Speaker 1: All come on back.
Speaker 2: Before you know it, they'll be back on the field
Speaker 2: at Camelback Ranch. Why can't this be spring training? But
Speaker 2: our coverage of the blue never stops. AM five LA Sports.
Speaker 2: This is off season Dodger Talk. Get in on the
Speaker 2: show by calling eight six six seven four hashtag Dodger
Speaker 2: Talk and now your host, David Bassey.
Speaker 1: Welcome the Dodger Talk. David Vasse with you until eight
Speaker 1: o'clock tonight on this Martin Luther King Junior Day. We
Speaker 1: remember the great Martin Luther King Junior and we'll hear
Speaker 1: from Don Newcome in our next segment. He used to
Speaker 1: tell this story about Doctor King, always saying thank you
Speaker 1: to him, Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella for what Jackie
Speaker 1: Robinson did first and foremost breaking the color barrier in
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball. And Don Newcomb, the way he tells
Speaker 1: the story, Doctor King gave a lot of credit to
Speaker 1: those brook Lynn Dodgers that broke the color barrier, and
Speaker 1: you know, started the ball moving in the Civil Rights
Speaker 1: Department for the Dodgers, and you know, for Major League
Speaker 1: Baseball and for this country. So you'll hear from Don
Speaker 1: Newcomb coming up in fifteen minutes. Also, at the bottom
Speaker 1: of the hour, we'll share our conversation with Team USAS
Speaker 1: and MLB Networks Mark DeRosa. Mark DeRosa is the manager
Speaker 1: for Team USA and it was Mark DeRosa's idea to
Speaker 1: have Clayton Kershaw be part of this year's World Baseball
Speaker 1: Classic team. So we'll get to Mark DeRosa. We couldn't
Speaker 1: get to him the last time we had Dodger Talk
Speaker 1: because two minutes before we took the air, the news
Speaker 1: broke that the Dodger signed Kyle Tucker to a four
Speaker 1: year contract that is going to pay him and average
Speaker 1: of fifty seven to sixty million dollars per season. Unheard of.
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, I know Otani's contract is seventy
Speaker 1: million dollars annually, but he deferred his contract and now
Speaker 1: you got Kyle Tucker making fifty seven million dollars a year.
Speaker 1: And before we get into the overreaction of everybody outside
Speaker 1: of LA, let's talk about some of the things that
Speaker 1: was lost in why the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker. He
Speaker 1: helps the Dodgers in multiple ways, as we talked about
Speaker 1: that night. First and foremost, he helps the Dodgers offense.
Speaker 1: And we know Andrew Freeman felt like that was an
Speaker 1: area of need because the Dodger offense was not very
Speaker 1: good the second half of last year. Mookie Betts had
Speaker 1: his worst offensive season that carried into the postseason. He
Speaker 1: played solid shortstop. I thought it was fitting that it
Speaker 1: was him that ended the World Series with an unassisted
Speaker 1: double play. And then you had ta Oscar Hernandez who
Speaker 1: had his worst offensive season, especially after he injured his
Speaker 1: growing in June. Remember we were talking about ta Oscar
Speaker 1: Hernandez going to the All Star Game and then he
Speaker 1: injured his growing and he wasn't the same offensively, and
Speaker 1: he certainly wasn't the same defensively in right field. So
Speaker 1: Kyle Tucker first and foremost helps the Dodgers offensively and
Speaker 1: helps their outfield offense. And when you sign a player,
Speaker 1: you got to make sure that he's pretty good in
Speaker 1: your home ballpark, and the way he hits plays in
Speaker 1: your home ballpark, because that's where you're going to play
Speaker 1: the majority of your games. Eighty one games for Kyle
Speaker 1: Tucker in the regular season at Dodger Stadium, and I
Speaker 1: was curious, and I tweeted this over the weekend, and
Speaker 1: it bears repeating that Kyle Tucker in forty career played
Speaker 1: appearances at Dodger Stadium is hitting three with an ops
Speaker 1: of one thousand. Six of his ten career hits at
Speaker 1: Dodger Stadium are extra base hits two homers In case
Speaker 1: you're wondering, so he plays at Dodger Stadium. Also, one
Speaker 1: part of this that may get overlooked is the running
Speaker 1: game of Kyle Tucker. He's younger, he helps the Dodgers
Speaker 1: get younger, he helps the Dodgers get more athletic. Tucker
Speaker 1: has stolen one hundred and nineteen bases in his career
Speaker 1: on one hundred and thirty five career attempts. That's over
Speaker 1: an eighty eight percent success rate. And in this day
Speaker 1: and age of you know, the rules being bent to
Speaker 1: lean towards players having an edge to steal bases, that's important.
Speaker 1: And the Dodgers, with all that being in play, were
Speaker 1: near the bottom of stolen bases As a team. The
Speaker 1: Dodgers last year only stole eighty eight bases. That was
Speaker 1: twenty first among thirty Major League teams last year with
Speaker 1: the rules being in favor of stealing bases, and there
Speaker 1: were only three Dodgers that stole double digit bases last year,
Speaker 1: led by shoe Hey Otani who stole twenty, Pa Has
Speaker 1: stole fourteen, and Kim stole thirteen. So you didn't have
Speaker 1: a lot of the premier Dodger players running the bases
Speaker 1: last year. So that's another factor in Kyle Tucker being
Speaker 1: part of this Dodger lineup, not only what he can
Speaker 1: do with the bat and what he can do defensively,
Speaker 1: but also what he could do for the Dodgers base
Speaker 1: running to help them get into scoring position by stealing
Speaker 1: bases going first to third. The Dodgers were pretty good
Speaker 1: at that, but stealing bases has not been a forte
Speaker 1: outside of Otani for the Dodgers, so that's something to
Speaker 1: keep in mind as well. Eight six six, nine eighty
Speaker 1: seven two five seventy is the phone number. Now, you know,
Speaker 1: obviously I'm hearing everything that you're hearing, reading everything that
Speaker 1: you're reading on social media. How there is it's inevitable.
