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Talk bike back David Vasse. Welcome the Dodger Talk David Vasse live at Dodger
Stadium. After the Dodgers defeat the Rockies tonight by a final score of four
to one. We have phone lines open at eight six, six, nine,
eighty seven, two five seventy. Jose Mota will join us at eleven
o'clock tonight. Also, you will hear from Austin Barnes, who is one
of the hitters that faced Clayton Kershaw today. This was the first time that
Kershaw faced hitters since his left shoulder surgery back in December. So we'll hear
from Austin Barnes, who has the unique perspective of not only catching Kershaw's bullpen
during this rehab process two homestands ago, but then today getting a look at
how Kershaw is coming along in his rehab process. So we'll get to all
that a little bit later in the show. But tonight the Dodgers got a
really good performance from Yoshi Yamamoto, maybe did not have his best stuff the
entire night, but he competed and was able to get through six innings and
strike out seven, which was encouraging, and we had touched upon it during
the clubhouse show. On the top of the second inning, everybody was wondering
where the heck Yoshi yama Moto was when he was supposed to be out on
the mound warming up between innings, and Sportsnet LA went into the dugout trying
to scan the dugout to see if yama Moto was in there, if there
was an injury or something was going on. Yama Moto apparently had an issue
with his shoelaces, and that's what took him so long to come out to
warm up for the second inning. Me personally, I thought he was in
the bathroom, and the reason why I thought he was in the bathroom was
because Dave Roberts was seen coming out from under the tunnel and I thought maybe
Dave Roberts was occupying the bathroom and Yamamoto wanted to get in and was delayed
a little bit. But that was not the case. Yamamoto had shoelace issues
and all was well. Bud Black very level headed manager did not make a
big fuss about it. I'm sure David Bell would have thrown like ten chairs
that Yamamoto was not out there warming up in time. But Bud Black,
good Man, and certainly a guy that has a level head, understood these
things happen, and the umpires allowed Yamamoto the enough time to warm up in
between innings to start that second and from there he was able to well.
He gave up a run in that second inning, but after that was able
to find his fastball command and really use that split fingered fastball tonight effectively.
He threw the four seam fastball fifty five times tonight. He threw the split
fingered fastball twenty eight times tonight, and he threw one hundred and one pitches.
That's the second time this year Yamamoto has thrown over one hundred pitches,
So that's a great sign as well. Eight six, six, nine eighty
seven two five seventy is the phone number. How about the seven eight to
nine hitters tonight? Those were Andy Pajes, Jason Hayward, and keike A
Hernandez. Those three hitters were on base seven times tonight and were combined six
four eleven, Hayward and Hernandez drove in runs, So the Dodgers got some
production from the bottom of the order tonight. And I do want to give
love to Freddie Freeman, who actually tonight not only went for a single,
but he went for a triple in the fifth inning with one out against Cal
Quantrill. Here is the most exciting play in baseball outside of a walk off
home run, payoff pitch and Freddy lines a down the left field line.
It is slicing a diving attempt by Bouchard. He missed it. It's rolling
around in the corner, rounding second and heading per third as Freeman. Here's
the relay he slides. He say, what about triple? Freddy's second triple
of the season. Freddie Freeman gone for three and he certainly was in there
and got his daddy long legs into third base safely. And then Will Smith
had the best at bat of the night. Eight pitches against Quantrill and he
drives in Freddie Freeman. Not only did Smith drive in Freeman after seeing eight
pitches from Quantrill, he threw out the speedy shortstop in the game, Ezekiel
Tovar. And how about this Will Smith? Last year, only threw out
twenty one percent of the runners trying to steal off of him. This year,
he's thrown out forty five percent of the runners, including Tovar tonight.
And it's not just on Will Smith. The pitchers are actually giving him something
to work with. So Will Smith, to me, had the game of
the night. And when I talk about the most exciting play in baseball,
that goes back to a debate I had with Chris Taylor a few years ago
where I maintained the most exciting playing baseball is the triple outside of a walk
off home run. He disagreed. He thought a third inning home run is
super exciting. I disagree. The triple, Freddie Freeman's triple more exciting than
a solo home run in the fourth inning by anybody. Eight six six nine
eight seven two five seventy is the phone number. It was Tyler glass Now
Bobblehead night out here at Dodgers Stadium, and I saw a lot of happy
fans vents walking out with the Glass Now Bobblehead is first as a Dodger,
and Glass Now had a lot of support from his fans in his hometown of
the six sixty one Glass Now's Heart High School coach Jim Mozella sent me a
text yesterday alerting me that two hundred Heart Baseball supporters were going to be at
the game tonight, including the CIF Southern Section champions and Glass Noow was signing
autographs for the D two CIF Southern Section champions from his alma mater at Heart
High School. So a great night out here at Dodgers Stadium, culminating in
a Dodger four to one victory over the Rockies. Let's go out to James
who is at Dodgers Stadium tonight. Hi James, you're on Dodger Talk.
