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 Talker like back,
Speaker 1: David Basse.
Speaker 2: We are live at lone Depot Park in Miami after
Speaker 2: the Dodgers defeat the Marlins by a final score.
Speaker 3: Of eight to four.
Speaker 2: Welcome the Dodger Talk David Vasse with you until eight
Speaker 2: o'clock tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 2: We have phone lines open at eight six six nine
Speaker 2: eight seven two five seventy. I already see the sixth
Speaker 2: of you on the board. We will get to you.
Speaker 3: We have two more lines open at eight six six
Speaker 3: nine eight seven two five seventy.
Speaker 2: You will get the latest update on Clayton Kershaw after
Speaker 2: we spoke to him at his locker yesterday. Also, I
Speaker 2: wanted to share with you the story Rick Monday had
Speaker 2: regarding Toma and players playing practical jokes on Tommy at
Speaker 2: Dodgertown here in Vero Beach, Florida. And certainly we have
Speaker 2: a lot to get to between now and eight o'clock,
Speaker 2: especially after the Dodgers get a much needed win I
Speaker 2: know it's against the Marlins, but the Dodgers need every
Speaker 2: win they can get, and their magic number now to
Speaker 2: clinch the NL West is at seven.
Speaker 3: They have a.
Speaker 2: Three and a half game lead over the Padres as
Speaker 2: the Padres lost to the Astros yesterday and build the
Speaker 2: Dodgers out after a disappointing loss year in Miami. And
Speaker 2: also tonight, the Padres shut out the Astros fort to
Speaker 2: nothing behind Dylan Cees. So if the Dodgers did not
Speaker 2: win this game, it might have been a really nervous
Speaker 2: time in the NL West race. But the Dodgers take
Speaker 2: care of business against the Marlins. They get a really
Speaker 2: good bounce back start from Landon when five scoreless innings
Speaker 2: only through eighty seven pitches. It felt like after that
Speaker 2: first inning, Nack really settled in. I felt like he
Speaker 2: could even go one more inning. And when you're talking
Speaker 2: about a weary Dodger bullpen, you gotta start considering that
Speaker 2: down the stretch. If you're getting a good start from
Speaker 2: a starter and they're at eighty seven ninety pitches, why
Speaker 2: not let them go out there for one more inning.
Speaker 2: I know the Dodgers have done that with certain starters.
Speaker 2: They must have seen something that told them Nack was
Speaker 2: done after five scoreless, but I felt like he could
Speaker 2: have gone one more inning and really shortened this game
Speaker 2: for the Dodger bullpen. Nonetheless, they were able to get
Speaker 2: out of what could have been a dicey bottom of
Speaker 2: the seventh inning when the Marlin scored three runs and
Speaker 2: Will Smith airmailed another throw to center field. He had
Speaker 2: two of those tonight, and this time Andy pa Haz
Speaker 2: was there for the backup as he should be anticipating
Speaker 2: that happening and made a great throw to key A
Speaker 2: Hernandez to end the seventh inning, nailing Xavier.
Speaker 3: Edwards at third base.
Speaker 2: That was a huge play in this game, and I
Speaker 2: really believe in the top of the eighth inning it
Speaker 2: was even big for Chris Taylor to come up with
Speaker 2: two outs and the bases loaded and drive in two
Speaker 2: more runs. Early in this game, they got home runs
Speaker 2: from Will Smith, who is starting to look a little
Speaker 2: bit more like Will Smith in the last three or
Speaker 2: four games. Tommy Edmund and key k Hernandez also homer.
Speaker 2: Key K's home run and Edmund's home run came in
Speaker 2: the very same inning when it was a five run
Speaker 2: fourth inning, and by the way, I know there's a
Speaker 2: lot of critics out there when you're at the top
Speaker 2: and you're the Dodgers and you're Andrew Friedman.
Speaker 3: I know we're hearing a lot.
Speaker 2: Of criticism about the trade and the signing of an extension.
Speaker 3: For Tyler Glass.
Speaker 2: Now we're hearing a lot about the pitching injuries the
Speaker 2: Dodgers have had. That is all fair, But you're not
Speaker 2: hearing enough about the Dodgers and what they did at
Speaker 2: the trade deadline, which has been a huge difference maker
Speaker 2: for them the second half.
Speaker 3: Of the year.
Speaker 2: Number one, Tomorrow's starter, Jack Flaherty, has been outstanding for
Speaker 2: the Dodgers, not only considering how thin their rotation is
Speaker 2: right now, but how well he has pitched outside of
Speaker 2: the last game in Atlanta. And how about the two
Speaker 2: guys that were in the game tonight, Tommy Edmund and
Speaker 2: Michael Kopek. Who the Dodgers got in that three way
Speaker 2: trade with the White Sox and Cardinals. Do you know
Speaker 2: what question on being asked the most by scouts when
Speaker 2: we go around Atlanta and now Miami. Why did the
Speaker 2: Cardinals trade Tommy Edmund? That's the biggest question these day days.
