Speaker 1: With you until eight o'clock tonight here on AM five
Speaker 1: to seventy LA Sports. I'll be co hosting with Matt
Speaker 1: mney Smith on Friday from Dodger Stadium three to seven pm.
Speaker 1: So essentially that will be Dodger Talk from what I
Speaker 1: believe will be a Dodger workout as they prepare for
Speaker 1: Game one of the NLDS, which will be this Saturday
Speaker 1: from Dodger Stadium at five thirty eight. It's looking like
Speaker 1: the Padres because they are leading the Atlanta Braves now
Speaker 1: five to two in the top of the sixth inning,
Speaker 1: although Matt Olsen is at the plate with runners at
Speaker 1: the corners against Tanner Scott, who the Dodgers made look
Speaker 1: human last week at Dodger Stadium. Also, the Milwaukee Brewers
Speaker 1: came from behind to beat those miracle Mets with a
Speaker 1: go ahead, three run home run in the bottom of
Speaker 1: the eighth inning from Garrett Mitchell. So tomorrow a winner
Speaker 1: take all Wildcard Series game in Milwaukee, Dodg Mets versus
Speaker 1: and a guy that knows all about hitting home runs
Speaker 1: in Milwaukee and all across Major League Baseball. Fifteen years
Speaker 1: in the big leagues, one of the best first basemen
Speaker 1: of his generation. He played seven hundred and thirty five
Speaker 1: regular season games for the Dodgers, five postseason series. He
Speaker 1: was really the symbol of this Dodger ownership turning things
Speaker 1: around for this franchise when they traded for Nick Punto,
Speaker 1: Carl Crawford, Josh Peckett, and our guests, the one and
Speaker 1: only Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzo, thanks a lot for calling in.
Speaker 2: Appreciate it, Hey, Dave, thank you for having me, Thank
Speaker 2: you for wanting to speak to me. I know, you know,
Speaker 2: we jab at each other back and forth, but on
Speaker 2: this day today, we are not jabbing at each other.
Speaker 2: We are making deals.
Speaker 1: That's right. Gonzo started a fantasy league while he was
Speaker 1: still playing for the Dodgers, and the league is still going.
Speaker 1: It's brought in some different people, and right now Gonzo
Speaker 1: and David Vasse's teams are both one and three. So
Speaker 1: we had to shake things up here, Gonzo.
Speaker 2: We did, we did. We had to shake things up
Speaker 2: and you know, make make sure our teams are, you know,
Speaker 2: getting stronger.
Speaker 1: So it's I love making trades with you because you're reasonable.
Speaker 1: I sent an offer over and you accepted it. It's
Speaker 1: Brian Robinson and Garrett Wilson going to lt Ton's team,
Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison Junior and Bucky Irving coming over to All
Speaker 1: Valley vass A. I feel like, see, this is the
Speaker 1: trade more teams need to make a Major League Baseball.
Speaker 1: It's a win for you, it's a win for me.
Speaker 1: I'm not trying to steal from you, Gonzo.
Speaker 2: You know what it really it really kind of reminds
Speaker 2: me of the trade that, looking back now, the Dodgers
Speaker 2: made with the Tigers. Right, they get the Dodgers got
Speaker 2: Jack Clarity, the Tiger's got a few you know, players,
Speaker 2: and now the Tigers are in the postseason.
Speaker 1: Yeah, how do you think the Tigers feel about that?
Speaker 1: Because the player the Dodgers gave Trey Sweeney, he's been
Speaker 1: playing shortstop ever since Javierhebias went out, and he served
Speaker 1: a very useful purpose for them.
Speaker 2: Yeah. One, I think you know, the team wasn't expecting
Speaker 2: to make the turnaround that they did, and you know,
Speaker 2: they brought in some youth. They you know, kind of
Speaker 2: went into this like let's just have fun mentality, and
Speaker 2: before you know it, they started winning games and you know,
Speaker 2: here they are, you know, in winning a postseason series.
Speaker 1: Adrian, You're the perfect guy to talk to about this.
Speaker 1: All around LA it feels like fans and even you know,
Speaker 1: the so called experts are giving the Padres way too
Speaker 1: much respect. When you came to the Dodgers, it felt
Speaker 1: like there was an attitude change and not arrogant, but
Speaker 1: a confidence level that when your Dodger teams took the field,
Speaker 1: you owned that field. How much do these Dodgers have
Speaker 1: to feel that when they take the field on Saturday
Speaker 1: night against probably these Padres, you.
