Speaker 1: And now your host of Dodger Talk, David Vasse.
Speaker 2: Welcome the Dodger Talk David Vasse live at Globelive Field
Speaker 2: in Arlington, Texas, where the Dodgers fall to the Rangers
Speaker 2: in Game two of this three game series.
Speaker 3: By a final score of four to three.
Speaker 2: A Dallas Garcia with a walk off two run home
Speaker 2: run off of Kirby Yates was the difference in the
Speaker 2: game after Josh Smith just missed hitting a game tying
Speaker 2: home run to lead off the ninth inning off of Yates. Instead,
Speaker 2: it went wide of the right field foul poll and
Speaker 2: then he doubled down the left field lines. So Josh
Speaker 2: Smith and Adallas Garcia were not fooled by anything Kirby
Speaker 2: Yates was doing, and standing next to the Dodger dugout
Speaker 2: by the camera, well, just didn't feel like Kirby Yates
Speaker 2: was confident that he could get his former team out
Speaker 2: in the ninth inning, and it just didn't seem like
Speaker 2: he had had the stuff to get those guys.
Speaker 3: Out, and it proved, unfortunately to be true.
Speaker 2: Eight six six seven two five seventy is the phone
Speaker 2: number like I mentioned with Jose Mota during the Clubhouse Show,
Speaker 2: I felt like the secrets of events were changed dramatically
Speaker 2: as far as the way Dave Roberts was lining up
Speaker 2: his bullpen for the final six outs of the game.
Speaker 2: Evan Phillips making his season debut. He was activated before
Speaker 2: the game in case he missed it Blake trying and
Speaker 2: placed on the il with right forearm tightness.
Speaker 3: We'll get to that in a moment.
Speaker 2: But Phillips comes in, gets the first two batters and
Speaker 2: he looked really good. And then Marcus Simeon, the leadoff
Speaker 2: hitter for the Rangers, gets on, and Dave Roberts had
Speaker 2: Alex Vesia warming up to be able to face Corey
Speaker 2: Seeger and possibly some right handers after that, and when
Speaker 2: Vessia had to come in in the eighth inning to
Speaker 2: get the last out and face Seeger, that did not
Speaker 2: allow Dave Roberts to have Alex Vesia out the game,
Speaker 2: because I'm sure he was thinking, in a perfect world,
Speaker 2: he would love to have had Alex Vesia start the
Speaker 2: ninth inning by facing Corey Seeger and then going up
Speaker 2: against the left handed Josh Young and then excuse me,
Speaker 2: Josh Smith, and then take his chances against a Dollas
Speaker 2: Garcia because Vessia is really good against lefties and rightyes,
Speaker 2: So to me, that was the key hit that completely
Speaker 2: rattled what the Dodgers' plans were in the eighth and
Speaker 2: ninth inning of today's game. Now, you might say, why
Speaker 2: not Tanner Scott, Well, it would have been three games
Speaker 2: in four days, and let's be honest, Tanner Scott hasn't
Speaker 2: been the Tanner Scott we saw last year, at least
Speaker 2: to start the year.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, seven saves, but even Dave Roberts conceded that his
Speaker 2: slider and his fastball have not had the teeth that
Speaker 2: they had last year and that we're accustomed to seeing
Speaker 2: Tanner Scott have. So you know, I can understand why
Speaker 2: he's going to occurs in that situation because obviously he
Speaker 2: had Vesia up, and you know, you can't run these
Speaker 2: guys into the ground after just the first we're not
Speaker 2: even at the twenty five game marks, so you got
Speaker 2: to be able to use different pitchers and high leverage situations.
Speaker 2: And the reality is the Dodgers have invested a lot
Speaker 2: of dollars in Kirby Yates and if you need him
Speaker 2: to close out the game, and he's done a really
Speaker 2: great job. Today was probably the one game where he
Speaker 2: wasn't on, and that had a lot to do with
Speaker 2: him facing his former team. But the Dodgers have invested
Speaker 2: a lot of dollars in the veteran and they've gone
Speaker 2: to him in certain situations. Today, he just was not
Speaker 2: able to deliver. Now, the one guy that was able
Speaker 2: to deliver out of the bullpen was Jack Dryder.
Speaker 3: Drag Dryer.
Speaker 2: I don't want him to be lost in the shuffle
Speaker 2: of today's loss because Dryer came in after Sazaki went
Speaker 2: six innings. Jack Dryer came in and pitched another scoreless inning.
