Speaker 1: The quest for the three peat has begun.
Speaker 2: Only four teams in Major League Baseball history have won
Speaker 2: three consecutive titles. The Dodgers are the favorites to become
Speaker 2: the fifth.
Speaker 1: This is World Champion Dodger Talk.
Speaker 3: Here we go again.
Speaker 4: We're gera running back to.
Speaker 5: Get him on the show called eight six, six, nine
Speaker 5: eighty seven two five seven Day and be sure to
Speaker 5: follow Dodger Talk wherever you catch your podcasts. Here's your host,
Speaker 5: David vasselas Day.
Speaker 6: Welcome the Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: David Vassey with you until eleven o'clock tonight here on
Speaker 2: AM five to seventy LA Sports. After the Dodgers conclude
Speaker 2: thirteen in a row with a four to three win
Speaker 2: over the Rockies. They finished this stretch of thirteen in
Speaker 2: a row winning every one of the five series that
Speaker 2: they played or the fourth series that they played nine
Speaker 2: to four, including beating the Padres seven times in a
Speaker 2: matter of ten days. They beat them three out of
Speaker 2: four here at Dodgers Stadium, they beat them two out
Speaker 2: of three in San Diego, and they basically, you know,
Speaker 2: really sent the Padres into a tailspin that not many
Speaker 2: believe they can recover from. And they certainly are on
Speaker 2: the fence of being sellers or buyers at the trade deadline,
Speaker 2: but the Dodgers are worried about themselves. And the Dodgers
Speaker 2: are feeling good. With only three more games to go
Speaker 2: before the All Star Break, they have the most wins
Speaker 2: in baseball. They have the best record in baseball, sixty
Speaker 2: one to thirty three. They have a fourteen game lead
Speaker 2: over the Padres, a fifteen game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks,
Speaker 2: who will be in town on Friday night to finish
Speaker 2: the final three games before the All Star breaks. So
Speaker 2: things are looking good and the Dodgers just want to
Speaker 2: remain healthy, and tonight they were able to get a
Speaker 2: good start from Roki Sasaki.
Speaker 6: It looked like.
Speaker 2: It was going to be another one of those nights
Speaker 2: from Roki Sasaki after the first couple of innings, And
Speaker 2: give him and the Dodgers a lot of credit because
Speaker 2: the realization is that the Dodgers are developing Roki Sasaki at.
Speaker 6: The major league level. Not many teams can do that.
Speaker 2: They are developing him at the big league level, and
Speaker 2: he won't pitch probably in the postseason if everybody's healthy,
Speaker 2: unless something has gone completely sideways, which I don't expect.
Speaker 2: But Roki Sasaki could be a weapon out of the
Speaker 2: bullpen if he does what he did in the fourth
Speaker 2: inning when he was in a heap of trouble with
Speaker 2: runners at second and third and nobody out, and what
Speaker 2: he did in the fifth and sixth innings tonight where
Speaker 2: he just turned off being so mechanical and thinking too
Speaker 2: much and just competing on the mound. That's what the
Speaker 2: Dodgers want from Roki Sasaki. What you saw in the
Speaker 2: fourth inning, what you saw on the fifth inning, and
Speaker 2: what you saw on the sixth inning. Stop being such
Speaker 2: a thinker, stop worrying about your mechanics, and just go
Speaker 2: out there, monoe mono and compete. You got you've I mean,
Speaker 2: there are four or five six guys watching this guy
Speaker 2: in between every start and bullpen sessions. I feel like
Speaker 2: the practice is in there, Uh, the intention is in
Speaker 2: there between starts. And the Dodgers Dave Roberts sees that
Speaker 2: once you're in the game, it's time to compete. And
Speaker 2: Dalton Rushing has told me before where there are times
Speaker 2: where he's not really happy with the temperature of Roki Sasaki.
Speaker 2: As far as the competitive temperature and he'll say, hey,
Speaker 2: throw another one. I want to see that fire before
Speaker 2: we go out there on the field. So that's something
Speaker 2: that Roki Sasaki has be has to be conscious of,
Speaker 2: and I think we saw that when he retired the
Speaker 2: last nine in a row, including when he was in
Speaker 2: a heap of trouble in that fourth inning where he
Speaker 2: had runners at second and third with nobody out. I
Speaker 2: mentioned last night on Dodger Talk that I believe with
Speaker 2: Tommy Edmund being backed, being healthy, that he is the
Speaker 2: perfect number two hitter for the Dodgers.