Speaker 2: I get asked by other members of other organizations, and
Speaker 2: they continue to say the Dodgers won that trade in
Speaker 2: a landslide Tommy Edmund and Michael Kopek, and all they
Speaker 2: basically gave up was Miguel Vargas. I mean, when you
Speaker 2: see what Tommy Edmund has done for the Dodgers so
Speaker 2: far in twenty seven games, Tommy Edman is playing a
Speaker 2: lot of center field, is spelling Miguel Rojas on nights
Speaker 2: like tonight at shortstop, hitting two eighty four and with
Speaker 2: an ops of eight thirty five, a switch hitter. Not
Speaker 2: it's so great from the left side, but from the
Speaker 2: right side he's hitting over four hundred.
Speaker 3: And how about Michael Kopek.
Speaker 2: When you talk about the Dodger bullpen being thin and weary,
Speaker 2: this guy has been huge for the Dodgers. In twenty
Speaker 2: appearances with the Dodgers, He's four and zero with an
Speaker 2: ERA under one zero. Ninety hitters are only hitting one
Speaker 2: thirteen against Michael Kopek. He has twenty four strikeouts in
Speaker 2: twenty four innings. He came into the game tonight and
Speaker 2: really was thrown hard again after we saw him in Atlanta,
Speaker 2: and really coming up big and getting himself out of
Speaker 2: a jam. So Michael Kopek tonight a scoreless inning, he
Speaker 2: had a walk, no strikeouts, but he got the job done.
Speaker 2: Where would the Dodgers be without those three guys. They
Speaker 2: certainly wouldn't have ninety wins right now, and they may
Speaker 2: not even be in first place. So, you know, Andrew Friedman,
Speaker 2: I know, gets a lot of criticism out there, but
Speaker 2: how about acknowledging the trade deadline he had where he
Speaker 2: basically fleeced the Cardinals in white sox for Tommy Edmond
Speaker 2: and Michael Kopek. Eight six six nine eight seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy is the phone number before we go out
Speaker 2: to the phone calls. Let's head downstairs to the Dodger
Speaker 2: clubhouse to hear from Landon Neck tonight's winning pitcher on
Speaker 2: sports and at Lah.
Speaker 4: Obviously felt really good to kind of get back out.
Speaker 4: I was happy that it was a five day this time,
Speaker 4: so kind of get back in there a little quicker,
Speaker 4: and uh yeah, it felt really good to just kind
Speaker 4: of get things back on track a little bit, just
Speaker 4: kind of right from the rip, really just kind of
Speaker 4: rip it from the beginning and felt really good.
Speaker 1: What was the focus for you when it came to
Speaker 1: whenever there was traffic finding ways to get out of it.
Speaker 5: It was it was just making pitches.
Speaker 4: So yeah, I mean it's the thought tries not change
Speaker 4: when there's runners on. It's really just continuing to execute
Speaker 4: the game plan, especially following what Will's doing back there,
Speaker 4: Like he's he does very good scanning reports and everything,
Speaker 4: and so like following him and trusting him back there
Speaker 4: has been huge.
Speaker 6: Unless a fastball mint Like how big was it to
Speaker 6: have a little extra at least be lo on it.
Speaker 5: I mean, yeah, that was that was huge to be
Speaker 5: able to have that.
Speaker 4: It was also just kind of location on that was
Speaker 4: much better tonight. So just overall the fastball just felt
Speaker 4: much much better, just being able to kind of put
Speaker 4: it more so where I once and especially locating bottom
Speaker 4: of the zone with that opened up a lot of things.
Speaker 7: That's just appa like ripping it sort of like you
Speaker 7: sae like the mentality behind him to sort of how
Speaker 7: you go about with the conviction a bit.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, Yeah, throwing with that conviction really helps kind of
Speaker 4: fine tunes and things and then kind of take any
Speaker 4: of the when you try to place things, it kind
Speaker 4: of gets a little wild, and so yeah, I'm just
Speaker 4: really trying to have that intent from the very beginning
Speaker 4: with it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, definitely helps location.
Speaker 2: All right, there's landon nak and thanks to sports in
Speaker 2: at a LA, he pitched really well tonight with seven
Speaker 2: strikeouts in five scoreless innings. The Dodgers, in case you
Speaker 2: missed it earlier today, sent Bobby Miller down to Triple A.
Speaker 2: And this is my take on Bobby Miller. It's really
Speaker 2: easy to kick this guy when he's down. But thenk
Speaker 2: back to last year and how much promise he showed.
Speaker 2: He took a huge step backwards this year. And usually,
Speaker 2: and I remind you of this through my experience of
Speaker 2: not only covering Major League Baseball but all sports NBA,
Speaker 2: college football, and basketball, really good players don't all of
Speaker 2: a sudden go backwards as much as Bobby Miller went
Speaker 2: if there wasn't a physical issue.
Speaker 3: And he started the.
Speaker 2: Year out and spring training trying to pitch through right
Speaker 2: shoulder inflammation, and his season got started a little bit
Speaker 2: later because of going on the IL with that, and
Speaker 2: then we find out about three weeks ago he's been
Speaker 2: dealing with a left knee issue. So I just feel
Speaker 2: like physically he has never been right, and it's affected
Speaker 2: his pitching mechanics and it really has affected his confidence.
Speaker 2: I don't think you could shortchange that. So it is
Speaker 2: a lost season of sorts for Bobby Miller, but I
Speaker 2: firmly believe he'll be back better, stronger, and healthier next season.
Speaker 2: Eight six, six, nine, eight seven, two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. Let's go out to Lewis and el Sorito.
