WEBVTT - Andrew Friedman (4-25-26) 

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<v Speaker 1>And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talking.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a beautiful saturday here in Los Angeles, and we

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<v Speaker 1>join right now by the man that is the architect

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<v Speaker 1>of the unprecetented success the Dodgers have had, including back

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<v Speaker 1>to back championships. A man that is not as emotional

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<v Speaker 1>as people on Ventura Boulevard. That's the one and only

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew Friedman. Thanks a lot for the.

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<v Speaker 2>Time, Absolutely thanks for having me on.

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<v Speaker 1>It feels like this is just one of those moments

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<v Speaker 1>in time during the season where you're dealing with some injuries,

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<v Speaker 1>some guys are sick, but it feels like the cavalry

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<v Speaker 1>is on its way.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, we go through this every year, especially

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<v Speaker 2>in April. I think every single year I've been here,

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<v Speaker 2>we've had have meetings about our relievers, with our catchers,

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<v Speaker 2>just with our relievers about what their strengths are. It's

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<v Speaker 2>like groundhog Day. And so there's periods where we're playing

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<v Speaker 2>well and it feels like we're never going to lose again,

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<v Speaker 2>and there's periods where we're not playing as well and

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<v Speaker 2>you're waiting for something bad to happen. It is the

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<v Speaker 2>cycle of a major League season. That being said, when

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<v Speaker 2>you're in one of the downturns of it, it's frustrating.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not fun to go through.

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<v Speaker 1>I haven't talked to you since the news of Edwin

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<v Speaker 1>Diaz going down with chips in his right elbow surgery.

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<v Speaker 1>How does that affect the bullpen and how much do

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<v Speaker 1>you need Rock Stewart and Bruce Stark Graderol to come back.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't forget Evan Phillips.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a while away, Andrew.

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<v Speaker 2>That's sure, that's true. You know, with that one, obviously

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<v Speaker 2>it's a big loss. But you know, it was something

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<v Speaker 2>he had been feeling in his last couple of outings

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<v Speaker 2>and velocity was down just where the chip was was

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<v Speaker 2>pushing right on the tricep muscle and so something that

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<v Speaker 2>just wasn't allowing him the same freedom to get to

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<v Speaker 2>his velocity and just a lot of discomfort. So fortunately

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<v Speaker 2>it didn't involve anything with the ligament. It wasn't near

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<v Speaker 2>the ligament, and doctor Elatrosh felt really confident, let's go

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<v Speaker 2>and get it out. It will alleviate those symptoms and

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<v Speaker 2>he'll come back and be in a good spot. So

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<v Speaker 2>it's good in terms of you know, the prognosis of

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<v Speaker 2>him coming back and helping us in the second half

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<v Speaker 2>of the season and hopefully through a long October, but

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<v Speaker 2>frustrating for the now and us navigating the next you know,

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<v Speaker 2>two two and a half months, and you know it'll

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<v Speaker 2>be opportunity for some guys. And you know, we've seen

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<v Speaker 2>over the years when that opportunity has been created, it's

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<v Speaker 2>given guys some runway to go and create a real

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<v Speaker 2>role form. We saw it with Robo last year. We've

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<v Speaker 2>seen it with Evan Phillips in the past. We've seen

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<v Speaker 2>it with a number of guys. So you know, we'll

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<v Speaker 2>have this opportunity for some guys to emerge.

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<v Speaker 1>Her starting rotation has been phenomenal, Emma Sheen coming off

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<v Speaker 1>as best start of the season. Tyler Glass now eight innings,

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<v Speaker 1>allowed just one hit in San Francisco. I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>ask you about Glass now because you've known him obviously

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<v Speaker 1>for a long time. Why is he so different this year?

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<v Speaker 1>What's different about him to allow him to go to

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<v Speaker 1>this next level.

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<v Speaker 2>There's just there's even more confidence, you know, I think

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<v Speaker 2>just going through some of the injury stuff he had

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<v Speaker 2>gone through earlier in his career and then with us

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<v Speaker 2>in that first year, you know, I think it eats

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<v Speaker 2>into your ability to be as confident and just getting

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<v Speaker 2>him to believe just how good his stuff is. There

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<v Speaker 2>aren't a lot of guys that can beat guys in zone.

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<v Speaker 2>You almost need to get ahead and zone and then

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<v Speaker 2>on to off and get guys to chase. He can

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<v Speaker 2>dominate guys end zone. That's how good his stuff is.