Speaker 6: And as good as the.
Speaker 2: Dodger offense has been all year, and they are the
Speaker 2: best in a lot of categories, even advanced statistics, they
Speaker 2: have not found a guy to be successful hitting between
Speaker 2: Otani and Freeman, hitting second behind Otani specifically, and you
Speaker 2: wonder if guys hitting behind Otani are trying to do
Speaker 2: too much because he's superhuman. Nobody can be Otani. You
Speaker 2: gotta be yourself. And whether it's Mookie Beds who was
Speaker 2: struggling early on in the year, or Freddie Freeman who
Speaker 2: is struggling early on in the year, or Kyle Tucker
Speaker 2: who has never really thrived in the number two hole
Speaker 2: in his career and now Andy pae Has, who has
Speaker 2: struggled for the most part hitting second. He's a variance
Speaker 2: type of hitter, so it's hard to put him in
Speaker 2: that bucket. But he's not a number two hitter. The
Speaker 2: number two hitter that the Dodgers have available to them
Speaker 2: now that he's healthy and off the IL is the
Speaker 2: guy they had in there tonight, and that's Tommy Edmond.
Speaker 2: He makes things happen, and as he said on the
Speaker 2: postgame show, he doesn't change his approach whether he's hitting second,
Speaker 2: whether he's hitting seventh, even the Dodgers have had him
Speaker 2: hit cleanup, whether he's hitting ninth, same guy, same approach,
Speaker 2: and he can do a lot of different things hitting
Speaker 2: second behind Otany. He can lay down a bunt like
Speaker 2: he did a couple of nights ago twice. He can
Speaker 2: go the other way, he can hit a home run,
Speaker 2: and he he's a threat from both sides of the plate.
Speaker 2: You need a guy that can hit lefties hitting behind
Speaker 2: Otaani and Tommy Edmund has more power from the right
Speaker 2: side than he has from the left side. So for me,
Speaker 2: even when pahz is back in the starting lineup on
Speaker 2: Friday night. I would hope to see Tommy Edmund hitting
Speaker 2: second because it changes the dynamic of things. Eight six
Speaker 2: six nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: How about Alex Call. He put the Dodgers in a
Speaker 2: tough spot in the first inning tonight using both abs challenges,
Speaker 2: and he was wrong the first one. Like I said,
Speaker 2: it's cringe when you see the video on the scoreboard
Speaker 2: and at home and the baseball, the digital baseball barely
Speaker 2: barely touches the outside line of the strike zone. And
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna fault Alex Call for the first one,
Speaker 2: but you used one already in the first inning, and
Speaker 2: that is so far off the Dodgers' team game plan.
Speaker 2: There was nobody on base. It's the first inning. It
Speaker 2: wasn't a high leverage situation. Alex Call has a great
Speaker 2: sense of the strike zone, and I felt like in
Speaker 2: that situation, it's like him doubling down on sixteen in
Speaker 2: Vegas like I would hit playing third base and the
Speaker 2: dealers showing a four. That's what it was like when
Speaker 2: I was watching that, and he got the first one
Speaker 2: wrong and then he went he doubled down in the
Speaker 2: same at bat in the first inning, I felt like
Speaker 2: Alex Call doubled down on sixteen with the dealers showing four.
Speaker 2: That's just so far outside of the Dodgers' game plan
Speaker 2: that was explained to me at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 2: Number One, they want to save the challenges for their
Speaker 2: catcher to help the pitcher. Number two, they want to
Speaker 2: save it for hitters in high leverage situations, meaning the
Speaker 2: final three innings of the game, down to your final
Speaker 2: nine outs. And Alex knows better, but I just feel
Speaker 2: like he got super David Vass emotional at the plate
Speaker 2: like I would at the blackjack table. I'm not going
Speaker 2: to self report that I doubled down a few times
Speaker 2: with sixteen and a few major leaguers at the blackjack
Speaker 2: table in spring training, but that's what it felt like.
Speaker 2: Alex Call felt like David Vass at the blackjack table
Speaker 2: when he doubled down on those two abs challenges in
Speaker 2: the first inning.
Speaker 6: Eight six six.