Speaker 2: You're on Dodger Talk Live from Miami.
Speaker 8: Hi, Lewis, Hey, Dave, you have read my mind. Land
Speaker 8: and Neck should have been out there for the sixth
Speaker 8: skinning and my comments. And the reason why I feel
Speaker 8: so strongly is this is the perfect metaphor for some
Speaker 8: of the problems the Dodgers pitching has had. And you've
Speaker 8: got to give the guy a chance. And that was
Speaker 8: such a perfect situation sixth to nothing. You've got a
Speaker 8: big lead, he was stealing afterward after that rocky first inning,
Speaker 8: sort of because the guy put on a grade at bat,
Speaker 8: and it then can help the bullpen and the entire
Speaker 8: pitching staff.
Speaker 2: And I just think they can't have it both ways, right, Lewis.
Speaker 2: You can't tell us the bullpen has been used a lot,
Speaker 2: which they have. The innings have been, if not more,
Speaker 2: at least equal to starters in the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 2: So you can't tell us that.
Speaker 3: And we know the bullpen has been used a lot.
Speaker 2: And when you have a guy going like Landon Knack
Speaker 2: was going, why not push him one more inning? And
Speaker 2: also so you know, if you have a little hesitation
Speaker 2: about it, go batter to batter, have somebody ready and
Speaker 2: go batter to batter in that sixth inning.
Speaker 3: But he was cruising after that first inning.
Speaker 2: Like we talked about, and after that strikeout of Jake
Speaker 2: Berger ninety six, it felt like Landon Nag had that
Speaker 2: swagger and even Jose Moto was fired up. He texted
Speaker 2: me after that Burger strikeout in the first inning. He
Speaker 2: told me that there was a lot of conviction with
Speaker 2: that fastball. So Landon Nak, who only went two innings,
Speaker 2: by the way, in his last start, you're telling me
Speaker 2: he wasn't good enough to go back out there for
Speaker 2: the sixth inning to face Connor Norby and Jesus Sanchez
Speaker 2: and Jake Berger. I know that's the middle of the
Speaker 2: Marlins order, but like I said, he was pitching really well,
Speaker 2: and I know there was some traffic in that in
Speaker 2: that fifth inning, but he struck out Xavier Edwards to
Speaker 2: end the fifth. So you know, you gotta you're going
Speaker 2: to pay the tax somewhere. And so for the majority
Speaker 2: part of this season, that bullpen, those relievers have paid
Speaker 2: the tax of starters going short in their starts. So
Speaker 2: when you get a good one like this from Landon Nak,
Speaker 2: I feel like, why not go one more? All right,
Speaker 2: let's go out to La Angelica.
Speaker 3: How you doing. You're on Dodger Talk Live from Miami.
Speaker 9: Yes, yes, I had two questions. My one question was
Speaker 9: why don't they put Chris Taylor out more? And then
Speaker 9: two is does Robert do these changes on his own?
Speaker 9: And then part of that is do they ask the
Speaker 9: player for that change? What is the reply of that player?
Speaker 3: Okay?
Speaker 2: Number one, Chris Taylor has been playing a lot more
Speaker 2: because the Dodgers are seeing a lot more left handed
Speaker 2: pitchers lately Angelica and Gavin Lux hasn't seen as much time.
Speaker 2: He only has about like ten at bats and three
Speaker 2: starts because of the number of lefties the Dodgers have
Speaker 2: seen and Dave Roberts wanting to get Key Hernandez and
Speaker 2: Chris Taylor Moore at bats. But when a player is
Speaker 2: pinch hit four or double switched out, no, they do
Speaker 2: not get much of a say if their name's not
Speaker 2: Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman. And even when it is,
Speaker 2: they don't get much of a say. Thanks for the
Speaker 2: phone call, Angelica, appreciate it. Eight sixty six nine eighty
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 3: Let's go out to Las Vegas, Sergio, home of the Raiders.
Speaker 3: How you doing, Sergio, Hey.
Speaker 10: Dave, thanks for taking my call. I wanted to touch
Speaker 10: on and you mentioned his name. Well, first of all,
Speaker 10: a lot of Dodger pads he'd like to criticize Andrew Freeman.
Speaker 10: But if it wasn't for him and his staff with
Speaker 10: all the injuries, you know, we wouldn't have ninety, if
Speaker 10: the Dodgers wouldn't have ninety victory. So we need to
Speaker 10: give him, him and his staff mark props because the
Speaker 10: mass unit, that's that's you know, that's going on with
Speaker 10: all our injured players. He deserves all the credit him
Speaker 10: and his staff, so fantastic job on their part. Tommy
Speaker 10: Edmond Man twenty seventh game today, It's obvious he comes
Speaker 10: off his injury. He basically has his you know, his
Speaker 10: spring training. During the season, he's us firing on all cylinders. Now,
Speaker 10: great pickup and then of course cool pick you mentioned it,
Speaker 10: Handel Freeman. You know we got to give him more props.
Speaker 10: We're spoiled Dodger fans. You know, I'm fifty four years old, Dave,
Speaker 10: And you know, before, before the Guckenheim regime, there was
Speaker 10: some there was some you know, pretty pretty long stretches
Speaker 10: where we weren't in the playoffs year after year. So
Speaker 10: you know, we should be satisfied and happy with with
Speaker 10: what the staff is, uh, you know, the freedoman matchman
Speaker 10: has given us. So thanks for the time, Dave continued,
Speaker 10: Good job.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Sergio, appreciate the phone call.
