Speaker 1: The quest for the three peat has begun.
Speaker 2: Only four teams in Major League Baseball history have won
Speaker 2: three consecutive titles. The Dodgers are the favorites to become
Speaker 2: the fifth.
Speaker 1: A Spring training Dodger Talk, here we go again.
Speaker 2: We're got to running.
Speaker 3: Back hosted by Dodgers in Cider David base three Peat
Speaker 3: in the Mexican in on the show called eight six
Speaker 3: six nine eighty seven two five seven, And be sure
Speaker 3: to follow Dodger Talk wherever you catch your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, David Basset.
Speaker 2: We are live at camel Back Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
Speaker 2: David Basse with you until eight o'clock tonight here on
Speaker 2: AM five to seventy LA Sports. And this is a
Speaker 2: very unique Dodger Talk because the Dodgers are playing right now,
Speaker 2: right in front of us. It's a sellout crowd here
Speaker 2: at Camelback Ranch. The Dodgers are leading the Reds four
Speaker 2: to three. In the bottom of the third inning, Taoscar
Speaker 2: Hernandez is at the plate. He already had an RBI
Speaker 2: double in the first inning, part of a four run
Speaker 2: first inning for the Dodgers, and coming to the plate
Speaker 2: right now is Freddy Freeman. I'm going to prove to
Speaker 2: you that the Dodgers are playing right now. We're gonna
Speaker 2: pod up Rick Monday and Tim Neverett on Sports and
Speaker 2: at LA just to hear this at bat of the
Speaker 2: great Freddy Freeman, who already drove in a run during
Speaker 2: that four run first inning.
Speaker 4: On the run, makes the throw to get to Oscar
Speaker 4: one man out.
Speaker 5: Freddy Freeman will come up fready with an RBI base
Speaker 5: hitting a run score in the first.
Speaker 6: So I mentioned Oscar in a fastball slugging percentage, I'm
Speaker 6: a Freddy Freeman on non fast balls last year eighth
Speaker 6: best slugging percentage almost five hundred.
Speaker 4: That's a sinker there and files it.
Speaker 6: Back when you've seen pitchers also tend to figure out okay,
Speaker 6: Freeman's has stated over and over he likes to hit
Speaker 6: the ball to left center field. That's kind of his
Speaker 6: his thought process. They go, oh, sneak one, buying inside
Speaker 6: that Freddy is fast enough and quick enough, strong.
Speaker 4: Enough to handle that one Kerr ball is swinging a miss.
Speaker 4: They're talking really about one of the elite players.
Speaker 6: Mentioned numbers a little bit earlier on Freeman.
Speaker 5: How the breaking ball this dat Freddy takes it for
Speaker 5: ball one one and two to Freeman. There's a one
Speaker 5: two from Nicklodolo. That's two and two.
Speaker 2: The catcher is.
Speaker 4: Challenging the call of ball. Tyler Stevenson didn't like that one.
Speaker 4: We might have a point here. I was well on
Speaker 4: the strike zone. Cincinnati has one challenge remaining. Freddy is out.
Speaker 4: It was a fast all right.
Speaker 2: That was anti climactic right there, Freddie Freeman striking out.
Speaker 2: He did challenge it. The ABS is in play, so
Speaker 2: you got a taste of how quickly that will happen,
Speaker 2: even in a major league game. And just in case
Speaker 2: you're not aware of the rules that are in play, Yes,
Speaker 2: there is an automated strike zone. Yes, each team can
Speaker 2: challenge twice. They have two challenges. If they're correct, they
Speaker 2: keep it. If they're wrong, they lose one. And if
Speaker 2: it goes extra innings, you do get an extra challenge
Speaker 2: in case you've lost both of them during the course
Speaker 2: of the game. And as Matt money Smith pointed out
Speaker 2: the other day, the Dodgers are near the bottom as
Speaker 2: far as percentage of getting it correct as hitters and
Speaker 2: as the pitcher catcher combination. So Freddie Freeman strikes out
Speaker 2: looking thanks to the automated strike zone. But right now
Speaker 2: the Dodgers are leading the Reds four to three. This
Speaker 2: really isn't any headline or news making type of game,
Speaker 2: outside of the fact the Dodgers do have a lot
Speaker 2: of the regulars in the lineup tonight, but they started
Speaker 2: Cole Irvin, who may he's on the bubble for making
Speaker 2: the team because he can give the Dodgers some innings.
Speaker 2: So he's on the bubble for making the team because
Speaker 2: of the injuries to Gavin Stone and Blake Snell. Gavin
Speaker 2: Stone actually told me earlier today he's gonna be throwing
Speaker 2: this weekend at some point, so that's good news for
Speaker 2: him as well as shoulder is starting to feel better.
Speaker 2: This is Dodger Talk. We're with you until eight o'clock
Speaker 2: tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports Phone
Speaker 2: lines are open at eight six six, nine eighty seven
Speaker 2: two five seventy. In case you missed our show, our
Speaker 2: only other show this week this past Tuesday, you can
Speaker 2: find it on the Heart radio app. Rick Monday and
Speaker 2: former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr joined us and we'll share
Speaker 2: with you the story that Derek Carr shared with us. Oh,
Speaker 2: Max Mounsey, Yes, you did two run home run for
Speaker 2: Max Munsey to right field. He is having a great
Speaker 2: spring A two run home run by Max Munsey, that
Speaker 2: funky Monsey. I'm not gonna give you a home run call.
