WEBVTT - Off day Dodger Talk (4-16-26) 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:03.720 The quest for the three peat has begun. Only four 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:08.600 teams in Major League Baseball history have won three consecutive titles. 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:12.480 The Dodgers are the favorites to become the fifth fifth. 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:15.040 This is world Champion Dodger Talk. 0:00:15.120 --> 0:00:15.880 Here we go again. 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:18.800 We're got to running Back, hosted by Dodgers in Cider 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:22.760 David Bassett are three in the mix. Dodger Talk is 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.680 brought to you by La County Public Works Champions recycled 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:31.320 beverage containers make the play Recycle Today, and by Children's 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:35.040 Hospital LA from Colds to Cancer. We got this to 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.479 get in on the show called eight six six not 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:40.040 eighty seven two five seven day and be sure to 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:43.920 follow Dodger Talk wherever you get your podcasts. And now 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:46.840 your host Here's Tim Kakes. 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:51.559 Greetings and welcome to Off nine Dodger Talk here on 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:56.160 AM five seventy, LA's Horse Live Everywhere on the IHAR 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:58.920 Radio app. I am Tim Kats with you here for 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.160 the next hour and I'll want you to be a 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:03.000 part of the show. To nine eighty six six nine 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.360 eighty seven two five seventy eight six six nine eight 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:10.720 seven two five seventy as your Dodgers Off Tonight. Tomorrow 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:14.200 they start a road trip in Denver with the first 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.280 of four against the Colorado Rockies. As the Dodgers sit 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:21.960 atop the NL West Aster eighteen games, they are fourteen 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.759 and four, and now they've got a stretch of thirteen 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:29.360 games in thirteen days beginning with the four game wrap 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:33.080 around series. It starts tomorrow at Corsfield and we'll finish 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:36.040 on Monday. Then the Dodgers will head to San Francisco 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:40.200 for a three game series next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:43.480 before returning home. But the Dodgers now embarking on a 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:46.800 stretch in which the depth is gonna be tested, and 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:49.520 the depth of the starting pitching is gonna be on 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:51.720 full display in my mind, and the Dodgers with a 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.920 six man rotation here in the month of April, especially 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:56.960 going to this stretch where they're not gonna have a 0:01:57.040 --> 0:02:00.200 day off for two weeks, playing every single day. To 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:04.480 see six man rotation for Dave Robertson this Dodgers team 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.160 moving forward until they can finally come up for air 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:10.000 and get a break on the schedule. Eight six, six, nine, 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:11.880 eighty seven, two five seven. We got a lot to 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:15.120 get to over the next hour, including a farm report 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.000 coming up in seven forty five. Yes, the minor league 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.360 season is about three and a half weeks old, and 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:22.880 we're starting to see some of the Dodgers' top prospects 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:25.280 do their thing. We'll give you an update on host 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:29.120 Way Depaula's i hear Hope and Ward o'quinteraro, Emil Morales 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:32.600 who was in Ontario with the Tower Buzzers, Kindle George. 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:35.240 Some of the Dodgers' top minor league prospects. Guys, you're 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:38.960 gonna see tomorrow how they're doing today down in the 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.120 minor leagues. Jackson Ferris, an update on River Ryan, who's 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:45.160 in Triple A, Oklahoma City, working his way back from 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:47.399 Tommy John surgery. So that is coming up in seven 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.000 forty five. We'll give you an update on how those Dodgers' 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:53.520 top minor leaguers are doing, including James Tibbs the third, 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.720 who hit another home run last night, a four hundred 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:59.720 and thirty nine foot bomb in Triple A with the 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:03.520 com He is just absolutely knocking on the door to 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:06.080 get to the major league level. Unfortunately, right now there's 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:09.400 just not enough room for James Timms, the third with 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.600 the Los Angeles Dodgers. But whenever the case is, they 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.079 need somebody to come up and play outfield and get 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:17.839 some at bats. No doubt James Tims the Third will 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:20.639 be wearing a Dodger uniform soon. They Dodgers did make 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:24.919 a move today. Yes, they acquired right handed pitcher Chase 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.320 McDermott from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for right handed 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.680 pitcher