Speaker 1: God, I'm swinging.
Speaker 2: That's a hello. Fans of the world Champion La Dodgers.
Speaker 1: The World Series Gwenville.
Speaker 2: This is a special off season edition of Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: There's a dynasty to be had here, taking you behind
Speaker 2: the scenes with Dodger insider David Basse, living out of
Speaker 2: their dream to be a part of the show called
Speaker 2: eight six six nine eight seven two five seven and
Speaker 2: follow the show wherever you get your podcasts now here's
Speaker 2: your host, David Basse.
Speaker 1: Welcome the Dodger Talk David Vasse live from my mom's
Speaker 1: townhouse in Woodland Hills because we were forced to evacuate
Speaker 1: because of the Kenneth fire. So technology is an amazing
Speaker 1: thing and that's how we're able to share the next
Speaker 1: hour with you. I hope you're safe out there. Obviously
Speaker 1: a horrible time here in the city of Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: Our thoughts and prayers go out to all that were affected,
Speaker 1: that lost their homes. That their lives have been changed
Speaker 1: for a few years now, maybe forever. But we're here
Speaker 1: to kind of mix all that in and obviously not
Speaker 1: ideal situation, but we're here to talk baseball, to distract you,
Speaker 1: to entertain you, and for all the latest breaking news.
Speaker 1: You can tune into our sister station KFI AM six
Speaker 1: point forty all along the iHeartRadio app as well for
Speaker 1: all the late breaking news and KFI breaking news. As
Speaker 1: we speak, there was an arson suspect arrested in Woodland
Speaker 1: Hills for possibly starting this Kenneth fire. So KFI is
Speaker 1: on top of it. Tim Conway Junior and the rest
Speaker 1: of the crew, Deborah Mark are all over it for
Speaker 1: all the latest breaking news and information where you need
Speaker 1: to go for shelter in place where you can get resources.
Speaker 1: If you've been displaced. KFI can help you out, and
Speaker 1: obviously the Red Cross can help you out as well
Speaker 1: as much as as much as they can. So we'll
Speaker 1: as baseball players do through a one hundred and sixty
Speaker 1: two game season. We have to grind through this and
Speaker 1: that's certainly what we will do together. But Max Munsey
Speaker 1: is going to join us to help obviously entertain us,
Speaker 1: to give the latest on what's going on during his
Speaker 1: off season as a two time World Series champion. And
Speaker 1: Max Munsey has played seven years in Los Angeles and
Speaker 1: cares deeply about this community and he certainly has his
Speaker 1: heart on his sleeve when it comes to all this.
Speaker 1: So we'll hear from Max Mounsey coming up at the
Speaker 1: bottom of the hour. We will give you the latest
Speaker 1: on the Roki Sazaki sweepstakes, and also we'll talk about
Speaker 1: who else the Dodgers may be signing before spring training begins.
Speaker 1: And also, since the last time we spoke last week,
Speaker 1: Gavin Lux has been traded to the Reds. I was
Speaker 1: on sports net LA as that news was breaking on Monday,
Speaker 1: So we'll get into that a little bit more and
Speaker 1: what that means for the return of Keige Hernandez Now.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers also made a move today among a settling
Speaker 1: arbitration eligible players. They traded Diego Kartaya, who was once
Speaker 1: one of the top prize prospects not only in the
Speaker 1: Dodger farm system, but in all of Major League Baseball
Speaker 1: minor leagues. And this is a cautionary tale of over
Speaker 1: hyping minor league prospects. I'm not saying the Dodgers did that.
Speaker 1: I'm saying be careful, just wanting the Dodgers to keep
Speaker 1: prospects at the expense of not helping their major league roster. Thankfully,
Speaker 1: Andrew Friedman has been willing to pull the trigger on trades,
Speaker 1: and if it means giving up young talent, he has
Speaker 1: done that going all the way back, right off the
Speaker 1: top of my head, trading Cabert Ruiz as part of
Speaker 1: a trade for Max Scherzer and trade Turner. So he
Speaker 1: has done this. He traded for you, Darvish at the
Speaker 1: trade deadline in twenty seventeen. You know, he has done
Speaker 1: this continuously. And that's why I feel like some lose
Speaker 1: sight of the fact that, yes, developing your minor league
Speaker 1: system is very important, but not necessarily for them to
Speaker 1: play in your uniform, but to use them to make
Speaker 1: trades to help your major league roster, as the Dodgers
Speaker 1: have done. Look, the stakes are really high for the Dodgers,
Speaker 1: as we have seen since Guggenheim has taken over, and
Speaker 1: as they have had this continued success. But the stakes
Speaker 1: were raised astronomically when they acquired Shohio Tani and signed
Speaker 1: yosh Yamamoto. Specifically when they signed Otani and he basically
Speaker 1: deferred a lot of his contract unprecedented amount of money
Speaker 1: to help the Dodgers build a team around him, not
Speaker 1: just for twenty twenty four, but for the next five, six, seven, eight, nine,
Speaker 1: maybe ten years to be able to give the Dodgers
Speaker 1: the ability not just to have sho Hey Otani, but
Speaker 1: to have sho Hey Otani surrounded by players that the
Speaker 1: Dodgers have acquired even in the last year. I mean,
Speaker 1: we're talking about Yamamoto, We're talking about them trading for
Speaker 1: Tommy Edmund and Michael Kopek. We're talking about them having
Speaker 1: Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts and keeping Max Munsey among others,
Speaker 1: signing Michael Confordo and signing re signing Taoscar Hernandez. All
Speaker 1: of this is made possible by the Dodgers having that
Speaker 1: flexibility that Otani gave them and also obviously raising the
Speaker 1: stakes to win now. And the Dodgers have been more
Speaker 1: aggressive this off season than any other team out there.