Speaker 2: That's all I got for you, Max Munsey. A two
Speaker 2: run home run in spring training is not gonna get
Speaker 2: me out of my seats, but certainly great to see
Speaker 2: him having a really good spring training. The work he
Speaker 2: put in during the offseason has certainly translated early on
Speaker 2: in camp. So the Dodgers, and it's against a real pitcher.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers have scored six runs off of Nick Lodolo
Speaker 2: out of I guess Laverne, California, Damien. I believe he
Speaker 2: went to high school out there. But like I said,
Speaker 2: in case you missed the story that Derek Carr shared
Speaker 2: with us on how he got the second base bag
Speaker 2: of Game six of the World Series in Toronto in
Speaker 2: his home office, we'll share that with you a little
Speaker 2: bit later. Also, keyk Hernandez is back at Dodger camp
Speaker 2: after cheering on Team Puerto Rico. He'll be headed back
Speaker 2: out in the next couple of days to cheer them
Speaker 2: on in the quarterfinals. So you'll hear from Key Hernandez
Speaker 2: and his thoughts about the Dodgers and the three peat
Speaker 2: that is in front of them. And we're taking your
Speaker 2: phone calls at eight sixty six, nine eighty seven, two
Speaker 2: five seventy. I do have an update on Blake Snell.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of updates on some pitchers today. It
Speaker 2: was pretty active on the backfields. Blake Snell through his
Speaker 2: second bullpen session this week. The reason why that significant
Speaker 2: is the shoulder is not giving him any more problems.
Speaker 2: It's just a matter now of him continuing to build up.
Speaker 2: And he felt good about where he's at right now.
Speaker 2: He's obviously happy he's pain free, and he said he
Speaker 2: started to feel pain free in that shoulder a couple
Speaker 2: of weeks before camp. But the reality is, and Dave
Speaker 2: Roberts said as much, Blake Snell is doing something like
Speaker 2: he did today that a pitcher does a week or
Speaker 2: two before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. So
Speaker 2: he's at least seven weeks away from pitching in a
Speaker 2: major league game. And he was asked when he hopes
Speaker 2: to pitch in a major league game, and he said
Speaker 2: by the end of April. That seems a little aggressive.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers are not going to rush him and allow
Speaker 2: him to skip steps just to come back sooner rather
Speaker 2: than later. There's no difference for the Dodgers for Blake
Speaker 2: Snell to come back the last week of April or
Speaker 2: the last week of May. That's the reality of how
Speaker 2: deep this pitching staff is and how they can absorb
Speaker 2: the first month and a half without Blake Snell. I
Speaker 2: got news for you. I went to Rangers camp earlier
Speaker 2: today because of this night game. I had nothing to do,
Speaker 2: so I wanted to go to another camp, and I thought,
Speaker 2: why not go to a camp where a former Dodgers
Speaker 2: the manager. And there's two former Dodgers that are in
Speaker 2: the starting lineup in Corey Seeger and Jock Peterson. And
Speaker 2: I got news for you. You know, the Dodgers can
Speaker 2: do things that the Rangers can't, then virtually every other
Speaker 2: team in baseball can't do. And that's not rush a
Speaker 2: two time Cy Young Award winner in Blake Snell. If
Speaker 2: the Rangers did not have Jacob de Grom again to
Speaker 2: start the year or Jack Lyder to start the year,
Speaker 2: they'd be in a heap of trouble. The Padres, they
Speaker 2: resigned Michael King, they brought in Walker Buehler. There's a
Speaker 2: lot of teams out there that on the surface, you
Speaker 2: may say, yeah, that's a pretty good starting five, but
Speaker 2: do they have what it takes to withstand the Riggers
Speaker 2: of covering close to two one thousand innings in one
Speaker 2: hundred and sixty two games. That's what the Dodgers have,
Speaker 2: And I guess that's I'm not gonna say the Dodgers
Speaker 2: don't need Blakesnell, because they do need Blakesnell to be
Speaker 2: back in May sometimes considering you know, where their rotation
Speaker 2: is and how they're trying to manage innings for not
Speaker 2: only Snell but everybody else in this rotation. But even
Speaker 2: with Gavin Stone having a setback with his shoulder, the
Speaker 2: Dodgers still have Emmit Sheian. They still have Otani Yamamoto,
Speaker 2: Tyler Glass now and a valuable pitcher and Justin Robleski.
Speaker 2: You know, I plan to ask Justin tomorrow about just
Speaker 2: where he's at this spring and whether or not he's still,
Speaker 2: you know, going to be the swingman for this team
Speaker 2: or is he going to be in the starting rotation.
Speaker 2: He's a very valuable piece to the Dodgers. Now, everybody
Speaker 2: wants to know where is the Dodgers' vulnerability this team,
Speaker 2: And we'll get in to this coming up at the
Speaker 2: bottom of the hour. I got news for you. This
Speaker 2: team is better than it was a year ago. But
Speaker 2: if you had to ask me if there is a vulnerability,
Speaker 2: I would say it would be a right handed high
Speaker 2: leverage reliever in the sixth or seventh inning, because right
Speaker 2: now there's a lot of questions surrounding thirty seven year
Speaker 2: old Blake trining They were counting on Bruce dark Grederol
Speaker 2: after missing basically the last two years, to be part
Speaker 2: of the right handed high leverage relief spot. And I
Speaker 2: know that Dodgers have Edwin Diaz, but he's the closer
Speaker 2: who's gonna get many Machado out and Fernando Tatiss out
Speaker 2: in the sixth or seventh inning. It's not gonna be
Speaker 2: Edwin Diaz. They need him to close out the game.
Speaker 2: And they have really good left handed relievers with Vesia
Speaker 2: Dreyer and Tanner Scott, But where are the right handed
Speaker 2: high leverage relievers? Who is that Without Bruce star Graderol
Speaker 2: and Blake Trinan. I would say it's been mixed results
Speaker 2: this spring. He's thirty seven years old. Let's not forget
Speaker 2: that Kyle Hurt. He could be part of the equation.
Speaker 2: Brock Stewart is part of the equation, but he's not
Speaker 2: gonna be ready for the first probably three weeks of
Speaker 2: the season. The Dodgers will hopefully get Evan Phillips back
Speaker 2: the second half of the season, but I'm talking about
Speaker 2: the first half of the season at Gardo Enriquez. Is
Speaker 2: he really ready for that? I'm not sure he is.
