
<v Speaker 3>You know, best part of my trip is this, you know,

0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.159
<v Speaker 3>once a week conversation that you and I have And

0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:31.280
<v Speaker 3>no all kidding aside. It's been a long trip, certainly

0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:33.839
<v Speaker 3>with the All Star Game, but it's been a very

0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:37.279
<v Speaker 3>productive trip. And you know, here we are Game two

0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.120
<v Speaker 3>here in City Field, so we got Yamamoto going so

0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:41.360
<v Speaker 3>excited to get this one going.

0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:45.400
<v Speaker 1>Just to put it into context, to fully appreciate what

0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:48.800
<v Speaker 1>you guys pulled off in the last forty eight to

0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:53.080
<v Speaker 1>seventy two hours. Three cities within forty eight hours, and

0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:55.680
<v Speaker 1>you come to City Field against a Mets team that's

0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.040
<v Speaker 1>going to give you their best shot and you pull

0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:01.320
<v Speaker 1>off a win. How impress and proud are you of

0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:04.160
<v Speaker 1>your guys to come out and show up the way

0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:05.160
<v Speaker 1>they did last night?

0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:09.600
<v Speaker 3>Really really proud obviously, you know, having to take the

0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:12.280
<v Speaker 3>trip to DC a lot of guys, so that was

0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:14.400
<v Speaker 3>our off day and to come back late at night

0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:18.200
<v Speaker 3>to then play the way we did last night to

0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:21.800
<v Speaker 3>get a win, and obviously Rookie was fantastic, But you know,

0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:23.840
<v Speaker 3>it's one of those things where you know, starting the

0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.240
<v Speaker 3>break and the Yankees are trying to give us, are

0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:29.360
<v Speaker 3>giving us their best, the Philly same and to win

0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:32.360
<v Speaker 3>two series there and then you know, the Mets haven't

0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.800
<v Speaker 3>played up to their capabilities, but they're still going to

0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:37.760
<v Speaker 3>go out there and give us their best, and we

0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:41.160
<v Speaker 3>got their best starter going tonight, so we got our work,

0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:43.840
<v Speaker 3>you know, our hands full tonight. But yeah, for the

0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:46.880
<v Speaker 3>way we've played, and it seems like every night there's

0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:50.400
<v Speaker 3>somebody else that steps up and helps lead us to

0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:50.919
<v Speaker 3>a victory.

0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:52.840
<v Speaker 2>So that's been fun to watch for you.

0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:56.600
<v Speaker 1>And having Yamamoto on the mound tonight. What do you

0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.600
<v Speaker 1>believe he has done to take his game to the

0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:03.080
<v Speaker 1>next level after coming off a World Series MVP, a

0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:07.520
<v Speaker 1>cy young A finalist, how has he gotten better this year?

0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:11.160
<v Speaker 3>I think if I could say one thing, I would

0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:15.400
<v Speaker 3>probably say his efficiency. I think that you know, there's

0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:19.440
<v Speaker 3>pitchers in our league that can be good for five innings,

0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:22.960
<v Speaker 3>but they don't have enough bullets left to go six,

0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:25.799
<v Speaker 3>or they're good for six and don't have enough bullets

0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.800
<v Speaker 3>to go into the seventh inning. But I think Yamamoto

0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.120
<v Speaker 3>has done a much better job of these last couple

0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:35.320
<v Speaker 3>of years about being efficient and given himself a chance

0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:36.880
<v Speaker 3>to get into that seventh inning.

0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.119
<v Speaker 1>Dave, the one thing I've heard about Yamamoto this year

0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:44.560
<v Speaker 1>is that he has become better prepared, studying the hitters,

0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:48.480
<v Speaker 1>understanding what he can do against certain guys, and that

0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:51.160
<v Speaker 1>has given him a lot more conviction on the mound.

0:02:51.520 --> 0:02:54.720
<v Speaker 1>Do you feel like that has led to his dominance

0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:55.320
<v Speaker 1>this season?

0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:56.760
<v Speaker 2>I do? I do.

0:02:57.720 --> 0:02:59.480
<v Speaker 3>I think in the first couple of years it was

0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:02.239
<v Speaker 3>more of that trustful.

0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:04.720
<v Speaker 2>And not knowing the league, not knowing the.

0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:07.840
<v Speaker 3>Hitters, and trying to depend on the catchers and the coaches.

0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.720
<v Speaker 3>But you know, as he's had more at bats with guys,

0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:14.400
<v Speaker 3>then he can kind of get his own, you know, thoughts,

0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:16.840
<v Speaker 3>and then you layer that in with the game planning,

0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:19.679
<v Speaker 3>and then it's really more concrete. So I do think

0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:21.840
<v Speaker 3>that the experience that he's had in our league is

0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:22.880
<v Speaker 3>made them even better.

0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:24.520
<v Speaker 2>Where do you believe this came from?