Axel Perez. Now McDermott twenty seven year old in 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:34.840 Triple A Norfolk with Baltimore. Want to know the six 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:37.920 to seventy five Erora he will be in Triple A 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:41.600 Oklahoma City. Another arm for the Dodgers to go to, 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:44.480 a big right hander that the Dodgers now having their 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:48.080 stable of arms down in the minor leagues. Eight sixty six, 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:51.040 nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the number. Woke 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:53.640 up today and I saw an article on the California 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:57.400 Post from Dylan Hernandez, long time columnus here in Southern 0:03:57.440 --> 0:04:00.160 California had covered the Dodgers for a long time the 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:02.839 La Times, and it opened up my eyes and got 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:09.720 me thinking, Wow, the Dodgers seriously have a debate on 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:13.400 what to do with show Heyotani, and in my opinion, 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:16.640 there is a decision to be made, and quite frankly, 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:21.280 it's not as easy as you think. The Dodgers last night, 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:24.440 a couple hours before the game, released the starting lineup 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:27.120 and show Hey Otani was not a two way player. 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:30.719 Otani was the starting pitcher. Shoe Altani went out last 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.000 night and absolutely dealt against the New York Mets when 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:38.440 six innings ten strikeouts kept you know, the Mets in check. 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:41.560 Last night, shoe Aotani did his thing, but it was 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:45.520 for the first time since twenty twenty one that he 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:49.040 pitched a game and did not hit in the game. Now, 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:51.480 in twenty twenty two, they changed it to the Otani rule, 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:53.360 so when he comes out, he can stay in the game. 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.760 But last night, Dalton Russia was a designated hitter and 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:04.080 Shoe Aotani was only the starting pitcher. Dave Roberts told 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:07.000 David Vasse and the media before the game that after 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.720 getting hit on the right shoulder on Monday night by 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:14.200 a pitch in the series opener, he was still sore 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:17.720 and just for precautionary reasons, they didn't want him to 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:21.200 also have to bat, just concentrate on pitching, and again 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:24.960 he went out there six innings, struck out ten, and 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:26.960 the Dodgers got the winning to sweep over the New 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:32.719 York Mets. Dylan Hernandez wrote, don't overthink it. Dodgers must 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:38.880 let show Heyotani hit even when he pitches. And I 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:43.280 literally stopped in my tracks this morning, thought do they 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:50.480 should they? I don't think they necessarily need show hey 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:55.120 Otani the hitter on nights and when he pitches. And 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:57.440 let me lay this out for you at eight six, six, nine, seven, 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:01.120 five seventy because it's it's it's not as simple as 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:03.800 you think. It's not as black and white as you 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:06.960 would think. Yes, he's a hitter when he pitches, or no, 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:10.200 they have another designated hitter in his spot when he's 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:15.200 a starting pitcher. Yeah. They signed show Heyo Tani to 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:18.840 a seven hundred million dollar deal a couple of off 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.479 seasons to go, the most lucrative deal in baseball history, 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:24.240 because he is a unicorn, because he can do two 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:28.679 things at an elite level that nobody else has done 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:32.440 or will do. Be a starting pitcher at an elite 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:37.680 level and be a hitter at an elite level. Now 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:41.840 show heo Tani. Whatever he does, he does it at 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:46.040 a just different level than everybody else. Show Hey has 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:51.239 won MVPs, Shoe Heo Tani has been an All Star 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:55.200 show Heo Tani is now a two time World Series Champion. 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:58.200 He was the Rookie of the Year. He was an 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:03.000 MVP in the NLCS. He's a four time MVP in 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.840 both the American League now in the National League. He 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:10.440 was a National League RBI leader. He's a fifty to 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.800 fifty player with the fifty home runs in the fifty 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:18.680 stolen bases. He has done it all except win a 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:24.320 Cy Young and if you're show Hey O Tani, and 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:26.520 he hasn't public coming, you know, as far as I 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.200 know come out and said this, But I've seen quotes 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:33.120 from Dalton Rushing and Will Smith when asked about it. Yeah, 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:35.400 it's certainly on his mind. In something that he would 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:39.560 want to do is check another box and win a 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:45.120 Cy Young Award with the Dodgers All Star World Series Champ, 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:50.480 MVP four different times, Silver Slugger Award, Rookie of the Year, 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:56.240 home run leader twice. He has done almost everything you 0:07:56.360 --> 0:08:01.680 can do in baseball except when a Now I understand 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:05.080 individual awards you don't really look at and you know, 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.360 will you want to harp on? And it's a team sport. 