Speaker 1: Now there's going to be a lockout because the Dodgers
Speaker 1: signed Kyle Tucker. I'm not a believer in that. I
Speaker 1: don't believe there's going to be an extended lockout. I
Speaker 1: do believe there is going to be a lockout, and
Speaker 1: it may even bleed into the first or second week
Speaker 1: of April. But I do believe that next year, in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven, I should say two years from now,
Speaker 1: because everybody's acting like it's happening now, can we just
Speaker 1: enjoy the twenty six season before we start, you know,
Speaker 1: being doom and gloom about a lockout in twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 1: A lot can happen, as we know, in the world
Speaker 1: between now and twenty twenty seven. So let's just enjoy
Speaker 1: twenty twenty six and the Dodgers trying to make a
Speaker 1: three peat run. A couple of things about the emotional
Speaker 1: overreaction around Major League Baseball with the Dodgers swooping in
Speaker 1: to sign Kyle Tucker. It wasn't the Dodgers that presented
Speaker 1: the high annual average salary for Tucker, by all accounts,
Speaker 1: it was the Mets, who, by the way, they named
Speaker 1: the highest luxury tax threshold for their owner, not the
Speaker 1: Dodgers owner, but for the Mets owner, Steve Cohen. So
Speaker 1: let's get that first out of the way. It's the
Speaker 1: Steve Cohen tax, the highest tax threshold. Number two, do
Speaker 1: you realize public numbers are out there that only twenty
Speaker 1: of the thirty teams in baseball reinvest or excuse me,
Speaker 1: invest less than fifty percent of their revenue into their roster.
Speaker 1: Twenty of the thirty teams invest less than fifty percent
Speaker 1: of their revenue in the roster. So to me, that's
Speaker 1: more alarming than the Dodgers being competitive in a competitive
Speaker 1: sport to try to win and compete. Why are these
Speaker 1: other teams not competing? And for those that say other
Speaker 1: teams field they don't have a chance going into the season,
Speaker 1: I got news for you. Every year there's about ten
Speaker 1: teams that don't have a chance. Those teams change, and
Speaker 1: the only way to change it is try to build
Speaker 1: a better team through player development and supplementing with free agency.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, am I missing something here? And I'm getting
Speaker 1: tired of taking my dog for a walk and having
Speaker 1: to explain this to every neighbor that knows that I
Speaker 1: host Dodger Talk and I do baseball reporting. It's becoming exhausting,
Speaker 1: it really is, and there is you know, I don't
Speaker 1: believe there's going to be a lockout. I actually don't
Speaker 1: even believe there's going to be a salad recap or
Speaker 1: a salary floor implemented next collective bargaining agreement, because I
Speaker 1: don't believe the union is going to go for that.
Speaker 1: I actually believe they're going to just find a way
Speaker 1: to make the penalties stiffer if you go over a
Speaker 1: certain mark of the payroll, and you may even may
Speaker 1: not be able to go as high as the Dodgers
Speaker 1: have gone. But if they are paying this tax tax,
Speaker 1: that means a lot of teams are reaping the rewards
Speaker 1: of the Dodgers going over that tex and the so
Speaker 1: called revenue sharing, the spirit of the revenue sharing, which
Speaker 1: was implemented by Bud Selig after the ninety four lockout,
Speaker 1: was for these big market teams, not the Dodgers back
Speaker 1: in ninety four, but the Yankees, the Red Sox especially,
Speaker 1: to have to pay a tax that gets distributed amongst
Speaker 1: the rest of the teams in base with the intention
Speaker 1: of reinvesting that into your major league roster. How many
Speaker 1: teams are doing that? How do you explain teams that
Speaker 1: have a payroll under one hundred million dollars. It's just
Speaker 1: not happening. They're pocketing that money. That's not the spirit
Speaker 1: of the revenue sharing. So I think fan bases should
Speaker 1: be pointing the finger at their ownership for that. And look,
Speaker 1: the Brewers, the small market Brewers were the team that
Speaker 1: had the best record in the National League. The Phillies,
Speaker 1: another team with a high pay roll, had the second
Speaker 1: best record, and the Dodgers only finished three games ahead
Speaker 1: of the Padres in the National League West. So that's
Speaker 1: an overreaction statement to say teams don't have a chance.
Speaker 1: And when Jeff Passing is quoting anonymous players saying how
Speaker 1: do we beat the Dodgers, here's a blueprint. Hitch better,
Speaker 1: hit better, and execute better. That's how you beat the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: The Phillies didn't do it, the Reds didn't do it,
Speaker 1: the Brewers didn't do it, and the Blue Jays didn't
Speaker 1: finish out the series and that's why they lost. I mean,
Speaker 1: I could go on and on about this. Am I
Speaker 1: missing something here? I just don't feel bad about what
Speaker 1: the Dodgers are doing because for years we had to
Speaker 1: watch the Yankees and Red Sox by World Series after
Speaker 1: World Series, and nobody was screaming about that at the time.
Speaker 1: But all of a sudden, it's the Dodgers and the
Speaker 1: sky is falling. They have the most unique player who
Speaker 1: agreed to the most unique contract that benefits the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: If the Blue Jays would have signed Otawani, they would
Speaker 1: have had the same benefit. Nothing is changing that eight
Speaker 1: six six nine eight seven two five seventy is the
Speaker 1: phone number. When we come back, we'll get to the
Speaker 1: Freddie Peralta rumors. No, he's not a free agent. You're
Speaker 1: gonna have to trade for him, and the Dodgers may
Speaker 1: have the players to do so. Also will celebrate Martin
Speaker 1: Luther King Day with the voice of Don Newcomb and
Speaker 1: coming up at the bottom of the hour, Mark de Rosa,
Speaker 1: the manager of Team USA that has added Clayton Kershaw
Speaker 1: for one last dance. Your phone calls. Phone lines are
Speaker 1: open at eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy.
