Speaker 1: This is world champion Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: Here regard again. We're gay running.
Speaker 1: Back hosted by Dodgers in Cider David Bassi.
Speaker 3: How are ye threepeat?
Speaker 2: In the mix.
Speaker 4: Dodger Talk is brought to you by La County Public
Speaker 4: Works Champions Recycle Beverage Containers make the play Recycle Today
Speaker 4: and by Children's Hospital LA from Colds to Cancer.
Speaker 1: We got this to get him on the show called eight.
Speaker 4: Six six, nine eighty seven two five seven, and be
Speaker 4: sure to follow Dodger Talk wherever you catch your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, David Basset.
Speaker 3: Hey, welcome the Dodger Talk on an off night, a
Speaker 3: day off for the Dodgers, but no off nights for
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk here on five seventy LA Sports. We're with
Speaker 3: you until eight o'clock tonight here on five seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 3: And we have two great guests coming on the show.
Speaker 3: Had a chance to sit down with Dave Roberts in
Speaker 3: his office and we'll share that conversation with you coming
Speaker 3: up in eight minutes. Also at the bottom of the hour,
Speaker 3: ESPN's best Buster Only will join us to give his
Speaker 3: thoughts on the Dodgers where they stand in the three
Speaker 3: peat because he did cover the Yankees when they went
Speaker 3: for the three peat and even wrote a book about it,
Speaker 3: so he has pretty good perspective on that. Kyle Tucker,
Speaker 3: and also the MVP race between Shohei Otani and p
Speaker 3: Crow Armstrong. I also have three pairs of tickets to
Speaker 3: give away tonight between now and eight o'clock for Sunday's
Speaker 3: Dodger game against the Pirates. It happens to be snail
Speaker 3: Zilla Sunday. That's right, Blake Snell will take the mound
Speaker 3: again at Dodgers Stadium this Sunday against the Pirates. A
Speaker 3: very short homestand for the Dodgers after a very short
Speaker 3: road trip to Denver, where the Dodgers swept the Rockies,
Speaker 3: and I guess kind of got back on track with
Speaker 3: their offense. They scored twenty four runs in the three
Speaker 3: game sweep of the Rockies, they scored eleven runs in
Speaker 3: the first game, and we're able to have better at
Speaker 3: bats now. I'm not going to say that I'm sold
Speaker 3: that the Dodgers have brought back the focus and the
Speaker 3: quality at bats after three games at Course Field against
Speaker 3: one of, if not the worst pitching staff in baseball,
Speaker 3: but I will say this, we saw a little bit
Speaker 3: more focus and intent by the Dodgers in those three games,
Speaker 3: even with them playing the Rockies and just before each
Speaker 3: one of those three games. It could have been the
Speaker 3: fact that the Dodgers were at the end of playing
Speaker 3: thirteen in a row, coming to an end of an
Speaker 3: arduous August schedule. It could have been those things. But
Speaker 3: I like to believe that the Dodgers understood the task
Speaker 3: at hand after losing three out of four to the Brewers,
Speaker 3: that hey, these three games they needed to get, and
Speaker 3: they got the job done. They did what they were
Speaker 3: supposed to do. They swept the Rockies. They now have
Speaker 3: a two game lead in the lost call over the
Speaker 3: Braves for the number two seed in the National League
Speaker 3: playoff picture. And they got their three best starters on
Speaker 3: the mound this weekend at Dodgers Stadium, Yamamoto tomorrow night,
Speaker 3: Schooble on Saturday, and Blake Snell on Sunday. Also a
Speaker 3: little kicker to this series, the Dodgers won't see Paul Skeens,
Speaker 3: who has had somewhat of a down year this year.
Speaker 3: He was supposed to start last Sunday, but because of
Speaker 3: some of the issues he's had. The Pirates decided to
Speaker 3: give him some extra rest and started him on Wednesday
Speaker 3: against the Tigers. So the Dodgers will not see Paul
Speaker 3: Skeens in this three game series. Eight six six eight
Speaker 3: seven two five seventy is the phone number. Just a
Speaker 3: little pullback the curtain here on the Dodgers and their
Speaker 3: travel from Denver to la last night. I did not
Speaker 3: get back to my home in the San Fernando Valley
Speaker 3: until four am this morning. The Dodger planes multiple planes, right,
Speaker 3: players only plane. Staff plane did not land at LAX
Speaker 3: until about two thirty this morning. By the time the
Speaker 3: people that decided to leave their cars at Dodgers Stadium
Speaker 3: got back there, it was about three ten this morning.
Speaker 3: And the reason for that is even though the Dodgers
Speaker 3: fly two planes, they are looking out for each other,
Speaker 3: meaning well, mostly the player's plane. If the staff plane
Speaker 3: broke down, I'm not sure anybody outside of Dave Roberts
Speaker 3: and the coaching staff would be a jumping on that bird.
Speaker 3: But nonetheless, if the player's plane has some mechanical issues,
Speaker 3: the staff plane has to wait for them. And that's
Speaker 3: exactly what took place last night. As we were trying
Speaker 3: to leave Denver. The staff plane ready to go. We
Speaker 3: were no mechanical issues, ready to go get off the ground,
Speaker 3: but the player's only plane had some mechanical issues for
Speaker 3: whatever reason, it wasn't starting. Yeah, the plane wasn't starting,
Speaker 3: so we had to wait for them to see whether
Speaker 3: or not they can fix that plane to get it
Speaker 3: to start before the staff plane could leave. So basically
Speaker 3: the staff, the coaching staff, Dave Roberts, Mark Pryor, Dino Ebel, everybody,
Speaker 3: Eric Carrouse, Stephen Nelson, Rick Monday were in my vicinity.
Speaker 3: Those and the trainers and the Japanese support staff for
Speaker 3: Roki was on our plane as well. That's the way
Speaker 3: it flies. We had to wait almost two hours to
Speaker 3: see whether or not they can get help to start
Speaker 3: their plane, which eventually happened. But if that player's only
Speaker 3: plane was not able to start, they would have had
Speaker 3: to crawl to the staff plane and join us on
Speaker 3: the staff plane. But that's the reason why today's off day,
Speaker 3: I'm sure for the players, was not really an off day.
