Speaker 1: Dodger Talk is sponsored by LA Care Health Plan, providing
Speaker 1: affordable healthcare insurance to millions of Angelinos for over twenty
Speaker 1: five years, and now your voice for Dodger Talking like back,
Speaker 1: David Vasse.
Speaker 2: We are live at Dodgers Stadium after the Dodgers defeat
Speaker 2: the Pirates tonight by a final score of nine to five.
Speaker 2: Welcome the Dodger Talk David Vase with you until eleven
Speaker 2: thirty tonight here on a five to seventy LA Sports
Speaker 2: Phone lines are open at eight six, six, nine eighty
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy.
Speaker 3: Jose Moto will check in at eleven ten.
Speaker 2: We also will share part of our conversation with Dusty Baker,
Speaker 2: who joined us on the pregame show before he was
Speaker 2: inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball and a very
Speaker 2: special pregame ceremony. And I love that the Dodgers decided
Speaker 2: to give the members that are inducted into this leg
Speaker 2: Legends of Dodger Baseball a blue coat that had the
Speaker 2: Dodgers' LA logo on the coat as well. That makes
Speaker 2: it a little bit more ceremonial and a little bit
Speaker 2: more special, especially when you bring these guys back. It's
Speaker 2: somewhat reminiscent of what the Reds do when they induct
Speaker 2: their players into their Hall of Fame.
Speaker 3: So that was really cool to see.
Speaker 2: And cannot say good enough things about Dusty Baker, who,
Speaker 2: even though I've known him for a shorter amount of
Speaker 2: time than many in Los Angeles and around baseball, he
Speaker 2: just makes you feel like you're part of his family
Speaker 2: and that he's known you forever. So that's what makes
Speaker 2: him special. And we'll hear from Dusty a little bit later,
Speaker 2: but first we want to get to this game. The
Speaker 2: Dodgers needed to win it, right, and we will get
Speaker 2: to Mookie Betts and what's going on with him in
Speaker 2: just a moment. But the Dodgers needed to win this
Speaker 2: game because the Padres and Diamondbacks are right on their heels.
Speaker 2: This is a division race right now in the NLS.
Speaker 2: The Padres and Diamondbacks are playing much better. The Padres
Speaker 2: got better at the trade deadline. The Diamondbacks are getting
Speaker 2: healthy with Eduardo Rodriguez and also Merrill Kelly on the horizons,
Speaker 2: and they are three and a half games back of
Speaker 2: the Dodgers. The Padres now are in second place two
Speaker 2: and a half games back of the Dodgers San Diego
Speaker 2: one tonight in ten innings against the Marlins six to two,
Speaker 2: while the Diamondbacks used a walk off home run by
Speaker 2: Adrian dale Castillo to beat the Phillies in the Desert.
Speaker 2: So that's where the standings are right now. Dodgers lead
Speaker 2: Arizona two and a half games and also lead the
Speaker 2: Padres by three and a half games in the nlst
Speaker 2: Jack Flaherty a special night for him to come back
Speaker 2: to Dodgers Stadium and pitch well. One mistake pitch to
Speaker 2: Joey Bart and his line would have looked a lot different. Instead,
Speaker 2: he's charged with four earned runs instead of one in
Speaker 2: five and two's innings. He threw one hundred and ten
Speaker 2: pitches and it must have been really emotional for him
Speaker 2: and his mom after the game because she was sitting
Speaker 2: behind home played as Jack was pitching tonight at Dodger
Speaker 2: Stadium in a Dodger uniform for the first time, and
Speaker 2: that's pretty special. Let's head downstairs right now to the
Speaker 2: Dodger Clubhouse to hear from tonight's winning pitcher, Jack Flaherty
Speaker 2: on sports and at LA.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't really know if there's like words for it.
Speaker 4: I was a little bit sped up there in the
Speaker 4: in the first and in first hit her. It doesn't
Speaker 4: usually happen, you know at this point, like but you know,
Speaker 4: things are moving a little fast. Just excited, a lot
Speaker 4: of emotions, a lot of things going just going through
Speaker 4: my head, going and warm it up and everything. It
Speaker 4: was trying to take it all in. Yeah, just uh,
Speaker 4: just a lot of fun. And then these guys came
Speaker 4: out swung the bats tonight, getting a lead like that.
Speaker 5: You know, for me, it's just you know, you just
Speaker 5: continue to go out and attack.
Speaker 4: But you know, Jay it was great defensively, everybody was,
Speaker 4: but you know, he made a couple of plays that
Speaker 4: were huge, and you know, guys came out and swung it,
Speaker 4: you know, Freddie getting up there and going what nuts
Speaker 4: in and then from there guy they just added on
Speaker 4: never stopped.
Speaker 5: So it was it was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what was it like in that standing ovation there
Speaker 2: a kind of at the end of the At the start.
Speaker 4: I think I was still pissed that I gave up
Speaker 4: the hit and it wasn't I didn't finish the inning.
Speaker 4: So it was it was awesome. It's it's a it's
Speaker 4: a special special feeling just being from here and and
Speaker 4: getting that and having that uh that moment there.
Speaker 5: Yeah, just all around special.
Speaker 6: And I kind of mentioned that that you you've battled
Speaker 6: against Freddy and and guys could show hey for a
Speaker 6: long time and now they what's it like having them
Speaker 6: on your side and seeing them their thing you on
Speaker 6: the mount?
Speaker 5: Well, I'm asking Show. I had to show me something
Speaker 5: for a couple of days.
Speaker 4: So it was nice to just just it's nice of
Speaker 4: him to hit a home right today. But going against
Speaker 4: a bunch of guys in here with Freddy and Show
Speaker 4: and Jay Haig, you could go up and down the
Speaker 4: lineup even you know, Will and and uh tay Oscar
Speaker 4: tough outs, tough guys to get out, you really got
Speaker 4: to execute your stuff and you really got to go
Speaker 4: out and do you think.