Speaker 2: I guess we're gonna find out together. But if you
Speaker 2: had to ask what is the one vulnerability, it would
Speaker 2: be that who is the other right handed high leverage
Speaker 2: reliever the Dodgers are going to be counting on. I
Speaker 2: I'm pulling for Blake Trinan. I would love to see
Speaker 2: him have a bounce back year from last year after
Speaker 2: or just how much he meant to the twenty four
Speaker 2: Dodgers and winning that championship. I would love to see
Speaker 2: him bounce back and have a great twenty six. And
Speaker 2: I don't know if he wants to keep pitching or not,
Speaker 2: but sometimes the game and your arm decides that He's
Speaker 2: thirty seven years old with a lot of miles on it.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine, eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number when we continue live from camel Back Ranching, Glendale, Arizona.
Speaker 2: We are going to get into the Dodgers involved in
Speaker 2: the World Baseball Classic, and I really haven't talked about,
Speaker 2: you know, the the stuff going on, I guess with
Speaker 2: Team USA and not knowing that they are or not advancing.
Speaker 2: They are now thanks to net Coletti's Team Italy. But
Speaker 2: we'll get into the World Baseball Classic and we'll get
Speaker 2: into the sobering reality for the rest of Major League
Speaker 2: Baseball that the Dodgers are better than they were a
Speaker 2: year ago. Hard to believe. Eight six six nine eight
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number David Vassay
Speaker 2: live at camel Back Ranch where the Dodgers are leading
Speaker 2: the Reds six to three in the fourth inning. Don't
Speaker 2: go anywhere. We might tap in to Rick Monday and
Speaker 2: Tim Nevertt again right here on AM five seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 2: We are with you until eight o'clock tonight, right here
Speaker 2: on AM five to seventy LA Sports as Dodger Talk
Speaker 2: rolls on under the lights at camel Back Branch in Glendale, Arizona,
Speaker 2: where the Dodgers are leading the Reds six to three
Speaker 2: with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Speaker 2: I was talking about who's going to be the Dodgers
Speaker 2: high leverage right handed reliever before they give the ball
Speaker 2: to Edwin dis I mentioned Kyle Hurt. Kyle Hurt just
Speaker 2: pitched a scoreless fourth inning, striking out Spencer Steer and
Speaker 2: Ellie d la Cruz to end the top of the
Speaker 2: fourth on a ninety eight fastball out of USC. He's
Speaker 2: a local SoCal kid. I'm pulling for him. He had
Speaker 2: shoulder surgery a couple of years ago. He's back and
Speaker 2: he certainly is going to be pitching innings for the
Speaker 2: Dodgers out of the bullpen at some point in time.
Speaker 2: It could be to start the season while Brock Stewart
Speaker 2: is on the il to start the year. You know,
Speaker 2: I forgot about Game three World Series hero Will Kline.
Speaker 2: Let's see if Will Klein can find the magic too.
Speaker 2: So he's in the mix. But Kyle Hurt making me
Speaker 2: look good right on cue pitching a scoreless top of
Speaker 2: the fourth inning here at Camelback Ranch and striking out
Speaker 2: the great Ellie de La Cruz on a ninety eight fastball. Hey,
Speaker 2: Tuesday night, we didn't have time for phone calls. Tonight
Speaker 2: we have time for phone calls. So we're only two
Speaker 2: weeks away from opening day. That's right, We're only two
Speaker 2: weeks away from opening day and the Dodgers are only
Speaker 2: going to be here in Arizona for another week before
Speaker 2: the Freeway Series starts a week from Saturday. So, uh,
Speaker 2: now's the time. Eight six six nine eight seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy is the phone number, And now's to time
Speaker 2: to go see my guy Sam at Downy Hunday. That's right,
Speaker 2: my guy Sam is waiting for you. It's a party there.
Speaker 2: It's not like a boring car dealership where you go
Speaker 2: in it's so sterile. No, this guy's got Strobe lights on.
Speaker 2: He's got flat screen TVs in the back of the
Speaker 2: showroom cars. That's the reason why Hyundai Downey or Downy
Speaker 2: Hunday was voted number one dealer of the Year for
Speaker 2: North America by the Hyundai Motor Company. Sam doesn't mess around.
Speaker 2: He's a great guy. Awarded twenty twenty five Board of
Speaker 2: Excellence by Hyundai Motor Company. I mean, this guy is
Speaker 2: as decorated as the Dodgers. They're going for the repeat,
Speaker 2: the three peat like the Dodgers are. And with Downy Hunday,
Speaker 2: it all about the experience. I got to experience it firsthand.
Speaker 2: I'm all in with Downy Hunday. You should be too,
Speaker 2: So go see my guy Sam. Tell him David Vasse
Speaker 2: sent you, okay, and while you're waiting for him, enjoy
Speaker 2: the scenes. There's a lot of scenes there at Downy Hunday.
Speaker 2: Eight six six, nine eighty seven, two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. All right, my guy, not only Sam
Speaker 2: at Hyundai Downy, but Yoshinobo Yamamoto. He is going to
Speaker 2: pitch against Venezuela for Team Japan this Saturday. He's going
Speaker 2: to be stretched out as he usually is during this
Speaker 2: time period. If he was here pitching in the Cactus League,
Speaker 2: he would be getting stretched out to the fourth fifth
Speaker 2: inning of games like Tyler Glass now was in his
Speaker 2: last start. So that's what's going to happen on Saturday
Speaker 2: against Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. I got
Speaker 2: good news for you if you're a Dodger fan. It's
Speaker 2: gonna be the last time that Yamamoto pitches for Team
Speaker 2: Japan in this World Baseball Classic. He's not going to
Speaker 2: pitch again for Team Japan, win or lose after this
Speaker 2: Venezuela start. But don't expect to see him back at
Speaker 2: Camelback Ranch on Sunday. Because of his dedication and how
Speaker 2: much the World Baseball Classic means to him and Japan,
Speaker 2: He's gonna stay there. He's gonna stay with the team
Speaker 2: through Miami until they're eliminated. If they're eliminated or they
Speaker 2: get to the championship game, he's gonna be there until
Speaker 2: the end whenever that is for Team Japan. But he's
Speaker 2: not going to pitch after Saturday. That was made clear
Speaker 2: to me. Eight six, six, nine eighty seven, two five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 2: I feel like in the last twenty four to forty
Speaker 2: eight hours, my guy, Mark de Rosa has been you know,
Speaker 2: bloodied by every sports talk talking head out there. I'm
Speaker 2: not gonna pile on and kick him while he's down.
