Speaker 1: Bill Blankett covers the Dodgers for the Orange County Register
Speaker 1: and joins us right now on Foul Territory.
Speaker 2: Bell.
Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show. Thank you for
Speaker 1: joining us. I like to do this anytime we bring
Speaker 1: someone on and a team is going through a mini rut.
Speaker 1: They've lost about four or five. They had a tough
Speaker 1: series against Pittsburgh. Are the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: Okay, it's not a mini rut. They're twenty two and
Speaker 2: twenty nine since the fourth of July, and I think
Speaker 2: that's about eleventh or twelfth best in the National League
Speaker 2: during that time. It's not a mini rut. They've been
Speaker 2: fairly mediocre for a good two month stretch.
Speaker 3: No matter what's wrong, Bill, Yeah.
Speaker 2: It's mostly the offense. You know, you don't like to
Speaker 2: point fingers, but it's mostly the offense. The starting pitching
Speaker 2: has been pretty good, in fact, it's probably their strength
Speaker 2: right now. The bullpen has been up and down, hasn't
Speaker 2: been great, but the offense has just thoroughly underperformed. Based
Speaker 2: on the names in you know that they put out
Speaker 2: there every day. You could go down the lineup and
Speaker 2: really the only guys who are living up to the
Speaker 2: back of their baseball card are Freddie Freeman, Will Smith,
Speaker 2: Shoheo Tani and even he is down from last year's
Speaker 2: ridiculous performance.
Speaker 3: Does it change? Does it change without them getting Max
Speaker 3: Munsey back, because I've always said Max Munsey's at bats
Speaker 3: really change how this lineup is approached by other teams.
Speaker 3: They at bats just are not the same. They don't
Speaker 3: put together a grinded at back.
Speaker 2: Absolutely right. The effect that Max has on the lineup
Speaker 2: is outsized. You can't can't explain it that that easily.
Speaker 2: I actually asked him last week. I told him I
Speaker 2: was going to start calling it the Max Months the effect,
Speaker 2: and I wanted him to explain it, and he said,
Speaker 2: just what you said. He he has the kind of
Speaker 2: it bats that wear out pitchers, that allow other guys
Speaker 2: in the lineup to be themselves. They don't have to
Speaker 2: try and you know be the guy who does that.
Speaker 2: Will Smith is the only other guy who sees a
Speaker 2: lot of pitches. So when you take Max out of there,
Speaker 2: we've seen a lot of nine to ten pitch one, two,
Speaker 2: three innings. It's it's no coincidence last year when he
Speaker 2: went out for three months with rib injury. They never
Speaker 2: really replaced him, and the offense dragged a little bit
Speaker 2: this year. He's been out for all but eight games
Speaker 2: since that early July, and it's not a coincidence that
Speaker 2: the offense has suffered.
Speaker 1: He's going to back and so that'll help the offense.
Speaker 1: So my question might be lazy, but I'm gonna ask
Speaker 1: it anyway. Isn't this what the Dodgers wanted? And get
Speaker 1: yourself off to a nice start, cruise, prepare for October.
Speaker 1: Someone's out, someone needs a little blow, il take extra time.
Speaker 1: Let's just make sure our October roster is stacked and
Speaker 1: try and solve the ultimate problem in Major League Baseball
Speaker 1: in the two thousands, winning back to back championships.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right. You've defined the arrogance that is the
Speaker 2: Los Angeles Dodgers. That is exactly how they operate the
Speaker 2: regular season is not do or die. Other teams when
Speaker 2: they play the Dodgers, it's the most important games on
Speaker 2: their calendar. That is not the case for the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: They don't match that intensity or urgency. The problem is,
Speaker 2: and I've been saying this since the trade deadline, I
Speaker 2: don't think they're as good as they think they are.
Speaker 2: They didn't make any big moves at the deadline because
Speaker 2: of what you're saying. They thought, you know, we'll be fine,
Speaker 2: we'll be stacked when everybody comes back healthy. Well maybe
Speaker 2: they you know, these guys come back healthy, maybe they
Speaker 2: don't come back to the same level. You know. A
Speaker 2: good example, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates both came back
Speaker 2: from a short stint on the IL and haven't looked good.