Speaker 2: Jack Dryer now has twelve and two thirds consecutive scoreless innings.
Speaker 2: That's pretty good. So I just want to shine a
Speaker 2: light on that before we start moving on. I mentioned
Speaker 2: as well that Evan Phillips pitched in this game and
Speaker 2: was activated a little series early because Blake Trinon unfortunately
Speaker 2: was placed on the injured list before the game with
Speaker 2: right forearm tightness, and you start to look at it.
Speaker 2: Trina had not pitched in almost a week. The last
Speaker 2: time he pitched in a game was on Sunday Night
Speaker 2: Baseball against the Cubs. Did not pitch against the Rockies
Speaker 2: did not pitch yesterday, and the Dodgers have had a
Speaker 2: day off mixed in there. Dave Roberts filled us in
Speaker 2: Trina was warming up yesterday late in the game, but
Speaker 2: still felt some discomfort in that right arm, that right
Speaker 2: forearm area, and when you're talking about the right forearm,
Speaker 2: that sounds off alarm bells for elbow issues, so that
Speaker 2: whenever a pitcher has right four arm tightness to symptom
Speaker 2: of elbow issues. How significant are these elbow issues for
Speaker 2: Blake Trinon. Well, he had Tommy John surgery just a
Speaker 2: few years ago, and he had shoulder surgery a couple
Speaker 2: of years ago, and he's thirty six. So yeah, there's
Speaker 2: concern the Dodgers are getting an MRI on the elbow
Speaker 2: of Blake trinen But safe to say Blake Trinon probably
Speaker 2: is not going to pitch for at least a month,
Speaker 2: maybe longer, and that's a significant.
Speaker 3: Blow to the Dodger bullpen.
Speaker 2: I was already in favor of the Dodgers maybe having
Speaker 2: a conversation with the Cardinals for their closer Ryan Helsley.
Speaker 2: Now I'm even more in favor of that happening. I
Speaker 2: don't know if it could happen before the July thirty
Speaker 2: first trade deadline, but certainly something to keep your eye on.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number Dodgers fall to the Rangers today. Four
Speaker 2: we do have an Otani baby watch update show. Hey
Speaker 2: Otani and his wife welcomed in their first child, a
Speaker 2: healthy baby girl. He posted that announcement before the game
Speaker 2: today on Instagram, and Dave Roberts did not rule out
Speaker 2: the fact that Otani, now that the birth was safe
Speaker 2: and healthy, may return to be part of tomorrow's game
Speaker 2: before the Dodgers head to Chicago. So we'll have to
Speaker 2: wait and see about that. Eight six six nine seven
Speaker 2: two five seventy is the phone number. And by the way,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers have only had the Big three of Otani,
Speaker 2: Bets and Freeman in the same starting lineup seven times
Speaker 2: out of their first twenty two games. Let's head out
Speaker 2: to North Carolina. Matt, you're on Dodger Talk with David
Speaker 2: vasse Hi Matt ub DV.
Speaker 1: How are you.
Speaker 3: I'm doing great well.
Speaker 1: I know you always like to say where were you
Speaker 1: when Freddie Freeman hit the Grand Slam?
Speaker 4: Right?
Speaker 2: That door is open all season long win loser draws. So, yes,
Speaker 2: I want to hear where Matt in North Carolina was
Speaker 2: when Freddie hit the walk off grand Slam.
Speaker 1: Well, okay, I'm gonna take you on a little story.
Speaker 1: So I was out on the porch with my son's
Speaker 1: he was an ex college baseball player, played at unc Asheville,
Speaker 1: and when Freddie hit that home run, we just went nuts.
Speaker 1: It was it was unbelievable and it's a memory that
Speaker 1: we'll always have and it was great. And I called
Speaker 1: Tim Kates after Game five because we had plane flights
Speaker 1: out to LA to go to Game six, but I
Speaker 1: was glad that we did not get on that flight.
Speaker 1: And you know what, we went to LA for the
Speaker 1: opening series against the Tigers and we won all three.
Speaker 1: So you know what, I'm not worried about one game
Speaker 1: in Texas in April. We're gonna be just fine and
Speaker 1: we're gonna raise a banner for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3: We're great.
Speaker 1: It's fine, no problem, all right.
Speaker 3: I appreciate that, And thank you for the phone call. Matt.