Speaker 1: Am I missing something? The Dodgers are the defending World
Speaker 1: Series champions. I feel like we don't say that enough.
Speaker 1: This is the world champion Dodgers Audio station, and when
Speaker 1: the game start, it will be the world champion Dodgers
Speaker 1: Audio Network. That's what they are. And they have gone
Speaker 1: out this offseason and being as aggressive a teams that
Speaker 1: have never won a World Series like the Mariners, and
Speaker 1: they have added Confordo. They have added Tasca Hernandez, they
Speaker 1: have added Blake Snell, and they're not done yet. They're
Speaker 1: pursuing Roki Sazaki, and they are pursuing another or two
Speaker 1: major league relievers to add to their bullpen and also
Speaker 1: looking to bring back keyk Hernandez. So the Dodgers have
Speaker 1: done a great job of developing young players but also
Speaker 1: understanding that the time is now to win, and if
Speaker 1: it means trading a player that you may think is
Speaker 1: a can't miss prospect, by the way, I haven't met
Speaker 1: one that is a can't miss prospect. Honestly. The only
Speaker 1: two that I could tell you that our can't miss
Speaker 1: prospects that I have seen, you know, really fulfilled the
Speaker 1: expectations in the hype are two guys and they both
Speaker 1: came out of high school, Bryce Harper and Alex Rodriguez.
Speaker 1: Bryce Harper was on the cover of Sports Illustrated when
Speaker 1: he was in high school, similar to Lebron James, and
Speaker 1: Bryce Harper has certainly fulfilled those expectations. But Diego Krtia
Speaker 1: is a cautionary tale, and look, the reality is Cartaya
Speaker 1: may have, you know, come close to what the expectations
Speaker 1: were for him, but he injured his back a couple
Speaker 1: of years back. And if you've ever had a back issue,
Speaker 1: no matter how young or old you are, you know
Speaker 1: they don't just go away. They're always there. And other
Speaker 1: teams saw last year that Kartayah, who was a catching prospect,
Speaker 1: never caught consecutive games all last season. That was a
Speaker 1: red flag for where this was going with Kartaya. And
Speaker 1: maybe a change of scenery and a change in new
Speaker 1: voices helping him with his hitting will help him in Minnesota.
Speaker 1: So he's a great kid, he's got a great spirit
Speaker 1: about him. He's twenty three years old. We've heard about
Speaker 1: him ever since the Dodgers signed him when he was sixteen.
Speaker 1: So all the best to diego Kartaya in Minnesota. But
Speaker 1: obviously he never turned out to be what I guess
Speaker 1: the Dodgers and others thought he would turn out to be.
Speaker 1: Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy is
Speaker 1: the phone number. We're going to take a time out
Speaker 1: here on Dodger Talk. When we continue, Max Munsey we'll
Speaker 1: join us the two time World Series champion right here
Speaker 1: on Dodger Talk. Be safe out there and keep your
Speaker 1: head up.
Speaker 2: Anybody want it, but it ain't that ss off season.
Speaker 2: Dodger Talk continues on LA's Home Love Good Dodgers AM
Speaker 2: five seventy l A Sports Cool.
Speaker 1: Los Angeles will rise up again, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: David Vass with you until eight o'clock tonight here on Talk.
Speaker 1: Max Munsey is going to be joining us here shortly
Speaker 1: and coming up at the bottom of the hour, we
Speaker 1: will give you the latest on the Roki Sazaki's sweepstakes.
Speaker 1: We are getting closer to January fifteenth, and also we'll
Speaker 1: let you know what it means for keyk a Hernandez
Speaker 1: now that Gavin Lux is wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform.
Speaker 1: We are thinking about you, Los Angeles. We are thinking
Speaker 1: about all of you that have been affected by the
Speaker 1: fires here in the City of Angels and certainly you
Speaker 1: cannot get through this alone. It seems like, as always,
Speaker 1: we are rallying with each other in this city when
Speaker 1: we need each other the most, and just be vigilant
Speaker 1: out there. That's the biggest thing. We all got to
Speaker 1: be vigilant that do not have our homes taken away
Speaker 1: from us. We got to be looking out for each
Speaker 1: other and we've got to be looking out for nefarious
Speaker 1: people out there that are up to no good, that's
Speaker 1: for sure. Eight six six nine eighty seven two five
Speaker 1: seventy is the phone number. We're taking your phone calls
Speaker 1: until eight o'clock tonight here on a five to seventy
Speaker 1: LA Sports. We are just thirty two days away from
Speaker 1: pitchers and catchers reporting to Glendale, Arizona. The Dodgers again
Speaker 1: are going to be starting their season on a different continent.
Speaker 1: This time they are going to open up the Major
Speaker 1: League season in Tokyo, Japan, against the Chicago Cubs. You
Speaker 1: remember last year they opened up in South Korea against
Speaker 1: the San Diego Padres. Kind of full circle that the
Speaker 1: Dodgers knocked the Padres out of the postseason last year.
Speaker 1: All Right, we're joined by a man that has invested
Speaker 1: not only his playing career on the field in Los Angeles,
Speaker 1: but he definitely has invested a lot in this community.
Speaker 1: I'm talking about two time All Star, two time World
Speaker 1: Series champion, a man that has hit one hundred and
Speaker 1: ninety home runs as a Dodger entering his eighth year
Speaker 1: Dodger Blue, and that is the Dodgers opening day third baseman,
Speaker 1: the one and only Max Munsey, Max, thanks a lot
Speaker 1: for coming on. Appreciate it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, I'll tell you what here in two time
Speaker 3: World Series champion doesn't get old.
Speaker 1: No, it doesn't. And we haven't talked since the parade.