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<v Speaker 2>So last year, the walker right was a little elevated,

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<v Speaker 2>and we're seeing that come down right now with the

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<v Speaker 2>miss as high as it is. And he's a tough

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<v Speaker 2>guy to square up. And so I think the success

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<v Speaker 2>he had last October and really being a big part

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<v Speaker 2>of us winning a championship last year, whereas in twenty

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<v Speaker 2>four he was doing it as a cheerleader, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>with the injury. So I think him being a big

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<v Speaker 2>part of what we did last October provided some fuel

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<v Speaker 2>going into this offseason, and now each start is just

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<v Speaker 2>continuing to build.

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<v Speaker 1>As far as that series in San Francisco, Utani may

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<v Speaker 1>have pitched his best game in a long time as well.

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<v Speaker 1>When you look at him the balance of him going

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<v Speaker 1>full time pitcher, do you feel like a little bit's

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<v Speaker 1>been taken away as a hitter or is that just

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<v Speaker 1>the April that you were talking about.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean last year, you know, Show got off

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<v Speaker 2>to a little bit of a slow start offensively and

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<v Speaker 2>then got going i think in late late April, and

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<v Speaker 2>then took off from there. Look, it is hard. What

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<v Speaker 2>he's doing is hard, and it is tiring, and we

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<v Speaker 2>have to stay and lockstep with him to figure out

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<v Speaker 2>how to balance that rest. And you know that being said,

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<v Speaker 2>he's had prolonged stretches where he's doing both and excelling

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<v Speaker 2>at both. We just have to stay really connected with

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<v Speaker 2>him because what he's doing obviously is unprecedented and it

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<v Speaker 2>takes a real toll. But to be able to compartmentalize,

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<v Speaker 2>to be able to pitch the way he has this

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<v Speaker 2>year has been incredible.

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<v Speaker 1>How do you look at it? A lot of talk

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<v Speaker 1>about him not being as good of a hitter to

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<v Speaker 1>day that he pitches. How do you look at that

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<v Speaker 1>conversation about looking at it, evaluating where he hits in

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<v Speaker 1>the lineup, whether or not he does it when he pitches.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, I think it's all part of the

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<v Speaker 2>rest and what makes the most sense. You know, it

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't make sense for him to go wire to wire

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<v Speaker 2>pitch your hit or playing every day, pitching every week,

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<v Speaker 2>that's hard, and so we do need to mix some

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<v Speaker 2>rest in there. Whether we do it on the day

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<v Speaker 2>he starts and then therefore he can't hit late in

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<v Speaker 2>the game, or if we do it around it the

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<v Speaker 2>day before the day after, we would at least have

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<v Speaker 2>the silver bullet off the bench and the ninth inning

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<v Speaker 2>in a tight game to be able to pinch. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>all those are questions and I think, you know, getting

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<v Speaker 2>with him and from our standpoint, if there's a clear

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<v Speaker 2>answer whatever it is, we're great with it. If there's

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<v Speaker 2>not a clear answer, it's just going to require a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of conversation and some trial and error to kind

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<v Speaker 2>of feel it out.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, like you said, it's not normal. He's one

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<v Speaker 1>of one and he's thirty one years old. Now how

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<v Speaker 1>much do we all take that for granted what he's

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<v Speaker 1>doing is normal when it's not.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, I think most things that we encounter,

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<v Speaker 2>we all have some kind of mental rolodex we can

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<v Speaker 2>go back to and like, oh yeah, in my experience

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<v Speaker 2>it's this. We show hey, there is none of that,

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<v Speaker 2>and we have no experience dealing with this, and so

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<v Speaker 2>it definitely makes it trickier. That being said, I think

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<v Speaker 2>as long as we're just staying connected consistently, I think

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<v Speaker 2>we will get at our way through kind of what

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<v Speaker 2>makes the most sense.

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<v Speaker 1>All right. So that brings me to the Otani rule.

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<v Speaker 1>Great Council last week said he feels like the Otani

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<v Speaker 1>rules an unfair rule as far as rosters and rosters

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<v Speaker 1>when it relates to pictures. I went to ask him

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<v Speaker 1>to clarify that yesterday and he doubled down in a

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<v Speaker 1>very tense way. Where is this all coming from? Do

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<v Speaker 1>you feel like this is just a carryover from all

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<v Speaker 1>the talk during the offseason. Where do you think all

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<v Speaker 1>this Otani rule talk is coming from now? I don't know.

