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Speaker 1: All come on back.

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Speaker 2: Before you know it, they'll be back on the field

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Speaker 2: at Camelback Ranch.

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Speaker 1: Why can't this be spring training?

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Speaker 2: But our coverage of the blue never stops. AM five

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Speaker 2: LA Sports. This is off season Dodger Talk. Get in

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Speaker 2: on the show by calling eight six six seven hashtag

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Speaker 2: Dodger Talk. And now your host, David Bassey, Welcome.

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Speaker 3: To Dodger Talk. David Masse with you until eight o'clock

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Speaker 3: tonight here on AM five seventy LA Sports. And we

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Speaker 3: have a full board of calls. Thank you to Petro

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Speaker 3: some money for that four hour love fest. Great to

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Speaker 3: hear Dave Roberts cackle it up with the boys, and

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Speaker 3: they cackled right back when Dave Roberts, a three times

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Speaker 3: World Series manager, cackles at them and oh a humble brag.

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Speaker 3: He'll be playing at Augusta next week. Oh okay, Dave, Okay,

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Speaker 3: we get it, We get it, Dave. Hey, those are

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Speaker 3: the fruits of being a back to back World Series

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Speaker 3: champion manager. Those are the fruits of being a three

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Speaker 3: time World Series manager as well. We have a great

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Speaker 3: show for you tonight. The man of the Hour, Kyle

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Speaker 3: Tucker is going to join us. You'll hear our conversation

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Speaker 3: with Kyle after today's press conference coming up in fifteen minutes,

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Speaker 3: and at the bottom of the hour you'll hear from

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Speaker 3: Andrew Friedman. So we'll get to those two guys later

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Speaker 3: in the show, but between now and then, it's your

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Speaker 3: phone calls at eight sixty six nine eight seven two

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Speaker 3: five seventy. I got worried about this yesterday and now

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Speaker 3: it's starting to really gain traction in New York. We

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Speaker 3: had talked about in our last show about the possibility

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Speaker 3: of the Dodgers being the team to trade for the

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Speaker 3: Brewers Freddie Peralta. Well, it looks like the Mets are

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Speaker 3: going to be the ones trading for Freddie Peralta, and

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Speaker 3: that's a big acquisition for them, and they're rumored to

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Speaker 3: be in the mix for from Bravaldez as well. So

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Speaker 3: the Mets are quietly loading up. I would say that

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Speaker 3: they've had a better off season than what their fan

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Speaker 3: base beliefs they've had, and if they're able to pull

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Speaker 3: off this trade, which it looks like it's going to happen,

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Speaker 3: and then sign fran Bravaldez, they're solidifying their starting rotation.

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Speaker 3: And I started to get worried about this that the

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Speaker 3: Dodgers and Brewers never were really close to making a trade.

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Speaker 3: But the Mets certainly were engaged with the Brewers. And

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Speaker 3: don't forget the Mets GM president of Baseball Operations is

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Speaker 3: David Stearns, And what team did he used to run?

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Speaker 3: What team was he connected to the most? The Brewers.

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Speaker 3: That's why he and Matt Arnold are able to pull

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Speaker 3: off a trade like this. So that's happening. Freddy Prault

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Speaker 3: is going to the Mets, and man, I just got

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Speaker 3: to say, before we really get deep into Dodger baseball,

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Speaker 3: I had a wild day today. I woke up at

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Speaker 3: five am this morning because I got invited to speak

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Speaker 3: at this La Breakfast Club, which takes place in Los

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Speaker 3: Phelis at the Friendship Auditorium between Glendale Boulevard and Los

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Speaker 3: Felis Boulevard. And the way they reached out to me

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Speaker 3: was through Instagram dming me and it seemed legit. They're like, hey,

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Speaker 3: would you mind speaking to our breakfast club. I was like, yeah, sure,

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Speaker 3: Now breakfast for me, I'm not a big breakfast guy.

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Speaker 3: Breakfast for me is like nine thirty or ten. So

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Speaker 3: usually when people contact me through Instagram or any social

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Speaker 3: media platform to speak to their club. Low maintenance, right,

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Speaker 3: it's you go into a room, maybe a banquet hall,

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Speaker 3: and you do a little talk and take some questions.

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Speaker 3: But they really put together production and this La Breakfast Club.

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Speaker 3: I'll give you some local knowledge, as Petros would like

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Speaker 3: to say about the La Breakfast Club. A wacky group

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Speaker 3: that meets every week and they try to bring in

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Speaker 3: special speakers. And I want to say thank you to Rachel,

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Speaker 3: who's a big Dodger fan and certainly a big Dodger

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Speaker 3: talk fan. So Rachel was awesome and she educated me

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Speaker 3: on the La Breakfast Club. The Warner Brothers used to

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Speaker 3: be members of the La Breakfast Club. And how about

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Speaker 3: this when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. Walter O'Malley

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Speaker 3: spoke at the same desk that I spoke at today

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Speaker 3: at the La Breakfast Club. Yeah, this is a very

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Speaker 3: historical club. They meet every week and very early seven am,

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Speaker 3: I saw one of our old engineers that I used

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Speaker 3: to work with at the place across the street on

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Speaker 3: Los Sienaga, Tim Ahern. Great to see Tim Ahearn. But

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Speaker 3: I spoke to that group. They are wacky they are

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Speaker 3: fun and they love the Dodgers. So it was great

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Speaker 3: to meet everybody today at the La Breakfast Club and

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Speaker 3: they're like, Hey, are you going to talk about this

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Speaker 3: on the show? I said, listen, after what I've seen

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Speaker 3: here today, I'm traumatized and impressed, and I'm certainly going

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Speaker 3: to talk about it. But great people out there. They're

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Speaker 3: just good people, just having a good time. Very wild

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Speaker 3: better than me walking my wife's dog around the neighborhood

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Speaker 3: and being accosted by neighbor Richie, the Yankee fan that

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Speaker 3: just wants to continue to badger me about a salary cap.

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Speaker 3: And speaking of a salary cap, I want to address

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Speaker 3: this part. Rob Manfred not sure if this was highlighted

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Speaker 3: as much as some of the other highlights of his

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Speaker 3: interview with Wfan last week, but he was asked directly

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Speaker 3: about the Dodgers and they're spending and honestly, I hate

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Speaker 3: to say they're spending their competitiveness because they are the

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Speaker 3: most well rounded organization in Major League Baseball. They don't

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Speaker 3: just throw money at players. They have a great infrastructure

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Speaker 3: that Andrew Friedman built from the ground up back in

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Speaker 3: twenty fifteen. I mean literally, net COLETTI had no resources

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Speaker 3: when he was the GM under Frank McCort to bring

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Speaker 3: in the infrastructure that Andrew Friedman brought in, and that

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Speaker 3: is the basis of the culture that he has created.

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Speaker 3: And here's what Rob Manfred had to say about the

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Speaker 3: question about the Dodgers and if he has any concerns

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Speaker 3: about the Dodgers.

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Speaker 4: I admire what the Dodger organization has done on both

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Speaker 4: sides of the house. I mean, they've done a phenomenal

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Speaker 4: job on the revenue side, and they've made great baseball decisions,

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Speaker 4: and you know, getting those two together is harder than

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Speaker 4: you think. And everything they've done completely within the rules.

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Speaker 4: And a large market like the Dodgers does drive your business.

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Speaker 4: I mean there's no you know, whether you say large

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Speaker 4: market villain whatever, you know, a team that's winning a

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Speaker 4: lot does can drive the market. I think the advantage

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Speaker 4: baseball has a very random sport, and you know, the

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Speaker 4: chances of stringing that many together I think are fairly limited.

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Speaker 4: But I do get concerned. You know, we try to

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Speaker 4: listen to our fans, and we do hear from fans

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Speaker 4: in a lot of markets that.