Hey, thanks DV. Great to be here with you, man, I
got to ask you a question. So, Dodger Stadium had made all these
upgrades, and you're telling me that their bathroom is only one at a time.
That's like an airplane laboratory. What's going on with that's the close US
one? Fair enough? Fair enough? Hey? I love watching Yoshi pitch.
He's one of these guys that I feel is never gonna have an ERA
under three. But he'll also never have an ERA over four. He's gonna
be one of these guys that's always going to be like a great number two,
and therefore I think a great buy for the Dodgers in terms of bringing
him in on that contract that they did. Like you said, man,
bottom of the lineup tonight seven through nine. So good to see those guys
getting hits. And as Dave Roberts would say, I read a great article
about his the doc isms on his fifty second birthday, And those guys have
compete, and if we keep throwing shade on the bottom of the lineup,
they're gonna get mad at it, and they're gonna show up and they're gonna
start putting the bat to the ball instead of trying to do damage. And
there's nothing wrong with singles and keeping the line moving to get it to the
top of the line lineup. So that was incredible to see tonight. I
was very happy to see that. And one guy I want to talk about
that didn't play is how about the season that Meggie Rowe is having, hitting
what two seventy two eighty and he's only playing a third of the time.
I mean, I almost thought that, you know, he should have started
instead of Kyk because Keyk is so good with those pinch hit clutch situations.
If you need a guy, you bring him off the bench. But I
would actually like to see Meggi row play a little bit more because his defense
Keyk's plus at like seven positions. But Meggi Rowe is elite at third,
short, second, I mean, and his bat is hotter than Kyk's or
anybody else in the bottom of the lineup. So as good as a bottom
did, I would like to see Niggi ro get a little more playing time,
all right, James, He got the start last night at third base,
and uh yeah, we'll see more of Miguel Rojas between now and the
time Max Munsey returns. He's swinging the bat. We saw Monsey in the
dugout last night, but Dave Roberts said before the game Monsey is not swinging
a bat right now, which says he's still a long ways away from returning.
And I think we all forget the fact that the Dodgers miss Max Munsey
in the middle of that lineup. But say what you will about him being
a three true outcome player, but he sees a lot of pitches and does
a lot of damage when he's on points, So don't forget about the loss
of Max Munsey in the middle of that Dodger lineup, which has a ripple
effect for sure. Taoscar Hernandez has to move up a spot and the rest
of the lineup moves up a spot. You got Gavin Lux hitting six more
nights than not without Monsey in the starting lineup. As far as the seven,
eight to nine hitters tonight, it was Andy pat has his night three
hits tonight for the Dodgers center fielder. He'd been scuffling on the last road
trip and before the Dodgers left for Cincinnati in New York, so it's good
to see him come back to start this homestand in a big way because they
need him to be a little bit more consistent. But that comes with the
package of starting a rookie player. There's going to be growing pains throughout the
season, and you just hope that if there are down times offensively, it
doesn't affect his defense. Last night, he made a big air in center
field and it led to two Rockies runs. But tonight the Dodgers come back
even the series with a four to one victory. Tonight eight six six nine,
eight seven two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go out to
Burbank. Eric, You're on Dodger Talk with David vasse Hi. Eric.
Hi, David, first time, long time, Oh thank you. I
wanted to let you know a couple things. I so enjoy listening to you
every night, especially after the win. Had one comment and one quick question.
I'll make it fast. I wanted to let you know how excited I
was I was at the game tonight and how exciting it was, hopefully for
the first time of many to see Hudson in the seventh trying in the eighth
and Phillips to close out the game, And if that's something you think we
will see moving forward. And my quick question for you was any updates on
Charlie Steiner. I'm excited to hopefully hear him again this season. Yeah,
Eric, we missed Charlie. He's still dealing with health issues and we hope
to have him back sooner rather than later. We all keep in touch with
him, and we all keep encouraging him to keep getting better, and I'll
pass along your well wishes Eric, and hopefully he does return this year.