Speaker 2: Look, everybody wants to win the World Series every year,
Speaker 2: and yeah, yes, do I believe the Dodgers had opportunities
Speaker 2: to win more than just one over the course of
Speaker 2: the last twelve years. Of course I do, but unfortunately
Speaker 2: it did not happen. But now, if you're going to
Speaker 2: judge how the Dodgers perform in the playoffs, you have
Speaker 2: to acknowledge the format is a lot more different and
Speaker 2: challenging than it was even five years ago, with this
Speaker 2: extra round and extra playoff teams in there and the
Speaker 2: five days off. So it's not like it used to
Speaker 2: be even in the sixties, where you win your division
Speaker 2: and you go to the NLCS and you play for
Speaker 2: the Pennant. It's not like it was in nineteen eighty
Speaker 2: eight where you win your division playing the NLCS and
Speaker 2: go to the World Series. It's not even as it
Speaker 2: was five years ago where there's a wildcard team and
Speaker 2: they play the team with the best record.
Speaker 3: No, it's now a best of three series.
Speaker 2: There's another round, and there's a lot different different layers
Speaker 2: to postseason play now than there was before. But with
Speaker 2: the talent the Dodgers have, there is no reason why
Speaker 2: they can't run the table. The pitching is thin, no
Speaker 2: doubt about it. We all have to acknowledge that nobody
Speaker 2: saw Bobby Miller taking this big of a step backwards.
Speaker 3: Nobody did.
Speaker 2: Somebody just brought me sugar cookies in here. I'm not
Speaker 2: I'm not having sugar cookies right now. Man of the
Speaker 2: PR Dodgers department, Wandrado, came in here trying to butter
Speaker 2: me up in Miami. It's not gonna work. One it's
Speaker 2: not gonna work. I'm already saying nice things about the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: You don't need to bring sugar cookies in here. But anyway,
Speaker 2: nobody saw Bobby Miller taking this big of a step backwards.
Speaker 2: Nobody saw Emit she and having Tommy John surgery, or
Speaker 2: Gavin Stone having shoulder surgery.
Speaker 3: These are things that I mean, we have never seen
Speaker 3: these many pitching injuries.
Speaker 2: But the guys that are still standing, including Landon Nack,
Speaker 2: Jack Flaherty, Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler, give the Dodgers a
Speaker 2: fighting chance. And future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. If
Speaker 2: you were listening to the show last night, you heard
Speaker 2: Kershaw tell me this.
Speaker 5: This is making progress.
Speaker 11: You know, I think able to throw off the mount
Speaker 11: a little bit now. It's just trying to keep my
Speaker 11: arm going as best I can, you know, the endurance
Speaker 11: part of it. So I'm throwing a lot of throws,
Speaker 11: just not at you know, max intensity, just because I
Speaker 11: can't quite push off the way I want to yet.
Speaker 5: But there's definitely some improvement.
Speaker 11: I think it's getting there, not as fast as I like,
Speaker 11: but it's definitely getting there. And I think the good
Speaker 11: news is you know the rehab part should be short
Speaker 11: since I'm able to keep my arm going pretty good,
Speaker 11: and I'm hopeful, you know, I know we don't have
Speaker 11: a lot of time left, but I'm hopeful that, you know,
Speaker 11: in these next twelve days, there's a chance that I
Speaker 11: could get back out there. So it's gonna be close.
Speaker 11: But I'm I'm I'm not I'm remaining optimistic.
Speaker 2: I guess, is there any medical quick fix or is
Speaker 2: it just rest and managing it?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I don't think.
Speaker 11: Yeah, some things just take time. Unfortunately, you know, I'm
Speaker 11: not the most patient person ever, so it's not I
Speaker 11: wish there's just some miracle thing I could do, But ultimately, yeah,
Speaker 11: it just needs time, and I think we have enough
Speaker 11: of it.
Speaker 3: So we'll see time for a postseason play. Is that
Speaker 3: what you're talking about As far as.
Speaker 5: Time, I don't know.
Speaker 11: I think time to obviously the postseason, but you never know.
Speaker 11: I mean, I keep thinking I'll wake up and be
Speaker 11: able to pitch, you know, so maybe maybe one of
Speaker 11: these next twelve days that'll happen, and we'll see.
Speaker 2: I'll look at Clayton Kershaw telling us a lot, but
Speaker 2: not telling us everything yesterday because when I arrived at
Speaker 2: the ballpark today about thirty minutes after Clayton Kershaw was playing,
Speaker 2: and then went into the Dodger bullpen here in Miami
Speaker 2: and proceeded to throw off the mound without that artificial
Speaker 2: platform that he was using, without a folding chair. He
Speaker 2: was throwing off the rubber in the Dodger bullpen and
Speaker 2: going full throttle. I raced on the concourse to actually
Speaker 2: look with my own eyes to see what I was hearing,
Speaker 2: and what I was hearing was the catcher's mitt poppin
Speaker 2: from the Dodger bullpen. When I was standing in front
Speaker 2: of the Dodger dugout and Kershaw had his spikes on.
