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Speaker 2: Welcome to Off Day Dodger Talk.
Speaker 3: David Vase with you until eight o'clock tonight here on
Speaker 3: AM five to seventy. LA Sports ten games and ten
Speaker 3: days not stopping us. We got an Off Day Dodger
Speaker 3: Talk for his show, Off Day Dodger Talk Show for you,
Speaker 3: and it's a great show. We got a great show
Speaker 3: for you tonight. Ross Strippling is going to join us
Speaker 3: at the bottom of the hour. Ross just recently retired.
Speaker 3: He made that announcement on Instagram last week. So Chicken
Speaker 3: Strip will join us at the bottom of the hour
Speaker 3: and coming up in about fifteen minutes.
Speaker 2: Our man Colin Ee, our.
Speaker 3: Studio producer, put together an eighties type montage of the
Speaker 3: highlights of the Dodgers recently completed ten game road trip,
Speaker 3: the longest of the year, that saw them go six
Speaker 3: and four, taking two out of three in Atlanta, two
Speaker 3: out of three in Miami, and Arizona in a big way.
Speaker 3: The Dodgers in their two wins in Arizona scored twenty
Speaker 3: two runs. Of course, the Electric come from behind victory
Speaker 3: in Game one, beating the Diamondbacks fourteen to eleven, and
Speaker 3: yesterday an eight to one thumping of the Diamondbacks after
Speaker 3: Zach Gallen was taken out of the game. Freddie Freeman
Speaker 3: a big day on Mother's Day, four for four with
Speaker 3: a home run led the way, and Freddy has been
Speaker 3: leading the way for the last couple of weeks here.
Speaker 3: Also on this road trip, we saw the major league
Speaker 3: debut of Hay Song Kim. He made a huge impact
Speaker 3: as a base runner. His first appearance as a major
Speaker 3: league player as a pinch runner, saw his first hit,
Speaker 3: saw his first RBI, got his first start in center
Speaker 3: field in Arizona. You know, I feel like after seeing that,
Speaker 3: by the way, he obviously needs a lot more work
Speaker 3: and experience out there, and I feel like that's the
Speaker 3: reason why the Dodgers put him out there. But that's
Speaker 3: a really big outfeel that Chase field and a really
Speaker 3: tough place to cut your teeth as a center fielder.
Speaker 3: So one thing's for sure, Kim made a huge impact
Speaker 3: as an elite defender and a base runner, and the
Speaker 3: hittings coming along, it's right where it needs to be
Speaker 3: and Hayesong Kim is going to make an impact and
Speaker 3: the Dodgers have some decisions to make here in the
Speaker 3: near future. When Tommy Edmund and ta Oscar Hernandez return
Speaker 3: off the IL, who kind of goes to Oklahoma City again?
Speaker 3: One thing's for sure, whoever comes off the IL first,
Speaker 3: whether it's Edmund or Taoscar Hernandez, James Outman's going back
Speaker 3: to Oklahoma City. But what do you do when the
Speaker 3: next guy comes off the IL? Does Chris Taylor go
Speaker 3: on the injured list? Because Taylor has been fighting a
Speaker 3: sore right knee here and there, he plays through it
Speaker 3: doesn't really complain much, but the reality is Chris Taylor
Speaker 3: hasn't been really playing a lot. He no doubt is
Speaker 3: the last man on the bench. And really, if you're
Speaker 3: gonna have the last guy on the bench be Chris Taylor,
Speaker 3: doesn't Haysan Kim fit better?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 3: One thing's for sure, whether or not the Dodgers decide
Speaker 3: to send Kim down now when Edmund and Taoscar Hernandez return,
Speaker 3: he's not gonna be there for very long because he's
Speaker 3: gonna be a big impact player for the Dodgers going
Speaker 3: down the stretch and into the postseason. The Dodgers have
Speaker 3: not had that dynamic of a weapon off the bench
Speaker 3: in the probably since Timmy low Castro tried to do
Speaker 3: it in twenty seventeen. That's and Hayesan Kim is a
Speaker 3: way better player than tim lo Castro. He could play
Speaker 3: elite defense on the infield. He's got great base running instincts.
Speaker 3: There's a difference between a fast runner and a really
Speaker 3: good base runner, and Kim is both because he's a
Speaker 3: really smart base runner and he's a really fast runner.
Speaker 3: So to me, Kim is an invaluable weapon. The Dodgers
Speaker 3: just have to make a roster decision when both those
Speaker 3: guys come off the il. Either way, the Dodgers have
Speaker 3: had a very good start to the season. They're twenty
Speaker 3: seven and fourteen, and a big reason why is guys
Speaker 3: like Taoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edmund, Will Smith, Shoheo Tani and
Speaker 3: even Mooki Betts. I feel like Mooki's one of those
Speaker 3: guys that goes a little unnoticed whenever, and I feel
Speaker 3: like you have to put him in that relief pitcher
Speaker 3: category because when a relief pitcher doesn't pitch well, or
Speaker 3: blows the save, everybody's at their locker, kind of like
Speaker 3: Mookie Bets at shortstop. Whenever he makes a bad throw
Speaker 3: or a bad play, everybody's like, oh, he has to
Speaker 3: go back to right field. But Mookie Betts has played
Speaker 3: really solid shortstop. He's still learning the feel of the position,
Speaker 3: and there's so much more than just fielding and throwing
Speaker 3: at shortstop, you got to be kind of the main
Speaker 3: guy up the middle. But when Tommy Edmond's healthy, he's
Speaker 3: a shortstop. He's a really smart player. He's played the
Speaker 3: infield his entire career, so he's kind of that guy
Speaker 3: for Mooki and Muki even acknowledged that when we spoke
Speaker 3: to him on the last Homestand so, Mookie's played really
Speaker 3: good shortstop, and you know, obviously he's fighting an uphill
Speaker 3: battle after being so sick to start the year and
Speaker 3: losing as much weight as he did. But yesterday's home run,
Speaker 3: even in garbage time opposite field into the pool area,
Speaker 3: that was encouraging to see from Mookie Bets. And I
Speaker 3: heard Eric Caro say this during the broadcast that his
Speaker 3: swing path was really good yesterday. It's not so much
Speaker 3: about bat speed for Mooki. The way Eric Caros explained
Speaker 3: it was his batpath needs to be as perfect as
Speaker 3: it has been his entire career. So that's a little
Speaker 3: inside baseball right there. But Mookie Bets certainly has been
Speaker 3: pretty good. But for me, Freddie Freeman, Taoska Hernandez, will Smith,
Speaker 3: Tommy Edmund Shoey O'tani have really started to really make
Speaker 3: an impact early on this season, And when you play
Speaker 3: one hundred and sixty two games, it's going to be
Speaker 3: a group of different hitters. You're going to need that
Speaker 3: the same guys are not going to be hot the
Speaker 3: whole year. It kind of feels hard to believe that
Speaker 3: Freddie Freeman won't be hot the rest of the year
Speaker 3: considering how well he's swinging the bat ever since coming
Speaker 3: off the il after slipping in the shower with his
Speaker 3: right ankle that was surgically repaired, and Freddie was on fire.
Speaker 3: In this last ten game road trip, Freeman hit four
Speaker 3: seventy five with four home runs sixteen RBIs. He doubled
Speaker 3: three times and even had a triple his ops on
Speaker 3: the last road trip thirteen to ninety. He's just on
Speaker 3: a different level and yesterday four for four on Mother's
Speaker 3: Day with a home run.