But his health is number one. That's the one thing I keep reminding Charlie
about. We need him healthy. And then after that, the rest will
take care of itself. But as far as the bullpen, I mean,
Evan Phillips coming back is huge. I know the Dodgers would love to have
Joe Kelly and Ryan Brazier back, but with Blake Trening coming back eric and
being nasty as ever, man, with Phillips back and you got Trinan and
Hudson bridging from the starter to him, that shortens the game a lot.
But don't forget Trining's coming off a big shoulder injury and Hudson is thirty five
thirty six years old, so you got to be careful with those guys as
well. And that's why I'm a firm believer that Andrew Friedman's looking for maybe
some reinforcements at the deadline to help those veterans down there. Absolutely, and
granted if everybody does stay healthy, do you think you could see those three,
Hudson Trying and Phillip come postseason? Yeah, I hope so. And
then you know, the Dodgers have a lot of good pitching in their starting
rotation, not all of them are going to be in the rotation for the
postseason when the schedule shrinks, So you know, you could see maybe one
of these young guys going to the bullpen to help those veterans. Absolutely.
Absolutely, let's just pray all these guys stay healthy and looking forward to a
fun season. David, thank you so much. It's so enjoyable to listen
to you, and I think you're amazing at what you do and we sure
appreciate you. Thanks, Eric, appreciate it. Check is in the mail.
Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number Evan
Phillips tonight with his ninth save of the season, retiring the Rockies in order.
It is a breath of fresh air to see the Dodgers super reliever back
out there because he kind of restores order to that bullpen, right knowing you
have your ninth inning closer right there healthy, and then you have Hudson and
trying in alex Vesia, also being part of the high leverage group for Dave
Roberts to call upon. Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy is
the phone number. Dodgers beat the Rockies tonight four to one. Let's go
back out to the phone, Sacramento. Frank, You're on Dodger Talk.
Hi, Frank, Good evening, Dave c I told you this was a
little just a little thickup. We're back on the winning side now. Two
quite two things for you. Number one, what was up with Monday and
never tonight saying that our own DV is the breakdance champion of the locker room?
And then also, I want to know is there any truth to the
rumor that maybe our all time save leader will be coming back and retire as
a Dodger ken Lee Janssen. Well, I did see Bob Nightingale's report that
the Red Sox are probably going to shop ken Ley around the trade deadline,
and look, the Dodgers in Red Sox had some discussions during spring training and
before spring training about Kenley, so I wouldn't rule it out. But there's
some other teams out there that can use ken Ley as well. I'm thinking
Cubs, I'm thinking Rangers, I'm thinking and Padres as well. So I
do believe Kennelly's going to be traded. I know he would love to come
back to the Dodgers, so we'll see. Uh, he doesn't have control
over that, but we'll see where he lands. But yeah, I wouldn't
rule it out. Okay, And then also about never written Monday saying that
you were the break Oh, they're just trying to make some fun. They're
just trying to have a good time. Frank. I've never breakdanced. I'm
not a good dancer, Frank. But it's slow dancing. That's it.
That's my sight spot. Okay, Frank, thanks a lot for the phone
call and appreciate the encouragement on my breakdancing. Eight six six nine eight seven
two five seventy is the phone number. Tonight. Ta Oscar Hernandez got back
in the hit callumn tonight. He was two for three tonight with a run
score. Do you heard Dave Roberts praise him for his base running in the
second inning when the Rockies were throwing the baseball all over the field to allow
him to score all the way from first base on a ground out by Gavin
Lux And can you believe if you look at the landscape of the National League
outfield, Taoscar Hernandez leads all National League outfielders with twelve home runs and thirty
eight RBIs. Think about the outfielders in the National League. Fernando Tattis Junior
jumps out at me. I'm thinking about Schwarber in Philly. I guess Akunya
Junior before he got hurt, I was thinking of him. But Taoscar Hernandez
leads the National League with twelve home runs and thirty eight RBIs, and he
also has the third highest slugging percentage at four seventy five among National League outfielders.
That just shows you. Number one, what under the radar signing Taoscar
Hernandez was for the Dodgers. And number two, man, where have all
the outfielders gone in the National League? Right? Cody Bellinger? You know
he's included in all this. He's hitting two fifty seven and he only has
five home runs this year. You know, just looking at this list here,
there's not many good National League outfielders out there. I hate to say
it, but mystery relevant. Jerkson Profar is in the top three of production
of National League outfielders. So is Spencer Steer of the Reds and Jash Chisholm.