Speaker 3: I'm sure they slept like I did until twelve o'clock
Speaker 3: this afternoon. But that's life in the big that's the
Speaker 3: glamorous life. Can't just brow out with Jonas Knox and
Speaker 3: talk about limb biscuit for fifteen minutes to end your show.
Speaker 3: You gotta really grind it out on a major league schedule.
Speaker 3: So here we are Dodger Talk with a great spirit.
Speaker 3: I'm happy to talk to you. I'm happy to give
Speaker 3: away three pairs of tickets to Sunday's game to see,
Speaker 3: in my opinion, the best lefty on the Dodgers staff
Speaker 3: so far since the since the trade deadline. To me,
Speaker 3: there's no doubt in my mind that Blake Snell in
Speaker 3: his two starts has been more dominant than Schooble in
Speaker 3: his three starts. Now, I'm not rooting for that, but
Speaker 3: I'm just saying, can we give Snell a little shine here?
Speaker 3: Everybody talks about schoobl Blake Snell has proven it on
Speaker 3: the big stage last October that he can pitch on
Speaker 3: the road in a hostile environment in Philadelphia and Milwaukee
Speaker 3: and deliver. And we're waiting to see whether or not
Speaker 3: school ball can do that for the Dodgers this year.
Speaker 3: Eight six six nine to eighty seven two five seventy
Speaker 3: is the phone number I know. There's been a lot
Speaker 3: of talk and focus about Kyle Tucker, but in my mind,
Speaker 3: in my world, he's not the only guy that should
Speaker 3: take the burden, the brunt of the burden of why
Speaker 3: the Dodger offense for the last six weeks has not
Speaker 3: been hitting on all cylinders. Freddie Freeman was in a
Speaker 3: little bit of a slump for the first time this year.
Speaker 3: Otani was in a little bit of a slump for
Speaker 3: the first time since April. Andy Paz has been consistent.
Speaker 3: Max Munsey has had sixty seven big hits to win
Speaker 3: games since the All Star break. But the Dodgers all
Speaker 3: season long basically have gotten virtually any consistency if anything,
Speaker 3: from not only Tucker, but Mookie Betts and Taoscar Hernandez.
Speaker 3: They need those guys. And you know talk of not
Speaker 3: having focus or maybe you know, taking it easy or
Speaker 3: pacing yourself for the postseason, I could see that in
Speaker 3: the case of Mooki and Taoscar Hernandez, because they know
Speaker 3: what it's all about and they know how to pace
Speaker 3: themselves for that. Last year at this time, Mooki Betts
Speaker 3: started to turn around his season. But the Dodgers need
Speaker 3: Taoscar Hernandez. And I'm a big believer in october Ta
Speaker 3: Oscar and I think he is going to deliver big
Speaker 3: But until then, I think the Dodgers need a little
Speaker 3: bit more from those three guys. And things are going
Speaker 3: to change when Will Smith returns, which should be in September,
Speaker 3: probably the beginning of September. The Dodger offense will will
Speaker 3: definitely get a boost when he returns, but with or
Speaker 3: without Will Smith, they need those three guys behind the
Speaker 3: first four. And after the game last night, Dave Roberts
Speaker 3: said that he saw a good look in Mookie Betts
Speaker 3: before the game yesterday, and I asked Moki whether or
Speaker 3: not he knew what that meant and explained how he's
Speaker 3: feeling these days.
Speaker 5: I have no idea, Yeah, I have no idea. I
Speaker 5: try and have a good positive look every day. Some
Speaker 5: days are tougher than others. But maybe I got a
Speaker 5: good night's sleep and I had a little energy, and
Speaker 5: especially off a rough day yesterday, I really wanted to
Speaker 5: come and help the boys today.
Speaker 3: You guys have had a lot of miles on you
Speaker 3: the last couple of years. Finishing a stretch like this,
Speaker 3: thirteen in a row, having a day off like how
Speaker 3: much does that help you guys moving forward into the
Speaker 3: rest of audice.
Speaker 5: We mean, I don't know. I mean, you know, like
Speaker 5: you said, we've played a lot, A lot of guys
Speaker 5: are on the oder end of the baseball career, and so.
Speaker 2: It is what it is.
Speaker 5: I think we viewed more as wisdom. You know, we
Speaker 5: know how to make it, make it through the season
Speaker 5: and through these long stretches. We know how to make
Speaker 5: it and be okay and understand that sometimes you play
Speaker 5: good through them and sometimes you don't. But the most
Speaker 5: important thing is showing up and being ready, and we
Speaker 5: were able to do it, you know, in the finish
Speaker 5: out this thirteen game.
Speaker 3: Street all right, there's Mookie bets And I thought that
Speaker 3: was a really honest answer and lends itself to my
Speaker 3: theory that he and Taoscar Hernandez and even some of
Speaker 3: the other players understand how to get through the dog
Speaker 3: days of August and be ready on the other side
Speaker 3: for September into October, because that's when you want to
Speaker 3: be swinging the bat your best and playing your best.
Speaker 3: And I think Mooki definitely falls into that category. Eight
Speaker 3: six six, nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the
Speaker 3: phone number all right, we'll get to Dave Roberts in
Speaker 3: five minutes, but we do have basically a full board
Speaker 3: of calls, so I want to get to them before
Speaker 3: we break. Usually don't take calls in the first segment,
Speaker 3: but let's do it because we got Dave Roberts and
Speaker 3: Buster one coming up later in the show. Let's go
Speaker 3: out to Kenyon Country. Raoul, You're on Dodger Talk with
Speaker 3: David vasse Hi, Raoul, Raoul, let's try it again. Let's
Speaker 3: I'm gonna change this, Ronnie really quick. I thought I
Speaker 3: had it lined up, but one second, this is technical
Speaker 3: issues from a remote site. I usually do the shows,
Speaker 3: as you guys know, from Dodgers Stadium, and I have
Speaker 3: to definitely line it up. But can we punch up, Raoul,
Speaker 3: Ronnie if you have a chance. Hey, Raoul, you're on
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk.
Speaker 6: Hey, David. How you doing.
Speaker 3: I'm doing great?
Speaker 2: Hey.