Speaker 2: That was just awesome.
Speaker 3: Considering Freddie lost his mom when he was very young,
Speaker 3: ten years old. Then that's where his dad and him
Speaker 3: really dove into baseball, and baseball certainly has uh has
Speaker 3: been there for Freddie, and Freddie's one of those natural hitters.
Speaker 3: I know there's a lot of guys out there that
Speaker 3: are very envious of Freddie Freeman. He could roll out
Speaker 3: of bed and go four for four like you did yesterday.
Speaker 3: We had a chance to catch up with Freddie before
Speaker 3: the third game in Arizona and we talked about where
Speaker 3: he's at with his swing and also Mother's Day. Freddie
Speaker 3: swinging the bat really well right now. Everybody focuses on
Speaker 3: what you're doing swing wise, approach wise, But is what
Speaker 3: you're doing right now a testament to the work that
Speaker 3: you put in after your ankle surgery.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I feel like I'm doing the same thing.
Speaker 4: I had the same approach, my same routine, and I,
Speaker 4: like I've been saying the last I feel like I've
Speaker 4: been fighting a cut swing for the last couple of years,
Speaker 4: and it's not cutting right now, it's it's what it
Speaker 4: would have been, would have been looking for for a
Speaker 4: long time, and everything's going up through the middle. Just
Speaker 4: like in Miami, I had a couple of low pay
Speaker 4: I was able to say through them and hit him
Speaker 4: into the gaps. And if I had my cut swing
Speaker 4: that I've been trying to fight against and not have,
Speaker 4: I would have rolled those over. If fouled those offers,
Speaker 4: swung and miss. So sometimes you're just feeling good. There's
Speaker 4: no there's no rhyme or reason to it. It's the
Speaker 4: same thing I'm doing every single day, getting ready for
Speaker 4: each and every game. But right now the swing is
Speaker 4: going through the middle.
Speaker 3: But it's remarkable, Freddie. Most guys I went through what
Speaker 3: you did last postseason, not only with the ankle but
Speaker 3: the ribs. To play through it and play at that
Speaker 3: level and then have ankle surgery during the off season
Speaker 3: and not skip a beat. That doesn't happen. But that's
Speaker 3: a testament to your work ethic.
Speaker 4: I appreciate that, I really do. I do appreciate those words.
Speaker 4: In my mind, I'm just doing this what I expect
Speaker 4: myself to do. I did put in a lot of
Speaker 4: work trying to get back as fast as I could.
Speaker 4: It's still work in progress. Like I just was on
Speaker 4: the table for about an hour and a half to
Speaker 4: get to come out here and do my drills and
Speaker 4: get ready for this game. So it's still going, you know.
Speaker 4: But I'm in a good spot physically with my ankle,
Speaker 4: my ribs. We've worked on that still too, just because
Speaker 4: of what happened in Japan and we weren't really thinking
Speaker 4: about my ribs and then all of a sudden flared
Speaker 4: up again real quick. So we've been working on that,
Speaker 4: keeping that hopefully in check. So I in my mind,
Speaker 4: it's I'm just trying to do my job and do
Speaker 4: what is it expected of me. So I understand there's
Speaker 4: been a lot of things that happened in the offseason
Speaker 4: with surgeries and stuff like that, but I'm in a
Speaker 4: good spot physically where I can go out there and
Speaker 4: be myself.
Speaker 3: I got a big picture question for Freddy Freeman, because
Speaker 3: your career has endured generations now at this point in
Speaker 3: a good way. What's the biggest difference hitting in twenty eleven,
Speaker 3: your first year in the big leagues, compared to hitting
Speaker 3: in twenty twenty five. The type of pitching you're seeing,
Speaker 3: just the way the game is approached.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say obviously velocity is a lot higher
Speaker 4: than it was in twenty eleven. I also think, like
Speaker 4: we saw with the Miami start Blowzo two times through
Speaker 4: the order he was out, So your face seeing most
Speaker 4: often you're facing at least three different pictures in a night.
Speaker 4: There's different arm angles, like just like the Diamondbacks they have,
Speaker 4: they have guys coming at all different angles. You got
Speaker 4: Thompson who throws her side arm. You got lefties, you know,
Speaker 4: facing another guy that we hadn't faced, Mario Yester night
Speaker 4: throwing a hundred. So a lot of different things that
Speaker 4: are a lot different from fifteen years ago. But I
Speaker 4: would have to say more velocity and facing more pictures
Speaker 4: each night than we did fifteen.
Speaker 3: Loved Freddy and with Mother's Day on Sunday, you're always
Speaker 3: in our thoughts. And I know Chelsea's done a great
Speaker 3: job being a mom to your kids, and I know
Speaker 3: your mom's with you every day.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know.
Speaker 4: I when I was younger, Mother's Day was a little
Speaker 4: tough for my mom passed away, But now I know
Speaker 4: that she's she's looking down with the perfect seat to
Speaker 4: everything that's going on. And Chelsea's an incredible mother. So
Speaker 4: Mother's Day is a little bit happier these days now,
Speaker 4: but I'll be always in remembrance of my mom. And
Speaker 4: you know, Chelsea's an incredible mother. So I can't wait
Speaker 4: to get home Sunday and see you.
Speaker 2: Freddie's the man, no doubt about it.
Speaker 3: And I have visions of Freddie starting at first base
Speaker 3: for the National League in this year's All Star Game,
Speaker 3: which so happens to be in Atlanta at Truest Park.
Speaker 3: And I also have visions of Freddie taken at bat
Speaker 3: in the first inning against his former Braves teammate Max Freed,
Speaker 3: who is having a great year with the Yankees his
Speaker 3: first year in pinstripes. No doubt Max Freed is going
Speaker 3: to be the starting pitcher for the American League. Could
Speaker 3: you imagine that Max Freed facing Freddie Freeman in the
Speaker 3: first inning of this year's All Star Game in Atlanta
Speaker 3: at Truest Park. Two guys that the Braves just let
Speaker 3: walk away that are having a major impact on their
Speaker 3: current team. So thank you very much, Alex Anthopolis. When
Speaker 3: we continue here on Dodger Talk, we will hear from
Speaker 3: Ross Stripling He's going to join us at seven point thirty.
