WEBVTT - Dave Roberts (6-26-26) 

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<v Speaker 1>And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker.

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<v Speaker 1>All Right, we're in his hometown. We are in Slam Diego,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what they used to call it. But the Dodgers

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<v Speaker 1>are back here at Peco Park. The last time they

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<v Speaker 1>were here, they had a game and a half lead

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<v Speaker 1>in the NL West, now a nine game lead over

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<v Speaker 1>the San Diego Padres. And I'm in the office, the

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<v Speaker 1>manager's office of the man that has three World Championships

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<v Speaker 1>as the manager and in twenty twenty six the best

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<v Speaker 1>record in baseball, and that is the one and only

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<v Speaker 1>Dave Roberts brought to a spy downy Hunday. Dave, thanks

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<v Speaker 1>a lot for the time.

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<v Speaker 2>Appreciate it, Dave.

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<v Speaker 3>Always a fun catching up with you, having a conversation.

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<v Speaker 3>And yeah, coming off and off day, got in late

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<v Speaker 3>a couple nights ago, guys reset did what they could do.

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<v Speaker 3>And then today, you know, just kind of going around

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<v Speaker 3>the clubhouse, everyone seemed recharged.

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<v Speaker 1>Were you surprised even on the day off, just how

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<v Speaker 1>whatever took place in Minnesota took on a life of

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<v Speaker 1>its own with social media. I mean, it just seems

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<v Speaker 1>like there's no controlling some of these things.

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<v Speaker 3>No, I get it, and when you're the Los Angeles Dodgers,

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<v Speaker 3>everything is certainly more magnified. And I guess the off

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<v Speaker 3>day came at the right time, and you know, just

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<v Speaker 3>seeing the guys right now. Ultimately we won three games there,

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<v Speaker 3>and you're always trying to get better with communication amongst staff, players, staff,

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<v Speaker 3>our players, among players, and so that's that's part of it.

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<v Speaker 2>So nothing is always easy.

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<v Speaker 3>But you know, coming in here today, I feel really

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<v Speaker 3>good about, you know, communication where we're at.

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<v Speaker 1>You got Walker Buehler on the mound for the Padres today.

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<v Speaker 1>Obviously he's meant a lot to you, a lot to

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<v Speaker 1>the Dodgers. What do you expect tonight as far as

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<v Speaker 1>his emotions. Do you feel like that may get the

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<v Speaker 1>better of him tonight?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I think it's going to bring out the best

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<v Speaker 3>in him in the sense of his motivation to want

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<v Speaker 3>to pitch well against us. He means a lot to me, obviously,

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<v Speaker 3>means a lot to the Dodger fans. Considering what he's

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<v Speaker 3>done for all of us. I think who he is now,

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<v Speaker 3>he has sort of reinvented himself. The fastball is not

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<v Speaker 3>ninety seven ninety eight. You're going to see fours and

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<v Speaker 3>threes and three to five. There's can be a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of cutters, a lot of curveballs, you know, some two seamers,

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<v Speaker 3>and kind of just mixing and matching more of an

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<v Speaker 3>even distributed pitch mix.

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<v Speaker 2>But he's still as competitive as ever.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm always interested with what you're seeing from the dugout

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<v Speaker 1>because you've had so many really good players come through

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<v Speaker 1>this clubhouse that have moved on to other teams. Just

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<v Speaker 1>when you're watching a guy like Walker who does feed

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<v Speaker 1>off emotion, what will you know early in the game.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, I think for me is he's not going

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<v Speaker 3>I know Walker in big games, and this is going

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<v Speaker 3>to be a big game for him. He's going to

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<v Speaker 3>try to minimize slug He's not afraid to walk guys.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, when it gets hot, he's going to go

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<v Speaker 3>to his secondary pitches. You know, he's going to be emotional.

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<v Speaker 3>I think that this is something that he's always you know,

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<v Speaker 3>wanted to stay a Dodger and it just didn't work out.

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<v Speaker 3>So his first crack at US, I think he's going

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<v Speaker 3>to be pretty emotional.