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Speaker 3: You know, kids a city.

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Speaker 4: When we look at the resources they have compared to

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Speaker 4: the resources that are available in our market. We don't

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Speaker 4: feel like it's quite a fair shake. And that's an

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Speaker 4: issue we're going to have to deal with.

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Speaker 3: All right. The end of that answer is so ridiculous.

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Speaker 3: The Royals won the World Series and went back to

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Speaker 3: back World Series back in the you know, just ten

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Speaker 3: years ago, so that just doesn't hold water with me.

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Speaker 3: And oh, by the way, the men Mets were the

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Speaker 3: ones that offered Kyle Tucker the fifty five million dollars

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Speaker 3: annual average salary. It was the Mets that signed Bob

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Speaker 3: Bishett to a forty million dollar contract for one season

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Speaker 3: because he can opt out after this year, and I

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Speaker 3: have a feeling he will opt out after this season.

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Speaker 3: So let's not forget that. You know, the evil empire

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Speaker 3: or the villain of baseball was the Yankees and the

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Speaker 3: Red Sox who bought up every player imaginable to buy

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Speaker 3: their World Series championships from two to nine. Yeah, that

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Speaker 3: Yankee World Series and oh nine, how many homegrown guys

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Speaker 3: were on that team? The guys that were, they were

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Speaker 3: starting to get a little long in the tooth. And uh,

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Speaker 3: as far as you know, the Yankees now they're not

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Speaker 3: well rounded and have not been well rounded in over

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Speaker 3: twenty five years. So the Dodgers are what every other

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Speaker 3: team strives to be and a lot of things have

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Speaker 3: been They've been great. I'll back up here. The Dodgers

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Speaker 3: have executed really well. But luck is involved as well.

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Speaker 3: There have been some trades, there have been some signings

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Speaker 3: that didn't happen, and they benefited from that, and you

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Speaker 3: got to think that there is some luck. You talk

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Speaker 3: about luck winning the World Series. Well, as they used

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Speaker 3: to say, some trades that you don't make are the

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Speaker 3: best ones. Some of the signings that you don't get

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Speaker 3: the best ones. And you can thank the Braves and

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Speaker 3: the Red Sox for saying goodbye to two really good

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Speaker 3: players that are future Hall of famers, and Freddie Freeman

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Speaker 3: and Mookie Betts. You could thank the Angels for saying

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Speaker 3: goodbye to show Hey Otani, who's the best player on

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Speaker 3: the planet, who has been the reason why the Dodgers

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Speaker 3: have been able to reap the benefits of an international megastar,

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Speaker 3: not superstar mega star. And again Scott Boris. You know

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Speaker 3: many of you don't like Scott Boris. I do because

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Speaker 3: he makes a lot of common sense, and he gave

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Speaker 3: a statement today that said, this is a moment in

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Speaker 3: time in the sport. There is no need for overreaction

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Speaker 3: because o'tani is a once in a lifetime player. He

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Speaker 3: agreed to sign an incredible contract that allows the Dodgers

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Speaker 3: to be able to go out and fill in the

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Speaker 3: roster around him. There's no need for a salary cap.

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Speaker 3: There is a need for more teams to be able

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Speaker 3: to try to reinvest the luxury tax dollars and the

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Speaker 3: revenue they get from around Major League Baseball back into

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Speaker 3: their teams, like the Pirates, the Reds, the Marlins. They

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Speaker 3: all got to do that. And I applaud the Brewers

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Speaker 3: because the Brewers actually have maintained a payroll over one

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Speaker 3: hundred and thirty million dollars, and they actually have had

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Speaker 3: two really good gms and David Stearns and Matt Arnold

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Speaker 3: that have built an infrastructure to compete every year, similar

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Speaker 3: to Andrew Freeman and now Eric Neander in Tampa Bay.

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Speaker 3: With limited resources, it can be done. It can be done.

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Speaker 3: But this is such an overreaction for anybody to say

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Speaker 3: the Dodgers are ruining baseball. Honestly, the World Series was

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Speaker 3: great the last two years because it was the Dodgers,

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Speaker 3: it was the Yankees, and you had Canada's team, the

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Speaker 3: Blue Jays in there as well. So I will maintain

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Speaker 3: that nobody is going to sway me otherwise. And I

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Speaker 3: still don't buy there's going to be a salary cap

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Speaker 3: in Major League Baseball in twenty twenty seven. And I

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Speaker 3: still don't buy they are going to lose games next year.

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Speaker 3: It just would be so self destructive. Eight six six

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Speaker 3: nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number

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Speaker 3: when we come back. We'll get to Kyle Tucker. Had

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Speaker 3: a chance to catch up with Kyle Tucker after his

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Speaker 3: press conference, and he talked about trying to pry away

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Speaker 3: number thirty from Dave Roberts. He did address in our

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Speaker 3: conversation what has been said about him from anonymous staffers

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Speaker 3: with the Cubs and other people around baseball. And we'll

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Speaker 3: also get to where Kyle Tucker should hit in the lineup.

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Speaker 3: Where would you have Kyle Tucker hit in this incredibly

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Speaker 3: talented and deep lineup. I'll let you know where I

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Speaker 3: have him when we continue on Dodger Talk right here

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Speaker 3: on AM five seventy LA Sports Strange.

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Speaker 5: Thinking is that who working.

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Speaker 3: On David Vase with you until eight o'clock tonight here

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Speaker 3: on AM five seventy LA Sports heading out to spring

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Speaker 3: training on February thirteenth. But before that, what really kicks

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Speaker 3: off every Dodger season the last few years is Dodger Fest,

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Speaker 3: and you can get tickets at Dodgers dot com slash

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Speaker 3: Dodger Fest. It's coming up at the end of January,

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Speaker 3: and it's January thirty first. We'll be broadcasting live from

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Speaker 3: Dodgers Stadium and Dodger Fest beginning at ten am that day.

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Speaker 3: You'll hear from all the big names, from Dave Roberts

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Speaker 3: to Mookie Betts to Freddie Freeman. And I'm sure Kyle

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Speaker 3: Tucker will be back out there as well. Will Smith,

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Speaker 3: the one of the heroes of the Dodgers winning Game

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Speaker 3: seven of the World Series, will be out there as well.

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Speaker 3: So Dodger Fest right around the corner on January thirty

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Speaker 3: first for more information on how you could get tickets.

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Speaker 3: Like I said, Dodgers dot Com slash Dodgers Fest. All right,

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Speaker 3: had a chance to catch up with Kyle Tucker. But

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Speaker 3: before we get to Kyle, and Andrew Friedman is going

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Speaker 3: to join us. At the bottom of the hour, I

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Speaker 3: saw on MLB dot Com they had a projected Dodgers

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Speaker 3: lineup with Kyle Tucker hitting sixth. Now, I don't know

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Speaker 3: who generates that lineup? Is it AI?

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Speaker 4: This?

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Speaker 3: AI generate that lineup? Right? Anytime I don't see something

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Speaker 3: I like, I blame AI. So I'm gonna give MLB

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Speaker 3: dot Com a free pass on this because I got

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Speaker 3: news for you. Any time you sign a player that

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Speaker 3: is going to make sixty million dollars in one season,

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Speaker 3: he's not hitting sixth. And Dave Roberts said as much

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Speaker 3: at the press conference today. When somebody asked him, where's

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Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker going to hit? He said, don't box me in.

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Speaker 3: But I'm looking at second or third in the lineup,

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Speaker 3: And it makes sense. Kyle Tucker can hit lefties similar

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Speaker 3: to Cody Bellinger, as I was laying that out as well.