Speaker 3: He just retired and certainly a fan favorite with the Dodgers,
Speaker 3: was drafted by the Dodgers in twenty twelve, made his
Speaker 3: major league debut with the Dodgers in twenty sixteen, and
Speaker 3: even got a shout out from Dave Roberts during the
Speaker 3: twenty twenty World Series trophy ceremony. So we'll hear from
Speaker 3: Ross and coming up in our next segment, calling ye,
Speaker 3: our Dodgers radio studio producer put together a great highlight
Speaker 3: montage of this past ten game road trip. In the
Speaker 3: highlights of the Dodgers fireworks that saw them go six
Speaker 3: and four and now have a twenty seven and fourteen record,
Speaker 3: the best record in baseball, and now have the A's
Speaker 3: and Angels coming to town to start a big nine
Speaker 3: game homestand with Mookie BET's babblehead tomorrow night, and the
Speaker 3: Dodgers for me, on this homestand the first six games,
Speaker 3: no doubt, they should go five and one, two out
Speaker 3: of three against the A's and sweep the Angels, who
Speaker 3: are not doing well and are in complete disarray in
Speaker 3: more ways than one. And then you got the Diamondbacks
Speaker 3: coming to Dodgers Stadium, so this should be one of
Speaker 3: those home stands for the Dodgers where they stack the
Speaker 3: chips in the win column, especially against the A's and Angels,
Speaker 3: no doubt about it. So tomorrow night the Dodgers will
Speaker 3: have land and knack on the mound against the A's,
Speaker 3: then Yamamoto, and then Suzaki in the three game series
Speaker 3: against the A's who are currently the Sacramento As. All right,
Speaker 3: when we continue on Dodger Talk Off Night edition, our
Speaker 3: highlight montage of a great road trip for the Dodgers
Speaker 3: that saw them go six and four, letting everybody know
Speaker 3: they're not even hitting on all cylinders and they're doing
Speaker 3: pretty well twenty seven and fourteen. David vasse with you
Speaker 3: until eight o'clock right here on five to seventy LA Sports,
Speaker 3: your home of the world champion Dodgers. It's a big
Speaker 3: fan favorite, and I wanted to get him on the
Speaker 3: show on an off day night heading into a nine
Speaker 3: game homestand for the Dodgers that begins against the team
Speaker 3: that Ross last pitched for. That's right, Ross stripling was
Speaker 3: part of the final Oakland A's run. He was pitching
Speaker 3: for the A's last year and now decided to retire
Speaker 3: after not catching on with the team. He had a
Speaker 3: great nine year career and Ross will join us coming
Speaker 3: up in fifteen minutes. But before we get to that,
Speaker 3: since the Dodgers just finished their longest road trip of
Speaker 3: the season, so many great moments, so many great highlights
Speaker 3: of a ten game and ten day road trip, and
Speaker 3: it was a successful road trip, no doubt about it.
Speaker 3: The Dodgers had a lot of things to overcome and
Speaker 3: they were able to and get through it in a
Speaker 3: long season. And since there were so many great moments
Speaker 3: and highlights of a long road trip, I thought, what
Speaker 3: better way than to reflect than have our own colin
Speaker 3: Ee put together an eighties like montage of the highlights
Speaker 3: of the Dodgers' last ten game road.
Speaker 2: Trip in Atlanta, Miami and Arizona.
Speaker 6: Enjoy live from Truis Park in Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaker 1: It's the first game of a three game weekend series
Speaker 1: after the Dodgers kicking off.
Speaker 7: A three city through road trip. He's got the highest
Speaker 7: exit velocity of any player in this game. It's almost
Speaker 7: ninety six miles an hour.
Speaker 6: Lookie swings hits a drive to left field and deep
Speaker 6: going back is for Dugo, still going back and this
Speaker 6: ball is gone. It's a home run for Bets, his
Speaker 6: fifth of the season, a solo shot Forer Mookie and
Speaker 6: the Dodgers lead it two or nothing. Three one pitching,
Speaker 6: Freeman hits the ball high and deep to center field.
Speaker 7: This ball is back, and this ball is gone.
Speaker 6: Freddie Freeman with a three run homer here in Atlanta.
Speaker 7: And the Dodgers lead it ten to three.
Speaker 6: Freeman's sixth home run of the season in his third
Speaker 6: hit of the ball game. The Dodgers have opened this
Speaker 6: one up, stretching the two to Will Smith for mglacies.
Speaker 6: If all gets away from the catcher on strike three,
Speaker 6: first bas is open and now Kim going for third,
Speaker 6: He's gonna make it so strikeout two to three of
Speaker 6: the putout. Because Smith had the presence of mind to
Speaker 6: take off for first, the Braves had to make a
Speaker 6: playdown there and Kim good timing smartly broke for third.
Speaker 7: And now the tying run is ninety feet away.
Speaker 6: An one they had. Freddie Hammer's won to center field.
Speaker 6: This ball heading back, this ball on the way, it
Speaker 6: is gone. Home run Freddy Freeman, a two h two
Speaker 6: on homer and a Dodgers leader three and to hing
Speaker 6: home run number seven for Freeman.
Speaker 7: He extends his hitting straight to ten games, and.
Speaker 6: He is now tied for the most home runs against
Speaker 6: the Marlins all time with forty one. He's tied Ryan
Speaker 6: Howard and Ryan Zimmerman.
Speaker 7: With forty one.
Speaker 6: Encounter fire to spring training this year, some folks from
Speaker 6: the Korean community in Los Angeles reached out to me
Speaker 6: and told me how to do it. There's the first
Speaker 6: major league hit for Kim. As he goes the other way,
Speaker 6: lining on the left field, we'll get him. The ball
Speaker 6: loop comes the two two pick and Otani hammers this
Speaker 6: one of right failed.
Speaker 7: If it stays up, it's gone. It has gone.
Speaker 6: A home run into the Dodger compan of frozen rope
Speaker 6: for Altani. Hello showtown here in South Florida. A two
Speaker 6: run shot. It is five nothing, Dodgers. That ball was
Speaker 6: absolutely annihilated one hundred and seventeen point nine miles per
Speaker 6: hour off the back. That ball's gotta be broken. He
Speaker 6: looks one into shadow left center field.
Speaker 7: That's gonna drop for a hit.
Speaker 6: I haas racing around third, He'll come into store provos
Speaker 6: the second he gets away.
Speaker 7: Canfloro's gonna rumble to third base.
Speaker 6: Kim goes to first and anchors there and the Dodgers
Speaker 6: now lead it six and up it one out one
Speaker 6: on the one to one pitch from Gonsolo and Hick
Speaker 6: swing hits a long drive to right his Paul's headed
Speaker 6: back toward the wall. There is pie Has and he
Speaker 6: makes the catch throwing back.
Speaker 7: To first base. Double play from the wall. Oh what
Speaker 7: a play by Andy pie Has.
Speaker 6: Peels it off the top of the outfield wall, comes
Speaker 6: down and doubles off fires. Incredible play, Absolutely terrific. Sean
Speaker 6: o'tani leads off against left hander Anthony Veneziano. He comes
Speaker 6: out of the bullpen to take over for Cal Quantrill
Speaker 6: on top of the sixth and Otani Hammer's gonna turn.
Speaker 6: That is an upper deck monster shot on the first
Speaker 6: petch against the Marlins reliever, and he ties the game
Speaker 6: at two, his second home run in his many nights.
Speaker 6: Shaw heyl Tonney, with ten home runs on the season,
Speaker 6: ties the game with a four hundred three.
Speaker 7: Foot shot to the upper deck and right in the dom.
Speaker 6: Is designated for assignment today and Freeman, let's run high
Speaker 6: and deep to center field.
Speaker 7: This Paul heading back to the wall. It's gone a hommer.
Speaker 6: Freddy Freeman with a homer, and that gives the Dodgers
Speaker 6: a three to two lead.
Speaker 7: Home run number eight for Freddie and he now is
Speaker 7: the all time home.
Speaker 6: Run leader against the Marlins with forty two. He had
Speaker 6: progressed it back where it was, but he was swinging well.
Speaker 6: He swings well here and he hammers one to center field.
Speaker 6: It's deep, it's back to the wall. It's gone a
Speaker 6: home run, a three run home run for James. Upon
Speaker 6: once a round the park, James, it is ten to
Speaker 6: nothing Dodgers.
Speaker 7: Lord, did he clobber that one?
