All right, we're here with fan favorite Chris Taylor. Chris uh not wearing
the City Connect jerseys and warm up right now. But I'm sure you're just
waiting to unveil it because you're such a big fashionista. Yeah. No,
we were told to wait till the game to a fair head. So uh
yeah, we got the funfetti jerseys tonight. Oh. I like that you
even know the nickname for it? Yeah? No, I mean it looks
like a funfetti kick. Chris. I saw you during batting practice, still
shagging in center field. How often do you move positions just to be sharp
whenever you're called upon? Yeah, I try to whenever we take VP on
the field. We don't do it every day, so I try to get
my reps. You know. Usually I do ground balls before VP, so
during VP, I'll run out there and get some move off the bat.
You're coming off yourself and the team a pretty good road trip. Do you
feel like your confidence is starting to get back to where it has been in
the past. Yeah, I feel pretty good. You know, the last
week or so, I feel like I've been in a better place. I'm
when I'm swinging balls. Moving forward is always a good sign, you know,
And you know, they made some mechanical changes that have been working well
for me and starting to get more comfortable with They're just trying to like get
some rhythm and athleticism and you know it's starting to show a little bit.
And I'm sure it helped that you were able to play against a couple of
lefties in the road to keep that rhythm. Yeah. No, just getting
on the field, whether it's lefties or righties. It helps, you know,
facing live pitching and continuing to get out there, even at this stage
of your career when you make those type of adjustments, do you need to
see the results to continue and stay consistent with it? You know, I
think results are kind of It definitely helps you know your confidence and everything.
But as much as you can, you try to trust the process and more
so the quality of that bats than the whether you're getting hits or not.
Easier said than done. But you know, for me, I just like
that, like I said, I'm moving the ball forward. There's a less
swing and miss in the strike zone and you know, more line drives,
which I like, did I miss it in Denver? Did you have a
triple? Because I feel like we have this debate, Chris and I that
the triple to me is the most exciting play in baseball outside of a walk
off home run. Have you have you changed your mind about that? No,
I would have much preferred that ball to go over the fence. I'm
sure you would have, but it was more exciting for the fans to see
you run the bases. Whither the running the bases or my dancing that I
did on third base. See that proves my point. We would not have
gotten that dance if you hit a home run. That is true. So
have I swayed you a little bit? Can we agree to disagree on that?
And you got to leave that up to the fans. I'd rather run
all the way around the basis coming out and not do the dance. But
okay, yeah, the dance is kind of awkward. I'll be honest with
you. The Freddy dance. I could live with the other hiplock thing you
guys do. I don't know. It feels a little awkward and you didn't
really do it. Well, well I do I do it Freddie? Well
yeah, it's awkward. Good okay, Well you're gonna have to show me
how it's done. Okay, maybe a little bit later. Yeah, Chris,
before I let you go, You've been part of so many good teams
with the Dodgers. Do you feel like this team is still has a lot
of room to hit their ceiling. Yeah, you know, I think there's
definitely been ups and downs. Obviously, having a full healthy roster would help
us. You know, there's times where all of our guys were kind of
click in, and then there's times where we're all sort of in a slump.
So that's just gonna happen over the course of the season. You know,
hopefully it balances out. But yeah, we'd love to be like hitting
our stride, you know, at the end of the year, but uh,
you know when it counts in October. But right now, I feel
like we're in a we're in a good place. You know, guys have
stepped up and and covered for the injured guys, so it's been big yourself
included. That's why we like to like to see you out there with the
Freddy and whatever else do you do out there, Taylor. Yeah, I'm
just happy to be contributing anyway I can right now. You know that those
first couple of months, Yeah, that was the toughest part is going out
there and failing over and over and again. You know, you feel like
your your teammates are can't really count on you. It's a bad feeling.
So to finally come through and contribute one of my numbers called you know,
it just feels good to be like playing good baseball and helping the team win.
It feels like you're out on the other side of that now. And
I know you told me your wife and being a dad certainly helped you get
through that time. Yeah, you know I mentioned before. Their huge for
me just being able to go home and kind of you know, separate baseball
from my home life, and it's it's good for your sanity just to get
have that escape. I'm just trying to contribute anyway I can today too,
Chris, you and me both thanks a lot. Thanks