Speaker 5: So it's nice to, you know, to be out there
Speaker 5: side Soger came over here just two and zero and
Speaker 5: your two stars. I think Gil, it's gone through your
Speaker 5: slip bow. It's been good. There's there's some things to
Speaker 5: clean up.
Speaker 4: Wanting to get through that six to be a little
Speaker 4: bit more efficient, you know, to do that. The fourth
Speaker 4: and fifth got to be a little bit better, just
Speaker 4: you know, made some some tough pitches, just uh, you know,
Speaker 4: leaving that slider over the middle of the play to Bart.
Speaker 5: He did he didn't supposed to do with it.
Speaker 4: So there's still some things to clean up and try
Speaker 4: to get deeper into the game and and uh, you know,
Speaker 4: continue to help this team out.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: There's Jack Flaherty, who won the game tonight at Dodgers
Speaker 2: Stadium nine to five. Jack Flaherty is one his first
Speaker 2: two starts with the Dodgers. Mitch Keller is the losing
Speaker 2: pitcher tonight, and I love that Jack Flaherty tipped his
Speaker 2: cap to Jason Hayward and Miguel Rojas because early in
Speaker 2: this game, Miguel Ross saved a run making a great
Speaker 2: play at short stop, and Jason Hayward played great right
Speaker 2: field tonight, making a few great catches to limit the
Speaker 2: number of pitches in certain innings for Jack Flaherty, including
Speaker 2: the diving catch he made in the second inning to
Speaker 2: rob Brian de la Cruz that was a great catch,
Speaker 2: and also the one he made on Key Brian Hayes
Speaker 2: in the sixth inning eight six six nine eighty seven
Speaker 2: two five seventy is the phone number. Dodgers beat the
Speaker 2: Pirates tonight nine to five behind Jack Flaherty's ten strikeouts,
Speaker 2: and all in all, with Jack Flaherty's ten strikeouts and
Speaker 2: the relievers coming in to strike out six batters, the
Speaker 2: Dodgers struck out a season high sixteen hitters tonight that
Speaker 2: ties a season high. They also struck out sixteen Giants
Speaker 2: on July twenty fifth. So good to see Jack Flaherty
Speaker 2: out there here at Dodgers Stadium, and also great to
Speaker 2: see Anthony Bonda continue to pitch well. It's now nine
Speaker 2: consecutives scoreless appearing and sis for Anthony Bonda, who came
Speaker 2: in to get the final out of the sixth inning
Speaker 2: and then came back to retire the Pirates in order
Speaker 2: in the seventh inning, followed by Evan Phillips getting back
Speaker 2: on track. Is perfect eighth inning against the bottom of
Speaker 2: the Pirates order, Dave Roberts trying to get Evan's confidence
Speaker 2: back up, putting him in a great position to succeed
Speaker 2: in that situation, and Daniel Hudson, the veteran getting the
Speaker 2: final three outs tonight here at Dodgers Stadium, eight six
Speaker 2: six ninety seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: Nine to five the final score tonight as the Dodgers
Speaker 2: beat the Pirates and maintain a two and a half
Speaker 2: game lead over the second place Padres and a three
Speaker 2: and a half game lead over the third place Arizona Diamondbacks.
Speaker 3: All right.
Speaker 2: Earlier today, the Dodgers made the announcement that Mookie Betts
Speaker 2: will return on Monday, as the Dodgers set out on
Speaker 2: a seven game road trip for in Milwaukee and three
Speaker 2: in Saint Louis. Mookie will return Monday, but he will
Speaker 2: not be playing shortstop. When he comes back, he will
Speaker 2: be going to right field. And Dave Roberts, I'll say
Speaker 2: it again, Mookie Betts is going back to right field.
Speaker 2: And when we arrived today, Mookie Bets and Chris Taylor
Speaker 2: were participating in a live batting practice situation and in
Speaker 2: between at bat simulating innings, Mookie Betts went out to
Speaker 2: play defense, not at shortstop, but he was out there
Speaker 2: in right field taking fly balls from first base and
Speaker 2: outfield coach Clayton McCullough and Dino Ebel was in there
Speaker 2: assisting as well, and that raised a lot of eyebrows
Speaker 2: from me at least because I know Dave Roberts said
Speaker 2: a few days ago that maybe Mookie would transition to
Speaker 2: right field in September. But when he's going after it
Speaker 2: at right field the way he was this afternoon, you
Speaker 2: kind of had a feeling it was going to be
Speaker 2: a more immediate position change than just gradually easing into it.
Speaker 2: And look, going back to May, I said, people were
Speaker 2: missing the biggest question that nobody was asking, and that
Speaker 2: was why isn't Mookie Betts playing right field with Miguel
Speaker 2: Rojas on this roster? And the Dodgers have decided that
Speaker 2: with just less than two months to go in the
Speaker 2: season and a division lead that is down to two
Speaker 2: and a half games, they need to find some urgency
Speaker 2: and not just kind of figure things out. The time
Speaker 2: to figure things out was in the first half of
Speaker 2: the season, and maybe if you had a ten game lead,
Speaker 2: they could have had the luxury to let Mookie go
Speaker 2: back to shortstop and see whether or not Jason Hayward
Speaker 2: and Andy pa Has can get back on track.
Speaker 3: They don't have that luxury. We're in the middle of August.
Speaker 2: Now, it's not May, it's not June, it's August, and
Speaker 2: your division lead is down to two and a half games.