Speaker 6: Four hundred and sixteen feet and one hundred and ten
Speaker 6: miles per hour off the bat? And you'll want pitch
Speaker 6: the Kiki. He swings and drives one deep to the
Speaker 6: left field. That falls way back. That fall is gone
Speaker 6: home run.
Speaker 1: KEI care.
Speaker 8: Hard?
Speaker 7: Did he put a charge into that baseball?
Speaker 6: He gets a run right back and it's three to
Speaker 6: two O and Otani hits it to left center field.
Speaker 6: That ball is headed back toward the wall. It bounces
Speaker 6: off the road and tracking off the wall. Here comes
Speaker 6: Roha stepping on third. Here's the relay play at the plate.
Speaker 7: Safe.
Speaker 6: Otani tie's the game with a two out run, scoring double,
Speaker 6: and it's three to three. Andy Pye has flied out
Speaker 6: deep to center. First time up, he swings and he
Speaker 6: rips it in the left. That's of Bates in Smith
Speaker 6: is gonna score. Freeman beingway Tom he will score. And
Speaker 6: Andy pie has gives the Dodgers the with a two
Speaker 6: run single. It is five to three, Dodgers one two pits.
Speaker 6: That's tapped to first name. It's gonna grab it, come
Speaker 6: to the plate and it's safe, but the plates Pius
Speaker 6: Carol gets away.
Speaker 7: Here comes k K the store. The Dodgers get two
Speaker 7: more on that play. It is now seven to three,
Speaker 7: so just a rush through.
Speaker 1: But I'm gonna tell you what you talked about baseball
Speaker 1: in instinct, the fact that kicking her names could score
Speaker 1: on that from second base troubled up with the base
Speaker 1: coaching of Dino Evil at thirty. That is just tremendous
Speaker 1: base run. It pitched the months East Wings hits.
Speaker 6: A ground ball in the right pail and base said
Speaker 6: k K's gonna come around third.
Speaker 7: Here comes the turn from Carol.
Speaker 6: It is not in time and the Dodgers are tighter.
Speaker 6: Max Monson with a game time base hit of the
Speaker 6: ninth a night it's eleven two in heaven. That's on deck.
Speaker 6: One out, two on, one ball, two strike, pick and
Speaker 6: Otani swags and he hampers.
Speaker 7: A dig rayfield way back and gone a three run
Speaker 7: home run for show. Hey, o'tney, you won a show?
Speaker 7: He is incredible.
Speaker 6: His twelfth home run Emma Dodgers with a sixth spot
Speaker 6: in the ninth lead at fourteen two eleven.
Speaker 7: Can you believe this?
Speaker 6: Normo playing up the middle third baseman Suarez way off
Speaker 6: the bag, one out, The pitches swung on and hit
Speaker 6: him the left center field gap.
Speaker 7: That's down. It's gonna go to the wall. Rookie on
Speaker 7: the run.
Speaker 6: He's gonna get waked home by Dino evil rookie around third.
Speaker 7: He is to the plate, He scores and the.
Speaker 6: Dodgers lead it one nothing on a double by Freddie Freeman.
Speaker 6: Carrol leeds at first base, held on by Freddy O
Speaker 6: tu pitch there goes Carol pitches up high foo ball
Speaker 6: throw down, Hey got him?
Speaker 7: I want to throw by Will Smith.
Speaker 6: He just cut down one of the fastest runners in
Speaker 6: the game in Gorvin Carroll on a perfect strike to
Speaker 6: second base, heel back two down, hits two.
Speaker 7: Suarez swung out a little woe.
Speaker 6: Holder of the third day side pairheaded by Monsey, throws
Speaker 6: to first.
Speaker 7: God, I'm gonna play by Max oh An.
Speaker 6: Absolutely terrific play defensively by Max Munsey, charging and peeling
Speaker 6: the ball off the artificial grass with one hand and
Speaker 6: throwing in the same motion to get Suarez.
Speaker 7: Here's a two two swung on well hit to right.
Speaker 7: It's teep going back.
Speaker 6: To the track to the wall. God, it's in the pool,
Speaker 6: sprash down as Freddie Freeman HiT's a mother of a
Speaker 6: home run on Mother's Day. It is five to nothing,
Speaker 6: hits the bench range and he hits one up of
Speaker 6: the air.
Speaker 7: Tape to right center. It is heading back.
Speaker 2: Toward the track to the wall.
Speaker 7: Go on home run for Bets.
Speaker 6: Mokey goes yard and it is six to one.
Speaker 7: Wow.
Speaker 3: So many great moments, including Hayes Sung Kim's major league
Speaker 3: debut first hit, first rbi Otani's home run in the
Speaker 3: ninth inning in Arizona. Just a really awesome road trip
Speaker 3: with a lot of superstar power from the Dodgers. So
Speaker 3: thank you to Colin Yee for putting that together. When
Speaker 3: we continue here on off day Dodger talk, Ross Strippling.
Speaker 7: Will join us.
Speaker 3: Don't go anywhere more Dodger Talk around the corner with
Speaker 3: Chicken Strip next on a five to seventy LA Sports
Speaker 3: formerly Oakland, formerly Kansas City, currently Sacramento and soon to
Speaker 3: be Vegas Athletics, so they will be back in action
Speaker 3: against the A's starting tomorrow night. And right now we
Speaker 3: are joined by a man that pitched in Oakland the
Speaker 3: final year the A's were in Oakland, but he will
Speaker 3: always be remembered as a Dodger and he just recently
Speaker 3: announced his retirement on social media because that's how you
Speaker 3: do things. In twenty twenty five. He made his major
Speaker 3: league debut with the Dodgers. In twenty sixteen. He was
Speaker 3: drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the
Speaker 3: twenty twelve draft out of Texas. A and M A
Speaker 3: proud Aggie, the one and only Ross Strippling. Chicken Strip
Speaker 3: is joining us on Dodger Talk. Ross thanks a lot
Speaker 3: for calling in.
Speaker 7: Appreciate it, FASSA.
Speaker 9: What's up, Man's It's great to be here. This is
Speaker 9: like twenty sixteen all over again. Excited to talk with you, man.
Speaker 3: I remember your first spring training in Major league camp.
Speaker 3: Ross in twenty twelve, and just being able to see
Speaker 3: your career where it started and where it finished. What
Speaker 3: do you remember or what do you appreciate the most
Speaker 3: about your major league career?
Speaker 9: Gosh, man, right off the bat with a with a
Speaker 9: hard hitter. You know, it's funny when when I announced
Speaker 9: that retirement, it kind of forced me to reminisce and
Speaker 9: and being nostalgic more than I normally am, just with
Speaker 9: how people reached out and seeing stuff on social media
Speaker 9: and and all that stuff. And you really start, you know,
Speaker 9: kind of thinking about your career and you know, firs
Speaker 9: first and foremost, man, I'm just so lucky to have
Speaker 9: been drafted and developed by the Dodgers that at I
Speaker 9: will be adamant about that forever. Just uh, how good
Speaker 9: they are at taking in talent and getting the best
Speaker 9: out of them. You still see that to this day.
