Speaker 1: The quest for the three peat has begun. Only four
Speaker 1: teams in Major League Baseball history have won three consecutive titles.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers are the favorites to become the fifth.
Speaker 2: Fith a Spring training Dodger.
Speaker 1: Talk, here we go again.
Speaker 2: We'rega running Back hosted by Dodgers at Cider David Basset.
Speaker 1: How three peat in New Mexican in on the.
Speaker 2: Show called eight six six nine eighty seven two five seven,
Speaker 2: And be sure to follow Dodger Talk wherever you catch
Speaker 2: your podcasts. Here's your host, David Basse.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Dodger Talk. David Vasse with you until eight
Speaker 1: o'clock tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: And we're coming to you from Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona,
Speaker 1: the home of the San Francisco Giants. And of course,
Speaker 1: the Dodgers lose their first Spring training game too, the Giants,
Speaker 1: twelve to four, the final score. The Dodgers have been
Speaker 1: rolling to this point. The majority of these games had
Speaker 1: been without their regular lineup, and today there were not
Speaker 1: many regulars in this lineup for the Dodgers. There is
Speaker 1: not one player that the Dodgers started in today's game
Speaker 1: that will be in their opening day lineup unless something
Speaker 1: catastrophic happens. Alex Frielan Santiago, Espinal Dalton Rushing, Nick Senzel.
Speaker 1: Stop me if you've heard of these guys, Ryan Ward,
Speaker 1: I know Tim never was really excited. Ryan Ward was
Speaker 1: in the starting lineup today for the simulcast, So not
Speaker 1: putting a lot of stock in this game. In fact,
Speaker 1: the only thing that mattered in this game today was
Speaker 1: Yoshi Yamamoto pitching three easonings, not walking a single batter
Speaker 1: while he was in there, and recorded four strikeouts before
Speaker 1: leaving for Tokyo to join Team Japan in the World
Speaker 1: Baseball Classics. So we'll get to that in a moment. Also,
Speaker 1: i'll fill you in on the photos that are circulating
Speaker 1: on Reddit of Mookie Betts holding sense YadA on his shoulders.
Speaker 1: We'll get to that in a moment. But coming up
Speaker 1: in fifteen minutes, you'll hear my one on one conversation
Speaker 1: with three time World Series manager Dave Roberts coming off
Speaker 1: back to back championships to finally get your validation. It
Speaker 1: only took back to back World Series championships for you
Speaker 1: to appreciate Dave Roberts. So we'll get to Dave coming
Speaker 1: up in fifteen minutes, and then the centerpiece of our show.
Speaker 1: I am thrilled to be reunited with my guy, America's
Speaker 1: DH JD. Martinez, who is coming up at the bottom
Speaker 1: of the hour. JD. Martinez spent just one season with
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, but it was a great season, a productive
Speaker 1: season for him, thirty three home runs, one hundred RBIs,
Speaker 1: and was part of franchise record setting quartet that drove
Speaker 1: in one hundred runs in the same season. JD. Martinez,
Speaker 1: Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Max Munsey all drove in
Speaker 1: one hundred runs back in twenty twenty three, the year
Speaker 1: before Otani. So in some ways JD. Martinez got wally
Speaker 1: pipped by show Hey Otani because if the Dodgers strike
Speaker 1: out on signing Otani, JD. Martinez is probably back for
Speaker 1: a second year with the Dodgers. But instead it was
Speaker 1: Otani who transformed the franchise and the landscape of baseball
Speaker 1: by signing the contract that he did. And here he
Speaker 1: is two for two as far as championships go. But
Speaker 1: we're gonna rewind it with JD. Martinez we'll fill you
Speaker 1: in on what he's doing with his life right now.
Speaker 1: You know, Andre Ethier the other day at Camelback Ranch,
Speaker 1: instead of just saying goodbye, great seeing you, Dave, he
Speaker 1: told me good luck with your life. That's the way
Speaker 1: he said goodbye to me. So we'll see JD. Martinez
Speaker 1: is having luck with his life and will find out
Speaker 1: just how much he did help Mooki Betts last year
Speaker 1: because JD and Mooki connected when the team was in Tampa.
Speaker 1: That seemed to change Mooki season to a place where
Speaker 1: it hadn't been all season long and into the postseason.
Speaker 1: So looking forward to JD. Martinez joining us in the
Speaker 1: next segment. Now today, Yamamoto pitched three things like I
Speaker 1: mentioned in a twelve to four loss. After he came
Speaker 1: out of the game, things really went sideways on the
Speaker 1: rest of the pitchers that came in, and really no
Speaker 1: one of significance that you would know of other than
Speaker 1: Aguado Enriquez, who did not pitch that great in relief.
Speaker 1: But Yamamoto more importantly pitched really well, came out of
Speaker 1: it healthy, and says he's in a good spot physically
Speaker 1: and mentally as he travels to Tokyo. Yes, right now,
Speaker 1: he is traveling to Tokyo, Japan to join the World
Speaker 1: Baseball Classic team. He's scheduled to land in Tokyo tomorrow
Speaker 1: at five am. So the Dodgers, he acknowledged, and himself
Speaker 1: have had conversations about what the guardrails should look like
Speaker 1: and what he should be keeping in mind during the
Speaker 1: World Baseball Classic. But as Andrew Friedman told us last week,
Speaker 1: it's going to be hard to contain the adrenaline that
Speaker 1: is going to be pumping in these World Baseball Classic games,
Speaker 1: especially as they come out of the first pool. And look,
Speaker 1: Japan's playing Taiwan in the first game, and we're hearing
Speaker 1: Yamamoto is going to pitch that first game. So I
Speaker 1: would I would hope Team Japan's manager would just allow
Speaker 1: Yamamoto to go four innings in that first start. I mean,
Speaker 1: I feel like Japan should be able to handle Taiwan
Speaker 1: without pushing Yamamoto to the limits. So that's where it
Speaker 1: stands with Yamamoto. And as far as photos that are
Speaker 1: circulating on Reddit, a fan took a picture as Mooki
Speaker 1: Vets had sense YadA, Yamamoto's trainer on his shoulders doing
Speaker 1: some sense YadA exercises right beyond the old Mary's pit,
Speaker 1: in between the weight room, clubhouse and the batting cage facility.
