Speaker 1: The quest for the free 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: This is world Champion Dodger Talk.
Speaker 3: Here we go again. Rgera running back to.
Speaker 4: Get in on the show called eight six six eighty seven,
Speaker 4: two five seven days and be sure to follow Dodger
Speaker 4: Talk wherever you get short podcasts. Here's your host, David
Speaker 4: Vase Day.
Speaker 2: We are live at Angels Stadium for our first postgame
Speaker 2: Dodger Talk of twenty twenty six, after the Dodgers beat
Speaker 2: the Angels tonight thirteen to five in the first of
Speaker 2: three Exhibition Freeway Series games, before we get set for
Speaker 2: Opening Day, which is just around the corner. It's coming
Speaker 2: up on Thursday at Dodgers Stadium. Yes, Opening Day is
Speaker 2: this week five thirty. This this Thursday at Dodgers Stadium.
Speaker 2: Yama Moto will be the Dodgers Opening Day starter, the
Speaker 2: World Series Hero, the World Series MVP, Yama Moto will
Speaker 2: be making that ceremonial start against the Arizona Diamondbacks and
Speaker 2: Zach Gallon. It's a three game series, so the Dodgers
Speaker 2: will have a rare Sunday day off, and then we'll
Speaker 2: welcome in the Cleveland Guardians in their first opening homestand
Speaker 2: at Dodgers Stadium.
Speaker 3: So very excited to be back with you.
Speaker 2: We have phone lines open at eight six six nine,
Speaker 2: eight seven, two five seventy And speaking of the Dodgers
Speaker 2: Opening days, starter Dave Roberts told the media after tonight's game,
Speaker 2: the way it's gonna lay out as far as the
Speaker 2: starting rotation u Yama, Moto, Tyler Glass Now, Roki Sasaki,
Speaker 2: Emid Sheian and show hey Otani. Justin Robleski will be
Speaker 2: in the bullpen as a long reliever. So that's the
Speaker 2: way it lays out, at least for the first three
Speaker 2: games of the season, Yamamoto, Glass now and Roki Sasaki
Speaker 2: and then Amisian Otani and Robleski excuse me, Emi Sheian
Speaker 2: Otani and then Yamamoto against the Guardians. So you'll see
Speaker 2: Yamamoto twice on this opening homestand and Robleski, who was
Speaker 2: phenomenal for the Dodgers out of the bullpen last year.
Speaker 2: Piggybacking shortened Otani starts or whether it was coming out
Speaker 2: of the bullpen in five World Series games. I really
Speaker 2: believe that's his sweet spot, and he.
Speaker 3: Certainly is up for that and wants.
Speaker 2: To be part of this team. So I like the
Speaker 2: way things are laying out. Eight six six nine, eight
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number, you know?
Speaker 2: I asked Teoscar Hernandez because he seen a lot of
Speaker 2: baseball and he was a big part of that ten
Speaker 2: run third inning. Whether or not he's ever seen an
Speaker 2: inning like that where a team issues seven walks and
Speaker 2: they walk in a run three different times and then
Speaker 2: you pile on with a home run and a two
Speaker 2: run single. And he actually said, yeah, I remember a
Speaker 2: game when I was playing for the Blue Jays. We
Speaker 2: were in Baltimore against the Orioles, and something very similar
Speaker 2: happened like we saw tonight. So yeah, he said, I
Speaker 2: was part of that when I was with the Blue
Speaker 2: Jays and Baltimore.
Speaker 3: But that's not something that.
Speaker 2: You always see. It's it's an interesting it's an interesting
Speaker 2: layout from what the Dodgers are are used to sing
Speaker 2: from the Angels here. So that's the way it lays
Speaker 2: out for the Dodgers tonight, as they scored ten runs
Speaker 2: and certainly it's going to be interesting.
Speaker 3: The Dodgers are getting ready for opening day.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. The Dodgers are getting ready for opening Day.
Speaker 2: And certainly, oh, here we go. We got some corrections
Speaker 2: and retractions from Katie Wu from the Athletic This is
Speaker 2: not in order.
Speaker 3: Oh, she kind of jumped the gun here, Katie Wu.
Speaker 2: Katie Wu was saying after tonight's game that Dave Roberts said,
Speaker 2: Yamamoto glass now Sasaki. Well, oh, okay, it's just Yama
Speaker 2: Moto starting opening day. Okay, corrections and retractions from Katie Wu.