Speaker 9: And uh, and then to have Kershaw there to kind
Speaker 9: of take me under his wing and just learn by
Speaker 9: osmosis from him, and and I'm just you know, no
Speaker 9: doubt I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did
Speaker 9: without the Dodgers, you know, picking me and and showing
Speaker 9: me the way. And then as far as maybe what
Speaker 9: I remember the most, or maybe most proud of, is
Speaker 9: just the you know, the Swiss Army Knife, being the
Speaker 9: key k Hernandez of the pitching staff, and and just
Speaker 9: knowing that a team could ask me to do anything
Speaker 9: and I'd do it with a smile on my face
Speaker 9: and usually hopefully do it successfully and help us win
Speaker 9: games in any way I could. I just think, you know,
Speaker 9: that's what kept me around. And then now a few
Speaker 9: months removed from it, that's what I remember and I'm
Speaker 9: most proud of it is just being a guy that
Speaker 9: a team could always rely on to give him a
Speaker 9: shot and to do the job. I think I'm proud
Speaker 9: of that for sure.
Speaker 3: Well, speaking of being a Swiss Army Knife, we always
Speaker 3: thought that you were the most well rounded human being
Speaker 3: in a Dodger clubhouse because you had your sight set
Speaker 3: on life after baseball. It wasn't going to be baseball
Speaker 3: and then try to figure out what you could do
Speaker 3: with your life. How much did that play into your
Speaker 3: decision to say, you know what, I've had a great career.
Speaker 3: I'm going to move on to the next chapter of
Speaker 3: my life.
Speaker 9: You know, it definitely did. Now I don't have the
Speaker 9: next chapter figured out by any means, you know, kind
Speaker 9: of what you said of kind of being well rounded
Speaker 9: is now all of a sudden, I find myself interested
Speaker 9: in like five different buckets of things, and I can't
Speaker 9: decide how I want to spend my time. And all
Speaker 9: the while, I have a six week old son or
Speaker 9: third boy, and you know, so just enjoying the family time.
Speaker 9: I'm kind of using that as an excuse right now
Speaker 9: to punt some stuff down the road where I'm just like,
Speaker 9: I'm gonna enjoy this this chapter with my family as
Speaker 9: I start to get restless here a little bit and
Speaker 9: need to start doing something. But for now, you know,
Speaker 9: just enjoying that and knowing I got a lifetime to
Speaker 9: figure that out and to work and to you know,
Speaker 9: hopefully stay involved with baseball in some way, and then
Speaker 9: to find some other things I'm passionate about. But yeah,
Speaker 9: you know it, that makes it, I think a little
Speaker 9: bit easier to walk away when we know you have
Speaker 9: loves and passions away from baseball. But you know, all
Speaker 9: the while, I showed up to spring trying and expecting
Speaker 9: to make a team this year and it just fell
Speaker 9: a little short. So like I still had the fire
Speaker 9: and my belly to compete, and I thought I could
Speaker 9: get out to the big league level. It just, you know,
Speaker 9: it didn't quite work out. And you know, now here
Speaker 9: we are a few weeks removed from it, and it's, uh,
Speaker 9: you know, I'm okay with it. It just it's always
Speaker 9: weird leaving the game behind. For sure.
Speaker 3: Hey, I thought you were too looking over for Warren Buffett.
Speaker 3: That's the reason why you retired.
Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, I put in my resume. He didn't take
Speaker 9: me up on it. I guess you had someone else
Speaker 9: in mind.
Speaker 3: That's the voice of Ross Stripling forever a Dodger. He
Speaker 3: just announced his retirement. And I'm going to ask you
Speaker 3: another tough question. Ross, you played on a lot of
Speaker 3: good Dodger teams. You were an All Star in twenty
Speaker 3: eighteen when you guys went to the World Series for
Speaker 3: the second straight year. Which Dodger team that you pitched
Speaker 3: on was the best team that you played on?
Speaker 9: Oh my gosh, good question, man. That twenty seventeen team
Speaker 9: comes to mind. I mean, we we that was an
Speaker 9: extremely talented team, as are all Dodger teams of the
Speaker 9: last you know, fifteen years or whatever. But you just,
Speaker 9: you know, obviously ending against the Astros in the way
Speaker 9: that it did that lived an infamy at this point.
Speaker 9: But that team as far as like who we got
Speaker 9: at the trade deadline and how confident we were going
Speaker 9: in the playoffs, and I don't even want to guess
Speaker 9: much we want the division by, but I guess it
Speaker 9: is double digits. And I mean that team just felt
Speaker 9: like we were firing on all cylinders and obviously take
Speaker 9: it all the way to a Game seven of a
Speaker 9: World Series against a team that was cheating to have
Speaker 9: to beat us. I think that goes to show you
Speaker 9: how good that team was. So I would ride with
Speaker 9: that twenty seventeen team.
Speaker 3: How much does the way that season ended still kind
Speaker 3: of stick with you and your teammates?
Speaker 2: You think twenty years from.
Speaker 3: Now, do you, guys, do you believe you'll still be
Speaker 3: thinking about, you know, if they weren't cheating, how your
Speaker 3: career and how a lot of careers would have been different.
Speaker 9: Well, you know, Bessy, that probably won't go too deep
Speaker 9: into it, but you know, I think in group chats
Speaker 9: and small rooms and stuff like that, twenty years from now,
Speaker 9: we'll certainly still acknowledge that it's probably one of the
Speaker 9: bigger cheating scandals in sports and certainly in baseball, But
Speaker 9: you know it was what it was. We kind of
Speaker 9: knew it in real time, and then you know, it
Speaker 9: comes out in twenty twenty and bastros go through what
Speaker 9: they go through from a punishment standpoint, and you just
Speaker 9: kind of move on, you know, And I wouldn't say
Speaker 9: it's keeping us up at night or anything like that.
Speaker 9: Maybe real legacy guys, if we're talking about Clayton and
Speaker 9: you know, guys like that that could have used another
Speaker 9: ring on their resume for historical reasons, we'll think about
Speaker 9: them more than maybe you think about yourselves and stuff
Speaker 9: like that. But you know, obviously really thankful the Dodgers
Speaker 9: got that twenty twenty ring, and you know that probably
Speaker 9: won't go too much seaper down this rabbit hole with.
Speaker 3: You, fair enough, Ross, this is a good feeling retirement interview.
Speaker 3: And speaking of the twenty twenty World Series, how much
Speaker 3: did it mean to you that, even though you weren't
Speaker 3: there in Texas that Dave Roberts went out of his
Speaker 3: way on stage as he's accepting the trophy to name
Speaker 3: role call you out for what you meant to the Dodgers.
Speaker 9: Yeah, That'll always be amazing to me that say, I
Speaker 9: really will that when you are on stage accepting a
Speaker 9: World Series trophy after a year's work worth of work
Speaker 9: and in COVID and even like multiple years worth of work,
Speaker 9: and my name went through Dave Roberts's mind at that point,
Speaker 9: for one, just shows you who he is as a person.
Speaker 9: And then you know, that's something I'm really proud of
Speaker 9: that I left a little bit of legacy on that
Speaker 9: team where you know, as definitely not the first ten
Speaker 9: dudes on the call sheet of that team, they still
Speaker 9: acknowledged me and what I did for those teams to
Speaker 9: get that ring that you know, when I think about
Speaker 9: my career, I think about, like my debut, I think
Speaker 9: about pitching the first game back in Toronto in front
Speaker 9: of an entire country when baseball and been there for
Speaker 9: a year and a half, and I think of Dave
Speaker 9: Roberts saying my name on stage when the whole world
Speaker 9: was watching a World Series because we were shut down,
Speaker 9: and he says thank you, Ross Stripling, you know, as
Speaker 9: his team accepts the World Series that I instantly called
Speaker 9: my dad and I was like, did.