Speaker 2: Nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: Let's go out to the phones for the first time tonight. Hi, Dan,
Speaker 2: you're in SeeMe Valley. How you doing Dan?
Speaker 7: Thank you for taking my call. David, I'm doing great.
Speaker 7: You know, I just want to say that this Colorado
Speaker 7: team can look very scary if they get some really
Speaker 7: good pitching because they're young, and if they can keep
Speaker 7: them together. Dave, I'm telling you, they're gonna replace not
Speaker 7: only the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres as
Speaker 7: the one chasing the Dodgers in the near future.
Speaker 1: I see that.
Speaker 7: I mean, they're really a young, gutty team and very.
Speaker 2: Impressaring Dwayne McDonald right now, our producer engineered the ballpark, Dan,
Speaker 2: because I told him the exact same thing last night.
Speaker 2: My prediction in twenty twenty eight is the Rockies will
Speaker 2: be the Arizona Diamondbacks. They will be a wild Card
Speaker 2: contender with Josh Burns helping out Paul d. Podesta, and
Speaker 2: they'll figure out the pitching. And they got a good
Speaker 2: core of young position players, including their catcher Hunter Goodman
Speaker 2: and their third basemen My one A slash one B
Speaker 2: favorite Caros Kyle Carros.
Speaker 7: Absolutely I agree. And a question, you know, you know,
Speaker 7: and you bring it up. You brought it up a
Speaker 7: few times tonight, that second spot. Why is it so
Speaker 7: difficult for these top hitters to to actually settle in
Speaker 7: and be productive in that spot.
Speaker 2: Trying to do too much and they're not comfortable hitting second.
Speaker 2: Everyone was individual. Remember Mookie wasn't doing so good at
Speaker 2: the beginning of the year. Freddie was cool to begin
Speaker 2: the year. Kyle Tucker just never was comfortable hitting there,
Speaker 2: and Pa has certainly is not a number two hitter.
Speaker 2: And Will Smith is hurt now. So to me, Tommy
Speaker 2: Edmond's a number two hitter.
Speaker 7: Thank you Dave for taking my call.
Speaker 3: You have a great evening.
Speaker 2: Hey, Dan, see me valley right there, adjacent to the
Speaker 2: San Fernando Valley. That's why you had a great take tonight.
Speaker 7: Oh man, Hey, we're pretty close.
Speaker 4: You know, we're in the same vibes.
Speaker 6: I love it.
Speaker 2: I love it, Dan, Thank you for the phone call.
Speaker 2: Tonight's game brought to you by Modello. Modello the mark
Speaker 2: of a Fighter. Let's go out to Lars, who was
Speaker 2: at the ballpark tonight. Hi, Lars, you're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 8: Heveve assay, exciting game, exciting series. You talked about how
Speaker 8: well we did against the Padres, and yeah, you would
Speaker 8: not guess it would feel like some playoffs managed baseball
Speaker 8: games against the Rockies, but to win that series to
Speaker 8: win by a run in two games of the three,
Speaker 8: lose by run in the other, and I thought the
Speaker 8: guys really showed a lot of heart. This is the
Speaker 8: kind of game that you've got to win in the playoffs,
Speaker 8: and particularly it was great to see guys like Rookie
Speaker 8: stepping up and Riquez Dryer, and then there's quality at bats,
Speaker 8: particularly late in the game. Again not trying to do
Speaker 8: too much. I feel like everyone sees Otani go yard
Speaker 8: and they feel like they have to follow suit, when
Speaker 8: in fact we scored that run on three consecutive singles
Speaker 8: to put us ahead. So I thought Doc did a
Speaker 8: great job of manager of the game, giving guys enough
Speaker 8: rope to prove himself and to instill confidence as we
Speaker 8: close out the first half of the season. Couldn't be
Speaker 8: proud of our guys.
Speaker 3: It was great, all.
Speaker 2: Right, Lars, thank you for the phone call. And Dave
Speaker 2: gave the bullpen a lot of credit. And Jack Dryer
Speaker 2: came in after Roki Sasaki completed the sixth inning. Dryer
Speaker 2: came in for a scoreless seventh inning, and to me,
Speaker 2: that's the best we've seen Jack Dryer in a long time.
Speaker 2: That looked like the Jack dryer from last year, and
Speaker 2: that was encouraging to see alex Vesia.