Speaker 2: He actually had two different pairs of spikes on, and
Speaker 2: he threw eighty three pitches today in.
Speaker 3: That quote bullpen session.
Speaker 2: So after he was done with that, I asked him, so,
Speaker 2: what went on today? And he said it felt better,
Speaker 2: not perfect, but I am getting closer. And then Dave
Speaker 2: Roberts was asked about it, and now all of a sudden,
Speaker 2: Dave Roberts is acknowledging what Kershaw told us last night,
Speaker 2: that there is a good chance he will make a
Speaker 2: start before the end of the regular season. What do
Speaker 2: you think about that You heard it first right here
Speaker 2: on Dodger Talk last night. Eight six six nine eight
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number. We have
Speaker 2: three lines open. We are going to take more of
Speaker 2: your phone calls. And also we'll share that Timulus soda
Speaker 2: story that Rick Monday had for us yesterday at Dodgertown
Speaker 2: and Vero Beach.
Speaker 3: A lot to get to between.
Speaker 2: Now at eight o'clock live from Miami at lone Depot Park,
Speaker 2: where the Dodgers lower their magic number to seven with
Speaker 2: an eight to four win over the Marlins on a
Speaker 2: five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: Dodger Talk is available on AM five seventy LA sports
Speaker 1: dot com, hand on the iHeartRadio app. Back to more
Speaker 1: Dodger Talk with Dodger insider David Basse.
Speaker 5: Who lost a one pitch belta toward the right field
Speaker 5: corner by Edmund.
Speaker 12: This bumber deep, This call is gone. Tommy hits another
Speaker 12: tank and the Dodgers add on it's three to nothing
Speaker 12: is Tommy. Edmund fits up home run number six, an
Speaker 12: opposite field shot against Ryan Weathers.
Speaker 3: That was the first of two home runs in the
Speaker 3: fourth inning for the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: Tommy Edmund a two run shot, and then later in
Speaker 2: the inning Keik Hernandez with a three run homer himself
Speaker 2: part of a five run fourth inning, as the Dodgers
Speaker 2: would go on to beat the Marlins eight to four
Speaker 2: tonight here at Lone Depot Park, Daniels Jewelers is the
Speaker 2: official sponsor of the trip around the Diamond. Stop by
Speaker 2: any Daniel's location in say home run for your free
Speaker 2: team bracelet and fifty dollars gift card toward any purchase
Speaker 2: of ninety nine dollars or more. Daniels Jewelers own the Dream.
Speaker 2: Eight six six, seven, two five seventy is the phone
Speaker 2: number during the break. I broke down and I did
Speaker 2: have half of that what I thought was a sugar
Speaker 2: cookie here, But the man that brought him up to me, Wanderrado,
Speaker 2: the player relations director for the Dodgers, brought a snicker
Speaker 2: doodle cookie, actually two of them, from the Dodger clubhouse.
Speaker 2: And my understanding is Freddie Freeman also ate the same
Speaker 2: type of snicker doodle cookies before the game, and Freddie
Speaker 2: had three hits tonight, So who am I to say
Speaker 2: no to a Freddie Freeman snicker doodle cookie.
Speaker 3: Appreciate that.
Speaker 2: Eight six six seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: Let's go out to Porter Ranch.
Speaker 3: Young. You're on Dodger Talk Live from Miami. How you doing, young,
Speaker 3: Good Dave, Thank you for taking my call.
Speaker 13: Longtime listener, first time caller. You deserve that snicker doodle.
Speaker 7: I wanted to shout out. I wanted to shout out
Speaker 7: Tommy Huntu and you know the other you know Otani
Speaker 7: and Yamamoto, they get a lot of attention, but he
Speaker 7: is the other Asian sensation.
Speaker 13: He's my Korean brother. We got him. You know, we're
Speaker 13: gonna We knew he was gonna hit for average, but
Speaker 13: he's going you know, the extra mile, hitting two eighty
Speaker 13: four with the Dodgers, hitting for power. Now to I
Speaker 13: thing four or five home runs in the past seven games,
Speaker 13: you know, doing it all, playing all all sorts of positions.
Speaker 13: I know Kirsten Watson and Doug McCain were thinking about
Speaker 13: some nicknames for him, So I have one of my own.
Speaker 13: How about tom the Korean American pheno?
Speaker 5: Can you run that by him?
Speaker 3: How about just uh Man. That's a little bit long
Speaker 3: of a nickname. They're young. We'll come up with one,
Speaker 3: but maybe if you shorten it it might work.
Speaker 2: I like Tim nevertts he when he made that home
Speaker 2: run call, and whenever Edmund hits a home run, he says,
Speaker 2: another tank from Tommy Edmund. I kind of like that one, Tommy.
Speaker 5: The tank, Yeah, yes, had a good ring to it.
Speaker 2: It's gotta be organic, can't be forced, just like Bobby Ice.
Speaker 2: Fortunately the ice melted last night. Yeah, unfortunately. Thank you
Speaker 2: for the phone call, young, but Bobby will be back.
Speaker 3: Trust me.
Speaker 2: Eight six six seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: Let's go out to Ontario. Anthony, your aunt Dodger talk
Speaker 2: live from Miami. Hi Anthony, Hey Dave, what's up man?
