WEBVTT - Dodger Talk (5-12-26) 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:03.160 The quest for the three peat has begune. 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:07.400 Only four teams in Major League Baseball history have won 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:12.120 three consecutive titles. The Dodgers are the favorites to become 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:13.320 the fifth. 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:15.920 This is World Champion Dodger Talk. 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:17.959 Here we go again. We're gotta running. 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:19.919 Back to get him on the show called eight six 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:23.119 six nine eighty seven two five seventy, and be sure 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:27.400 to follow Dodger Talk wherever you get your podcasts. Here's 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:29.480 your host, David Vase. 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:35.440 Welcome the Dodger Talk. David Vase with you until eleven 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:40.600 thirty tonight. After the Dodgers fall to the Giants again tonight, 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:44.840 the final score six to two eight six six nine 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:48.560 eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number. Jose 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:52.159 Mota will join us next hour as we get closer 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:56.600 to eleven thirty, So it's it's the vent hour. I 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.520 guess tonight because the Dodgers will pull out of this. 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:05.360 Everybody realizes that, but while they're in it, it's really 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:09.039 tough to watch. And the Dodgers have now lost four 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:13.759 straight games by at least four runs. That doesn't happen 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:19.520 very often. In fact, it hasn't happened since nineteen thirty six. Yeah, 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:23.080 the last time the Dodgers lost four straight games by 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:27.200 at least four runs was July of nineteen thirty six, 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:33.520 So this is something that nobody is used to. So 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.679 there's no sugarcoating what's going on right now. The Dodger 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:43.240 offense is abysmal. They're averaging two runs per game since 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:47.600 April eighteenth. That's the reason why they're nine and fourteen. 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:52.480 Only the Mets and Diamondbacks have a worse record since 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:57.840 April eighteenth than the dodgers nine and fourteen record. And 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:02.400 I talked about having a little bit more urgency. I 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:07.160 didn't see a lot of urgency tonight. I extremely didn't 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:09.839 see a lot of urgency in the seventh inning when 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:12.560 the Dodgers were down a run. Now, I'm not a 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:16.720 baseball expert or a baseball coach, but I have noticed 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:22.200 when you're down a run laid in the game, your 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:26.040 third baseman should be guarding against doubles down the line. 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:30.600 And the Dodgers are really good at placing their infielders 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:34.280 and outfielders. So I'm not gonna question that. I'm just 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:36.880 gonna question whether or not it was the right place 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:40.160 to have Munsey way off the line when Helia Ramos 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:43.840 was leading off the seventh inning. Isn't that something you 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.560 don't want to happen, to have a leadoff double, to 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:49.720 have a guy standing at second base with nobody out, 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:53.000 Don't you want to guard that line? And I paid 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:56.600 attention to Matt Chapman the very next inning when the 0:02:56.639 --> 0:03:00.160 Giants were ahead by four runs. He was guarding the 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.800 line when Mookie Betts was leading off the eighth inning. 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:09.920 So that's number one. Number two. The Dodgers were celebrated 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:14.720 last year during the NLBS for the wheel play in Philadelphia. Well, 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.640 you know, the Dodgers over the last ten years have 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:20.600 been pretty good at the wheel play. The best Dodger 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:23.960 first baseman I've ever seen crashing to make the wheel 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:28.440 play work is Adrian Gonzalez. There's no better Dodger first 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:33.120 baseman that I've seen spoil a safety squeeze play than 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:37.160 Adrian Gonzalez. Freddie Freeman's pretty good, but he wasn't that 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:41.360 good tonight In the seventh inning, when Drew Gilbert was 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:46.000 pinch hitting for Harrison Bader and runners were at the corners. 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:48.320 The Giants were up just one run at that point. 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:53.200 In time, and everybody in the stadium that was paying 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:57.080 attention knew that Gilbert was going to safety squeeze. And 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:01.480 you had the middle infielders playing barely at double play 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:06.560 depth and Freddie Freeman's gotta hold the runner at first 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.160 base Munsi was barely at the cut of the grass. 