Speaker 2: So jumping the gun a little bit as far as
Speaker 2: what she's going for here. So anyway, let's just wait
Speaker 2: till we hear from Dave Roberts directly. It doesn't seem
Speaker 2: like we have a clarification exactly on how this is
Speaker 2: gonna lay out. So I was reading off what Katie
Speaker 2: Wu was tweeting from Dave Roberts office, which obviously she
Speaker 2: is clarifying now, so scratch all of that. Yamamoto is
Speaker 2: the opening day starter, and we'll see who else falls
Speaker 2: in line. Now, look, there there is a path here
Speaker 2: where the Dodgers would obviously give Glass now an extra
Speaker 2: day of rest. They don't necessarily have to rush them
Speaker 2: out there for Game two, so it can go either way.
Speaker 2: Glass now Game two, Glass now Game three. But one
Speaker 2: thing's for certain Tomorrow night, Roki Sasaki is on the
Speaker 2: mound for the Dodgers and show Hey Otani, we'll pitch
Speaker 2: the final game of the Freeways series at Dodgers Stadium.
Speaker 2: Eight six seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: Another big storyline today was over the twenty sixth.
Speaker 3: Roster spot on the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: Obviously, the only position battle in camp this year was
Speaker 2: for second base and a left handed hitting second baseman,
Speaker 2: with Tommy Edmond beginning the year on the injured list
Speaker 2: because he underwent right ankle surgery during the offseason, which
Speaker 2: delayed his start in baseball activities. So Tommy Edmand on
Speaker 2: the IL, and that opened up a spot Key Key
Speaker 2: Hernandez likely not going to play until June, opened up
Speaker 2: a spot for either Alex Freeland or Hey Sun Kim,
Speaker 2: and look, Kim's betting average was better, his ops was better,
Speaker 2: but Alex Freeland showed a lot more maturity this spring
Speaker 2: than what we saw a year ago, and he actually
Speaker 2: showed a lot more plate discipline than what we saw
Speaker 2: in that small sample size a year ago. And there's
Speaker 2: a couple of different layers to all this. Let's hear
Speaker 2: from Dave Roberts, who talked about this before the game,
Speaker 2: and then we'll share with what Alex Friedland told us
Speaker 2: before the game about his spring and how people are
Speaker 2: not judging exactly how good his spring training was.
Speaker 5: Probably the toughest decision of the spring. There's no doubt
Speaker 5: that Haysong at some point is going to come help
Speaker 5: us out. I think the driver, as far as the outset,
Speaker 5: was given Haysong an opportunity to play every day, play
Speaker 5: all over the diamond. He's gonna play some short, some center,
Speaker 5: some second base there whereas here he just wouldn't have
Speaker 5: the runway to do that, to play more frequently. I
Speaker 5: think with Alex it's just what he's done in Triple
Speaker 5: A already. He's really played well there. There's really nothing
Speaker 5: left for him to prove there, and so I think
Speaker 5: for us to give him a little bit and runway
Speaker 5: to see what we got him, give him an opportunity
Speaker 5: to play here. For us, it gets right handed pitching,
Speaker 5: and so just kind of see where it goes. But again,
Speaker 5: it's really not an in diamond on Haysong at all.
Speaker 5: And like I said, we think the world to him
Speaker 5: as a player, as a teammate and expect him to
Speaker 5: help us at some point. I think for me with Alex,
Speaker 5: I think I think the bad quality has been fine.
Speaker 5: He just hasn't finished off. He hadn't hasn't finished off
Speaker 5: the advats. So I think that for us, I've always
Speaker 5: said I don't evaluate completely through spring with spring training,
Speaker 5: but yeah, Haysong, you know it was abbreviated, but he
Speaker 5: had a nice spring. But it's a small sample and
Speaker 5: Alex played a lot, didn't have a great spring, but
Speaker 5: played great defensively. And I still think that, you know,
Speaker 5: in talking to the front office, we felt that with what
Speaker 5: he's done before in the past at Triple A, giving
Speaker 5: him this opportunity and see where it leaves.
Speaker 3: All Right.