Speaker 2: The pieces to this puzzle fit better with Mookie Bets
Speaker 2: in right field and Miguel Rojas at shortstop. And you
Speaker 2: know who kind of changed the whole complexion of this
Speaker 2: and really forced the conversation to be had was Gavin
Speaker 2: Lux and the way he's been swinging the bat since
Speaker 2: the All Star break. If he was swinging the bat
Speaker 2: the same way he was the first half of the season,
Speaker 2: there's no doubt in my mind Mookie Bets would have
Speaker 2: just slid over to second base. But with Lux swinging
Speaker 2: the bat the way he is and playing a solid
Speaker 2: second base, there is no question in my mind or
Speaker 2: the Dodger's mind that right field was the best place
Speaker 2: for Mookie Betts. The reality of the matter is that
Speaker 2: the Dodgers need more production from their right fielder, because
Speaker 2: if you look at the way things have gone uh without,
Speaker 2: you know, Taoscar Hernandez has moved to right field a
Speaker 2: few times right this year. With Tioscar Hernandez in right field,
Speaker 2: he's hitting two ninety five with thirteen home runs. Everybody
Speaker 2: else that has played right field this year is hitting
Speaker 2: a combined two oh eight with seven home runs. The
Speaker 2: Dodgers needed Mooki Bets in right field to give their
Speaker 2: outfield more production. So Taoscar Hernandez and left, Mookie Bets
Speaker 2: and right, and when Tommy Edmund returns, he will be
Speaker 2: in center field. What does that mean for Andy Paz
Speaker 2: and Jason Hayward.
Speaker 3: I'm not sure.
Speaker 2: Maybe Hayward plays a little bit of center field, but
Speaker 2: for the most part, it's going to be Mooki Bets
Speaker 2: in right field. And if for some reason Gavin Lux
Speaker 2: starts to slow down or go into a slump, I
Speaker 2: could see a similar situation to what we saw last year,
Speaker 2: where Mooki moves into the dirt at second base and
Speaker 2: Hayward's out there in right field against against right handed pitching.
Speaker 2: But for now, Mooki Betts is the right fielder, and
Speaker 2: I'm very happy to see that Mooki Bets. I mean,
Speaker 2: what can you say about this guy? How many superstars
Speaker 2: would be bounced around to three different positions from the
Speaker 2: starter spring training?
Speaker 3: Not too many.
Speaker 2: But Mooki Betts obviously has the financial security of a
Speaker 2: long term contract. He has a team that is trying
Speaker 2: to win the World Series. He's not oblivious to this
Speaker 2: Dave Roberts said that he called Mooki. They had a
Speaker 2: great conversation, and he asked, Mooky, where are you most
Speaker 2: confident defensively, and he said it's right field.
Speaker 3: So that's the reason why Mooki's going to right field.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine, eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number part of the reason why Mookie's going
Speaker 2: to right field. And we can get into the Dodgers'
Speaker 2: batting order. Let's not forget when Mookie Betts got hit
Speaker 2: by a pitch on his left hand.
Speaker 3: He was on his way to winning.
Speaker 2: The National League MVP as the Dodgers shortstop and as
Speaker 2: the Dodgers' leadoff hitter. All this talk about how Shoe
Speaker 2: ha Otani is a more productive lead off hitter than
Speaker 2: Mookie Bets, A lot of people have short memories because
Speaker 2: Mookie Bets this year, before he broke his left hand
Speaker 2: on a pitch, was hitting three or four. His on
Speaker 2: base percentage, which is important as a leadoff hitter, was
Speaker 2: four or five. His OPS which combines is on base
Speaker 2: and slugging percentage, was eight ninety two. He has more
Speaker 2: leadoff home runs than any Dodger in franchise history. A
Speaker 2: guy that has hit more leadoff home runs than virtually
Speaker 2: everybody else in Major League Baseball that's playing right now.
Speaker 2: I don't have the numbers off the top of my head,
Speaker 2: but let's not forget Mookie Betts was the National League
Speaker 2: MVP or on his way to that before he broke
Speaker 2: his left hand. And I'm a big believer when you
Speaker 2: have a power hitter like show Hey Otani, you want
Speaker 2: to let him eat. Mike Sosha said this a few
Speaker 2: different times. That's why he loved having Otani hitting third
Speaker 2: or fourth, because he wanted more men on base. And
Speaker 2: if you're hitting third, what is that compared to leading off?
Speaker 2: As far as the difference in number of at bats
Speaker 2: in a season, is it fifty maybe at the most,
Speaker 2: But you want guys on base. And when you got
Speaker 2: Freddy Freeman and Muki Bets hitting ahead of you, you're
Speaker 2: going to eat. You're going to hit three run home runs.
Speaker 2: I'm fine with Otani hitting second, and I personally believe
Speaker 2: this lineup right now will eventually go back to what
Speaker 2: we saw to start the season. It's a lot to
Speaker 2: ask Mooki Betts to miss six weeks and then come
Speaker 2: back and have the burden of being a leadoff hitter again.
Speaker 2: I personally believe this is kind of the Dodgers easing
Speaker 2: Mookie back into it, and once he gets a rhythm
Speaker 2: at the plate, I feel like Mooki Bets eventually will
Speaker 2: go back to being the leadoff hitter for the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: Here's what Dave Roberts had to say before the game
Speaker 2: today regarding what Muki Bets said to a few different
Speaker 2: beat writers, essentially saying Otani wanted to lead off and
Speaker 2: we all just fall in line after that.
Speaker 3: Here was Dave's response to that question.
Speaker 7: Show Hey would hit anywhere. So I know that Muki
Speaker 7: said that, but Shohy has done the same thing that
Speaker 7: Muki Hit said the same thing Mukia said. Wherever you
Speaker 7: want me to hit, I'll hit. I think for me,
Speaker 7: the game is telling us who we have on our
Speaker 7: roster as far as show Hey and Freddie. It's telling
Speaker 7: me that show Hey should lead off and to split
Speaker 7: those lefties up. So I didn't honestly have to have
Speaker 7: a conversation with show Hey.
Speaker 2: All right, there's Dave Roberts, and here was Mookie's direct
Speaker 2: quote two days ago to Jack Harris Juantribio and Bill
Speaker 2: Plunkett quote, there's nothing really you can say. Whatever show
Speaker 2: Hey says, goes and after that we kind of all
Speaker 2: fall in line. So that's what he said, and that
Speaker 2: was the response by Dave Roberts. Look, these are three MVPs.