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<v Speaker 2>It felt very random and strange to me that he

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<v Speaker 2>felt the need to bring it up. And when shohe

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<v Speaker 2>was on the Angels and MLB was considering this, they

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<v Speaker 2>reached out to a bunch of teams, us included, and

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<v Speaker 2>I said, look, from a competitive standpoint, as the Dodgers,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't love it, but wearing my industry hat, what's

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<v Speaker 2>best for the Major League Baseball it is to do

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<v Speaker 2>everything we can for Shoeo Otani to be in and

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<v Speaker 2>stay in games, and obviously with the thirteen pitcher rules,

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<v Speaker 2>so that's the part of him being able to stay

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<v Speaker 2>in the game when he pitches and when he comes

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<v Speaker 2>off the mound. You know, the old rule would have

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<v Speaker 2>been then the hitter has to come out as well.

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<v Speaker 2>But I was able to look at what is best

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<v Speaker 2>for the industry and show Hey playing and playing more

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<v Speaker 2>often and staying in games is what is best for

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<v Speaker 2>this game and best for the fans and everything else.

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<v Speaker 2>So that was when he was with the Angels. And

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<v Speaker 2>as far as the thirteen pitcher rule, again, it is

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<v Speaker 2>more that we have thirteen pitchers. I had to clarify

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<v Speaker 2>this with Jim Bowden who said that we have nine relievers.

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<v Speaker 2>We don't have nine relievers. We have eight relievers just

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<v Speaker 2>like everyone else. We have five starters like everyone else.

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<v Speaker 2>It's just when show Hey is able and the rest

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<v Speaker 2>makes sense, Showy pitches. Also, it is not that we

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<v Speaker 2>are carrying an extra reliever relative to others. So it's

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<v Speaker 2>certainly an advantage, but it should be an advantage. What

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<v Speaker 2>show Hay does and what he is capable of is

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<v Speaker 2>so unique it should be rewarded, it should be celebrated,

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<v Speaker 2>and everyone knew the show Hey rules and had an

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<v Speaker 2>equal opportunity to sign him two years ago. So I'm

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<v Speaker 2>not sure where the Cups were in that process or

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<v Speaker 2>what council's thoughts were on it then, but that seemed

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<v Speaker 2>like more of the relevant time to voice it than now.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and that's something that I'm sure not a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of us were ever aware of that. Major League Baseball

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<v Speaker 1>checked in with you and other teams about implementing this rule,

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<v Speaker 1>So if there were any objections, then was the time.

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<v Speaker 1>Absolutely all right, thank you for setting the record straight.

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<v Speaker 1>I love it, Thank you for the time. Great to

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<v Speaker 1>see you. And look, I'm very steady. I'm right in

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<v Speaker 1>the wave of one sixty two.

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<v Speaker 2>I like it. You know, we've seen this year after year.

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<v Speaker 2>It doesn't mean it's fun while going through it, but

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<v Speaker 2>we've seen it, and we've seen this group battle through it,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's just the inevitable cycle of a long one

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and sixty two game season. And I have the

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<v Speaker 2>same amount of faith in these guys and the way

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<v Speaker 2>they prepare, the way they compete, that the subt will

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<v Speaker 2>come out and we'll start playing much better baseball.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been amazing how these guys still have their edge,

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<v Speaker 1>and each individual has a chip to prove something this year.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, it's what I said after twenty four

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<v Speaker 2>that one of the concerns about the difficulties around repeating

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<v Speaker 2>is that complacency sets in. Where teams won, they're like, okay,

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<v Speaker 2>they exhale, they don't have that same edge about them.

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<v Speaker 2>And it was very apparent after the parade in twenty

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<v Speaker 2>four just how focused everyone was on doing everything they

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<v Speaker 2>could to run it back in twenty five, and we

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<v Speaker 2>saw the same thing after twenty five. This is a

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<v Speaker 2>group that's playing for you know, their legacy, for the

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<v Speaker 2>legacy of this group, you know, to continue to you know,

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<v Speaker 2>do everything we can for this to be the Golden

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<v Speaker 2>era Dodgers Baseball and for them to have been a

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<v Speaker 2>huge part of it. And so that motivation is so

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<v Speaker 2>much further beyond the Okay, I want a championship. They're

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<v Speaker 2>being pigs and I love it.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so is Andrew Friedman. Thanks a lot for the time,

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<v Speaker 1>and thanks again for being so candid with all your answers.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely thanks for having me on