Speaker 8: Yeah, you can't turn down a snickerdoodle? Those are my favorite.
Speaker 10: So I'm glad you you came in a little bit.
Speaker 10: Me and Fred Yeah, uh, I'm gonna kind of nippick
Speaker 10: a little bit after this win.
Speaker 8: One of the pet peeves that I hate.
Speaker 6: That Robert does, and you mentioned a little bit, is
Speaker 6: taking his guys out too early.
Speaker 10: Especially with the help that we need out of our bullpen.
Speaker 10: But another one is I hate that they do this
Speaker 10: situational pitching with the bullpen.
Speaker 5: It takes a huge.
Speaker 10: Mindset to coming in the ninth or to be a
Speaker 10: setup guy in the eight, and it doesn't do anything.
Speaker 10: You know, Baseball players are very situational and they're very
Speaker 10: you know, they like their routine. They're systematic about that.
Speaker 10: And if Kopek is your closer, he's got to come
Speaker 10: out in the ninth. If you got to set up guy,
Speaker 10: keep him out in the eighth. This whole situational thing,
Speaker 10: I think it just messes everybody.
Speaker 3: Up in the long run, all right, Anthony.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers have been doing this ever since Dave Roberts
Speaker 2: took over, and it seems to be working really well.
Speaker 2: But I do understand when you say that if you
Speaker 2: don't have a closer, it's kind of like having a
Speaker 2: quarterback controversy. If you're doing a closer by committee, you
Speaker 2: really don't have a closer. And we spoke to Nomar
Speaker 2: Garciapara before we.
Speaker 3: Left for the road trip.
Speaker 2: He experienced some bullpens that did not have a closer
Speaker 2: before he got traded from the Red Sox. It usually
Speaker 2: doesn't work out well, but the Dodgers have ninety wins.
Speaker 2: They're on their way to closing out this division race
Speaker 2: without having a dedicated closer, So we have to acknowledge
Speaker 2: that it has worked the last two years without having
Speaker 2: that dedicated closer. Now, once you get into the postseason,
Speaker 2: you're just counting outs. You've got to find a guy
Speaker 2: that can get the final three outs, and the ninth
Speaker 2: inning is not for everybody. Players have told me that, Managers, coaches,
Speaker 2: relievers have told me that, and especially in the playoffs,
Speaker 2: the ninth inning.
Speaker 3: Is not for everybody.
Speaker 2: And I was asked the other day by coaches from
Speaker 2: other teams, who would be my guy to get the
Speaker 2: final three outs in a playoff game for the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: And I say, without hesitation, Blake Trining, that would be
Speaker 2: my guy. If Michael Kopek is not going to be
Speaker 2: that guy, Blake Trining would be that guy for me
Speaker 2: because he's done it before and he has the stuff
Speaker 2: to do it, even in twenty twenty four. Is it
Speaker 2: as nasty as it was before he got injured. No,
Speaker 2: But I still have a lot of confidence that he
Speaker 2: has the mound presence and the heartbeat to be able
Speaker 2: to get the last three outs. Daniel Hudson has the
Speaker 2: heart beat and the demeanor, but lately the stuff has
Speaker 2: not been as good.
Speaker 3: So if Kopek, who has never pitched in.
Speaker 2: A ninth inning, as big as what he's going to
Speaker 2: see in the postseason with the Dodgers, I'm not sure
Speaker 2: you want to try that for the first time in
Speaker 2: the playoffs, especially if.
Speaker 3: There's a key moment before the ninth inning.
Speaker 2: But for me, going into the playoffs, you have to
Speaker 2: have a certain idea of which reliever or which pitcher
Speaker 2: period is meant for the ninth inning in a pressure
Speaker 2: cooker situation. Eight six, six, nine, eight, seven, two, five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number. And I know we've been
Speaker 2: focusing on the starting pitching a lot, but that is
Speaker 2: something that is going to have a spotlight on it
Speaker 2: once you get to the postseason. Who is going to
Speaker 2: get the last six outs for the Dodgers in the playoffs.
Speaker 2: It feels like Kopek, Daniel Hudson, Evan Phillips, and Blake
Speaker 2: Trenton right now are the four highest highest leverage relievers
Speaker 2: you have, plus Bruce star graderol Let's not forget about
Speaker 2: the Bazuka. He could be that guy to close out
Speaker 2: a ninth inning for you as well. Let's go out
Speaker 2: to North Hollywood, James you're on Dodger Talk, James, I'll
Speaker 2: ask you on the fly on the spot, who would
Speaker 2: you choose to get the last three outs of a
Speaker 2: Dodger playoff game?
Speaker 3: Grattarol, trying In, Kopek. Who would it be?
Speaker 8: I like you, Jake.
Speaker 6: For me, it would be either Trinan or Kopek based
Speaker 6: on that hitters track record in tendencies. But your next
Speaker 6: two guys.
Speaker 5: I differ on.
Speaker 6: I think Vessi is a guy that can do it.
Speaker 6: He's got the fire in his belly. And even though
Speaker 6: the v low on the fastball isn't there, it plays up,
Speaker 6: it plays up in the zone and he's been fantastic.
Speaker 6: And just because Phillips has been there and done that,
Speaker 6: I know he's had a couple of hiccups here and there,
Speaker 6: but I like his stuff more than Huddy than Hudson.