Speaker 2: You hit him anywhere, especially Freddie like tonight, double home run,
Speaker 2: stolen base. He could fall out of bed and hit.
Speaker 2: He can miss nine games and hit no matter where
Speaker 2: it is. Second, third, Mookie Bets. Going back to twenty
Speaker 2: twenty when the Dodgers started the season with Max Muncie
Speaker 2: as their leadoff hitter and not Mookie Bets, he said,
Speaker 2: and he had a meeting with Dave Roberts and Andrew
Speaker 2: Freeman during that season, that COVID season and said, look,
Speaker 2: I want to lead off.
Speaker 3: That's my spot. And Mooki has.
Speaker 2: Told me on the record many times that he feels
Speaker 2: more control of the game leading off. And he used
Speaker 2: the analogy, it's like a point guard in the NBA.
Speaker 2: You have the ball, you're the guy, You're the point guy.
Speaker 2: That's how he feels as a leadoff hitter. And who's
Speaker 2: to argue he's one of the best leadoff hitters in
Speaker 2: the history of baseball. But he has missed six weeks,
Speaker 2: and I feel like once he comes back and gets
Speaker 2: a rhythm and feels confident about where he's at, and
Speaker 2: I feel like Mookie Betts will go back to the
Speaker 2: leadoff spot. Eight six six seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. We're gonna take a time out here
Speaker 2: on Dodgery Talk when we come back. We have two
Speaker 2: lines open at eight sixty six nine eighty seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy.
Speaker 3: We'll take your phone calls.
Speaker 2: We'll check in with Jose Mota, and we'll share part
Speaker 2: of our conversation with the great Dusty Baker, who is
Speaker 2: honored before tonight's game as the Dodgers behind Jack Flaherty,
Speaker 2: Freddy Freeman, Shoho Tani and the rest beat the Pirates
Speaker 2: nine to five on a five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: On air at AM five to seventy, online at AM
Speaker 1: five seventy LA sports dot com, and available by podcast
Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3: This is Dodger Talk with David Bassi. Strenth will be
Speaker 3: running with this Spif there he goes and the bitch
Speaker 3: Holner kick Kenny belts it deep to left back toward
Speaker 3: the wall.
Speaker 2: It is off the glove Brian Reynolds and into the
Speaker 2: crowd for a home run Kick.
Speaker 3: K Hernandez with a two run shot. It is nine
Speaker 3: to four.
Speaker 2: Big home run by Keith k Hernandez. That was the
Speaker 2: eleventh pitch of that at bat against Domingo Herman. As
Speaker 2: Key K a Hernandez hit It's a two run home
Speaker 2: run in the bottom of the fifth inning to really
Speaker 2: get the momentum back on the Dodgers side after Joey
Speaker 2: Bart hit a three run home run off of Jack
Speaker 2: Flaherty to make this somewhat of a game, and then
Speaker 2: KEYK got the momentum back for the Dodgers as they
Speaker 2: go on to beat the Pirates tonight nine to five.
Speaker 2: In Jack Flaherty's Dodgers Stadium debut as a Dodger. Flarity
Speaker 2: went five and two thirds innings tonight with ten strikeouts
Speaker 2: to pick up his second win in Dodger Blue. Daniel's
Speaker 2: Jewelers is the official sponsor of the Trip around the Diamond.
Speaker 2: Stop by any Daniel's location and say home run for
Speaker 2: your free team bracelet and fifty dollars gift card toward
Speaker 2: any purchase of ninety nine dollars or more Daniels Jewelers
Speaker 2: Own the Dream. We have lines open at eight six, six, nine,
Speaker 2: eighty seven, two, five seventy. Before we get to the
Speaker 2: phone calls, I just want to say something more about
Speaker 2: that Key K home run, like I mentioned during the
Speaker 2: Dodger Clubhouse show. And maybe it's because it's Alumni weekend.
Speaker 2: I get a little nostalgic when you see all these
Speaker 2: great Dodger players that have meant so much to this organization.
Speaker 2: And you don't always have to go back to the fifties,
Speaker 2: the sixties, the seventies, or eighties. You can go back
Speaker 2: to just twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen. Those teams were great,
Speaker 2: winning back to back National League Championship titles, and their
Speaker 2: mantra in that dugout was always to be on the
Speaker 2: top step, encouraging the guy at the play to say
Speaker 2: keep going, keep going, keep going. And Keith a was
Speaker 2: part of those teams, and that at bat reminded me
Speaker 2: of the toughness of those teams, not just and when
Speaker 2: I say toughness, mental toughness to keep going. And that's
Speaker 2: what the Dodgers need to do as the division race
Speaker 2: is as tight as it's been all season long.
Speaker 3: With the San Diego Padres only.
Speaker 2: Two and a half games back in the NL West
Speaker 2: and the Diamondbacks three and a half game back of
Speaker 2: the Dodgers. Eight six six nine seven two five seventy
Speaker 2: is the phone number. Let's go out to El Segundo. Aaron,
Speaker 2: you're on Dodger Talk with David maasse hi erin.
Speaker 8: Hey, what's up, Dave.
Speaker 9: Nice to talk to you again.
Speaker 8: Hey, you did a great job with Petros yesterday at
Speaker 8: the stadium. That was great. Yeah, that was kind of
Speaker 8: that was nice. So the Robas thing, he we know,
Speaker 8: he wasn't built to do the whole year, and uh
Speaker 8: and Mookie did a lot of work at shortstop. So
Speaker 8: now that it's getting towards the pressure time, if they
Speaker 8: did in the season and he's fresh and a little hot,
Speaker 8: that's not a bad move to put Mookie back in
Speaker 8: the right field, you know.
Speaker 2: Well, and I'll say this, Aaron, it's not about the
Speaker 2: whole season anymore. This is a sprint. There's only forty
Speaker 2: six games left in the year, so this is a sprint.
Speaker 2: And I have full confidence Miguel Rojas can hand playing
Speaker 2: forty six games or you know, they will give them
Speaker 2: days off. So somewhere between thirty five and forty games.