Speaker 6: Doing this thing.
Speaker 2: The eighth inning was a little shaky Max Munsey, who
Speaker 2: for whatever reason is having some issues at third base
Speaker 2: defensively lately after having such a great first half. There
Speaker 2: you know, bat error with Braxton Fulford, and then to me,
Speaker 2: the biggest key at bat in that eighth inning was
Speaker 2: Alex Vesia striking out Rumpfield with the bases loaded. To me,
Speaker 2: that was the biggest moment of that inning to recover
Speaker 2: from the error by Moncie. Let's go out to Scott
Speaker 2: in a Gorara Hills. You're on Dodger Talk. How you
Speaker 2: doing Scott?
Speaker 4: Hey, Dave, I'm doing great.
Speaker 3: You know why?
Speaker 4: Why is that because we all get to eat tomorrow?
Speaker 4: Thank God for the Dodgers.
Speaker 3: Women.
Speaker 6: Oh yeah, they're gonna feed you.
Speaker 4: Tomorrow seven dollars.
Speaker 2: You're gonna stuff your face tomorrow, Scott. Aren't you out
Speaker 2: there at a Gora Hills. You're gonna go to that
Speaker 2: jack in a box right off of Canan Road and
Speaker 2: stuff your face thanks to the Dodgers.
Speaker 4: The Chevron, you know it. Hey, shout out to Todd
Speaker 4: the PA guys. My buddy.
Speaker 3: I know he's on the way home and he's Todd Lights.
Speaker 4: Yeah, like wo hey, Dave, here's the deal and you
Speaker 4: just said it. We're missing Will Smith. That's the problem
Speaker 4: in the lineup.
Speaker 2: Well, I'd say the Dodger offense is doing pretty good
Speaker 2: Scott without him. But my my thing with Will Smith
Speaker 2: is they need him back for October because he is
Speaker 2: the most clutch hitter in Major League Baseball and Dalton
Speaker 2: Rushing has not been tested in October. So if Rushing's
Speaker 2: the guy, you know, I believe in him, but the
Speaker 2: emotions in October, he cannot let that get the better
Speaker 2: of him. So for me, Will Smith is is is
Speaker 2: battle tested in the month of October, and that's when
Speaker 2: the Dodgers need him the most. Eight six, six, nine, eight, seven,
Speaker 2: two five seventy is the phone number. The Dodgers beat
Speaker 2: the Rockies tonight four to three. Mookie Betts came up
Speaker 2: with the big hit in the eighth inning after back
Speaker 2: to back singles by Tommy Edmond and Freddie Freeman against
Speaker 2: Antonio Senzatela. Let's hear from the Dodgers cleanup hitter on
Speaker 2: sports Net.
Speaker 3: La. You've come through many times in your career in
Speaker 3: clutch moments like you did tonight. What is the feeling
Speaker 3: like for you to be able to deliver in that situation?
Speaker 9: It feels great, you know, helping the boys way, and
Speaker 9: I mean it's really, uh, it's really all it is.
Speaker 9: I mean, play the game to win and you know,
Speaker 9: just coming through in a big, a big moment. I
Speaker 9: mean it's kind of like what you, uh, when you're
Speaker 9: a kid playing in the backyard. You know, getting that
Speaker 9: hit is kind of what you uh always strive to do.
Speaker 9: And fortunately, fortunately I was able.
Speaker 3: To do it.
Speaker 7: Fell behind in account early and and they really had
Speaker 7: to fight fight your way through.
Speaker 3: What's kind of your approach, What's going through your mind
Speaker 3: as you get through that.
Speaker 9: That Yeah, I was just trying to drive it to
Speaker 9: to start, and once I got down, I don't know,
Speaker 9: I was just uh just had this calmness. I mean
Speaker 9: I was just you know, kind of just relax you know,
Speaker 9: just kind of relax. And you can't force it. You
Speaker 9: can't h hit a bad pitch. You know, you still
Speaker 9: have to get something decent to to get the job done.
Speaker 9: And I think kind of relaxing actually helped me a lot.
Speaker 9: And I was at to kind of stand in bath.
Speaker 2: All right, there's Mookie Betts and I can help understand,
Speaker 2: help you understand what he was saying there, because I
Speaker 2: am sending my son to the best baseball summer camp
Speaker 2: that you could ever send one of your youth to,
Speaker 2: and that's the Reggie Smith Baseball Camp.