Speaker 2: They didn't look great when they went on the aisle.
Speaker 2: They don't look great now. And there's just too many
Speaker 2: guys having down years. I mean, ta Oscar Hernandez is
Speaker 2: not the same hitter he was last year. Mookie Betts
Speaker 2: is having the worst season offensively of his career. The
Speaker 2: bottom of the lineup is pretty thin right now with
Speaker 2: Max Muncy out of there. So yeah, they're gonna make
Speaker 2: it to October. They're gonna have a pretty good roster
Speaker 2: when they get into October. Over in like we like
Speaker 2: we've seen for twenty five, twenty six years, it's a
Speaker 2: crap shoot once you get there, all right.
Speaker 3: I have two questions for you.
Speaker 4: One, Will Smith is doing this again where he hasn't
Speaker 4: unbelievable first half and then he kind of falls off.
Speaker 3: Is it wear and tear on him? Is it?
Speaker 4: I mean, I know it happens to a lot of catchers.
Speaker 4: Happened to him, I had, it happened to me a lot.
Speaker 4: You just kind of get worn down mentally.
Speaker 5: But what can they do?
Speaker 4: Because they brought up rushing, they've tried to use him more,
Speaker 4: but it hasn't seemed to help that much.
Speaker 2: With Will, the drop off isn't as bad this year
Speaker 2: as it has been the last couple. There were physical
Speaker 2: issues that played into it. The last couple of years.
Speaker 2: He had a rib injury one year, I think it
Speaker 2: was a concussion, another year that kind of lingered for
Speaker 2: a little while, and he hurt his ankle on a slide.
Speaker 2: It just little things that you look back and you
Speaker 2: can kind of point to them. But you're right, they've
Speaker 2: done everything they can to keep the workload down and
Speaker 2: it's still happening. I asked Dave Roberts about that the
Speaker 2: other day and he said, no, it's not the same thing.
Speaker 2: It's not the same thing. There's a little mechanical issue
Speaker 2: that he's working on. Well. Then the next day he
Speaker 2: hit a pinch at home run to win a game.
Speaker 2: He had a three hit game Tuesday here in Pittsburgh,
Speaker 2: and then last night foul ball off his hand. Won't
Speaker 2: be in the lineup for a couple of days, so
Speaker 2: you know you played the position. It's hard. There's a
Speaker 2: lot of banging and wear and tear. And that's the
Speaker 2: problem with counting on a catcher to be a key
Speaker 2: offensive piece in your lineup. It just demands so much.
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Speaker 3: This is probably a story that's about a week and
Speaker 3: a half old. But is there a chance that we
Speaker 3: see Mooki going back to right now field?
Speaker 5: No? Zero, Chick's just stop just nope, no, Well, so
Speaker 5: then on a.
Speaker 3: Tao can move to left and they upbraid somehow and
Speaker 3: right okay.
Speaker 2: Yes, I can see that. Honestly, the best right fielder
Speaker 2: they have defensively right now is Andy pie Has and
Speaker 2: he's playing center field. So when Tommy Edmund comes back
Speaker 2: from his injury, his ankle injury, and that'd probably be
Speaker 2: next week, they plan on playing Tommy in center field. Well,
Speaker 2: what does that mean for Andy paie Has. Does he
Speaker 2: go to left field and bump Conforto out of the
Speaker 2: lineup or does he go to right field where he
Speaker 2: would you know, he belongs where his defensive skill set
Speaker 2: would be best. And Tao moves to left where I
Speaker 2: think he does less damage defensively. He's not a good
Speaker 2: left fielder either, but he does less damage over there.
Speaker 2: The problem is Tao isn't hitting very well regardless of
Speaker 2: where you play him. But the outfield does doesn't need
Speaker 2: Mooky Betts. They can they have other ways of doing this.
Speaker 2: Mooki is a good shortstop. I'm sorry people don't seem
Speaker 2: to be getting this. You can look at the numbers
Speaker 2: and it reflects it. He's a good shortstop. Remarkable that
Speaker 2: he's made that adjustment. But he's not hitting. He's not hitting,
Speaker 2: and you know, does going to right field free up
Speaker 2: the offense a little bit, then it'd be worth it.