Speaker 1: I asked Moki about it today, and you know, he
Speaker 1: didn't give me too many details. He basically said, it's
Speaker 1: pretty much too complicated to explain to me what the
Speaker 1: purpose of that was. So, I mean, obviously, Muki has
Speaker 1: known me for a few years, so he knows I'm
Speaker 1: not that bright. So I don't think I could process
Speaker 1: sense YadA on his shoulders and how that's going to help.
Speaker 1: But not only was Muki photographed with sense YadA on
Speaker 1: his shoulders the other day, but he also was throwing
Speaker 1: Yamamoto's javelins, the javelin routine that Yamamoto has had going
Speaker 1: back to Japan in between starts and what he has
Speaker 1: brought over in between starts here with the Dodgers. So
Speaker 1: Mookie basically is trying to find any way to get better.
Speaker 1: I think it's a positive that he's curious enough to
Speaker 1: see a guy as far as stature goes same in stature,
Speaker 1: give or take an inch or two, and the demands
Speaker 1: of playing shortstop, how to increase the strength and flexibility
Speaker 1: of his lower half. And what he did tell me
Speaker 1: is what that comes down to his core and lower half,
Speaker 1: how to be able to be more connected to the ground.
Speaker 1: And look, even if he can get one percent better,
Speaker 1: I think you have to give him credit that he's
Speaker 1: interested enough to try to learn something new and see
Speaker 1: how it works for him. He said he's going to
Speaker 1: continue to throw the javelins before he goes out there
Speaker 1: for infield work. He obviously is not going to be
Speaker 1: able to put sense YadA on his shoulders tomorrow because
Speaker 1: since YadA will be leaving tomorrow to join Ya in
Speaker 1: the World Baseball Classics. So that's somewhat of the story
Speaker 1: behind the photos that you may or may not have
Speaker 1: seen on Reddit. I had heard about this. Will Smith
Speaker 1: actually asked Yamamoto's translator Hero a couple of days ago
Speaker 1: while I was sitting there and asked him like, what
Speaker 1: was that all about? And Hero didn't have many answers either.
Speaker 1: So maybe as the spring goes along, Mooki will open
Speaker 1: up more about what exactly is the goal of all that.
Speaker 1: But basically what it is is to be more connected
Speaker 1: to the ground, help him be a better shortstop, because
Speaker 1: we all have heard him say his goal is to
Speaker 1: win the goal Glove this year. And Muki has come
Speaker 1: into camp bigger and stronger than he was a year
Speaker 1: ago at this time, and I am seeing resemblances to
Speaker 1: the spring of twenty twenty, his first with the Dodgers,
Speaker 1: getting to the facility on a day to day basis, early,
Speaker 1: getting out there to do some work before the team meeting,
Speaker 1: and then going back out for more work. And look,
Speaker 1: he has four World Series rings. I'm sure you know
Speaker 1: you heard Kobe always talk about chasing Shaq and Jordan.
Speaker 1: I'm sure Mookie Bets would love to have as many
Speaker 1: World Series rings as Derek Jeter. Eight six six nine
Speaker 1: eight seven two five seventy is the phone number. David
Speaker 1: vassay with you from Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna have too many opportunities for phone calls tonight.
Speaker 1: It's a pretty interview heavy show tonight, so we won't
Speaker 1: be able to get to too many calls. But you
Speaker 1: can send me a tweet at the Real Underscore dv now.
Speaker 1: Earlier today, the reporters asked Dave Roberts about Blake Snell
Speaker 1: and where he's at and somebody asked whether or not
Speaker 1: he's ruled out for Opening Day, that may be the
Speaker 1: most obvious answer in spring training, and the obvious answer
Speaker 1: is no, How is he going to be ready for
Speaker 1: opening Day when he just started throwing off flat round
Speaker 1: when he got to spring training. He hasn't even thrown
Speaker 1: off a bullpen mound. He's the two time Cy Young
Speaker 1: Award winner and the Dodgers need him. And in this culture,
Speaker 1: with those players that are trying to threepeat, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of accountability between each other and if you're behind,
Speaker 1: guys are gonna look at you sideways, no matter what
Speaker 1: the reason is. And look Snell's throwing. He told me
Speaker 1: his shoulders feeling fine right now. But basically he's at
Speaker 1: the point where a pitcher should be in December. So
Speaker 1: we'll find out how spring goes along, how all of
Speaker 1: that's going. But really the biggest test for Snell, the
Speaker 1: next big, big test, is not throwing one hundred and
Speaker 1: twenty feet off a flat round, but actually getting on
Speaker 1: the mound and throwing a bullpen session. That's when the
Speaker 1: Dodgers will have a greater idea about where he's at.
Speaker 1: And I have maintained over under on Snell pitch in
Speaker 1: a game this year is single demio And basically the
Speaker 1: Dodgers signed Blake Snell to be ready in the second
Speaker 1: half of seasons and be ready for the postseason the
Speaker 1: way he delivered last year, no secrets about it. When
Speaker 1: he does pitch a full season, he's the best left
Speaker 1: hander in the game. That's evidence by him winning evident
Speaker 1: by him winning two Cy Young Awards. But that's been
Speaker 1: the challenge. He's a twenty star pitcher. But what the
Speaker 1: Dodgers have lacked in years past is having that guy
Speaker 1: that can carry them through October and pitch that way
Speaker 1: and be healthy. Well, they got two now, Yamamoto and
Speaker 1: Blake Snell, who were the big one to two starting
Speaker 1: combination for the Dodgers against the Phillies and Brewers. And
Speaker 1: obviously what Yamamoto did in Toronto is legendary stuff. All right.
Speaker 1: When we continue from Scottsdale Stadium, we will hear from
Speaker 1: the skipper, Dave Roberts, entering his eleventh season as the manager.
Speaker 1: He has been to five World Series. He has won three,
Speaker 1: including back to back championships. Dave Roberts is coming up next. JD.