Speaker 1: Am I missing something with the outrage sounds like jealousy
Speaker 1: and envy to me on Dodger Talk and five to
Speaker 1: seventy LA Sports Colin Yee handling things this week for
Speaker 1: Ronnie Fossil on Burbank. I love not getting the leftover
Speaker 1: songs from Petros and Money Show. Thank you, Colin. I
Speaker 1: actually saw the Killers perform live during that spring training
Speaker 1: concert last year. Man that it's great. I got mocked
Speaker 1: for singing the songs by the people I was with.
Speaker 1: I have no apologies for that. Welcome the Dodger Talker'
Speaker 1: with you until eight o'clock tonight on this Martin Luther
Speaker 1: King Day. Coming up at the bottom of the hour,
Speaker 1: Mark du Rosa, you'll hear our conversation with the Team
Speaker 1: USA manager about Clayton Kershaw joining Team USA. It was
Speaker 1: de Rosa's idea, and in just a moment we'll get
Speaker 1: to why Freddie Peralta makes so much sense for the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: But like I said, you can't do a Dodger talk
Speaker 1: show or any show, in my opinion, without acknowledging what
Speaker 1: today is and why you got a day off and
Speaker 1: why there's not a lot of traffic in the city
Speaker 1: of Los Angeles. It's to honor the memory of doctor
Speaker 1: Martin Luther King, Junior, who was the one of the
Speaker 1: greatest men this country has ever seen, and certainly his
Speaker 1: voice still resonates in so many ways. You can't play
Speaker 1: his speeches enough in my opinion. And when Don Newcomb
Speaker 1: was alive and around Dodger Stadium whenever he had the opportunity.
Speaker 1: He loved to tell the story about this dinner with
Speaker 1: doctor King. The same month that he would have been
Speaker 1: that he was assassinated in Memphis, and Bob Kendrick from
Speaker 1: the Negro League Museum, the president of the Negro League Museum,
Speaker 1: posted this conversation with the late Great Don Newcomb about
Speaker 1: his interaction with doctor King.
Speaker 3: There was a famous man, famous black man, sat at
Speaker 3: my dinner table one night, and here's what he said
Speaker 3: to me. This man's name happened to be Martin Luth King,
Speaker 3: and he said to me, he said, Don, you and
Speaker 3: Jackie and Roy will never know how easy you made
Speaker 3: it for me to do my job to what you
Speaker 3: men did on the baseball field. Imagine that at that time,
Speaker 3: nineteen sixty eight, This is twenty four days before Martin
Speaker 3: died in Memphis News, twenty four days He's at my
Speaker 3: dinner table, Laron Jay as he had. I said, why
Speaker 3: are you going to Memphis? He said, I've got to go.
Speaker 3: My brothers and sisters need me like our brothers and
Speaker 3: sisters needed you and Jackie Roy when you started out
Speaker 3: in baseball. My brothers and sisters need me now, and
Speaker 3: I've got to go. Even though I'm sick and I'm tired,
Speaker 3: but I gotta go.
Speaker 4: And twenty four days later he was dead, and lou
Speaker 4: he I he was being beat over the head with
Speaker 4: billy clubs and dogs sicked on him at that time,
Speaker 4: being thrown in jail.
Speaker 3: And imagine how his life would have been if he
Speaker 3: had started nineteen forty six like Jackie Royan I did
Speaker 3: with this baseball car because of this baseball and because
Speaker 3: of a white man named Brant Rickey. How do you
Speaker 3: think Martin Luther King life would have been, doing what
Speaker 3: he was doing and undertaking what he undertook to get
Speaker 3: us to where we are today as black folk. We
Speaker 3: haven't won our battle yet, but by God, without what
Speaker 3: we did on a baseball field, without Martin and all
Speaker 3: the other soldiers that fought that war and they're still
Speaker 3: fighting that war, how and where would we have been?
Speaker 1: That's powerful stuff right there. The voice of Don Newcomb
Speaker 1: with the Negro League president Bob Kendrick, just an incredible
Speaker 1: story and incredible perspective that we can never forget, not
Speaker 1: only in this city but across the country. And you know,
Speaker 1: I think that's just remarkable. And I know Don Newcomb
Speaker 1: was always blown away when he told the story that
Speaker 1: he just told that Martin Luther King Junior would say,
Speaker 1: my job would have been a lot harder without Jackie
Speaker 1: Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League baseball in
Speaker 1: nineteen forty seven. It was so much more than just
Speaker 1: about baseball. And when you hear it from doctor King
Speaker 1: relayed by Don Newcomb, it's even more powerful. And I'm
Speaker 1: not sure you realize this, but Jackie Robinson was in
Speaker 1: attendance on the march in Washington, and when doctor King
Speaker 1: made that incredible speech, there so so many connections to
Speaker 1: the Dodgers and Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella and Don
Speaker 1: Newcomb with doctor Martin Luther King Junior and I couldn't
Speaker 1: be on for an hour and not acknowledge the great
Speaker 1: Doctor King and that story. Eight six six nine eight
Speaker 1: seven two five seventy is the phone number. David Vase
Speaker 1: with you until eight o'clock. Just want to remind you
Speaker 1: that Dodger Fest is happening again this year January thirty. First,
Speaker 1: if you want tickets, they're going on sale this week.
Speaker 1: Dodgers dot com slash Dodger Fest will be out there
Speaker 1: having Dodger Talk and bringing you all the interviews of
Speaker 1: all the players, maybe even Kyle Tucker will be out there,
Speaker 1: and we will have the broadcast of the first Dodgers
Speaker 1: Cactus League game, which is coming up sooner than you think.
