Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: It's a big day at Dodgers Stadium. The Red Sox
Speaker 1: are in town. Always fun when La and Boston and
Speaker 1: sports hook up together. And a guy that knows all
Speaker 1: about that is our guy, Dave Roberts, three time World
Speaker 1: Series winning manager, also a big part of the four
Speaker 1: championship for the Red Sox. And it's all presented by
Speaker 1: Downy Hunday. Dave, thanks a lot for the time, appreciate it. Dave.
Speaker 2: Good to be with you always as we sit here
Speaker 2: in my office and you mentioned the Boston Los Angeles
Speaker 2: and it takes me back to my childhood rooting for
Speaker 2: Magic against the Celtics, and obviously my time in Boston.
Speaker 2: But you know, whenever the Red Sox and the Dodgers
Speaker 2: get together, it's always a big ticket. And you know,
Speaker 2: the Red Sox quite frankly in the last month or
Speaker 2: playing the best baseball if anyone, so it'll be good
Speaker 2: test for us.
Speaker 1: You played for Jim Tracy when you were with the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: Now his son, Chad Tracy, is the interim manager for
Speaker 1: the Red Sox. Do you remember this little kid, Chad
Speaker 1: Tracy running around the clubhouse.
Speaker 2: I do, and he was kind of I think maybe
Speaker 2: round ten, and so yeah, I mean Deb Tracy, his wife,
Speaker 2: and I remember the boys being around, and so yeah,
Speaker 2: it's just something that you know, I never saw myself
Speaker 2: as becoming a major league manager, but now Chad Tracy
Speaker 2: and I are going to be an opposing dugouts, which
Speaker 2: is pretty crazy, no doubt.
Speaker 1: Dave Roberts is our guest. It's the Manager's Meeting, presented
Speaker 1: by Downey Hunday. You got a bullpen game today and
Speaker 1: you got a fresh arm from Oklahoma City Cole Irvin.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we got Cole Irvin certainly pitched in the
Speaker 2: big leagues and it's good to get him up here.
Speaker 2: And he's gonna take the bulk of this game tonight.
Speaker 2: And unfortunately the corresponding move was Brock Stewart, and Brock
Speaker 2: had some shoulder problems and it's one of those things
Speaker 2: that after the updown didn't feel great. Could probably pitch
Speaker 2: to it. But I think for us right now, given
Speaker 2: we've got the calendar on our side, that we're going
Speaker 2: to aisle him, expect to be back on that fifteenth day.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean I think I'm excited to see
Speaker 2: what Cole can do.
Speaker 1: You've pitched Edwin Diaz and back to back games. Everybody
Speaker 1: keeps asking me about that. I said, Heck, I've worked
Speaker 1: more nights than Edwin Diaz this year. Why not?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Absolutely. I think that the thing is is that
Speaker 2: we took extra time to get him back, and for
Speaker 2: me to be quite honest, I think that giving him
Speaker 2: a little bit of cushion last night and the four
Speaker 2: run ninth I think was good for him. It served
Speaker 2: a couple purposes, and did the back to back, and
Speaker 2: so he'll be down for a couple of days and
Speaker 2: we'll get back to him. But I wanted to kind
Speaker 2: of get that rust off of him. And you know,
Speaker 2: the second night actually was better than that first. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I was going to ask you, did you see the
Speaker 1: rust come off last night?
Speaker 2: I did. I thought the fastball command was much better.
Speaker 2: There was that low dart in there, there was the
Speaker 2: upshoot fastball, but also the slide. It was better. So yeah,
Speaker 2: and I think that so we got accomplished what we
Speaker 2: wanted and Edwin completely understood my thought.
Speaker 1: And you got show Hey Otani back in the starting
Speaker 1: lineup tonight as the DH what's the conversations like between
Speaker 1: you and him on a daily basis to check in
Speaker 1: on how he's feeling.
Speaker 2: You know, it's not daily. I think that I check
Speaker 2: in on him in the sense of how you're doing
Speaker 2: and kind of pleasantries, But as far as like getting
Speaker 2: into hey, how does your nee feel today? Is it
Speaker 2: a one to ten? On a one to ten or tomorrow?
Speaker 2: How does your neefeeld? That's not what I'm trying to do.
Speaker 2: I think that for me, you're watching show, hey, seeing
Speaker 2: how he's uh, you know, carrying himself, how he's running
Speaker 2: the grimaces if there are. He's obviously talking to the
Speaker 2: training stuff, and so that's kind of the extent of it.
Speaker 2: I don't want to kind of every time he sees
Speaker 2: me ask how his needs to do it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, can you help us understand Obviously we understand the
Speaker 1: pounding and the force of a big man like him pitching,
Speaker 1: but how does it separate being a hitter and running
Speaker 1: the going first to third. It seems like it would
Speaker 1: be really difficult to separate that for all of us.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what, it is interesting. I think that
Speaker 2: specific to the left leg, the landing, that's what takes
Speaker 2: most of the brunt of the torque on the pitching,
Speaker 2: So that's kind of what causes that problem with the knee,
Speaker 2: and with the hitting, it's his back knee as a
Speaker 2: left handed hitter, and it's a turn and that's more
Speaker 2: of the hips and it's not and actually the front knee,
Speaker 2: the right knee, and the hitting side takes a brunt
Speaker 2: of the torque because you hit off of your front side.
Speaker 2: So it actually in the perfect world because he throws
Speaker 2: right hits, but it doesn't affect the hitting.