Speaker 7: You see that?
Speaker 9: And he's like, yeah, I was like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 9: you know so it that that really means a lot.
Speaker 9: And I just think it's it's so cool for him
Speaker 9: to acknowledge me in that situation when he started, they
Speaker 9: didn't have to. So that will forever mean absolute tounch me.
Speaker 3: Well, that just shows how much ross strippling meant to
Speaker 3: Dave Roberts into the Dodger organization. Another name that you've
Speaker 3: brought up a few times, and obviously he means everything
Speaker 3: to the Dodgers is Clayton Kershaw. What was the dynamic
Speaker 3: between you two, like, and why do you believe Clayton
Speaker 3: took you under his wing when you first arrived in
Speaker 3: Big League camp and with the Dodgers.
Speaker 9: Yeah, so I don't want to get ahead of myself.
Speaker 9: I would say Clayton took me under his wing as
Speaker 9: best that he knows how because he is so laser
Speaker 9: focused on his especially at that time. You know, he's
Speaker 9: now got four kids. I think he's mellowed out a
Speaker 9: little bit. At that time, he was still you know,
Speaker 9: hunting Cy Young's on a yearly basis, and so just
Speaker 9: hell been on what he was going to do that
Speaker 9: I you know, if you almost I got three kids. Now,
Speaker 9: I think about how my second kid follows around my oldest.
Speaker 1: That was me.
Speaker 9: I was the second kid, and you know, my oldest
Speaker 9: wants nothing to do with my second kid. And Clayton
Speaker 9: was just you know, going about his business like throwing
Speaker 9: his bullpens, working out, doing his arm care, scouting the
Speaker 9: lineup that he's about to face, all that stuff. And
Speaker 9: I would just watch him, and you know, I knew
Speaker 9: that we had the Texas thing in common. He was
Speaker 9: supposed to be an Aggi. He didn't go to A
Speaker 9: and m his wife's an Aggie, you know. And I
Speaker 9: just kind of like played to my strengths as far
Speaker 9: as what could keep me around him when I was young,
Speaker 9: and you know, and then you kind of wear him
Speaker 9: down and he starts opening up to you and helping
Speaker 9: me out a little bit and all that. But I just,
Speaker 9: you know, from a mentor standpoint as far as being
Speaker 9: a Christian man, a father, a husband, and then also
Speaker 9: you know, maybe the greatest left handed pitcher that's ever
Speaker 9: grace a Major League Mound. I just learned so much
Speaker 9: from him, and I just, you know, I said it
Speaker 9: at the top, like I just I don't think I
Speaker 9: would have made it nine years without being around him
Speaker 9: and just seeing what it takes to work day in
Speaker 9: and day out to be ready for a big league season,
Speaker 9: to stay healthy and to have success. I mean, I
Speaker 9: just I can't say enough about Clayton when he's up.
Speaker 3: There at Cooperstown one day. Ross, do you feel like
Speaker 3: that's the privilege that you have that so many others don't,
Speaker 3: is that you got to see what it takes between
Speaker 3: the starts to be as great as he was.
Speaker 9: Yeah. I think that's a good way to put it. Man.
Speaker 9: You know, most all the fans, you know, they get
Speaker 9: to see him every fifth day, and obviously you see
Speaker 9: the passion and how competitive he is. I mean, he's
Speaker 9: you know, one of a kind. But we that were
Speaker 9: lucky enough to see him day to day like you,
Speaker 9: or to play with him day to day like me,
Speaker 9: you know, really get to see the behind the scenes stuff,
Speaker 9: which is where he's just an animal, and you know,
Speaker 9: you realize what it takes to not only just like
Speaker 9: be in the big leagues, but for him to like
Speaker 9: be a superstar, you know, to be one of the
Speaker 9: greatest ever as far as how dedicated to it you
Speaker 9: have to be. And just you know, if he gave
Speaker 9: up two runs. That was a bad start for like
Speaker 9: the first ten years of his career. Like, that's just
Speaker 9: so amazing to think about, you know. So he just
Speaker 9: said to be so laser focused. So not only did
Speaker 9: he have the stuff to back it up, but he
Speaker 9: had the mentality that you see from like the Verlanders
Speaker 9: insuresers of the world, where like if he gets three
Speaker 9: runs early, he's going for your throat and that game's over.
Speaker 9: And you know, there's just not that many guys like that,
Speaker 9: and Clayton was certainly one of them, or is still
Speaker 9: certainly one of them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, still is Is that surprising to you that Ross
Speaker 3: Strippling retired before Kershawn? Maybe you can give us some
Speaker 3: insight on what's still driving him right now.
Speaker 9: I I will not put words in the Clayton Kershaw's mouth.
Speaker 9: I you know, yes, he was there long before me,
Speaker 9: and he's gonna be around after me. Still getting guys
Speaker 9: out in the big leagues, you know, I I honestly
Speaker 9: don't know. I think that he still has the passion
Speaker 9: to play and to get out. So I'm sure, you know,
Speaker 9: not being healthy for one sixty two in the last
Speaker 9: couple of years probably just drives him nuts. I'm sure
Speaker 9: he just wants to like make thirty starts and feel
Speaker 9: that again and and you know, be a guy that
Speaker 9: the team can rely on to go out every fit day.
Speaker 9: I know he holds his you know, has so much
Speaker 9: in that. And then you know, I'm sure his family's
Speaker 9: in a good spot where they feel good about he's
Speaker 9: you know, he can still play and be a dad
Speaker 9: and do all the things that he wants to do.
Speaker 9: They got a good routine going. So I think it's
Speaker 9: like the Dodgers are in this awesome era of being
Speaker 9: so good, you know, like the mid nineties Braves kind
Speaker 9: of thing, and he's like, I want to miss out
Speaker 9: on it. I helped build this and I'm going to
Speaker 9: see it through. And I just I think, you know,
Speaker 9: all encompassing it still works out where he can kind
Speaker 9: of do it on his terms, and when he's ready
Speaker 9: to pitch, he'll he'll show up and he'll be cutting
Speaker 9: Kershaw and I you know, I can't wait to see
Speaker 9: him in the second half of the season and hopefully
Speaker 9: make some postseason starts and do great And because you know,
Speaker 9: no one deserves it more than him.
Speaker 3: Ross Strippling is our guest he announced his retirement last week.
Speaker 2: Ross.
Speaker 3: Just a couple of more questions for you, because you
Speaker 3: have such a unique perspective considering where your career started
Speaker 3: as far as the time that baseball was being played
Speaker 3: and the way baseball's being played now and the whole
Speaker 3: Dodger's trajectory here.
Speaker 2: What do you think about this.