Speaker 2: The reason why I say is my guy is because
Speaker 2: he has treated me really well when I've been a
Speaker 2: guest on MLB Central. I mean, he and Lauren Shahadi
Speaker 2: and Roflow allowed me to stay on the set before
Speaker 2: Game seven of the World Series as the Blue Jays
Speaker 2: manager John Schneider came over on the set. So I'm
Speaker 2: not gonna completely bury Mark de Rosa. But part of
Speaker 2: the reason I can't buy all the way into the
Speaker 2: World Baseball Classic. And look, I've been labeled as a
Speaker 2: hater anti World Baseball Classic. I'm really not. I can
Speaker 2: appreciate the games. I can appreciate certain fan bases loving it.
Speaker 2: I can appreciate a guy like kek Hernandez who has
Speaker 2: so much pride for Puerto Rico and wants to perform
Speaker 2: for them, wants them to do well. Obviously he's hurt
Speaker 2: he can't play, but certainly has a lot of pride
Speaker 2: for his island. I can appreciate all of that. But
Speaker 2: if you're trying to tell me this is a true
Speaker 2: competitive tournament, that's why I can't buy all the way in.
Speaker 2: And you're telling me that they have the best of
Speaker 2: the best for Team USA. But they have an inexperienced
Speaker 2: manager managing this collection of stars, and DeRosa is a
Speaker 2: great guy. He's a very likable guy that can bring
Speaker 2: twenty six guys together quickly. But you're telling me Bruce
Speaker 2: Bouchie or Dusty Baker who's managing for Nicaragua somehow. I mean,
Speaker 2: I know he has that background in his family, but
Speaker 2: Dusty's a proud American as well. You're telling me Mike Zoshia,
Speaker 2: I mean, that's my biggest gripe. USA Baseball has Mike
Speaker 2: Sosia manage virtually every other tournament for them, but not
Speaker 2: this one. And the reason is it's cross promotion. Mark
Speaker 2: DeRosa is on the best morning show baseball half MLB Central,
Speaker 2: hands down, probably the best morning show on television during
Speaker 2: the baseball season, So it's cross promotion. It's put on
Speaker 2: by Major League Baseball. Another reason why I can't buy
Speaker 2: all the way into the World Baseball Classic is Trek
Speaker 2: Schouoble makes one start and leaves, and look, I understand it.
Speaker 2: I agree with that decision, but it's not the best
Speaker 2: of the best pitching wise. And here's another thing that
Speaker 2: stood out to me. USA and Japan because of the
Speaker 2: way USA played and pool play was on collision for
Speaker 2: a Japan USA semi finals. But oh wait a minute,
Speaker 2: you got to read the fine print, right Check it out.
Speaker 2: Check out the fine print at the bottom from the
Speaker 2: very beginning Major League Baseball has wanted the USA and
Speaker 2: Japan to be in the finals against each other. But
Speaker 2: lo and behold if you check out the bracket. If
Speaker 2: the US advances to the quarterfinals in Houston, their match
Speaker 2: not a game. I thought baseball was a game, not
Speaker 2: a match. That's tennis. Their match will be played on Friday,
Speaker 2: March thirteenth, regardless of where they finish first or second
Speaker 2: in Pool B. That's fine. If Japan advances to the
Speaker 2: quarterfinals in Miami, their match will be played on Saturday,
Speaker 2: March fourteenth. The reason why is because they don't want
Speaker 2: these two teams playing each other in the semi finals.
Speaker 2: They want it lined up for them to play in
Speaker 2: the finals. So I'm sure you believe that wrestling is
Speaker 2: real too. If you believed that the World Baseball Classic
Speaker 2: was a true competition, it is. Nothing is you know,
Speaker 2: pre determined before those two games. But when you do,
Speaker 2: you see that fine print that is trying to bring
Speaker 2: together US and Japan for the biggest ratings, the biggest
Speaker 2: tickets in Miami. Come on, That's the reason why I
Speaker 2: can't buy all the way in like some other people.
Speaker 2: I just can't. And I feel like the more it
Speaker 2: goes on, it gets more exposed for that. It's a
Speaker 2: made for TV event, somewhat gimmicky, somewhat gimmicky. The Olympics
Speaker 2: is where it's at. You're not gonna have any of
Speaker 2: that going on to try to get US and Japan
Speaker 2: in the gold medal game. But look, we can all
Speaker 2: enjoy it for what it is. Can we all agree
Speaker 2: on that it's fun and it's great camaraderie, it's great
Speaker 2: representation of country. It's awesome in that respect. But don't
Speaker 2: try to tell me this is not a made for
Speaker 2: TV scripted event. Eight six six nine, eight seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy is the phone number. We have three lines open,
Speaker 2: and we are live at camel Back Ranch as the
Speaker 2: Dodgers and Reds are playing under the lights tonight and
Speaker 2: the Dodgers are leading the red six to three in
Speaker 2: the top of the fifth inning. Actually the top of
Speaker 2: the fifth just ended. Let's go out to the phones.
Speaker 2: Mike in Hollywood. You're on Dodger Talk. How you doing, Mike?
Speaker 6: I'm good, Dave.
Speaker 7: What's up?
Speaker 8: How are you howards Arizona?
Speaker 5: Is it hot?
Speaker 7: Oh?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I was.
Speaker 2: The heat has been turned up this week. And if
Speaker 2: you're coming out here. Be ready for temperatures close to
Speaker 2: one hundred degrees.
Speaker 8: Oh, I wish I could make it. Listen, David, I
Speaker 8: want to do it. Check in with you about Mookie.
Speaker 8: You know, last two seasons, we've had some down offensive years.
Speaker 8: You know, he's been injured, he's been ill, he had
Speaker 8: some personal family tragedy. Working on being really one of
Speaker 8: the best shortstops.
Speaker 2: In the majors.
Speaker 8: And I heard at the beginning of spring that he
Speaker 8: felt like he was, you know, going to have some
Speaker 8: kind of return to form, that he was feeling the
Speaker 8: best spring in a long time.