Speaker 6: And this is not an endorsement.
Speaker 2: This is a legit from the heart validation of a great, fun,
Speaker 2: disciplined baseball camp with Reggie Smith and his coaches in Encino.
Speaker 6: It's a weak thing.
Speaker 2: My son went there last year, he loved it, his
Speaker 2: friends loved it. I sent him back for this week.
Speaker 2: And in fact, my son made fun of me yesterday
Speaker 2: because I was talking to Reggie for two hours while
Speaker 2: the camp was going on, and basically I got more
Speaker 2: out of the camp than he did, or just as
Speaker 2: much yesterday talking to Reggie Smith and I in those
Speaker 2: two hours, I learned more than I've learned in ten years,
Speaker 2: just hearing his cerebral approach. Just one of the best
Speaker 2: coaches and best hitting people that you could ever talk to.
Speaker 2: The wisdom he has. And here's some of the things
Speaker 2: that he explained to me. Here's the one thing, and
Speaker 2: what MOOKI said right there was that his head was clear,
Speaker 2: And I asked Reggie about that, and he actually explained
Speaker 2: this to me. When hitters can't really describe what's going
Speaker 2: on when they come through in a big spot like
Speaker 2: Muki did in the eighth inning, or when they're on
Speaker 2: a hot streak. When they're on a hitting streak, they
Speaker 2: can't really describe it. Right when you talk to guys,
Speaker 2: what are you doing? What exactly are you doing? They
Speaker 2: can't tell you. Because he said, the biggest thing as
Speaker 2: a hitter, you want to have unconscious competence, meaning that
Speaker 2: you're not thinking at the plate. You let your mind
Speaker 2: get in the way of what you're doing at the plate.
Speaker 2: It just gets in the way, and in that split
Speaker 2: second of you being conscious and letting your brain get
Speaker 2: in the way, it affects you. So he said, some
Speaker 2: of the biggest things to take away from what Mookie
Speaker 2: said right there, or what other players will say, is
Speaker 2: that they're in that zone of unconscious competence, and that
Speaker 2: makes a lot of sense. He taught me a lot
Speaker 2: of other things that I'll be able to share with
Speaker 2: you over you know, the rest of the time I'm
Speaker 2: doing this, and it'll be great to have Reggie honored
Speaker 2: as part of the Legends of Dodger Baseball on August fifteenth.
Speaker 2: But man, yeah, sorry, sorry, kids, I was talking to
Speaker 2: Reggie Smith for two hours. Okay, But look, Reggie is
Speaker 2: very wise. But he has great coaches. He has coached,
Speaker 2: he has taught his coaches really well. And it's a
Speaker 2: phenomenal week of camp nine to noon. And I would
Speaker 2: man strongly encourage you if you got kids that want
Speaker 2: to learn how to play the game of baseball. I
Speaker 2: love Reggie Smith and I love what he teaches. And
Speaker 2: these big leaguers, if they're searching, I could I could
Speaker 2: direct them off the one on one freeway where to
Speaker 2: go to the great Reggie Smith, because sometimes different voices
Speaker 2: help you out. But literally, the Dodgers hitting coaches, they
Speaker 2: got thest the best players in their lineup. It's not
Speaker 2: like they're going to re teach Freddie Freeman or reteach
Speaker 2: Kyle Tucker. They just got to help guide them and
Speaker 2: give them whatever they need, and they do a great
Speaker 2: job of that. Aaron Bates, JT. Walkins, Rob van Zoyak,
Speaker 2: and the rest of the staff. All right, we're gonna
Speaker 2: take a time out here on Dodger Talk. When we
Speaker 2: come back, we'll check in with Jose Mota and try
Speaker 2: to fit in more phone calls after the Dodgers beat
Speaker 2: the Rockies four to three on a five to seventy
Speaker 2: LA Sports.
Speaker 5: Dodger Talk is available on AM five seventy LA sports
Speaker 5: dot com, hand on the iHeartRadio app. Back to more
Speaker 5: Dodger Talk with Dodger insider David vasse.
Speaker 2: The three two pitch that swags bas Hecks, pound Edmund's cars.
Speaker 6: Dodgers take the lead for Monkie pets. That is the
Speaker 6: thirty second.