Speaker 1: Martinez at the bottom of the hour right here on
Speaker 1: AM five to seventy LA Sports. AM five seventy LA Sports,
Speaker 1: and we're joined right now by the leader of this team,
Speaker 1: a man that is entering his eleventh season as the
Speaker 1: Dodger manager. And there's only one other Dodger manager that
Speaker 1: has won more World Championships than Dave Roberts, and that
Speaker 1: is the Hall of Famer Walter Alston. Dave, thanks a
Speaker 1: lot for the time, and hard to believe this is
Speaker 1: your eleventh spring training.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Dave, it's hard when you put it that way,
Speaker 3: and it's flown by, and there's been a lot of
Speaker 3: great memories, moments, and I think the fun part about,
Speaker 3: you know, my job in this spring is I just
Speaker 3: have I my coaches, the players have as much enthusiasm
Speaker 3: about showing up to work each day, and that's you know,
Speaker 3: an accomplishment, you know, for everyone, and so something to
Speaker 3: be really proud of. And yeah, twenty twenty five was great,
Speaker 3: the years prior great, but you know, I'm really excited.
Speaker 3: I would almost say that I'm more excited about twenty
Speaker 3: six than in a year I've been with the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it feels like this group and yourself are still
Speaker 1: very hungry after back to back championships.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we are, and I think that, you know, a
Speaker 3: lot of people ask me, you know, what's a message
Speaker 3: for a team that's won two in a row, three
Speaker 3: in the last six years, And I think for me,
Speaker 3: it's just continuing to, you know, practice the right way
Speaker 3: of the process and play hard and try to make
Speaker 3: everything we do matter. And so for me as a coach,
Speaker 3: when I do stand back and I watch us workout
Speaker 3: and the intent behind everything we do, it's buttoned up
Speaker 3: and that's something that's pretty exciting for all of us.
Speaker 1: Dave, I talked to Miguel Rojas and Mookie Betts about this.
Speaker 1: You guys have never shied away from expectations, not from
Speaker 1: the outside but amongst each other. And when I said
Speaker 1: three pete, they said, you can say that as loud
Speaker 1: as you want, because that's what we want. Yeah.
Speaker 3: I agree, And I think that when you're I guess,
Speaker 3: when you are secure in you know your team, who
Speaker 3: you are individually, you're not afraid to run from expectations
Speaker 3: because our own expectations should be higher than what anyone
Speaker 3: else could expect. So yeah, but I think Dave is
Speaker 3: that we do a good job of understanding what is
Speaker 3: at stake, but also the most important part of it
Speaker 3: is to kind of focus on the work each day.
Speaker 3: And you know, like I said many times, you're not
Speaker 3: going to win a World Series in February. You're not
Speaker 3: going to win a three peet in February. Your goal
Speaker 3: is to get better each day. And I think our
Speaker 3: guys do as good a job as anyone as you know,
Speaker 3: putting on those blinders and folks on each day.
Speaker 1: You always do everything with a purpose to connect to
Speaker 1: each individual and to connect to the group. You mentioned
Speaker 1: to us at FanFest that you played at the Holy
Speaker 1: Grail Augusta during the offseason, but you also brought Freddie
Speaker 1: Freeman and move Cooky Betts. What was that experience like
Speaker 1: for yourself and to have two of your best players
Speaker 1: come with you.
Speaker 3: It was actually Will Smith and Mookie and it was great.
Speaker 3: And I think for me it's they love the game
Speaker 3: of golf, and you know, we've been in a lot
Speaker 3: of big games together, and I think for me it
Speaker 3: was more of trying to continue to build that relationship
Speaker 3: off the field and build that trust. And I got
Speaker 3: it with those guys as well. As and you mentioned
Speaker 3: Freddy and so it's also you know, we spend so
Speaker 3: much time together on the field, but building relationships away
Speaker 3: from the field just makes it that much stronger. And
Speaker 3: it was a memory that I know all three of
Speaker 3: us remember forever.
Speaker 1: Yeah, not too many managers have that type of relationship
Speaker 1: to do something like that when you take them out,
Speaker 1: even to a special golf course like that. Do you
Speaker 1: do that with a purpose to maybe get the temperature,
Speaker 1: maybe start to get the message for the season going.
Speaker 1: When you're you know, waiting for your turn or you're
Speaker 1: standing around.
Speaker 3: You know what, it's funny not really pointed conversations about
Speaker 3: you know what we're trying to do, what we've done.
Speaker 3: It's more of you know, talking about golf. But I
Speaker 3: think it's really getting to know each other away from
Speaker 3: the ball field. And I think, you know, the more
Speaker 3: you spend time with people, you get to kind of
Speaker 3: learn what they value as people, and our interests are
Speaker 3: are the way we kind of live our lives and
Speaker 3: the things we value are aligned, and that just bleeds
Speaker 3: onto the baseball field. So it doesn't have to be
Speaker 3: something that we have to manufacture conversations about what we
Speaker 3: need to do, and so I think that's really powerful
Speaker 3: in itself.
Speaker 1: All Right, So I'm gonna say something here that I
Speaker 1: feel is somewhat true. Show Aotani obviously doesn't speak a
Speaker 1: lot publicly, but neither does Will Smith. The guy hits
Speaker 1: the go ahead home run to clinch the World Series
Speaker 1: in Game seven, we don't hear a lot from him.
Speaker 1: What have you learned about Will Smith that we may
Speaker 1: not know to allow him to be one of, if
Speaker 1: not the most clutch players in baseball?
Speaker 3: You know, have what is a public the people not know?
Speaker 3: He's an open book. He really is. He's very simple
Speaker 3: in his preparation. I think he's a very confident player,
Speaker 3: but a humble player, smart player. I think the main
Speaker 3: thing with Will why he has success in big moments
Speaker 3: is because he plays for the right reasons, you know,
Speaker 3: in the biggest of moments. He's a guy that can
Speaker 3: hit a groundball to move a guy to third base.
Speaker 3: He's a guy that can take a walk in a
Speaker 3: big spot or hit a home run. And Will is
Speaker 3: as good of a team player as I've ever been around.
Speaker 3: He's a very unselfish player. Doesn't answer your question because honestly,
Speaker 3: what you see is what you get. And I think
Speaker 3: for me is I like dependable players, and he's as
Speaker 3: dependable as I've been around.