Speaker 2: I would take Greterol over the two names you just mentioned,
Speaker 2: Vesia and Phillips. I'm not sure I'm all in with
Speaker 2: Vessia getting the final three outs.
Speaker 3: Sorry. I love Alex and I think he has a
Speaker 3: role and.
Speaker 2: A really good role, but I'm not choosing him over
Speaker 2: trying In or Grattarol or Copek.
Speaker 6: What about the low strikeouts for you know, Bazooka. I
Speaker 6: know that it's like he's throwing a cannonball hitter, say,
Speaker 6: with that heavy sinker. But don't you want a guy
Speaker 6: with a slightly higher k rate, you know, to close
Speaker 6: out games for I do.
Speaker 3: But Gretarol just came back.
Speaker 2: Let's see a little bit more sample size on whether
Speaker 2: or not the cutter that Kenley Jansen todd him is
Speaker 2: going to play more to get that swing a miss.
Speaker 6: Well, you know that's a good point. We do have
Speaker 6: a couple of weeks left. Speaking of stuff, by the way,
Speaker 6: looking at landon Nak today, his stuff meaning his movement
Speaker 6: and then.
Speaker 3: His great segue there James.
Speaker 6: Hey, thank you, thank you very much. But his location
Speaker 6: meeting his pitching, which is the sign of a mature pitcher,
Speaker 6: in my opinion, was the best I've seen him in
Speaker 6: a Dodger uniform on a Big League mound. So my
Speaker 6: question to you now, and by the way, I heard
Speaker 6: you say Gavin Stone and shoulder surgery in the same sense,
Speaker 6: that's the first time I'm hearing of that. Is he
Speaker 6: officially getting surgery and done for the season.
Speaker 2: He is not getting surgery officially and he's not shut
Speaker 2: down officially, but Dave Roberts said earlier today he doesn't
Speaker 2: believe Gavin Stone is coming back this year. And if
Speaker 2: it is a shoulder issue, it just doesn't go away.
Speaker 2: There's obviously something causing pain. So I would imagine that
Speaker 2: the Dodgers or Gavin Stone would have to look into that.
Speaker 10: Right.
Speaker 2: You don't just all of a sudden get your shoulder
Speaker 2: fixed by not throwing. You could, I guess hypothetically speaking,
Speaker 2: but there's got to be something else going on in there.
Speaker 2: Gavin Stone, for what it's worth, James, when I spoke
Speaker 2: to him today, is not conceding that his season is over.
Speaker 2: He still has pain in that right shoulder. That's why
Speaker 2: he hasn't thrown. But you know it's it's a long
Speaker 2: shot that he's going to come back this year.
Speaker 6: So David, my question for you now, I'm gonna flip
Speaker 6: the script your prediction. Now you need you know two guys,
Speaker 6: hopefully three front end guys in the postseason. Who are
Speaker 6: the four starting pitchers gonna be for the Dodgers in
Speaker 6: the postseason? If you had to look in that magic
Speaker 6: eight ball today, Oh.
Speaker 2: Without a doubt, it's Jack Flaherty, it's Yamamoto, it's Walker Buehler,
Speaker 2: and it's Clayton Kershaw from what.
Speaker 3: I saw today.
Speaker 5: So what rolled is landon Nax?
Speaker 3: I would say a.
Speaker 2: Nax slash Kershaw fourth game if you're if you're in
Speaker 2: a seven game series, depending on where the series is at,
Speaker 2: I would say Nack slash Kershaw. I would have Knack
Speaker 2: in the mix there, but Kershaw starting the game. And
Speaker 2: Nack has shown that he can piggyback coming out of
Speaker 2: the bullpen because he did it last year, He's done
Speaker 2: it this year. I feel like that he would be
Speaker 2: part of it. And Tony Gonsolin may be part of
Speaker 2: a Dodger pitching staff in the postseason as well. Thanks
Speaker 2: for the phone call, appreciated.
Speaker 3: James. Eight sixty six nine to eighty seven two five
Speaker 3: seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: Rick Monday, who makes his op season home here in
Speaker 2: Vero Beach, Florida, is making the commute from Vero Beach
Speaker 2: to Miami during this series. And of course, Rick was
Speaker 2: traded from the Cubs to the Dodgers during the off
Speaker 2: season before the nineteen seventy seven season, and since he
Speaker 2: does make his home now on Vero Beach. He obviously
Speaker 2: has a lot of ties to Dodgertown. We all know
Speaker 2: until the Dodgers moved to Arizona in two thousand and eight,
Speaker 2: I believe Dodgertown, going back to the Brooklyn Dodger days,
Speaker 2: was where the Dodgers held spring training. It was a
Speaker 2: form I'm Army Barracks base right. And Rick and Tommy
Speaker 2: Lasorda spent a lot of time there at Dodger Town
Speaker 2: and Vero Beach, Tommy going back to when he was
Speaker 2: pitching for the Dodgers. Rick obviously going back to when
Speaker 2: he was playing and then became a broadcaster.
Speaker 3: And Rick shared with us a great story that players
Speaker 3: used to play practical jokes on the Hall of Fame
Speaker 3: Skipper Tommy Lasorda.