Speaker 7: Where's he at.
Speaker 8: What are you thinking for Mookie season? Offensively, I'm expecting
Speaker 8: great things from him. It's shortstop again. But wanted to
Speaker 8: see what she was thinking about him offensively.
Speaker 2: No, I'm with you, Mike. I feel like he's gonna
Speaker 2: bounce back and prove a lot of people wrong. We
Speaker 2: had JD. Martinez on a couple of weeks ago, and
Speaker 2: he believes that Mookie's an MVP candidate even at this
Speaker 2: stage of his career, even after coming off his worst
Speaker 2: offensive season, and MOOKI by the way, Mike has stepped
Speaker 2: away from the team, he has returned to Los Angeles
Speaker 2: to be with his wife because they are expecting their
Speaker 2: third child. And Dave Roberts said, he yeah, yeah, So
Speaker 2: Mookie's gonna be back Saturday and probably in the lineup.
Speaker 2: So all our best wishes are with Brianna and Mooki
Speaker 2: as they welcome in their third child. So that's where
Speaker 2: Mookie's at. And the other morning before he left for
Speaker 2: LA to be with Brianna, h I saw him with
Speaker 2: the Yamamoto arrows tucked underneath his arm. He was going
Speaker 2: back out there, and it's working for him. I guess
Speaker 2: the velocity he is up on his throws, uh, without
Speaker 2: putting a lot of stress on his arm to continuing
Speaker 2: to throw the baseball. So he's trying to get better
Speaker 2: and he's uh, he's locked in on trying to win
Speaker 2: his fifth World Series and help the Dodgers become the
Speaker 2: first team since the Yankees to three peat twenty six
Speaker 2: years ago. Eight six six nine eight seven two five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number when we continue, maybe we'll
Speaker 2: tap into Rick Monday and ten Nevert even more. And
Speaker 2: also you'll hear from key Y Hernandez about the Dodgers
Speaker 2: going for the three peat and Derek Carr shared with
Speaker 2: us how he got the second base bag that Miguel
Speaker 2: Rojas and keyk Hernandez teamed up to force a game seven. Yeah,
Speaker 2: he has that. He'll tell us the story. He joined
Speaker 2: us on Tuesday. We'll share that with you again right
Speaker 2: here on Dodger Talk on a five to seventy LA Sports. Ah,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers are pouring it on at kemel Back Ranch.
Speaker 2: David Fast say with you until eight o'clock. Right here
Speaker 2: on a five to seventy LA Sports. The Dodgers are
Speaker 2: leading the Reds eight to three. Tae Oscar Hernandez just
Speaker 2: hit a two run home run, So the Dodgers offense
Speaker 2: rolling right now against the Reds. And right now it's
Speaker 2: Freddie Freeman at first base, Alex Call at the plate,
Speaker 2: Max Monsey on deck, who also hit a two run
Speaker 2: home run in the last inning. So maybe we'll tap
Speaker 2: into Rick Monday and Tim Neverett for the monthly at
Speaker 2: back coming up here after Call either gets on or
Speaker 2: strikes out. It's a full count right now with nobody
Speaker 2: out in the bottom of the fifth inning, Dodgers leading
Speaker 2: the Reds eight to three. Now, our next simulcast broadcast
Speaker 2: is going to be this Saturday, the Dodgers will be
Speaker 2: right here at Camelback Ranch facing the White Sox. The
Speaker 2: White Sox will be the home team, the Dodgers will
Speaker 2: be the road team, as you know, they share this stadium.
Speaker 2: Our coverage begins at twelve thirty, first pitch at one
Speaker 2: oh five with Rick Monday and Tim Neverett, and our
Speaker 2: next Dodger talk show won't be until Saint Patrick's Day.
Speaker 2: So that's next Tuesday. And like I mentioned, spring training
Speaker 2: is rapidly coming to an end. Opening Day is just
Speaker 2: two weeks away, March twenty sixth. Don't forget. Opening Day
Speaker 2: is an evening affair five forty. They're doing that because
Speaker 2: of their new partnership with Peacock. Not a great time
Speaker 2: if you're a hitter to be facing pitching at five forty,
Speaker 2: as you know. So whoever is the opening day starter
Speaker 2: for the Dodgers and whoever's pitching for the Diamondbacks, it's
Speaker 2: Zach Gallon. Actually, Gallen is gonna be the opening day starter.
Speaker 2: They're gonna be feeling good. All right, Let's go tap
Speaker 2: into Sports at LA before we take more phone calls
Speaker 2: and hear from keyk Hernandez. Max Munsey has step to
Speaker 2: the plate with two on and nobody out, Munsey hit
Speaker 2: a two run home run in his last at bat.
Speaker 4: Souvenir Bill, that was.
Speaker 1: A loud sound.
Speaker 5: It's from Anton that's lowing in. I'm going to peel
Speaker 5: down to third. Miche Lensky says, no, he didn't go.
Speaker 5: But Mike Malinsky on the bases with Brian Van breaking
Speaker 5: and Jen Paul is back out there tonight. First female
Speaker 5: umpire in the major leagues turns out there umpiring. Second basis.
Speaker 5: Sitting umpires continue to rotate on the basis during spring training.
Speaker 2: Max's went up in the air place able to left.
Speaker 2: Come on month, see underneath it. I guess I can't
Speaker 2: go to the at bats. Every time I go to
Speaker 2: there at bats, they don't hit the home run. I
Speaker 2: was so close before we went to the break to
Speaker 2: tap into ta Oscar Hernandez's at bat, and he hits
Speaker 2: a two run home run. So Max Munsey a two
Speaker 2: run home run. He's sitting three point thirty three this spring.