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:13.400 And Freddy really didn't crash that hard on you know, 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:18.120 a pretty well placed bunt. There was some English on 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:19.960 the ball, and I think that's the reason why when 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:21.839 he tried to bare hand it, he couldn't get a 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:26.080 grip on it. But that wasn't executed really well. And 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:29.159 Mookie Beds and Hayesan Kim were spectators on the play. 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:32.880 So those are the little things. When your offense is 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:37.720 only scoring two runs per game since April eighteenth, that 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:41.960 rear it's ugly head when you're not outslugging those mistakes, 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:47.200 and right now the Dodgers are not outslugging mistakes. Eight 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:50.440 six six nine, eight seven two five point seventy is 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:55.600 the phone number. And another concerning thing other than opposing 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:58.880 team's number nine hitters beating you. If you remember in 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:03.680 San Francisco, so the recently traded Patrick Bailey, number nine 0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:06.440 hitter beat the Dodgers with a three run home run 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:08.880 in the middle game of the series in San Francisco, 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:11.800 and the Giants shut the Dodgers out that night three 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:15.919 to nothing. Well tonight, since Bailey's been traded, it was 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.400 Eric Hass who did not have a home run this year, 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:24.640 hitting ninth, hitting two home runs off the World Series 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:31.880 MVP Yoshi Yamamoto. No Giant since Dodgers Stadium opened in 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:36.719 nineteen sixty two has ever had a multi homer game 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:41.520 here at this ballpark until tonight Eric Hass. And Eric 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:46.480 Hass almost became the first Giant in seventy five years 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:50.920 of Dodgers Giant's rivalry to be a catcher for San 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:54.920 Francisco or New York and have a three homer game 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:58.120 against the Dodgers. He was inches away from doing that 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:02.480 in the seventh inning. You just when you're in it 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:04.839 the way the Dodgers are in it nine and fourteen 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:09.960 since April eighteenth, these things happened to you, and you've 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:14.440 got to be resilient. And I hear players talk about 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.960 this all the time. If you do your job, if 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:21.479 everybody does their job, things will fall into place, which 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:24.640 is true. But you got to come together as a unit, 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.120 and it just seems like every at bat is on 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:33.840 an island. Dave Roberts said, there were minimal opportunities tonight, 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.600 I guess, but the Dodgers, I thought, let Adrian Houser 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:40.640 off the hook in the very first inning, bases loaded 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:43.680 one out and you only get one run. How About 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:48.520 in the eighth inning, bases loaded one out, Max Munsey 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:52.640 at the plate, the guy you want, and Max Munsey 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:57.400 takes cold strike three on a fastball away from him. 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:02.760 He obviously was guessing for something else and he kind 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.279 of gave up on the ad bat. I love Max Muncie, 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:09.440 but he was so upset for taking strike three that 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:13.880 he forgot to challenge a borderline pitch, or he blacked 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:17.440 out and didn't. He was so angry that he didn't 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:22.120 challenge a borderline pitch with the bases loaded and won 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:25.320 out in a full count. That could have changed things 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:28.280 at that point in time if it was called ball four. 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.360 If it's not, it was still worth the challenge. That 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:35.559 was the highest leverage of situations that the Dodgers want 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:40.080 their hitters to challenge pitches in. So those type of 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:45.360 things again are happening and happen when you're going through 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:47.800 it the way the Dodgers are going through it, and 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:50.040 they've got to find to pull themselves out of it. 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:54.720 I mean, I said last night, I demanded six in 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:58.720 a row as far as wins go. I mean, it's 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:03.880 already upset to split four games against these giants, but 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:05.800 you gotta find a way to win the next two. 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.240 And it's not going to be easy facing Robbie Ray, 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:14.760 who has been historically really good against the Dodgers. Here's 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:21.480 something else that's alarming. Yamamoto last year only gave up 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:26.679 fourteen home runs. Tonight he gives up three. He's given 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:29.880 up eight home runs already this year. You know what 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:35.640 that is trending towards. It's trending towards Yamamoto being on 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:40.240 pace to give up thirty one home runs this year. 