Speaker 1: And now, an exclusive interview with David Basset for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: All right, we're joined right now by one of my
Speaker 2: favorite lefties. Too many lefties to count on the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: but he's a good guy, and all he has done
Speaker 2: since joining the Dodgers is win, and that is the
Speaker 2: one and only Eric Lauer. Thanks a lot for the time.
Speaker 2: Appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: Hey, we like to have fun around here, Lauer. I mean,
Speaker 2: your trainers like to have fun with you. It seems
Speaker 2: like you're really one of the guys now.
Speaker 1: It feels like it. It's nice when you can start
Speaker 1: having inside jokes with people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you were in the weight room earlier today,
Speaker 2: and then you went out and you joined the bullpen today.
Speaker 2: Was that weird?
Speaker 1: A little bit, but not really. I tend to throw
Speaker 1: with those guys quite often.
Speaker 2: So you were already keeping one foot in with the
Speaker 2: relievers and one foot in with your own starting routine?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. I like to, you know, be a jack
Speaker 1: of all trades, a little Swiss Army knife. So I
Speaker 1: got to stay close to all the guys.
Speaker 2: Was that always the case when you first got here,
Speaker 2: or is that something that you felt?
Speaker 1: I think it's just kind of part of my routine.
Speaker 1: It just kind of lines up the same way, so
Speaker 1: I was like, why change it now? Just let it ride.
Speaker 2: Who is your guy that you play catch with?
Speaker 1: It's usually one of the bullpen catchers. I'm not to
Speaker 1: the point where I have a designated bullpen guy that
Speaker 1: throws with me. They're pretty stocked up already.
Speaker 2: Okay, good to know. It always says a lot about somebody.
Speaker 2: who their catch partner is, don't you think?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so. It's all based on who you choose.
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of times lefties will throw
Speaker 1: with lefties, and, you know, we got a few of them,
Speaker 1: but they seem to want to either throw with each
Speaker 1: other or throw with a bullpen catcher, so I'll do
Speaker 1: the same.
Speaker 2: Are you a big believer that lefties are a little
Speaker 2: bit different?
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's a completely different brain.
Speaker 2: I'm sure it is. All right, another lefty was in
Speaker 2: the broadcast booth yesterday. I'm going to run something by
Speaker 2: you that Clayton Kershaw said in his analysis role. He
Speaker 2: said he learned from Greg Maddox when he was a rookie.
Speaker 2: Greg Maddox, who obviously had a lot of success here
Speaker 2: with the Braves, told him whatever pitch that you're thinking
Speaker 2: about throwing 2-2, you better have the conviction to want
Speaker 2: to throw it in a full count. Do you live
Speaker 2: by that?
Speaker 1: That's actually kind of funny because that was the exact
Speaker 1: quote that my college pitching coach would use all the time. Wow.
Speaker 1: It was like, Once you get to 2-2, you throw
Speaker 1: your best pitch, whatever you're comfortable throwing 2-2, you better
Speaker 1: be comfortable throwing 3-2.
Speaker 2: Do you feel like he got that from Maddox?
Speaker 1: There's a good possibility. He actually might have played around
Speaker 1: the same time as Maddox. He probably got it either
Speaker 1: from him or Maddox got it from Berkey. I don't
Speaker 1: know which way it went.
Speaker 2: In your mind's eye, can you think of that situation
Speaker 2: on the mound, maybe as recently as your last start,
Speaker 2: where you're 2-2 against a hitter and you're thinking, should
Speaker 2: I throw this pitch? And then does that ever click
Speaker 2: in the back of your mind?