Speaker 2: That was Dave Roberts explanation on why the Dodgers went
Speaker 2: with Freeland over Kim. And let's hear from Alex Freeland,
Speaker 2: because he obviously knows the numbers don't reflect how good
Speaker 2: he believes his plate appearances were. Whatever he was trying
Speaker 2: to accomplish. So here's what Alex Freeland had to say
Speaker 2: earlier today.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean you could definitely look at spring training
Speaker 6: and look at the stats and say, yeah, he had
Speaker 6: a terrible spring training. But in my eyes, I worked
Speaker 6: on certain things and I achieved certain goals. So I
Speaker 6: mean I feel comfortable with how spring training went. Obviously
Speaker 6: it wasn't my to my standards or anything like that,
Speaker 6: but there's there's good in there. It's not just looking
Speaker 6: at a batting average and saying, oh, it is a
Speaker 6: terrible screen.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: So there you have it from Dave Roberts and Alex Freeland. Obviously,
Speaker 2: his son, Kim's got to be disappointed, but he went
Speaker 2: to the World base Small Classic, and he was rolling
Speaker 2: in spring training before he decided to go play for
Speaker 2: Team Korean the World Baseball Classic. And I remember being
Speaker 2: at the game in Mesa when Kim returned from the
Speaker 2: World Baseball Classic, and Dave Roberts said after that game
Speaker 2: that his swing looks out of sync, and whatever he
Speaker 2: was doing before he left for the World Baseball Classic
Speaker 2: kind of got out of sink and it wasn't the
Speaker 2: same mechanical swing that he had been working on with
Speaker 2: the Dodgers' hitting coaches during the off season, so nobody
Speaker 2: is saying that that's the reason why he lost this spot.
Speaker 2: But offensively, he wasn't the same guy that he was
Speaker 2: before he left for the World Baseball Classic, and the
Speaker 2: Dodgers want him to play every day. They want to
Speaker 2: give Alex Freeland this opportunity to see what he can
Speaker 2: do at this level because he's accomplished everything a player
Speaker 2: can accomplish at TRIPLEA Oklahoma City as well, and Kim's
Speaker 2: gonna get some time in center field.
Speaker 3: But also I want to.
Speaker 2: Say that, you know, this outrage by certain fans is
Speaker 2: basically a blogger or social media outrage. I mean, you
Speaker 2: look at the Dodgers' roster. I could understand if you're
Speaker 2: the Angels, or you're the Pirates, or you're you know whoever,
Speaker 2: that's not the Dodgers that are loaded top to bottom.
Speaker 2: Are you really going to go up in arms over
Speaker 2: the twenty sixth spot on the roster, Hayesan Kim versus
Speaker 2: Alex Freeland. Are you really gonna get that emotional over
Speaker 2: that last spot. I'm certainly not going to get that
Speaker 2: emotional over it. So I mean, you could have gone
Speaker 2: either way. Both guys bring different dimensions to the team.
Speaker 2: Kim obviously brings the speed dimension off the bench, but
Speaker 2: Freeland's going to play a lot against right handed pitching.
Speaker 2: The Diamondbacks have a lot of right handers. The Guardians
Speaker 2: have a lot of right handers. He's gonna get those
Speaker 2: opportunities from the left side of the plate. He's a
Speaker 2: switch but the Dodgers want him against right handed pitching,
Speaker 2: and Rojas is going to be part of the mix
Speaker 2: at second base. So there is certainly an opportunity to
Speaker 2: seize for Alex Freeland. And I'm not going to say
Speaker 2: it's a make it or break it to begin this year,
Speaker 2: but certainly this is an opportunity. Every young player really
Speaker 2: wants is to get this chance to play regularly at
Speaker 2: the big league level as a young player. So this
Speaker 2: is going to be a huge kind of fork in
Speaker 2: the road of Alex Freeland's career. Eight six six nine,
Speaker 2: eight seven two five seventy is the phone number David
Speaker 2: Vassey live at Angels Stadium in Anaheim after the Dodgers
Speaker 2: beat the Angels tonight thirteen to five. Now, as far
Speaker 2: as the Dodgers' roster goes. Tommy Edmond, like I mentioned,
Speaker 2: is on the injured list, Alex Freeland on the roster,
Speaker 2: Kim begins the season at TRIPLEA Oklahoma City. But really,
Speaker 2: this Dodger offense to me, I know it's the Angels,
Speaker 2: and I know their pitchers couldn't throw strikes tonight, but
Speaker 2: it's indicative of what we have seen all spring long,
Speaker 2: where the Dodgers have been so disciplined in their played appearances.
Speaker 2: From the guy that's been on the roster for back
Speaker 2: to back championships compared to compared to you know, anybody
Speaker 2: that is getting a first opportunity like a James Tibbs.
Speaker 2: So luckily, the Dodgers have a culture that they have instilled.
Speaker 2: They have a player kind of profile that they try
Speaker 2: to bring into the organization, and you're seeing that with
Speaker 2: James Tibbs, who had an incredible spring training. He hit
Speaker 2: his fourth home run of the season. But I'm predicting
Speaker 2: a big bounce back year for Taoscar Hernandez, who is
Speaker 2: hitting close to five hundred this spring with a thirteen
Speaker 2: hundred OPS. So to me, you know, last year, I
Speaker 2: feel like I guilted you in to apologizing to Max Munsey,
Speaker 2: I feel like this year, I'm going to guilt you
Speaker 2: in to apologizing to Taoscar Hernandez.