Speaker 2: He hit that two run home run in his last
Speaker 2: at bat, the Dodgers leading the Reds right now eight
Speaker 2: to three, in the bottom of the fifth inning. I
Speaker 2: got news for you. The Dodgers have scored eight runs,
Speaker 2: and they don't have Mookie Bets in the lineup. They
Speaker 2: don't have Kyle Tucker in the lineup. They don't have
Speaker 2: Will Smith in the lineup. They don't have Tommy Edmond
Speaker 2: in the lineup. What I'm trying to tell you is
Speaker 2: the Dodgers are a much scarier team than they were
Speaker 2: a year ago. If you look at the Dodgers last year,
Speaker 2: and Andrew Freeman has been very, very candidate out this
Speaker 2: The Dodgers were not a good offensive team the second
Speaker 2: half of last year, and they only hit two oh
Speaker 2: three in the World Series and somehow still won a
Speaker 2: seven game World Series. So what did the Dodgers do?
Speaker 2: Michael Conforto not much production out of left field. Uh,
Speaker 2: not a lot of range in left field. They go
Speaker 2: out and sign Kyle Tucker. Kyle Tucker now hitting second
Speaker 2: is gonna allow Mookie Betts to hit third. You got Otani, Tucker, Bets,
Speaker 2: Freeman as your first four hitters. You're better defensively in
Speaker 2: right field, which helps your pitching staff. Andy Piz has
Speaker 2: showed no signs of a sophomore slump this spring. He's
Speaker 2: hitting four to fourteen with an eleven hundred ops. He's
Speaker 2: two for two tonight, has scored two runs. Tascar Hernandez
Speaker 2: has driven in piz twice tonight with an RBI double
Speaker 2: in a two run home run. So you got Pie
Speaker 2: Hev and a much more confident Pa has in center field,
Speaker 2: and a guy that still feels like he has a
Speaker 2: lot to prove, so he's got that edge still. And
Speaker 2: you got ti Oscar Hernandez who has come into camp
Speaker 2: fifteen to twenty pounds lighter than he was a year ago,
Speaker 2: and he's banging the ball around all spring training, so
Speaker 2: it obviously hasn't taken any pop out of his bat.
Speaker 2: And he's going to be more nimble in left field.
Speaker 2: He's a better left fielder. When the Dodgers won the
Speaker 2: World Series in twenty twenty four, when Taoscar Hernandez was
Speaker 2: playing left field, he had thirty three home runs and
Speaker 2: drove in one hundred runs. You got Max Munsey, who
Speaker 2: is the healthiest he's been in a couple of years.
Speaker 2: At third base. You got Mookie Bets, and I find
Speaker 2: it hard to believe that Mookie Betts is going to
Speaker 2: have a repeat of last season's offensive struggles. You're going
Speaker 2: to have a combination of Rojas Edmund Kim at second,
Speaker 2: and he got Freddie Freeman, who is showing no signs
Speaker 2: of father time catching up with him. And you got
Speaker 2: Will Smith, who is in the prime of his career.
Speaker 2: Not to mention, the Dodgers' bullpen blew at least ten
Speaker 2: games late. That's not going to happen again this year.
Speaker 2: With Edwin Diaz as their closer. It allows Tanner Scott
Speaker 2: to not have pressure. You're getting Alex Vesia back, who
Speaker 2: did not pitch in the World Series. So the two
Speaker 2: biggest weaknesses whereas closing games the bullpen and outfield offense
Speaker 2: and defense, and the Dodgers have been able to take
Speaker 2: care of both at the same time, or take care
Speaker 2: of both during the offseason. So I got news for you,
Speaker 2: everybody that's angry at the Dodgers, Well you had your
Speaker 2: last year. They were more vulnerable to be beat last year,
Speaker 2: and they almost were. They almost were. The Padres almost
Speaker 2: beat them in the NLS. They finished three games back.
Speaker 2: The Phillies blew it. Basically, they came close. The Brewers
Speaker 2: lost a close game one, the Dodgers swept them. The
Speaker 2: Blue Jays inches from beating a Dodger offense that only
Speaker 2: hit two oh three and was using starters as relievers,
Speaker 2: not just one starter, but multiple starters because they didn't
Speaker 2: really have too many relief options they could trust. Not
Speaker 2: So this year, the Dodgers are in a much better
Speaker 2: spot at this time last year than they were a
Speaker 2: year ago. They are a much better team, and I
Speaker 2: kind of feel like there was more pressure around this
Speaker 2: Dodger team to see whether or not they could repeat
Speaker 2: last year. Then there is going into camp and being
Speaker 2: around camp this year because they're playing with house money,
Speaker 2: going for the three peat. They faced the pressure cooker
Speaker 2: last year. It just feels a little more free and
Speaker 2: easy and the normalcy of a spring trending that is
Speaker 2: not requiring the Dodgers to go to Korea or Tokyo
Speaker 2: to start the season. Kei a Hernandez all blonde of him,
Speaker 2: spoke about embracing the fact they are going for history
Speaker 2: and the three peat.
Speaker 9: Yes, we are going for the three peat, but these
Speaker 9: are things that you don't think about because you're trying
Speaker 9: to win this year. Whatever happened last year in the
Speaker 9: previous year, that's already paid for, that's already history. You're
Speaker 9: not trying to win three championship one year. You're just
Speaker 9: trying to win this year, and we know how hard
Speaker 9: it is to win. We don't really take it for granted,
Speaker 9: even though we've been there, done that.
Speaker 10: We know that.
Speaker 9: We start to show up and do what we got
Speaker 9: to do to it, you know, win ball game, win
Speaker 9: the division, get into October, and then win three or
Speaker 9: four series, however many it takes. But as far as
Speaker 9: like thinking three p we're just trying to win this year,
Speaker 9: we're not. Really. We're already won the last two years,
Speaker 9: but that doesn't do anything for us other than, you know,
Speaker 9: put a target on our backs. But we're trying to
Speaker 9: win this year, and if we win this year, it
Speaker 9: just happens to be three in a row. I take
Speaker 9: it as a compliment. I take it as a privilege.
Speaker 9: We we're playing in some some weird times in the
Speaker 9: game where you know, not not every person that owns
Speaker 9: the team is trying to win, a lot of them
Speaker 9: are trying to make money, and fine, if it's it's
Speaker 9: their money, they can do whatever it is. But not
Speaker 9: all thirty teams are trying to win a World Series.