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Speaker 3: Doesn't matter if you're right to your lefty. You gotta

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Speaker 3: hit lefties to protect Otani and Freddie Freeman and Kyle

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Speaker 3: Tucker do that really well. Now, if Kyle Tucker is

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Speaker 3: hitting in the first three, who's the other guy? Is

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Speaker 3: it Mookie bedsitting third? I could see that, and then

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Speaker 3: Freddy Freeman said cleanup. And then you have Will Smith

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Speaker 3: hitting fifth. That's a little late for Will Smith, who's

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Speaker 3: your most clutch batter, one of your best hitters. Fifth

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Speaker 3: is a little low. And then you got Muncie and

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Speaker 3: then you're telling me ta Oscar Hernandez is hitting sixth

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Speaker 3: or seventh. I could see that. I mean, this lineup

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Speaker 3: is so deep, but it's gonna be about production and

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Speaker 3: how this lineup. It's a lineup, so it's not about

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Speaker 3: each man on an island. It's how the lineup fits together.

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Speaker 3: And it'll be interesting to see who hits third and

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Speaker 3: who hits cleanup. And there's no secret Mookie Betts is

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Speaker 3: coming off his worst offensive season by a mile. If

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Speaker 3: he hits two sixty and struggles for the majority of

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Speaker 3: the season, how do you keep them hitting in the

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Speaker 3: first four. And I'm sure Mooki would be the first

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Speaker 3: one to tell you that. But I know Andrew Freeman

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Speaker 3: believes Mookie Bets is going to have a big bounce

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Speaker 3: back year. So what didn't surprise me? If Mookie Bets

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Speaker 3: is hitting third eight, six, six, nine, eighty seven, two

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Speaker 3: five seventy is the phone number? Where would you hit

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Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker in the Dodger lineup? And where would where

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Speaker 3: does Freddy Freeman and Mookie Bets go? I don't see.

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Speaker 3: I don't see Freddy Freeman hitting any lower than cleanup

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Speaker 3: in this lineup. Eight six, six, nine eighty seven two

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Speaker 3: five seventy is the phone number? All right? Here was

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Speaker 3: our exclusive one on one conversation with the newest Dodger

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Speaker 3: number twenty three, Kyle Tucker. All Right, Kyle, welcome to

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Speaker 3: Los Angeles. Great to see you actually wearing this Dodger jersey.

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Speaker 3: What does it mean to you to start this new

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Speaker 3: chapter in your baseball life?

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Speaker 6: This is awesome. I'm extremely excited. I mean this, this

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Speaker 6: organization's very first class organization, from you know, ownership groups

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Speaker 6: to front office to the players, and you know, I

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Speaker 6: think the players kind of speak for themselves with their

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Speaker 6: their playing out on the field, and I think everyone

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Speaker 6: kind of recognizes that. So I'm excited to just be

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Speaker 6: a part of, you know, the team organization.

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Speaker 1: This this city.

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Speaker 3: You said during the press conference, Freddie Freeman facetimed you

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Speaker 3: and said, don't do anything stupid. Does that mean he

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Speaker 3: doesn't want you to try to duplicate his worm dance

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Speaker 3: during the off season. Have you seen that.

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Speaker 6: I don't know if that is a part of that

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Speaker 6: category or not, but I mean he seemed to be

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Speaker 6: pretty good at it. So I'm excited to ask him

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Speaker 6: to do it live. But we'll see what happens. But yeah,

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Speaker 6: you know, we just talking him on face hime for

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Speaker 6: for a second before we did the press conference stuff,

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Speaker 6: and he was like, just you know, don't do anything

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Speaker 6: stupid and you'll be good. So I was like, oh,

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Speaker 6: I appreciate it. Yeah, you know, you don't have to

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Speaker 6: worry about that.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: He seemed like you play life pretty safe.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. I try.

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Speaker 6: I try to not not get too crazy with things,

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Speaker 6: especially you know, front of cameras and stuff.

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Speaker 1: But no, I'm pretty good with everything, Kyl.

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Speaker 3: A dimension of your game that I feel like not

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Speaker 3: enough has been talked about is the running the base

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Speaker 3: running in your career, you've stolen eighty eight percent of

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Speaker 3: the bases. The Dodgers were near the bottom of that.

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Speaker 3: Is that having the baseball IQ the awareness? How much

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Speaker 3: is that speed? I mean, what part of that dimension?

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Speaker 3: Where does that come from?

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Speaker 1: I don't know.

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Speaker 6: I mean, I'm not like the fastest guy, but I'm

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Speaker 6: not slow by any means, but I mean, if I

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Speaker 6: can take an extra ninety feet whenever I see that'll

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Speaker 6: benefit our team to possibly score an extra round, Like,

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Speaker 6: I'm gonna try and do what I can with it.

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Speaker 6: I mean, this this team's probably like if you're on

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Speaker 6: first base with the team, you're probably in scoring position.

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Speaker 6: So that's probably why that was a factor. But I mean,

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Speaker 6: I'm excited to help out the team, whether it's on

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Speaker 6: the basis defense, hitting wise, Like, I'm really excited to

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Speaker 6: get things going this year.

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Speaker 3: I had to look how well you've done at Dodger

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Speaker 3: Stadium in a small sample size forty played appearances, You've

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Speaker 3: done pretty well. How comfortable in those small nine games

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Speaker 3: do you feel hitting in this ballpark? And has Dodger

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Speaker 3: Stadium become a hitter's ballpark?

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Speaker 6: I mean, I don't know my stats like that, but

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Speaker 6: I mean it's it's exciting playing here. I mean it's

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Speaker 6: it's a little tough because this team is very good,

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Speaker 6: and the fans definitely back then with that. So I

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Speaker 6: mean it's it's exciting playing here. I mean, there's there's

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Speaker 6: a lot of a lot of cool stadiums around around

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Speaker 6: the league, but I think This is definitely, you know,

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Speaker 6: at the top of the list with a lot of guys.

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Speaker 6: So just the history behind, you know, the Dodgers organization

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Speaker 6: and this city and everything, I think definitely plays a

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Speaker 6: factor into playing here. And it's it's exciting to be

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Speaker 6: part of that, you know, eighty one games of a year.

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Speaker 3: Now, Kyle Tucker is our guest. He's the newest Dodger

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Speaker 3: wearing jersey number twenty three. This is Dodger Talk until

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Speaker 3: eight o'clock. Kyle. A lot of players always talk about

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Speaker 3: free agency. You want it for so long and then

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Speaker 3: once you're there, it's a long winding road. How tough

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Speaker 3: was the process for you? And when did you start

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Speaker 3: to know that the Dodgers may be the team?

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Speaker 1: I mean, you know, it was tough.

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Speaker 6: I didn't try and like kind of over analyze anything

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Speaker 6: or you know, put too much pressure on, you know,

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Speaker 6: any decision. But you know, you over the last couple

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Speaker 6: of weeks or so from today, is is starting to

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Speaker 6: get there with everything with the teams. I mean, there's

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Speaker 6: a lot of really good teams and organizations out there,

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Speaker 6: but you know, I just I just felt comfortable coming

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Speaker 6: to LA and playing for the Dodgers. Organization, Like I said,

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Speaker 6: their first class organization. This this team's phenomenal team, and

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Speaker 6: I'm excited to be a part of that. So I

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Speaker 6: mean when I kind of my wife and I kind

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Speaker 6: of factor all that into each other, I was like,

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Speaker 6: I think this is a good landing spot for us.

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Speaker 6: So that's kind of what we wanted to do, And

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Speaker 6: you know, I'm excited to get things started here in

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Speaker 6: spring training and then you know, opening day out.

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Speaker 3: Here at the beginning of the off season, did you

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Speaker 3: have the Dodgers in mind? Or is this something that

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Speaker 3: started to become more clear in the last three weeks.