Speaker 2: I like your confidence and love hearing where you were
Speaker 2: for Freddy Freeman's walk off grand slam in Game one
Speaker 2: of the World Series. You know, when we think back
Speaker 2: to that grand slam by Freddy in Game one of
Speaker 2: the World Series, obviously a momentum switch for that entire
Speaker 2: World Series. But it didn't stop there. It wasn't just
Speaker 2: Freddy having one swing of the bat and that was it.
Speaker 2: He was the World Series MVP for a reason. It
Speaker 2: wasn't just because he hit that humongous walk off grand
Speaker 2: Slam against the Yankees in the first game. He didn't
Speaker 2: stop there. He had four home runs and twelve RBIs.
Speaker 2: He had a batting average of three hundred. He was
Speaker 2: let's see, six for twenty in that World Series. Four
Speaker 2: of his six hits were home runs and the other
Speaker 2: one was a triple, So he had a triple, a single,
Speaker 2: and four home runs in.
Speaker 3: Last year's World Series.
Speaker 2: He literally carried the Dodger offense through that entire World Series.
Speaker 2: So you got to give him a lot of credit
Speaker 2: for that, because it wasn't just one swing of the bat.
Speaker 2: He was the World Series MVP because he did it
Speaker 2: all October long on a bad ankle and also had
Speaker 2: a bad rib cage.
Speaker 3: So come on, Freddie Freeman.
Speaker 2: One of the herculean performances I've ever seen in a
Speaker 2: World Series. And I know we always compared to Kirk
Speaker 2: Gibson's heroics in Game one of the eighty eight World Series. Yes,
Speaker 2: a lot of parallels, but that was the only swing
Speaker 2: Kirk Gibson took in the World Series. Freddie Freeman kept
Speaker 2: playing on a bad ankle and a bad rib cage.
Speaker 2: So just keep that in mind when you put it
Speaker 2: into historical context. Eight six six nine eighty seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy is the phone number. We have phone lines open,
Speaker 2: and when we continue you will hear from Mookie Betts.
Speaker 3: There was a.
Speaker 2: Surprise bullpen dog visitor to Globalize Field. We'll share with
Speaker 2: you who that was. And I had a chance to
Speaker 2: catch up with one of them the great left handers
Speaker 2: in Dodger history. No, not Sandy Cofax, No, not Clayton Kershaw.
Speaker 2: There was another great lefty in the sixties that was
Speaker 2: part of the Dodger rotation when they won the World
Speaker 2: Series in sixty five. We'll share that with you when
Speaker 2: we continue from Globelive Field in Arlington, Texas. Our producer
Speaker 2: engineer Dwayne McDonald corrected me, just to remind me we're
Speaker 2: in Arlington, So we're in Arlington and the Rangers walk
Speaker 2: off the Dodgers with a four to three win on
Speaker 2: A five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: On air at AM five seventy, online at AM five
Speaker 1: seventy LA sports dot com, and available by podcast on
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3: This is Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: With David Bass Sam.
Speaker 3: Here's the two oh. Freddie swings said on the ear
Speaker 3: right hill. The deep disc balls.
Speaker 4: Hooking toward the pole fits where on Freeman lets one
Speaker 4: fi his fourth of the season, ties the game at two.
Speaker 3: Freddie Freeman keeping the ball fair. That's what he does.
Speaker 2: A two run home run to tie the game in
Speaker 2: the fourth inning today. Max Munsey a go ahead double
Speaker 2: in the fourth inning today to give the Dodgers a
Speaker 2: three to two lead. They would not be able to
Speaker 2: hold on, as Kirby Yates gave up a walk off
Speaker 2: two run home run to a Dallas Garcia and the
Speaker 2: Rangers take Game two of this three game series here
Speaker 2: in Arlington, Texas. Daniels Jewelers presents the home run Forecast.