Speaker 3: This guy is healthier.
Speaker 2: He's come into camp in the best shape he has
Speaker 2: been in as a Dodger. He's close to eighteen pounds
Speaker 2: lighter than he was a year ago, to give him
Speaker 2: more agility, to make him more mobile in the outfield,
Speaker 2: and it hasn't taken away his power. We saw that
Speaker 2: tonight opposite field over the big wall and right field.
Speaker 3: That certainly was a monster shot.
Speaker 2: And I'm expecting a big year for Taoscar Hernandez, who
Speaker 2: hit thirty three home runs in left field for the
Speaker 2: Dodgers in twenty twenty four and drove in ninety nine runs.
Speaker 3: And played pretty good left field.
Speaker 2: So last year the Dodger outfield offensive production wasn't great.
Speaker 2: They add Kyle Tucker, Andy pa has is coming off
Speaker 2: a really good rookie season despite you know, his his
Speaker 2: learning curve in the postseason, and Taoscar Hernandez is back
Speaker 2: in left field. So not only are the Dodgers going
Speaker 2: to be better offensively in the outfield, they're going to
Speaker 2: be better defensively, which is going to save their pitchers pitches,
Speaker 2: and you know, limit extra outs for the opposing team.
Speaker 2: There's no hiding the fact that they got zero offensive
Speaker 2: production out of left field last year and their outfield
Speaker 2: defense was shaky at best at times last year. All
Speaker 2: of those things have been corrected by bringing in Kyle Tucker.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number when we continue from Anaheim. Appreciate all
Speaker 2: of you listening. Uh And when we continue, Jose Mota
Speaker 2: we'll check in. We'll get his thoughts on what he's
Speaker 2: seen from the Dodgers this spring training. As we get
Speaker 2: closer to opening day this Thursday, only one starter has
Speaker 2: been announced. It's Yamamoto Opening Day on Thursday. Don't believe
Speaker 2: the tweets. Only believe what you hear right here on
Speaker 2: Dodgers Radio and five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 4: On air at AM five to seventy, online at AM
Speaker 4: five seventy LA sports dot com, and available by podcast
Speaker 4: on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1: This is Dodger Talk with David mass In.
Speaker 7: Several years ago, they moved the home run line down
Speaker 7: below the halfwaymark of that wall, and the ball hit
Speaker 7: the scoreboard for a home run and it's headed in
Speaker 7: that direction again.
Speaker 3: This time it's going to be over the scoreboard and gone.
Speaker 7: An opposite field home run tay Oscar Hernandez, and it's
Speaker 7: won the one.
Speaker 1: Fourth home run of the spring. Pey Oscar.
Speaker 2: Ti Oscar Hernandez loading up for a big comeback season tonight.
Speaker 2: He had two at bats in the same third inning.
Speaker 2: That one led off the third inning with a solo
Speaker 2: home run, is fourth of the spring, and then he
Speaker 2: came up later in the inning and drove in two
Speaker 2: more with an RBI single. All in all, the Dodgers
Speaker 2: scored ten runs in that third inning. They drew three
Speaker 2: bases loaded walks, They had seven walks in total in
Speaker 2: the third inning, and they had four hits. And in
Speaker 2: that same third inning, show Heyo tani came up with
Speaker 2: the bases loaded and cleared them with a double the
Speaker 2: straightaway center over the head of Mike Trout. So that
Speaker 2: was a fun third inning for the Dodgers offense, not
Speaker 2: so fun for the Angels pitching staff. Daniels Jewelers presents
Speaker 2: the home run Forecast for your chance to win a
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Speaker 2: Eight six six, nine eighty seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. Jose Moda joins us again this season. Jose,
Speaker 2: thanks a lot for checking in, and certainly that third
Speaker 2: inning was maybe a preview of things to come for
Speaker 2: this Dodger offense.
Speaker 8: David Assay is so great to hear from you and
Speaker 8: my friends, who is so great to be back. Obviously
Speaker 8: fun to watch his offense rolling once again a little
Speaker 8: bit deeper. That third inning is just an indication of
Speaker 8: how guys have a prepare plan that's number one, and
Speaker 8: being this deep as they are right now, and hopefully
Speaker 8: they'll be healthy throughout the whole season and into the postseason.