Speaker 9: And for us to be in a position where This
Speaker 9: team is doing whatever it can, it takes or they
Speaker 9: can to put us in a position to compete deep
Speaker 9: into the season, deep into October. I take it as
Speaker 9: a as a as a privilege, and I guess maybe
Speaker 9: it's because it's my tenth year here and it's nothing
Speaker 9: new to me. But I don't necessarily think anything changes
Speaker 9: because we're trying to go.
Speaker 4: Through in a row.
Speaker 2: That was key Hernandez earlier today in the Dodger clubhouse,
Speaker 2: and hard to believe he's been here for ten years.
Speaker 2: He was with the Red Sox for a couple of years,
Speaker 2: but luckily the Dodgers brought him back at the trade
Speaker 2: deadline in twenty twenty four. So look, he is a
Speaker 2: huge voice in that clubhouse, and he's echoing what the
Speaker 2: sentiment is from a lot of players I've spoken to.
Speaker 2: They're not shying away from the fact they're going for
Speaker 2: the three peat. They're not shying away that. Basically everybody
Speaker 2: is resentful of how good they are and the collection
Speaker 2: of talent they have. So that is what separates these
Speaker 2: Dodger players from other teams. They're veterans, they've been there before.
Speaker 2: They were in a Game seven of the World Series
Speaker 2: they understand how to navigate a regular season. And oh,
Speaker 2: by the way, Key k Hernandez won't play until June
Speaker 2: or July, and they'll get a second half Key k
Speaker 2: a Hernandez to go along with everybody else they have.
Speaker 2: They're not gonna have Tommy Edmond to start opening Day,
Speaker 2: but they're going to have Santiago Espinal. It feels like
Speaker 2: the Dodgers may have found another diamond in the rough.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's a major league veteran, he's made an
Speaker 2: All Star team, but the Dodgers just picked him up
Speaker 2: before camp and he's going to make the team and
Speaker 2: he's going to play third base. He's going to play
Speaker 2: some second base. You need those type of guys to
Speaker 2: compliment the stars, and the Dodgers certainly have that. Eight
Speaker 2: six six nine, eight seven two five seventy is the
Speaker 2: phone number. This is Dodger Talk David Vasse live at
Speaker 2: Camelback Ranch as the Dodgers and Reds are playing under
Speaker 2: the lights.
Speaker 4: Right now.
Speaker 2: It's eight to three Dodgers in the top of the
Speaker 2: sixth inning. Let's go back out to the phones. Isaac
Speaker 2: in the City of Industry. You're on Dodger Talk. How
Speaker 2: you doing Isaac, I'm doing well, Dave, are you I'm
Speaker 2: doing great.
Speaker 7: Yeah. So I just want to touch a couple of
Speaker 7: things that you said about the WBC as well as wrestling. Yeah,
Speaker 7: about the WB, about the WBC not being like a
Speaker 7: real tournament because the rosters aren't really made up of
Speaker 7: Not because of that.
Speaker 2: I didn't say because of that. I said because they
Speaker 2: have an asterisk that is trying to get the US
Speaker 2: in Japan to play each other in the finals when
Speaker 2: they should be playing in the semi finals.
Speaker 3: Right right.
Speaker 7: But I'm saying, like some of the players, yeah.
Speaker 2: The best of the best are not playing.
Speaker 7: Yeah, but it's the same thing in the Olympics. You know,
Speaker 7: no major leaguers can be we're able to be on
Speaker 7: the Olympic team. It was so it was mostly made
Speaker 7: up of prospects and minor leaguers and guys that were
Speaker 7: formerly in the league.
Speaker 2: Well, some of the best college baseball players. And that's
Speaker 2: part of the reason. You know, nineteen eighty four that
Speaker 2: US baseball team had some pretty good players on it.
Speaker 2: And I love the fact that Baseball in the Players
Speaker 2: Union is discussing having major league players playing the Olympics
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty eight. So you're telling me that's not
Speaker 2: going to be bigger than the World Baseball Classic.
Speaker 7: For some of the players, it may or may not be.
Speaker 2: I would imagine all.
Speaker 4: Of them are.
Speaker 2: It would be bigger because honestly, the Olympics has done
Speaker 2: baseball dirty. They don't have it as an Olympics sport
Speaker 2: every year depending what host country it is. And that's
Speaker 2: why Major League Baseball decided to start this World Baseball Classic.
Speaker 2: But come on, Dodger Stadium, the Olympics, major League players,
Speaker 2: everybody's want to participate. It's going to be an epic
Speaker 2: Olympics if it does come to fruition. Yeah, and there's
Speaker 2: not going to be any any asterisks to get certain
Speaker 2: teams in the gold medal round like the World Baseball
Speaker 2: Classic has right now, Isaac, Hey, I like it. I
Speaker 2: like the games, certain games I've you know, made a
Speaker 2: point to watch while I'm out here in the desert.
Speaker 2: But I can't buy all the way in I can.
Speaker 2: I can enjoy it for what it is. Yeah, I understand,
Speaker 2: all right, Isaac, Thank you for the phone call. Eight
Speaker 2: six six nine eight seven two five seventy. Yeah, you
Speaker 2: know I was called Debbie Downer you know last week
Speaker 2: on the show, and that's fine, that's fine, but I'm
Speaker 2: a realist. I just can't buy all the way into
Speaker 2: this tournament for a lot of different reasons. And the
Speaker 2: USA manager didn't even know whether or not they were
Speaker 2: going on to the next round. And maybe that's the
Speaker 2: reason why he had Ryan Yarborough in the game, down
Speaker 2: three to nothing and it soon turned five nothing, you know,
Speaker 2: having Ryan Yarborough and no disrespect to him having yards
Speaker 2: in that game that you kind of have to win.
Speaker 2: If USA doesn't come back to score the runs that
Speaker 2: they scored, I feel like somebody let them know, Hey,
Speaker 2: you better start scoring some runs because if you don't,
Speaker 2: you're gonna be in real trouble. If they don't come
Speaker 2: back to make it somewhat of a close game, USA
Speaker 2: is out and there's a lot of fallout if USA
Speaker 2: doesn't didn't advance. And I love Pascuantino saying you're welcome, USA.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's embarrassing, it's embarrassing what took place. And
Speaker 2: I'm not blaming Mark de Rosa. You're telling me Mike Hill,
Speaker 2: in charge of USA Baseball, the GM can't tell them, hey,
Speaker 2: you kind of misspoke. We don't have our ticket punched,
Speaker 2: or this is what's at stake, lay it out for him.