Speaker 14: Well, we knew when Tommy was going to come in
Speaker 14: at night, and Tommy was he was not a go
Speaker 14: to bed early guy. He was afraid that he was
Speaker 14: going to miss something, right, He always got up early
Speaker 14: in the morning. But we knew that Tommy would never
Speaker 14: be back before twelve thirty, maybe a quarter one, very rare,
Speaker 14: so we knew what time he would be back, and
Speaker 14: then somebody after they knew that he was in here
Speaker 14: and Tommy had a standard wake up call very early
Speaker 14: in the morning. Well, on this particular evening, it was
Speaker 14: the evening before we were going to take bus ride
Speaker 14: across the state and play exhibition game against I don't
Speaker 14: remember who it was, but on the other side of
Speaker 14: the state. So they knew that Tommy was in the room,
Speaker 14: and someone had previously gone in the room and unscrewed
Speaker 14: the mouthpiece on his telephone and took out that little
Speaker 14: amplifier that's in there right in the old telephones. So
Speaker 14: when the phone call came in the next morning for
Speaker 14: his wake up call, elod Mistressorta, it's you know, seven fifteen. Okay, fine,
Speaker 14: He hangs up, He showers, he gets dressed, goes to
Speaker 14: the door, and the door won't open. Someone had tied
Speaker 14: somebody tied a yellow ski rope to the door handle,
Speaker 14: and it was attached to a palm tree right outside
Speaker 14: the door. So he picks up the phone to call, Yes, missterssorta,
Speaker 14: what can I do for it? Somebody locked me in
Speaker 14: the room, yes, Missressorta, because the amplifier didn't remove. Well,
Speaker 14: Tommy eventually got out of the room and he got
Speaker 14: on the bus and we were on the bus waiting
Speaker 14: for Tommy, and Tommy looked at every one of us
Speaker 14: and he knew that one of or some of us
Speaker 14: had something to do with the fact that he got
Speaker 14: tied up into the room that morning.
Speaker 3: I'm sure Rick Monday had nothing to do with that, right.
Speaker 2: Well, never know, Rick would not give up the goods
Speaker 2: after he told us that story. But a lot of
Speaker 2: great times by so many players, broadcasters, coaches at Dodgertown
Speaker 2: and Vero Beach, Florida. And that's one of the things
Speaker 2: I never crossed off my bucket list. I always wanted
Speaker 2: to go to Dodgertown in Vero Beach. I never had
Speaker 2: the opportunity. Obviously a little bit more challenging to get
Speaker 2: from the San Fernando Valley to Vero Beach, Florida. My
Speaker 2: single mom was not going to be able to make
Speaker 2: it or even attempt to try to get me to
Speaker 2: Vero Beach, Florida. So I started broadcasting and never had
Speaker 2: the opportunity or be sent by the radio stations I
Speaker 2: was working for to cover the Dodgers in spring training.
Speaker 2: So that's one place that I wish I could have seen,
Speaker 2: because I've seen the videos. I've heard the stories about
Speaker 2: not only the fields and the string section of the
Speaker 2: bullpens and Roy Campanella, Sandy kofax Don Drysdale being out there,
Speaker 2: but also I heard about that large dining room where
Speaker 2: a rookie, a Dodger rookie could be sitting next to
Speaker 2: a Dodger All Star, or an All Star could be
Speaker 2: sitting next to a Hall of Famer. Everybody from all
Speaker 2: levels of the organization would have their meals in this great,
Speaker 2: big dining room. And I heard so many great stories
Speaker 2: about that. I wish I could have experienced it. But
Speaker 2: a special place that is still being used for baseball.
Speaker 2: The RBI programs out there. International teams come to train
Speaker 2: at Dodgertown and Vero Beach, so it's still alive, and
Speaker 2: I'm sure a lot of great memories still exist from
Speaker 2: those that had an opportunity to visit Dodgertown in Vero Beach.
Speaker 2: That was the place to concentrate only on baseball. All right,
Speaker 2: that'll do it for us on Dodger Talk tonight from Miami.
Speaker 2: Coming up tomorrow, the finale of this three game series
Speaker 2: and the last game of this road trip for the
Speaker 2: Dodgers that saw them split the first four in Atlanta
Speaker 2: and now looking to have a winning road trip by
Speaker 2: beating the Marlins. It's not going to be easy because
Speaker 2: the Marlins are throwing one of their best young right
Speaker 2: handers and Edward Cabrera. Tomorrow, Jack Flaherty is going to
Speaker 2: be on the mound for the Dodgers. Morongo Casino. Dodgers
Speaker 2: on Deck begins at twelve thirty tomorrow. First pitch from
Speaker 2: Miami is at one forty with Rick Monday and Tim Neverett.
Speaker 2: Thanks to Colin Ye back at our Burbank Studios. Thanks
Speaker 2: to Dwayne McDonald out here at Lone Depot Park in Miami.
Speaker 2: Thanks to you for listening, and case you missed any
Speaker 2: of the show, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2: You can follow me on Instagram at officially Vassa and
Speaker 2: on x at the Real Underscore DV. Once again, the
Speaker 2: final score from Miami, the Dodgers defeat the Marlins eight
Speaker 2: to four.
Speaker 3: Have a great rest of your night. We'll talk to
Speaker 3: you tomorrow. See them
Speaker 14: Away.