Speaker 1: You're starting to get some players back. Obviously. Will Smith
Speaker 1: is a guy that we've all been interested in because
Speaker 1: of how much he has meant to you in October
Speaker 1: for the three World Championships. Where is he at right now?
Speaker 1: And are you even more optimistic than you were the
Speaker 1: last time we spoke?
Speaker 2: I am? I am, because the last time we spoke
Speaker 2: we were on the road, and now the last few
Speaker 2: days I've had a chance to have conversation with Will
Speaker 2: says he's paying free, he's done baseball activities, which I've
Speaker 2: said publicly, and today he's going to start some hitting
Speaker 2: and kind of start that progression. So that's a good thing.
Speaker 2: And yeah, we certainly miss him, and I think the
Speaker 2: world to him. He's been a great Dodger. But I
Speaker 2: am happy with the production that Dalton's given us. But
Speaker 2: you know, there's still nothing like getting your multi year
Speaker 2: All Star catcher back.
Speaker 1: Yes, speaking of the production that Dalton Rushing has given you,
Speaker 1: He's played more games than Will has, twenty more games.
Speaker 1: His ops is over eight hundred, he's hit twelve home runs,
Speaker 1: he's hitting two seventy. He got so much attention for
Speaker 1: the emotions boiling over. Has those emotions gotten more under control?
Speaker 1: And should we be focusing on the fact that he
Speaker 1: has given you everything and more that you could have
Speaker 1: hoped for.
Speaker 2: I think so, And some of it was deserved and
Speaker 2: self inflicted as far as the motion, the emotion and
Speaker 2: the antics. But I do think that they've been better.
Speaker 2: Like I've said many times with a lot of our players,
Speaker 2: he's growing up and I do think that he's managing
Speaker 2: his motions a lot better. And even you know, from
Speaker 2: that San Diego series, I think it was that day game,
Speaker 2: maybe the second game in San Diego. Just yet, bad
Speaker 2: quality has been way more consistent, and he is getting
Speaker 2: big hits, obviously the big homer last night and he'll
Speaker 2: be down today after catching three in a row. But
Speaker 2: you know, to have a backfill like adult and rushing
Speaker 2: who's cutting his teeth in a pennant race, that's a
Speaker 2: win for the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: Why has it gotten better?
Speaker 2: Do you believe? Well? I think that you know we've
Speaker 2: talked to him. I've talked to him personally about letting
Speaker 2: his play on the field, you know, say everything. And
Speaker 2: I think that you know, we all know he cares.
Speaker 2: But the challenge is is that to be an everyday guy,
Speaker 2: which he feels he can be and wants to be,
Speaker 2: you just can't ride that emotional roller coaster, regardless of
Speaker 2: how much you care, how emotional you are.
Speaker 1: Dave Roberts is our guest. You're not the only guy
Speaker 1: with the Boston connection. Obviously, Mookie Betts played there for
Speaker 1: a while. You guys acquired him. Where is Mookie at
Speaker 1: in his season? And do you believe that it's all
Speaker 1: about him ramping up to be his best in October?
Speaker 2: I do. The defense has been consistent. It's been gold Glover,
Speaker 2: gold glove caliber. I think the last couple of days,
Speaker 2: I've loved the intent with the bat. I think that
Speaker 2: you know, for the Dodger fans that are watching him.
Speaker 2: You can see the aggressiveness in his swings, and so
Speaker 2: I like that try to sort of imposing as well.
Speaker 2: I think Tao's done a lot of that same thing
Speaker 2: the last couple of days. I'm thinking about giving Mooki
Speaker 2: one of the next two days off after we get
Speaker 2: through tonight's game. But he's in a good spot. He's
Speaker 2: in a good spot and you know, excited for what's
Speaker 2: to come the next two months.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's end it on this. Since you brought up
Speaker 1: to Oscar Hernandez, it was special to see you get
Speaker 1: out of the dugout and give him an ovation with
Speaker 1: the catch that he made two nights ago. Are you
Speaker 1: starting to see Tao show that life at the right time?
Speaker 2: We are? And I think the thing is with me
Speaker 2: is Tao is a great guy, great teammate, easygoing, But
Speaker 2: for me, I just wanted to see a little bit
Speaker 2: more interest, a little bit more kind of urgency. And
Speaker 2: that play that he made, He's played considerable deep better
Speaker 2: than he did last year defensively, and I just really
Speaker 2: liked him selling out right there. And just that night
Speaker 2: I was talking about certain plays can change the course
Speaker 2: of a game, and the last play of the game
Speaker 2: doesn't win or lose the game. It's the plays that
Speaker 2: lead up to that last play, that last inning, and
Speaker 2: so that play that he made changed the outcome the
Speaker 2: course of that game, and so I just wanted to
Speaker 2: celebrate him right there.
Speaker 1: Don't forget this, Dave. You can't spell October without tao.
Speaker 2: Ha ha. I love it, David.
Speaker 1: Thanks a lot for the time and look you got
Speaker 1: out Klean. I never even asked you about the trade deadline.
Speaker 2: Thank you for that. I'm sure you'll talk to me later.
Speaker 2: Thank you, David.
Speaker 1: Well, look to see how high the high five with
Speaker 1: you and Otani is before the game tonight.
Speaker 2: Sounds good. It's good to get show Hay back. And
Speaker 2: I still got a bad knee too, so I don't
Speaker 2: know how high we can get