But Taoscar Hernandez is at the top of it. And you know,
as we get into June, this is when All Star Game voting starts.
I feel like, for sure, Taoskar Hernandez is going to be a National
League starter. I feel like Will Smith is going to be a National League
starter. Mookie Bets at shortstop, that's a toss up. There's a lot
of good shortstops out there in the National League, but he certainly will be
part of the team. But Taoscar Hernandez having a great year to start twenty
twenty four. Dodgers beat the Rockies tonight four to one. Here at Dodgers
Stadium, we mentioned Clayton Kershaw u he had his first day of facing hitters.
When we continue from Dodgers Stadium, we will let you hear from Austin
Barnes and also give you more details on what took place and when Clayton Kershaw
may return to the Dodgers. Tonight, the Dodgers beat the Rockies four to
one on A five seventy LA Sports on air at AM five seventy, online
at AM five seventy LA sports dot com, and available my podcast on the
iHeartRadio app. This is Dodger Talk with David Bassan pre ball, two strike
bitch and Will Linees. A down the left field line of Bash Freeman scores
rounding first and heading to a second with a run scoring double is Will Smith.
It is four to one. Will Smith with the at bat of the
night in the fifth inning to drive in Freddie Freeman after he tripled with one
out as the Dodgers defeat the Rockies tonight four to one. David Vaz say,
Dodger talk with you until the bottom of the hour. Well check in
with Jose Mota in ten minutes. But first I want to remind you that
our friends at Daniel's Jewelers, they are the official sponsor of the trip around
the Diamond. Stop by any Daniel's location and say home run for your free
team bracelet and a fifty dollars gift card toward any purchase of ninety nine dollars
or more. Daniels Jewelers own the Dream. Eight six, six, nine,
eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number. Look, I know
a lot of people are talking about the bottom of the Dodgers lineup, the
seven eight nine hitters. I just wanted to point out again that something I
said last night and on the road trip. Jason Hayward is just starting to
get into a rhythm at the plate after missing basically the first couple of months
of the season. Tonight, he doubled in the go ahead run in the
second inning. He was on base twice tonight. So I feel like Jason
Hayward is a big key to that bottom third of the lineup, and I
have no doubts that he's going to come close to replicate what he did for
the Dodgers last year in right field. So he's a big piece to that
bottom of the order to make that lineup a little bit longer. And like
I said before, it's not just him getting hits. He knows how to
play the game. He's a really smart baseball player and he makes the right
place. He surveys the field, he understands the situation, and he tries
to do his best to execute. So I feel like Hayward definitely is going
to be a big part of that bottom of the order for the Dodgers,
and tonight he was part of the seven eight, nine hitters of Pajez,
Hayward, and Keike Hernandez on base seven times tonight, going a combined six
four eleven. All Right, I mentioned Clayton Kershaw throwing to hitters today for
the first time since his left shoulder surgery. He's throwing bullpen sessions. So
this was the first time we had seen Kershaw throw to hitters, and I
saw him warm up in the bullpen, and I counted twenty six pitches,
and I said, that's pretty close to the amount of pitches he throws when
he comes into a game. And all of a sudden, Chico his catcher
bullpen catcher. His five minutes of fame were over in twenty twenty, but
he got another second look tonight and encore for Chico this afternoon. As he
was catching Kershaw during this simulated game, and Kershaw faced hitters Chris Taylor,
Austin Barnes, and also the Dodgers' first round pick last year, Kendall George.
It was one inning. He faced them a few different times and he
did incorporate his curveball. Chris Taylor did hit a home run off a Kershaw.
After he was done, Dave Roberts said that Kershaw was throwing eighty eight
miles an hour with his fastball, which is trending upwards, because he had
told me on the last homestand his fastball was around eighty six, so he's
trending upwards. And Dave Roberts, when I asked him, I said,
so where is he? Where is the timeline when is Kershaw coming back?
And Dave Roberts said, basically, today is Kershaw's liking it to Kershaw coming
in for spring training, and it's the second day of pitchers and catchers.