Speaker 8: There's some fun things that we should be able to
Speaker 8: see because not one guy's going to try to carry
Speaker 8: this club as they have done in the past, the
Speaker 8: loaders off of certain guys, and also the maturity and
Speaker 8: the hunger that they've shown throughout the first aid Spring
Speaker 8: twenty shows up. I mean the Dollar Show hitting two
Speaker 8: IDEs a team coming out of the Cactus League, but
Speaker 8: the most important thing to me is as a team
Speaker 8: three seventy on base percentage day. It's more in vindication
Speaker 8: of what they're trying to do and why a guy
Speaker 8: like Alex Frielan is on the team.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what do you make about this whole debate Freeland
Speaker 2: versus Kim. It's the twenty sixth spot on the roster, Jose,
Speaker 2: can you see why there's an argument to be made
Speaker 2: for both players to make the team on the roster.
Speaker 8: Of course, if I'm his on Kim, I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed.
Speaker 8: I mean I don't think the WBC had anything to
Speaker 8: do with him not making the team. I mean, he
Speaker 8: was looking good before that on WBC. I think he
Speaker 8: was one for twelve, but he still has them good
Speaker 8: at bats. I saw it over in Tokyo. But I
Speaker 8: think it really comes down to, as you were saying,
Speaker 8: and it was well explained, the Dodgers want to see
Speaker 8: out of somebody the farm system what they have, and
Speaker 8: I think the time has come now for Alex Freeland.
Speaker 8: Alex Freeland helps himself by using all spring and the
Speaker 8: opportunities to play his game and not to look for
Speaker 8: results results you want. But I think by the Watts
Speaker 8: that he took, the defense that he took, the versatility
Speaker 8: that he took, he put himself in a position now
Speaker 8: with the team senter, Okay, we have this product out
Speaker 8: of our farm system. Let's find out what we have.
Speaker 8: And at the same time, having hiss On Kim more
Speaker 8: prepared as he was last year to play a lot
Speaker 8: and get the reps back. I think it's important. So
Speaker 8: either way, it's good. It's the twenty six guy yet.
Speaker 8: But I think at the same time, if I'm hitting
Speaker 8: four hundred and next time is not, I'm going to
Speaker 8: be saying, well, I think I have the edge, But
Speaker 8: I'll think the Dodgers have a plan is worked in
Speaker 8: the past. But I think I'm not taking anything away
Speaker 8: from Alvic Fulma has done because once IgA he should
Speaker 8: why he's a big part when he plays with the
Speaker 8: offense and the versatility.
Speaker 2: No doubt, it's the twenty sixth the man on the rosters.
Speaker 2: So I'm not going to freak out like so many
Speaker 2: bloggers and tweeters are freaking out tonight. Here ose you
Speaker 2: saw the Dodgers in spring training. What do you see
Speaker 2: from this team? I mean, how impressed are you by
Speaker 2: the fact that this team is coming off back to
Speaker 2: back championships and they're acting like they haven't won one
Speaker 2: in their entire careers. I mean, these guys came ready
Speaker 2: to play day one of spring training.
Speaker 8: I think it just goes down with the culture and personality,
Speaker 8: the identity of this team they have acquired and what
Speaker 8: they have brought it to the field. It reflects on
Speaker 8: how good they are in communication and they're planning and
Speaker 8: understanding each other, and also coming from the top, the
Speaker 8: communication between Dave Robers and his players. But also they've
Speaker 8: they're having no mention, no mention whatsoever about this club
Speaker 8: about a short offseason at all. Why Because they know
Speaker 8: what's at stake, They know everybody's pointing for them, and
Speaker 8: they understand that the quality of players that they have
Speaker 8: and tell them they have, it's only gotten better with
Speaker 8: the addition of the obviously and more mature young players
Speaker 8: and a guy like Kyle Tuker. But what I see
Speaker 8: is a resilient team, a focused team. They're not thinking
Speaker 8: about anything else about twenty twenty six, which is the
Speaker 8: same intelli they brought in twenty twenty five, and you've
Speaker 8: got to respect that. And a Mara that just not
Speaker 8: sitting and saying, well, we can do it because we
Speaker 8: all no, it's not. It's like this is a different year.
Speaker 8: Turn the page. This is what we have. And when
Speaker 8: they see that rosters themselves and I'll talk to a
Speaker 8: few players about it's like, you see the roster, you
Speaker 8: feed off of that and you don't want to be
Speaker 8: a weak link in anything of this. And I think
Speaker 8: that drives everybody from the rotation to the outfield to
Speaker 8: the infield. God like to also coming in great shape.