Speaker 6: So I just want to spread the word. A bunch
Speaker 6: of us Dodger fans on social media are going to
Speaker 6: give Kyle Tucker a standing ovation on his first at bat,
Speaker 6: give him some maybe lift them up a little bit.
Speaker 6: A lot of negativity has gone his way. I just
Speaker 6: want to put it out there, everybody that's going to
Speaker 6: be at the stadium tomorrow during his first at bat,
Speaker 6: Please let's give him a standing No, let's give him
Speaker 6: some motivation. We're gonna need Kyle Tucker for the stretch run,
Speaker 6: and yeah, let's let's support our boys in blue. They're
Speaker 6: going to be struggled. There's I'm almost struggling.
Speaker 2: We get it.
Speaker 6: It's a long season, but I know I have a
Speaker 6: feeling that Kyle's gonna come up big for us in October.
Speaker 6: So we're excited.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that would be big, Raoul. You know, he's only
Speaker 3: hitting one ninety at Dodger Stadium. I think we all
Speaker 3: know by now what I brought up a couple of
Speaker 3: weeks ago, because it's become a trend where he has
Speaker 3: performed better on the road than at home. So I
Speaker 3: like the spirit of that, Raoul, and I like that
Speaker 3: it's kind of a grassroots thing and something positive on
Speaker 3: social media because there's a lot of negativity on social media.
Speaker 3: I can't be the one to do that, Raoul, because
Speaker 3: if you remember last year, I'm the one that sparked
Speaker 3: you and the fans to give Mookie Betts a standing
Speaker 3: ovation because he has a lot of credit in this
Speaker 3: city and he deserved that positive reinforcement. And the fans
Speaker 3: obviously listen to Dodger Talk, so that that worked out
Speaker 3: pretty well after I started that. So I like the fans.
Speaker 3: If that's what you guys want to do, I'm not
Speaker 3: going to say not do it. But I can't be
Speaker 3: here every year saying give certain players a standing ovation.
Speaker 6: Well, we're gonna do it, you know. I invite everybody
Speaker 6: to do it as well. Let's go Dodgers. It's a
Speaker 6: stretch run. I'll be there with my boy Abraham.
Speaker 7: We're going to be.
Speaker 6: Cheering and let's go Dodgers.
Speaker 2: Dave.
Speaker 6: By the way, the podcast works beautifully on the iHeart
Speaker 6: from the iHeartRadio app. I listen to it every morning
Speaker 6: driving into work. I can't listen every night, but it it.
Speaker 3: It's it's great, awesome, Raoul, Thank you, and have a
Speaker 3: great time at the game tomorrow. Eight sixty six nine
Speaker 3: eight seven two five seventy is the phone number. Yeah,
Speaker 3: if I know you listen. Obviously I was the one
Speaker 3: that started the underswell of support for Mookie Betts last
Speaker 3: year to give him a standing ovation. He obviously didn't
Speaker 3: know that it was me. Because I never got to
Speaker 3: thank you. But anyway, I'm happy the fans are doing
Speaker 3: that for Kyle Tucker because I had stually like Kyle
Speaker 3: Tucker personally. I've gotten to know him as much as
Speaker 3: possible this year, but I am a I am a
Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker fan as a person, and I obviously know
Speaker 3: how much better he can be at Dodger Stadium. So
Speaker 3: I think I think that would be a cool moment
Speaker 3: if Dodger fans gave him a standing ovation tomorrow. Eight
Speaker 3: six six, nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the
Speaker 3: phone number. Let's go out to Santa Barbara. Valerie. You're
Speaker 3: on Dodger Talk. How are you doing, Valerie.
Speaker 8: Great?
Speaker 9: How are you?
Speaker 8: Ah?
Speaker 3: I will I got to bet at four am, woke
Speaker 3: up at noon. I'm doing good, Valerie.
Speaker 6: I'm doing great, And I just wanted to say I
Speaker 6: do believe in it's Tucker.
Speaker 2: I think he I'll do a little plum, but I
Speaker 2: think all the players aren't.
Speaker 1: I vacuum.
Speaker 6: I think he's got a pull through and.
Speaker 1: I think he's getting a lot of people out out
Speaker 1: of the clock for that right now.
Speaker 3: But Brady, say good, all right, Valerie, thank you for
Speaker 3: the phone call eight sixty six nine eighty seven two
Speaker 3: five seventy. Always positive vibes in Santa Barbara, I would
Speaker 3: expect nothing less. We're gonna take a time out here
Speaker 3: on Dodger Talk. When we continue, we will hear from
Speaker 3: manager Dave Roberts as part of our Managers Meeting presented
Speaker 3: by Downey Hunday and right now, Caller twelve, you'll receive
Speaker 3: a pair of tickets for Sunday's game, one of my
Speaker 3: three pairs of tickets to give away tonight. Caller twelve
Speaker 3: at eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy
Speaker 3: will receive a pair of tickets for Sunday's game courtesy
Speaker 3: of your only place for the latest and most exclusive
Speaker 3: Dodger news, as well as the only place you can
Speaker 3: listen to the back to back world champion Dodgers right
Speaker 3: here on five seventy LA Sports and five seventy LA
Speaker 3: Sports and the Managers Meeting taking place today, presented by
Speaker 3: Downy Hunday with the one and only Dave Roberts. Dave,
Speaker 3: thanks a lot for the time, appreciate.
Speaker 2: It, Dave. Good to sit with you and chat, you know,
Speaker 2: coming off a couple of wins here in Denver, so
Speaker 2: in a good place right now. Offense is kind of rebounded,
Speaker 2: pitching has been good, so you know, want to close
Speaker 2: these guys out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, just to get the pulse of you and the team.
Speaker 3: After a couple of games here in Denver, what are
Speaker 3: the vibes? Are you convinced things are going in the
Speaker 3: right direction?
Speaker 2: I am, you know, I'm not totally still appreciating results matter,
Speaker 2: just kind of how we've gone about things the last
Speaker 2: couple of days. You know, I think the team at
Speaker 2: bats and what I mean by that is, you know,
Speaker 2: swinging a strikes, taking balls, our swing percentage is lower,
Speaker 2: our chase rate is lower, and then the production's gone up,
Speaker 2: and I can see that from everyone in the lineup.