Speaker 1: How much do we not appreciate the fact this guy
Speaker 1: was playing with a broken hand for the majority of
Speaker 1: the postseason and all of a sudden started to get
Speaker 1: the power. His first extra base hit of the postseason
Speaker 1: came in Game one of the World Series. Is he
Speaker 1: one of your toughest guys? And does that go unnoticed
Speaker 1: by the outside, you know, fandom.
Speaker 3: Well, I think the catching position is a servant position.
Speaker 3: It certainly gets a notice anyway. You know what he's
Speaker 3: done for the pitching staff. I thought he the way
Speaker 3: he navigated the pitching staff this year and the postseason
Speaker 3: was as good of a job behind the plate as
Speaker 3: I've seen. And yeah, you know, starting the postseason we
Speaker 3: had Ben rart Vett catching games to start, certainly in
Speaker 3: that Philly series and for Will to come back off
Speaker 3: the bench to kind of get his hand back to
Speaker 3: full strength. He had a big hit in Philly, a
Speaker 3: lot of big hits, and then then to you know,
Speaker 3: look out into the World Series. Catch eighteen innings and
Speaker 3: catch every inning of the World Series is pretty remarkable.
Speaker 3: And he's never a self promoter, never looking for credit,
Speaker 3: and he just wants to play to win. So he's
Speaker 3: certainly under the radar. But I do know that in
Speaker 3: this clubhouse, guys, you could argue that he's the most
Speaker 3: valuable player we have if you kind of bake in
Speaker 3: the offense and the defense.
Speaker 1: Before I let Dave Robert Scoe. He's doing a lot
Speaker 1: of things at once, all the time managing his relationships
Speaker 1: with Andrew Freeman, the players, and the fans, and also
Speaker 1: the Dodger Foundation. When you look back at these previous
Speaker 1: ten years and you look forward Freddie Freeman keeps talking
Speaker 1: about four more years, how much would you love to
Speaker 1: ride out the next four years with Freddie? And have
Speaker 1: the previous ten been everything you thought they would be?
Speaker 3: The previous ten have been everything and more than I
Speaker 3: thought hoped you would be. I do think that it's
Speaker 3: only going to get better because of the relationships that
Speaker 3: we forge are strengthened. Excited for Freddie to play four
Speaker 3: more years, and Lord willing it is with the Dodgers.
Speaker 3: For me, I know I've got four years left on
Speaker 3: my contract. I think that you know, I'm having as
Speaker 3: much fun as I've ever had, so we'll see, you know,
Speaker 3: once this one ends and we win a couple more championships,
Speaker 3: a few more championships.
Speaker 1: How addicting is winning?
Speaker 3: It's you know, once you get a taste of it,
Speaker 3: you know it is. I think addiction is the right word.
Speaker 3: And obsession, and you know, but I think the thing, Dave,
Speaker 3: is that winning is an addiction and obsession. But the practice,
Speaker 3: the love for it, the process, that's what the great
Speaker 3: ones have an addiction to. And our guys, two of men,
Speaker 3: are addicted to getting continuing to get better as ballplayers.
Speaker 1: And it starts with the skipper, Dave Roberts. Everybody in
Speaker 1: that clubhouse admires the way you lead this team. The
Speaker 1: people behind the scenes feel the same way. And I
Speaker 1: think I speak for everybody in it. Dave Roberts is
Speaker 1: certainly the right man for the right time in Dodger history.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm in great company, a lot of good players,
Speaker 3: great organizations run by a lot of great people, and
Speaker 3: our fan base. Dave, you know, there's nothing like Dodger Nation.
Speaker 3: There really isn't. There's a reason why players want to
Speaker 3: come here and play for the Dodgers, the boys in Blues.
Speaker 3: So we're going to wrap up spring training where we're
Speaker 3: off to a good start, and I just can't wait
Speaker 3: for our fan base to, you know, welcome us when
Speaker 3: we get ready to start the regular season.
Speaker 1: Thanks for the time, Dave really appreciated.
Speaker 3: You got it, Dave.
Speaker 1: There he goes Dodger manager Dave Roberts, ready for all
Speaker 1: the expectations that he and his players are not shying
Speaker 1: away from a chance to make history to three peat.
Speaker 1: There's only been one team in my lifetime that has
Speaker 1: won three straight World Series championships. That was the Yankees,
Speaker 1: and I think only Bill Plunkin and Steve Brenner were
Speaker 1: alive when the A's three peted in the mid seventies.
Speaker 1: Rick Monday too. So there's a a lot of you
Speaker 1: that have never seen a Dodger team, or any major
Speaker 1: league team three pat So this is their opportunity. They're
Speaker 1: not shying away from it. When we continue on Dodger
Speaker 1: Talk from Scottsdale Stadium, America's dh JD. Martinez is going
Speaker 1: to join us next right here on AM five to
Speaker 1: seventy LA Sports, NAM five to seventy LA Sports, and
Speaker 1: I am really excited to have our next guest join
Speaker 1: us for the first time over the phone for the
Speaker 1: first time technically on Dodger Talk. He was a recurring
Speaker 1: guest on the pregame show. He only spent one year
Speaker 1: with the Dodgers, but it was a fantastic year. He
Speaker 1: was part of the first quartet in Dodger history to
Speaker 1: drive in one hundred runs in the same season. That
Speaker 1: was back in twenty twenty three when he hit thirty
Speaker 1: three home runs and drove in one hundred and three
Speaker 1: runs for the Dodgers. And we had a special handshake.
Speaker 1: We connected over me breaking my wrist on the Milwaukee
Speaker 1: slide in spring training and from that point on, the
Speaker 1: magic with the dead Fish handshake took off. And that
Speaker 1: is America's dh JD Martinez, JD. Great to have you
Speaker 1: on the show. I miss you.
Speaker 4: Hey, I miss you too.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 4: It's great talking to you.
Speaker 1: You are on the Lisson. Life is good. I have
Speaker 1: not gone down any slides, I haven't broken any ribs.
Speaker 1: I'm doing okay, thank God.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I don't think you're allowed to go to any slides anymore.