Speaker 1: What's it been like for you since that day? Has
Speaker 1: it sunk in that you are a two time World
Speaker 1: Series Champion? Do you have a little bit more swag
Speaker 1: in your step now? Or how has Max Munsey's off
Speaker 1: season been?
Speaker 3: Well, you know, after we won, with the parade and everything,
Speaker 3: that was obviously a whirlwind and you try to remember
Speaker 3: as much of it as you can, but you know,
Speaker 3: it really sank in for me. We ordered a replica trophy,
Speaker 3: the World Series Trophy, and when that showed up on
Speaker 3: the doorstep, that's kind of when it really sank in.
Speaker 3: I have it sitting next to the one from twenty twenty,
Speaker 3: so you know, I get to see that every single
Speaker 3: day and it's a pretty cool reminder. But you know,
Speaker 3: I also want to get a third one up there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that would be nice. And it seems like Andrew
Speaker 1: Friedman is trying to give you, guys everything that you
Speaker 1: need to make another run.
Speaker 3: Well, he does this every year. You know, we always have,
Speaker 3: you know, the roster and everything to.
Speaker 4: Get the job done.
Speaker 3: And it's just it falls on us to make sure
Speaker 3: we do that. And so right now that's what everyone's doing.
Speaker 3: They're trying to rest up. It's been a you know,
Speaker 3: a short offseason, and everyone's trying to make sure we're
Speaker 3: ready to go, you know, going into Japan this year.
Speaker 1: Hey, Max, speaking of the parade and all that, you
Speaker 1: didn't get one in twenty twenty. We all know that.
Speaker 1: But when you were on your parade float with your
Speaker 1: teammates and once you got to the stadium for the rally,
Speaker 1: did you realize how much you and that team meant
Speaker 1: to the city.
Speaker 3: You know, I've told this the several people, And you know,
Speaker 3: when we when we turned onto the street and down
Speaker 3: town and you start seeing all the people lined up,
Speaker 3: When when you see people holding up pictures and images
Speaker 3: of uh, you know, relatives and people that have passed
Speaker 3: away that couldn't be there, and you start seeing like
Speaker 3: how much it actually means to everybody. You know, that
Speaker 3: really kind of hit a whole lot harder than I
Speaker 3: think I I even realized.
Speaker 4: I've always known.
Speaker 3: That the Dodgers fans and the the city and the
Speaker 3: organization and everything. It's it's the best in baseball, the
Speaker 3: best fans, the best people, and but I don't think
Speaker 3: you ever realized that it means that much to people,
Speaker 3: that it's it's it's you know, it's a.
Speaker 4: Lifestyle for a lot of people.
Speaker 3: And it felt really special to be able to celebrate
Speaker 3: that moment with with, you know, the couple million people
Speaker 3: that were in the city.
Speaker 1: Max Munsey is joining us from his home in Texas,
Speaker 1: and Max, I know new you and your wife Kelly
Speaker 1: have been posting links to where we can help assist
Speaker 1: those that have lost their homes and and need some help.
Speaker 1: And I know you've been monitoring what's going on in
Speaker 1: the city closely from your house in Texas. How hard
Speaker 1: is this hitting you guys out there.
Speaker 4: It's tough, It's it's real tough.
Speaker 3: We've been, you know, we've had the news on pretty
Speaker 3: much twenty four to seven. We've been trying to follow
Speaker 3: everything as best we can, and it's just devastating to
Speaker 3: see the amount of damage that's been done. And you know,
Speaker 3: we're obviously praying for everybody, and we're hoping that everyone's
Speaker 3: everyone to get out and it sucks that people are
Speaker 3: losing their houses, but the most important thing is that
Speaker 3: you know they're surviving and their living and you know,
Speaker 3: you can you can replace certain things, but you can't
Speaker 3: replace lives. And so, you know where we're obviously trying
Speaker 3: to do what we can from from out here. It's
Speaker 3: not much, but as long as we can bring awareness
Speaker 3: to it, and you know, people from around the country
Speaker 3: can chip in here and there and every every little bit.
Speaker 4: Helps in this scenario.
Speaker 3: And you know, so that was something that we'd wanted
Speaker 3: to do, is we wanted to make sure that there
Speaker 3: was you know, lots of links and stuff for people
Speaker 3: to just you know, to go on and just give
Speaker 3: any little bit that they can, no doubt.
Speaker 1: Any little bit can help a lot of people out there.
Speaker 1: Max Munsey is joining us here on Dodger Talk. We're
Speaker 1: with you until eight o'clock. And Max, during this postseason run,
Speaker 1: you were such a big part of it from beginning
Speaker 1: to end. One thing that sticks out to me the most,
Speaker 1: and we have not talked about this either, was the
Speaker 1: consecutive reaching bass streak twelve consecutive plate appearances where you
Speaker 1: reach base. That's a new playoff record. Reggie Jackson held
Speaker 1: the record before you. Is that similar to when an
Speaker 1: NBA player describes like making ten threes, like Steph Curry
Speaker 1: just says, the basket just looked like the ocean. Is
Speaker 1: that what it felt like during the NLCS? Can you
Speaker 1: describe it?
Speaker 3: It's kind of hard to describe, but it's just as
Speaker 3: it's that was at that moment in time, that was
Speaker 3: the best that I had pretty much felt all season long.
Speaker 3: I was locked in to my mechanics, locked into the
Speaker 3: game play, and I was seeing everything real well that
Speaker 3: the game just felt very slow for me in that moment,
Speaker 3: and you know, it just it just felt like I
Speaker 3: had a very good understanding of what I was trying
Speaker 3: to do, and you know, through throughout the entire season,
Speaker 3: it's you know, that's one of those things where you're
Speaker 3: you're very rarely ever in that state. You might be
Speaker 3: seeing the ball well, but your mechanics are a little off.
Speaker 3: Your mechanics might be great, but you're not seeing the
Speaker 3: ball well.