Speaker 2: So that's something to bet on going forward. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I think that we stacked a couple of days together
Speaker 2: and just kind of the vibe right now. Guys are
Speaker 2: feeling good. They're looking forward to that off day coming
Speaker 2: up tomorrow, and then we've got another one on Monday,
Speaker 2: So you know, guys are in a good spot.
Speaker 3: Dave, You've taught us a lot over the years, but
Speaker 3: the one thing that stands out to me is how
Speaker 3: you've talked about earning good counts, which in turn has
Speaker 3: good results. Where does that come from individually and collectively?
Speaker 2: Well, I think first it is collectively in the sense
Speaker 2: of really understanding that that philosophy and buying into it,
Speaker 2: and then individually just understanding that, yeah, you get four
Speaker 2: balls for a walk, three balls for a strikeout, but
Speaker 2: they're all valuable, right, and so that dictates what a
Speaker 2: pitcher is going to do, what he can do, what
Speaker 2: he can't do. And so you know, you take that
Speaker 2: first pitch slider off, you're one to know you've earned
Speaker 2: a better opportunity, whether that they want to be too
Speaker 2: fine again and nibble, then you could be too to zero.
Speaker 2: And so those are things that I think that you
Speaker 2: continue to earn good counts and then you look at
Speaker 2: the body of work. Then you look at you're in
Speaker 2: good counts, and then you have more production.
Speaker 3: Since you took over. I remember being next to your
Speaker 3: dugout and those group of players and yourself would always
Speaker 3: be screaming at the hitter at the plate, keep going,
Speaker 3: keep going. Do you feel like that's the identity you
Speaker 3: have to rediscover?
Speaker 2: I do, you know, and we have it as part
Speaker 2: of our DNA, But I think sometimes in a one
Speaker 2: sixty two marathon, you know, it's a grind, and every
Speaker 2: hitter will say that. Then it gets kind of lost
Speaker 2: a little bit, and you got to kind of bring
Speaker 2: that to the forefront. And yeah, you could be O
Speaker 2: two and you know, you win a pitch right there,
Speaker 2: you get back to one two, and you just keep
Speaker 2: going and you you, you know, in max months he
Speaker 2: did it a couple of nights ago where he was
Speaker 2: O two and one, a couple pitches, got back to
Speaker 2: two to two, spoiled a two to two inside heater,
Speaker 2: and then got to three. Then the next pitch was
Speaker 2: a homer. You know, So those are things that you
Speaker 2: keep fighting, you keep going, and not just just wave
Speaker 2: the white flag.
Speaker 3: Dave your Best Player show. Hey Otani told me last night, Yes,
Speaker 3: it was nice to hit his thirtieth home run of
Speaker 3: the year, but he was lamenting the fact that his
Speaker 3: other ad bats he wasn't able to drive in runs
Speaker 3: in those situations. Is that a good feeling, a good
Speaker 3: tone setter from the best player?
Speaker 2: It is?
Speaker 8: It is.
Speaker 2: And I think that everyone praises the homer and the
Speaker 2: things that you can kind of see, but you know,
Speaker 2: not getting a guy in from third base, not getting
Speaker 2: a guy over second base. Those are things when you
Speaker 2: have great players that lament as you said, you know,
Speaker 2: value those things, and you know that's when you have
Speaker 2: a championship culture and you know, to hear Show Hey
Speaker 2: say that, that kind of that gives me goosebumps.
Speaker 3: I love it. Dave Roberts with goosebumps here. I got
Speaker 3: another question for Otani in last night. I asked him
Speaker 3: whether or not he's paying attention to what PCA is
Speaker 3: doing in Chicago. He would not concede that he is,
Speaker 3: But how much do you believe the MVP and the
Speaker 3: way PCA is pushing him this year is a factor
Speaker 3: going down the stretch.
Speaker 2: You know, Show he's always going to want to be
Speaker 2: his best version right and realize whatever expectation he has
Speaker 2: for himself. But obviously I think he's a very smart
Speaker 2: in tune player that it's hard not to ignore that.
Speaker 2: And you know, you only get so many chances to
Speaker 2: be an MVP, and obviously he's done it, you know,
Speaker 2: many times over. But you know, you got another guy
Speaker 2: making some noise, so I'm certain he's aware of it,
Speaker 2: but it certainly doesn't play into his every at that
Speaker 2: kind of mindset. But I'm glad. It's funny that he
Speaker 2: played Little koy.
Speaker 3: What about the pitching side of it? Everybody keeps debating
Speaker 3: PA's defense and Otani's fourteen starts this year. Where are
Speaker 3: we with the possibility of Otani returning.
Speaker 2: Well, he's had two good bullpen sessions right around thirty
Speaker 2: five pitches, and he's either gonna, you know, throw another
Speaker 2: bullpen here at home over the weekend, or do a
Speaker 2: live session at some point soon, a one inning session
Speaker 2: to build off of that. But I could see early
Speaker 2: September him, you know, coming back and you know, building
Speaker 2: up from an inning to two innings and going forward.
Speaker 3: Are you comfortable with all that, doing what you did
Speaker 3: last year with the rehab starts being at the major
Speaker 3: league level.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we all are. We're all aligned from
Speaker 2: show Hey to the front office, to the training staff,
Speaker 2: coaching staff, and he's one of our best pitchers, so
Speaker 2: any inning we can get from him is certainly valuable
Speaker 2: and additive. So yeah, we're we're good with it.
Speaker 3: The manager's meeting is presented by Downey Hunday. We're in
Speaker 3: the manager's office with the great Dave Roberts. You obviously
Speaker 3: had to put Edwin Diaz back on the IL. Whatever's
Speaker 3: happening with the neck and him getting back on track,
Speaker 3: does he have enough time to show whether or not
Speaker 3: he can be a weapon for you in the postseason
Speaker 3: or is he running out of time?
Speaker 2: He certainly has enough time. What we came back, what
Speaker 2: came back from the doctors with the MRI, nothing, There
Speaker 2: was no founding, So that was good. And so now
Speaker 2: it's just kind of, you know, get back to feeling good,
Speaker 2: feeling good like yourself. There's some things that we can
Speaker 2: do to loosen up the neck, but for me, it's
Speaker 2: he's one of our best pitch He will be, you know,
Speaker 2: We'll give him every opportunity, obviously to be on the
Speaker 2: postseason roster. And I don't know what role he'll have
Speaker 2: when he comes back, and I know he wants to
Speaker 2: earn that opportunity, that right to be at the back end.