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Speaker 6: Probably more so the second part coming, you know, more

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Speaker 6: clear of the last couple of weeks or so. Obviously

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Speaker 6: I've never been a free agent before, so I was like,

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Speaker 6: I don't know how it works, but talking to other

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Speaker 6: guys that you know, have gone through the process before,

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Speaker 6: it definitely helped. And just kind of have a having

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Speaker 6: a nice, you know, kind of group around me to

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Speaker 6: kind of you to lead me in a direction on

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Speaker 6: a path that definitely helps. So I think I think we,

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Speaker 6: you know, made a pretty good decision in this.

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Speaker 3: You're a guy that seems to let your play do

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Speaker 3: all the talking and in free agency you gotta lay back,

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Speaker 3: lay low. How did it make you feel when so

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Speaker 3: many people were speaking about you and for you? Was

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Speaker 3: that tough to you know, restrain yourself from Hey, that's

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Speaker 3: not really me.

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Speaker 1: I don't know.

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Speaker 6: I mean, there's you know, a lot of different opinions.

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Speaker 6: You know, there's a lot a lot of people out

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Speaker 6: there that have different opinions, and you know, obviously some

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Speaker 6: fan bases want you to come there and don't want

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Speaker 6: you to go to other organizations and whatnot.

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Speaker 5: So but I don't know.

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Speaker 6: I was just kind of treating it like a normal

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Speaker 6: off season, hanging out with my family and going on

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Speaker 6: a little vacation, playing some golf and stuff. So I

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Speaker 6: was like, I'm probably a big decision to be made,

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Speaker 6: but I was like, I'm just gonna try and treat

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Speaker 6: it like a normal off season. That way, I'm prepared

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Speaker 6: to go in spring training and have the red mindset

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Speaker 6: going into the year.

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Speaker 3: All right, before I let you go, we are sitting

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Speaker 3: in Dave Roberts. I do not have my feed up

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Speaker 3: on his desk for the record, even though I want to.

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Speaker 3: What was the call like to try to get number

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Speaker 3: thirty from him? You said it was a shot in

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Speaker 3: the dark. Did you feel like the conversation was quick

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Speaker 3: or it was a good icebreaker to get to know

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Speaker 3: your new manager.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 6: I mean, obviously I kind of knew the reason behind

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Speaker 6: him wearing it and whatnot, but I just want to

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Speaker 6: at least, you know, at least give a courtesy call

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Speaker 6: about it and just kind of discuss it with him.

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Speaker 6: And whether I knew it was gonna be not happening

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Speaker 6: or not, but I'd figured out I at least kind

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Speaker 6: of reach out to him and just discuss it with him.

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Speaker 6: I told him I got a backup number in case, like,

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Speaker 6: it's totally fine.

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Speaker 1: I get it. So that's kind of how things worked out.

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Speaker 6: So he was like, don't hate me for not doing this,

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Speaker 6: But I was like, nah, it's it's totally fine.

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Speaker 1: We're all good.

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Speaker 6: Like I got a backup number for you, and you know,

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Speaker 6: it all works out. I was like, I don't want

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Speaker 6: to mess with anything we got going up here, So

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Speaker 6: if that's what I kind of do, we'll stick to it.

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Speaker 5: Twenty three.

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Speaker 3: There's been a lot of great twenty threes in Dodger history.

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Speaker 3: Eric Harros, who you're gonna see a lot and he'll

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Speaker 3: remind you that's his number. And I don't know if

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Speaker 3: you've heard about this guy hitting a home run in

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Speaker 3: nineteen eighty eight. He was a left handed hitter, Kirk Gibson.

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Speaker 3: So I know Michael Brantlee is your guy. But twenty

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Speaker 3: three means a lot for the Dodgers.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of great players out there,

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Speaker 6: like you mentioned, and I'm just excited to have this

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Speaker 6: one and you know, start a new new part of

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Speaker 6: my career here and you know, get things rolling with

434
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:27,880
Speaker 6: twenty three.

435
00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,520
Speaker 3: All right, you look suited and booted, ready to go

436
00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,879
Speaker 3: for LA. Damn good hair. Tucker, thanks a lot for

437
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:35,040
Speaker 3: the time and welcome to LA.

438
00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:36,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you, guys, appreciate it.

439
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,119
Speaker 3: All right, there is Kyle Tucker, your first introduction to

440
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,879
Speaker 3: the Dodgers new right fielder. That's right, As we talked

441
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:47,160
Speaker 3: about many times on this show, Tucker will play right,

442
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:51,440
Speaker 3: Pahz will play center, and ta Oscar Hernandez we'll move

443
00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:55,040
Speaker 3: back to left field. And my bad to Adrian Gonzalez.

444
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,360
Speaker 3: Another really good twenty three. I'm sorry, Gonzo, I did

445
00:23:58,359 --> 00:24:02,159
Speaker 3: not forget you. Twenty three. Adrian Gonzalez, Eric Harros and

446
00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:06,080
Speaker 3: Kurt Gibson have made that number famous wearing a Dodger jersey,

447
00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:09,600
Speaker 3: and certainly it'll be even more bigger moments coming with

448
00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:12,359
Speaker 3: another twenty three. This one. Kyle Tucker and I know

449
00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:15,359
Speaker 3: you know, we talked about this during the offseason, and

450
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,919
Speaker 3: part of the reason why many people believe from what

451
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,320
Speaker 3: I understand, that Kyle Tucker didn't sign sooner or get

452
00:24:22,359 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 3: more of an aggressive long term contract from another team

453
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:30,000
Speaker 3: outside of the Blue Jays was because there were some

454
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:35,080
Speaker 3: questions about the enthusiasm for the game of baseball. But

455
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:37,679
Speaker 3: you're going to hear from Andrew Freeman coming up in

456
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:42,000
Speaker 3: our next segment, and the Kyle Tucker that he describes

457
00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,520
Speaker 3: is much different from the Kyle Tuck from the Kyle

458
00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:50,200
Speaker 3: Tucker that we have heard about during this opseason. And look,

459
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:54,560
Speaker 3: I've talked to some players. It's gonna be proven on

460
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,480
Speaker 3: the field and we're gonna see whether or not this

461
00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:02,199
Speaker 3: Dodger team, that Dodger club house, that Dodger culture, is

462
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,120
Speaker 3: going to bring the best out of Kyle Tucker. Because

463
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,360
Speaker 3: Dave Roberts challenged him to be better at today's press conference.

464
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,880
Speaker 3: So the Dodgers are a big believer that even though

465
00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,040
Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker has had a really good career to this

466
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:20,000
Speaker 3: point that he can be better, and that set the

467
00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:23,439
Speaker 3: tone today. Let's go out to Pomona. Danny, you're on

468
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,439
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk with David vasse Hi.

469
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:30,000
Speaker 7: Danny, Hey, David, how's doing Buddy? My question to you, actually,

470
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:31,800
Speaker 7: I would like to see Tucker at fifth and the

471
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,200
Speaker 7: reason is because if the guys get on base and

472
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,320
Speaker 7: he can bring him home, I think it's a win

473
00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:41,080
Speaker 7: win situation. But what is your Who do you think

474
00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:43,480
Speaker 7: had the best lineup for the Dodgers' history? And I'll

475
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,240
Speaker 7: take your call. I'll take your answer offline.

476
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:45,520
Speaker 4: Thank you?

477
00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,520
Speaker 3: Okay? Well, that I mean I would have to take

478
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,000
Speaker 3: a look at that and really examine it. The greatest

479
00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:55,760
Speaker 3: lineup in Dodger history, it would be certainly the seventy

480
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,200
Speaker 3: seven Dodgers. The majority of those players that played on

481
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,280
Speaker 3: the seven seventy seven to eighty one Dodgers, even the

482
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:05,200
Speaker 3: team that ended up winning the World Series, to a man,

483
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,719
Speaker 3: they all say the seventy seven Dodgers were the best.