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:44.960 That is alarming. You even heard Rick Monday and Steven 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:48.400 Nelson talk about the fact, and Yamamoto even said this 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:53.760 in his postgame media conference that players are barreling the 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:56.280 ball up more on him for some reason. This year. 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.800 No Dodger has given up thirty home runs in his 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:04.640 season since Jeff Weaver in two thousand and five. I 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:08.840 lived through that. It wasn't pretty. He gave up thirty 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:11.520 five home runs in two thousand and five. Now, I 0:09:11.559 --> 0:09:15.080 will say this in yamamotos defense. He did not walk 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:18.760 a batter tonight, so all three home runs were solo 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:23.920 home runs. But it's hard. It's hard to go back 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:27.920 into that dugout when you give up three home runs 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:30.679 to the number eight and number nine hitter of the 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:34.040 San Francisco Giants, who, coming into this series were the 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:39.640 worst offense in baseball, fewest runs scored, fewest home runs hit. 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:43.400 They had only hit twenty six home runs coming into tonight, 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.520 they hit three. It was their eight to nine hitters. 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:51.720 I'm telling you this is inexcusable. They're losing to an 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:56.959 inferior team. Celebrate ninety years of racing at Santa Anita 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:00.439 Park every Friday through Sunday with millions in pay every 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:04.079 race day for heart pounding action and new experiences. Visit 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:07.400 Santa Anita dot com slash events. Now, I will say 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.040 this in the defense of the Dodgers. They lost all 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:13.320 six games to the Angels last year and they went 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:15.920 on to win the World Series. So, like we talk 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:20.680 about all the time, these games in may matter yes, 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:25.360 but at the end of the season, when you're the 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:30.480 Dodgers and you're in the postseason, people don't remember these 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:34.000 type of games. But certainly you got to get there first, 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:37.040 and everybody expects the Dodgers to be there. And I 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.840 hate when I hear national hot takes saying the Dodgers 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:44.079 are just going to sleep walk through the regular season. 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:47.679 They can't afford to sleep walk through the regular season. 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:51.040 Eight six, six nine, eight seven, two, five seventy is 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.160 the phone number Dodgers fall to the Giants tonight, six 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:57.600 to two. Let's go out to Rancho Cucamonga. Ralph. You're 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:01.800 on Dodger Talk with David vasse Hi ro, Hey. 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:04.520 Did you kind of stole some of my thunder? I 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:08.640 was going to ask you about the ADS system, you know, 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:13.920 the protocol. I mean, obviously months he taking that third strike. 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:16.680 Which you know you can tell on TV that it 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:20.000 was a ball, and you got two challenges. 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:23.320 I mean, what are you waiting for? You know you're 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:25.600 not going to take them home with you. Same thing 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:27.840 earlier in the year. I remember it was a game 0:11:27.880 --> 0:11:28.760 with Freeland. 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:30.120 I think goes up. 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:30.920 Same thing. 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:34.840 Took another call strike three, obvious ball, didn't challenge with 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:38.320 old Tani on deck, you know, and they lost that 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:40.160 game just and you know, kept. 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:43.959 The two challenges. Is there a protocol amongst them, the managers, 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:46.360 you know, talking to them saying hey, yeah. 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:49.839 That was the situation, Ralph. That is the exact strategy. 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:54.640 The Dodgers want their hitters to challenge borderline pitches like that. 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:59.240 And like I said, Monsey was upset that he thought 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.520 he struck out and it was a fastball. He guessed wrong, 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:04.679 and he was upset. And you know, I don't want 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:06.720 to say he gave up on the bat, but he 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:10.800 certainly wasn't in the right frame of mind to say, hey, 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:14.760 wait a minute, I'll challenge that. So his head wasn't 0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:17.040 in the game. He was just upset at himself. And 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:20.319 that's what I mean. You can't just be worried with yourself. 