Speaker 8: Max Lom's he coming in great shape, and nobody even
Speaker 8: using spring trainers a way to get back in shape.
Speaker 8: Those days don't exist anymore. But being hungary, taking their
Speaker 8: time got like Molkie Betz, just understanding what they need
Speaker 8: to do to get ready and going out there making
Speaker 8: an adjustments on the fly to be better and not changing
Speaker 8: who they are as a team or as a player individually.
Speaker 2: All right, Jose, Last year, we all know it was
Speaker 2: a struggle at times and stretches of the season last
Speaker 2: year for the Dodger bullpen.
Speaker 3: They blew a lot of leads.
Speaker 8: Late.
Speaker 2: They rectified that in some ways by signing one of
Speaker 2: the best closers in baseball and Edwin Dias, no doubt
Speaker 2: he's going to deliver, But how do they get the
Speaker 2: ball to him? Are we convinced that Tanner Scott is
Speaker 2: back to being Tanner Scott from a couple of years ago,
Speaker 2: in that role where he can pitch in the a
Speaker 2: seventh or six then not be the closer? How do
Speaker 2: you see? How do you envision after his starting pitcher
Speaker 2: goes six innings the Dodgers getting the ball to Edwin Diaz.
Speaker 8: You have to give it Tanner Scott and give him
Speaker 8: every chance. I think Tanner Scott, from away from what
Speaker 8: we saw today maybe the last couple of outings is
Speaker 8: a guy that I'm going to believe about the agyptsis
Speaker 8: he has made on the mechanics side and also on
Speaker 8: the mentality side. And also, Dave, if something with you
Speaker 8: and I talked about a lot last year here on
Speaker 8: this show, is that you are the closer. Every responsibility
Speaker 8: is on you. I think this offer of them right now.
Speaker 8: And even though he had made it in spring twenty
Speaker 8: yeah it was it was like, oh it's me now.
Speaker 8: It didn't go well. His stuff plays as good as anybody's.
Speaker 8: His mentality is the one that needs to change and
Speaker 8: he wants to be that guy. I mean, there's going
Speaker 8: to be times when Edwin Diaz is not going to
Speaker 8: be available. Who do you go to? You've got to
Speaker 8: go to Tanner Scott. Hopefully he'll convince you by doing well.
Speaker 8: But also I'm not going to forget about Alec Davesia
Speaker 8: and what he John's and what he brings it and
Speaker 8: the option that he has against Regis and Left. He's
Speaker 8: a great option himself too, So I think it's going
Speaker 8: to have the competition to me between Vesia and Tanner Scott.
Speaker 8: I think TWNA. Scott is a guy that I want
Speaker 8: to see the hungers because of the stuff and how
Speaker 8: to neutralize some hitters. But he still has to prove
Speaker 8: in a regular season that he's a different player, considering
Speaker 8: that he's done so well in spring. Treading up to
Speaker 8: last couple of addings I mentioned that you mentioned too,
Speaker 8: but he needs to be the guy to really raise
Speaker 8: that gap and know that when divi' is not available,
Speaker 8: he wants to be the baseball because that's what he's
Speaker 8: sign him for too.
Speaker 2: All right, Jose should be a fun year. The Dodgers
Speaker 2: are a better team than they were a year ago,
Speaker 2: which is scary for everybody else, So look forward to
Speaker 2: a great season. We'll check in with you tomorrow night
Speaker 2: after the Freeway Series shifts to Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 8: Thank you, all right?
Speaker 2: There he goes Jose Mota, part of the Dodgers Spanish
Speaker 2: radio broadcast with Luis Cruz, and he'll join us after
Speaker 2: every Dodger game here on Dodger Talk to give his
Speaker 2: observation of every Dodger game this year. Eight six, six,
Speaker 2: nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: One player that you may not know about, but you
Speaker 2: will is the player that came into camp on a
Speaker 2: minor league contract and earned a spot on the opening
Speaker 2: day roster with the injuries to Keik Hernandez and Tommy Edmond.