Speaker 2: Go to AM five to seventy LA sports dot com
Speaker 2: and use the keyword home run for your chance to
Speaker 2: win a fifty dollars Daniels Jewelers gift card predicting the
Speaker 2: number of home runs in the next game. Daniels Jewelers
Speaker 2: own the Dream. Eight six, six, nine, seven, two, five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number. Corey seeger wash for three. Today,
Speaker 2: Andy Pa has robbed him of what would have been
Speaker 2: a solo home run in the first inning. Jock Peterson
Speaker 2: oh for two with the strikeout. His early season woes
Speaker 2: have continued. He is just three for fifty six to
Speaker 2: begin his Rangers career. So Bruce Bochi is putting him
Speaker 2: out there every day, especially since the Dodgers have three
Speaker 2: right handed starters in this series. But Jock Peterson really
Speaker 2: hasn't been a factor early on in the season. Also,
Speaker 2: I want to bring up, you know we talked about
Speaker 2: the bullpen about the World Series. I want to bring
Speaker 2: up that we saw an old friend today and not
Speaker 2: that old of a friend. He's thirty years old and
Speaker 2: he was a big part of the Dodgers October run
Speaker 2: last year. Brent Honeywell was here at Globalize Field. Honeywell
Speaker 2: lives nearby and wanted to come see his old teammates
Speaker 2: because they haven't seen each other since the parade and
Speaker 2: it was great to see honey Well out here, same guy,
Speaker 2: very emotional still about what that team was able to accomplish.
Speaker 2: And he had no idea that the Dodgers were going
Speaker 2: to surprise him with his World Series ring. You're going
Speaker 2: to hear our full conversation with Honeywell tomorrow on the
Speaker 2: pregame show. So I don't want to give away too much,
Speaker 2: but Honeywell thought he was going to get his ring
Speaker 2: somewhere sometime in LA and the Dodgers knew he was
Speaker 2: coming in to visit, and they got him to come
Speaker 2: into the clubhouse and he was choked up when they
Speaker 2: gave him his championship ring. So awesome to see Brent Honeywell,
Speaker 2: and I can't wait to share that conversation with you
Speaker 2: tomorrow on the pregame show. We have our coverage beginning
Speaker 2: on Easter Sunday at ten thirty. Also got to see
Speaker 2: a Dodger legend of the nineteen sixty five World Series.
Speaker 2: Left hander Claude Ostein was actually here at Globelize Field.
Speaker 2: He pitched for the Rangers at the end of his
Speaker 2: career and he was here. I saw in the big
Speaker 2: board JumboTron Claude Osting hosting a meeting Greed at one
Speaker 2: forty five at Rangers Alumni Alley. So I said Rangers
Speaker 2: alumni Alley, Claude Ostein is known best for his days
Speaker 2: as a Dodger and a Dodger pitching coach, and his
Speaker 2: heroics in Game three of the nineteen sixty five World
Speaker 2: Series when the Dodgers were down two losing, Drysdale and
Speaker 2: Cofax starts against the Twins, and then Claude Ostein was
Speaker 2: starting Game three the sixty five World Series and pitched
Speaker 2: a masterpiece, one that, if you're old enough to remember,
Speaker 2: changed the entire momentum of the nineteen sixty five World
Speaker 2: Series when Ostein pitched a complete game shutout against the Twins,
Speaker 2: and that's when things changed. The Dodgers went on to
Speaker 2: win in seven games that year. So here's part of
Speaker 2: my conversation, Well, my whole conversation.
Speaker 5: With I think more than anything is the camaraderie that
Speaker 5: we all had when we did so many things together
Speaker 5: off the field, and during that period of time, it
Speaker 5: was a constant conversation.
Speaker 3: About baseball.
Speaker 5: It was if the pitching staff was together, it was
Speaker 5: how to get somebody out, and if hitters were involved.
Speaker 5: It was what the opposition was going to do to them,
Speaker 5: but it was about baseball, and we left every minute up.
Speaker 2: You were not only a great pitcher, but you turned
Speaker 2: out to be a great pitching coach. A lot of
Speaker 2: great players don't turn out to be great coaches.
Speaker 3: How are you able to do that?
Speaker 4: You know?
Speaker 5: About the last five years of my career, I started
Speaker 5: thinking that I wanted to go into coaching, and I
Speaker 5: thought I could relay everything that I had learned and
Speaker 5: help guys with.
Speaker 3: Mostly their deliveries.
Speaker 5: If you notice most of the Japanese players that you
Speaker 5: watch today, the one common thing that they all have
Speaker 5: is they have control of the wind up the delivery,
Speaker 5: great balance, and that's what leads to great control and
Speaker 5: watching that. I studied all those things and I was
Speaker 5: able to pass a lot of that on to young pictures.
Speaker 3: What about of questions?
Speaker 2: Do you have your favorite Dryasdale or Covac story that
Speaker 2: you always tell the people like?
Speaker 5: I guess it would be the sixty five series when
Speaker 5: Donald Sam didn't get the best end of the deal
Speaker 5: in the first two games.
Speaker 3: We didn't play very good defense.