484
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:12,440
Speaker 3: You look at what the seventeen Dodgers were doing. They

485
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:14,920
Speaker 3: may not have been what they became, but certainly they

486
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:18,399
Speaker 3: were a prolific offense. You look at a lineup in

487
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,000
Speaker 3: twenty twenty one that won one hundred and six games

488
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,239
Speaker 3: with Trey Turner and Corey Seeger and Cody Bellinger and

489
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,399
Speaker 3: Justin Turner in the slame lineup. Those three come to

490
00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:30,679
Speaker 3: mind off the top of my head, and I'm sorry,

491
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,439
Speaker 3: I disagree with you. I understand driving in runs, but

492
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,800
Speaker 3: you want to have Kyle Tucker hitting in your first three.

493
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,080
Speaker 3: He's that type of guy. And like I said, you

494
00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,440
Speaker 3: don't pay him sixty million dollars if you believe he's

495
00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,960
Speaker 3: a five hitter. I'm sorry. Eight six, six, nine eighty seven,

496
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,360
Speaker 3: two five seventy is the phone number. When we continue,

497
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,360
Speaker 3: we'll check in with Andrew Friedman. Had a chance to

498
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,199
Speaker 3: talk to him about Kyle Tucker and the signing and

499
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:59,680
Speaker 3: where the Dodgers offense is headed this season as they

500
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,920
Speaker 3: person z sue a three peat right here on a

501
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:09,040
Speaker 3: five to seventy LA sports great pol callin ye. Everybody

502
00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:12,679
Speaker 3: wants to rule the baseball world, but the Dodgers have

503
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:16,560
Speaker 3: ruled it for the last two seasons, back to back

504
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:22,520
Speaker 3: World Series champions, going for history a three peat in LA.

505
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,600
Speaker 3: It all starts as the Dodgers get ready for spring

506
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:32,400
Speaker 3: training at Dodger Fest January thirty first, will be broadcasting

507
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,399
Speaker 3: live from Dodgers Stadium at ten am, and you can

508
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,600
Speaker 3: get tickets to be at Dodger Fest to celebrate your

509
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:43,360
Speaker 3: back to back World Series champions at Dodgers dot com

510
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:48,280
Speaker 3: slash Dodger Fest. Our next Dodger talk show is going

511
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:51,679
Speaker 3: to be on Friday night at seven o'clock. Happens to

512
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,639
Speaker 3: be my mom, Bianca's birthday. And since I am a

513
00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,000
Speaker 3: sentimental guy and I am still a loyal guide to

514
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:01,840
Speaker 3: many of the Dodgers that have worn the uniform the

515
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:05,520
Speaker 3: last fifteen years, especially that I've been lucky enough to

516
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:09,440
Speaker 3: cover it, so happens that it's falling into place. They

517
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,280
Speaker 3: always come crawling back. That's what I always say. They

518
00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:16,199
Speaker 3: always come crawling back. And look who's crawling back. He

519
00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:19,840
Speaker 3: was in Seami Valley this past weekend and reached out

520
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,359
Speaker 3: to me wanting to come on the show, and that

521
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:27,920
Speaker 3: is Mariachi Joe Kelly. That's right. They always come crawling back,

522
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,439
Speaker 3: even from riverside. Joe Kelly is going to be on

523
00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:36,120
Speaker 3: the show Friday night, and also Chris Taylor, who will

524
00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,960
Speaker 3: get a world series ring from being part of this

525
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:43,120
Speaker 3: Dodger team at the beginning of the year, finished it

526
00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,680
Speaker 3: injured with the Angels. He is going to have his

527
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:51,800
Speaker 3: third annual Polar Plunge at the Manhattan Beach Pier on

528
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:56,560
Speaker 3: February first, the day after Dodger Fest. So wanted to

529
00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:59,600
Speaker 3: give Chris Taylor some love. And there's actually a video

530
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:05,120
Speaker 3: that former Dodger hitting coach Turner Ward posted today on

531
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,240
Speaker 3: his Instagram behind the scenes look, and I posted this

532
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:13,600
Speaker 3: on my Instagram story at officially vassay of Chris Taylor

533
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:18,800
Speaker 3: kind of emulating Justin Turner's batting stance as Justin Turner

534
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,640
Speaker 3: is getting ready for a game in the batting cage

535
00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 3: and on the couch you see a young Cody Bellinger, who,

536
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,240
Speaker 3: by the way, re signed with the Yankees today and

537
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:32,200
Speaker 3: Jock Peterson walking by Jock now is with the Rangers.

538
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,240
Speaker 3: So great to reconnect with Chris Taylor. He'll join us

539
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,800
Speaker 3: on Friday night. And yes, my old friend of me,

540
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,280
Speaker 3: Joe Kelly, will join us on Friday night as well.

541
00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,760
Speaker 3: So if you love those two guys, if you love

542
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:48,640
Speaker 3: what Andrew Freeman has built and the players that he

543
00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:53,160
Speaker 3: has brought in, so many great personalities, so many winners

544
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,960
Speaker 3: since twenty fifteen, and those are two of those guys.

545
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:58,960
Speaker 3: So looking forward to having both of them on the

546
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:03,560
Speaker 3: show Friday night. Speaking of Andrew Friedman, after we talked

547
00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:07,200
Speaker 3: to Kyle Tucker, Andrew Friedman sat down on the vast

548
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:10,160
Speaker 3: a couch outside of the Dodger Clubhouse and here was

549
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:14,400
Speaker 3: our conversation. All right, Andrew, another day, another big signing,

550
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,000
Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker. When did this start to become something you

551
00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:19,520
Speaker 3: felt could really happen?

552
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:22,920
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean, I think getting into the off season

553
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:27,360
Speaker 8: and thinking about our roster, the needs, what the free

554
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,520
Speaker 8: agent market looked like, what the trademarket looked like. Kyle

555
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:32,320
Speaker 8: was at the top of the list in terms of

556
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,040
Speaker 8: guy who could move our World Series odds most significantly.

557
00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 8: That being said, you know, we had no real expectation

558
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:44,560
Speaker 8: in terms of how realistic it was going to be,

559
00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:47,880
Speaker 8: because for us, it was about doing something short term.

560
00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,520
Speaker 8: We have a lot of long term contracts on the books,

561
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,840
Speaker 8: and for us, it was about you know, being as

562
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,200
Speaker 8: good as we could be right now with the core

563
00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,440
Speaker 8: that we have in place, but not adding more or

564
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 8: in a way that might really hinder us.

565
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:04,680
Speaker 5: In twenty twenty nine, twenty.

566
00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,400
Speaker 8: Thirty, just looking out years to give us and keep

567
00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:13,960
Speaker 8: us with the most flexibility, because while we're doing everything

568
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,200
Speaker 8: we can to win a championship in twenty twenty six,

569
00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:18,280
Speaker 8: we have to keep an eye to those out years.

570
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:20,200
Speaker 8: And we've talked about it a lot over the years,

571
00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,640
Speaker 8: you know, to not fall off the proverbial cliff. We've

572
00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:25,600
Speaker 8: seen a lot of large market teams have a run

573
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,480
Speaker 8: of success fall off the cliff and take years to

574
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,200
Speaker 8: build back. So we're doing everything we can so for

575
00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,800
Speaker 8: us going into this winner, we were only looking at

576
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:40,479
Speaker 8: shorter term deals and kind of pair as high end

577
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:43,280
Speaker 8: to talent with the group we have right now to

578
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:45,320
Speaker 8: do everything we can over the next couple of years

579
00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,000
Speaker 8: to not be flipping about the opportunity we have in

580
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,720
Speaker 8: front of us with the group that we have in place,

581
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:56,320
Speaker 8: but also not do so in an irresponsible way that

582
00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:59,720
Speaker 8: would come back to really hurt us later. So we

583
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,480
Speaker 8: didn't really have a great sense for the likelihood of

584
00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 8: that lining up.