Speaker 4: You know, there might you know, you.
Speaker 3: Might have a little nagging thing here or there, and
Speaker 3: so it's very rare that you get into that that
Speaker 3: zone that I was in there and that was definitely
Speaker 3: the best that I've felt for a very long time.
Speaker 1: No doubt. And you've been a part of a lot
Speaker 1: of classic playoff teams for the Dodgers. You've come up
Speaker 1: big yourself. When you look back at how you guys
Speaker 1: came together. I remember what you told me at the
Speaker 1: beginning of the playoffs where you just asked everybody to
Speaker 1: sacrifice their families and whatever interests they had outside of
Speaker 1: baseball for six weeks. How much did that really play
Speaker 1: into you guys going all the way to win the
Speaker 1: World Series?
Speaker 3: You know, I it's hard to really state how much
Speaker 3: of an impact that had, you know, but I really
Speaker 3: feel like that was something that helped us out. And
Speaker 3: you know, right from the beginning, you have those five
Speaker 3: days off, you know, getting to buy and you know,
Speaker 3: everyone was so stressed out about that from years past
Speaker 3: and just thinking about how that's actually bad luck.
Speaker 4: And you know, at.
Speaker 3: The end of the day, we had to flip the
Speaker 3: mindset of you know, it's a reward. You're getting rewarded
Speaker 3: for playing well throughout the regular season. We needed to
Speaker 3: treat it like a reward. And so that was just
Speaker 3: where the idea came from that we need to get
Speaker 3: everybody together, We need to be spending a bunch of
Speaker 3: time together, but it doesn't need to be a boring
Speaker 3: classroom session. We need to be in there, you know,
Speaker 3: having fun, be at the state, just being with the boys.
Speaker 3: And then as that happened, it turned into you know, hey,
Speaker 3: this is going to be a two to three week adventure. Obviously,
Speaker 3: our families are going to be there with us, and
Speaker 3: we want them there with us, but we need to
Speaker 3: make sure we're focused on the goal because this is
Speaker 3: going to be a very good opportunity for us, as
Speaker 3: it is every year, but we need to have everyone focused.
Speaker 3: And you know, everyone just kind of bought into it immediately.
Speaker 3: And that's one of the things where you talk to
Speaker 3: a couple of guys and you know, you know, Milkie
Speaker 3: and Will, and you're not You're never sure if the
Speaker 3: entire team is going to buy into it.
Speaker 4: And it was almost.
Speaker 3: Immediately that everybody was completely on board and everyone started
Speaker 3: throwing out ideas, and you know, it's really it's really
Speaker 3: cool to watch, just from my standpoint, to see the
Speaker 3: you know, the that entire group come come together like
Speaker 3: that and realize what we had going on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you had something special going on. And I felt
Speaker 1: like in the postseason, especially in the NLDS Max. Even
Speaker 1: in a Game three loss, the way you guys came
Speaker 1: back and were resilient instead of just going down and
Speaker 1: getting blown out, to me, it felt like that kind
Speaker 1: of just changed everything. Whether it was Bueller throwing the
Speaker 1: gatorade bucket in the dugout or Tioscar Hernandez hitting a
Speaker 1: grand slam to bring you within one run and kind
Speaker 1: of screaming at you who was coming up to the plate,
Speaker 1: It felt like that game was a turning point. I
Speaker 1: know that's easy to say, but you got to hit
Speaker 1: the ball, you got to execute and do all the
Speaker 1: other things. But did that kind of just show to
Speaker 1: each other how resilient you were and how you guys
Speaker 1: were not just gonna go out easy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know that Game four was very unique and
Speaker 3: kind of special to look back and think about kid
Speaker 3: coming into the you know, coming into the clubhouse that day,
Speaker 3: we we kind of find out and get told that
Speaker 3: Freddy's not gonna be able to go, and you know
Speaker 3: you're in an elimination game, and.
Speaker 4: That's that's obviously a big blow.
Speaker 3: But the bullpen kept coming in all day long say hey,
Speaker 3: we got you guys.
Speaker 4: We got you, guys.
Speaker 3: We knew it was gonna be a bullpen game for us,
Speaker 3: and immediately all of those guys just came in and say, hey,
Speaker 3: we got you guys. Don't worry, We're going to take
Speaker 3: care of this and just get us. Just get us
Speaker 3: a couple of runs. It's all you need to do.
Speaker 3: And you know, the mindset right from the start of
Speaker 3: the day, even though we got bad news with Freddy
Speaker 3: not being able to go, you would have thought we
Speaker 3: were up to nothing in the series. Everyone just felt
Speaker 3: super calm, super relaxed, and everyone knew we were gonna
Speaker 3: go out there and win that game.
Speaker 1: You're a big football fan, and you always hear about
Speaker 1: teams that are successful they take on an identity. Do
Speaker 1: you feel like the bullpen identity was contagious to the
Speaker 1: rest of the team the way that they just were,
Speaker 1: like they called themselves dogs out there.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, absolutely, you know they were. They were incredible
Speaker 4: for us all year long.
Speaker 3: You know, they had to cover a lot of innings,
Speaker 3: and when you're when you're covering innings, sometimes the numbers may.
Speaker 4: Not look as good as what they should.
Speaker 3: Uh, But we knew that we had one of the
Speaker 3: best bullpens in baseball, and you know, going into postseason,
Speaker 3: we knew that was definitely going to be a strength
Speaker 3: for us. Everyone wanted to talk about, well, you have
Speaker 3: starters that are hurt, you have this and that, but
Speaker 3: we knew that we had a big strength. We just
Speaker 3: had to get get those guys a lead and let
Speaker 3: them do what they do. And you know, they're their
Speaker 3: Their mindset and attitude definitely carried throughout the clubhous and
Speaker 3: uh you know from the position player standpoint, you watch
Speaker 3: that and your your whole goal is just get those
Speaker 3: guys a lead and the game is going to be.