Speaker 2: But yeah, get him back to health, get him back
Speaker 2: on the roster, and then we'll see where we go
Speaker 2: from there.
Speaker 3: You guys are still trying to win games, still trying
Speaker 3: to position yourselves in the top two seeds. Does the
Speaker 3: best thirteen pitchers start to enter your mind? Or are
Speaker 3: we a little bit too early for that.
Speaker 2: I think right now it's a little premature, but I
Speaker 2: think that when we get into the middle of September
Speaker 2: then it starts to we kind of hone in on
Speaker 2: that a little bit more.
Speaker 3: I know you talked about this a couple of times
Speaker 3: as well, but I'd be remiss if I didn't ask
Speaker 3: you about the conversations you've had with Kyle Tucker, how
Speaker 3: you're trying to manage him. And I guess the biggest
Speaker 3: thing that everybody's asking, does he have somebody to lean on?
Speaker 3: Or are you that guy?
Speaker 2: You know what, I hope on that guy. I think
Speaker 2: that I'm proactively intentionally building a relationship with him, and
Speaker 2: you know, he's a hard guy to get to know
Speaker 2: and build trust with, and but you know, I think
Speaker 2: that we've made a lot of end roads and I
Speaker 2: feel really good with our relationship and just kind of
Speaker 2: making sure he's not alone in this and he's got
Speaker 2: teammates and staff that are supporting him. But I definitely
Speaker 2: want to be a person that, you know, for counsel
Speaker 2: and support. That's part of my job. So I thought
Speaker 2: last night was a good sign. I thought, defensively he
Speaker 2: was much more active defensively. I thought they had that
Speaker 2: that he had the double was great and the intent,
Speaker 2: so let's just keep stacking it and kind of make
Speaker 2: sure that he restores his confidence.
Speaker 3: Fair enough, you got to win the day, and Dave
Speaker 3: Roberts is going to win today, tomorrow, and on Saturday.
Speaker 3: Dave Roberts is going to be at one of my
Speaker 3: favorite places, Cardboard Legends, starting at ten thirty out there
Speaker 3: in Van Eyes, and Dave's going to be out there
Speaker 3: kissing baby, be sunning autographs, having a great time in
Speaker 3: my neck of the woods. Have you ever been to
Speaker 3: Van Eyes, Dave? Do you know what Van Eyes is
Speaker 3: all about?
Speaker 2: I have been into the valley. I do love Van Eyes,
Speaker 2: and I don't do these things very often, but this
Speaker 2: is gonna be funny. It's a chance for me to
Speaker 2: get with the fans, be personal, shake hands, as you said,
Speaker 2: kiss babies, and take photos and do some signing. So
Speaker 2: this is fun. You know. I'll be out there for
Speaker 2: a couple hours and then get ready to manage a
Speaker 2: ball game. But I really enjoyed Thanks for bringing that up.
Speaker 3: Hey, I got goosebumps. You're gonna be in the Great one.
Speaker 2: Eight that's right, that's right. Absolutely, I love that. I
Speaker 2: love your hood, Dave.
Speaker 3: Thanks a lot for the time, Dave. Enjoy your day off.
Speaker 3: And obviously the Dodgers are doing pretty well these days
Speaker 3: with seventy six wins in counting. Thanks a lot for
Speaker 3: the time.
Speaker 2: All right, Dave, we'll catch up next week. Can't wait.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm sure Dave Roberts can't wait either. That was
Speaker 3: the Manager's Meeting presented by Downy Hundai, the only place
Speaker 3: an exclusive on one interview with the three time World
Speaker 3: Series winning manager Dave Roberts, and he gave us some
Speaker 3: insight on Otani. He's going to be back pitching in
Speaker 3: rehab major league games like he did last year in
Speaker 3: the beginning of September. And he did say Edwin Diaz
Speaker 3: has time to come back to prove whether or not
Speaker 3: he can be on the Dodgers pitching staff in the postseason. So, uh,
Speaker 3: those were the two things that really stuck out to me.
Speaker 3: And he hopes he can be the guy that Kyle
Speaker 3: Tucker can lean on. Eight six six nine eight seven
Speaker 3: two five seventy is the phone number, Ronnie, tell me
Speaker 3: the name again? Who won the pair of tickets the
Speaker 3: first pair of tickets I'm giving away, Sam yem Sam, congratulations.
Speaker 3: Where is he from Van Eyes? He's from the eight
Speaker 3: one to eight? Yes, all right. I love that. I
Speaker 3: love when somebody from the valley wins. Let's go out
Speaker 3: to Fullerton. Marlon, you're on Dodger Talk. How you doing Marlin?
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're doing great.
Speaker 3: Dave doing great.
Speaker 7: I just wanted to say, you know, there's time for Diaz,
Speaker 7: you know, straighten him out. I like the move, you know,
Speaker 7: putting him on the d L. He's just flying open.
Speaker 7: So mechanics has a big thing to do with his problems.
Speaker 7: But he's got plenty of time. But Tanner's God has
Speaker 7: really emerged. Okay, that's gonna be a great one two
Speaker 7: punch down the road, so that's always nice to have.
Speaker 7: And then one match thing David real quick. We don't
Speaker 7: really seem to have a bag stealer, a base stealer.
Speaker 7: So I haven't heard much about Hasan Kim. What's he
Speaker 7: doing down there? Is he playing good ball? Does he
Speaker 7: have a chance to make the postseason roster because we're
Speaker 7: gonna need a dude to steal a bag and right
Speaker 7: now I don't see that guy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't see him being that guy on the
Speaker 3: postseason roster unless the Dodgers decide to use him as
Speaker 3: a pinch runner. But the one part about it, Marlin, was, yes,
Speaker 3: he has a lot of speed, but he wasn't really
Speaker 3: a great base runner. And I think that's where he
Speaker 3: needs to improve. And I feel like Dalton Rushing is
Speaker 3: going to be the last guy on the bench because
Speaker 3: they need a left handed bat as a threat if
Speaker 3: they're facing a predominant right handed bullpen right handed staff
Speaker 3: in the postseason. He can swing, but he can't catch.