Speaker 1: It's usually when I get to 2-2, it's usually kind
Speaker 1: of one of the first thoughts that goes through my
Speaker 1: mind is like, all right, what am I going to
Speaker 1: throw here? What do I think is going to be
Speaker 1: the right pitch? For me, it's not always the same pitch,
Speaker 1: which generally it's your out pitch. So you have to
Speaker 1: be able to throw. Basically the saying means you have
Speaker 1: to be able to throw your out pitch for a
Speaker 1: ball and for a strike. So... For me, I don't
Speaker 1: have a definite out pitch, so it's whatever the situation
Speaker 1: kind of calls for for me. So it changes from
Speaker 1: count to count, but generally if I throw it and
Speaker 1: miss and I like it or I see how he
Speaker 1: took it, I'll throw it again or I'll audible off
Speaker 1: of that based on either how they take it, how
Speaker 1: they swing and foul it off, whatever that might happen.
Speaker 1: It kind of changes the next pitch regardless.
Speaker 2: Are you at the point of your career where you
Speaker 2: can read swings and that will tell you what you
Speaker 2: need to do?
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's kind of, that's always kind
Speaker 1: of been my, what I like to do more than,
Speaker 1: you know, scouting reports and numbers and stuff. Like I'll
Speaker 1: look at them, but for me, it's more, I treat
Speaker 1: the game as a living thing and it's like constantly changing,
Speaker 1: constantly evolving, you know, guys numbers historically could glean one direction,
Speaker 1: but To me, that means if a guy's not good
Speaker 1: at hitting sliders, then what's he probably working on? Because
Speaker 1: if we know it, they probably know it. So I
Speaker 1: look at the numbers, but I don't go too heavily
Speaker 1: off the numbers simply for the fact of guys are
Speaker 1: constantly getting better, changing, working on things. So you never
Speaker 1: know what's going to get them that day. And you
Speaker 1: have to be able to read swings, see where they're
Speaker 1: at in the box, see where they have their hands,
Speaker 1: you know, Think about the situation, what they're trying to do,
Speaker 1: what inning, how many outs, where we're at in the game.
Speaker 1: It all plays into the pitch selection.
Speaker 2: Eric Lauer has been a successful pitcher for a long
Speaker 2: time in Major League Baseball. But what do you believe
Speaker 2: has been the biggest key to you not only being effective,
Speaker 2: but also, I mean, like I said, the Dodgers have
Speaker 2: only lost twice when Eric Lauer's been on the mound
Speaker 2: this year.
Speaker 1: It's true. I actually think it's only once.
Speaker 2: Oh, once. I apologize.
Speaker 1: It's fine. No, it's fine. Oh, man.
Speaker 2: Awkward, awkward moment right here.
Speaker 1: No, it's all right. I think for me, a lot
Speaker 1: of it has to do with just being in the zone,
Speaker 1: like making sure that I'm not being too picky on
Speaker 1: the corners, making sure that I'm reaching for lanes but
Speaker 1: not trying to be too fine with things early, and then...
Speaker 1: Just being able to adapt to the game, being able
Speaker 1: to change my rhythm, change what I'm throwing when, and
Speaker 1: find a way to get through things. I think it's
Speaker 1: a lot of kind of flying by the seat of
Speaker 1: our pants when I'm out there. Like I said, it's
Speaker 1: a constantly evolving thing, so you have to be able
Speaker 1: to constantly adjust and be able to be mendable.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and the Lauer language, the language of Lauer, you
Speaker 2: told me was a big part of all this too.
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's a lot more comforting when,
Speaker 1: you know, you can have the conversation in your own
Speaker 1: words that you want to have with somebody and have them,
Speaker 1: you know, understand it and, like, level with you and
Speaker 1: say what they understand from what you're saying and based
Speaker 1: off what they want to see or what they think
Speaker 1: they should see or change a thought that you might have.
Speaker 1: I think it's all good just to, like, continue to grow, really.
Speaker 2: Eric Lauer is our guest, a proud Dodger. He's still here,
Speaker 2: and he's still winning. And on Sunday, he's going to pitch.
Speaker 2: No matter Otani opening or not, you're pitching Sunday out
Speaker 2: of the bullpen. How does your week, you know, really translate? Hey,
Speaker 2: there's your guy. There's your piggyback partner right there. There
Speaker 2: he goes, getting ready. How do you prepare for Sunday now?