So he's six weeks away at least from the Dodgers considering him being activated into
the rotation because let's face it, it's June first, even though the weather
doesn't feel like it, it is the first day of June, and Kershawn
the Dodgers have talked about a July or early August return, so that would
line up six weeks from today. Austin Barnes, who we all know has
caught Kershaw more than any other catcher outside of aj Ellis, he caught Kershaw's
second bullpen session h during the regular season, and today was one of the
hitters that he faced. So here's what Austin Barnes saw. It was good.
It was I just, you know, I thought he's obviously the first
one is kind of a monumental step in the recovery, you know, so
it's a it's a great scene him out there. I thought the fastball was
coming out with his like true little life to it, you know, the
little little Ridey has do it and uh, you know, just coming out
there mixing all his pitches is you know, it was good. I was
seeing Clint Kershaw bitch of Dotish cudium is always a a good sign. So
you know, I thought it was. I thought it was a really good
day. You caught him two home stands ago. Was it better than what
you caught? Uh? Yeah, I mean I thought his stuff for where
he's at is it's awesome. You know. I think for him to be
hitting the vls he's hitting that this point is pretty special and a glad.
I'm just happy for him that, you know, it's it's working out and
everything feels good. You know. All right, there's Austin Barnes. He
had first look at Kershaw today and obviously has caught him during this process.
So, look, is Kershaw where he wants to be? Probably not.
I got the sense that he was really frustrated with the way things went today.
But nobody is a harsher critic of Kershaw than Kershaw himself. So this
is going to be a process and look, there's going to be ups and
downs. The good news is he has not had any physical setbacks. Today
was a good day for him to be on the mound, and like Dave
Roberts said to us after it was all said and done, this is basically
the second day of spring training for him when pictures and catchers reports, so
it's not a good thing. I think we've seen this with some of these
young pictures. First day showing up to camp and you're bragging about throwing one
hundred miles an hour. That's not the way it should be. You should
be easing into your velocity when you start spring training. And that's what Kershaw's
doing eighty eight miles an hour on the fastball today, using the slider,
using a little bit of the change up, and also breaking the curveball to
Kendall George. Rick Monday said he noticed that he was bailing out on that
curveball. So Kendall George got an education at a young age. Today during
a simulated game against a future Hall of Famer. After it was all said
and done, the Dodgers went out and beat the Rockies tonight four to one.
Let's go out to Jose Mota. It's time to go around the horn
with Jose Mota. All right, Jose Mota, not sure if you were
here or not. But did you have a chance to take a look at
Kershaw throwing to those hitters today? I did, and it was gratifying,
and you know what a nice thing for the ice to see that guy going
out there and competing. I mean, anytime cursh is on the mound,
you never know if it's a regular season game, is it this playoff game,
if it's a Ballton Because he keeps it all the same, that's what
he is, who he is. There are a lot of people in that
dugout, a lot of his teammates wanting to see how it looked Jose,
so there was a lot of interest. Even Bud Black from the Rockies wanted
to see how it looked. Well, Buddy Black knows about pitching a thing
or two about lefties who are coming back from injury. And Buddy Black himself
as a former pitching coach that understands motion, release points, mechanics, and
who wouldn't want to see at Clayton Kersher on his way back. If your
Buddy Black's thinking about watching this legend Hall of Famer today and starting to see
where his progress is, because as he progresses, obviously he knows they're going
to take a look at it, and also for Buddy Black little little study
and see which pictures are in development of which pictures are already there. But
to he here eighty eight miles an hour, that's very encouraging. Jose Mota
is joining us. After the Dodgers beat the Rockies in game two of this
short three game homestand four to one the final score. Tonight, Yoshi Yama
modah with his sixth win of the year. How'd you think Yamamoto looked out
there tonight, Jose against a team that obviously is not a juggernaut that he
may face in the future. Yeah, I might not be a juggernaut,
but those are the kind of teams you've got to be careful with. And
I'm happy on the way that he was able to at least manage those pitches
after the third inning, because at one point I'm looking at fifty six up
for three. But Yo moo moota is one thing that he does not beat
himself by falling behind a lot of accounts and walking guys. He walked that
first guy in that first sitting, and after that it was like strike one
on one into oho and two's one of these into one and ones. And
the one thing I'll tell you this from the inside is I'm a moto.