Speaker 3: So hey, Marlin, since you seem to be a very
Speaker 3: educated Dodger fan with a great spirit, would you like
Speaker 3: a pair of tickets for snell Zilla Sunday?
Speaker 7: Yeah, you can't boom, you got it? That would be
Speaker 7: that would be all right awesome.
Speaker 3: Thank you, hey, thank you for the only place you
Speaker 3: can listen to Dodger Baseball.
Speaker 7: Marlin five, seventy two time world champion Dodger Station. Baby,
Speaker 7: you know it.
Speaker 3: We'll see you on Sunday for snell Zilla Bump Day.
Speaker 3: Let's go out to Long Beach. John You're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 9: How you doing, Hey, Dave good Man, Johnny, I got
Speaker 9: my daughter.
Speaker 10: Here with me, Madison say, hey, no, we're looking for no.
Speaker 7: I just want to say, what do you want to.
Speaker 2: Welcome?
Speaker 10: No?
Speaker 7: No, no, uh no, one of my one of my
Speaker 7: guys from work.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 10: I want to say, you know, the Dodgers are looking
Speaker 10: a little tired, kind of like the two thousand and eight,
Speaker 10: two thousand Lakers, two thousand and nine Lakers. I know,
Speaker 10: we don't want to get that bad as you, Drew,
Speaker 10: but I think you know the U two thousand and
Speaker 10: one Dodgers when they brought in Horace Grant. You know,
Speaker 10: I think Kyle Tucker could kind of be that.
Speaker 9: It's not really good comparison. But hey, we'll see and.
Speaker 10: Real quick, just want to see what are your thoughts
Speaker 10: on show? Hey closing and Rookie closing.
Speaker 5: Those are my two questions.
Speaker 3: All right, John, thank you for the phone call. Be
Speaker 3: safe with your daughter Madison in the car. I feel
Speaker 3: like I wouldn't rule out the possibility, especially if Edwin
Speaker 3: Diaz is not closing out games, and considering the three
Speaker 3: championships the Dodgers have won with Andrew Freeman and Dave Roberts,
Speaker 3: no quote closer has recorded the last out. Julio Orias,
Speaker 3: and it was Walker Buehler of course in twenty four
Speaker 3: and last year the World Series MVP Yama Moto, So
Speaker 3: I wouldn't put it past Otani being that guy if
Speaker 3: the Dodgers need him. But Roki certainly is at the
Speaker 3: top of my list to be the Dodgers closer again
Speaker 3: in the postseason. Eight six six nine, eight seven two
Speaker 3: five seventy is the phone number. We're gonna take a
Speaker 3: time out when we come back. More of your phone
Speaker 3: calls and also Buster only from ESPN will join us
Speaker 3: as well as we take you to the top of
Speaker 3: the hour. Dodgers and Pirates start a three game series,
Speaker 3: a short homestand starting tomorrow night with Yama Moto on
Speaker 3: the mound, first pitch at seven ten right here on
Speaker 3: five seventy. LA Sports the Manager's Meeting every week. The
Speaker 3: next time we do it will be when the Dodgers
Speaker 3: are in Atlanta. Yeah, can you believe the Dodgers are
Speaker 3: only back for three games this weekend against the Pirates.
Speaker 3: But you better show up and show out because the
Speaker 3: Dodgers have Yama Moto on the mound tomorrow night. They
Speaker 3: got Scooball on the mound on Saturday. That game is
Speaker 3: at four point fifteen. And on Sunday, the one and
Speaker 3: only snel Zilla will be on the mound to close
Speaker 3: out this very short and brief three game Homestand and
Speaker 3: then the Dodgers have Monday as a travel day and
Speaker 3: we'll head back to the East Coast against the Atlanta Braves,
Speaker 3: a team that they're trying to beat out for one
Speaker 3: of the top two seeds in the National League. Right now,
Speaker 3: the Dodgers have a two game lead in the lost
Speaker 3: column over the Braves. The Brewers have the best record
Speaker 3: in baseball, of course, but are definitely within reach in
Speaker 3: the final month of the season. And then the Dodgers
Speaker 3: from Atlanta will head to Motown and take on the
Speaker 3: Tigers to close out a six game road trip. Our
Speaker 3: good friend Kenley Jansen bleue a save yesterday in Pittsburgh,
Speaker 3: but he is closing in on five hundred career saves.
Speaker 3: Kenley has four hundred and ninety two. Will he get
Speaker 3: one of those on the way to five hundred against
Speaker 3: his former team. Kenley, by the way, as you know,
Speaker 3: the man that has the most saves and Dodger franchise
Speaker 3: history three hundred and fifty. He is well on his
Speaker 3: way to Cooperstown. A man that has seen many great closers,
Speaker 3: a lot of great players, has a Hall of Fame vote,
Speaker 3: and is one of the most respected voices in Major
Speaker 3: League Baseball. Has a great podcast, Baseball Tonight, every day
Speaker 3: on the iHeartRadio app you can find it as well.
Speaker 3: And a guy that knows all about covering a team
Speaker 3: going for a three peat. He covered the last team
Speaker 3: to three peat, the Yankees from ninety eight to two thousand.
Speaker 3: This close to a four pet Buster only wrote a
Speaker 3: book about it, The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty.
Speaker 3: And Buster joins us right now from Lake George, not Vermont,
Speaker 3: but Lake George. Buster, thanks a lot for the time,
Speaker 3: appreciate it.
Speaker 8: Jab say how are you doing? Working hard as always
Speaker 8: you are. You are a workhorse.
Speaker 3: Thank you, and I really appreciate you taking the time
Speaker 3: out from your vacation on Lake George. And look, it's
Speaker 3: Dodgers twenty four to seven in LA. Nothing else matters,
Speaker 3: and just curious from your standpoint, you know where this
Speaker 3: team is at compared to the team that you covered.
Speaker 3: The last team to three peat, the Yankees, who only
Speaker 3: won eighty seven games in the regular season, of two thousand.