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<v Speaker 1>What did you love the most about him when he

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<v Speaker 1>was pitching for you? We think back to twenty eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>Game one, sixty three, obviously the last out in the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four World Series. What did you love the most

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<v Speaker 1>about him being on your side?

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<v Speaker 3>I think that I think the main thing I loved

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<v Speaker 3>about him is that you knew that he was going

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<v Speaker 3>to compete. He was going to make pitches when he

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<v Speaker 3>needed to make pitches. He was prepared, he wasn't afraid.

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<v Speaker 3>I think that you know, you said game won sixty three.

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<v Speaker 3>There's been a lot of postseason games, you know, the

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<v Speaker 3>clinching game coming back in New York in Game six.

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<v Speaker 2>There's just a.

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<v Speaker 3>Lot of things that this guy's just got a huge

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<v Speaker 3>heart and compete.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I'll never forget the post at Yankee Stadium. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's the lasting image.

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<v Speaker 3>I think he was just looking right at me, Dave, saying,

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<v Speaker 3>I told you, Doc, I could do this.

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<v Speaker 2>Just give me the baseball.

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<v Speaker 1>Dave Roberts is our guest in front of first pitch

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<v Speaker 1>between the Dodgers and Padres. Dave, just take an inventory

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<v Speaker 1>of the first half of the season. You have the

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<v Speaker 1>best record in baseball and your team hasn't been whole yet.

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<v Speaker 1>How have you been able to do it?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 3>I mean I think that we haven't been whole. It

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<v Speaker 3>doesn't feel like we have the best record in baseball,

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<v Speaker 3>and I think that's a good thing. You know, We're

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<v Speaker 3>always striving to get better and on the margins get better.

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<v Speaker 3>Guys have stepped up, certainly in the bullpen. The bottom

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<v Speaker 3>half of the rotation has been fantastic.

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<v Speaker 2>You know.

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<v Speaker 3>The defense has been very consistent. Even with what Muki

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<v Speaker 3>did in Minnesota on the defensive side was huge.

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<v Speaker 2>How have we done it?

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<v Speaker 3>I think for us it's just really not worrying about

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<v Speaker 3>the guys that aren't with us and just focusing on

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<v Speaker 3>the guys that are with us and trying to you know,

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<v Speaker 3>just collect wins, keep stacking wins and so and also

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<v Speaker 3>just trying to get better every day.

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<v Speaker 1>How much higher can the ceiling be for you guys

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<v Speaker 1>this year?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean we expect to win another championship. We

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<v Speaker 3>have a long way to go, even from June twenty

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<v Speaker 3>sixth to you know, to the postseason. But I think

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<v Speaker 3>for us, you know, getting guys back, you know, getting

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<v Speaker 3>Blake back, getting Eddie ds back, getting Will Smith back,

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<v Speaker 3>getting Taoscar back, guys like that, Evan Phillips are going

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<v Speaker 3>to make us, you know, raise that ceiling for us,

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<v Speaker 3>but for me, honestly, seeing the younger guys play another

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<v Speaker 3>guys get opportunities, that's been a big takeaway up to

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<v Speaker 3>this point.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, So you mentioned Tommy Edmunds back taoscar Hernandez. Is

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<v Speaker 1>he still coming back when you get to Sacramento.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's the plan, is he's going to play again

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<v Speaker 3>the next two nights and then Sunday. I think he'll

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<v Speaker 3>be down and we'll meet us in Sacramento on Monday.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember a couple of weeks ago you had mentioned

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<v Speaker 1>around the fourth of July for Evan Phillips. Is that

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<v Speaker 1>still trending in the right direction?

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<v Speaker 2>I think so. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>Right now, I think he's going to take a couple

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<v Speaker 3>of days off from pitching back to back, and so

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<v Speaker 3>I think that that July fourth kind of timeline still

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<v Speaker 3>looks to be.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh, you know where we're at.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, when you look at your team now, you're starting

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<v Speaker 1>to get your bullpen looking like you wanted it to

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<v Speaker 1>until Diaz comes back. With Brock Stewart back, it feels

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<v Speaker 1>like some of these younger guys like Kyle Hurt have

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<v Speaker 1>really seized their opportunity.