0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:28.520
<v Speaker 1>Because he did some studying and he rationalized that if

0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:32.080
<v Speaker 1>he can save one pitch per inning, that'll save him

0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.680
<v Speaker 1>ten pitches in a complete start, and his last time

0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.160
<v Speaker 1>out he only threw one hundred and two pitches in

0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:39.040
<v Speaker 1>a complete game.

0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:41.120
<v Speaker 3>Well that's kind of where I was going to a

0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:44.120
<v Speaker 3>couple questions ago, where it's like, it just seems now

0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:48.640
<v Speaker 3>he's always given me, you know, the opportunity to push

0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:51.720
<v Speaker 3>him later in the game, and you know, before it

0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:54.480
<v Speaker 3>just wasn't efficient. And I think that he's smart enough

0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:57.520
<v Speaker 3>to realize that, you know, there's you know, a dozen

0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:00.920
<v Speaker 3>pitches that a starting pitcher waste every single start, and

0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.560
<v Speaker 3>if you can kind of cut those back, that's another

0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:04.520
<v Speaker 3>inning on the back end.

0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:06.320
<v Speaker 2>So he's done a great job in that.

0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:08.440
<v Speaker 1>Is it fair to compare him that he may be?

0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:11.440
<v Speaker 1>Obviously these two guys are Hall of famers, But is

0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:14.240
<v Speaker 1>he a mixture of Greg Maddicks and Pedro Martinez? Do

0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:15.880
<v Speaker 1>you see those characteristics?

0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:22.000
<v Speaker 3>I see both in different ways. I think I see

0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:30.680
<v Speaker 3>the command, the studying with Greg Maddox. I see the

0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.520
<v Speaker 3>different pitches that Pedro had the killer, but Greg was

0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:38.400
<v Speaker 3>a killer as well. Yeah, you know, it's like there's

0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.720
<v Speaker 3>a there's a little bit of bulldog some orhearsh eyes

0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:44.000
<v Speaker 3>that there's a little bit of John Smolts with the command.

0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.239
<v Speaker 2>You know, he's you know, there's.

0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:48.440
<v Speaker 3>A lot of great pitchers that he's got a lot

0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:49.520
<v Speaker 3>of those character traits.

0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:52.960
<v Speaker 1>Manager Dave Roberts is our guest. It's the Manager's Meeting

0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:56.159
<v Speaker 1>presented by Downey Hyundai. All Right, when you look at

0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:58.680
<v Speaker 1>your team, you start to get some players back, Dave,

0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.800
<v Speaker 1>And when the Dodgers return home, key K Hernandez was

0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:04.320
<v Speaker 1>pretty confident that he'll be back with the team. Do

0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:07.680
<v Speaker 1>you feel like on the upcoming homestand Edwin Diaz and

0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.440
<v Speaker 1>key K will add even more talent to your roster.

0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:14.640
<v Speaker 3>I think right now very confident. Key K's playing through

0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:18.320
<v Speaker 3>the weekend with his OKAC team and the expectations he'll

0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:21.800
<v Speaker 3>be back with us on Tuesday. And the expectation with

0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.480
<v Speaker 3>Edwin is he's going to throw tomorrow and then he'll

0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:28.160
<v Speaker 3>be back available with us on Wednesday night. So yeah,

0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:31.800
<v Speaker 3>we're starting to become whole. And you know, Blake Snell

0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:36.080
<v Speaker 3>just do last night. So he'll pitch next week for

0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:39.120
<v Speaker 3>four innings and then you know, hopefully shortly after that,

0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:41.400
<v Speaker 3>you know he'll be back, you know, coming back to

0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:41.840
<v Speaker 3>us as.

0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:43.960
<v Speaker 1>Well, and with those guys that have missed the majority

0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:47.080
<v Speaker 1>of the season, do you think adding those guys helps

0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:49.920
<v Speaker 1>the guys that have been grinding all season long, gives

0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:51.440
<v Speaker 1>them a little extra something.

0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:55.000
<v Speaker 3>I think, so, you know, it's kind of a you know,

0:05:55.279 --> 0:05:57.680
<v Speaker 3>recharges us. And I think that you saw that a

0:05:57.680 --> 0:05:59.720
<v Speaker 3>little bit with Key K when he came back and

0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:02.440
<v Speaker 3>he gave us a shot in the arm and then

0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.839
<v Speaker 3>he hurt the oblique. But you know, that's what he's

0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:07.120
<v Speaker 3>going to do. And obviously, when you get your closer back,

0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.039
<v Speaker 3>that's going to do a lot for the bullpen. And

0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:11.440
<v Speaker 3>when you get a guy like Blake Snow who's won

0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:13.960
<v Speaker 3>two cy Youngs, that's certainly going to make your rotation

0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:15.279
<v Speaker 3>your team much better as well.

0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:17.919
<v Speaker 1>Earlier on this road trip, I got to go back

0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:20.920
<v Speaker 1>in time with some of the things that have stood

0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:24.320
<v Speaker 1>out to me, and the last game of the series

0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:29.000
<v Speaker 1>in Philadelphia, managers don't usually go out to exchange lineup cards,

0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:32.680
<v Speaker 1>but you and Don Mattingly went out there to exchange

0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:36.600
<v Speaker 1>lineup cards. In Philadelphia, two umpires that have been in

0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:39.880
<v Speaker 1>the league a long time, Brian Anorra and Las Dias.