Speaker 8: That's exactly right, and then that's you know there there
Speaker 8: have been a number of instances in recent years where
Speaker 8: you know, you see what the Dodgers are going through
Speaker 8: in the defense of their titles, and it does totally
Speaker 8: remind me.
Speaker 9: Of those teams, because you know, when when that.
Speaker 8: Team is spoken of, it's like, yeah, they you know,
Speaker 8: they they won four championships in five years, they won
Speaker 8: three straight.
Speaker 9: And it sounds as if, you know, it was just
Speaker 9: it was something that was just meant to be and.
Speaker 8: It was no problem. There were times when that team
Speaker 8: was incredibly vulnerable, when they were in real trouble, and
Speaker 8: they would find a way to prevail. And you know,
Speaker 8: by the time you got to their you know, third
Speaker 8: and four championships in ninety nine and two thousand, the
Speaker 8: experience that they had from previous postseasons became a real
Speaker 8: weapon once October started. So, you know, knowing that journey
Speaker 8: that they had and seeing what the Dodgers are going through,
Speaker 8: I'm like, uh huh, I've seen that before. For example,
Speaker 8: last weekend, when Dave Roberts lamented the offense, talked about
Speaker 8: the need to play clean games. Look, I heard Joe
Speaker 8: Tory make those speeches in two thousand and two thousand
Speaker 8: and you know, nineteen nine, nine, ninety nine, and two
Speaker 8: thousand and one where he felt like that the team.
Speaker 9: Either lost its focus, or maybe they were a little.
Speaker 8: Board at times, or maybe the you know, the regular
Speaker 8: season was just too long. And then he would say
Speaker 8: things like that, and the subtext was enough is enough,
Speaker 8: let's go we check up. So I wasn't surprised that
Speaker 8: Dave said that, and I wasn't surprised that the Dodgers responded.
Speaker 3: Did those Yankees treat the regular season as a formality?
Speaker 3: And do you believe the Dodgers are treating this like
Speaker 3: a formality.
Speaker 8: So I it's interesting because I look in ninety nine
Speaker 8: and two thousand, the regular season got harder for those
Speaker 8: Yankee teams because they played in really important games, and
Speaker 8: so it was a slog for them when you got,
Speaker 8: you know, in mid August and they would get swept by.
Speaker 9: A you know, a bad team.
Speaker 8: For sure.
Speaker 9: It's interesting because I thought last.
Speaker 8: Year was more of a slog for the Dodgers. It
Speaker 8: felt at times like they got bored.
Speaker 2: This year.
Speaker 8: I don't think that's as much of an issue as
Speaker 8: they have real concerns. You know, Will Smith to me
Speaker 8: is the number one, you know, not having him a
Speaker 8: catcher on a regular basis. I think he's one of
Speaker 8: the most underrated players in baseball, and his absence I
Speaker 8: think hurts, you know, Kyle Tucker, the amount of money
Speaker 8: they invested in him. They need some retur that certainly
Speaker 8: has not gone well. Mookie Bett's slow offensively, you know,
Speaker 8: in addition to the fact that they've had, you know,
Speaker 8: guys like Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnew get hurt. I
Speaker 8: don't know if you agree with me, but I felt
Speaker 8: like last year at times they got bored. I feel
Speaker 8: that less this year, and I think it's more about, Yeah,
Speaker 8: they actually have some problems they have to sort through.
Speaker 8: And again, you know the Yankee teams I covered, they
Speaker 8: went through similar patterns.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree with you, Buster. It did feel that
Speaker 3: way last year and this year they're just trying to
Speaker 3: find a way to get certain key players back on track.
Speaker 3: And as much as Kyle Tucker and the Dodgers insisted
Speaker 3: that he would be able to go under the radar, here,
Speaker 3: when it's August and we see the season that he's
Speaker 3: had and you have that price tag next to you.
Speaker 3: It's hard to go under the radar. Buster, you've covered
Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker going back to his rookie days with the Astros.
Speaker 3: What do you believe? Do you believe he felt the
Speaker 3: pressure of having that ice tag next to his name.
Speaker 8: I don't know how you can't feel that pressure. And
Speaker 8: it was so interesting last weekend when he got booeds,
Speaker 8: you know, misplaying the fly ball on right field, because
Speaker 8: you know, for the Yankee players, if you were a
Speaker 8: star coming in from the outside and you struggled, I mean,
Speaker 8: you were gonna hear it on the first day of
Speaker 8: the regular season in Dodger Stadium. It's just different. And
Speaker 8: so to hear those booze for him, Bradwin Diaz, these
Speaker 8: are guys who are stars elsewhere coming in and you know,
Speaker 8: expected to be important pieces for their effort to go
Speaker 8: back to back to back, and it just hasn't worked out.
Speaker 8: I was actually a little.
Speaker 9: Surprised that.
Speaker 8: The Dodgers invested that kind of money in him, because
Speaker 8: he really struggled the last three and a half months
Speaker 8: last year. So it certainly was injury. But there were
Speaker 8: other teams that I spoke with who said, look, the
Speaker 8: Cubs knew him better than anybody. They made zero effort
Speaker 8: to sign him, and so there were clearly signs of,
Speaker 8: you know, the questions about his performance coming to this year.
Speaker 8: But the you know, the Mets and then the Dodgers,
Speaker 8: they were all in and they believe that this guy's
Speaker 8: really talented player, and it's very possible that he's going
Speaker 8: to come back. But man, that is a hard thing
Speaker 8: to do to resurrect yourself late in the season, in
Speaker 8: in October, especially now, because you're right when when he
Speaker 8: initially signed with the Dodgers, we thought he could slide
Speaker 8: under the radar. There's a lot of focus on him
Speaker 8: now because of what they're paying him and how poorly
Speaker 8: this season has gone for him.
Speaker 3: Buster Only as our guest from ESPN. He's got a
Speaker 3: great podcast, Baseball Tonight, to keep up with everything around
Speaker 3: Major League Baseball. You've also covered Mookie Beds since he
Speaker 3: was a rookie with the Red Sox. He's got six
Speaker 3: more years on his contract. He has a lot more
Speaker 3: credit in the city of Los Angeles winning three World
Speaker 3: Series championships, but it's been a struggle and a grind
Speaker 3: for him again this year. He's hitting for the majority
Speaker 3: of the year, about two thirty is on base has
Speaker 3: been below three hundred. What do you what do you
Speaker 3: see for Muki the rest of the season. And I guess,
Speaker 3: I guess My point is, Buster is that Tucker's not
Speaker 3: the only guy that's been struggling. The Dodgers need they
Speaker 3: name Muki, they need Tale, and they need Tucker to
Speaker 3: start to come alive.