Well, the teams in New York had very extensive talks with Kodak Singa about
the splitter and about fastball commands. So the fact that he threw more fastbles
today and the splitter was so effective does not surprise me at all, because,
I mean, over two days, the conversation was about not just sitting
up and where it finishes, but I'm using that pitch on both sides of
the plate. But with that in, Singa throws it much slower. But
once they're talking about was you know, releasing looking at making it look like
a fastball and the room. But also a lot of guys use the splitter
Dave when they use a stiffer wrists to have a better effect and more tumbling
effect, to make sure they push a little bit more, the more friction
with your fingers and makes it tumble a little bit more. The one he
threw it's the montero to strike him out for out number two and the fourth
inning is the best split finger I've seen him throw here in his big Lack
career. Yeah, the Japanese reporters told me that Yamamoto was speaking to code
I Sanga, so I guess it was more involved than just trying to catch
up and exchange pleasantries. And the consensus is from the Japanese reporters that have
seen Yamamoto and Sanga that Yama Moto split fingered fastball is superior to Segas.
It's harder, that's for sure. That's ninety ninety one singer can throw.
That thing is low eighty three miles an hour. But he, you know,
obviously he has a different arms slot, bigger hands. Jammta does not
have the biggest hands they're gonna see in a pitcher. But man, this
guy at twenty five years old, not the biggest guy, not the bulkiest
guy, goes out there makes every single pitch count, which is something that
he's also been kind of getting accustomed to, knowing that these line ups there's
no breather to take. And and one thing that was really catching my eye
was how well like number nine hitters were hitting against them, and how well
he was able to hold back some of the biggest hitters in the game,
you know, meaning in the order, which means that there's there's this emphasis
on it, you know, executing pitches against certain eyes and maybe maybe a
little letdown of certain guys, but one through nine the lineus he's facing now
he never saw in Japan, and one through nine, no matter what says
in the front of that team, these guys are gonna go out there and
hurt you. And the more information they have on you, trust me,
they're gonna be able to ambush you it. And so you got to be
able to change. And I think he's getting more to the point now.
Every pitch has a purpose, which is really part of what he did in
Japan and with the culture and how they think, and you know, those
extensive conversations about learning, Hey, Sega has success, how did you do
it? How can you help me? How can we make sure that we'll
help the counfture man out. But understanding that we have different stuff, this
was what was a preparation also different ways in which we compete. Jose Mota
is joining us. After the Dodgers beat the Rockies tonight four to one,
Yamamoto with a sixth win of the year after seven strikeouts and six innings,
and for the Dodgers tonight, so much talked about Jose with the seven eight
nine hitters, and I firmly believe that Jason Hayward is going to help change
those type of things. Jason Heyward's a professional guy. Man. This guy's
won individually his gold gloves. Obviously he's won World Series. He's instrumental in
what the Cubs did over there with the World Series. But also you know
the time in New York, same thing. He took that time to kind
of a part of it where he was. This guy's never going to catch
the headlines by a quote. He's going to walk there and just be the
greatest teammate ever. But you can see the ad Bassa getting better. And
I'm glad you mentioned the fact that, I mean he hasn't played a whole
lot. He has not played a whole lot. So getting into rhythm and
getting into you know, a flow of known that he's healthy now with his
back is not going to be an issue. It's important because they said,
hey, what with a about a part of the order. It needs to
understand this. They're not out there to slug. He's going to run into
something because he's a big, strong man. But the more he has that
bottom of the order and he does with the young outfielder's thinking. Guys,
our job is to do the smallest of things to make sure that we turn
around that lineup that we have done our job. I've been moving the guy
over or you know, sliding hard or the base as well, so those
guys at the top have better opportunities. But he is huge for this team.
Andy Pie has had three hits tonight. Jose has he started to make
some adjustments after going into a little bit of a slump. It looks like
it started New York too. I think, boy, a lot of things
happened in New York. What happened Dave things I know, But yes,
I see better coverage from him. I see his body in a better position
to attack the pitches that he was getting beaten with or this time when he
was beaten with those pitches, he was able to take him today by more
than anything. Loading up a little bit earlier, which allows him to get
into a position where he can reach the outside half, stay inside the basketball
and pull the slower pitches fair and that leftield line. And I think he's
going to keep building off of this and know that he is a good hitter
that's developing and going through the ups and downs in the big leagues. But
I'm glad to see the adjustments because I know he listened, and guys have
been, you know, pointing to him on some of the little things not
to throw too much at him because they know that the league has adjusted well.