Speaker 2: Know, they have to be confident. I mean, obviously the team,
Speaker 2: you know, best record in the National League, you have
Speaker 2: to you know, step onto the field feeling like you're
Speaker 2: the best team out there. I will say the Padres
Speaker 2: have a great team, especially a team that is made
Speaker 2: for the postseason. Having said that, you know, the Dodgers
Speaker 2: have the stars they have with Tani, they have Mookie,
Speaker 2: they have Freddy, they have you know, Yamamoto. They have
Speaker 2: these pieces that they should step onto the field feeling
Speaker 2: extremely confident, like, Hey, we got to go out there
Speaker 2: play our game. We're going to win because we trust
Speaker 2: what we have. WHI trust what we're doing and we're
Speaker 2: the most talented team out here, So you know, they
Speaker 2: just got to believe that. They got to know that.
Speaker 2: And on top of it, you know, you got to execute.
Speaker 2: You have to go out there and execute, and you
Speaker 2: cannot be predictable, which is one thing in the past
Speaker 2: that Dodgers have been in the postseason is predictable. They
Speaker 2: we know what, we know what. You know, pitchers are
Speaker 2: gonna what kind of pitchers they're gonna throw in these situation,
Speaker 2: we know what. So they need to be a little
Speaker 2: bit un predictable when it comes to being able to
Speaker 2: adjust and do things that the other team is not expecting.
Speaker 1: I love that you said that, Adrian, because even Dave
Speaker 1: Roberts said that during the regular season, playing the Padres,
Speaker 1: playing the Diamondbacks so much the last three years, they
Speaker 1: know how the Dodger pitchers are attacking them in game planning.
Speaker 1: What's the balance of changing things up but still pitching
Speaker 1: to your strengths.
Speaker 2: You know, I the greatest pitchers that you that you
Speaker 2: see in the postseason, and now I'm going to go
Speaker 2: by you know, my own personal examples, right John Lester.
Speaker 2: You know you talk about, you know, guys that have
Speaker 2: had a ton of success, and I'm going to go
Speaker 2: to John Lester, specifically, right John Lester. During the regular season,
Speaker 2: every single at bad I faced him, he was a
Speaker 2: forcing cutter guy, forcing Cutter's kerball, right, That's all I
Speaker 2: saw every single pitch. And then when we played him
Speaker 2: in the postseason against the Cubs, guess what, I get
Speaker 2: up to the plane and first pitch as he has
Speaker 2: a sinker. Second pitch I see is a changeup. So
Speaker 2: everything I had seen that season is now out the door,
Speaker 2: and that picture had the confidence. John Lesser had the
Speaker 2: confidence to go up there and say, like, listen, I
Speaker 2: know that you think I'm gonna throw these pitches, but
Speaker 2: I'm gonna picture completely different because you're not ready for that.
Speaker 2: And that's what makes a picture very, very unpredictable and
Speaker 2: very successful in the postseason. Right, Madison Bumgarner, same thing.
Speaker 2: He was super super successful because he was able to
Speaker 2: change things up. And if a picture is very predictable
Speaker 2: in the postseason, the hitters are going to be able
Speaker 2: to adjust because the hitters have time to study that
Speaker 2: picture in depth. In the regular season, if I'm a hitter,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna study the first ten to fifteen pitches of
Speaker 2: a posing picture, and then I'm gonna move on to
Speaker 2: the next and then you know it's the next day
Speaker 2: and the next day and the next day. In the postseason,
Speaker 2: you spend hours on every picture and you try to
Speaker 2: dissect every single situation so you know what they're gonna throw.
Speaker 2: And that is what I'm talking about when it comes
Speaker 2: to predictability.
Speaker 1: Adrian Gonzalez is our guest, one of the best first
Speaker 1: base of his generation now does it for sports Net.