Speaker 2: I'm pretty confident he can handle that.
Speaker 8: Yeah, because I remember earlier in the season and you're like,
Speaker 8: Ross cannot do one sixty two.
Speaker 3: Well, no, it's not sixty perfect.
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's a supriated now working out perfect.
Speaker 2: All right, Eron, thanks a lot for the phone call,
Speaker 2: appreciate it. Yeah, this is no longer a marathon. This
Speaker 2: is a.
Speaker 3: Sprint to the finish line.
Speaker 2: Forty six games to go, and the Dodgers have a
Speaker 2: two and a half game lead in the NL West.
Speaker 2: The urgency has got to be there. Let's go out
Speaker 2: to Redondo Beach. Steve, you're at Dodger Talk. How you doing, Steve.
Speaker 10: Good Dave love your show a lot, And I was
Speaker 10: at the game tonight. It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 10: And just as the pieces are falling back together for
Speaker 10: the players coming back to the lineup, I just wonder
Speaker 10: where Max Monsy fits in and when he does come
Speaker 10: back with that oblique injury, how much which does that
Speaker 10: effect his ability to come back and impact the game
Speaker 10: as a batter and his power hitting, And then do
Speaker 10: you think he'll slide right back to third base and
Speaker 10: what kind of timetable that might be all.
Speaker 3: Right, Steve.
Speaker 2: Well, Max Munsey has gone out to Oklahoma City to
Speaker 2: start a week at least of rehab games, and when
Speaker 2: he does return, he will be the dodgers starting third baseman.
Speaker 2: But he hasn't played a major league games since May fifteenth,
Speaker 2: and he's not Freddie Freeman, so I have a feeling
Speaker 2: there's going to be a period of time where he
Speaker 2: has to knock off the rust. But one thing Max
Speaker 2: Munsey does, even if he's not hitting home runs or
Speaker 2: you know, extra base hits, he's making the opposing pitcher
Speaker 2: work and throw a lot of pitches. So he serves
Speaker 2: a greater purpose in this lineup. So as he is
Speaker 2: working through that, he still will be a net positive
Speaker 2: by making the opposing pitcher throw a lot more pitches
Speaker 2: than he would to say, you know, a first.
Speaker 3: Pitch type of hitter.
Speaker 11: All right, thank you, all.
Speaker 3: Right, Steve, thank you for the phone call.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Tommy Edmund and Max Munsey are headed out for
Speaker 2: at least a week worth of rehab games in Oklahoma City,
Speaker 2: and hopefully they'll be back when the Dodgers return home
Speaker 2: after this seven game road trip to Milwaukee and Saint Louis.
Speaker 2: Let's go out to my hometown, Canoga Park.
Speaker 3: Ben. You're on Dodger Talk. How you doing, Ben?
Speaker 11: Hey, David, thanks for taking my call. Man, I'm doing
Speaker 11: pretty well.
Speaker 2: I used to live on Ponce Avenue in Canoga Park.
Speaker 7: Ben.
Speaker 2: That's where I fell in love with baseball, thanks to
Speaker 2: Dusty Baker.
Speaker 11: Oh that's that's awesome to hear. Yeah, you told me
Speaker 11: that one time I've called in before. Uh.
Speaker 3: Well, I just reminded you didn't go.
Speaker 11: To Canoga Park High School?
Speaker 4: Did you?
Speaker 11: Home of the Hunters.
Speaker 3: No? I was not a Canoga Park High School Hunter. No,
Speaker 3: I was not. I went to great school.
Speaker 2: I went to our Lady of the Valley on Topenga
Speaker 2: Canyon and Sherman Way right there.
Speaker 11: Oh gotcha. Okay, Well listen, I just want to I
Speaker 11: hope you're right, you know about Mookie BET's going to
Speaker 11: go back into that leadoff spot after he gets acclimated,
Speaker 11: you know, after this injury. Because if I'm Mookie Betts,
Speaker 11: we got to keep him happy, you know, like he's
Speaker 11: the first superstar that we've had when we were building
Speaker 11: this team. And I don't have a short memory when
Speaker 11: it comes to Mookie Bets. Hitting leadoff, And Hey, I
Speaker 11: always thought you don't lose your game.
Speaker 2: I always thought you don't lose your job or spot
Speaker 2: to an injury.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 2: You could split up the lefties on opening Day, but
Speaker 2: the Dodgers decided to go with Mooki, Otani and Freeman.
Speaker 3: To me, nothing's changed.
Speaker 2: And honestly, uh, Mookie betts numbers as a leadoff hitter
Speaker 2: are much better than Otani's. I know he's a thirty
Speaker 2: player and has taken advantage of, you know, stealing bases,
Speaker 2: but he can do that hitting second. So we'll see
Speaker 2: what happens. Ben, I feel like this is just Mookie
Speaker 2: Bets missing six weeks. Let's ease him in and let's
Speaker 2: not rock what's working, which is Otani leading off.
Speaker 3: Thanks for the phone call, all right, Ben, Thanks for
Speaker 3: the phone call. I gotta run.
Speaker 2: We'll talk to you soon, okay, all right, all right, Hey,
Speaker 2: speaking of Dusty Baker, he joined us on the pregame show.
Speaker 3: Later in the show.
Speaker 2: We'll let you hear his speech as he was honored
Speaker 2: before tonight's game. But you know, Rick Monday sometimes gets
Speaker 2: overlooked for his importance in Dodger history. He hit the
Speaker 2: home run to send the Dodgers to the World Series
Speaker 2: in nineteen eighty one in Montreal, and he Dusty Baker
Speaker 2: and Reggie Smith were not homegrown Dodgers. They were acquired
Speaker 2: at different points in time from nineteen seventy six during
Speaker 2: the end of the season in Dusty's case, or Rix
Speaker 2: and Reggie Smith being acquired during the offseason. And without
Speaker 2: those three guys, the legendary infield doesn't win a World
Speaker 2: Series title or go to three World Series with those guys.