Speaker 5: Behind him and we ended up losing the first two.
Speaker 5: And here I came along as the third guy, and
Speaker 5: I was faced with unbelievable pressure. This was my first
Speaker 5: year with the Dodgers, first World Series ever, and the
Speaker 5: first World Series start, so a lot.
Speaker 3: Was expected of it.
Speaker 5: And I'm probably the luckiest guy in the world in
Speaker 5: the way that it turned out, because I was able
Speaker 5: to turn it around for us and then Cofex won
Speaker 5: the seventh game one nothing.
Speaker 2: Lolatt Ostein will always be a Dodger even though you're
Speaker 2: here at Rangers Alumni day.
Speaker 3: Oh you always believed Dodger blue. As Tommy used to say.
Speaker 2: Hey, I love that Claude Ostein, evoking the great Hall
Speaker 2: of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda. Awesome to see Claude Ostein
Speaker 2: and his sons were here accompanying him. I guess the
Speaker 2: Rangers on Saturdays always have a connection. A former player,
Speaker 2: former coach come to this Rangers alumni alley, and once
Speaker 2: I saw Claude Ostein was here, I had to go
Speaker 2: down and just give you all an update on a
Speaker 2: legendary Dodger pitcher that obviously had such a big part
Speaker 2: of them winning the World Series in nineteen sixty five,
Speaker 2: pitching that complete game shutout against the Twins in Game
Speaker 2: three of the World Series, and to get the Dodgers
Speaker 2: back in that World Series to go on and win
Speaker 2: in seven games. As you heard Sandy Kofex pitching on
Speaker 2: short rest to win that game against the Twins. Game
Speaker 2: seven one of the all time great pitch games as
Speaker 2: well in Dodger and Major League Baseball history. Claude Ostein,
Speaker 2: I mean, that was his second year with the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: but he went on to be a three time All
Speaker 2: Star with the Dodgers. You know, those early seventies teams
Speaker 2: were not very good, so a lot of those pitchers
Speaker 2: kind of get lost and players get lost, like Wes
Speaker 2: Parker and Claude Ostein. But Ostin was a tremendous pitcher.
Speaker 2: If you look at his sixty seven All Star season,
Speaker 2: he had two hundred and ninety eight strikeouts. In sixty
Speaker 2: nine he had two hundred and ninety three strikeouts, leading
Speaker 2: the league both years.
Speaker 3: So he was really good.
Speaker 2: And once his playing days were over, he was a
Speaker 2: great pitching coach. Minor league pitching coach, major league pitching coach,
Speaker 2: so a really great pitching mind. And Rick Monday told
Speaker 2: me to joke with Ostin when I went down to
Speaker 2: see him, whether or not he brought his fishing pole,
Speaker 2: because I guess he's known to love to fish and golf,
Speaker 2: and he still does both of those things. So if
Speaker 2: he ever wondered what happened to Claude Ostein, he's doing
Speaker 2: just fine here in Texas. Eight six six nine eighty
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number. Dodgers fall
Speaker 2: today to the Rangers four to three after a Dolls
Speaker 2: Garcia hits a walk off, two run home run off
Speaker 2: of Kirby Yates. And in case you missed the news earlier,
Speaker 2: we'll say it again that Blake Trinan was placed on
Speaker 2: the injured list with right forearm tightness. He was expected
Speaker 2: to get an MRI here in Texas either today or
Speaker 2: tomorrow morning. So we'll learn the extent of that injury.
Speaker 2: But never good to hear that. And look, that's the
Speaker 2: toll a lot of these guys probably are going to
Speaker 2: have to pay for the heroics of the bullpen last year.
Speaker 2: I mean, you look at Michael Kopek already, he was
Speaker 2: pitching through Payne last year during the World Series. Through
Speaker 2: the World Series, he has not pitched a game Yet
Speaker 2: you look at Evan Phillips, who was off the World
Speaker 2: Series roster because of.
Speaker 3: That torn shoulder muscle.