Speaker 3: Version of the Dodgers compared to where it was in
Speaker 3: twenty sixteen.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I you know, I really loved the teams that
Speaker 9: we had. Those teams probably felt a little more homegrown, right,
Speaker 9: And the Dodgers still unbelievably elite at drafting and developing
Speaker 9: talent or taking guys from other teams that have been
Speaker 9: maybe spit out for various reasons and taking them in
Speaker 9: and getting the best out on think of like early
Speaker 9: Justin Turner, early Max Munty. You know, they're still elite
Speaker 9: at that. I'm obviously not saying they've they've lost their
Speaker 9: touch there, but you know that twenty twenty World Series team,
Speaker 9: I think the stat is either sixteen or nineteen homegrown
Speaker 9: players were on that roster. And then you know guys
Speaker 9: like Munsey and JT that certainly weren't, you know, highly
Speaker 9: touted from other organizations. So, like, I think those teams
Speaker 9: are really special because it shows that not only did
Speaker 9: they have kind of an unlimited bank role, but they
Speaker 9: also drafted and developed from within and got them to
Speaker 9: the big leagues and had immense success with those guys.
Speaker 9: So I just think that is like the ultimate testament
Speaker 9: to being a successful organization. But then you know, now
Speaker 9: it's like, let's bring in the star power, let's totally
Speaker 9: swallow up the Japanese market, and you know, and really
Speaker 9: like make Los Angeles baseball a show, I mean to Hollywood,
Speaker 9: and let's let's let's go all the way into this thing,
Speaker 9: and then in the first year win a World Series.
Speaker 9: So I think both are awesome, and I think, you know,
Speaker 9: ownership going all the way in one way or the
Speaker 9: other is just a testament to them being like one
Speaker 9: of the only ones that says like we're here to
Speaker 9: win baseball games and to make it look good and
Speaker 9: to be a powerhouse. And you know, obviously, as players
Speaker 9: would wish other owners would do the same because that
Speaker 9: leads to more money for players and just better things
Speaker 9: all the way around, a better show, better product on
Speaker 9: the field. So you know, I wish other teams would
Speaker 9: fallow suit.
Speaker 3: No doubt perfectly said before I let you go, I
Speaker 3: want to end it on this, if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 3: Back in twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen, as far as the
Speaker 3: relationships that you built with those same homegrown guys, what
Speaker 3: was it like sharing a house and lows Field with
Speaker 3: Alex Wood and Corey Seeger as roommates. Was that one
Speaker 3: of your fondest seasons being roommates with those guys?
Speaker 9: Yeah, I just think, you know, and you even go
Speaker 9: back to like the minor leagues before that, when we'd
Speaker 9: pile like six dudes into a two bedroom and you know,
Speaker 9: I'll sleeping on a twin mattress in the kitchen, and
Speaker 9: some of those guys were groomsmen in my wedding. You
Speaker 9: know that that those are gonna be the stuff that
Speaker 9: stick with me. You know, ten years from now, I'm
Speaker 9: not gonna remember the May outing against the Padres in
Speaker 9: twenty eighteen or whatever. You know, I'm gonna remember some
Speaker 9: of those funky memories from when we piled into houses together.
Speaker 9: And you know, an answer question that those are two
Speaker 9: still probably maybe my two best friends from baseball still,
Speaker 9: you know, are Corey and Alex. So I just think
Speaker 9: it that was and our wives were super close. Like
Speaker 9: that's just you look back at like when like true
Speaker 9: friendships and stuff were built right there where. It was
Speaker 9: cool because we were having success on the field, but
Speaker 9: then we were getting dinners and exploring Los Angeles and
Speaker 9: staying up late and talking about why and you know,
Speaker 9: just like building a real friendship with those guys and
Speaker 9: I hope last forever. So I just think it's like
Speaker 9: one of those perfect six months where you like will
Speaker 9: look back and just like, man, like my life changing
Speaker 9: an awesome way during that time, and I'm so thankful
Speaker 9: for it.
Speaker 3: Hey, Los Angeles is thankful for Chicken Strip Ross Strippling.
Speaker 3: You were always a professional, You're always first class Ross,
Speaker 3: and I'm happy to share you with the fans again
Speaker 3: as you announce your retirement. All you guys from those
Speaker 3: teams will always have a special place in Dodger fans'
Speaker 3: hearts and mine as well.
Speaker 2: So thank you for a great career.
Speaker 3: Thank you for being as good of a person as
Speaker 3: you were on the mound as a pitcher, so we
Speaker 3: all appreciate that.
Speaker 9: Well, Dave, thank you so much, man, And I'll do
Speaker 9: the same and say thank you for always making it
Speaker 9: fun and you know, making it enjoyable to talk with
Speaker 9: you and also making it easy. You know these questions
Speaker 9: we you know, kind of joke that they're hard hitting,
Speaker 9: but you're you're fun to talk to all the time. Man,
Speaker 9: So keep up the good work. And you know I'll
Speaker 9: come on anytime. Man, looking forward to doing it again.
Speaker 2: We'll do it for sure again.
Speaker 3: And you never know, Ross Strippling might be on sports
Speaker 3: at LA and running bert Shire Hathaway on his weekday.
Speaker 3: So this is not the last time you'll hear from
Speaker 3: Ross Strippling. I guarantee that. Thanks Ross, and congratulations on
Speaker 3: being a great husband and dad. And we'll see you
Speaker 3: soon at Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 9: All right, sounds good saying thank you man.
Speaker 3: There he goes Ross Strippling. He was a fan favorite,
Speaker 3: a great guy obviously and now turning the page to
Speaker 3: a post playing career. And Ross can do anything he wants.
Speaker 3: He could go into financial advising, he could be a broadcaster,
Speaker 3: he could be a coach, he could even work in
Speaker 3: the front office. I mean he is so well rounded
Speaker 3: and always a lot of times the most intelligent guy
Speaker 3: in a clubhouse and certainly could express himself really well
Speaker 3: and appreciate Ross taking as much time out of his
Speaker 3: night to join us. And uh, it was a fun
Speaker 3: time where Ross stripling and those group of Dodgers. And
Speaker 3: speaking of those group of Dodgers, I had a chance
Speaker 3: to catch up with Austin Barnes in Arizona and I
Speaker 3: asked him what his favorite memories were of Ross strippling.
Speaker 8: There's probably two. Ross was a great teammate, but two
Speaker 8: like incidents. It was probably when he threw behind Stan
Speaker 8: and he and he just looked down the whole time.
Speaker 8: And it was if I remember, I got in front
Speaker 8: of standing and his wife said thank you to me
Speaker 8: after after the game. But besides that, I remember he
Speaker 8: pinched ran too. I hit like a walk off double
Speaker 8: and he scored it. I liked his little jog around
Speaker 8: around the bases. But no, he was a great teammate.
Speaker 8: Still really close with Ross, congratulating on a great career
Speaker 8: and excited for his next chapter.
Speaker 3: Did you think you were going to stop Stanton if
Speaker 3: he really wanted to go out there.
Speaker 9: I would have.
Speaker 2: I would have been a wall speed bump.
Speaker 8: But that's also another big man.
Speaker 10: So yeah, that walk off Bass hit that Austin Barnes
Speaker 10: was talking about was in twenty seventeen against the Pirates,
Speaker 10: and it was Austin Barnes.
Speaker 3: I drove in Ross Stripling who was the pinch runner.
Speaker 3: And we totally remember John Carlos Stanton with the Marlins
Speaker 3: at the time kind of taking exception to Ross hitting
Speaker 3: him with a pitch. So I had forgotten about those
Speaker 3: two moments, but after Austin brought him up, I certainly
Speaker 3: remember them now. Eight six six nine, eight seven, two
Speaker 3: five seventy is the phone number. David Vasse with you
Speaker 3: until the top of the hour on off day Dodger Talk.