Speaker 1: February twenty first first Dodgers Spring training game and opening
Speaker 1: day not that far away either, if you could believe it,
Speaker 1: March twenty sixth, that's actually my daughter's birthday. March twenty
Speaker 1: sixth against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodgers Stadium. And I
Speaker 1: keep on mentioning this because it bears repeating. Can you
Speaker 1: believe the Dodgers' first road trip this season, after they
Speaker 1: open up with six games at home, is to our
Speaker 1: nation's capital and then from there Toronto, Canada. Yeah, first
Speaker 1: road trip of the year. Dodgers in Toronto, a rematch
Speaker 1: of last year's World Series with Kyle Tucker now a Dodger.
Speaker 1: Not only the Dodgers beating the Blue Jays in the
Speaker 1: World Series, be signing show Hey Otani and beating them
Speaker 1: for Kyle Tucker this past offseason. Now, let's get to
Speaker 1: Freddy Peralta, who maybe the most realistic best candidate to
Speaker 1: be traded as far as the starting pitcher goes before
Speaker 1: spring training starts. Freddy Peralta, the Brewers ace last year,
Speaker 1: only has one year left on his contract. The Brewers
Speaker 1: want to get something for him before he hits free agency,
Speaker 1: and you can get more for him now than you
Speaker 1: would probably at the trade deadline. It's not a surprise
Speaker 1: that the Dodgers' name since signing Tucker has emerged. It
Speaker 1: made sense even before the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker. You
Speaker 1: look at the Dodgers' starting staff. No longer has Clayton Kershaw, who,
Speaker 1: by the way, was super valuable for the Dodgers while
Speaker 1: glass Now and Snell were on the il to start
Speaker 1: the year and Otani was barely pitching. They don't have
Speaker 1: Kershaw anymore. They have a Tyler glassanow who only made
Speaker 1: eighteen starts last year. They have a Blake Snell who
Speaker 1: only made eleven starts last year. They got an Otani
Speaker 1: who is only going to pitch once a week. They
Speaker 1: got a Yamamoto who I would imagine is going to
Speaker 1: be slow played as far as innings go and workload
Speaker 1: goes the beginning of the year after what he took
Speaker 1: on last October. They got an image Sheehan who was
Speaker 1: pretty good the second half of last year. And they
Speaker 1: still have a young twenty two year old by the
Speaker 1: name of Roki Sasaki who is going to get another
Speaker 1: chance at starting. And if he does start, also what
Speaker 1: once every six, seven, eight days, So it makes so
Speaker 1: much sense the Dodgers feel like they need another starting pitcher.
Speaker 1: With all that being said, and then you might say, well,
Speaker 1: what about the young guys? Their depth? Yeah, there is depth.
Speaker 1: You got Bobby Miller, you got Landon Nack, you got
Speaker 1: River Ryan, who probably is not going to be seen
Speaker 1: until the second half of the year like Emashan last year.
Speaker 1: You got Robleski who finished the year in the bullpen
Speaker 1: and was outstanding. I feel like Robleski is an outstanding
Speaker 1: relief pitcher. Is he a starter? He was pretty good,
Speaker 1: So I guess you could have Robleski star games. And
Speaker 1: then you have Ben Casparius who took on so much
Speaker 1: the first half of last year and seemed to be
Speaker 1: out of gas the second half of last year. But
Speaker 1: don't you want a sure thing You can trade from
Speaker 1: that depth along with a guy like Ryan Ward now
Speaker 1: who joined us on Dodger Talk before the Dodgers signed
Speaker 1: Kyle Tucker. He's a twenty eight year old lifetime minor
Speaker 1: league player who had his best triple A season last year.
Speaker 1: Wouldn't it benefit Bobby Miller and Ryan Ward and maybe
Speaker 1: even Landon Knack to get an opportunity in Milwaukee while
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, who are so I think they've sent the message,
Speaker 1: are so intent on making history to try to become
Speaker 1: one of the few teams in baseball history to three pete.
Speaker 1: Wouldn't you want a sure thing a guy that was
Speaker 1: seventeen and six and a ballpark that is known for
Speaker 1: hitters that made thirty three starts, struck out two hundred hitters,
Speaker 1: that can be one of the guys not only the
Speaker 1: beginning of the year, but a guy that you can
Speaker 1: lean on in the postseason. Look, nobody loves Blake's now
Speaker 1: more than I do, but he's not known outside of
Speaker 1: two or three years in his career to be there
Speaker 1: start to finish. Tyler Glass now has not known to
Speaker 1: be that guy to be their start to finish. Freddy
Speaker 1: Peralta is that guy start to finish. And Look, the
Speaker 1: Dodgers are getting to a point where there is a
Speaker 1: forty man roster crunch. Why not make the trade. Why
Speaker 1: not get the guy for one year and try to
Speaker 1: go for that three peat? It makes so much sense.
Speaker 1: And look, if the Dodgers trade for Freddy Peralta, it's
Speaker 1: because of their player development system. It's not because well,
Speaker 1: to a certain extent, it is about their financial might.
Speaker 1: But they have drafted well, they have developed well, and
Speaker 1: that gets overlooked when everybody focuses on the payroll size.
Speaker 1: Not a lot of credit is given to their drafting
Speaker 1: and especially their player development. And that's what would allow
Speaker 1: them to trade for Freddy Peralta. Eight six six nine
Speaker 1: seven two five seventy is the phone number? Now does
Speaker 1: does that make more sense? Now? Why the Dodgers would
Speaker 1: be a candidate to trade for Freddie Peralta, who is
Speaker 1: on a one year contract, is not resigning with the Brewers.
Speaker 1: I know everybody keeps on having dreams about Trek Skouolbol.
Speaker 1: I just don't see the Tigers trading him. Now. This
Speaker 1: arbitration thing can get contentious, but don't forget they can
Speaker 1: settle right before they walk into the arbitration hearing. So
Speaker 1: it's not a fore gone conclusion they are going to arbitration.