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:24.960 You got to know the situation. And look, this is 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:29.040 something the Dodgers have talked about as a strategy, and 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:34.640 there was no more particular moment than that, that particular 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:38.120 moment that they would want the Dodgers, a Dodger hitter 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:41.760 to challenge a pitch. See, he just he made a 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:43.120 mistake and that happens. 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:44.440 Ralph, Yeah, I. 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.920 Guess so, yeah, because I mean there's not more of 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:50.000 a of a bigger spot than that. Bases loaded in 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:52.280 the eighth and you got two challenges left. Yeah, I mean, 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:54.800 if you lose it, you still have the last one. 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.360 But I just was curious about, you know what, what 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:01.920 the thinking is, you know, by the mannerers talking to 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:03.000 them before they go up. 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:06.640 I mean, you have two seconds to challenge. You don't 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:09.520 have all day, you don't have the chance to go 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:11.520 to the phone. So they hitters have got to have 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:15.280 the presence of mind and be able to challenge a 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:19.080 pitch like that one. And look, Muncy has been the Dodgers' 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:21.920 best player all around this year, so I'm not gonna 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:25.920 crush him for that one particular moment. But it wasn't 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:30.199 his best moment, I'll tell you that, all right, Thanks Daude, 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:33.600 all right, Ralph, Yeah, it's hard for me to crush 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:36.440 Max Munsey, who leads the team with eleven home runs, 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:39.480 who is one of the best defensive third basemen this 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:42.960 year in baseball. He had a bad moment at a 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:46.199 bad time of the game, but he's had a lot 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.839 of good moments this year. Let's go out to Santa Monica. Justin, 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:54.560 You're on Dodger Talk with David vasse Hi Justin, Hey. 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:56.600 Dave, thanks for taking my call. Yeah, so, I just 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:58.600 kind of want to piggyback a little bit about our 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.319 hitting and let's just talk a little bit about Otani. 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.040 It was really encouraging, certainly to see him get a 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:07.199 home run tonight, but you know, we got one of 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:09.800 the greatest players of all time in his first really 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:12.720 major slump of his career, and I don't think the 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:16.400 best idea is Roberts to just yo yo him in 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:19.040 and out of the lineup to instill some sort of confidence. 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:21.280 I mean, I think there's you know, at this point, 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:22.800 you know, let's talk about Aaron. 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:26.520 B Like, it's like, well, we're. 0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:28.320 Gonna play it. We're gonna let him bat this game. 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:31.800 But now I'm not like last week, the middle of 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:34.080 the game they decided that they weren't going to let 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:36.400 him hit the next game. It's kind of like, you 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:39.200 gotta led him. He's one of the greatest hitters we've 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:41.960 seen in our time, so you know, he has the 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:43.920 talent to do it. And I'm going to call out 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:46.520 our hitting coaches. I'm like what are they doing to 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.680 earn their salaries. It's like this is the prime example 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.840 where we need your expertise to have them take a 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:54.880 look at what he's doing right and wrong with that 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:57.920 swing of his and help him. I mean, basically, have 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:00.080 him just even look at the pitches that he's going 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:02.760 outside the zone with he's just throwing as bad at it. 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:05.080 I mean, I don't I'm not a professional. I'm not 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:06.960 paid to be on the sidelines. I wish I was, 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:10.480 but these guys are not just seem like they're doing 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:12.960 what they need to be doing with our team now, 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:15.640 just averaging under three runs per game this month, like 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:18.880 you called out, outside of the Houston games. It's just 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.120 like it seems that we need to get our coaching 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:24.240 to be a little bit more responsible here. I really 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.120 don't like what Roberts has been doing with Otani either, 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.320 to have him coming in and out of the lineup. 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:32.520 I disagree with you. I don't think he's doing that. 