Speaker 2: And that was our pregame guest, Santiago Espinal, who was
Speaker 2: an All Star with the Blue Jays. He and Taoscar
Speaker 2: Hernandez were teammates. Espinal was an All Star a couple
Speaker 2: of years ago, and he's going to be part of
Speaker 2: the infield mix for the Dodgers. You know, he's a
Speaker 2: pretty he's a very good defensive third baseman, can play
Speaker 2: very good defense at second base as well. But the
Speaker 2: reason why he's on this team is to be insurance
Speaker 2: in case anything happens with Muncie injury wise to begin
Speaker 2: the year, but specifically in a positive way. He's there
Speaker 2: to face any tough lefty or if there's a day
Speaker 2: off that Dave Roberts wants to give Max Munsey. Santiago
Speaker 2: Espinal is part of that mix. And you need guys
Speaker 2: like Espinal. You need guys like that on your bench
Speaker 2: that can be productive when guys like Muncie need a
Speaker 2: day off. And certainly the Dodger bench at the end
Speaker 2: of last year was not what you would imagine it
Speaker 2: to be. So they've made a concerted effort to try
Speaker 2: to upgrade that area. And I believe they have with
Speaker 2: a guy like Santiago Espinal to start the year until
Speaker 2: Edmund and Keik return.
Speaker 3: But this guy.
Speaker 2: Has a presence about him, a confidence and a hunger
Speaker 2: and had a chance to catch up with him. And
Speaker 2: here's part of our conversation from earlier today.
Speaker 9: And that's what I've been doing. How can I do
Speaker 9: it offensively defensively? You know, I play multiple position. I
Speaker 9: can do a lot of things with the bat too
Speaker 9: as well. So that's what we're here for.
Speaker 2: That's another part of this equation. It's not like you're
Speaker 2: joining a team that finished fourth place. You're joining the
Speaker 2: team that's went back to back championships. Obviously they believe
Speaker 2: you're a championship player too.
Speaker 9: Yeah, you know, and I appreciate that too as well.
Speaker 9: You know, but you know, job is not done. You know,
Speaker 9: Spring training just in the past.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 9: Now, I just got to keep doing my thing, being
Speaker 9: consistent everything that I do, you know, defensively and offensively,
Speaker 9: so we're ready for it.
Speaker 2: You obviously are aware of the situation. You're not going
Speaker 2: to play every day. How do you stay ready now
Speaker 2: to be able to contribute?
Speaker 9: You know, I've been five almost six years in the
Speaker 9: Big League. You know, I've been doing it for a
Speaker 9: long time, I feel, and you know, all I can
Speaker 9: do is control whatever I can control. Make sure that
Speaker 9: I'm prepared whenever my name is called, make sure my
Speaker 9: name is called when my name is called. Being prepared,
Speaker 9: and that's all it is, just being prepared.
Speaker 3: The big guy just ran by show Hal Tani.
Speaker 2: What's it been like to get to experience being on
Speaker 2: the same side as him.
Speaker 9: It's been cool, you know, I face the my lob.
Speaker 9: I play against him a laws, so you know, being
Speaker 9: on the same team, I'll be able to watch the Homers,
Speaker 9: you know, all the loud noises and stuff like that.
Speaker 3: So it's been cool.
Speaker 2: Is it something different to see what his personality is
Speaker 2: like because he has a good sense of humor.
Speaker 9: Oh yeah, oh yeah, I mean it's different. Also, it's
Speaker 9: different the way he prepares. He barely have time for himself,
Speaker 9: you know, so there's something something that you can pick up.
Speaker 9: So you know, from one of the best players in
Speaker 9: the game, maybe the best players in the game. You know,
Speaker 9: he's the best player in the game.
Speaker 2: So yeah, no doubt he is the best player in
Speaker 2: the game. And it's so cool to hear from players
Speaker 2: that were on the other side that are now part
Speaker 2: of the Dodgers and get to see not only Otani's
Speaker 2: work ethic, but also the rest of the players work ethic.
Speaker 3: And there is a certain.
Speaker 2: Level of accountability in that clubhouse that if you're not
Speaker 2: ready to go and you're not putting in the work,
Speaker 2: somebody's gonna say something to you or you're going to
Speaker 2: feel the the peer pressure in that clubhouse that if
Speaker 2: you're not keeping up with everybody else with the work
Speaker 2: ethic and the preparation and the process, you're not going
Speaker 2: to be part of this team because it's an established culture.
Speaker 2: And if you're coming into a team that's went back
Speaker 2: to back championships and you're not gonna work and you're
Speaker 2: not gonna be ready, you're not gonna be part of
Speaker 2: this team very long. And even Alex Friedland experienced that
Speaker 2: last year, and he's come back to camp a big leaguer.
Speaker 2: Last year, he didn't really act like a big leaguer
Speaker 2: in camp already to begin, you know, the first day
Speaker 2: he kept his head down, was very quiet, and even
Speaker 2: his at bats were more mature than what we saw
Speaker 2: a year ago. So that's the culture the Dodgers have created,
Speaker 2: and Santiago Espinal certainly fits in. And you know, it's
Speaker 2: funny how Otani walked by us and gave us, you know,
Speaker 2: one of his humorous kind of body language jokes when
Speaker 2: I was walking into or tor It's the clubhouse today
Speaker 2: at Angel Stadium.