Speaker 2: He makes his season debut twenty five games into the
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five season. Bruce dar Graderol, who has not
Speaker 2: pitched yet this year or may not pitch this year,
Speaker 2: had shoulder surgery. So there is a toll to pay,
Speaker 2: and we have seen that with other pitchers that have
Speaker 2: won the World Series, that have laid it on the
Speaker 2: line for other teams. A lot of times the following
Speaker 2: year is when the injury sets in. But I know
Speaker 2: for a fact none of those guys would do anything
Speaker 2: different than what they did last year to help the
Speaker 2: Dodgers get through a postseason with just two and a
Speaker 2: half starters. Basically, you had Yamamoto, Flaherty, and a Walker
Speaker 2: Bueler if you remember that wasn't the Walker Buehler that
Speaker 2: we saw in the ninth inning of Game five of
Speaker 2: the World Series. There were some up and downs, there
Speaker 2: was some short starts, so that's why we all say
Speaker 2: two and a half starters. But you know, an amazing
Speaker 2: season last year and just remarkable. No other team in
Speaker 2: recent memory can say they had two and a half starters,
Speaker 2: and they tax their bullpen as much as the Dodgers did,
Speaker 2: and basically in certain games where they fell behind big
Speaker 2: I don't like to say this word a lot, especially
Speaker 2: when it relates to playoff baseball, but it's true, they
Speaker 2: basically said, all right, you can have this game. We're
Speaker 2: trying to get to four wins before you do. And
Speaker 2: I'm thinking the NLCS specifically, and also Game four of
Speaker 2: the World Series where they let the Yankees have that one,
Speaker 2: and it was getting dangerous because all of a sudden,
Speaker 2: Aaron Judge started to get his confidence back, as we
Speaker 2: saw not only in Game four, but also early in
Speaker 2: Game five. So it would have been a little dicey
Speaker 2: for the Dodgers if that.
Speaker 3: World Series would have returned home.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. Maybe the brightest spot for the Dodgers
Speaker 2: today was Roki Sazaki, going six innings, allowing just three
Speaker 2: walks and two earned runs. He threw seventy eight pitches
Speaker 2: and threw more sliders today than he has in his
Speaker 2: previous starts so far to begin the season. He had
Speaker 2: seventy eight pitches and twenty five of them were sliders.
Speaker 2: We've seen three to seven sliders in his previous starts,
Speaker 2: but he really committed to it, and Will Smith did
Speaker 2: a great job of shepherding him through the start today,
Speaker 2: a career high six innings through seventy eight pitches, thirty
Speaker 2: of those were fastballs, twenty five split fingered knuckleballs, and
Speaker 2: he threw twenty three sliders. So he did a very
Speaker 2: good job of keeping the Rangers off balance and did
Speaker 2: a great job and hopefully this proved something to him.
Speaker 2: Where his fastball velocity wasn't consistently where it was or
Speaker 2: where he probably wants it to be, but he had
Speaker 2: more command of his fastball. And you hear a lot
Speaker 2: of times managers and pitching coaches and even veteran pitchers
Speaker 2: talk about this as they get experience, that maybe you
Speaker 2: don't have your best command when you're trying to throw
Speaker 2: as hard as you can, but if you take a
Speaker 2: little something off, maybe you have better command and you
Speaker 2: can be more effective. I feel like that was the
Speaker 2: case for Roki Sazaki today. So slowly but surely there's
Speaker 2: some building blocks here for Suzaki and the Dodgers believe
Speaker 2: by the second half of the season, Roki Sazaki is
Speaker 2: going to be a real weapon in the starting rotation
Speaker 2: for them, so so far, it's trending in that direction. Also,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers believe they can get by with Mooki Bets
Speaker 2: as their shortstop. We had a chance to catch up
Speaker 2: with Mooki yesterday during our pregame show, and I thought
Speaker 2: it was perfect timing to catch up with Mooki Bets
Speaker 2: for the first time this season, being back in the
Speaker 2: same place where he made his first impression on Dodger
Speaker 2: fans his first year with the Dodgers. They win the
Speaker 2: World Series. He makes tremendous catches, comes up with a
Speaker 2: big hit in Game six of the World Series. It
Speaker 2: was great to catch up with Mooki Bets and the
Speaker 2: house the Dodgers made their own in twenty twenty.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, they always, as they always say in
Speaker 6: every sport, defense wins championships. But yeah, that's that's one
Speaker 6: thing I definitely remember. I remember, you know, down and
Speaker 6: right for a lot. I know people can't see, but
Speaker 6: my wife was always down there and every game with
Speaker 6: the kid, with my daughter at the time, and I
Speaker 6: remember just looking in between pitches looking at her and uh,
Speaker 6: we were just kind of doing our little sign language
Speaker 6: through pretty much every game, and that was she kind
Speaker 6: of kept me calm, and you know, especially during those
Speaker 6: World Series games because they were you know, we were
Speaker 6: going back and forth, and I mean it was just
Speaker 6: a lot, you know, in winning the World Series. It's
Speaker 6: hard to do. And so I'll never forget her just
Speaker 6: standing there, staying right there and me just looking at
Speaker 6: her between every pitch.