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.720 That was that one particular game, and I don't disagree 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.840 with him. He said yesterday, and I'll let you hear 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:42.600 that after we hang up, but he already made it 0:15:42.640 --> 0:15:47.480 clear and he didn't let Tonight's performance sway him from saying, uh, okay, 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:50.800 you're gonna hit now tomorrow night. As what you're saying 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.160 the yo yo, he's not yo yo ing him. He's 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:56.200 not hitting tomorrow even though he had his best offensive 0:15:56.240 --> 0:15:57.560 game in quite some time. 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:00.760 So do you think that's a good idea to take 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:02.600 him out of the lineup when judge he might be 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:04.520 starting to figure out. 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:08.040 Out well when history tells us that sixty four at 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:12.160 bats with him pitching, when he hits, he's hitting two 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:14.960 hundred with two home runs. So even when he does 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:18.640 well the nights before and around it, when he pitches, 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:21.400 he's hitting two hundred and sixty four at bats with 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:22.120 the Dodgers. 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:26.440 Okay, you're around the team more than I am, clearly, 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:28.720 But like, do you like what do you see from 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.400 our hitting coaches and working not just with Otani but 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:33.400 the rest of the team. I mean, Tucker, I mean, 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:35.760 he's doing a really good impression of Conforto if you 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.080 ask me, It's like, I just see a guy that 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:39.960 we put a lot of faith, a lot of money in, 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:43.360 and I'm seeing mediocre results too, And it just seems 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:46.040 overall there's a little bit of a malaid with the 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.280 hitting on his team. So I'd like to see our 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.160 hitting coaches step up and do more with this team. 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:53.040 And I also like to see the team show a 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.400 little more fight. Like you said, it's like you see 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:58.120 like they're sleepwalking out there. There's a lack of focus 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:02.120 and overall fight. And example is with our abs challenges. 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:05.120 I have not yet seen Otani challenge a pitch when 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.560 it's outside his own and I guess. 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.800 That's not true. He has he has, Justin, I understand 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:13.639 the frustration with what happened in the eighth inning tonight, 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:16.600 but you're making a lot of generalities, and I understand 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:19.520 your frustration. But I feel like I've let you vent 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:22.960 enough and I'll let you hear what Dave Roberts had 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:26.200 to say before the game about his plan for Otani 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.600 tomorrow and Thursday. How about that? Can we agree on? 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:33.399 That sounds awesome, Dave. I'll be at the Ravine tomorrow. 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:35.320 Let's hope we turn it around, all right? 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:38.080 I love it, Justin, all right, since everybody wants to know, 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:41.600 and I understand what Justin is saying, but it's perception 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.480 not reality. The Dodgers are not yo yoing Otani. They're 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:48.199 going with the plan, and they're sticking with it. In 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.280 this case, the yo yo would have been they see 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.920 him get on base three times tonight, they see him 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:56.200 hit his second home run in one hundred and eight 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.160 plate appearances, and they say, you know what we said, 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.800 you weren't going to hit tomorrow, Well you are now. 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:04.880 That would be a yo yo. This is what Dave 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:09.439 Roberts said before the game yesterday, and he has maintained 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:13.520 a stick with the plan of Otani only pitching tomorrow night. 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:16.879 I do know he's not going to hit on Thursday. 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:18.240 I do know that. 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:22.440 And then as far as tomorrow, I haven't decided yet, 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:27.800 probably leaning towards not having him hit tomorrow, thinking that, 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:30.760 you know, it might just be a be a good 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:33.360 thing to take a little bit of a load off 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.800 of his plate offensively, so, but I haven't made that decision. 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:40.760 Maybe some of it is affected by tonight, but I 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:43.919 don't know. Like I said, I'm probably leaning towards not 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:47.560 having them hit for the next two days. The pros 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:54.359 are taking the hitting part off his plate, letting his 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:56.480 body recover a little bit. As far as being a 0:18:56.520 --> 0:19:01.120 two way player for a couple of days, playing more 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:05.840 the longer view, potentially giving him a reset on the 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:09.520 offensive side. The cons is just not being able to 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:11.400 write his name in the lineup at the top of the. 