Speaker 1: Over before I let you go. Max Moncie, how much
Speaker 1: does it mean to you to know that your teammates
Speaker 1: Andrew Freeman and Dave Roberts value what you mean to
Speaker 1: this team. I know there's a lot of noise every
Speaker 1: off season about different players coming and going, but they
Speaker 1: have been steadfast that you are their guy and that
Speaker 1: you mean a lot to this lineup. You are part
Speaker 1: of the sum being greater than the parts. How much
Speaker 1: does that mean to you?
Speaker 3: I really can't put it into words. You know, it's
Speaker 3: a yeah. I mean, it means so much to me
Speaker 3: and It's one of those things that you know, I've
Speaker 3: obviously haven't been shy about it. I want to retire
Speaker 3: wearing a Dodger jersey. And I know that at the
Speaker 3: end of the day that that ball is going to
Speaker 3: be in my hands if I just keep performing, They're
Speaker 3: gonna give me that opportunity. And it's it's something that
Speaker 3: this place is home to me, the organization, the city,
Speaker 3: it's it's become it's become home to us, and you know,
Speaker 3: I love every single every single thing about it. And
Speaker 3: you know, to just so to hear hear guys that,
Speaker 3: to hear guys say that, it kind of means everything.
Speaker 3: And it's, uh, it's really in my mind, the whole
Speaker 3: reason you play the game and to leave an impact
Speaker 3: that you are a guy that always helped the team
Speaker 3: win and is willing to do anything, and whether it's
Speaker 3: in the clubhouse, on the field, off the field, just
Speaker 3: do something that can help the team, in the organization.
Speaker 3: And you know, that's that's something that means a ton
Speaker 3: to me.
Speaker 1: Well, the city of Los Angeles means a lot to
Speaker 1: Max Monsey, and Monsey means a lot to the city
Speaker 1: of Los Angeles. It doesn't fall you know flat on
Speaker 1: us how much you invest yourself playing for the Dodgers
Speaker 1: and invest yourself in the city of Los Angeles, Monsey,
Speaker 1: and I think that's part of the reason why everybody
Speaker 1: loves you that watches you play and just knows what
Speaker 1: you're all about the last seven years and can't wait
Speaker 1: to see you in spring training really appreciate you coming
Speaker 1: on And I know here in your voice made a
Speaker 1: lot of people happy out there.
Speaker 3: I certainly hope. So you know, it's obviously a very
Speaker 3: very tough time right now for a lot of people,
Speaker 3: but that's that's why, like I said, me and Kelly
Speaker 3: wanted to make sure we have a lot of a
Speaker 3: lot of links out there for people to do any
Speaker 3: type of good for for anyone that's in need. So hopefully,
Speaker 3: hopefully our little chat brought a smile to some people,
Speaker 3: and you know that's that's something that'll do some good.
Speaker 1: Thanks as always, Max, you always take care of me.
Speaker 1: And like I said, this was not just for me,
Speaker 1: It was for the city of LA to put a
Speaker 1: smile on their face with two times two time World
Speaker 1: Series Champion Max Monsey. I'll see you in thirty five days, Max.
Speaker 3: It's coming up quick. I felt like I just got home.
Speaker 1: Hey, it's always sweeter to get back when you're a.
Speaker 3: Champ, right, absolutely, absolutely, I'm ready to get back and
Speaker 3: run it back again.
Speaker 1: You know, can't wait, can't wait to see you, Monsie.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Yeah, thanks having me on.
Speaker 1: There he goes the man Max Monsey, who definitely cares,
Speaker 1: cares about the team, cares about the organization, and certainly
Speaker 1: cares about the city. Eight six six nine eight seven
Speaker 1: two five seventy is the phone number. Max Monsey will
Speaker 1: be your third baseman. I told you the Aeronado talk
Speaker 1: was just talk. And here we are January, what is
Speaker 1: it now? Ninth and the Cardinals still cannot trade Nolan Aernato.
Speaker 1: The name is great, but a lot of teams are
Speaker 1: a little, a little bit concerned that it's not the
Speaker 1: Aeronado of old. I mean, the slugging has declined, the
Speaker 1: defense has declined. I love Nolan. I would love to
Speaker 1: have Nolan on my team, but the Dodgers are set
Speaker 1: at third base with Maximuncy. And if I had to
Speaker 1: predict where Nolan Aronado's going, I'm predicting the Boston Red
Speaker 1: Sox or the Angels. Those would be my two predictions
Speaker 1: on where Nolan Aernado gets traded to because right now,
Speaker 1: I mean that is the risk of acquiring a player
Speaker 1: like Aeronado with backside thirty five years old high contract.
Speaker 1: The Cardinals, the car Derdinals gambled and they may have
Speaker 1: lost here because they never won the World Series. Gold
Speaker 1: Schmid's a Yankee and they're trying to trade Nolan Arenado
Speaker 1: before spring training. But he's a He's had a great career.
Speaker 1: He's going to the Hall of Fame, but a lot
Speaker 1: of teams are skeptical about how much he has left
Speaker 1: in the tank, no doubt about it. That's why nobody's
Speaker 1: traded for him yet. We're gonna take a time out
Speaker 1: here on Dodger Talk. When we come back your reaction
Speaker 1: to what Max Mountsey had to say, and also will
Speaker 1: give you the latest on Roki Sazaki and Kei k Hernandez.
Speaker 1: A lot to get to between now. At eight o'clock
Speaker 1: right here on five to seventy, LA Sports.
Speaker 2: Go on the home run in to the Dodger pull
Speaker 2: back your off season coverage of the Blue rolls off.