Speaker 1: So Freddie Peralta is that guy, and that would be
Speaker 1: a more of a sure thing to have Freddy Peralta
Speaker 1: in your rotation with so many guys that push themselves
Speaker 1: to the red line last year to win back to
Speaker 1: back championships, especially Yamamoto, you have a question mark and Sasaki.
Speaker 1: You got guys that have not pitched a full season.
Speaker 1: Freddie Peralta makes so much sense. And the Dodgers have
Speaker 1: the players to get it done. And I think it
Speaker 1: would be great for guys like Bobby Miller or Landon
Speaker 1: Knack or Ryan Ward to be traded to get that
Speaker 1: opportunity somewhere else if it's not going to be with
Speaker 1: the Dodgers. Eight six six seven two five seventy is
Speaker 1: the phone number. When we come back, you'll hear my
Speaker 1: conversation with MLB Network's Mark de Rosa, who is Team
Speaker 1: USA's manager, who was the man that picked up the
Speaker 1: phone and called Clayton Kershaw to join Team USA in
Speaker 1: this year's World Baseball Classic. We'll find out how it
Speaker 1: all went down next right here on a five to seventy,
Speaker 1: LA Sports. Nobody gotta do it.
Speaker 3: I mean, hey, somebody gotta do it.
Speaker 1: Let's see that it works. Let's see if that say,
Speaker 1: let's see if still got that sets David Basse with
Speaker 1: you until eight o'clock tonight here on five seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: That truck still works, no doubt, no doubt, and that
Speaker 1: truck is still working for our guy twenty two, Clayton Kershaw,
Speaker 1: who is going to start that truck up again for
Speaker 1: the World Baseball Classic. And we are a joint right
Speaker 1: now by a man that is part of my favorite
Speaker 1: baseball show on MLB Network, that's MLB Central with Robert
Speaker 1: Flores and Lauren Shahati. He is the manager of Team USA,
Speaker 1: and I feel like being a Jersey guy he can
Speaker 1: relate to this with Kershaw joining Team USA and the
Speaker 1: World Baseball Classic, when the call was made uptown and
Speaker 1: the big Man joined the band, that's the one and
Speaker 1: only Mark de Rosa dro Thanks a lot for coming
Speaker 1: on the show. Appreciate it.
Speaker 5: First off, David, what an intro right there.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Second off, what a way to tie his career in
Speaker 5: a bow, right, one of the greatest to ever do it.
Speaker 5: I remember when I was manager in twenty three, I
Speaker 5: tried to get him to pitch for us. Then it
Speaker 5: didn't work out. I felt like, I learned a lot
Speaker 5: from that roster and what this tournament needs to get
Speaker 5: to the finish line. And when I was sitting back
Speaker 5: and looking at it and putting this roster together, I
Speaker 5: called him probably i'd say about three weeks ago. And
Speaker 5: I think I caught him a little bit off guard
Speaker 5: when I called him, and I kind of walked him
Speaker 5: through why I thought it made sense and if he
Speaker 5: would be willing to do it, because I didn't know
Speaker 5: coming off the World Series if he just wanted to
Speaker 5: end it like that. But I thought one opportunity to
Speaker 5: get him in a USA Jersey. It was sitting there
Speaker 5: with Andy Pettitt and going through it. I'm like, Andy,
Speaker 5: I'm gonna call him and see where his head's at.
Speaker 5: And and he was down to give it a try.
Speaker 5: He wanted to see if his arm still felt good.
Speaker 5: He wanted a couple of days to go out and
Speaker 5: throw and see what he felt like. And he said
Speaker 5: he would call me back and yeah, right around Christmas time.
Speaker 5: So it was a perfect opportunity and a perfect present
Speaker 5: for us to kind of to kind of make this work.
Speaker 5: And listen, I know you got a ton of questions,
Speaker 5: but it works on so many levels. It gives him
Speaker 5: an opportunity to put the jersey on. It gives the
Speaker 5: likes of Scooble and Schemes and Logan Webb and Joe
Speaker 5: Ryan and all the young pitchers on his staff a
Speaker 5: chance to learn from him. And like I said, and
Speaker 5: we can talk about it at length, why he makes
Speaker 5: sense for the roster.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting you already you know, shot down what
Speaker 1: many people believed something that it was Kershaw that drove this,
Speaker 1: that approached you, It was you that wanted to have
Speaker 1: him on the team.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think.
Speaker 4: He was.
Speaker 5: We walked down this road in twenty three for a
Speaker 5: while to try and get him cleared and get him
Speaker 5: on the mound for us, and it just didn't make
Speaker 5: sense for you know, his side and all the parties involved.
Speaker 5: And I was I was upset because I wanted him
Speaker 5: to be a part of it. This time going through it,
Speaker 5: there's guard rails on how many pitches guys can throw.
Speaker 5: There's guard rails with regards to the starting pitchers that
Speaker 5: are on this roster being built up to a certain
Speaker 5: because we don't want to upset them getting ready for
Speaker 5: opening day. And this certainly kind of puts a different
Speaker 5: obstacle in place for them, and I just remember in
Speaker 5: twenty three we ran into a situation where both starters
Speaker 5: that went out to Mexico Mexico didn't pitch well and
Speaker 5: we had to cover the rest of that game with
Speaker 5: basically our entire relief corps, and based on the parameters
Speaker 5: and guardrails in place with the teams and trying to
Speaker 5: keep these guys healthy, lance Lynn had to bow up
Speaker 5: in a big way for us and pitch his tailoff
Speaker 5: against Canada to kind of give us a chance to
Speaker 5: reset the bullpen and be able to follow all the
Speaker 5: guidelines that were given to us by the parent clubs.