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know. I don't know if that's necessarily
Speaker 1: true anymore. I think there might be a little change
Speaker 1: in plans for me. So I think at this point,
Speaker 1: I'm trying to get ready for today. And then, you know,
Speaker 1: after that, we'll see what happens. So it's kind of
Speaker 1: it's kind of it's a very fluid situation right now.
Speaker 2: So there's a chance you may start that game on Sunday.
Speaker 1: There's a chance I may throw in that game. There's
Speaker 1: a chance I might not throw in that game. There's
Speaker 1: a chance it might be a different game. There's a
Speaker 1: chance it might be today. There's a lot of different
Speaker 1: things that are moving around just because, you know, with
Speaker 1: the schedule and, you know, the off days we got
Speaker 1: coming up and the off days we had and moving forward,
Speaker 1: the lack of off days we might have, you know,
Speaker 1: it all kind of changes. And we have so many opportunities.
Speaker 1: We have so many good rotation arms that there's obviously
Speaker 1: guys who have precedence based on history and contracts and whatnot.
Speaker 1: I'm kind of in a very fluid role right now
Speaker 1: until we kind of settle into what we're going to
Speaker 1: do moving forward.
Speaker 2: I know you talked about how great the Dodgers are
Speaker 2: at communicating what they need from you on any given start, week,
Speaker 2: or day. So how has the line of communication been
Speaker 2: right now? Because you're throwing me for a loop right now, Lauer.
Speaker 2: I thought I had Sunday figured out. I thought I
Speaker 2: had the week figured out. How is it working for
Speaker 2: you if I'm thrown off?
Speaker 1: It's still pretty good. It's still, you know, it's still
Speaker 1: to the point where I have a really good idea
Speaker 1: of what I'm preparing for and, like, what I'm going
Speaker 1: to be using and how I'm going to be used. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, as long as we continue to have, you know, daily,
Speaker 1: hourly conversations, then I think we can all be as
Speaker 1: prepared as we possibly can whenever we go in there.
Speaker 2: All right, Lauer. So you don't want to give me
Speaker 2: a little bit more clarity to share with the fans.
Speaker 1: I've given you everything that I know.
Speaker 2: I feel weird now talking to you, Lauer. You might
Speaker 2: pitch tonight. Now, you know, I feel like.
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, you're going to get in trouble.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're going to blame me. You're going to point
Speaker 2: the finger at me, Lauer. But when you go out
Speaker 2: there and shove tonight, Don't forget me either.
Speaker 1: Okay, then I'll give you a nice shout-out for helping
Speaker 1: me out. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Thank you. You don't even know what I do. I
Speaker 2: had to explain what I do.
Speaker 1: No, you hold a microphone and you talk.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, that's all I do.
Speaker 1: Sometimes in provocative situations.
Speaker 2: Always that way. Always that way. Lauer, thanks a lot
Speaker 2: for the time. Don't reveal all my secrets either. I
Speaker 2: won't give away yours. You don't give away mine.
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, deal.
Speaker 2: You ever listen to Dodger Talk on the iHeartRadio app, Lauer?
Speaker 1: I don't have the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2: Well, maybe you'll download it right now.
Speaker 1: I will. Maybe I will to hear this. I can't
Speaker 1: see it, but I'll hear it.
Speaker 2: Okay. Thanks a lot for the time. And seriously, it's
Speaker 2: been a real pleasure being around you. Heard so much
Speaker 2: about you, but now being in the orbit of Eric
Speaker 2: Lauer has been fun. I'm trying to learn the language
Speaker 2: of Lauer. I feel like I'm starting to connect.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you're starting to get there. I like it.
Speaker 1: I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Eric Lauer, he'll understand this language. He'll receive a gift
Speaker 2: card to Capital Grill in Burbank, an upscale, relaxed spot
Speaker 2: with a great bar, great steaks. Capital Grill in Burbank
Speaker 2: and all over America. Thanks a lot for the time, Lauer. Enjoy.
Speaker 1: You got it. Thank you.