Speaker 2: This is off season Dodger spots.
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Max Munsey for joining us from his
Speaker 1: home in Texas, obviously thinking about the city of Los
Speaker 1: Angelis and the devastating fires in Altadena, Pasadena, Pacific Palisades
Speaker 1: and unfortunately West Hills. And I don't believe any structures
Speaker 1: were taken down by the Kenneth fire. But for all
Speaker 1: the latest breaking news, you can go to kfive six forty.
Speaker 1: Myself and my family were evacuated because of the fire
Speaker 1: getting a little too close to our home, and I
Speaker 1: am at my mom's house, my mom's townhouse and Woodland Hills,
Speaker 1: and the whole family is here, including the dog. We're
Speaker 1: gonna spend the night here for a second straight night.
Speaker 1: I always joke kind of that my mom doesn't really
Speaker 1: know what I do. She's eighty one, she's a tiny descent.
Speaker 1: She knows that I like the Dodgers and Lakers growing
Speaker 1: up and that I talk about them, but I don't
Speaker 1: think she really understands what I do, except that I
Speaker 1: go to Dodger games. So, you know, sitting here on
Speaker 1: couch doing this show talking to Max Muncie, maybe she
Speaker 1: understands a little bit more, but I'm really not sure.
Speaker 1: But yeah, we're all here in the townhouse in the
Speaker 1: Great One aid and it seems like according to the
Speaker 1: watch Duty app that the Kenneth fire seems to be
Speaker 1: a little bit more under control. So, like I said,
Speaker 1: Tim Conway Junior and all the great people at KFI
Speaker 1: can keep you updated on all that as we talk
Speaker 1: baseball until the top of the hour. Our next Dodger
Speaker 1: talk show will be next week. I'll keep you updated
Speaker 1: on which day that's going to be. I don't know
Speaker 1: off the top of my head right now, but stay tuned.
Speaker 1: We'll have a show for you next week. And you
Speaker 1: could follow me on Twitter or x as they say
Speaker 1: now at the Real Underscore DV and on Instagram at
Speaker 1: officially Vassay. And I know a lot of people that
Speaker 1: have lost their homes two of these fires, and it
Speaker 1: just stinks. And you just got to keep moving forward
Speaker 1: and we can all rally around each other to try
Speaker 1: to help them. But no matter where you live, losing
Speaker 1: your home is awful. So we're with you and we're
Speaker 1: here to distract you with some baseball talk until the
Speaker 1: top of the hour. That's when we'll hand things off
Speaker 1: to Fox Sports Radio. Roki Sazaki. That is the next
Speaker 1: big free agent to sign, Yes, bigger than Alex Bregman.
Speaker 1: Roki Sazaki is the prize. The twenty three year old
Speaker 1: right hander from Japan is coming to the States earlier
Speaker 1: than where he can make a lot more money, similar
Speaker 1: to shoe Aotani, who came to the States earlier than
Speaker 1: where he could have made big money. That's what adds
Speaker 1: to the allure of signing Sazaki because you would have
Speaker 1: him under team friendly control for six years. So not
Speaker 1: only do you get him now, but you get him
Speaker 1: for the next six years, and you'll see his career
Speaker 1: evolve and a lot of people expected to be a
Speaker 1: really great career. So you not only get him at
Speaker 1: twenty three, but you get to see him do things,
Speaker 1: you know, from twenty three to twenty nine, in the
Speaker 1: prime of his career. So that's special. Eight six six
Speaker 1: nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 1: By the way, Roki Sazaki. The first day that a
Speaker 1: team can sign him is January fifteenth, and it's not
Speaker 1: just some random day. Rob Manfred announced during the last
Speaker 1: owners meetings before Christmas that he was going to force
Speaker 1: Suzaki to be posted during the twenty twenty five international
Speaker 1: signing period, not the twenty twenty four signing period, so
Speaker 1: that begins on January fifteenth, and because Sazaki was posted
Speaker 1: during the Winter Meetings first week of December, he has
Speaker 1: a four days to sign with a team. So the
Speaker 1: window opens on January fifteenth, but it will close on
Speaker 1: January twenty third, so he's going to sign in between
Speaker 1: that window. And people keep asking me, are the Dodgers
Speaker 1: a slam dunk to sign Sazaki? I wouldn't characterize it
Speaker 1: that way. All I can tell you is it's a
Speaker 1: slam dunk. The Dodgers really want Sazaki. That's a slam dunk,
Speaker 1: And teams around baseball and people I talk to at
Speaker 1: the Winter Meetings were handicapping this as a Padres versus
Speaker 1: Dodgers sweepstakes between for Roki Sazaki, So that's what people think.
Speaker 1: It's Padres or Dodgers. But now we're starting to hear
Speaker 1: that there are some teams that you wouldn't even expect
Speaker 1: Sazaki to entertain signing with. And his agent, Joel Wolf
Speaker 1: said at the Winter Meetings that he's not a guy
Speaker 1: that loves the spotlight. We're starting to hear that more
Speaker 1: and more. And the lights are the brightest in Los Angeles,
Speaker 1: so you got to be ready for that. And when
Speaker 1: you hear about possibly Otani having an influence on Sazaki
Speaker 1: signing with the Dodgers, I'm sure Otani has expressed, and
Speaker 1: Yamamoto as well have expressed to the World Baseball Classic
Speaker 1: teammate all the positives and all the great things the
Speaker 1: Dodgers are about and how they help players get better.
Speaker 1: But I don't see Otani pressuring Sazaki to sign with
Speaker 1: the Dodgers. I don't see Otani texting him or facetiming
Speaker 1: him with decoy every single day. That's not who Otani is.