585
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:05,640
Speaker 5: And I would.

586
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:08,760
Speaker 8: Say, you know, five six days before the signing is

587
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,960
Speaker 8: when we felt like, okay, this has some shot. And

588
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,400
Speaker 8: then Doc Gohmer and I got on a another zoom

589
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:19,680
Speaker 8: call with Tuck and his wife Sam, and the conversation

590
00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:24,440
Speaker 8: got into the community and where to live, and you know,

591
00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:27,320
Speaker 8: our foundation and things we do in the community and

592
00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,160
Speaker 8: things they do in the community, and it got much

593
00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:33,360
Speaker 8: more detailed, nuanced in a way where I thought, we

594
00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,560
Speaker 8: do have a real shot at this. I can't remember

595
00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,320
Speaker 8: a situation where a guy has signed a shorter term,

596
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:43,440
Speaker 8: higher AAV deal when he's also had a long term,

597
00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:46,880
Speaker 8: big money deal on the table. Usually it's because that

598
00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 8: hasn't materialized and they signed the shorter term deal and

599
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,360
Speaker 8: try to reset the market. And so obviously it's a

600
00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:58,200
Speaker 8: very personal decision, but for us, it was about putting

601
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,480
Speaker 8: the organization, the community, the fan base, the group of

602
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,440
Speaker 8: players we have, and the opportunity in front of us

603
00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:10,360
Speaker 8: and sell that as much as we possibly could, which

604
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:12,600
Speaker 8: gets back to kind of our ultimate goal, which is

605
00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:15,440
Speaker 8: to create a destination spot where our own players don't

606
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:18,200
Speaker 8: want to leave, where players from other organizations want to come.

607
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:20,640
Speaker 8: And I think it really played a factor in a

608
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,600
Speaker 8: real role with us recruiting Tuck here.

609
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is not unique. You've offered this type of

610
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:30,560
Speaker 3: shorter term contract with a higher AAV to a couple

611
00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:33,080
Speaker 3: of other players that opted, like you said, to take

612
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:37,120
Speaker 3: a longer term contract. What does that say about what

613
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:42,160
Speaker 3: you've created here where now players will sacrifice that type

614
00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:45,479
Speaker 3: of long term security to be a part of this team.

615
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:46,200
Speaker 5: Yeah.

616
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:50,680
Speaker 8: I mean, I think the way that the Dodgers organization,

617
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:55,280
Speaker 8: our staff take care of players and families, I think

618
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:59,200
Speaker 8: is getting around the league in a way where we've

619
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:02,560
Speaker 8: had guys reach out, agents reach out and say, hey,

620
00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 8: I know you haven't called, but our player would really

621
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:05,720
Speaker 8: like to play there.

622
00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,200
Speaker 5: And so we're feeling it way more over the last

623
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:11,200
Speaker 5: three four years.

624
00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:17,880
Speaker 8: And that's the ultimate because obviously winning is everything, but

625
00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:22,000
Speaker 8: you win by creating that environment, and by creating that environment,

626
00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:24,880
Speaker 8: you get your own players to want to stay, you

627
00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:28,319
Speaker 8: get players from other organizations wanting to join on, and

628
00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,920
Speaker 8: then that's how you know championships are won. And so

629
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,680
Speaker 8: it's not something we'll ever take lightly and put our

630
00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,200
Speaker 8: feet up and say, Okay, we've done it. It's kind

631
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:39,319
Speaker 8: of a living organism that you have to continue to

632
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:43,120
Speaker 8: nurture and enhance. But I feel like we've made a

633
00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:45,759
Speaker 8: ton of progress on that front and it's something that

634
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:49,120
Speaker 8: is very real and tangible and playing out in free agency.

635
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:53,640
Speaker 3: You were very honest and open about the fact that

636
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,640
Speaker 3: the offense did not live up to what your standards were,

637
00:34:57,719 --> 00:34:59,960
Speaker 3: what you thought the ceiling was for that team, to say,

638
00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,200
Speaker 3: and half of the season and the postseason last year,

639
00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:07,360
Speaker 3: how much does Tucker change the dynamic of your entire

640
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:08,520
Speaker 3: lineup and your offense.

641
00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:11,759
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean, I still think there's internal work we

642
00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:14,480
Speaker 8: need to do, because I do feel like from July

643
00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:17,719
Speaker 8: through the end of the regular season and into October,

644
00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,839
Speaker 8: we did not perform up to expectations. And obviously there's

645
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,719
Speaker 8: some injury stuff and there's different factors that play into that,

646
00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:30,320
Speaker 8: but we also need to have our eyes wide open

647
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,160
Speaker 8: and figure out ways we can get better. And I

648
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,840
Speaker 8: think what's exciting about this group is that everyone's focused

649
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:37,200
Speaker 8: on that.

650
00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,160
Speaker 5: No one's pointing fingers, there's no blame, no.

651
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:42,759
Speaker 8: It's just about how can we do this together and

652
00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:48,080
Speaker 8: continue to get better. And obviously adding Kyle will help

653
00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:52,200
Speaker 8: in a meaningful way. He's the guy that you could

654
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,080
Speaker 8: argue is better against left and right. It's at least

655
00:35:55,080 --> 00:36:02,480
Speaker 8: close elite decision maker, elite back to ballsk and just

656
00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:06,080
Speaker 8: putting that type of hitter in our lineup is going

657
00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,680
Speaker 8: to lengthen it in a crazy way. It's going to add,

658
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:15,440
Speaker 8: you know, real impact throughout our lineup in terms of

659
00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:18,760
Speaker 8: how he chews up pitches, the fact that he really

660
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,600
Speaker 8: doesn't swing and miss very often, so putting balls in

661
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:23,640
Speaker 8: play and how that can help score runs.

662
00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:28,279
Speaker 5: And I think the thing that kind of surprises a

663
00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:29,680
Speaker 5: little bit through our.

664
00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:34,920
Speaker 8: Conversations with him this winter is how much he cares

665
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:38,120
Speaker 8: about the little things and getting better. On the basis,

666
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:41,759
Speaker 8: getting better defensively. You know, last year's defense slips some

667
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,080
Speaker 8: now some of that is the number of day games

668
00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,200
Speaker 8: in Chicago, and that can kind of wreck havoc on

669
00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:52,560
Speaker 8: a lot of guys defensive numbers. But of challenging him

670
00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,840
Speaker 8: for the you know, to buy into the daily routine

671
00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:57,319
Speaker 8: that we see all of our guys do.

672
00:36:57,800 --> 00:36:59,160
Speaker 5: He said he was all in on that.

673
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:05,239
Speaker 8: So I think just the value he can add defensively,

674
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:07,719
Speaker 8: the fact that he's hungry for growth and to learn

675
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:11,280
Speaker 8: more and to get better fits in very well within

676
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:15,560
Speaker 8: our environment, and we're going to continue to work with him,

677
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:17,480
Speaker 8: do everything we can to help make him better and

678
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:19,160
Speaker 8: better and help us win more games.

679
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,719
Speaker 3: The guy you just described getting to know through this

680
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:27,120
Speaker 3: free agency process doesn't seem to be the same guy

681
00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:31,000
Speaker 3: that a lot of people were speaking about anonymously, you

682
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,919
Speaker 3: know in the shadows. What did you think about all

683
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,160
Speaker 3: that and do you feel like he's been misrepresented?

684
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:39,799
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean we obviously we spend a lot of

685
00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:44,160
Speaker 8: time on this talking to teammates and coaches and clubhouse

686
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:47,560
Speaker 8: staff he's been around, and trainers and just trying to

687
00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,960
Speaker 8: understand him more. And I think, you know, he doesn't

688
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:56,239
Speaker 8: have the most demonstrative personality. It's not the biggest personality,

689
00:37:56,520 --> 00:38:00,720
Speaker 8: and so I think his demeanor can be misconstrued. For us,

690
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:05,440
Speaker 8: We've got enough personalities. For us, it's about how well

691
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:07,600
Speaker 8: does he compete in the box, how hard does he work?