Speaker 2: Without those guys, and I thought it was cool to
Speaker 2: catch up with Dusty, who was the Dodger that made
Speaker 2: me fall in love with baseball as the games would
Speaker 2: be on in my house, radio, TV, my entire family,
Speaker 2: my parents, they loved Dodger baseball and they loved Dusty Baker.
Speaker 2: So he became my favorite player, my first ever favorite
Speaker 2: player who made me fall in love with the game.
Speaker 2: And I've gotten to know him over the last twenty years,
Speaker 2: and it's always special. It's always a pinch me moment
Speaker 2: when I'm in his presence. And in case you missed
Speaker 2: the full interview, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2: But here's what Dusty Baker had to say about his
Speaker 2: former teammate Rick Monday.
Speaker 6: Mojo.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he said, playing with Mojo, why did you love
Speaker 2: playing with them?
Speaker 3: Well, because you know something I I never.
Speaker 6: Saw him loaf Yeah, I mean, you know, he would
Speaker 6: make you elevate your game because no matter if the
Speaker 6: ball was a pop up to the infield, pop up
Speaker 6: to the catcher, he ran hard all the time.
Speaker 3: He hit a ground ball, he ran.
Speaker 6: Hard all the time. And and and Mojo, uh, you
Speaker 6: know played the game right. And uh, you know the
Speaker 6: other player that I had in San Francisco. Nice of
Speaker 6: telling her here, mind me of Rick Munday's world, Clark.
Speaker 9: Yeah. Yeah, they never loafed.
Speaker 6: And you know, like I enjoyed playing and and and he'd.
Speaker 3: Always goes bag Baker. You know, he could call my
Speaker 3: name like no other. Dusty's the best man.
Speaker 2: Rick Monday, Dusty Baker, Reggie Smith all in the house tonight.
Speaker 2: A great start to alumni weekend. And everybody loves Dusty Baker.
Speaker 2: Have you ever heard anybody say a negative thing about Dusty? Obviously, Uh,
Speaker 2: you know, second guessing, managing decisions is one thing, but
Speaker 2: nobody has ever said anything negative out the man Dusty Baker.
Speaker 2: All right, let's head out to a guy that knows
Speaker 2: Dusty really well, our very own Jose Mota.
Speaker 1: It's tough to go around the horn with Jose Mota.
Speaker 2: Jose Mota was just a little kid running around the
Speaker 2: Dodger Clubhouse when Dusty Baker was in his prime with
Speaker 2: the Dodgers. What are some of your fondest memories being
Speaker 2: around Dusty back then?
Speaker 9: Oh my god, where do I start? I could write
Speaker 9: a whole book on Dusty alone, because remember when the
Speaker 9: doll Lockers used to author and get dressed numerically right,
Speaker 9: So my dad and Dusty eleven twelve, right, so we're
Speaker 9: always next to Dusty. Somehow he was Uncle Dusty, he
Speaker 9: was Papa Dusty, and he was really a mentor to
Speaker 9: us in that clubhouse. And for Johnny b to see
Speaker 9: him with a blue blazer, to see him in Dodger
Speaker 9: blue after his you know, historic runners a manager as
Speaker 9: a player, and you know his his great mentor hand
Speaker 9: care and means the world to me. So I mean,
Speaker 9: I have three things today I want to share with you, David.
Speaker 9: That was number one that made my day. Sky Dusty
Speaker 9: being inducted coming by and saying Helenda Booth was watching
Speaker 9: his former Tea Fernando Baldezuela, who obviously said Dussey was
Speaker 9: a huge part also with him as he came up
Speaker 9: as a young player to kind of be that that referee,
Speaker 9: you know, between the veteran player and the new guy.
Speaker 9: And they got the spokespansh and and Fernando. I appreciate it.
Speaker 9: You know, Dusty's speaking Spanish to him and reach it
Speaker 9: out to connect with the rest of the veteran ployers.
Speaker 9: So so nice to see Johnny Bean I'm the Wizard
Speaker 9: Hall of Fame also here is a big part of
Speaker 9: the Dodgers. And what were the others Charley Steiner back
Speaker 9: in the air, Oh my god, that was one and
Speaker 9: number three Wookie Bess working at in right field. Man,
Speaker 9: that was music to my ears. When I saw that today,
Speaker 9: I was like, oh my god, finally there it is
Speaker 9: where he needs to be and we've been talking about
Speaker 9: it for the last two months. There it is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that was great news and it was
Speaker 2: a sight for sore eyes to see Mooki out there
Speaker 2: in right field. I'm not sure if he's as excited
Speaker 2: as we are, but he understands the situation and as
Speaker 2: Dave Roberts said, Jose, he read the room and understood
Speaker 2: that's what the Dodgers need.
Speaker 9: I mean, you know, we've hammered it. I talked about
Speaker 9: it yesterday with Brogan and Pede. Who's your best shortstop
Speaker 9: right now? And what is Molki Bes's best position right now?
Speaker 9: Is not shortstop. There's no doubt he became an all
Speaker 9: star shortstop, which I applaud him for. He took them both.
Speaker 9: Pounder said, you need me to move again, I'll do it.
Speaker 9: But also, you know, Dave, I spoke with a with
Speaker 9: a star ball player who was a friend of Luki BET's,
Speaker 9: and I'll never forget these words. About three weeks ago,
Speaker 9: he goes, Jose, when I watched Molki Besz play shortstop,
Speaker 9: I feel the stress. And he's a good friend of mine.
Speaker 9: He goes, but I just see that there's way too
Speaker 9: much stress on him. And I'm not seeing that smile.
Speaker 9: You know that, you know, go look the fun guy.
Speaker 9: It doesn't mean he wasn't having fun, but he could tell.
Speaker 9: He goes in his face his stress was on it.