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:14.040 I get all that. But two years ago, Shoeyo Tani, 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:18.040 the hitter, was coming back from Tommy John surgery. Two 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:23.440 years ago he hit fifty plus home runs and stoled 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:27.880 over fifty bases, something he had never done before individually 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:31.080 in his career. Certainly not anybody has done that collectively 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:37.040 until he did it two years ago. Fifty home runs, 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:43.320 fifty stolen bases, And because he wasn't pitching, Shoeyotani said, 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:46.240 what can I work on? What can I go after? 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:48.920 What can I be better at? What can I master? 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:54.440 If you will stolen bases, set a goal, stole fifty 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:58.200 plus bases, hit fifty plus home runs, did something nobody 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:01.880 had ever done before. Again, will you do that again? 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:06.240 Probably not because of the dynamic of him pitching now, 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:08.960 in the stress and the physical toll that it puts 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:12.199 on you having to pitch once a week. But now 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:14.400 that he has accomplished all that he has accomplished in 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:17.000 his career, and the Dodgers are as good as they are, 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:23.480 why not have show Aotani just pitch and not hit 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:27.840 once a week eight sixty six, nine, eight seven, two, 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:31.559 five seventy. I kind of did an informal poll among 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.680 some friends, some text messages, and some people here in 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:36.920 the building, just walking around here in Anti seventy LA 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:39.240 Sports and down the hall on our sister station KFI 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:45.559 AM sixty, and it was kind of split about, Well, 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:48.000 you got him for a reason, he said, two way superstar. 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.560 Even when he's pitch, he's got a hit, right, they 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:54.400 need him in the lineup. A couple of other folks said, well, yeah, 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:55.960 I mean, the lineup is so good. Why do they 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:59.120 need him one day a week when he's hitting the 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:01.880 other days. I can't just focus on pitching that one day. 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:07.960 And I thought to myself, Yeah, you're right. This Dodgers 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:13.840 team is so good. This Dodgers team is so talented 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:17.280 top to bottom. And we're seeing five through nine continue 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:20.600 to produce the pot hezs of the world. Alex Freelan, 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:27.760 contributing Miguel Rojas one through nine. It is such a 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:32.400 deep lineup. The One Night Show, Hey Otani is pitching, 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:36.439 why not just let him dial in on pitching, focusing 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:41.160 on pitching, and have somebody else designated hit that night. 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:43.720 Last night it was Dalton rushing. Maybe you rotated to 0:10:43.720 --> 0:10:46.160 get somebody off their feet, Max Munsey. One week, you 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:48.959 can put somebody over at third you know, maybe it's 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:51.440 a Freddie Freeman's DHA. One night, you can put Dalton 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:54.480 Rushing at first base. You know, there's ways to do 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:56.360 it with Will Smith getting off his feet and being 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.360 a dh That's something that the Dodgers have thought about 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:02.000 this year, is giving Dalton Rushing more time behind the plate, 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:05.480 more at bats to get Will Smith off of his feet. Listen, 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:09.240 I say this knowing when you get to October it's different. 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:12.320 But over the course of one hundred and sixty two games, 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:19.000 Dodger fans think about it. To save show Hey, to 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:23.360 make sure he's healthy. Why not have him just pitch 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.480 those knights that he's on the mound and not worry 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:29.200 about hitting, not worry about running off the mound and 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:33.520 putting on the armor eight sixty six, nine eighty seven 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:37.320 two five seven. I think it's a fascinating conversation that 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:41.520 I wonder if the Dodgers are truly having and thinking about. 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:43.880 And it's gonna take going to show Hey and laying 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:47.280 him out and explaining why it works, why it doesn't work. 