Speaker 3: Now you're a proud papa of too.
Speaker 2: How are the kids and how did they make your
Speaker 2: life that much better?
Speaker 6: They My son's birthday is today, so we got a
Speaker 6: little breakast with him and now I'm at work, but
Speaker 6: he's with his fans, with his grandparents and the whatnot,
Speaker 6: hanging out. You know, they they make it. They make
Speaker 6: it to where you have something to look forward to,
Speaker 6: you know, especially when I'm done playing. You know, each
Speaker 6: and every day you wake up, there's something to do
Speaker 6: with them, something new that they can learn and whatnot.
Speaker 6: And obviously I'm in the middle of my grind right now,
Speaker 6: so it's kind of hard to do both. But the
Speaker 6: time that I don't get to spend right here, right here,
Speaker 6: right now, would am I'm definitely looking forward to it
Speaker 6: because I mean, we don't play this game for so
Speaker 6: so for that long, but they grow up for a
Speaker 6: long time and then so that's that's kind of what
Speaker 6: I'm looking forward to right now.
Speaker 3: Your daughter has your smile, Yeah, that you're out there.
Speaker 6: She she she's a she's a work of art man.
Speaker 6: She she loves dancing and all the other things. Actually,
Speaker 6: it's really neat having a daughter, just because I'm only child,
Speaker 6: obviously being a boy and coming from a sports family.
Speaker 6: My daughter is like anti sports, so you know, me
Speaker 6: learning about how to play, how to play dolls and
Speaker 6: dance class and all those other things. Actually is really
Speaker 6: neat and fascinating because it's a new world that I've
Speaker 6: never experienced, and now that I'm kind of going through it,
Speaker 6: I have a new appreciation when I see dancers or
Speaker 6: cheerleaders and all those type of things because my daughter
Speaker 6: wants to do that.
Speaker 3: Girl.
Speaker 2: Dad, Mookie de Beets is our guest here in that
Speaker 2: house that him Seeger and Jock made famous.
Speaker 3: Mookie, Now you're playing shortstop.
Speaker 2: You put in so much work this offseason and continue
Speaker 2: to do so.
Speaker 3: Where would you assess where you're at right now?
Speaker 6: I think I'm doing okay. You know, I've had a
Speaker 6: couple of errors early. You know, it's hard to say
Speaker 6: that's part of the game when I work so hard
Speaker 6: and whatnot, because I'm not really accepting of you know,
Speaker 6: that's part of the game. But at the end of
Speaker 6: the day, at the end of the day, it is,
Speaker 6: and so I need to be accepting of failures that happen.
Speaker 6: But you know, it's I I genuinely love coming to work,
Speaker 6: like it's just coming to work and going to work
Speaker 6: as short like it's just actual fun for me, Like
Speaker 6: I would just wake up out of bed just to
Speaker 6: like how people go play golf. Yeah, that's how I
Speaker 6: feel about coming to to to practice at shortstop. And
Speaker 6: so it's definitely, uh, I'm not saying a new or
Speaker 6: a new light or whatnot, but different energy for me,
Speaker 6: and I truly loved it. It's been fun. It's hard,
Speaker 6: it's really hard, but yeah, it's fun. I'm catching myself
Speaker 6: now during games asking Tommy in months like, all right,
Speaker 6: what do I do here? Because some of these situations
Speaker 6: I've never been in, and so you know, just being
Speaker 6: in them, Uh, you know, have to kind of talk
Speaker 6: through it as you go because there's so many different
Speaker 6: things that kind of go on, and so you know,
Speaker 6: it's been fun. I know I have a lot more
Speaker 6: experience to go, but it's been fun so far.
Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought up Tommy Edmund. How much does
Speaker 2: he help you because he seems to be one of
Speaker 2: the smartest, most underrated players on the field.
Speaker 6: Yeah, he is, I mean smartest, I mean one of
Speaker 6: the smartest obviously one of the most talented, whether you
Speaker 6: believe it or not, you know he is. I mean,
Speaker 6: you know, he's really been someone I can talk to,
Speaker 6: is really easy to talk to because I can go
Speaker 6: ask him a dumb question and he's not gonna look
Speaker 6: at me and like why did you ask me that?