So now was it's starting to make small tweaks here and there, and
know that he can play at this level. Overall, A good night for
the Dodgers. Jose. Let's see if they can close out this series before
they head back to the East Coast, and we'll talk to you either way
after the game. It's good to see that we can counter guy like Gavin
Stone to go out there and gave you a quality star, which she will
do again tomorrow, no doubt. Jose, Thanks and we'll see you tomorrow.
Sleep quick, don't there? He goes. Jose Mota part of the
Dodgers Spanish radio broadcast with Pepe and Ningez and the great Fernando Valenzuela. Speaking
up Fernando Valenzuela, I told him, don't watch the highlights of Darryl Strawberry
getting his number eighteen retired out there at City Field. They showed us some
of Strawberry's more majestic home runs off some of the greatest pitchers of the eighties,
Nolan Ryan to name one, and the other was our very own Fernando
Valenzuela. And I described to him which home run it was nineteen eighty seven
Shay Stadium. He said, oh, yeah, I remember that. That
was the first day John Shelby was with the Dodgers, and he joked to
Shelby, why didn't you jump and catch the home run? But hey,
Fernando was shown on that highlight reel for a reason because he was one of
the best pitchers in the National League in the eighties, and Strawberry was certainly
one of the best hitters of the eighties for the Mets before he signed with
the Dodgers prior to the ninety one season. And the only reason why I
bring that up is because Dale Strawberry forever will have a connection to Los Angeles,
graduating from Crenshaw High School. Him and Eric Davis were the two best
players in the eighties and both came out of South central Los Angeles, Eric
Davis from Fremont High Daryl Strawberry from Crenshaw High. And I gotta be candid
with you outside of the Dodger players. My favorite player watching them from afar
that was not wearing a Dodger uniform growing up was Daryl Strawberry. I mean,
this guy was a monster six' six, He was a thirty thirty
player in nineteen eighty nine. He hit almost three hundred home runs from nineteen
eighty three to nineteen ninety one. If he did not have his own personal
demons, obviously drug abuse, he would have been a Hall of Famer,
no doubt about it. And everybody in Los Angeles you talk about Otani being
an international newsmaker when he signed with the Dodgers. When Darryl Strawberry signed with
the Dodgers at the time, he signed a five year, twenty million dollar
contract after leaving New York and being one of the best players in the National
League to come back home and sign the richest contract at that time twenty million
dollars. That was the largest contract at the time by a Major League baseball
player, and Peter O'Malley dug deep into his wallet to pay Strawberry, and
unfortunately, after the ninety one season, back issues and his own personal demons
got the best of him. But nineteen ninety one was a special year.
His first year with the Dodgers, he made the All Star Team. He
had twenty eight home runs, drove in ninety nine runs. Unfortunately, the
ninety one Dodgers I would rank them among the best Dodger teams that never made
it to the playoffs because they blew a nine game All Star Break lead and
the Braves won their first Division championship of that string of thirteen or fifteen in
a row, and the Dodgers were a game short by the end of the
season. And Darryl Strawberry today, congratulations straw You're a great guy, and
you deserve your number retired out there in New York, number eighteen. Forever.
We'll be hanging up at City Field. And during his press conference,
Darryl Strawberry reflected on the impact that he and Eric Davis had not only in
Major League Baseball, but also going back to Harvard Park in South Central LA.
So like to say thank you to my best friend. You know,
my best friend growing up playing together, being successful. We had a dream
coming out of South Central LA, me and Eric Davis to play Major League
baseball, and not just to play, but to be the best. We
pushed each other every day you know, we started our January first workouts in
Harvard Park. Every year after getting to the major leagues, being successful making
millions of dollars, we would go down to the getto and train and put
up trash cands and hit baseballs and work on our fundamentals. That that was
important. That was important to me getting to where I needed to get get
and for Eric to get to where he needed to get to be the color
players that we wanted to be because so many players come out of Southern California
with great players like Eddie and Alsie, and they were ahead of us,
Brooksy, Huby, so many guys. But we had a dream. We
had a dream to come out of there and be just as good as those
guys. And I'm really rateful that I had that opportunity to have a teammate
like their growing up and having success that we had. That was so cool
to hear. Darryl Strawberry referenced that because that was the total package right growing
up in Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, growing up a big baseball
fan, even though games were not as easily accessible. You can get the
news, you can read the box score this week in Baseball was the Baseball
Show every Saturday, and you would see the highlights every single weekend of what
Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis were doing every single week. And what made it
so special too, was they were our own. They were LA born,
bred through their veins, they were LA and they never forgot their roots.