Speaker 4: Go ahead run bat it in on the eighth inning
Speaker 4: or later in his career. He is in the top ten.
Speaker 10: In that category among active hitters.
Speaker 6: You know what else Reggie Smith taught me.
Speaker 2: I asked him about Mookie Betts and when he's going
Speaker 2: good and when he's struggling. He said, too much head
Speaker 2: movement when he's struggling. And if you go back and
Speaker 2: look at the replay of his go ahead base it
Speaker 2: in the eighth inning, zero head movement. His head was
Speaker 2: completely still. So see Camper's and David Vassa got a
Speaker 2: lot out of Reggie Smith during this week in Encino,
Speaker 2: Daniel Steelers presents the home Run Forecast for your chance
Speaker 2: to win a fifty dollars Daniel Steweler's gift card visit
Speaker 2: AM five seventy lasports dot com used the keyword home
Speaker 2: run and to your name you could win.
Speaker 6: Daniel Stewelers Own the dream.
Speaker 1: It's time to go around the horn with hose Dane Motor.
Speaker 2: All right, Jose Mota, Man, you learned a lot from
Speaker 2: Reggie Smith and the boys back in the day, and
Speaker 2: I got a huge lesson yesterday.
Speaker 3: Well that was just two hours for you. I was spent,
Speaker 3: I mean days and summers just following Reggie number eight.
Speaker 3: He went to write field to Shag. I was like, Reggie,
Speaker 3: I have another question, Reggie. This was about base running, Reggie,
Speaker 3: this was about switch hitting. I mean, if you want
Speaker 3: to get him going a lot, start talking about switch
Speaker 3: hitting as a power hitter and you'll be in for
Speaker 3: a major. Major. Tree's always fun to talk to Reggie.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, isn't it so simple?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 2: If you go back and look at the replay of
Speaker 2: Mookie Space hit in the eighth inning, and I'm sure
Speaker 2: when he's going good a lot of head movement, you
Speaker 2: can't you can't move the head four inches up or
Speaker 2: down to the side and expect to get hits.
Speaker 3: Well, think about this, David. I mean not that I
Speaker 3: was not an outstanding hitter, but I was taught if
Speaker 3: your head moves, the fast ball right down the middle
Speaker 3: is gonna move too. Why would you want to make
Speaker 3: a fast ball move when it's not supposed to right.
Speaker 3: But as hitters, sometimes you get into these funks like overthinking, Uh,
Speaker 3: let me see what the ball's coming out of and
Speaker 3: before you know your hiss moving, your eyes are moving.
Speaker 3: Your eyes are not level, which is another thing. A
Speaker 3: lot of hitters their eyes are not even level. So
Speaker 3: you know, try driving without level eyes and you'll see
Speaker 3: what I'm talking about. You know, tilting your head it's hard.
Speaker 3: So you know, Reggie and Dusty and Ron Say and
Speaker 3: Steve Garvey, we're very good about guys throwing bullpens and
Speaker 3: just standing there watching the baseball come and it's like,
Speaker 3: you see, when your head doesn't move, how well we
Speaker 3: see the balls, Like, yeah, that's slightly that I thought
Speaker 3: it was nasty, it really isn't. So yeah, Dave's about
Speaker 3: simplifying things and you know, not overthinking, which every hitter does.
Speaker 3: But I think for Mookie bets going to Mikey specifically
Speaker 3: two great at bast today. First at bat today where
Speaker 3: he let off a very good slider off the kid
Speaker 3: who was outstanding Hughes, and then the last ap bat
Speaker 3: he can't come into that into that bat again, sends
Speaker 3: a Taela eleven for twenty three, and I'm going and
Speaker 3: if anything, don't think about mechanics, think about your results
Speaker 3: if you had against him, because every hitter knows exactly
Speaker 3: what they've done against a hey pitcher. And Mookie worked
Speaker 3: him saying I'm I'm gonna get something good to hit
Speaker 3: and did not miss it. And it was good to
Speaker 3: see that, you know, for him to line the ball
Speaker 3: that way, because they've been kind of dropping his hand
Speaker 3: a little bit more, dropping his head a little bit more.
Speaker 3: And now staying scored through the baseball was big at
Speaker 3: a big time, all right.