Speaker 2: But I the Dodgers don't believe that's the case. He's
Speaker 2: not moving not this year.
Speaker 4: He's not. That's for sure. If you're right, he's not,
Speaker 4: he's not this year. Two things. One, you know you talk,
Speaker 4: you mentioned Colforida. Dodger fans are clamoring for Canforida to
Speaker 4: to not be on this team. So what what I
Speaker 4: mean where he's been a good player his whole career,
Speaker 4: what's going on this year with him?
Speaker 2: Yeah, he has not been a good player this year.
Speaker 2: That's for sure, it's his numbers since his shoulder surgery
Speaker 2: a couple of years ago have not quite rebounded, is it.
Speaker 2: Bats this year have just been terrible. He seems to
Speaker 2: step out of the dugout and be owen too. They
Speaker 2: gave him plenty of time to find his way out
Speaker 2: of it. He tried some changes mechanically, he tried a
Speaker 2: different bat style. It's not working. He's you know, even
Speaker 2: his little hot streaks have lasted, you know, two three games.
Speaker 2: So it's a bust. They signed it from one year.
Speaker 2: They just got to cut their losses now. And you know,
Speaker 2: maybe some of those other outfield configurations work. But boy,
Speaker 2: you right about the fans. There are what we would
Speaker 2: call one issue voters out there who want to blame
Speaker 2: him for everything.
Speaker 4: True, true, All right, So I want to know can
Speaker 4: the Dodgers turn it on and win the World Series?
Speaker 4: That's kind of what you said at the beginning. They
Speaker 4: just kind of float through the regular season and oh,
Speaker 4: here it is the postseason.
Speaker 3: Can they turn it on?
Speaker 4: And when the world's with the way the team is
Speaker 4: constructed and when you know, obviously they're getting everybody back,
Speaker 4: But can they win the World Series with this team?
Speaker 4: The way it's constructed.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. I mean, is there a powerhouse out there in
Speaker 2: either league this year that you say, you know, they're
Speaker 2: clearly the World Series favorite. I don't think there is. Ironically,
Speaker 2: after the way they had the teams they had in
Speaker 2: the playoffs the last two years, they've got great starting
Speaker 2: pitching this year and that can carry you a little
Speaker 2: bit in the postseason. They also, when you get their attention,
Speaker 2: they're still a good team. You saw that with the
Speaker 2: Padres when the Padres closed on them and tied the division,
Speaker 2: took the lead, Dodgers swept the Padres at home. That
Speaker 2: that was the one time where they kind of got
Speaker 2: their attention, got some urgency. So if that's the team
Speaker 2: you get in October, absolutely they can win it again.
Speaker 3: Do they need to get to buy They're two games
Speaker 3: behind the Phillies right now. Phillies aren't playing the best baseball.
Speaker 3: Do they need the buy for a team that has
Speaker 3: battled injury or like the team is just kind of
Speaker 3: sheltered guys and made sure everybody's healthy to get back
Speaker 3: and not rushing back.
Speaker 5: Do they need those off days they want them? I
Speaker 5: don't know if they need them. The last few years
Speaker 5: when they had the five days off. They've had some
Speaker 5: trouble with how to handle it.
Speaker 2: Last year they managed, but you know, two years before
Speaker 2: that they were out in the first round. I don't
Speaker 2: think a first round wild card is that bad a
Speaker 2: thing because as it would play out, they would probably
Speaker 2: have it at home, and they're a very good team
Speaker 2: at home, so the danger of losing two out of
Speaker 2: three is less. But yeah, I think they would much
Speaker 2: rather have the five days off, line up their pitching
Speaker 2: for whoever and take it from there.