692
00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:10,200
Speaker 8: How much does he care about winning? And for us,

693
00:38:10,239 --> 00:38:13,640
Speaker 8: we felt like all those questions are really satisfied. His

694
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:20,480
Speaker 8: you know, commitment to you know, doing that daily defensive routine,

695
00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:26,080
Speaker 8: which our guys do, we think speaks to that just

696
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:30,680
Speaker 8: add attention to detail and the fact that if you

697
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,960
Speaker 8: make it that important that you know, he's got the

698
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:38,719
Speaker 8: physical ability to be good out there, and it's just

699
00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,359
Speaker 8: bringing that to life more obviously what he does in

700
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:45,239
Speaker 8: the box. You know, he's got a routine that when

701
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:47,839
Speaker 8: we acquired Freddy Freeman, people were like, oh, you know,

702
00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:53,080
Speaker 8: he just his pregame routine just isn't very elaborate.

703
00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:54,280
Speaker 5: That's okay.

704
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:56,440
Speaker 8: Guys who are really good at what they do and

705
00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:58,960
Speaker 8: have a comfort with how they go about it. We're

706
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:01,759
Speaker 8: not looking to change, and so it is a more

707
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:05,040
Speaker 8: simple kind of pregame routine in terms of what he

708
00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:08,239
Speaker 8: needs to get ready. But we don't have a rule

709
00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:10,040
Speaker 8: of you have to do this. We have some guys

710
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,160
Speaker 8: who hit, in my opinion, too much before a game,

711
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:17,200
Speaker 8: and so for me, guys who hit too little before

712
00:39:17,239 --> 00:39:20,880
Speaker 8: a game. If they're going out and producing at seven o'clock, that's.

713
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:21,400
Speaker 5: Not too little.

714
00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:24,360
Speaker 8: And I think it's just about whatever you need to

715
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:26,360
Speaker 8: get ready to go out and compete and help us

716
00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:29,040
Speaker 8: win a baseball game. And we feel very good about that.

717
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:29,560
Speaker 4: Yea.

718
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:32,040
Speaker 3: That goes back to what everybody on your staff says.

719
00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:35,440
Speaker 3: We just let these guys be themselves, and that's what

720
00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:39,759
Speaker 3: allows all of it to come together, is being yourself.

721
00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:43,760
Speaker 3: Allowed Freddy Freeman to do the Worm more than twice

722
00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:46,239
Speaker 3: this obseason, and I thought it was ironic that he's

723
00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:49,960
Speaker 3: telling Kyle Tucker not to do anything stupid after seeing

724
00:39:50,239 --> 00:39:52,400
Speaker 3: the Worm. Where are you at on the Worm and

725
00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:53,240
Speaker 3: Freddie Freeman.

726
00:39:55,040 --> 00:40:00,839
Speaker 8: I was incredibly impressed by it, setting aside my emotions

727
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,520
Speaker 8: of how much I disliked it, and I can't wait

728
00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,080
Speaker 8: to see him do it every week when he's working

729
00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:07,640
Speaker 8: with us after he's done playing.

730
00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:11,520
Speaker 5: Now I don't like it as much, but.

731
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:13,680
Speaker 3: On a scale of ten, it's gotta be a.

732
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:15,240
Speaker 5: Nine, right, it's solid.

733
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,359
Speaker 8: I mean, I may give it a nine and a half,

734
00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:21,279
Speaker 8: but anytime he does it until he retires, it's a zero.

735
00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:24,600
Speaker 5: It's a disqualification. It's a zero. I'm with you.

736
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:27,120
Speaker 3: I'm the only one that can do foolish things.

737
00:40:27,239 --> 00:40:30,640
Speaker 5: Exactly, and we've got you. It's perfect. That's enough for us.

738
00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:33,239
Speaker 3: Thanks a lot for the time, and I feel like

739
00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:35,520
Speaker 3: my hair can compete with Tuckers, no doubt.

740
00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:37,080
Speaker 5: Yeah, I gotta tell you.

741
00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:39,960
Speaker 8: I spent a little time during this interview looking at

742
00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,759
Speaker 8: it and kind of taking it in and the symmetry

743
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:43,840
Speaker 8: it's impressive.

744
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:47,600
Speaker 3: We'll leave it right there. There's the great Andrew Friedman

745
00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:51,200
Speaker 3: looking for that three pete. No doubt, And yes, indeed,

746
00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:55,640
Speaker 3: thanks to my guy doctor Deutsch at Bosley, the symmetry

747
00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:58,520
Speaker 3: of the head and the lettuce is looking great. I'm

748
00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:02,160
Speaker 3: not ashamed. About it anyway. You know, everybody in the

749
00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:06,279
Speaker 3: media world, and rightfully so, talking Hall of Fame for

750
00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:10,080
Speaker 3: Dave Roberts. If you're saying Dave Roberts Hall of Famer

751
00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,080
Speaker 3: in the same breath, you better say Hall of Famer

752
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:18,520
Speaker 3: Andrew Friedman, because you can't say Dave Roberts without Andrew Friedman,

753
00:41:18,719 --> 00:41:22,600
Speaker 3: and vice versa. You don't say Andrew Friedman without Dave Roberts.

754
00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:28,360
Speaker 3: They are together, right They're synonymous with each other. They're linked.

755
00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:33,640
Speaker 3: There's no changing that right now. They are linked. Unprecedented

756
00:41:33,719 --> 00:41:37,560
Speaker 3: success during their tenure of being partners in all this,

757
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:40,880
Speaker 3: and the one word I remember when Andrew Friedman was

758
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:44,400
Speaker 3: introduced taken over for Ned Colletti. He always talked about

759
00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:49,440
Speaker 3: a collaborative effort, and Dave Roberts and Andrew Freeman certainly

760
00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:52,000
Speaker 3: have had that. And I feel like it went to

761
00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:56,799
Speaker 3: another level during the twenty twenty season and during that

762
00:41:56,880 --> 00:41:59,600
Speaker 3: World Series. You know, being in that bubble, being in

763
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:05,320
Speaker 3: select from the outside noise more than any other regular season,

764
00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:09,799
Speaker 3: feels like something changed in twenty twenty and it's just

765
00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:14,400
Speaker 3: been you know, they've been in lockstep ever since the

766
00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:18,080
Speaker 3: beginning of twenty twenty and they certainly have brought a

767
00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:22,080
Speaker 3: lot of success to the Dodgers. And speaking of the

768
00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:25,960
Speaker 3: Hall of Fame, we haven't been we haven't been on

769
00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:33,040
Speaker 3: since they elected Andrew Jones and Carlos Beltran into the

770
00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:36,960
Speaker 3: Hall of Fame. Let's start with Beltran. All these writers

771
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:41,920
Speaker 3: are so against the Barry Bonds, the Mark mcguires, the

772
00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:46,000
Speaker 3: a Rods because they cheated the game. So I guess

773
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:49,560
Speaker 3: we're just going to have amnesia, selective amnesia when it

774
00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:53,040
Speaker 3: comes to Carlos Beltran, who was one of, if not

775
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:59,080
Speaker 3: the ringleader, of the Astros cheating scandal in twenty seventeen. Yes,

776
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:03,279
Speaker 3: he was one of the great offensive center fielders in

777
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:07,359
Speaker 3: baseball history over twenty years, even though he did play

778
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:11,640
Speaker 3: twenty years and never accumulated three thousand hits or five

779
00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:15,000
Speaker 3: hundred home runs. But he did hit four hundred plus

780
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,920
Speaker 3: home runs and had a lifetime batting average of close

781
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:24,240
Speaker 3: to three hundred. But he still cheated. The Mets hired

782
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:26,919
Speaker 3: him to be their manager, and when that came out,

783
00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:32,920
Speaker 3: they couldn't hire him anymore because he was tainted. Barry

784
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:36,840
Speaker 3: Bonds made his teams better by trying to enhance his

785
00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:42,560
Speaker 3: body and his performance, and he never tested positive. For

786
00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:45,640
Speaker 3: all those that say he tested positive when he never

787
00:43:45,719 --> 00:43:50,000
Speaker 3: tested positive. So I have an issue with that. If

788
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,600
Speaker 3: you're going to be on that side of history where

789
00:43:53,600 --> 00:43:57,200
Speaker 3: you're not going to vote for the Bonds, the Clemens,

790
00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:00,000
Speaker 3: the a Rods, how can you vote for Carlos Beltie

791
00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:07,480
Speaker 3: and Andrew Jones? Come on, come on? Really he was good,

792
00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:10,280
Speaker 3: but that doesn't mean he was a Hall of Famer.