Speaker 2: The development of Roki Sasaki continued tonight, a little rough
Speaker 2: in the first few innings, and then somehow he started
Speaker 2: to take off after he was in that second and
Speaker 2: third nobody out jam and he got out of it
Speaker 2: without giving.
Speaker 6: Up a run.
Speaker 3: Let me tell you what sometimes like as a hitter
Speaker 3: he hit a ball hard, it's an out, and he said, okay,
Speaker 3: I found something. I think the rookie because of at
Speaker 3: least or Alfonso found something today in that situation, second
Speaker 3: and third, nobody out. He threw a couple of pitches
Speaker 3: that perhaps are hard to handle in the dirt on
Speaker 3: the side that Alfonso says, like, you know, if you
Speaker 3: throw it again, try to go for the strikeouts. I'm
Speaker 3: gonna block it. I'm going to go to it. And
Speaker 3: that builds you as a pitcher. And for anybody thinking
Speaker 3: it's gonna be the finest pitch in the corner, just
Speaker 3: nibbling the corner, it can't be with guy like Sasaki,
Speaker 3: but you wanted to throw the ball as hard as
Speaker 3: you can. You want him to throw whatever pitch is
Speaker 3: working and reading hitters and reading swings. So tonight, for example,
Speaker 3: he got away from the slider. Why it just rolls.
Speaker 3: It just has no effect as a projects let him know.
Speaker 3: So he went more with al Alfonsa to the splitter.
Speaker 3: Now not the floating little splitter. He throws the fork ball,
Speaker 3: but just finish it and let the fastball run and
Speaker 3: forget about mechanics and let it happen. So Because of that, Dave,
Speaker 3: he got seventeen chases today, seven on the fastball because
Speaker 3: now he's changing eye levels, and nine on the splitter.
Speaker 3: Good for Rokie, big step for in. But I think
Speaker 3: eliz Are Alfonsos there's a lot of credit on the
Speaker 3: way he managed him today.
Speaker 2: Do you feel like he has to stop thinking so
Speaker 2: much about mechanics and going to just the compete mode?
Speaker 2: Was that competing or was it survival mode? And Fonsie
Speaker 2: finding a way to get him into that headspace.
Speaker 3: Let me tell you what. We catch winterball and you
Speaker 3: face a face and then you catch so many guys
Speaker 3: from different organizations, and you learn so much about philosophies.
Speaker 3: You have an ability to go, you know what, man,
Speaker 3: you're just thinking too much. Trust me and throw that
Speaker 3: pitch right there. I want you to throw it right
Speaker 3: there fifty feet and I'm gonna take care of it.
Speaker 3: But that's the picture we need with that, David, I
Speaker 3: think for Rookie to be honest with you, maybe less
Speaker 3: people around to when he throws bullpens, maybe less information
Speaker 3: onto spins and work takes and things like that, and
Speaker 3: what the pictures, Well, the pitches went how many inches
Speaker 3: from that hinting zone and just let it fly and
Speaker 3: let it go. Man. I mean, this guy's numbers of
Speaker 3: the pad were like he was unheittable. You are about
Speaker 3: two ten. I mean. But sometimes the trying to please people,
Speaker 3: I think it's in the way and away from competing
Speaker 3: is Tyler Glasow says, so many times, just be athletic,
Speaker 3: let it happen. You got to try system and the
Speaker 3: method that they used to help you with your bullpens,
Speaker 3: your sides, your conditioning, and once you get into between
Speaker 3: the two white lines, it's like I trust everything that
Speaker 3: I've done. It's like preparing for a test. I mean,
Speaker 3: you got to say I trust that I've done everything
Speaker 3: so far to get this test and get past it
Speaker 3: and pass it. Well, same thing with pitching. Just allow
Speaker 3: yourself to know that you're good enough and ready enough.
Speaker 3: Less information, more reaction is always better.
Speaker 2: All right, jose enjoy the day off tomorrow. We'll talk
Speaker 2: to you Friday night on Showtime Day Show. Hey, Otani
Speaker 2: will be on the mound for the Dodgers, so we'll
Speaker 2: see how he does in his final start before the
Speaker 2: All Star break.
Speaker 3: David, you'd be well, my friend. Adios.