Speaker 5: We didn't want to run into that same situation this time,
Speaker 5: so we will have eight starters on the staff and
Speaker 5: Clayton will basically be like an emergency long man for
Speaker 5: us in case one of those situations arises where he
Speaker 5: can go in reset our bullpen, reset how we're going
Speaker 5: to do things, and gives us kind of a safety
Speaker 5: net for not getting caught with our pants down like
Speaker 5: we almost did last time. Because of all the rules
Speaker 5: and regulations that are surrounding the WBC. Listen, I don't
Speaker 5: expect him to go out and pitch the championship game.
Speaker 5: I would love that, but I also understand where he's
Speaker 5: at in his career, and you know where he is
Speaker 5: at in his life. But I thought it would be
Speaker 5: he'd be the perfect guy to kind of fill that
Speaker 5: role for us and to be kind of like a
Speaker 5: pseudo pitching coach with Andy Pettitt and also get him
Speaker 5: on the bump in some spot places.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. Team USA manager Mark de Rosa is joining us, obviously.
Speaker 1: You see him during the season on MLB Central on
Speaker 1: MLB Network and look Mark. I guess that kind of
Speaker 1: just puts it all into context on how you plan
Speaker 1: to use them your vision for him. But I've heard
Speaker 1: from guys that come back from the World Baseball Classic
Speaker 1: and being part of Team USA that it's kind of
Speaker 1: a measuring stick for everybody and also an opportunity for
Speaker 1: these guys to pick the brain of the best in
Speaker 1: the game. How much is that playing into your vision
Speaker 1: as well for guys like you mentioned Schooble and schemes
Speaker 1: to pick the brain of Kershaw.
Speaker 5: Well, yeah, one hundred percent, Because when you're looking at
Speaker 5: a situation like this, there's not too many current players
Speaker 5: that are going to be willing to potentially not throw
Speaker 5: in a game or be asked to only throw an
Speaker 5: inning or two innings. These guys want to be ramped
Speaker 5: up to get ready for the regular season. So when
Speaker 5: you when we really went through it, it would be a
Speaker 5: big ask for a current player to fill the spot
Speaker 5: that Clayton's filling. And when you go through some of
Speaker 5: the name, I just thought he was the perfect guy.
Speaker 5: Like I want to be around him. Our staff wants
Speaker 5: to be around him. I've gotten to know him since
Speaker 5: twenty twenty three, kind of going down the process the
Speaker 5: first time. He's a man's man, and I knew schemes
Speaker 5: in Schooble. Like I said, were guys that wanted to
Speaker 5: learn from him. I remember the first thing Paul Skeen
Speaker 5: said to me when he agreed to be a part
Speaker 5: of this pitching staff. He goes, I want you to
Speaker 5: surround me with the best. I don't want to be
Speaker 5: teaching everybody what I do and how I go after it.
Speaker 5: I want to learn. I want to get better from
Speaker 5: this process while competing for our country. So I was
Speaker 5: sitting there with Andy, like I said, right around Christmas time,
Speaker 5: and I'm like Andy, if we're going to put a
Speaker 5: guy in this long man spot and cover us because
Speaker 5: there was no one in our bullpen last time that
Speaker 5: can go north of thirty pitches right that the starters
Speaker 5: can only go sixty five pitches in pool play, so
Speaker 5: it kind of limits what you're capable of doing in
Speaker 5: an emergency situation. I said, if we're going to fill
Speaker 5: this role, the perfect guy to do it is Clayton,
Speaker 5: because we all want to be around him, we all
Speaker 5: want to learn from him. He's he will go down
Speaker 5: as one of the greatest to ever do it. And
Speaker 5: I just thought, if he's willing that it would be
Speaker 5: the perfect addition to the team. And when I called him,
Speaker 5: I didn't know what I was going to get. To
Speaker 5: be honest with you, Dave, you know every call that
Speaker 5: I've made, and you know, you could write a book
Speaker 5: about all the no's we've gotten, the reasons why all
Speaker 5: the yes is. It's some of my highlight of my
Speaker 5: life making these calls. But when I called Clayton, I
Speaker 5: kind of said, hey, listen, I have this idea where
Speaker 5: you make a ton of sense for our roster. I'd
Speaker 5: like walk you through it if you're interested. And He's like,
Speaker 5: give it to me, and I kind of walked him
Speaker 5: through it and he's like, yeah, I'm in I think
Speaker 5: I want to do it. Give me forty eight hours
Speaker 5: to think about it. Let me talk to my wife
Speaker 5: and see where she's at with it. And then he
Speaker 5: called me back two days later. He goes, if you
Speaker 5: want to do it, I want I want to be
Speaker 5: a part of it. And I'm like, let's go.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. That's an electric phone call right there. One
Speaker 1: other question for you. You know, Kershaw has referenced his
Speaker 1: body in a self deprecating way the last few months
Speaker 1: of the season as trying to get this carcass going.
Speaker 1: He's referenced his body as a carcass. Has he started?
Speaker 1: Does that mean he has now ramped up his off
Speaker 1: season throwing. I've heard he's only playing catch with Charlie.
Speaker 1: What have you heard as far as him trying to
Speaker 1: get that carcass ready?
Speaker 5: Yeah? I think he scared Andy Pettit a little bit saying, hey,
Speaker 5: I'm just going to work out with my son and throw.
Speaker 5: I think Andy was expecting him to get ready like
Speaker 5: he's preparing for his season. No, I'm I mean, listen,
Speaker 5: he knows what he needs to do as long as
Speaker 5: his arm feels okay. We don't expect him to light
Speaker 5: up the raid our gun by any stretch. I think
Speaker 5: this is a perfect opportunity for us to feel like
Speaker 5: we have an emergency kind if it hits the fan,
Speaker 5: we know we have Clayton there to be able to
Speaker 5: kind of bail us and reset us. And what an opportunity.