Speaker 3: Who do you see working? First show?
Speaker 2: Heyo Tani's throwing the medicine ball against the wall, getting
Speaker 2: ready for you know, his game tonight, getting ready for
Speaker 2: his last exhibition start on Tuesday night. And now that
Speaker 2: he's pitching again and going to be a full fledged
Speaker 2: pitcher from day one, there's not a lot of extra
Speaker 2: spare time social hours in the day for show hey Otani,
Speaker 2: considering how much he has to put in to get
Speaker 2: ready to pitch, how much he has to put in
Speaker 2: to get ready to hit. And that's what makes him
Speaker 2: so special is the preparation started in November. The preparation
Speaker 2: for Taoscar Hernandez started in November. I talked to people
Speaker 2: close to ta Oscar that was telling me he was
Speaker 2: in the lab, you know, getting ready, and there's a
Speaker 2: video now on social media him working out with Vladimir
Speaker 2: Guerrero Junior to lose you know, close to eighteen pounds
Speaker 2: coming into this season. Max Munsey told me that he's
Speaker 2: lighter than and he's been since twenty eighteen.
Speaker 3: Is first camp with the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: So all these guys came into camp ready day one,
Speaker 2: and they had something that they haven't had the last
Speaker 2: two spring trainings. And that's the luxury of pacing themselves
Speaker 2: to be ready for the season, because as you know,
Speaker 2: the last couple of years, the Dodgers had a rush
Speaker 2: spring training to start the season in South Korea and
Speaker 2: also in Tokyo. And look, there's plus and minuses to that,
Speaker 2: but certainly it was a longer offseason for some of
Speaker 2: these guys because not only did they not have to
Speaker 2: report earlier than everybody else, but they also didn't start
Speaker 2: playing games right away. Dave Roberts slow played guys like
Speaker 2: Freddie Mookie Munsey because he's understood that these guys are
Speaker 2: thirty something now. They've played more games and longer than
Speaker 2: any other group of players in baseball the last two seasons,
Speaker 2: winning back to back championships, starting the year sooner than
Speaker 2: everybody else. So all of those things have played into
Speaker 2: these guys being ready to go day one in a
Speaker 2: different way than in years past. So, like I said,
Speaker 2: and I'll say it a few times before now and Thursday,
Speaker 2: bad news for the.
Speaker 3: Rest of Major League Baseball.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers are a better team than what they were
Speaker 2: a year ago when they won ninety three games and
Speaker 2: won a seven game World Series. So I look forward
Speaker 2: to what this offense can do. And certainly I'm really
Speaker 2: excited about the season for Tyler Glass now because he's
Speaker 2: come into camp a different guy mentally, physically, well not physically,
Speaker 2: He's always ready physically, but mentally he just seems to
Speaker 2: have a clear mind and looking forward to that as well.
Speaker 3: All Right, that'll do it for us.
Speaker 2: On Dodger Talk tonight, the Dodgers have set just their
Speaker 2: opening day roster. Despite tweets that are circulating right now,
Speaker 2: Yamamoto is the only Dodger pitcher we know dardening the
Speaker 2: regular season, Dave Roberts has not, I repeat, has not
Speaker 2: laid out the rotation after Yamamoto on Thursday, despite tweet
Speaker 2: out there that's been circulated. It's Yamamoto on Thursday, and
Speaker 2: we'll find out how it lays out the rest of
Speaker 2: the homestand but certainly I'm very excited that Yamamoto is
Speaker 2: going to be starting Opening Day. Thanks to Colin you
Speaker 2: back at our Burbank studios, Thanks to Dwayne McDonald out
Speaker 2: here at Angels Stadium, and thanks to you for listening
Speaker 2: our first postgame Dodger Talk.
Speaker 3: A lot of ears out there.
Speaker 2: I'm honored and humbled, can't wait to do this all
Speaker 2: the way to another World Series championship. We'll be back
Speaker 2: with you tomorrow night at Dodger Stadium. Our coverage begins
Speaker 2: at five o'clock or with first pitch at six ten
Speaker 2: five o'clock pregame six' ten first pitch At Dodger. Stadium
Speaker 2: we'll talk you tomorrow, Night Ben maller On Fox Sports radios.
Speaker 3: NEXT i haven't said that in a. While see you
Speaker 3: wait
Speaker 8: The time sa