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Speaker 1: Post season baseball is here. Now would be a great

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Speaker 1: time to check out our back catalog, get caught up

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Speaker 1: on all the season's best storylines, and if you like

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Speaker 1: what you hear, please share the show with a friend.

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Speaker 1: Let's get onto this one bitch time.

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Speaker 2: For Dodger baseball.

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Speaker 1: Hello, Dodger Blue dreamers, Thank you for listening. We've made

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Speaker 1: it one hundred and sixty two games played. The regular

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Speaker 1: season is now over. The postseason has commenced. What happened

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Speaker 1: over the last six months of play is now just

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Speaker 1: a number on the back of a baseball card. It's

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Speaker 1: what happens from here on out that players are remembered

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Speaker 1: for forever.

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Speaker 2: In October, memories.

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Speaker 1: Are made, dreams are destroyed, and the same logic from

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Speaker 1: the regular season just doesn't apply. October baseball is different.

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Speaker 1: It's a month that the baseball God's rule with a fierce,

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Speaker 1: unpredictable hand, short series determine the best team's fate and

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Speaker 1: tug on the heartstrings of fan bases around the country.

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Speaker 1: The way things unfold in October is rarely something you

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Speaker 1: can predict, but it's something you can pray about and

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Speaker 1: dream about. It's a period of ghosts and angels, fate

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Speaker 1: and luck, heartbreak and ecstasy. This is a story about that.

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Speaker 1: It's also a little bit about the last game of

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Speaker 1: the regular season on Sunday, when the Dodgers played the

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Speaker 1: last place Rockies in Colorado. And it's a story about

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Speaker 1: longtime Dodgers utility player Chris Taylor. Welcome to Dodger Blue Dream,

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Speaker 1: a documentary made in real time as the season unfolds.

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Speaker 1: I'm Richard Parks Today's episode in CT three, We trust

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Speaker 1: There's no way to sugarcoat it. Chris Taylor aka CT three,

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Speaker 1: the Dodgers longstanding, embattled fan favorite utility player, has had

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Speaker 1: a bad year. CT three has had many great seasons

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Speaker 1: as a Dodger, and he's under contract through twenty twenty six.

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Speaker 1: But this year things took a turn for the worse.

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Speaker 1: People are calling for his head.

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Speaker 3: Hello, Richard, this is one of your callers.

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Speaker 2: I even got a message about this.

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Speaker 3: I'm calling you from an undisclosed location because I'm about

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Speaker 3: to say the seven most sorry. I'm calling you from

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Speaker 3: an undisclosed location because I'm about to say the seven

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Speaker 3: most dangerous words in all of Los Angeles. Why is

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Speaker 3: Chris Taylor on this team? I mean surely any of

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Speaker 3: the options that have gone through the revolt door, that

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Speaker 3: is the bottom of our order would be better than him.

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Speaker 3: Even Nick Ahmed was a little more promising than what

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Speaker 3: CT's given us this year. Is it really just because

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Speaker 3: of all the money he owed? Does he have dirt

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Speaker 3: on the gugen Im group? What could it be? I'll

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Speaker 3: take my answer off the air.

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Speaker 1: During one particularly horrid stretch this season, CT three went

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Speaker 1: nine for ninety. That's a one hundred batting average, a

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Speaker 1: full one hundred points below the so called Mendoza line

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Speaker 1: aka a batting average of two hundred, named for Manny Mendoza,

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Speaker 1: who played in the big leagues for nine seasons in

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Speaker 1: the seventies and eighties and hit below two hundred and

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Speaker 1: five of those nine seasons. The Mendoza line has long

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Speaker 1: been considered the bare minimum of offensive production for a

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Speaker 1: position player to remain on a major league roster. So

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Speaker 1: ignominious is the association with this substandard statistic. Mario Mendoza

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Speaker 1: has said publicly that he wishes it was called something else. Ironically,

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Speaker 1: he finished his career above the Mendoza line, hitting two fifteen,

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Speaker 1: and so Bob Yuker, the guy who played the broadcaster

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Speaker 1: and Major League Josh the bit outside. Yeah him, he

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Speaker 1: actually was a big league catcher and had a career

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Speaker 1: batting average of exactly two hundred. Yucker once famously said

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Speaker 1: I led the league and go get him next time

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Speaker 1: and has offered to take over for Mendoza as the

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Speaker 1: poster child for the bare minimum of offensive production. And

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Speaker 1: this shows how even in an age where barrel percentage

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Speaker 1: and hard contact might be valued above batting average, finishing

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Speaker 1: below the Mendoza or the Yuker line is still something

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Speaker 1: big leaguers might feel sensitive about.