Speaker 1: I feel like I have to have some redemption. Maybe
Speaker 1: go on a fishing boat with you, or maybe do
Speaker 1: some some skiing with you. Maybe we can work that out.
Speaker 4: Oh, that would be great. I would love nothing more.
Speaker 4: I would love to see than skiing slopes, knowing how
Speaker 4: fragile you are.
Speaker 1: He didn't know who the hell I was until he
Speaker 1: saw the slide highlight one spring training moment, and then
Speaker 1: from that point on it was. It was a great
Speaker 1: year in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it was a blooper that was being
Speaker 5: run on TV.
Speaker 4: I remember seeing that. I'd be like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 4: who is that guy? And everyone's like, that's David, that's
Speaker 4: our media guy. I said, I got to meet this guy.
Speaker 4: How do you break your hands sliding down a slide?
Speaker 4: I've never heard of.
Speaker 1: That, dude. It was a fast ride. It was a
Speaker 1: fast slide. I don't know, I slowed it down. I
Speaker 1: feel like I did everybody a public service.
Speaker 4: I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1: Hey. JD. Martinez is living his best life. He's fishing
Speaker 1: nearly every day out there in Florida. He was just
Speaker 1: in Park City, Utah skiing and now.
Speaker 4: He's in as ohr Right.
Speaker 1: Oh sorry, sorry, Aspen. Yes, that's uh.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah. I had a lot of homers.
Speaker 1: I get to go to Asten a lot of Dingers
Speaker 1: for JD. Martinez to I want to Aspen and now
Speaker 1: he's in the Desert for the Desert Smashing Lakina starting
Speaker 1: on Monday. He's a celebrity pickleball player, now, I mean,
Speaker 1: is that the level of pickleball you're at right now
Speaker 1: where you're a celebrity.
Speaker 4: I mean pretty much. I mean I don't know.
Speaker 5: I mean it's if my back could hold up a
Speaker 5: little bit more. I think I can kind of get
Speaker 5: good at it, but I always run into my back issues,
Speaker 5: you know, And for that, I think i'd be you know,
Speaker 5: out there competing, trying to compete more.
Speaker 4: But I'm excited for it. I'm excited. I know a
Speaker 4: lot of there's gonna be a lot of pros out there.
Speaker 5: There's gonna be a lot of really good players, and
Speaker 5: I'm excited to go and you know, play alongside of that.
Speaker 4: It'll be fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Will Ferrell is supposed to be one of the
Speaker 1: other celebrities with JD. Martinez. Maybe you could be doubles
Speaker 1: like Krushaw's ping pong tournament.
Speaker 5: I remember that, Yeah, Kershaw kind of Kershaw rigged that
Speaker 5: ping pong tournament.
Speaker 4: You would win, I know it.
Speaker 1: So who's a better pickleball player, you or Mookie Bets.
Speaker 4: Oh, I don't know. I think I'm gonna have to
Speaker 4: say me. I'm sorry, smoke. I love them, but I
Speaker 4: think I got them. I did play more though, that's
Speaker 4: the problem.
Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. I mean, how do you have back problems
Speaker 1: when you play pickleball? You barely move?
Speaker 4: I mean, what are you talking about? You got to
Speaker 4: stop bend over. There's a lot of things you gotta do.
Speaker 1: I don't see it, a lot of things. I don't
Speaker 1: see why this is such a phenomenon across the country.
Speaker 4: Oh, it's addicted. It's so addicted.
Speaker 1: Why Why is it because a little ping pong and
Speaker 1: you move around a little bit. I know you're a competitor,
Speaker 1: but what makes you so good to bring your game
Speaker 1: to the Desert smash and really want to fly across
Speaker 1: the country to be part of this.
Speaker 5: I mean it's one of those things though, you know,
Speaker 5: you get invited.
Speaker 4: It's a cool expirceperience.
Speaker 5: Uh you get to go alongside and test your test
Speaker 5: your skills against some of the pros out there.
Speaker 4: Uh So it's definitely. Ah, you know, nothing I like
Speaker 4: more than a good challenge. So I'm excited to just
Speaker 4: go out there and see what's I went.
Speaker 5: Uh. Earlier this year, I went to Dallas for a
Speaker 5: for the same kind of thing, and I got to
Speaker 5: play against Dirk Novisky and Carroll Owens and Tifu and
Speaker 5: it was just fun.
Speaker 4: It's a fun, cool experience.
Speaker 5: And we got to go up against some of the
Speaker 5: pickleball pros like Ben Jons and of course they put
Speaker 5: me on singles against Annaalie Waters, who's probably the best
Speaker 5: pickball player ever, and I got absolutely demolished.
Speaker 4: It was a very humbling experience for him, and I
Speaker 4: truly enjoyed it. All right, Yeah, it's just good. It's
Speaker 4: good fun.
Speaker 1: How did you do against Dirk Nowitzki? I would say
Speaker 1: he has the length on you.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Dirk, I got I got him though. I beat him, though, Yeah,
Speaker 4: he's got He definitely got the length on me. But he's, uh,
Speaker 4: it's a little hard for him to, you know, bend over,
Speaker 4: he's so tall. So I was able to keep the
Speaker 4: ball low on them.
Speaker 1: Okay, explain this to me. In pickleball, you always hear
Speaker 1: everybody talk about the kitchen, the kitchen. Can you explain
Speaker 1: to us what the kitchen is in pickleball.
Speaker 4: All right.
Speaker 5: The kitchen is that little it's like the boss that's
Speaker 5: outlined right next to the net. And in the kitchen,
Speaker 5: you can ever go into the kitchen unless the ball
Speaker 5: goes in the kitchen.
Speaker 4: Gotcha. You can.
Speaker 5: You can reach in there, but you can't touch the
Speaker 5: ground in the kitchen unless the ball bounces in the kitchen.
Speaker 5: Once the ball bounces in the kitchen, then you can
Speaker 5: go in there and hit the ball, then you're allowed
Speaker 5: to You're allowed to go over the kitchen.
Speaker 4: It just keeps people back so that not everybody would
Speaker 4: just run to the net, you know.