793
00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,880
Speaker 3: I saw Andrew Jones play. He was really good, but

794
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:18,120
Speaker 3: he wasn't a Hall of Famer, trust me. And he

795
00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:21,439
Speaker 3: cheated the game in some ways by not giving full

796
00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:24,560
Speaker 3: effort when he signed with the Dodgers. Remember that one year,

797
00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:29,000
Speaker 3: twenty million dollar contract I do. I mean that was

798
00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:32,280
Speaker 3: not one of Neck Coletti's best moments sonning Andrew Jones,

799
00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:37,759
Speaker 3: and that was that was you know, I'm not going

800
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,719
Speaker 3: to say that, mates, it makes his career. But even

801
00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:42,680
Speaker 3: when he was with the Braves, I know his teammates

802
00:44:42,719 --> 00:44:45,960
Speaker 3: love him, but who doesn't love their teammates. He's not

803
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:48,240
Speaker 3: a Hall of Famer. So I have a bigger issue

804
00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:51,759
Speaker 3: with Carlos Beltrend than I have with Andrew Jones, and

805
00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:53,600
Speaker 3: I kind of have an issue with both of them

806
00:44:53,640 --> 00:44:58,400
Speaker 3: in separate ways. I'm not a big haul guy. Baseball

807
00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:02,359
Speaker 3: has separated itself from the Basketball Hall of Fame and

808
00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:05,680
Speaker 3: also the Pro Football Hall of Fame by really making

809
00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:08,120
Speaker 3: it the Hall of Fame. And even in the Hall

810
00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:11,080
Speaker 3: of Fame itself, there's different levels of Hall of Famers,

811
00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:14,799
Speaker 3: but it feels like the standard has been lowered, and

812
00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:20,640
Speaker 3: everybody tries to, you know, with time and statistics and analytics,

813
00:45:20,640 --> 00:45:23,560
Speaker 3: trying to make a case and a reason for why

814
00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:26,960
Speaker 3: somebody should be in there, and it's never consistent. If

815
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:30,520
Speaker 3: you're talking about a six year peak, is that really

816
00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:32,799
Speaker 3: a Hall of Fame career? I don't buy into that.

817
00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:36,480
Speaker 3: Sandy coach I hate when people bring up Sandy Kofex.

818
00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:38,880
Speaker 3: He's an outlier. Of course, he was one of the

819
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:43,200
Speaker 3: greatest pitchers of all time, even in a short span.

820
00:45:43,719 --> 00:45:46,800
Speaker 3: But that's not the case with everybody else. And also

821
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:50,400
Speaker 3: the guys that played twenty years, you should be able

822
00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:54,080
Speaker 3: to get five hundred home runs and three thousand hits.

823
00:45:54,239 --> 00:45:58,400
Speaker 3: Baltrand played twenty years, cheated and never got those numbers.

824
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:01,520
Speaker 3: And oh, by the way, telling me in twenty seventeen

825
00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:04,960
Speaker 3: when he came up with this idea and how to

826
00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:08,120
Speaker 3: bang the trash cans and use the video to their advantage.

827
00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:12,600
Speaker 3: You're telling me Carlos Beltrand never did something out of

828
00:46:12,680 --> 00:46:18,080
Speaker 3: bounds with other teams to steal signs. Hard to believe.

829
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:22,160
Speaker 3: Hard to believe. How can he not be allowed to

830
00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:25,799
Speaker 3: manage in Major League Baseball? But then you're going to

831
00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:28,160
Speaker 3: elect him into the Hall of Fame. To me, it's

832
00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:32,400
Speaker 3: a huge contradiction. And honestly, I don't get that worked

833
00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:34,919
Speaker 3: up anymore about the Hall of Fame. I think it's

834
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:38,520
Speaker 3: been so watered down and there's been so many contradictions

835
00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:41,759
Speaker 3: that it doesn't mean as much as it used to.

836
00:46:42,440 --> 00:46:45,040
Speaker 3: It may not mean anything to me until some of

837
00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:48,239
Speaker 3: these Dodgers and some of these players of this generation

838
00:46:48,800 --> 00:46:51,080
Speaker 3: are eligible for the Hall of Fame. And I'm not

839
00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:55,120
Speaker 3: just saying Dodger players, but players from this generation. And

840
00:46:55,160 --> 00:46:59,200
Speaker 3: maybe it starts next year with Buster Posey, of all people,

841
00:46:59,520 --> 00:47:01,720
Speaker 3: he's going to be on the ballot for the first time,

842
00:47:02,200 --> 00:47:06,319
Speaker 3: and also Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochi are going to

843
00:47:06,360 --> 00:47:10,480
Speaker 3: be eligible in a committee vote. So I hate to

844
00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:13,440
Speaker 3: break this to you Dodger fans, you may have a

845
00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:18,160
Speaker 3: trio of giants inducted into the Hall of Fame next year.

846
00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:22,200
Speaker 3: Two managers and a Hall of Fame catcher and Buster Posey.

847
00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:25,880
Speaker 3: All right, that'll do it for us on Dodger Talk tonight.

848
00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:28,840
Speaker 3: We'll be back with you on Friday night at seven o'clock.

849
00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:32,920
Speaker 3: Mariachi Joe Kelly will join us, as will Chris Taylor.

850
00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:36,920
Speaker 3: Thanks to Kyle Tucker and Andrew Friedman for their time today.

851
00:47:37,280 --> 00:47:40,439
Speaker 3: Thanks to the La Breakfast Club for having me up

852
00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:43,479
Speaker 3: earlier than I ever have been in a very long time.

853
00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:46,239
Speaker 3: That's good training for spring training. I have to wake

854
00:47:46,320 --> 00:47:48,840
Speaker 3: up early for spring training, So thank you to the

855
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:53,200
Speaker 3: La Wacky Breakfast Club, and thanks to Colinie for all

856
00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:56,360
Speaker 3: his help, and thank you for listening. In case you

857
00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:59,320
Speaker 3: missed any of the show or interviews with Tucker and Friedman,

858
00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:02,680
Speaker 3: you can find it on the iHeartRadio app. You can

859
00:48:02,719 --> 00:48:05,480
Speaker 3: also follow me on social media on x at the

860
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:10,840
Speaker 3: Real Underscore DV and on Instagram at Officially vass A.

861
00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:15,600
Speaker 3: Cody Bellinger stays with the Yankees, Kyle Tucker is officially

862
00:48:15,640 --> 00:48:19,960
Speaker 3: a Dodger, and Freddie Peralta traded to the Mets. As

863
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:23,279
Speaker 3: the baseball world turns sounds like a great sport to me.

864
00:48:23,840 --> 00:48:27,080
Speaker 3: Don't let anybody tell you anything different have a great

865
00:48:27,080 --> 00:48:28,680
Speaker 3: rest of your night. See you