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Speaker 2: Thank you John for the last time.

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Speaker 4: In this regular season game one sixty two, the.

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Speaker 1: Dodgers finishing up the regular campaign again, it's the Rockies

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Speaker 1: at corse Field, let's say, alone from the booth and

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Speaker 1: going into the last game of the regular season on

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Speaker 1: Sunday in Colorado, Chris Taylor's average was sitting at one

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Speaker 1: ninety nine, just below the Uker line.

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Speaker 5: On top of the eight just one nothing ballgame here,

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Speaker 5: so don't do it and the pitch outside the tanlor

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Speaker 5: one ball those drives and he was zero for one

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Speaker 5: win in the eighth inning, he came up in a

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Speaker 5: rare low scoring game at Coors Field with the Dodgers

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Speaker 5: trailing one to zero, and then this happened.

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Speaker 2: These swings hits the ball team to right, there's ball

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Speaker 2: heading back. This ball is.

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Speaker 4: Gone in a long run by Taylor, and he ties

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Speaker 4: the game of the eighth inn and the Dodgers in

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Speaker 4: business and on the board it is one to one.

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Speaker 1: CT three crossed the Mendoza Uker line and he tied

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Speaker 1: the game with a single swing. He ended up hitting

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Speaker 1: two to two on the season, statistically the worst season

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Speaker 1: of his career, but he saved himself from ignominy at

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Speaker 1: the eleventh hour. He helped his team win the game,

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Speaker 1: and he did it with that modest flair for the

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Speaker 1: dramatic that is familiar to those of us who've watched

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Speaker 1: CT three over his years as a Dodger. This is

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Speaker 1: a player who's been a part of so many memorable

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Speaker 1: Dodgers teams and post seasons over the course of the

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Speaker 1: last decade. But there is some doubt as to whether

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Speaker 1: CT three will be playing in the postseason this year.

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Speaker 2: Let me explain.

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Speaker 1: The Dodgers play their first postseason game on Saturday at

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Speaker 1: Dodgers Stadium. Dave Roberts will submit a postseason roster card

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Speaker 1: that day and there can only be twenty six names

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Speaker 1: on it. That's two fewer players than on the last

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Speaker 1: day of the regular season. Typically, a utility player like

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Speaker 1: CT three adds great value in a postseason setting for

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Speaker 1: late inning replacements and lineup shifts. He can play shortstop

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Speaker 1: or second, He can play anywhere in the outfield. But

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Speaker 1: because of his poor performance at the plate this season,

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Speaker 1: CT three is on the block to be cut, and

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Speaker 1: a lot of people are projecting he'll be the one

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Speaker 1: left out. I believe he should not be cut. Like

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Speaker 1: we said in the beginning, October is different. It's a

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Speaker 1: time when analytics take a back seat to gut instinct.

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Speaker 1: Some historically great players aren't that great in the postseason.

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Speaker 1: You could argue that Clayton Kershaw is won and even

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Speaker 1: in the past couple years, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman

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Speaker 1: have struggled in the post after MVP worthy regular season performances,

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Speaker 1: and some average players, even unknown players, shine in the postseason.

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Speaker 1: This month, we want the guys who are going to

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Speaker 1: outplay their regular season selves. We want everybody to be

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Speaker 1: above average. And why would I think that Chris Taylor

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Speaker 1: could meet that Challenge.

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Speaker 2: CT three is.

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Speaker 1: A Baseball Gods story. He's a longtime Dodger who has

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Speaker 1: had some huge moments in the postseason before.

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Speaker 2: In the air to left into the gap bags Taylor.

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Speaker 1: He made this game saving catch in Game seven of

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Speaker 1: the twenty seventeen NLCS.

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Speaker 2: With a run saving catching who knows.

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Speaker 1: How much more, and the Dodgers went on to win

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Speaker 1: the game and the series, with Taylor being named the

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Speaker 1: co MVP. Then, leading off Game one of the twenty

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Speaker 1: seventeen World Series that is scooped and.

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Speaker 4: Left and right if you're in the left bang starts

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Speaker 4: the World Series for Chris Taylor.

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Speaker 1: Taylor hit a home run on the first pitch he saw,

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Speaker 1: setting the tone for a series that we should have

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Speaker 1: and could have won against the Astros had they not

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Speaker 1: cheated by stealing signs and with the Dodgers on the

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Speaker 1: ropes in the bottom of the ninth thinning in the

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Speaker 1: wild Card game in twenty twenty one, Taylor.

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Speaker 6: A struggling hitter Dodgers trying to walk it off and

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Speaker 6: go to San Francisco, who.

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Speaker 1: Hit a walk off home run to send the team

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Speaker 1: to the NLDS.