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:51.920 Why you're pro this, whatever direction you go, but I 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:56.480 think it's worth looking at. Right. Let him once a week, 0:11:56.559 --> 0:12:00.400 and it looks like Wednesdays are the days, the off 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:02.800 days on Thursdays. I mean, they're trying to line it 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:06.120 up best with an off day after he pitches. It's 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:09.679 a six man rotation right now. The Dodgers have made 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.360 it very clear that they're so deep they're gonna have 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.960 guys throw once a week. It's not just Otani with 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:18.439 a six man rotation in the off days. You now 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:23.480 have your starting staff go one day a week. If 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:27.480 that's the case, show Hey, the hitter is there every 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:32.960 other day for you. If you're worry about show Hey 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:37.440 and keeping him fresh, keeping him going, keeping him healthy 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:40.600 through the course of one hundred and sixty two games 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.760 and not getting burnt out, I mean, heck, what did 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.400 we hear last week in Toronto in the final game 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:51.840 of the road trip, Well, show Hey, Otani tired final 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.040 game of the road trip back east in Washington, DC. 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:56.800 In Toronto, he's got a pitching the getaway day on Wednesday, 0:12:57.160 --> 0:12:59.440 off day the next day. But you know, didn't have 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.400 that stuff that we saw before out of show, hey, well, 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.600 you know what, if he doesn't have to worry about 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:08.360 hitting and you can alleviate that for at least one 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:14.360 game a week, why not. Why not? You've got depth 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:18.600 on this team, assuming everybody is healthy. It's an embarrassment 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:21.240 of riches that this team has. You can give some 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:24.320 abs to somebody else and show he can dial in 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.720 and on pitching, and you can save the wear and 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.959 tear of his body. That's the big thing. The wear 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:34.520 and tear is alleviated for at least once a week 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:37.199 with him only pitching and not having to worry about hitting. 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.240 Eight sixty six nine eight seven two five seventy. I 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:45.720 think it's a valid question. Now when you get to October, 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:48.440 do you want to have his bat in the lineup 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:53.000 every single game? Yes, So you have to come up 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:54.760 with some sort of plan to ramp him back up, 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.520 maybe in September where he's back in the line of hitting. 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:00.600 But I'm talking about over the course of this season. 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:05.400 It's April sixteenth, folks. You can't afford to have Show 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:11.800 a burnout by July and August. You can't have anybody 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:14.920 on this team wharing and tear, just taking a toll 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.840 on him. Over the course of one hundred and sixty 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:23.040 two before they even get to October. If the regular 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.280 season and the Dodgers have proven it they can go 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.480 through a regular season, win the division with the ease, 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:35.160 win series after series, and get ready for October and 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:38.480 crank it to another level, then why not throw this 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:41.680 into the equation of having him just pitch once a 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.320 week and an night that he pitches, he's not a 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:48.400 hitter eight sixty six, nine eighty seven to two five seventy. 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:51.560 There's so many ways that can splinter off this conversation, 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:56.440 and I heard it all day today and it's fascinating. 0:14:56.600 --> 0:15:01.000 The argument of well, that's stupid, Tim, because October, why 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.920 would you not have his bat in the lineup? Well, again, 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:07.560 you get back to October and that this plan is 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:10.040 thrown out. I'm talking about over the course of one 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:12.600 hundred and sixty two, over the course of the grind 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:16.160 of a season, if you can alleviate some of that grind, 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:19.800 some of that physical toll on him. I mean, in 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:22.200 my mind right now, if you're driving around, if you 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:25.280 remember last week in Toronto, kind of envisioned last week 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:30.040 at the Roger Center in Toronto, show Heyotani came out 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.280 to pitch the bottom of the first inning last week 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:34.680 against the Blue Jays, and I remember this as clear 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:36.280 as that. I can see it right now because Rick 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:38.360 and Tim talked about it on the broad or Steven 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:42.200 and Rick talked about it. They said, show, hey Otani, 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:45.320 he's got dirt up and down his chest and on 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:47.200 his pants because he had to dive back when he 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.400 was on base. That's something you know see all the time, 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:55.640 the starting pitcher already covered in dirt in the first inning. Well, 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.320 you can alleviate the wear and tear of that thirty 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:03.200 times a year by just having them as a pitcher. 