Think about that. That would be like right now, Mookie Betts and I
don't know, I get pick anybody else going to Harvard Park in South Central
LA during the off season and working out and just being out there amongst the
people working out to get ready for the season. That just doesn't happen.
But in the eighties when those two guys you heard straw mention it, they
were already making millions of dollar. They were already the best players and MVPs
in the National League. In every off season, they would go back to
their hometown, South Central LA, go to Harvard Park. There's actually a
documentary you can find online about it. They would go back to Harvard Park
in South Central LA every off season and do their off season workouts there and
bring in high school kids from the inner city to shagfly balls, maybe teach
them something, and then as the legend grew that they knew they were going
to be there. Then you had other youngsters that wanted to be in Major
League Baseball start to work out with them. And then they took young guys
like Chris Brown who played for the Padres under their wing. They took Royce
Clayton under their wing. All of a sudden, these other top prospects in
minor leagues. In the minor leagues would start showing up at Harvard Park trying
to work out with Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis. So it's not just about,
you know, doing a charity event in the inner city and handing out,
you know, groceries for an hour. These guys were doing a lot
more than that. They were invested in the people at Harvard Park in South
central LA, and they never forgot about it. And quite honestly, you
know, Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis were the coolest cats out there. Not
only were they the best players in the National League at the time, but
they had a lot of style. They were the first major leaguers to wear
Nike high top cleats in Major League Baseball. Eric Davis, playing for the
Reds, had all red with the white swoosh tops. Darryl Strawberry playing for
the Mets and Dodgers had the all blue high top cleats with the white Nike
swoosh. Those guys were ridiculous and set the bar for everybody else. And
you know, I was so excited and so was everybody else in LA when
the Dodgers signed Darryl Strawberry. They thought the sky was the limit. In
fact, he had his introductory press conference when he signed with the Dodgers,
not just at the Stadium club, but it was televised on Fox eleven at
Crenshaw High School as alma mater. They were all there, the whole student
body was there to welcome him home with his mom. So it was a
big deal when Darryl Strawberry left the Mets to sign with the Dodgers. And
I know now he says that it was a mistake for him to leave New
York and sign with the Dodgers. Maybe it was because he got back with
the wrong people and they took him down a road that unfortunately derailed what would
have been a Hall of Fame career. But he persevered, He persevered,
and he came back and he had a great career. After things went south
with the Dodgers, he got a chance, thanks to George Steinbrenner, to
be part of the nineties Yankees and won a couple of World Series championships.
So God bless Darryl Strawberry. He's a great guy. I've gotten to know
him over the years since he stopped playing, and he actually was my first
ever player interview when he was playing for the Yankees his first year there,
when they were on the way to the World Series. I asked him a
young kid just trying to find my way working for Joe McDonald, and Joe
sent me down to Anaheim to interview Strawberry. He let me interview him,
sent it back and that was the first ever player interview that I ever had
on the radio, Darryl Strawberry when he was playing for the Yankees. So
congratulations, straw Love you in Los Angeles still, and I know South Central
will never forget you. And Eric Davis all right, that'll do it for
us. On Dodger Talk tonight. Coming up tomorrow, Gavin Stone is on
the mound for the Dodgers. He's five and two with an ERA of three
sixteen, going up against left hander Austin Gomber, who in ten starts for
the Rockies this year, has an ERA of two seventy six. His record
is one and two. Morongo Casino Dodgers on Deck begins at noon, first
pitch at one ten on getaway Day. That was quick home stand over tomorrow
and the Dodgers are going back to the East Coast. Three games in Pittsburgh
starting on Tuesday, and then the biggest regular season series as far as hype
goes, Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees demolished the Giants again tonight and
the judge all rise for the judge another home run, So the Dodgers are
catching a very hot Aaron Judge when they head to Yankee Stadium next weekend.
Thanks to Dwayne McDonald, I have here at Dodgers Stadium, thanks to Colin
Yee back at our Burbank Studios, and thanks to you for listening. In
case you missed any of the show, you can find it on the iHeartRadio
app and that's where you can also find our pregame conversation with new reliever Anthony
Bunda. Get to know him. He may be around for a while.
He looks like he has some good stuff, they say. That's what they
tell me. Interesting good stuff. So far, so good for Anthony Bonda,
great kid as well. Once again. The final score tonight from Dodgers
Stadium. The Dodgers defeat the Rockies four to one. Have a great rest
of your night, see them so