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Speaker 6: Rays Fires swing a drive deep fan Presstaylor Chris Taylor

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Speaker 6: with the moment.

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Speaker 1: Of his life, and he's had some big moments.

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Speaker 4: A walk off home run, his sixth career postseason homer,

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Speaker 4: and Taylor a struggling hitter the Livers.

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Speaker 1: Even though this was the worst season of Chris Taylor's career,

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Speaker 1: he's been turning it around heroically since that awful nine

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Speaker 1: for ninety stretch. After injuring his groin when running out

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Speaker 1: a double at Dodger Stadium one night in July, CT

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Speaker 1: came back from the il with a new approach at

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Speaker 1: the plate and a new swing, and since then, he's

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Speaker 1: hit three oh three in the second half of the season,

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Speaker 1: and he's been getting better and better as the season

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Speaker 1: goes on. He hit three point thirty in September, four

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Speaker 1: seventy four in the last two weeks, and five forty

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Speaker 1: six in the last week, and that last swing of

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Speaker 1: the regular season for him went out of the ballpark

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Speaker 1: and tied the game. That home run was a turning point,

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Speaker 1: and now the postseason is upon us. When I think

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Speaker 1: about CT three, I don't want to think about his

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Speaker 1: year end batting average. I want to think about the

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Speaker 1: magic that he's capable of. I want to believe it's

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Speaker 1: time to put away the pencils and break out the

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Speaker 1: devotional candles. And that is why I believe Chris Taylor

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Speaker 1: should not be cut.

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Speaker 7: Hello there, Dodger Blue Dream.

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Speaker 1: I got a message that elaborates on this sentiment too,

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Speaker 1: from another listener, my friend Brian Hidalgo.

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Speaker 7: We are here close to the end of the season,

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Speaker 7: which has me feeling cautiously off domistic, yet optimistically cautious.

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Speaker 7: I'm feeling good about our old guys, our old guys

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Speaker 7: that have been on the team for many years. I'm

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Speaker 7: talking CT three. Those guys were taking us to the

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Speaker 7: promised land CT three.

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Speaker 2: CT three. We trust.

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Speaker 7: He's proven, proven post season performer and I cannot wait

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Speaker 7: to see if they utilize him this postseason. He was

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Speaker 7: very very underutilized him and Ki Kid last year, very

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Speaker 7: underutilized last game against a Diamond Bags when they got swept.

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Speaker 7: Last game, Dodgers only had two runs. Who is responsible

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Speaker 7: for those two runs? Bye boy Geek and bye boy

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Speaker 7: CT So I'm looking forward. I'm looking forward to see

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Speaker 7: what they're gonna do.

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Speaker 1: In addition to leaving this message, Brian gifted me a

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Speaker 1: very special candle. It's like a devotional candle, except instead

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Speaker 1: of the Virgin or a saint, it has an image

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Speaker 1: of Chris Taylor on it, and in Gothic script, it

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Speaker 1: reads in CT.

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Speaker 2: Three we Trust.

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Speaker 1: To end the episode, I'm going to light that candle

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Speaker 1: and say a little prayer. May Chris Taylor make the

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Speaker 1: postseason roster this year. May he have an opportunity to

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Speaker 1: redeem himself and his paltry performance at the plate over

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Speaker 1: the course of the regular season. May his hot streak continue,

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Speaker 1: and may his modest uker line performance be overshadowed by

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Speaker 1: some explosion of greatness in the postseason this year. May

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Speaker 1: our underdog aspects fuel our competitive fire, and may we

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Speaker 1: stay humble and lift up those around us, especially those

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Speaker 1: in need. And may we win it all in a

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Speaker 1: non pandemic year this year, and celebrate with the parade

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Speaker 1: in the streets of Los Angeles, from the South Bay

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Speaker 1: to the Valley, from the west side to the east side.

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Speaker 1: Everybody very happy.

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Speaker 2: In CT.

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Speaker 1: Three We Trust, Amen. Dodger Blue Dream is written and

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Speaker 1: produced by Me, Richard Parksid. Original music in this episode

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Speaker 1: by William Ryan Fritch, Jonathan Snipes, and by me. This

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Speaker 1: episode was made with the help of Caitlin Esh, Jordan Bass,

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Speaker 1: Elizabeth Parks, Kibbi, and Tyler Hill. Special thanks to Ben

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Speaker 1: Kramer and Brian Hidalgo. If you like Dodger Blue Dream,

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Speaker 1: please help me spread the word. Share the show with

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Speaker 1: a friend, leave us a rating and a review, and

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Speaker 1: check out our back catalog. Thank you for listening. Go Dodgers,