0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:42.920
<v Speaker 1>It's their final season A, was that the reason why

0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:46.040
<v Speaker 1>you went out there? And B what did that mean

0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.360
<v Speaker 1>for you to you know, just salute those guys.

0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:50.640
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so it was kind of organic.

0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:53.760
<v Speaker 3>I go out there every first game of every series,

0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:57.080
<v Speaker 3>That's kind of what I do, and then this one

0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.080
<v Speaker 3>I went out for the first and then the last one.

0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:02.200
<v Speaker 3>I just wanted to send those guys off. I know

0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:04.880
<v Speaker 3>we'll see Laz again, and I think Brian is going

0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:07.120
<v Speaker 3>to get some type of procedure done, so I think

0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:09.880
<v Speaker 3>that that was going to be his last game, you know,

0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:13.440
<v Speaker 3>first career. So I think that Donnie knew that as well.

0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:16.560
<v Speaker 3>So it was great for us to you know, send

0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:20.720
<v Speaker 3>them off. And you know, umpires are scrutinized every single night,

0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:23.200
<v Speaker 3>just like managers are, and they do a great job.

0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:24.440
<v Speaker 2>They do the best they can.

0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:27.480
<v Speaker 3>So you know, for two guys that have done it

0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:29.400
<v Speaker 3>for as long as they have, I got nothing but

0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:30.200
<v Speaker 3>respect for him.

0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:34.000
<v Speaker 1>I've seen you before have interactions with certain umpires. Dan

0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:37.280
<v Speaker 1>Bellino seems to be a very friendly Dave Roberts type

0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:38.920
<v Speaker 1>of umpire as much as you can be.

0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:41.560
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you know what, Dan and I we've had our

0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:46.320
<v Speaker 3>you know, we've had our battles, but he's softened. I

0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:48.240
<v Speaker 3>have nothing but love and respect for him. But I

0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:50.560
<v Speaker 3>have fun with the umpires, and like I said, they

0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:54.640
<v Speaker 3>do the best they can, but we definitely throw our barbs,

0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:57.200
<v Speaker 3>you know, in jes tongue in cheek.

0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:58.559
<v Speaker 2>Have a lot of fun with those guys.

0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:02.120
<v Speaker 1>All right, before I let you go, we're talking about umpires.

0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:05.120
<v Speaker 1>We are almost at the end of the regular season here,

0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:08.760
<v Speaker 1>almost into August. How do you believe the abs challenging

0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:12.280
<v Speaker 1>has worked out so far for the teams but also

0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:13.400
<v Speaker 1>for the umpires.

0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:16.720
<v Speaker 3>Well, I think in total, I think for the game

0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:21.120
<v Speaker 3>it's been great. I think I can't speak to the teams.

0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:22.920
<v Speaker 3>I can speak to our team where I think that

0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:26.240
<v Speaker 3>there's opportunities to get better and pick times of the

0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:28.280
<v Speaker 3>right times, the leverage times to do it.

0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:32.000
<v Speaker 2>But I think that and I think that it's been

0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:32.800
<v Speaker 2>good for the umpires.

0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:35.240
<v Speaker 3>I think that no one likes to be embarrassed, and

0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:38.760
<v Speaker 3>you know, when you have the opportunity to potentially challenge,

0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:43.280
<v Speaker 3>it does make their focus a little bit more heightened

0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:45.720
<v Speaker 3>and that's good for the game. And it's no you know,

0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:48.120
<v Speaker 3>I'm not trying to bang or knock empires, but I

0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.800
<v Speaker 3>do think so overall, nets.

0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:52.079
<v Speaker 2>It's a huge win for us, and.

0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.400
<v Speaker 1>It also proves that they're pretty good at their job.

0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:57.800
<v Speaker 3>They are, they are, and I think that's something it's

0:08:57.840 --> 0:08:59.200
<v Speaker 3>hard to kind of appreciate.

0:08:59.640 --> 0:08:59.800
<v Speaker 2>You know.

0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.880
<v Speaker 3>We're talking about ninety three ninety four month hours, sliders,

0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:06.360
<v Speaker 3>cutters and one hundred and five mile an hour fastballs

0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:08.760
<v Speaker 3>that certain guys are throwing up there. It's like, and

0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.040
<v Speaker 3>now you're talking about missing a half an inch an

0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:14.480
<v Speaker 3>inch and it ain't easy. But like I said, they're

0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:16.120
<v Speaker 3>doing the best they can. They do a pretty good.

0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:18.160
<v Speaker 1>Job, all right, Dave, thanks a lot for the time.

0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:20.960
<v Speaker 1>I've had a great time in joining the East Coast

0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.360
<v Speaker 1>with you, and we'll have a happy flight home tomorrow.

0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:24.200
<v Speaker 2>Let's do it, Dave,