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:09.440 I think it's worth at least looking into. Is Showy 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:10.320 gonna want to do it? 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:10.760 No? 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:17.240 Is he gonna agree to it? Probably not? But I 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:21.320 think it's something if you're an analytical driven team, and 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:25.320 let's face it, professional sports is all about analytics right now. 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:29.840 And what's the word in basketball? We all cringe when 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.840 we hear I'll give you a second to think about it, 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:34.720 and we all can say it out loud together. What's 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:38.720 the word in the NBA in basketball that we have 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.200 heard over the last few years, and every time we 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:47.120 hear it. We cringe load management. Oh, these guys can't 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:49.880 play eighty two games in the NBA. Oh these guys 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:53.960 can't play back to back. Oh, these guys can't do 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.760 this because they're gonna get hurt. Well, I'm not gonna 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:01.320 go to say that's the l word for show hey 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:05.800 Otani in this instance, because he's not sitting the rest 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:11.080 of the week. He's still grinding the five or six 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:14.160 other games that you're playing that week, depending on the schedule. 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:19.639 All you're doing during a large portion of the regular season. 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:21.320 And I'm not smart enough to even look at this 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:23.880 or figure it out, but I'm sure there are people 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:26.920 that are smart enough in the analytical the world. You 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:28.960 can look at the map, out the schedule, when he's 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:32.040 gonna start, when you start ramping him back up, when 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:33.879 you put him back in the lineup, knowing that in 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:36.480 October you are going to have to have him in 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:38.879 the lineup. If he starts Game one, he has to 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.399 be in the lineup. If he starts Game two, or 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.639 whatever game he starts, if he starts multiple starts in 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:46.600 a series, you got to have his bat there. You 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:48.679 just do, because you have to have the best lineup 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.880 out there. For your team, and he in the lineup 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:56.720 provides that. I just bring it up for the course 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:01.520 of the regular season. A Wednesday game in Toronto last night, 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:03.960 a Wednesday night final game of a series against the 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.840 New York Mets. Does he really have to go through 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:09.760 the wear and tear of having to hit three or 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:11.479 four times when you ask him to go out there 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:16.040 and throw almost one hundred pitches, strike out ten, and 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:18.520 go six innings for you to pick up the win. 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:22.240 And I haven't even looked to see how many people 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:24.680 are are ready to go and talk about this. I think, oh, 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:27.120 I got one line open eight sixty six, nine eighty seven, two, 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:30.760 five seventy. But for those who first thing you want 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:35.240 to say is if you do this, though, Tim, what happens? 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:37.720 You can't have that great game that he had in 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:41.000 the NLCS where he struck out ten, he hit three 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:44.359 home runs. Okay, stop right there. How many times that 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:48.600 ever happened before happened once? You think it's gonna happen 0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:52.680 fifteen times, twenty times when he makes starts this year, 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:55.720 it's not gonna happen. That was a once in a 0:18:55.760 --> 0:19:02.119 lifetime game that we're gonna talk about forever. So I 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:06.120 don't want to hear that argument because that probably will 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:08.520 never happening, and if it does, it just further proof 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:11.040 of the guy's a unicorn what she already is. And 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:13.760 we know that he's the greatest player I've ever seen. 0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:16.600 But I want to see him healthy and I want 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:19.640 to see him out there. And if your show, Hey Otani, 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:22.119 and you haven't won a cy Young Award, Hey, you 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:25.119 know what, maybe dial back the amount of bats I 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:27.120 get and I won't hit on those days that I'm 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:31.159 pitching so I can win a cy Young Award. I 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:35.000 think it's worth bringing up. I really do. Dylan Hernandez 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:39.280 California Post said, don't overthink it. Dodgers must leto Tani 0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:43.480 hit even when he pitches. I don't know. Eight sixty 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:45.600 six nine eight seven, five seventy. We'll take a break, 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:49.000 we'll come back. I got one line open, jump on board. 