Speaker 1: Okay, So once the ball bounces in the kitchen, that's
Speaker 1: when you can play it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly, Okay.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I appreciate you explaining that to me. I'm
Speaker 1: going to try it one of these days. But I
Speaker 1: feel like I need a bigger challenge than pickleball in
Speaker 1: my life.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I don't know if pickleball is a sport for you, though, David.
Speaker 4: This is issue you're you're a little because you're a
Speaker 4: little fragile.
Speaker 5: I don't see a lot of athleticism from you that
Speaker 5: you're gonna need hand eye coordination, reaction.
Speaker 4: I think there are a lot of skills that you
Speaker 4: don't have.
Speaker 5: So I don't know what kind of a you know,
Speaker 5: advise you to stay away from it.
Speaker 4: It's got a lot of injuries in the pickleball game.
Speaker 1: Okay, thank you. I appreciate your concern. How about fishing
Speaker 1: for swordfish? How about fishing for swordfish?
Speaker 4: Hey, we could go, We could go. I got my
Speaker 4: boat down here and you can come down whenever you want.
Speaker 1: Oh, man, enjoyable.
Speaker 4: You don't make me feel like I'm.
Speaker 1: On vacation every time I watch you on Instagram on
Speaker 1: the boat. I mean, you are living your best life
Speaker 1: after just basically dedicating your your previous what thirty years
Speaker 1: to baseball. I mean, I love that you're enjoying yourself.
Speaker 4: I appreciate it. Man, It's been fun.
Speaker 5: Honestly, I kind of pick ah and I one adventure
Speaker 5: to do every month, and I try to go out
Speaker 5: there and do it.
Speaker 4: I'm a I'm a dad.
Speaker 5: Now, so you know I have that currently pushing my
Speaker 5: daughter around a little a little car thing. Oh, I'm
Speaker 5: not on adventures, but I'm not on my one adventure
Speaker 5: a month. I come back and I'm playing dad for
Speaker 5: the next three weeks. You know, so I try to
Speaker 5: just enjoy it and make the best out of it.
Speaker 1: But that George Clooney beard is still perfectly fine. It
Speaker 1: has not even gotten too long. It is perfect for JD.
Speaker 1: Martinez and you still have.
Speaker 4: Your I keep it clean, Yeah, yeah, keep it clean.
Speaker 4: I got, I got, I got a few more white
Speaker 4: hair than it now. But I'm good.
Speaker 1: How since you were known for being a cage rat,
Speaker 1: how liberating is your life now that you don't have
Speaker 1: the burden of having to be America's dh.
Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, it's amazing. I love it.
Speaker 5: People are like, how are you enjoying it? I'm like,
Speaker 5: they're like, do you miss it? I'm like, I miss
Speaker 5: the boys. I miss everything's feeling good and my body's
Speaker 5: feeling good, But I don't miss the preparation and all
Speaker 5: that stuff that goes into it to get my body
Speaker 5: ready just to go out there and have four back
Speaker 5: in the game and everything I.
Speaker 4: Have to do.
Speaker 5: That's that's definitely a burden, you know, that's been taking
Speaker 5: off my shoulders in.
Speaker 1: Twenty three with the Dodgers. How long would it take
Speaker 1: you to get ready for a game?
Speaker 5: Oh my goodness, I mean I said ever since spot
Speaker 5: like twenty twenty twenty twenty one, I think is when
Speaker 5: it started, it would probably take me like an hour
Speaker 5: on the training room table and then an hour in
Speaker 5: the gym, and then from there I'm kind of ready
Speaker 5: to start batting practice and get ready to go, you know,
Speaker 5: like get my body moving around.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. I mean people don't understand that you guys
Speaker 1: show up well before first pitch, not an hour before,
Speaker 1: especially guys like you. And I used to hear Chase
Speaker 1: Suttley at the end of his career showing up at
Speaker 1: noon for a seven to ten game just to get rid.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, I mean for me, I was a little
Speaker 5: bit different, you know.
Speaker 4: I mean, no one really understood this, but I was.
Speaker 5: You know, I would wake up in the morning at
Speaker 5: nine ten o'clock, eat breakfast, and go to the cage
Speaker 5: and do my whole you know, what I was going
Speaker 5: to work on the night before, what I was going
Speaker 5: to work on that day that I saw the night before,
Speaker 5: I was gonna go and I was gonna, you know,
Speaker 5: go test it out and.
Speaker 4: Go to the cage for like an hour, hour and
Speaker 4: a half and.
Speaker 5: Then go and start my like you know, go to
Speaker 5: the field around twelve one o'clock and start my day there.
Speaker 5: So my day really started around like nine ten o'clock.
Speaker 1: And now, do you did you have any withdrawals last year,
Speaker 1: your first year out of the game, and how did
Speaker 1: you get over those withdrawals?
Speaker 4: I definitely didn't have any withdrawals, for sure, zero withdrawals. Yeah,
Speaker 4: my withdrawals was like.
Speaker 5: The guys hanging out with the guys in the clubhouse
Speaker 5: talking crap, like the bus rides.
Speaker 4: Like that kind of stuff. You know. That was that
Speaker 4: was what I missed. But I'm still able to do
Speaker 4: all that here.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 5: I have my whole morning routine here that I do
Speaker 5: and I started doing, you know, doing things I've never
Speaker 5: been able to do. Last year was you know, taking
Speaker 5: these trips, learning how to free dive, learning like you know,
Speaker 5: just different styles of fishing and trying to go and
Speaker 5: go on like you know, crazy adventures where we take
Speaker 5: the boat.
Speaker 4: I mean we did a few trips this year.
Speaker 5: We took the boat one hundred and fifty miles out
Speaker 5: into the middle of nowhere, stuck on the boat for
Speaker 5: three days and just fish for three days like some
Speaker 5: like more hardcore stuff than ever been.
Speaker 4: Able to do.
Speaker 1: That's amazing.
Speaker 4: It's been It's been great, dude, it's been fun.
Speaker 1: The Dodger sucked you back in last year when we
Speaker 1: were in Tampa. It was it was out there that
Speaker 1: that you got sucked back in to be the Mookie
Speaker 1: whisperer to help him try to get out of the
Speaker 1: season long slump.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean me and Muk go way back,
Speaker 4: so you know, for him, I definitely.