Speaker 3: The Dodgers are back in action tomorrow night against the A's.
Speaker 3: They'll have Landon Knack on the mound in the opener
Speaker 3: of the series, and then Yamamoto followed by Rochi Sazaki
Speaker 3: now speaking of the Dodgers pitching, Obviously they're a little
Speaker 3: short handed right now, but have the depth of players
Speaker 3: like Landon Nak, Bobby Miller, Justin Robleski to be able
Speaker 3: to fill the spots that they need to be filled
Speaker 3: right now. With Tyler Glass now, Blake Snell and Clayton
Speaker 3: Kershaw on the injured list. Who would have thought that
Speaker 3: Kershaw would be the first one of those three to
Speaker 3: come back, and that's what's going to happen. Kershaw pitched
Speaker 3: his final rehab game yesterday for Oklahoma City against the
Speaker 3: Albuquerque Isotopes. I still don't like that name, being a
Speaker 3: Dodger fan my whole life, Albuquerque being the Dodgers affiliate,
Speaker 3: they were always the Dukes in the Duke city of Albuquerque.
Speaker 3: But nonetheless, Kershaw faced Albuquerque yesterday and pitched really well
Speaker 3: to finish his rehab assignment. Four innings, two earn runs
Speaker 3: against Albuquerque, and now he's eligible to be activated off
Speaker 3: the sixty day IL on Saturday, which would set him
Speaker 3: up for a start on Sunday. I mean, there is
Speaker 3: a chance that he could start on Saturday, I suppose,
Speaker 3: so he's going to pitch against the Angels. Whether it's
Speaker 3: Saturday or Sunday still remains to be seen. And that's
Speaker 3: great news for Kershaw. And I'm interested to see what
Speaker 3: version of Kershaw the Dodgers get. I had heard different
Speaker 3: things about his fastball velocity, whether it was eighty seven,
Speaker 3: eighty eight, touching ninety. It would make life a lot
Speaker 3: easier for Kershaw. If he was touching ninety consistently, and
Speaker 3: even before he got hurt last year, his fastball was
Speaker 3: right there eighty nine to ninety. But having the fastball
Speaker 3: at ninety miles an hour helps his slider, helps his
Speaker 3: curveball because it gives more disparity of velocities to give
Speaker 3: the hitter a different look, not only changing north south
Speaker 3: east west, but velocities. That's important to have that type
Speaker 3: as big of a range between your fastball and your
Speaker 3: secondary pitches as possible. That's what made him so devastating.
Speaker 3: When he was at his he was throwing ninety five
Speaker 3: ninety six, then had a hard slider at eighty eight,
Speaker 3: coming down at the back foot of your feet if
Speaker 3: you're a right handed hitter, and then he had the
Speaker 3: curveball for a strikeout pitch. But now we're talking eighty
Speaker 3: seven to eighty nine, maybe ninety. It's going to be
Speaker 3: interesting to see how he's able to get hitters out.
Speaker 3: But the one way he will get hitters out is
Speaker 3: by competing out competing them, and that's one thing that
Speaker 3: has got him to this point in his career, to
Speaker 3: be in this position at thirty six years old and
Speaker 3: only thirty something strikeouts away from three thousand in his career. Now,
Speaker 3: as far as the other two guys go, Tyler Glassnow
Speaker 3: and Blake Snell were supposedly checked out by Neil Elatrosh today.
Speaker 3: I know, just talking to Snell, he just wasn't that
Speaker 3: concerned that this was going to be a whole season
Speaker 3: shoulder injury. He's never had a shoulder injury in his career.
Speaker 3: But he's still feeling something and that's the reason why
Speaker 3: he didn't play catch in Arizona on this road trip. Now,
Speaker 3: we did talk to Blake the first day in Arizona,
Speaker 3: and here's for the first time publicly him talking as
Speaker 3: much as he will about his shoulder injury.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm gonna be throwing here shortly, so we'll see.
Speaker 5: We're just taking a day, my day, going slow, but
Speaker 5: we should know soon. So once once I feel one
Speaker 5: hundred percent healthy, ready to go, that's the plan and
Speaker 5: then we'll see from there.
Speaker 2: You feel like you're moving in the right direction.
Speaker 5: Yeah, every day, you know, some days I feel a
Speaker 5: little worse than the others. This the longest I've been
Speaker 5: on the il and forever, so it's been frustrating and
Speaker 5: difficult to go through but I like being on the
Speaker 5: road trip. I like being able to, you know, support
Speaker 5: the teammates and and more so, just be selfless. I'm
Speaker 5: worrying about myself and start learning more about the team.
Speaker 5: That's really helped me mentally. Just you know, focus on
Speaker 5: day by day and when it's my time, it will
Speaker 5: be my time. But right now it's not, and I
Speaker 5: got to accept that and focus on rehab, get as
Speaker 5: strong and healthy as I can get, and then when
Speaker 5: it's my time, I'll be ready to go.
Speaker 3: Now, he didn't really say a whole lot there, but
Speaker 3: he doesn't seem like he's that concerned.
Speaker 2: And the Dodgers just want to be extra.
Speaker 3: Sure and extra careful before they start ramping up his
Speaker 3: throwing because the worst case scenario would be is if
Speaker 3: they say, come on, it's just a little pain, now,
Speaker 3: get out there, start your throwing program. You'll be fine,
Speaker 3: and then he comes back and has a major setback
Speaker 3: and he's lost for the year. That's not what the
Speaker 3: Dodgers want. And having the record they have right now
Speaker 3: twenty seven and fourteen, having the offense they have right
Speaker 3: now certainly gives them that luxury. Speaking of the Dodgers
Speaker 3: starting pitching. I'm sure you're well aware of right now
Speaker 3: before we say good night, that the Dodgers' bullpen has
Speaker 3: thrown more innings than any other bullpen in baseball. That's
Speaker 3: not sustainable. And you have veterans like Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott,
Speaker 3: and Alex Vesia that have pitched in half of the
Speaker 3: games the Dodgers have played. That's not something Andrew Friedman wants.
Speaker 3: So the Dodgers are going to have to figure out
Speaker 3: a way to get these starters deeper into games. They've
Speaker 3: had young arms like benk Casparrius throw twenty seven innings,
Speaker 3: Jack Dryer pitching seventeen games, multiple innings a lot of
Speaker 3: those times, they've had a huge impact in their first
Speaker 3: full years. So the Dodgers starters need to start picking
Speaker 3: it up, and hopefully the Dodger offense can keep going
Speaker 3: to kind of take the burden off their pitching staff
Speaker 3: because their offense. Without their offense, the Dodgers would not
Speaker 3: be twenty seven and fourteen. It's that good even without
Speaker 3: Edmn and those guys. All right, that'll do it for
Speaker 3: us on Dodger Talk tonight. Thanks to Ronnie Fossio for
Speaker 3: all his help thanks to calling Yee, and thanks to
Speaker 3: you for listening. In case you missed any of the show,
Speaker 3: you can find it on the iHeartRadio app. We'll talk
Speaker 3: to you tomorrow night at six o'clock with Morongo Casino,
Speaker 3: Dodgers on deck, first pitch from Dodgers Stadium at seven
Speaker 3: to ten on Mookie Bets Babblehead Night between the Dodgers
Speaker 3: and A's. Have a great rest of your night. Fox
Speaker 3: Sports Radio is next.
Speaker 2: See you