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:52.280 Let's talk about it. I think it's a discussion worth having. 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:57.000 And don't call me an idiot, don't say I'm stupid. 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:02.280 I think it's something to at least kick around. If 0:20:02.280 --> 0:20:05.359 you can give shoe Aotani once a week to deal 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:11.400 and give you six innings, put up zeros, strikeout eight 0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:17.840 to ten, have an erora under two. Guys gonna win games, 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.399 He's gonna rack up the strikeouts, he's gonna win a 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:24.480 cy young and then the other five or six days 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:28.920 of the week he could be your designated hitter and 0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:33.040 still hit thirty five home runs. For you. There's the 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:37.120 best of both worlds here, and for longevity, because look 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:41.160 at he's not Benjamin Button. He's not getting any younger. 0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:45.600 He's not twenty seven, he's not twenty six. He's down 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:50.920 north to thirty. Got factor. All this in am I crazy? Eh? 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:52.840 We'll talk about it with you eight six, six, nine 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:55.560 eighty seven two five seventy. Thanks for listening. Off night 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:57.919 Dodger Talk, Tim Kates, Ronnie Fossio and you. You're on 0:20:57.960 --> 0:20:59.920 a five to seventy ELA Sports Live everywhere on the 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:04.720 iHeartRadio app. Dodger Talk continues here on this Thursday night. 0:21:04.760 --> 0:21:06.720 Tim Kates with you here until the top of the hour. 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:10.600 Dodgers in Denver as they start a stretch of thirteen 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:14.480 games in thirteen days, beginning with a four game series 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:17.440 at Corus Field beginning tomorrow. Tyler Glass now will be 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:19.480 on the mount in these series opener first pitch at 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:22.360 five point forty Marongo Casino Dodgers on deck, will get 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:24.440 it all started at four thirty. It's a four game 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:29.480 wrap round series, so weird Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday finale 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:33.600 from Denver and then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in San Francisco 0:21:33.920 --> 0:21:37.760 against the Giants. Dodgers fourteen and four on this season, 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:41.880 but nipping at their heels. It's the San Diego Padres 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:45.080 who continued to win. They're beating up on the Mariners 0:21:45.119 --> 0:21:47.880 right now down at Petco Park after a come from 0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:50.439 behind win last night. Giants won earlier today snapped their 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:53.200 losing streak. Angels won in New York. Mike Trout hit 0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:57.879 five home runs in this series, first player opposing player 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:01.000 at Yankee Stadium to hit four home runs in a 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:04.119 series in four consecutive days. So a lot happened in 0:22:04.160 --> 0:22:06.639 the world of baseball, including your phone calls eight six, six, nine, 0:22:06.680 --> 0:22:09.119 eighty seven, two five to seventy. Moving forward in the 0:22:09.119 --> 0:22:12.399 regular season, should the Dodgers just let O Taani pitch 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:15.360 and not have him serve as the DH on those 0:22:15.440 --> 0:22:17.480 days that he pitches. Certainly every other day he is 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:20.240 the designated hitter and leadoff hitter for Dave Roberts and 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:23.000 the Dodgers. But last night, because to the shoulder, you know, 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:25.240 getting hit by a pitch on Monday, they elected to 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:27.560 have Dalton Rushing serve as a designated hitter, and it 0:22:27.600 --> 0:22:30.560 was only the pitcher show. Eotani struck out ten over 0:22:30.600 --> 0:22:33.639 six innings to get the win eight six, six, nine 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:37.080 eighty seven two five to seventy. Michael and Covena start 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:38.960 things off on this Thursday night. How do Michael? 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:44.879 I'm good, Tim, I trust you're good. I feel like 0:22:44.960 --> 0:22:47.640 we might have played against each other once upon a time, 0:22:47.800 --> 0:22:51.919 village Christian versus Marinatha. But I want to tell you 0:22:51.960 --> 0:22:55.040 that Dalton Rushing is a masher and if he was 0:22:55.080 --> 0:22:58.840 a full time catcher somewhere, he'd be top ten. We 0:22:59.000 --> 0:23:01.840 just happened to have the best catcher in baseball. So 0:23:02.280 --> 0:23:05.000 we all said, have Otani, who like you said, is 0:23:05.040 --> 0:23:08.879 a unicorn, an amazing hitter, we can't leave him off 0:23:09.600 --> 0:23:14.080 and load management is BS and I just don't buy 0:23:14.160 --> 0:23:18.080 into any of that sort of thing. So therefore I'm saying, 0:23:18.880 --> 0:23:23.240 put O'tani in right field, but definitely find a way 0:23:23.359 --> 0:23:26.800 to let Dalton Rushing mash because that's what he does, 0:23:27.000 --> 0:23:27.280 all right. 0:23:27.280 --> 0:23:29.679