Speaker 1: An exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker.
Speaker 2: We're getting set for Game two of the NLCS, and
Speaker 2: we're joining right now by Max Monsey. Max, thanks a
Speaker 2: lot for the time and congratulations on a.
Speaker 1: Game one win.
Speaker 2: Sure anytime, Dave, I thought you handled it really well
Speaker 2: after the game last night. How you were a little
Speaker 2: self deprecating on that fly ball in the fourth inning.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, look, you have to get a job
Speaker 3: done right there, and I didn't get it done. You know,
Speaker 3: I gotta I gotta find a way to say a
Speaker 3: double play and uh, you know, next time, I gotta
Speaker 3: be a little better.
Speaker 2: You know, this team seems to eat sleep, drink baseball.
Speaker 2: Even on the bus right here with a group of
Speaker 2: your teammates, they were still talking about last night, they're
Speaker 2: talking about today. Has that carried over from last postseason
Speaker 2: and the success you guys had.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I think there's a little bit of
Speaker 3: you know, we talked with this team about culture, about
Speaker 3: you know, what the Dodger culture is that's been created
Speaker 3: over many, many, many years, and you know, I think
Speaker 3: last year was kind of start of a different playoff
Speaker 3: culture and you know, just a different way of going
Speaker 3: about business once you get talked Ober and you know, it's.
Speaker 1: Definitely carrying over from last year, and you know, it's
Speaker 1: really cool to see. It's really cool to see all
Speaker 1: the guys bought in on it, and you.
Speaker 3: Know, ultimately this time of year, nothing else that's going
Speaker 3: on really matters. It's what are we going to do
Speaker 3: to try to get a win tonight? And you know,
Speaker 3: the guys who really bought into that.
Speaker 2: Max Unfairly, everybody believes that you guys are just so talented.
Speaker 2: You show up at seven o'clock and things happened. But
Speaker 2: it feels like you guys don't take for granted the
Speaker 2: talent that you have and the opportunity you have.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you can't.
Speaker 3: I mean, I've been a part of some extremely talented teams,
Speaker 3: you know, in my career here with the Dodgers, and
Speaker 3: you know, you've you've seen it. We've had teams that
Speaker 3: have won one hundred and eleven games and we get
Speaker 3: knocked out in the first round.
Speaker 1: And you know, I've been this. Our team last year
Speaker 1: didn't win one hundred games. We won the World Series
Speaker 1: in eighteen we hardly won ninety games, and.
Speaker 3: You know, we went to the World series, and you know,
Speaker 3: it's kind of the same thing this year.
Speaker 1: It's it's the talent can only take you so far.
Speaker 3: It's really about how you're preparing and how you're going
Speaker 3: out there and playing the game.
Speaker 1: And October talent really means nothing, you know.
Speaker 3: It's it's if you're going out there and you're expecting
Speaker 3: the out talent the other team, you're not gonna do
Speaker 3: very good.
Speaker 1: So you have to you have to be prepared properly.
Speaker 2: You guys have the experience as well. You've won two
Speaker 2: World Series with the Dodgers. Your first year, like you said,
Speaker 2: was winning Game seven here in the NLCS. Could you
Speaker 2: feel the experience factor play out last night?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think that's just you get in
Speaker 3: these types of environments. You're on the road for Game one,
Speaker 3: it's it's loud. They you know, they're playing the music
Speaker 3: extra loud. It's a you know, you start to feel
Speaker 3: that a little bit, and you got to find a
Speaker 3: way to just slow the heartbeat. And you know, you
Speaker 3: look around the infield and you know, you just you
Speaker 3: look at guys in the dugout and you just you
Speaker 3: find a calming presence with everybody. No one's getting too
Speaker 3: worked up about anything, and you know, it just that
Speaker 3: that comes from having experience.
Speaker 1: If you've never been in this situation, you don't really
Speaker 1: know how to handle it.
Speaker 3: And uh, you know, we we've talked many, many years
Speaker 3: about how there's a lot of teams that play with
Speaker 3: a ton of emotion in the playoffs and you know,
Speaker 3: that can get you really far, but it can also
Speaker 3: be a huge negative.
Speaker 1: And you know, for us, we've always.
Speaker 3: Tried to stay even keel on that, and I think
Speaker 3: with the experience that we have, that's that's right where
Speaker 3: we're at.
Speaker 2: Do you remember the postseason game or the postseason series
Speaker 2: where you became so comfortable and became this guy that
Speaker 2: doesn't seem like anything faces him.
Speaker 3: No, I just think that's something that happened over time,
Speaker 3: because I do remember my first.
Speaker 1: Postseason and you know, I was really amped up.
Speaker 3: I was really gearing to get out there, and you know,
Speaker 3: my I was definitely wearing my emotions on my sleeve,
Speaker 3: and every good thing that happened, I was, you know,
Speaker 3: top of my lungs, and every bad thing that happened,
Speaker 3: I was top of my lungs in a negative way.
Speaker 3: And you know, I just think that's something that you
Speaker 3: get over time, and I don't know when that switched
Speaker 3: for me. And you know, I think it's just having
Speaker 3: the opportunity to play in so many postseason games.
Speaker 1: Before I let you go.
Speaker 2: I remember when you returned from the IL, you were
Speaker 2: telling me that you change your pregame routine as far
Speaker 2: as heating up cooling down with you taking betting practice
Speaker 2: on the field with the team. Is that a sign
Speaker 2: that things are more normal for you?
Speaker 1: I'm hoping so. No, it's just really more on the road.
Speaker 3: Your VP time is so close to game time that
Speaker 3: there's not really a cool down period after VP, and
Speaker 3: so for me, it's a chance to get some work
Speaker 3: in and that's something that I haven't entirely been able
Speaker 3: to do you know recently, is get a lot of
Speaker 3: work in.
Speaker 1: And you know.
Speaker 3: We're definitely feeling better, filing closer to normal, but you
Speaker 3: still got to be careful about some things, all right.
Speaker 2: Max, thanks a lot for the time. I know you're
Speaker 2: getting ready for the game. We'll see you after.
Speaker 1: Sounds good.