Speaker 9: But I'm glad that you know, as you say, he
Speaker 9: right the room. But I think overall up and for
Speaker 9: physical reasons. I was against that move and for emotional
Speaker 9: reasons too, but now he is much better off going
Speaker 9: out to fill that position because the Dogaries have more
Speaker 9: than capable of short starts and go out there and
Speaker 9: handle it.
Speaker 5: Well.
Speaker 2: Let's not forget as well that he's not just an
Speaker 2: adequate right fielder. He's a six time goal glove right fielder,
Speaker 2: and many consider him one of the best outfielders ever
Speaker 2: in the game of baseball.
Speaker 9: And he works at it just as hard as he
Speaker 9: works the short time he works at us all today.
Speaker 9: I mean those rats that he runs. He knows where
Speaker 9: to throw the baseball, he knows exactly how to peel
Speaker 9: off on a ball in the gap, he knows what
Speaker 9: to do in charge it, he knows how to thiddle
Speaker 9: the baseball, and Mooki is just a complete player in
Speaker 9: so many fastest as a leadoff guy. Whever he's gonna
Speaker 9: hit to begin with, he's gonna end up being a
Speaker 9: leadoff time because that's where he does his best and
Speaker 9: he serves his dollaris the best. So it's great that
Speaker 9: again unselfishly, he's going to do what's best for the
Speaker 9: Wall Club.
Speaker 2: Jose Mote is joining us after the Pirates fall to
Speaker 2: the Dodgers tonight nine to five. Jack Flaherty ten strikeouts
Speaker 2: tonight and five and two thirds innings in his first
Speaker 2: game at Dodger Stadium wearing that Dodger blue.
Speaker 3: What did you think about Jack? Tonight?
Speaker 9: Jack was on his game and so for with on
Speaker 9: one pitch and one thing I like and listen to
Speaker 9: your show driving home, is you know he's got a
Speaker 9: little curse of him where he got a little fire saying, okay,
Speaker 9: it's not just about getting there. There's some things I
Speaker 9: got to clean up. So it was a welcome dot
Speaker 9: your stadium. I have grade. We got to win. He
Speaker 9: got some us to work with. Think that he knows
Speaker 9: he needs to work on those a couple of that
Speaker 9: mixture of sliders that he threw today that he knows
Speaker 9: he's got to sharpen up. I'm glad that things kind
Speaker 9: of slow down to not let the emotionals get on it.
Speaker 9: But what I love the most day, I'll tell you what.
Speaker 9: Brian de la Cruz called time a little bit too
Speaker 9: late and he got to stare from Jack Flaherty, And
Speaker 9: you know you want to see that from guys with
Speaker 9: an egg Okay and say you know what, you don't
Speaker 9: even do that to me? Did his home play. We're competing,
Speaker 9: I have the ball, I am ready, and he got
Speaker 9: the stare down. Just a great thing. Send a message
Speaker 9: out there because I guarantee he won't do it again,
Speaker 9: and people are in the league taking notes about that.
Speaker 9: So he pictures on an edge, urgency, throw stripes, he
Speaker 9: pounds his own and he's gonna give up perhaps so
Speaker 9: you know a lot of people run for their money
Speaker 9: when it comes down to who's going to be the
Speaker 9: top dog in that rotation? Not heading him too, this
Speaker 9: final stretcher.
Speaker 3: Well, that's what I love from Jack Flaherty.
Speaker 2: He set the tone right away in San Diego when
Speaker 2: he joined us on the pregame show. He said he
Speaker 2: was going to bring edge to the Dodgers, and I've
Speaker 2: made notes secret about it. I feel like the Dodgers
Speaker 2: need more edge and doing something like he did tonight
Speaker 2: to Brian day La Cruz is what the Dodgers need
Speaker 2: more of.
Speaker 3: They need to hold their ground.
Speaker 9: That message goes and it turns forms sometimes just the
Speaker 9: mood of a game and the duget You see that, Yeah,
Speaker 9: I just saw that. Guess what maybe I need to
Speaker 9: do that a little bit more too, But overall there
Speaker 9: is the fact that he competes with every pitch. It
Speaker 9: seems like every pitch he throws, there's commission and there's
Speaker 9: a person's behind it. And if he misses here with
Speaker 9: Petter it again will say here's why I threw that pitch,
Speaker 9: and we go out and then again. So obviously he's
Speaker 9: not over. He's got a lot to go and handle
Speaker 9: for the Dodgers, and I'm glad that he's after this
Speaker 9: turn and today he got some runs to work with.
Speaker 2: All right, Jose, thanks a lot for checking in. We'll
Speaker 2: see you out here at the ballpark tomorrow. Alumni Weekend continues,
Speaker 2: and your dad, Manny Mota, a big part of Dodger history.
Speaker 2: So great to have him and his teammates and so
Speaker 2: many other great Dodgers here at Dodgers Stadium.
Speaker 9: Great moments coming up again too, Thanks so much.
Speaker 3: All Right, there he.
Speaker 2: Goes, Jose Mota part of the Dodgers Spanish radio broadcast
Speaker 2: with Pepe and Ingez and Fernando Valenzuela, and we saw
Speaker 2: the Hall of Famer Jimi Hanreen in attendance tonight, so
Speaker 2: that was cool. And Sandy Kofax was at the game tonight.
Speaker 2: He'll be back tomorrow. So really special. And when you
Speaker 2: say Dodgers, yeah, it's we know it's a great organization.
Speaker 3: But what makes it great are the players that.
Speaker 2: Have left it all on the line on the field
Speaker 2: wearing that uniform, going back to the fifty five Dodgers,
Speaker 2: the Boys of Summer, that's where it all started, and
Speaker 2: from there they have paid it forward. And I love
Speaker 2: that the Dodgers still embrace their former players and their history.
Speaker 2: And hopefully these current Dodgers take the opportunity to tap
Speaker 2: into their experience their knowledge, because you are missing a
Speaker 2: great opportunity if you don't. Eight six six nine eight
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number we played
Speaker 2: part of our conversation with Dusty Baker on the pregame show.