Speaker 3: But that is exactly my point. Yamamoto is not going
Speaker 3: to pitch on five days. To me, there's nobody that
Speaker 3: needs more time off than the Dodgers, because if Yamamoto throws,
Speaker 3: you might not see him until Game four of the NLDS.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the way it lines up, I think what you
Speaker 2: get is Blake Snell in the first game of the
Speaker 2: best of five and then Yamamoto in Game two, which
Speaker 2: sets him up for the Game one start in the
Speaker 2: next round if you move on. I think the interesting
Speaker 2: thing is going to be how they use Otani as
Speaker 2: a pitcher in the postseason. You know, the last couple
Speaker 2: of times out the way he's pitched, he's not exactly
Speaker 2: one of their four best. You got Snell, Yamamoto, Glassnow's
Speaker 2: pitched well since he came back, and Kershaw? Where does
Speaker 2: Otani fit in there? The other part of that is
Speaker 2: the two way player rule. A lot of people are saying,
Speaker 2: pitch Otani out of the bullpen. Well, if you do that,
Speaker 2: it's problematic because he has to finish the game as
Speaker 2: the pitcher or you lose lose him as the DH.
Speaker 2: The other way you do it, if he starts, he can,
Speaker 2: he can pitch for a while and then go to DH.
Speaker 2: So do we see him piggybacking with somebody? Do we
Speaker 2: see I've been throwing out this scenario for a while.
Speaker 2: Do we see Otani starting a game and Kershaw coming
Speaker 2: in in the fourth inning or the fifth inning? Uh?
Speaker 2: And and they kind of uh, you know, that's a
Speaker 2: heck of a contrast in styles for the opposing opposing team.
Speaker 2: So how they use Otani as a pitcher I think
Speaker 2: is going to be a fascinating part of the postseason.
Speaker 3: Right now September fourth. Is Showani a better option to
Speaker 3: start than Clayton Kershaw?
Speaker 2: He I can't say he is. Uh, you gotta show
Speaker 2: me some con consistently good starts. He was terrific when
Speaker 2: he was going two or three innings. Since he's stretched
Speaker 2: out four and five, there's been more trouble. He's you know,
Speaker 2: he's extending his pitch mix a little bit and doesn't
Speaker 2: have quite the same effectiveness. So you know, right now,
Speaker 2: I think there'd be a lot of examination of the
Speaker 2: matchups with whoever they draw. Let's put it this way,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers have a good history, a solid history of
Speaker 2: overthinking their pitching decisions in the postseason. I'm looking back
Speaker 2: at when they used an opener for Julio Urias, when
Speaker 2: they moved, used Max Scherzer to close out a game
Speaker 2: in the NLDS in twenty one, and then he was
Speaker 2: useless in the NLCS. They just have a way of
Speaker 2: overthinking these things, and I think the Otani situation gives
Speaker 2: them ample oppertunities to overthink things once again.
Speaker 1: Hey Bill, last one from us, which team do you
Speaker 1: think is the biggest threat to take down the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: Well, I think I would have said the Padres until
Speaker 2: this run of injuries that they've had. The Padres were
Speaker 2: clearly the best team they've faced in the postseason. Last year,
Speaker 2: and the rivalry. The intensity of that matchup is terrific.
Speaker 2: It's something that the Dodgers don't always handle well, but
Speaker 2: their injuries have kind of taken the edge off of them.
Speaker 2: You know, Philly sticks in my mind a little bit
Speaker 2: because the Dodgers just don't have a history of playing
Speaker 2: well in Philly for whatever reason. So if they have
Speaker 2: their pitching in order, if they can get a little
Speaker 2: bit healthy on that side, I could see the Dodgers
Speaker 2: in Philly being the showdown series in the postseason.
Speaker 4: I love it.
Speaker 1: Sign me up for that one. I'm pumped for the
Speaker 1: playoffs bill. This was great. Thank you for catching us
Speaker 1: up on where the Dodgers are at right now. And
Speaker 1: you're right right from the jump, it's been anytime.
Speaker 2: I want to see AJ in the Arizona Fall League.
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to that right now.
Speaker 4: You know what, you know what, I found the perfect
Speaker 4: thing for me. Banana Ball All Stars play against a
Speaker 4: college team.
Speaker 3: I mean, how can I not be on that game?
Speaker 5: You're a natural, That's what do you mean?
Speaker 4: I wasn't an All Star and I played banana Ball.
Speaker 3: Doesn't that make me an All Star? I thought you
Speaker 3: were a Banana Ball All star like you had to
Speaker 3: play good for the banana ball.
Speaker 4: I've caught great. No one stole, no run scored. I
Speaker 4: caught great Peter Peter.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Belle, Appreciate you.
Speaker 2: You got it, guys,