Speaker 8: Yeah, And I think that my instinct is is that
Speaker 8: Moki and Tao, once.
Speaker 9: You get into more meaningful games, it.
Speaker 8: Feels inevitable that they will raise their game as well. Now, look,
Speaker 8: Father Time is undefeated, Moki's getting older, uh you know,
Speaker 8: Tao's getting older, and we'll see if that actually happens.
Speaker 8: But that's where the experience can be a weapon. That's
Speaker 8: where once you get, you know, into postseason games, you know,
Speaker 8: these are two players who played in the in the
Speaker 8: biggest games, and their heart rate will be under control,
Speaker 8: and I think they'll respond. You know, the fact that
Speaker 8: he's shortstop, you know it has has been again, it's
Speaker 8: been good as it was last year, So that gives
Speaker 8: you hope. It's not just a physical issue that he's
Speaker 8: in regression, but certainly some of the underlying metrics on
Speaker 8: MOOKI have not been as good. I just I just
Speaker 8: think that, you know, there's some players when push comes
Speaker 8: to shove.
Speaker 9: In big moments, they're going to respond.
Speaker 8: I think he's one of them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Tao has done that as well. Buster only is
Speaker 3: our guest from ESPN before I let you go, Buster,
Speaker 3: and again appreciate you taking time out of your vacation
Speaker 3: on Lake George. The MVP race it's a real thing now.
Speaker 3: It's a subplot to the season. Pete crow Armstrong and
Speaker 3: show Hey Otani, where do you land? Right now? As
Speaker 3: far as who's the front runner, I.
Speaker 8: Think Pa separated himself to some degree. You know, at
Speaker 8: the beginning of the year, it seemed almost unthinkable that
Speaker 8: somebody would beat sho Hey for the award. But once
Speaker 8: he stopped pitching, you know, and was shut down because
Speaker 8: the injury, I think that opened the door. And Pete
Speaker 8: krar Strong is just taken off as an offensive player.
Speaker 8: You know. Early in the year he told me that
Speaker 8: Alex Bregman, his teammate, said to him because he was
Speaker 8: notoriously aggressive at the plate, And what Bregman said to
Speaker 8: him was, look, do me a favor. First pitch of
Speaker 8: each plate appearance, just looked for one pitch in one spot,
Speaker 8: and you know that's typically fastball in the inter half.
Speaker 8: If you don't get it.
Speaker 6: Just take it.
Speaker 8: And he started doing that, and incredibly now he has
Speaker 8: more walks this year than his first two seasons combined.
Speaker 8: He's doing a ton more damage, you know, especially in
Speaker 8: Wrigley Field where left handed hitters typically struggle. And we
Speaker 8: talk rightly so about the impact of show hey as
Speaker 8: a two way player, well PCA, because he's so good defensively,
Speaker 8: and his manager of Great Council makes the case that
Speaker 8: he's the best defensive player in baseball. He's a two
Speaker 8: way player in his own right. And I think he
Speaker 8: you know, he's been on such a heater offensively that
Speaker 8: I think now he's number one show Hey er two,
Speaker 8: Matt Olson number three for National League MVP.
Speaker 3: Okay, I'll ask you this, are we getting bored of
Speaker 3: having show Aotani win the MVP? If everything's equal here,
Speaker 3: I think that.
Speaker 8: Without a doubt. For some voters will come into it.
Speaker 8: Who is the player who beat out Michael Jordan, like
Speaker 8: out of.
Speaker 3: The blue, one year old spark.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's somebody like stepped in and it did feel
Speaker 8: like that at times, but I actually think Pete incredible player.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 8: I just saw the Cups the other day and talked
Speaker 8: to their coaches about the way they can position their
Speaker 8: outfields because he's so good defensively and he covers so
Speaker 8: much ground. But I think your point is well taken.
Speaker 8: There might be some of that too with the voters.
Speaker 3: All right, Buster, thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3: You know how much I respect your baseball acumen and
Speaker 3: just how you see the landscape from a wider lens.
Speaker 3: So thank you for the time and can't wait to
Speaker 3: see you back at Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 8: Well, likewise, David always fun talking with you.
Speaker 10: There.
Speaker 3: He goes a proud man from Vermont, vacationing in Lake George.
Speaker 3: The one and only Buster only see I didn't take
Speaker 3: any shots at Vermont. He's always so concerned when he
Speaker 3: comes on that I'm gonna take a shot at Vermont.
Speaker 3: But I'm serious. I just remember exactly where I was
Speaker 3: standing at Yankee Stadium. We both had a great view
Speaker 3: of Walker Bueller coming out of the bullpen to get
Speaker 3: the final three outs at Yankee Stadium, and that's something
Speaker 3: I'll never forget. We're usually standing right next to each
Speaker 3: other at the end of the postseason. So certainly a
Speaker 3: great memory for me because look, I grew up on
Speaker 3: Buster only, and now you know we're in the same
Speaker 3: we're in the trenches together in the postseason. That'll do
Speaker 3: it for us on Dodger Talk tonight. We'll be back
Speaker 3: with you tomorrow after the game Dodgers and Pirates. Yamamoto
Speaker 3: on the mound. Our coverage begins at six o'clock, first pitch.
Speaker 3: At seven ten, we'll have more pairs of tickets to
Speaker 3: give away to Sunday's game on postgame Dodger Talk tomorrow night.
Speaker 3: So thank you to Ronnie Fossio for all his help.
Speaker 3: Thank you to Dave Roberts, thank you to bustro Oni,
Speaker 3: and thanks to you for listening. In case you missed
Speaker 3: any of the show, you know where to find it
Speaker 3: the iHeartRadio app. Fox Sports Radio is next. You never know,
Speaker 3: Jonas Knox might be hosting the next show as well.
Speaker 3: We'll send it back to them. See ya.