Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Basse for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Dodger Talk. David Basse with you until
Speaker 1: eight o'clock tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: Sometimes certain guys are excited to join the show. Some
Speaker 1: guys even shower and comb that beautiful blonde hair and
Speaker 1: trim that beautiful beard. Ready to go to talk to
Speaker 1: us for the first time in twenty twenty six, and
Speaker 1: that is Blake Trying and Blake, Happy New Year. Great
Speaker 1: to see you, and thank you for taking a shower
Speaker 1: before this conversation.
Speaker 2: I wish you would have. Yeah, we're in a good spot.
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me, Dave.
Speaker 1: You seem to be a little bit more tempered. You
Speaker 1: want to ease into things this time around day.
Speaker 3: This is your show.
Speaker 2: You need to moderate how you wish. I'm here to
Speaker 2: answer any questions you want.
Speaker 1: Well, honestly, you are one of the guys that I
Speaker 1: was most eager to talk to because I don't have
Speaker 1: a short memory. I know how much you have done
Speaker 1: for the Dodgers in the last three World championship seasons
Speaker 1: and how much you want to come back and be
Speaker 1: part of a three Peats. What's this off season been
Speaker 1: like for you to get your body and mind ready.
Speaker 2: It's just been a lot of reevaluating how I trained,
Speaker 2: talked to Eric Kressey, did some new training styles, I guess,
Speaker 2: to try to get myself more athletic, got some rest
Speaker 2: and recovery that my body probably needed I didn't realize
Speaker 2: it needed. And of course I'm excited to come back.
Speaker 2: Last year wasn't a great ending for me in a
Speaker 2: sense of like helping the team, so I hold I
Speaker 2: like to think I've held myself to a higher standard
Speaker 2: than that in my career, and so this year really
Speaker 2: high expectations for myself and excited to get back out
Speaker 2: there and compete and have some success with the team.
Speaker 1: Blake, you pushed yourself to the limits in twenty twenty
Speaker 1: four and in Game five of the World Series to
Speaker 1: help the Dodgers beat the Yankees. How real is it
Speaker 1: the after effects, the lingering effects of pushing your arm
Speaker 1: to the limits the way you did two years ago.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I think I had other issues last year mechanically that
Speaker 2: probably made it seem like my body was fatigued. But yeah,
Speaker 2: I think, you know, the biggest thing is just even
Speaker 2: just post surgery. As best you can do, the best
Speaker 2: I can relate it is you find something that works,
Speaker 2: and it worked in twenty four, and then trying to
Speaker 2: find the version that I've been my whole career. You know,
Speaker 2: you kind of forget little cues and some things aren't
Speaker 2: clicking the right way, and you start trying to figure
Speaker 2: out what it is. And sometimes it walks you farther
Speaker 2: away from the answer. Sometimes it brings you closer to
Speaker 2: the answer. And I feel like we're in a really
Speaker 2: good spot this spring, and like my bullpeny went really well,
Speaker 2: and get another one tomorrow and from there we'll see
Speaker 2: if they have me in lives.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I feel great. This is I'm super happy
Speaker 3: to be here.
Speaker 2: I know my family's pretty excited to get things going,
Speaker 2: and yeah, it's good to see everybody kind of rolling
Speaker 2: in this time.
Speaker 1: What are the cues? Are they the cues from twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four? Are they the cues that you discovered this offseason?
Speaker 2: I don't know's it's stuff that I've had in the past,
Speaker 2: but maybe I couldn't get my body to get to
Speaker 2: those positions, so it's all not worth talking on the radio.
Speaker 3: But it's it's in a good spot.
Speaker 1: So you feel like the action on your pitches, where
Speaker 1: your arm sod is, all those things are where you
Speaker 1: want to be early on.
Speaker 2: All the signs from my first bullpen showed that everything
Speaker 2: was moving really sharp and late, So I'm excited about it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, is it to private to ask you how much
Speaker 1: weight you've lost and just the conditioning that you put
Speaker 1: in this offseason.
Speaker 3: I haven't lost that much.
Speaker 2: I just I think body composition changed a little bit,
Speaker 2: probably down a few pounds.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I feel healthy. I feel healthy. Just I'm
Speaker 3: trying to, you know, play.
Speaker 2: As long as I can and as great as you
Speaker 2: know the Good Lord will allow me, so firmly believing
Speaker 2: that until the day I retire, I'm going to be
Speaker 2: competing at the highest level I've ever competed, and I
Speaker 2: don't expect anything different this year.
Speaker 1: I mean for a skinny fat guy, Blake. When I
Speaker 1: see a guy come into camp the week, any fat guy. No, No,
Speaker 1: I'm calling my skinny fat guy.
Speaker 3: And you looked right at me.
Speaker 1: I'm looking I'm looking at you in the eye. I'm
Speaker 1: the skinny fat.
Speaker 2: Guy here back in a complidence said, oh, you look
Speaker 2: great from working hard all off season, but you're a
Speaker 2: skinny fat kid.
Speaker 1: I'm the I'm the skinny fat kid. And that's why
Speaker 1: when I see you coming.
Speaker 3: Too camp, you can Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 1: No, No, I can't. I think I feel like you've
Speaker 1: gone yoga. Did you do a lot of yoga? You
Speaker 1: look like a yogi type.
Speaker 3: I'm out on yoga. I don't need yoga in my life.
Speaker 2: Pilate's no, just work hard, you can stretch. I need
Speaker 2: to go into that weird stuff. I ain't doing yoga.
Speaker 1: Okay, Okay, I know you. I mentioned this to you yesterday.