Speaker 1: And I started to read about how Otani supposedly recruited
Speaker 1: I Sun Kim, my understanding that people know firsthand that
Speaker 1: wasn't the case at all. It just so happened that
Speaker 1: Kim was working out at the same facility this offseason
Speaker 1: as Otani was a couple of times and they spoke.
Speaker 1: There was no recruitment or Otani trying to pressure anybody
Speaker 1: to sign, And that kind of fits in with American
Speaker 1: free agents. Nobody's trying to tell another player to take
Speaker 1: less money to come here, or just really pressuring somebody
Speaker 1: to sign with the team just because they want to
Speaker 1: have them on their on their ball club. That just
Speaker 1: doesn't happen. So I don't see Otani doing the full
Speaker 1: press recruitment of Suzaki. I'm sure he has been very
Speaker 1: forthcoming with whatever questions and answers that he may may
Speaker 1: be able to provide Sazaki. But you know, a full
Speaker 1: court press recruitment on Haisan Kim or even Sazaki, that's
Speaker 1: just not the case. Eight six six seven two five,
Speaker 1: And he is the phone number. Let's go out to
Speaker 1: u kaipa. Sam, you're on Dodger Talk. How you doing, Sam,
Speaker 1: I'm doing well, Dave, how are you? I'm doing great.
Speaker 1: It was great to hear Max Munsey's voice.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it was, And I agree with you. We should
Speaker 5: We already have a third base and we don't need
Speaker 5: Dylan Aeronaudo. Max Munsey is awesome. He lengthen lengthens the
Speaker 5: lineup and we just need to stand pat at third base.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I feel like Max Mounsey is one of the
Speaker 1: more underappreciated Dodgers, And I feel like that happens, Sam,
Speaker 1: when a guy's been on the team for seven years.
Speaker 1: You know, before he got hurt, he was playing really
Speaker 1: good third base, and even when he came back he
Speaker 1: made some nice plays in the postseason, and he's a
Speaker 1: guy that takes a lot of pitches, gets on bass,
Speaker 1: will hit a home run, and in a lineup like
Speaker 1: the Dodgers have, he is part of the sum. Is
Speaker 1: a guy that is greater with the Dodgers than without
Speaker 1: the Dodgers. And I feel the same about Tai Oscar Hernandez.
Speaker 1: The sum is greater than the parts with those two guys.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, most definitely. I'm so excited about the new
Speaker 5: season coming up and and excited that we got Tao
Speaker 5: back as well. I wanted to share if I could,
Speaker 5: where I was or where my family and I were
Speaker 5: during the home run Freddie Freeman's home running Game one.
Speaker 1: Oh please, se we need, we need some good spirits,
Speaker 1: good vibes, no doubt. Tell us where you were when
Speaker 1: Freddie hit his walk off grand Slam. Well, we were.
Speaker 5: At home watching it on TV, obviously, and uh, it
Speaker 5: was eight of us, my wife and our six kids,
Speaker 5: and it was just it was.
Speaker 3: Like so memorable.
Speaker 5: Everybody when that when that ball was hit, I was
Speaker 5: immediately in shock. Everybody else is just screaming and yelling
Speaker 5: and going crazy, and I was the only one and
Speaker 5: that was, you know, quiet, and I was just in shock,
Speaker 5: and I couldn't believe, literally, I couldn't believe what I
Speaker 5: had just seen, and and it just it was just
Speaker 5: so surreal that it happened. And I remember it vividly
Speaker 5: to the nineteen eighty eight home run with Gibbie, and
Speaker 5: it was just it was just it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's our generation, your kids generation of what
Speaker 1: we experienced in nineteen eighty eight because I was a teenager,
Speaker 1: a young teenager, twelve years old when just about thirteen,
Speaker 1: when Gibson hit his home run, So you know that
Speaker 1: that was our moment, and now your kids have their moments. Sam.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, they'll always remember that, and thankfully for YouTube,
Speaker 5: will always will always have it whenever we want to
Speaker 5: see it.
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, have you showed your kids the Gibson home run, Sam,
Speaker 1: because that's on YouTube and very clear pictures.
Speaker 5: Yes, they've probably almost to the point where where they're
Speaker 5: growing super tired of watching that video. And thankfully, you know,
Speaker 5: Freddy hit this one and now and now they can
Speaker 5: start growing tired of this video. I don't think I
Speaker 5: ever will, but but yeah, it's.
Speaker 1: It was excellent all right, Sam, be safe out there
Speaker 1: and you Kaipa, and thanks for sharing that with us.
Speaker 1: And like I said last week, Sam was listening. Of course,
Speaker 1: I don't care if it's the dog days of August
Speaker 1: five years from now. I want to hear where you
Speaker 1: were when Freddie Freeman hit his walk off grand Slam.
Speaker 1: You can call in with that anytime, because that is
Speaker 1: not only one of the greatest moments in Dodger history,
Speaker 1: that will go down as one of the greatest home
Speaker 1: runs in postseason history. First time ever in postseason history,
Speaker 1: a walk off grand slam in a World Series game.
Speaker 1: I mean, just unbelievable for Freddy, for the team, for
Speaker 1: his dad. They could show that in Kirk Gibson's home
Speaker 1: run forever. I'll never get tired of it. So thanks
Speaker 1: for sharing, Sam, appreciate that. Hey, before we run out
Speaker 1: of time tonight, I just want to let you know that, Yeah,
Speaker 1: Roki Sazaki is at the top of the free agent
Speaker 1: list right now, with January fifteenth just a few days away,
Speaker 1: six days away from the first first possible day that
Speaker 1: he can sign with the team the window January fifteenth
Speaker 1: to January twenty third, But also don't count out the
Speaker 1: Dodgers to sign reliever Tanner Scott. From what I've been told,
Speaker 1: that's real and now we're hearing the Mets are interested
Speaker 1: in Tanner Scott. If they were interested in Tanner Scott,
Speaker 1: why haven't they signed him yet? Yeah? I know they
Speaker 1: signed Jan Soto to a big contract, but if they
Speaker 1: wanted Tanner Scott, why haven't they signed him him yet.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers and Tanner Scott have been kind of eyeing
Speaker 1: each other all off season long, and I would not
Speaker 1: count the Dodgers out, as hard as that is to believe.