Speaker 2: There he goes Jose Mota, part of the Dodgers Spanish
Speaker 2: radio broadcast. Let's take one more phone call before we
Speaker 2: say goodnight. Larry was at the ballpark tonight, Larry, because
Speaker 2: you came to the game, I'm taking.
Speaker 6: Your phone calls.
Speaker 2: So let's walk it off in a strong way.
Speaker 10: Well, we can walk it off first of all with you, Dave.
Speaker 10: You know you were brilliant having Edmond at second base.
Speaker 10: What is Dave Roberts listening to you? That was such
Speaker 10: a great call on your part.
Speaker 6: Thank you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know if he was or not. If
Speaker 2: he does, he would never admit it.
Speaker 10: I'm sure well. Edmund's great there. He's such a smart player.
Speaker 10: Having him that second is brilliant. Here's my question for you, Dave,
Speaker 10: and that is with Scott doing so well that when
Speaker 10: DS comes back, does DS go right into the closure
Speaker 10: role or if you think they'll job share it.
Speaker 6: That's a great question.
Speaker 2: I mean right away going back into the closer role possibly.
Speaker 2: I feel like that's his inning. But why the Dodgers
Speaker 2: were attracted to him is because he's a lockdown closer obviously,
Speaker 2: but is willing to pitch in the eighth inning if
Speaker 2: the matchups at the high leverage part of the game
Speaker 2: is in the eighth inning, So it depends on what
Speaker 2: the game situation is who's coming up in the lineup.
Speaker 2: But I guess the better way to say it, Larry
Speaker 2: is that, yes, the Dodgers will throw him into the
Speaker 2: deep end right away.
Speaker 10: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. But I hope
Speaker 10: you have a nice break. I hope you get some
Speaker 10: time off during the All Star break. You're the best.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Larry. I appreciate it, and thanks for listening.
Speaker 2: I appreciate that we don't have a day off tomorrow,
Speaker 2: even though it is an off day for the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: We have off day Dodger Talk. If you want more,
Speaker 2: David vasse Am five to seventy LA Sports has got
Speaker 2: you covered. We got an off day Dodger Talk show
Speaker 2: tomorrow night, seven to eight o'clock and we have two
Speaker 2: very special guests. Mike Serota, the Dodger alfield prospect who
Speaker 2: is playing for Tulsa in DOUBLELA has reached base in
Speaker 2: seventy consecutive games. He's gonna join us tomorrow night and
Speaker 2: he is headed to the Futures Game, part of All
Speaker 2: Star Week. The Futures Game is gonna be on Sunday
Speaker 2: and Hosway Depaula and Mike Saroda have been selected to participate,
Speaker 2: so you'll hear from Mike Serota Tomorrow night on off
Speaker 2: day Dodger Talk, and also the best third base coach
Speaker 2: in all of Major League Baseball, Dino Ebel, will join
Speaker 2: us as well, not only talking about the Dodgers, the
Speaker 2: All Star Break, possibly throwing in the home run Derby,
Speaker 2: but his younger son, Trey Ebel, is going to be
Speaker 2: drafted in the first round of Saturday's amateur drafts, so
Speaker 2: we'll talk to Dino about that as well. So we've
Speaker 2: got a loaded show on an off day. Tomorrow David
Speaker 2: Vasse Dodger Talk from seven to eight o'clock and tomorrow show.
Speaker 2: Hey Otani will rest for a start on Friday night,
Speaker 2: his final start before the All Star Break. Otani's eight
Speaker 2: and two with an ERA of one seventy nine. It'll
Speaker 2: be the Arizona Diamondbacks in town to close out this
Speaker 2: ten game homestand and close out the pre All Star
Speaker 2: Break schedule. Our coverage begins on Friday night at six o'clock,
Speaker 2: with first pitch at seven to ten. Thanks to Colin
Speaker 2: yee back at our Burbank studios. Thanks to Dwayne McDonald
Speaker 2: out here at Dodgers Stadium, and thanks to you for listening.
Speaker 2: In case you missed any of the show, you know
Speaker 2: where to find it. The iHeartRadio app once again. The
Speaker 2: final score tonight from Uniclo Field at Dodgers Stadium. The
Speaker 2: Dodgers defeat the Rockies four to three. We'll talk to
Speaker 2: you tomorrow night at seven o'clock for off day Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: Fox Sports Radio is next.
Speaker 6: We'll see you. Send it away