Speaker 5: Made the exception of coming out and going out there
Speaker 5: and spending a weekend with him and you know.
Speaker 4: Trying to get him back on track. It was like, God,
Speaker 4: a few times we did it? Did it? I did
Speaker 4: it there? And then I did in l A too?
Speaker 1: Did you really?
Speaker 4: So? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Help him with? What do you help him with?
Speaker 4: How?
Speaker 1: Why does J. D. Martinez connect with him so much?
Speaker 4: I don't know. I mean I think we both a
Speaker 4: want of trust.
Speaker 5: He trusts me, uh he you know, he values my
Speaker 5: opinion on everything, and from there it was kind of
Speaker 5: one of those things where we just we work well together.
Speaker 4: And I don't know, I feel like I just have
Speaker 4: a really good understanding of his swing in his mind.
Speaker 5: You know, Mooki's on Mooke's you know, on nbelievable unbelievable talent,
Speaker 5: as everybody knows. It's just sometimes this game it just
Speaker 5: derails you sometimes and you need.
Speaker 4: Someone to you know, lock it back in. You know.
Speaker 4: Robert Robert was that guy. Robert was that guy for me.
Speaker 5: You know, every time I would get derailed, Robert would
Speaker 5: kind of guide me back in and it was a
Speaker 5: lot of trust that I put into him, and it
Speaker 5: always kind of works. Sometimes you just got to turn
Speaker 5: your brain off and.
Speaker 4: Let someone else think for you, cause you just get
Speaker 4: in your own way.
Speaker 1: Mooky's coming to camp earlier than I've ever seen him
Speaker 1: come to camp to work since twenty twenty. Do you
Speaker 1: expect him you know, there's a lot of people that
Speaker 1: expect the beginning of the end last year for Mookie.
Speaker 1: Do you expect him to have, you know, more of
Speaker 1: a Mookie type year?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean you just the thing with Muk is
Speaker 5: you just you know, you never know, he just turns
Speaker 5: on a switch and all of a sudden, he doesn't
Speaker 5: get out.
Speaker 4: For freaking three months, and you're like, what the heck
Speaker 4: just happened. It's like Freddie, you know, they're able to
Speaker 4: just go on these runs where you're like, good luck,
Speaker 4: you know, so for me to say that, I always
Speaker 4: for me.
Speaker 5: I always expect Muki to have a great year. You know,
Speaker 5: I tell him every I tell him all the time.
Speaker 5: I said, Muke, I said, there's no reason that you
Speaker 5: can't win MVP every single year because you have that
Speaker 5: kind of ability.
Speaker 1: And if I mean to you again this year, would
Speaker 1: you answer the phone? Would they be able to suck
Speaker 1: you back into the cage?
Speaker 4: I mean, if Mookie called me, yeah, I definitely would,
Speaker 4: you know, I mean Muchie's my guy.
Speaker 1: So what what.
Speaker 4: It always did? We've always had a big relationship.
Speaker 1: I wanted I wanted you to be part of what
Speaker 1: they got now. But watching it the last two years,
Speaker 1: do you even watch their games? Did you even watch
Speaker 1: the World Series?
Speaker 5: Yeah? No, the World Series is unbelievable. I mean it's
Speaker 5: kind of it was. It was unreal games with you know, Toronto, and.
Speaker 4: It was it was crazy. It was crazy. It was
Speaker 4: just crazy.
Speaker 5: You know, there were so many times you thought Toronto
Speaker 5: was going to win the game. They were just right
Speaker 5: there and I was like, oh, if they don't score here,
Speaker 5: they're not going to win this type thing. And you know,
Speaker 5: the Dodgers just you guys just had that veteran, you know,
Speaker 5: leadership and presence, and it's just a veteran club.
Speaker 4: And you give you give those guys with.
Speaker 5: That much talent enough opportunities, they're gonna you guys are
Speaker 5: going to find a way for sure.
Speaker 4: And I think that's what happened.
Speaker 1: Hey, JD. Martinez is going to be at the UH
Speaker 1: the Big Smash in Lakina beginning on Monday, the Desert Smash.
Speaker 1: But I got to ask you when you were at
Speaker 1: the Red Sox and you guys beat the Dodgers. Chris
Speaker 1: Sale did heroic things, including you know, coming out of
Speaker 1: the bullpen in game five, where would you rank with
Speaker 1: where what Yamamoto did in game six and seven?
Speaker 4: Especially unreal, unbelievable.
Speaker 5: You know, Nadi Valdi was our guy, that he was
Speaker 5: our Yama Moto in that twenty eighteen run. But what
Speaker 5: I mean what Yamamoto did was I.
Speaker 4: Mean, it was definitely the reason he won the MVP.
Speaker 4: I mean that was ridiculous.
Speaker 5: I faced him one time in twenty twenty twenty twenty
Speaker 5: four with the Mets at our place and it was freezing,
Speaker 5: and I remember he was throwing.
Speaker 4: Himself, Like Jesus, how does anybody hit this guy. This
Speaker 4: guy's nasty. He didn't know what the hell the ball
Speaker 4: was gonna do. It was like playing with the ball
Speaker 4: at ninety seven miles an hour.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean he is, you know, he is small
Speaker 1: in stature and his hands aren't as big as Pedro
Speaker 1: Martinez JD. But I don't know he found something after
Speaker 1: he came off the il in twenty four.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he was. I mean he was feeling it. He
Speaker 4: felt great. You could see it that he felt great.
Speaker 5: And he just rode that whole wave, you know, and
Speaker 5: he was just he was lighted out.
Speaker 1: Where were you watching Game seven of the World Series
Speaker 1: on a boat somewhere? Where were you?
Speaker 4: No, No, actually.
Speaker 5: Watching game on the games earlier, like on a boat.
Speaker 4: Me and Alex Avila were on his boat.
Speaker 5: He's got a sixty eight foot Vikings, beautiful boat, and
Speaker 5: we were on his boat watching it. But the game seven,
Speaker 5: I was on my I was on my couch with
Speaker 5: my friends and I was I.