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<v Speaker 2>No, Kyle Hurt is a guy that.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, we traded for him a couple of years

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<v Speaker 3>ago and just always liked his stuff, but just couldn't

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<v Speaker 3>stay on the field. But now the body is strong,

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<v Speaker 3>he's healthy, he's got a lot of real confidence and

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<v Speaker 3>we've I've referenced that with Robleski with that real confidence.

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<v Speaker 3>Now Henriquez, you know, Guarda is another guy that I

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<v Speaker 3>think that he's come of age. And so with Kyle

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<v Speaker 3>Hurt and Garda Henriquez doing what they're doing allows me to,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, put Vessia and Tanner Scott in their rightful

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<v Speaker 3>spot and having trying and down so we still really

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<v Speaker 3>haven't lost much.

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<v Speaker 2>You know.

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<v Speaker 1>I love when you talk about your trust tree.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you know what, But the great thing is that

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<v Speaker 3>it's not a plan, it's a trust tree. And that's

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<v Speaker 3>a good thing for a manager when you've got a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of different good branches.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Mookie Betts, you mentioned him and his defense. The

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<v Speaker 1>trust tree has always been there with him. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>feel like he's kind of turned the corner on his season?

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<v Speaker 3>I do, I do, And I think the thing is

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<v Speaker 3>for me is that the defense has been consistent, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>from the outset. But I think the thing is that

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<v Speaker 3>you know, we all have to wrap our heads around,

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<v Speaker 3>is that he's not MOOKI from Boston. He's not playing

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<v Speaker 3>right field, and so you know, people I think and

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<v Speaker 3>even Mookie I'm sure, has that expectation have a nine

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<v Speaker 3>hundred OPS, but you know, you're playing shortstop. And for me,

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<v Speaker 3>it's you know, dominate the defense, which he has, help

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<v Speaker 3>us win baseball games, which he has, and for me,

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<v Speaker 3>I just don't look at the numbers. I really don't.

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<v Speaker 3>I just want him. I still believe he's a productive play,

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<v Speaker 3>but it's not something as shooting for a certain standard

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<v Speaker 3>of an OPS to kind of validate who he is

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<v Speaker 3>as a ballplayer right now.

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<v Speaker 1>Does he understand that? Do you feel like he has

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<v Speaker 1>that outlook for himself?

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<v Speaker 3>I think so, you know, and we've had numerous conversations

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<v Speaker 3>about that, about expectations and still you know, telling him,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, how much I believe he is a great player,

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<v Speaker 3>but understanding, you know, expectations. I think managing expectations is

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<v Speaker 3>something really important for all of us. But you know,

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<v Speaker 3>for people to expect him to, you know, be superman,

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<v Speaker 3>that's sometimes unrealistic, but it is an ultimate compliment. But again,

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<v Speaker 3>at the end of the day to put a ball

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<v Speaker 3>on this day. We've got the best record in baseball.

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<v Speaker 3>We're not whole. There's still a lot of good things

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<v Speaker 3>that we're doing, and we got a fun series this

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<v Speaker 3>week and ahead of us.

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<v Speaker 1>No doubt, before we back out of here, Kyle Tucker

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<v Speaker 1>is back in the starting lineup. It seems like that

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<v Speaker 1>back issues behind him.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think so, you know, getting him a few

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<v Speaker 3>days to kind of reset. He took swings the other

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<v Speaker 3>day in Minnesota. He feels good and it'll be good

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<v Speaker 3>to get him back in right field tonight.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks a lot for the time, Dave. Always great to

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<v Speaker 1>catch up with you. I know it's a busy time

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<v Speaker 1>when you're in San Diego, but it's always great to

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<v Speaker 1>share you with the fans.

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<v Speaker 3>No, I love the conversation and it's I enjoy kind

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<v Speaker 3>of giving the fans this insight.