Speaker 2: Come on eight six, six, nine seven, two five seventy
Speaker 2: is the phone number. On Tuesday night, when all that
Speaker 2: was unfolding, Derek Carr, the former Raiders quarterback, joined us.
Speaker 2: And if you want to hear that show, was a
Speaker 2: great show Rick Monday, Derek Carr. You can hear the
Speaker 2: entirety of that show on the iHeart Radio app, and
Speaker 2: you can live stream Dodger games and make Dodger Talk
Speaker 2: a number one preset on the iHeart Radio app. And
Speaker 2: right now, looking at what's happening before we get to
Speaker 2: Derek Carr, just paying the picture because Alex Vesia just
Speaker 2: pitched a scoreless sixth inning here at camel Back Ranch
Speaker 2: and is coming off the field to standing ovation and applause,
Speaker 2: And obviously Dodger fans that are here at camel Back
Speaker 2: Ranch for the first time want to show a Vessia
Speaker 2: with a lot of love. So that was special ast well.
Speaker 2: Great to have him back. And that beard, I mean
Speaker 2: it is getting Peter Griffin lane. I think there's a
Speaker 2: bird nesting in that Vessia beard these days. But awesome
Speaker 2: to have him back, and it feels like he's getting
Speaker 2: back to you know, baseball when he's here at the ranch. Anyway,
Speaker 2: as the Dodgers and Reds playing to the bottom of
Speaker 2: the sixth inning, I want to share with you Derek
Speaker 2: Carr's story. Derek Carr, if you watch his podcast, has
Speaker 2: a baseball base in the background, and that bass, he
Speaker 2: explained to us, is the actual second base bag that
Speaker 2: was in the ground in Toronto for Game six of
Speaker 2: the World Series. Remember Key k Hernandez doubling off Addison
Speaker 2: Barger at second base, Rojas making an incredible pick, short
Speaker 2: hop pick. Yeah, Derek Carr has that in his office.
Speaker 2: Here's the story on how he obtained not just a
Speaker 2: piece of memorabilia, but a piece of Dodger in baseball history.
Speaker 10: Honestly, we still don't have I don't even know if
Speaker 10: I have the real story yet. But a business partner
Speaker 10: of ours was like, man, I just wanted to get
Speaker 10: you guys something nice. And he said, I had no
Speaker 10: clue what to get you, So I thought Dodgers and
Speaker 10: he said I had I reached out and had someone
Speaker 10: and whatever, and he just went down this rabbit hole
Speaker 10: and sure enough, it pops up in our office and
Speaker 10: it's I mean, it's got the it's got the dirt marks,
Speaker 10: it's got the cleat marks, it's got everything. And I
Speaker 10: was like, dude, this is like such a precious thing
Speaker 10: to some Dodger fans. Obviously, for that moment to end
Speaker 10: right there at second base and now it's sitting here
Speaker 10: in our office in Presno, California.
Speaker 1: Is pretty cool.
Speaker 2: That was Derek Carr and the story of how he
Speaker 2: has the second base bag from Toronto Rogers Center Game six,
Speaker 2: so the World Series in his office and he's coming
Speaker 2: to ten games and I said, hey, I got to
Speaker 2: let Miguel Rojas and Key k Hernandez know that you
Speaker 2: have this second base back in your possession. And Rojas
Speaker 2: immediately said, yeah, tell them, tell them to bring it
Speaker 2: to Dodger Stadium. I'll sign it for him. I haven't
Speaker 2: had a chance to relay the story to Key a Hernandez,
Speaker 2: but Rojas, who actually had his cleat marks on the
Speaker 2: second base bag receiving the throw from Key a Hernandez
Speaker 2: to end Game six and force a Game seven, he's
Speaker 2: all in to sign that for Derek Carr. So cool story.
Speaker 2: Derek Carr's been a Dodger fan since he was a kid.
Speaker 2: His brother David, his other brother, you know, Dad. They
Speaker 2: grew up in Bakersfield and we're all in with the
Speaker 2: Dodgers as kids. So a great story. And if you
Speaker 2: want to hear the full conversation with Derek Carr, like
Speaker 2: I said, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2: That'll do it for us. Tonight from camel Back Ranch.
Speaker 2: To keep up with the Dodgers the rest of this game,
Speaker 2: tune over to Sports net LA Rick Monday and Tim
Speaker 2: Neverett on the call as the Dodgers are up eight
Speaker 2: to three in the bottom of the sixth inning. Our
Speaker 2: next Dodger talk show will be next Tuesday, Saint Patrick's
Speaker 2: Day at seven o'clock, and our next Dodgers simulcast right
Speaker 2: here on a five seventy LA Sports with Rick and
Speaker 2: Tim will be this Saturday. Our coverage begins at twelve
Speaker 2: thirty and first pitch at one oh five between the
Speaker 2: Dodgers and White Sox right here at camel Back Ranch
Speaker 2: in Glendale, Arizona. Thanks to Ronnie Fascio for all his help.
Speaker 2: Thanks to Colin Yee who is back at the Burbanks
Speaker 2: Studios earlier today and thanks to you for listening. Like
Speaker 2: I said, you missed the show any of them. iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: App is where you want to go. And oh, by
Speaker 2: the way, I'll be back with you tomorrow at noon
Speaker 2: Rogan and Rodney are off. I'll be co hosting the
Speaker 2: Rogan and Rodney Show with that's right, the one and
Speaker 2: only Southern California Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer himself, Steve Hartman.
Speaker 2: That's right, Steve Hartman and David Vasse tomorrow noon to
Speaker 2: can't wait to do that with Steve Hartman. It'll be wild.
Speaker 2: Hope you tune in as well. We'll talk to you tomorrow.
Speaker 2: Have a great rest of your night.
Speaker 8: See you