Speaker 6: Or you're supposed to know that? Like he literally will
Speaker 6: just tell me if it's a pretty simple answer. He
Speaker 6: just says it simply. He doesn't try and be little
Speaker 6: me or or and nobody does. But definitely Tommy, you know,
Speaker 6: he just he's really easy for me to talk to
Speaker 6: and ask those those questions that I probably should know
Speaker 6: as a major league shortstop, but I don't because I
Speaker 6: haven't been And so you know, he's he's definitely been
Speaker 6: there for me the whole time, I mean, hitting, fielding, everything,
Speaker 6: you know, he's he's He's awesome.
Speaker 3: So is Smookie Bets. You're an easy gutta root for.
Speaker 2: La loves you and man, you are doing something that
Speaker 2: no major league player has ever done, and it feels
Speaker 2: like you're doing it better than most could even come
Speaker 2: close to. So we're on the ride with you and
Speaker 2: just keep going every day.
Speaker 6: Yes, sir, have you been You've been good?
Speaker 2: Yeah, everything is good, you know, hitting the streets in Dallas.
Speaker 2: I'm trying to stay out of trouble.
Speaker 3: Mookie, What did you do yesterday? I went to a
Speaker 3: fancy dinner with your clubhouse staff.
Speaker 6: Okay, okay, did you pay?
Speaker 3: Of course I did. There's some I'll let you in
Speaker 3: on a secret.
Speaker 2: Some of your staff when the check comes, they all
Speaker 2: of a sudden have to go to the bathroom or
Speaker 2: their Their arms are really short.
Speaker 3: It's weird. But not you that.
Speaker 6: That's not You're not that kind of guy, not that
Speaker 6: long arms.
Speaker 3: I got long, long reach. I'm a guy that like you.
Speaker 3: I'm a pleaser, so I'm trying to please everybody.
Speaker 6: That's why I love you, man exactly.
Speaker 2: All right, sir, I need to buy one of these
Speaker 2: necklaces you're selling online.
Speaker 6: Bye, I got you. I make sure I bring one.
Speaker 3: You're you're part of the LA squad. Oh I love,
Speaker 3: make sure I bring you one.
Speaker 6: We'll get back home.
Speaker 3: Love it, MOOKI thanks a lot for the time. Great
Speaker 3: to share you with the people in LA.
Speaker 2: And this is the house the Dodgers built, make no
Speaker 2: mistake about it.
Speaker 3: You better know it. You better know it.
Speaker 2: All right, there's Mookie Betts, who has played pretty good shortstop.
Speaker 2: I know all of us are wondering why the best
Speaker 2: right fielder is playing shortstop. It feels like I didn't
Speaker 2: even have to ask him the question. He gave us
Speaker 2: the answer. I mean, this is something he wants to do.
Speaker 2: He wants to take on the challenge, and he believes
Speaker 2: he can do it, and he believes he could help
Speaker 2: the team. It obviously has opened up more mobility for
Speaker 2: the Dodgers to get more offense in that lineup. But
Speaker 2: I thought he gave us a lot of insightful answers.
Speaker 2: And I had never heard the story of him and
Speaker 2: his wife and his daughter during the twenty twenty playoffs,
Speaker 2: where they would be down the right field line and
Speaker 2: they would have some sign language with each other. I
Speaker 2: thought he really opened up in that interview. If you
Speaker 2: missed any of it and you want to hear the
Speaker 2: full conversation, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2: That'll do it for us. Tonight on Dodger Talk. Coming
Speaker 2: up tomorrow, it will be another great pitching matchup with
Speaker 2: Tyler Glass now on the mound going up against Tyler Mally.
Speaker 2: Mally is three and zero with an ERA of zero
Speaker 2: ninety two this season. Morongo Casino Dodgers on Deck begins
Speaker 2: at ten thirty tomorrow with first pitch at eleven thirty five.
Speaker 2: Thanks to Calling Yee back at our Burbank Studios, Thanks
Speaker 2: to Dwayne McDonald out here at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas,
Speaker 2: and thanks to you for listening. We will talk to
Speaker 2: you tomorrow morning. On Easter Sunday, once again, the final
Speaker 2: score from Globe Life Field, the Rangers walk it off
Speaker 2: against the Dodgers four to three.
Speaker 3: Have a great rest of your Saturday. See you dam