Speaker 5: I would love nothing more than for everything to go
Speaker 5: kind of seamless according to plan, and we're able to
Speaker 5: get him on the mound in like, you know, a
Speaker 5: clinching situation and for the world to see him out
Speaker 5: on the bump and pitch a you know, a big
Speaker 5: inning for us to kind of celebrate, that would be
Speaker 5: like perfect. But I think it's more this is a
Speaker 5: situation he feels comfortable in. If an emergency, we can
Speaker 5: put him in there for out however long, the sixty
Speaker 5: five pitches or an inning or two innings, whatever that
Speaker 5: may be. I just felt like he's the perfect guy
Speaker 5: to serve as like kind of a de facto captain
Speaker 5: with Aaron Judge and if if in an emergency we
Speaker 5: need him, we could kind of kind of reset everything
Speaker 5: with him.
Speaker 1: Sounds perfect, I know, everybody in la is excited. I
Speaker 1: know this is generated more buzz for the World Baseball Classics.
Speaker 1: So great idea by the Team USA skipper Mark De Rosa,
Speaker 1: and I have a vision for you. When you first
Speaker 1: appear on MLB Central in spring training, you should wear
Speaker 1: your Team USA uniform, just full pants, everything. Just hop
Speaker 1: on that couch with Lauren and row Flow and let
Speaker 1: them know who the skipper is.
Speaker 5: Dave. The only thing thinking about is we have to win.
Speaker 1: This, oh baby, through no doubt.
Speaker 5: That's really bottom line. I know Dominican, I know Japan,
Speaker 5: I know every other country is trying to get after this.
Speaker 5: My juices are rolling. I know it's the seed I
Speaker 5: sit in. I understand it from the parent club's perspective
Speaker 5: how they just want their guys back healthy from but
Speaker 5: from where I'm sitting, man, this is the most important
Speaker 5: thing I'm doing. So let's go.
Speaker 1: Let's go. You got a few good Dodgers, including the
Speaker 1: most hitter in baseball and Will Smith as one of
Speaker 1: your catchers. So it's gonna be awesome to watch Team
Speaker 1: USA make their run to the gold medal and the
Speaker 1: World Baseball Classic. Mark de Rosa, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for coming on on a day that we had exciting
Speaker 1: breaking news with Clayton Kershaw joining Team USA. Love you, Mark,
Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
Speaker 5: All Right, David Man, I'll talk to you, buddy.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Mark de Rosa, he's fired up for Team USA. I
Speaker 1: had to match that intensity. You know, when you hear
Speaker 1: Mark De Rosa and you hear the guys that are
Speaker 1: signed up to pitch for Team USA, he's setting the tone.
Speaker 1: I mean, they are serious about trying to win this thing.
Speaker 1: They lost four years ago to Otani and Yamamoto. So
Speaker 1: you know, I'm not going to say it's a life
Speaker 1: or death or it's the World Series. But when you
Speaker 1: hear Mark de Rosa talk about winning the World Baseball
Speaker 1: Classic and just how much which they care and the
Speaker 1: guys that are joining care, that would be pretty sweet
Speaker 1: to see Will Smith and Clayton Kershaw run out and
Speaker 1: celebrate winning the World Baseball Classic. They're all competitors. If
Speaker 1: they're in the backyard playing wiffle ball, they're gonna want
Speaker 1: to rip each other's throats out, so you can understand
Speaker 1: how competitive they are. But I'm not still going to
Speaker 1: buy in that it's transcending sports. It still has a
Speaker 1: little ways a way to get momentum and traction. But
Speaker 1: they still show highlights of Otani striking out trout in
Speaker 1: the last World Baseball Classic. So it certainly has become
Speaker 1: an image in baseball history. And it would be sweet
Speaker 1: to see Team USA win the World Baseball Classic, that's
Speaker 1: for sure. Eight six six nine, eight seven two five
Speaker 1: seventy is the phone number. David Vasse with you until
Speaker 1: the top of the hour. Our next Dodger Talk show
Speaker 1: is going to be Wednesday night at seven o'clock. That
Speaker 1: may be a very busy day in Dodgerland. You never know.
Speaker 1: I mean, we're waiting for Kyle Tucker to have his
Speaker 1: press conference and for it to be officially official. You
Speaker 1: never know. It could happen between now and Wednesday, and
Speaker 1: we are scheduled to have former Dodger and two time
Speaker 1: World Series champion or I guess. I guess one time
Speaker 1: World Series champion, but he'll get a ring from this
Speaker 1: year's World Series. Chris Taylor is going to join us
Speaker 1: on Wednesday night and we'll find out whether or not
Speaker 1: he wants to continue playing or not. Let's go out
Speaker 1: to Monrovia Pedro. You're on Dodger Talk with David Vasse.
Speaker 1: How you doing, Pedro?
Speaker 6: What's up, DV? How you doing? We're doing great man?
Speaker 6: How you doing?
Speaker 1: I'm doing great? Thanks for listening, great man.
Speaker 6: I just want her to say, we're so pumped for
Speaker 6: this upcoming season and get this three B. And I
Speaker 6: want her to tell you where we were, me and
Speaker 6: my daughter when Freddy hit that grand slam.
Speaker 1: Hey, that's two years ago. Now, I would love to
Speaker 1: still hear at Pedro.
Speaker 6: Yes, sir, well, I'm gonna let you let my daughter
Speaker 6: tell you. Her name is Dylan and she is the
Speaker 6: best hold on.
Speaker 1: What's up? Dylan? How old are you?
Speaker 5: Hi?
Speaker 1: Dylan? First of all, First of all, can you tell
Speaker 1: us what grade you're in and how old you are?
Speaker 1: I'm in third grand and I'm eight years old. Wow,
Speaker 1: you're so mature. You're a big, big girl, third grader.
Speaker 1: Let's go okay, do you what do you remember about
Speaker 1: Freddy Freeman's grand Slam?