Speaker 2: Here was Dusty addressing forty eight thousand plus before first
Speaker 2: pitch tonight as he was honored with the Legends of
Speaker 2: Dodger Baseball induction.
Speaker 6: Well, first, let me say thank you to all the
Speaker 6: fans and TOLLSA not because they they may call equality
Speaker 6: parte in Los paisis and you know, I just want
Speaker 6: to say thank you to my teammates because I'm hoping
Speaker 6: that I helped make them better because they definitely helped
Speaker 6: me be a better ballplayer and a better person. You know,
Speaker 6: I came over from the Braves as a young player.
Speaker 6: I couldn't wait to get to LA because I know
Speaker 6: the La Dodgers were about winning and that was right
Speaker 6: up my alley to try to win. And we had
Speaker 6: a lot of help.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 6: You know the guys that really helped us. When I
Speaker 6: think about it, we're Sandy Copax, Jim Gilliam, Roy Campanella,
Speaker 6: Louke Johnson. I mean, you can name it on and
Speaker 6: on with the guys that that helped us.
Speaker 3: And you know, they.
Speaker 6: Gave us the Dodger trad and the will to win
Speaker 6: and succeed on a daily basis. And I have to
Speaker 6: thank Tomasorda for believing in me because when I was
Speaker 6: with the Braves, Tomasorda told me, he goes that's the
Speaker 6: he's third base coach. He says, man, you need to
Speaker 6: be on the Dodgers. I said really why? He says, well,
Speaker 6: because you got that Dodger body. The Dodgers are always
Speaker 6: the best looking.
Speaker 3: Guys on the field.
Speaker 6: So I'm like, wow, Wow, maybe maybe I'm one of them,
Speaker 6: and so they came and got me a year later.
Speaker 6: You know, that was the turning point in my life
Speaker 6: and the turning point in my career. And uh, you know,
Speaker 6: I really got to thank the fans here. As a
Speaker 6: kid growing up in Riverside, what are the chances of
Speaker 6: me playing for the Dodgers. At that time, it was
Speaker 6: called Chavez ravine And I used to listen to Vince
Speaker 6: Scully on my transistor radio every day and pretend that
Speaker 6: I was Tommy Davis wearing number twelve. And there are
Speaker 6: some kids out there that I know have done the
Speaker 6: same thing. Grow up wanted to be Reggie Smith, Steve Garvey,
Speaker 6: Bill Russell, Davey Lopes. And now you got new heroes
Speaker 6: to emulate and to be like. And we're all witnesses
Speaker 6: that if you really want it and you have the
Speaker 6: desire to win, that you can achieve that goal. That
Speaker 6: every one of you out there have a chance to
Speaker 6: be whatever you want to be in life. And I
Speaker 6: just want to say thank you very much.
Speaker 9: I love you.
Speaker 6: I mean, I don't feel like a legend. These guys made.
Speaker 5: Me a legend.
Speaker 6: Whatever that is, okay, Well, thank you.
Speaker 3: You are a legend.
Speaker 2: Dusty Baker, you meant a lot to so many people
Speaker 2: here in Los Angeles and all over, not just the country,
Speaker 2: the world. I mean Dusty, I mean he It feels weird.
Speaker 2: You feel like you're calling Dusty Baker. You're texting Dusty Baker.
Speaker 2: And you got you know, the President of the United
Speaker 2: States texting him. You got some of the great musicians
Speaker 2: around the world texting him. So he's one of a
Speaker 2: kind and a guy that makes you feel, like I said,
Speaker 2: what makes him special. And Magic Johnson had this quality.
Speaker 2: Kobe Bryant had.
Speaker 3: This quality as well.
Speaker 2: You meet them for the first time, but they make
Speaker 2: you feel like they've known you for fifty years and
Speaker 2: that you're their best friend. That's the quality that Dusty
Speaker 2: Baker has, and certainly we're all blessed to have known him,
Speaker 2: and I'm glad he's enjoying retirement. One of the few
Speaker 2: men in professional sports to say they won a World
Speaker 2: Series or any sort of championship as a player and
Speaker 2: as a coach or manager. The Dodgers actually have two
Speaker 2: of those type of guys. Dave Roberts can say that,
Speaker 2: so can Mike Soosha, who won two World Series rings.
Speaker 2: With the Dodgers and led the Angels to the two
Speaker 2: championship as well. So certainly a special group of people
Speaker 2: that can say that, all right, that'll do it for
Speaker 2: us on Dodger Talk tonight. Coming up tomorrow, a big
Speaker 2: game here at Dodgers Stadium, one of those headliner games
Speaker 2: because Paul Skeens is going to be on the mound
Speaker 2: for the first time at Dodger Stadium. Paul Skeens versus
Speaker 2: Show Hey Otani Round two in fourteen Stars. Skiens is
Speaker 2: six and one with an ERA of one to ninety
Speaker 2: nine one hundred and seven strikeouts this season for the
Speaker 2: Rookie Sensation out of LSU, going up against River Ryan,
Speaker 2: who is one to zero with an ERA of one
Speaker 2: seventy two. Morongo Casino. Dodgers on Deck begins at five
Speaker 2: o'clock tomorrow, with first pitch at six ' ten, and
Speaker 2: you want to get to the ballpark a little earlier
Speaker 2: because there's going to be a great pregame ceremony surrounding
Speaker 2: the former Dodgers that are here for Alumni weekend and
Speaker 2: also the honoring of the late great owner of the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: Walter O'm thanks to Colin ee back at our Burbank studios,
Speaker 2: thanks to Dwayne McDonald out here at Dodgers Stadium, and
Speaker 2: thanks to you for listening. In case you missed any
Speaker 2: of the show or our full conversation with the great
Speaker 2: Dusty Baker, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app
Speaker 2: once again. The final score tonight from Dodgers Stadium. The
Speaker 2: Dodgers defeat the Pirates nine to five. Have a great
Speaker 2: rest of your Friday night, see y'am.