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:15.800 Order, all right. So that is the explanation for Justin 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:19.960 and Santa Monica and you as well, what the Dodgers 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:23.440 plan is for thirty one year old two way players, 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:26.200 show Hey Otani, who has been one of the best 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:30.160 starting pitchers in baseball this year with an ERA under one. 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:33.119 There's no disputing that. If you had to handicap the 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:35.840 Cy Young race right now, it would be Mason Miller 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:38.600 from the Padres, it would be sho Heyo Tani, and 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:41.840 it would be Christopher Sanchez. Those would be the three 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:46.520 best right now. If you're handicapping the early May National 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:49.800 League Cy Young race, those three right now are very 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:54.000 much in the conversation above everybody else. But I it's 0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:56.800 hard for me to disagree with that. And I'm not 0:19:56.880 --> 0:19:59.800 a guy in the boat that says Otani should give up, 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:04.280 because he's not. He's very much intent on trying to 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:07.719 be the best picture he can be, and that is 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:11.680 his identity. When the Dodgers signed him, they knew that 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:14.920 was his identity, a two way player, not just a hitter, 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:18.399 but a two way player and the best player on 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:22.280 the planet. Because of that, now you can argue what 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:25.000 the Dodgers need more? Do they need Otani the hitter 0:20:25.080 --> 0:20:28.960 more or Otani the pitcher more? I would argue the Dodgers, 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:31.359 if I had to choose one, it would be Otani 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:34.360 the hitter. They need him more then they need Otani 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:37.879 the pitcher. But he is a two way player, the 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:42.000 greatest player on the planet, and there is no disputing 0:20:42.040 --> 0:20:44.040 the fact he has been one of the best, if 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:48.199 not the best, starting pitcher in baseball this season. And 0:20:48.240 --> 0:20:52.399 you're gonna see that on display again tomorrow night. Now 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:56.920 here's my thing. Okay, Otani's not going to hit tomorrow. 0:20:57.560 --> 0:21:00.840 Who should be the DH and who should lead off? 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:04.680 I would have Mooki Betts leading off tomorrow. I would 0:21:04.720 --> 0:21:07.919 have Mooki Betts leading off Thursday. I would have Freddy 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:11.919 Freeman DH. I would have Dalton Rushing playing first base. 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:15.480 And I have maintained that for the last couple of weeks. 0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:18.960 Freddie Freeman's thirty six years old. The Dodgers are in 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:22.240 the middle of playing thirteen in a row. Freddy wants 0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:25.399 to play out every day. Fine, you're gonna be the 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:29.239 DH Dalton rushing, You're going to play first base. And 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:32.760 Mookie Betts, who has been one of, if not the 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:35.800 best leadoff hitter this game is seen in the last 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:39.439 twenty five years, should be the leadoff hitter on those days. 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:43.960 And if he performs well, and if Otani still is, 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:48.320 you know, taking a step backwards offensively where he's only 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:52.080 quote only hitting thirty home runs this year, then maybe 0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:54.800 he shouldn't be the leadoff hitter. Maybe it should be 0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:58.399 Mookie Betts. But Mookie's got to prove that Mookie's back, 0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:01.280 and I've seen signs of that which is encouraging. But 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:04.200 for me, tomorrow night, just in the here and now, 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:07.960 Mookie Betts should lead off for the Dodgers tomorrow night. 0:22:08.359 --> 0:22:11.320 Eight sixty six eighty seven two five seventy is the 0:22:11.320 --> 0:22:15.600 phone number. When we continue, we'll take more of your 0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:18.160 phone calls at eight sixty six nine eighty seven two 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:21.880 five seventy. And that ice cube Magic was back at 0:22:21.920 --> 0:22:25.320 Dodgers Stadium tonight. It was his bobblehead night. He threw 0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:28.639 a strike to Mike Epps for the first pitch. Of 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:31.720 course he would. He's not fat Joe He's not bouncing it. 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:35.320 He's not fifty cent sending it down the backstop. He's 0:22:35.320 --> 0:22:38.480 ice Cube. He's way too cool for that. We'll let 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:41.080 you hear his moment during Gotani's home run in the 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:44.800 Sports net LA booth with Oral Herscheizer and Joe Davis. 0:22:44.800 --> 0:22:48.439 So don't go anywhere more Dodger Talk until eleven thirty 0:22:48.600 --> 0:22:56.040 right here on A five to seventy LA Sports. 0:22:55.200 --> 0:22:58.720 On air at AM five seventy, online at amfive seventy 0:22:58.880 --> 0:23:02.760 la sports dot com, and available by podcast on the 0:23:02.800 --> 0:23:03.960 iHeartRadio app. 0:23:04.160 --> 0:23:07.040 This is Dodger Talk with David Bassi. 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:13.800 Two and one, the count Hiershuser, Coltani drills one left failed, 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:16.920 This ball's hit deep, and it is gone. 0:23:18.720 --> 0:23:22.680 He looks to the sky rounding first base as if 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:24.960