Speaker 1: After extending Tommy Edmund, bringing back to Oscar Hernandez, signing
Speaker 1: Blake SNeW, Yes, there is a possibility the dot a
Speaker 1: real possibility the Dodgers could sign Tanner Scott. They need
Speaker 1: another major league arm in that bullpen. Tanner Scott's really
Speaker 1: good and it's not just a talk out there. The
Speaker 1: Dodgers and Tanner Scott have been eyeing each other all
Speaker 1: off season long. Also, part of the off season retooling
Speaker 1: of the roster included the Dodgers trading Gavin Lux on
Speaker 1: Monday to the Cincinnati Reds. What that does for the
Speaker 1: Dodgers is obviously give Gavin an opportunity to not be
Speaker 1: a part time player. With the logjam, the Dodgers have
Speaker 1: now up the middle with versatile players that can play
Speaker 1: both second and short and even in some instances, the outfield.
Speaker 1: But it also frees up a forty man roster spot.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers are at thirty nine right now, so if
Speaker 1: they are going to sign Roki Sazaki, they need a
Speaker 1: spot on their forty man roster, and now they have
Speaker 1: two actually because Diego Kartaya was on the forty man
Speaker 1: roster for the Dodgers starting last year. So right now
Speaker 1: the Dodgers have two spots on their forty man roster
Speaker 1: after the trade of Gavin Lux and Diego Kartaya, which
Speaker 1: opens one up for Roki Sazaki and also opens up
Speaker 1: the door wider for the possibility to bring back keyk Hernandez.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers want him back. Keyk wants back in, so
Speaker 1: they're I don't know why people think that's not a
Speaker 1: real possibility. Uh, that is a real possibility, and keyk
Speaker 1: Hernandez loves being a Dodger. The Dodgers probably are the
Speaker 1: best fit for Key k Hernandez. They both know that,
Speaker 1: and there's no urgency to sign Key k right now.
Speaker 1: He's not going to sign before Alex Bregman. So uh,
Speaker 1: that's where that stands. And now the Dodgers, with the
Speaker 1: trade of Kartaya and lux have given themselves a little
Speaker 1: bit more roster flexibility. And when it comes to Clayton Kershaw,
Speaker 1: he's coming back, but he's going to start the year
Speaker 1: on the injured list, So the Dodgers don't want to
Speaker 1: have to fill a forty man roster spot with Kershaw
Speaker 1: right now. It's possible they me do that now, but
Speaker 1: the likelihood is Kershaw starting the season on the sixty
Speaker 1: day IL and you could start putting guys on that
Speaker 1: injured list the first day of spring training. But now
Speaker 1: with two roster spots on their forty man the Kershaw
Speaker 1: signing may be imminent because you know he wants as
Speaker 1: a free agent. Technically, you can't get in with the
Speaker 1: trainers and the medical staff of a team, even if
Speaker 1: you are Clayton Kershaw. So I wouldn't be surprised if
Speaker 1: the Kershaw signing now happens before the end of January.
Speaker 1: And certainly the Dodgers are holding a spot open for
Speaker 1: Roki Sazaki in the immediate future, and from there they'll
Speaker 1: find a way to maneuver, and they're looking for another,
Speaker 1: like I said, major league reliever, whether that's Tanner, Scott
Speaker 1: or somebody else. So you gotta have forty man roster
Speaker 1: spots to be able to bring in even more talent
Speaker 1: to a loaded roster, not only major league roster, but
Speaker 1: also a forty man roster. And if you look at
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, by the way, at second and shortstop, they
Speaker 1: have five players currently on their roster that can play
Speaker 1: second and short, and they also have four of those
Speaker 1: five that can play the outfield, including High Song Kim.
Speaker 1: He is not just a second baseman. The Dodgers ce
Speaker 1: High Sung Kim as a Korean version of Chris Taylor
Speaker 1: and keyk Hernandez, a super utility player that can play second,
Speaker 1: that can play short, that can play the outfield. So
Speaker 1: you got Tommy Edmund who can play second, short in
Speaker 1: center at a high level. You got High Song Kim
Speaker 1: that can play second short, and I guess there's video
Speaker 1: John Harttungue told me of Kim playing left field in Korea.
Speaker 1: You got Mookie Betts who can play short, second, right field,
Speaker 1: center field. You got Miguel Rojas who can play all
Speaker 1: four infield positions. And you got Chris Taylor who has
Speaker 1: one more year left on his contract at a very
Speaker 1: high price tag, so for now he's on the roster.
Speaker 1: So you have a lot of versatile players that can
Speaker 1: play a lot of different positions, and Gavin Lux just
Speaker 1: didn't fit in that equation anymore. All right, that'll do
Speaker 1: it for us on Dodger Talk tonight. Thank you for
Speaker 1: being with us. You can podcast the show, you can
Speaker 1: podcast or interview with Max Munsey. We will be back
Speaker 1: with you next week. Stay close to x and Instagram
Speaker 1: for the update on when our shows are next week.
Speaker 1: And like I said, for all the late breaking news
Speaker 1: on the fires and where you can get help, our
Speaker 1: sister station AM six forty KFI can provide you with
Speaker 1: all that. And please please be safe out there, please
Speaker 1: be vigilant, and please let's take care of each other.
Speaker 1: Have a great rest of your night. Fox Sports Radios
Speaker 1: next see you on the eight, one eighth