Speaker 4: Was standing up the whole game. I was like, oh
Speaker 4: my god, this is crazy.
Speaker 5: There was I mean, there were so many plays the
Speaker 5: play at the plate that Blue Jays had bases loaded
Speaker 5: like two three times. You guys had bases loaded, no
Speaker 5: one to get it, no one, you know, drive it
Speaker 5: in that last run.
Speaker 4: And I was like, oh, this is not looking good
Speaker 4: for Toronto. I already see it. You can't give these
Speaker 4: guys this amount of.
Speaker 5: Opportunities, you know, And it was just I mean, kudos
Speaker 5: to the Dodgers man, and you know what Andrew's been
Speaker 5: able to do there, It's unbelievable the team he's been
Speaker 5: able to put together.
Speaker 1: Do you think they repeat this year?
Speaker 4: I mean, it's hard to see. It's it's hard to
Speaker 4: stay up, you know. I mean it's hard to say. No.
Speaker 5: It's just one of those things where I mean that
Speaker 5: the lineup, the pitching, like, there's not many weaknesses the
Speaker 5: Dodgers have.
Speaker 4: It's just the.
Speaker 5: Only weakness that they have is that they've been to
Speaker 5: the World.
Speaker 4: Series, you know, the last two years and they've won.
Speaker 4: So that's a lot of wear and tear on the bodies.
Speaker 5: And that's the only downside you look at when you
Speaker 5: see a team like that trying to.
Speaker 4: Go back and three peat. I mean, it's not a
Speaker 4: lot of teams have done it.
Speaker 5: It's so tough with health, you know, you got to
Speaker 5: keep everybody healthy, and those those leverage, intings, those things
Speaker 5: that you know, like what Yamamoto was able to do.
Speaker 5: We saw it in twenty eighteen coming back in twenty
Speaker 5: nineteen with Rick Porcello and David Price, Like you could
Speaker 5: see those guys had to really stretch it out in
Speaker 5: eighteen and they kind of caught up to them in nineteen.
Speaker 5: So that's just that's the hardest part about you know,
Speaker 5: about the playoffs and pushing it that long because you
Speaker 5: don't know, you know, the wear and tear you create
Speaker 5: because you're just so much adrenaline going through you in
Speaker 5: those games.
Speaker 1: Well, he would know. He beat the Dodgers with the
Speaker 1: Red Sox in twenty eighteen. He finished his career with
Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty one home runs. And his most
Speaker 1: magical season was not in Boston. It was right here
Speaker 1: in La In my opinion, just kidding JD. That was
Speaker 1: my favorite year were it was. We had so much fun. Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: we had so much fun. And I hope you come
Speaker 1: back to LA. I hope the Dodgers can find a
Speaker 1: place for you, because you do have a lot to offer.
Speaker 1: But at the very least, the Mookie Whisperer always has
Speaker 1: a bat phone for Mookie to call to get him
Speaker 1: back on track. I feel like you. Yeah, you're more
Speaker 1: than Mookie's whisper. You have a lot to offer to
Speaker 1: a lot of guys, JD. So maybe when you dock
Speaker 1: the boat you could go to the cache and help guys.
Speaker 4: I appreciate it. We'll see, we'll see.
Speaker 1: I missed you, JD.
Speaker 4: I miss you too, buddy. I've always been watching. I'm
Speaker 4: watching you.
Speaker 5: I watch all your interviews every now and then to
Speaker 5: see who uh you're giving that dead fish handshake too.
Speaker 1: I tried with CONFORDO. It got him going for a week,
Speaker 1: but you know, it can only do so much.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I feel that.
Speaker 1: Now people are talking about my nipples instead of my
Speaker 1: wrist and my dead fish handshake now, oh no, for real?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. During the celebration, it went, uh.
Speaker 4: You know, got to be something did oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah it was. It was that and they showed it
Speaker 1: on Jimmy Kimmel and it became.
Speaker 4: A fan that's right, up's alley.
Speaker 1: All right, j D. I can talk to you forever, man.
Speaker 1: I know. It's great to share you again with Dodger fans.
Speaker 1: It was a great excuse to have you on since
Speaker 1: you're gonna be on the West coast Lakinta the pick
Speaker 1: a Ball Smash coming up on Monday, and uh, I
Speaker 1: can't wait to see some photos on on your ig
Speaker 1: and uh man, you were You're a special guy. And
Speaker 1: that's to this day, so many guys still still miss
Speaker 1: America's DH.
Speaker 4: I appreciate it, David, thank you, thanks so much for
Speaker 4: having me, buddy.
Speaker 1: We'll do it again soon. JD thanks a.
Speaker 4: Lot, definitely. I man, I'll talk to you later.
Speaker 1: There he goes America's DH. JD. Martinez. Great to have
Speaker 1: him on the show. And man, he certainly is the
Speaker 1: Mooki whisperer. He can connect with Mooki more than any
Speaker 1: other teammate, and that's evident by Mooki tapping into JD.
Speaker 1: Martinez not once but twice last year, once when the
Speaker 1: team was in Tampa, Florida, and JD just told us
Speaker 1: again in Los Angeles. So great to have JD on
Speaker 1: the show. He's going to be at the Desert Smash
Speaker 1: Pickleball Celebrity tournament going on beginning Monday at the Lakita Resort.
Speaker 1: So thank you to JD. Martinez for calling in the
Speaker 1: dead Fish Handshake Alive via the phone and Dave Roberts
Speaker 1: who took some time out for us earlier today as well.
Speaker 1: Thanks to you for listening. It's been an action pack
Speaker 1: Dodger Talk week. Four out of the five days we
Speaker 1: have had a Dodger Talk. In case you missed any
Speaker 1: of the shows, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1: And thank you to Ronnie Fossio for all his help
Speaker 1: all week long. We do have Dodger Baseball for you
Speaker 1: tomorrow Dodgers and Cubs split squad. We'll have the A
Speaker 1: team at Camelback Ranch tomorrow. Our coverage begins at eleven
Speaker 1: thirty with first pitch between the Dodgers and Cubs at
Speaker 1: twelve oh five. That'll do it for us until then,
Speaker 1: have a great rest of your Friday. Be safe, see
Speaker 1: you