Speaker 1: But the way your bullpen is shaping up now, Blake,
Speaker 1: it looks like it with Bazuka coming back, Vessia coming back, yourself,
Speaker 1: along with Edwin and Tanner, it feels like Jack Dryer,
Speaker 1: Ben Caspirius, Justin Robleski, how uh, how devastating have been
Speaker 1: Phillips second half? See see it feels like you guys
Speaker 1: maybe the forgotten part of this team that everybody's talking about.
Speaker 3: It's okay, is there all talking head points? And I
Speaker 3: appreciate that out of you.
Speaker 2: I just I've heard it every year where it's like, hey,
Speaker 2: this looks great, We're gonna you guys look like you're
Speaker 2: the best in baseball and this or that or hey, like,
Speaker 2: what are the things we got to answer?
Speaker 3: And it's all fair questions.
Speaker 2: I just at the end of the day, I just
Speaker 2: think we know what we're capable of and just go
Speaker 2: do it.
Speaker 3: You know, nobody needs to try I just do it.
Speaker 3: It's a league of doing it, So go do it.
Speaker 3: That's where I'm at.
Speaker 1: Okay, can I ask you a big picture question about
Speaker 1: the team? Blake Tryning is our guest on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: You got to come with your a game. If you're
Speaker 1: gonna stand in front of forty nine's locker, when you
Speaker 1: look at when do you look at the you.
Speaker 3: Go ahead, David?
Speaker 1: Is it across the way? Clayton Kershaw held that locker
Speaker 1: for a long time. He's no longer here. What's it
Speaker 1: like without him in camp with you guys and just
Speaker 1: being on the other side of the doorway here?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I shot him at text.
Speaker 2: I said, it's a little weird you're not walking in
Speaker 2: with your coffee every day heading the shower, But I
Speaker 2: don't know you'll be bringing that energy at Team USA.
Speaker 3: WBC so just asked how he's doing.
Speaker 2: Wished him luck and he said it felt feels a
Speaker 2: little weird, but but yeah, I think it'll feel weird
Speaker 2: for anybody when you finally hang it up.
Speaker 3: So yeah, it'd be fun to watch him, you.
Speaker 2: Know, from from home here in spring training and doing
Speaker 2: this thing, hopefully some pretty awesome moments.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a great way. It's like a storybook.
Speaker 2: And then you know, having got a chance to go
Speaker 2: out on top with us and then out on top
Speaker 2: of your nation.
Speaker 3: Pretty cool, all right?
Speaker 1: Before I let you go, You're a man that obviously
Speaker 1: has opinions about things. So when you look at I know.
Speaker 2: Careful, you might change the mass population's opinion of me
Speaker 2: in a good way. Since most people have different opinions
Speaker 2: of me, you might might actually swing some opinions in
Speaker 2: favor of maybe ask the right.
Speaker 1: Questions if they listen to us, I mean, they know
Speaker 1: what kind of guy Blake Trning is. And I'm wondering
Speaker 1: what you thought about the Dodgers sick knowing from the
Speaker 1: top signing these players and the reaction the rest of
Speaker 1: the league had to the Dodgers trying to compete and win.
Speaker 2: Again, Listen, I think everybody in baseball. I would be
Speaker 2: shocked if people are upset with what the Dodgers are doing.
Speaker 2: I think it's something that most players have been excited
Speaker 2: for us to have an organization from top to bottom,
Speaker 2: willing to invest in bringing a winning product in And
Speaker 2: you know, I think you see other players talk about
Speaker 2: it's because Hey.
Speaker 3: We want to be on a team.
Speaker 2: We want our team that we love and the fans
Speaker 2: that we love to be supported the way that you know,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers ownership and everybody's ownership group is different. I
Speaker 2: can't speak for people, you know, but to be a
Speaker 2: part of this organization where they're willing to put everything
Speaker 2: into making the club better, moving the needle in.
Speaker 3: The positive direction, like, it's pretty wild.
Speaker 2: And then pinch yourself to be a part of it,
Speaker 2: like the fact that I'm still here and they value
Speaker 2: me as a as a player, Like that's a huge blessing.
Speaker 3: I don't take that lightly. It's pretty cool.
Speaker 1: It's been a long relationship between you and the Dodgers, Dave,
Speaker 1: you didn't know that. I mean, I remember when they
Speaker 1: signed you. Going into the twenty season, A lot of
Speaker 1: people were wondering about Blake trying and You proved a
Speaker 1: lot of doubters wrong, and I feel like twenty six
Speaker 1: is going to be full circle again, prove a lot
Speaker 1: of doubters wrong.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Dave, appreciate it. You're the man.
Speaker 1: I'm here for you, life coach. Whenever you need me.
Speaker 3: You always are, You always are. You're always pumping my
Speaker 3: tire for sure.
Speaker 1: How could I not world series hero? Right here? Blake
Speaker 1: trying kline too? How about that? You got a whole
Speaker 1: locker full of World series heroes twenty twenty four. It
Speaker 1: doesn't happen without Blake trying to win back to back.
Speaker 1: I know, but when you went back to back championships,
Speaker 1: you got to have the first one first.
Speaker 3: It's fair, Okay, It's just hard for me to hear
Speaker 3: you talk about it. We got new goles. I'm grateful
Speaker 3: for it, but we got new goals.
Speaker 1: This is the last time I'll ever mention it.
Speaker 3: He hold them to it. Fancy, okay, Thank you, Blake.
Speaker 2: In ten years, when we celebrate each of these World
Speaker 2: series accomplishments, if you want to rehash it, I'll allow
Speaker 2: you to do it.
Speaker 1: The next debate will be who's got better here in
Speaker 1: the bullpen? You or brock Stewart.
Speaker 3: Rocking, Haab rocking, have It.
Speaker 1: Thanks a lot for the time, Blake, great to see
Speaker 1: you and Man happy you're healthy and ready to go
Speaker 1: for the season.
Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you. Looking forward to it.