Speaker 6: Yeah? So really were two years ago?
Speaker 5: Was my dad was on his weekliners more.
Speaker 6: On the couch?
Speaker 5: Uh huh and mean and when Freddie kid the grand
Speaker 5: slammy jumps up?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Dad got out of the recliner. Huh. Okay,
Speaker 1: it's Freddy your favorite player?
Speaker 6: Ah, yeah, one, Alan, what's your favorite player?
Speaker 4: Players?
Speaker 5: Looking back?
Speaker 1: All right, that's a pretty good one too. Pedro, you
Speaker 1: got a great daughter. Thank you for sharing, and hopefully
Speaker 1: we'll see you at Dodger Fest on January thirty. First,
Speaker 1: thank you TV.
Speaker 6: You're the best best.
Speaker 1: Hey, enjoy that recliner, Pedro, Yeah, you know it. That's awesome.
Speaker 1: I love hearing that. And look, that's what moments like
Speaker 1: that will do for you. There'll be memories for her lifetime.
Speaker 1: She's a third grader with her dad watching that moment.
Speaker 1: And that's why baseball is so cool. That's why sports
Speaker 1: is so cool. To be able to watch it with
Speaker 1: your kids, pass it down generation to generation. And if
Speaker 1: you're lucky enough to have that type of moment, that's
Speaker 1: something that you are always remember. And it's even more
Speaker 1: special when you have a story like that. So I
Speaker 1: don't get tired of that. I think this year we
Speaker 1: should transition to where you were for Game seven of
Speaker 1: the World Series. I mean that ninth inning could have
Speaker 1: gone the Blue Jays way a few different times, not
Speaker 1: only Ernie Clements hit to left field where Andy Pa
Speaker 1: has knocked over kek Hernandez and extra innings. But also
Speaker 1: how about Miguel Rojas. The Dodgers down to their final
Speaker 1: two outs, the home run, and then in the bottom
Speaker 1: of the ninth inning, game of inches was decided by inches,
Speaker 1: Miguel Rojas with the infield in being able to throw
Speaker 1: out Isaiah Kaana Fileffa at home plate and Will Smith's
Speaker 1: foot coming off and then getting back on home plate.
Speaker 1: So I think we're going to transition into this year,
Speaker 1: whatever day it is, win or lose. I want to
Speaker 1: know where you were when the Dodgers beat the Blue
Speaker 1: Jays in Game seven of the World Series. All Right,
Speaker 1: I'm going to address something that people can't wrap their
Speaker 1: heads around in my family or at the radio station
Speaker 1: or anybody that has followed me over the years. I
Speaker 1: grew up in La my whole life. Yes, I grew
Speaker 1: up a Laker fan, grew up a Dodger fan, a
Speaker 1: UCLA fan, and grew up going to the coliseum watching
Speaker 1: the LA Raiders. Bo Jackson, Willie gall Tim Brown, Petros
Speaker 1: reference my favorite Raider, LA Raider quarterback Jeff Hostetler. I
Speaker 1: was actually at the last ever LA Raider game Christmas
Speaker 1: Eve nineteen ninety four. Hostetler against Joe Montana. Whoever won
Speaker 1: that game was going to the playoffs. In raider fashion,
Speaker 1: it was Joe Montana and the Chiefs and their time
Speaker 1: in LA was over. I grew up in Woodland Hills.
Speaker 1: The Rams now have their practice field in Woodland Hills.
Speaker 1: I drive by it almost every day, my son, my daughter,
Speaker 1: they're LA fans, So they are La Rams fans. And
Speaker 1: earlier this year, with the Rams being here full time
Speaker 1: and Matthew Stafford showing up at Dodger Stadium for to
Speaker 1: support Clayton Kershaw so many different times last year this year,
Speaker 1: it kind of got you behind him and got you
Speaker 1: behind the Rams. And with me being from Woodland Hills, yes,
Speaker 1: I have one foot in with the Rams. So I
Speaker 1: am all in with the Ramilly. You can make fun
Speaker 1: of me all you want, but the Rams are going
Speaker 1: to the super Bowl. And how sweet would it be
Speaker 1: the La Rams winning the Super Bowl in Santa Clara,
Speaker 1: the home of the forty nine ers. And I don't
Speaker 1: know if you've ever asked yourself this question, but isn't
Speaker 1: it the biggest contradiction as far as sports fandom? If
Speaker 1: you're going to give me a hard time for being
Speaker 1: in with the Rams and the Raiders. What is more
Speaker 1: hipit critical and an oxy moron than being a Dodger
Speaker 1: fan and a forty nine Ers fan. How does that work?
Speaker 1: Can anybody explain that to me? And I have seen
Speaker 1: that multiple times. I have met multiple people that are
Speaker 1: Dodger fans and San Francisco forty nine er fans. If
Speaker 1: you're in LA, if you're an Angelino, you cannot like
Speaker 1: anything San Francisco. Come on, that's the oxy moron. That's
Speaker 1: the fan that should be shamed, not me. Ramilly all
Speaker 1: the way, and they are going to beat the Seahawks.
Speaker 1: And I let people know in Seattle about that already.
Speaker 1: All right, that's it. And by the way, Matthew Stafford
Speaker 1: proudly wears a Dodger hat all the time. It's not
Speaker 1: a brand new Dodger hat either, it's warn So we're
Speaker 1: all in with Matthew Stafford and the Rams. Thanks to
Speaker 1: Colin Yee. I'm all in with you, Colin Yee. In
Speaker 1: case you missed any of the show, you can find
Speaker 1: it on the iHeartRadio app. You can find our conversation
Speaker 1: with Mark de Rosa. We'll be back with you Wednesday
Speaker 1: night at seven o'clock Chris Taylor is scheduled to join us,
Speaker 1: and you never know who else. Have a great rest
Speaker 1: of your night see them