Speaker 1: La is the man for Collie Dodd for Jersey, Mike's
Speaker 1: for so many things, Gonzo, And speaking of the pitchers perspective,
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you about the hitters perspective. There's
Speaker 1: been a lot of criticism of Dodger hitters the last
Speaker 1: three or four postseasons that they can't make adjustments in
Speaker 1: game because of what you're describing other teams are doing
Speaker 1: pitching them backwards. How do you adjusting game? How do
Speaker 1: you recognize that because I remember so many times it
Speaker 1: was you, it was Justin Turner that was taking back
Speaker 1: scatting reports to the dugout. Is that what it's going
Speaker 1: to come down to?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, yeah, you have to do all your
Speaker 2: due diligence, right, You have to spend time in the
Speaker 2: video room. You have to see what they've done in
Speaker 2: the past, right, you have to use that as your
Speaker 2: first step. And then the second thing you have to
Speaker 2: do is, hey, that first time through the lineup, what
Speaker 2: are they doing differently? If we're not having success and
Speaker 2: that first time through the lineup, what are they doing differently?
Speaker 2: Because if they're doing what we expected them to do,
Speaker 2: then we need to step up our game. We need
Speaker 2: to be better. We need to put our foot down
Speaker 2: on time. We need to make sure we're not over swinging.
Speaker 2: We need to make sure that we're getting barrel to
Speaker 2: the ball and we're not trying to hit home runs
Speaker 2: because in the postseason, you hit home runs because of adrenaline.
Speaker 2: You don't hit home runs because you're trying to hit
Speaker 2: home runs. If you're trying to hit home runs, you're
Speaker 2: over singing, and you're swinging under fastballs and you're swinging
Speaker 2: over all speed pitches. So you know, if they're doing
Speaker 2: something different, you make that adjustment second time to the lineup.
Speaker 2: But the team has to communicate. They have to be
Speaker 2: able to have those conversations and they have to be
Speaker 2: ready to change. And the key, like I said, is
Speaker 2: don't try to hit home runs in the postseason, let
Speaker 2: your adrenaline create the bad speed and just focus on
Speaker 2: getting the bats of the ball.
Speaker 1: Do you believe Otani will be able to do that? Gone, So,
Speaker 1: you know.
Speaker 2: What, he's shown that he has that he can do that.
Speaker 2: He's have success in.
Speaker 3: The WBC in the past, he's had some success, and
Speaker 3: you know the times that we've seen him that, you know,
Speaker 3: we think that they he might the pressure might get
Speaker 3: to him, and he's always stepped up to the play
Speaker 3: in those situations.
Speaker 2: So I really do think that he is a guy
Speaker 2: that will be able to do that. You know, we
Speaker 2: don't know. Everybody's different, everybody can react different to a
Speaker 2: new situation. Obviously, this is his first postseason game coming
Speaker 2: on Saturday, but I do believe that he will be
Speaker 2: able to have the success that we expect him to have.
Speaker 1: Not only was Adrian Gonzalez a great hitter, but he
Speaker 1: was one of the best defensive first basemen, a multi
Speaker 1: goal Glove Award winner, and one of the best at
Speaker 1: defending the bunt and the wheel play came into question
Speaker 1: the last home stand of the season, and I just
Speaker 1: remember how great you were crashing on those type of plays.
Speaker 1: So what are the challenges Freddie Freeman is going to
Speaker 1: have on a bum right ankle. Are you concerned about
Speaker 1: the ground he'll be able to cover around first base,
Speaker 1: about handling bunts, doing all those things that you need
Speaker 1: to do to be a good first baseman.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna I'm I'm gonna make a joke out of this,
Speaker 2: but it's also my answer. So Freddy Freeman and a
Speaker 2: bad ankle is moving faster than I was on a
Speaker 2: I'm too good legs, So I believe he'll be just fine.
Speaker 2: You know, playing first bases about having instincts and anticipating things.
Speaker 2: It's not about how fast you are. So I really
Speaker 2: think he will be just fine, you know, being able
Speaker 2: to cover bonds or cover you know, his positions I
Speaker 2: think he needs to do. He might not be feeling bases.
Speaker 2: He might not be, you know, he might be. What
Speaker 2: I did is turning triples into doubles. Right, he hit
Speaker 2: the ball in the gap. He's not gonna get a
Speaker 2: triple out of it. He's gonna get a double out
Speaker 2: of it. That's perfectly fine. But we need his bat
Speaker 2: in the line of it. We need we need his
Speaker 2: glove at first base.
Speaker 1: And that's his front foot when he hits Gone. So
Speaker 1: that's not an issue, right, It.
Speaker 2: Shouldn't be much of an issue now. I mean, you know,
Speaker 2: it's gonna be heavily taped. I'm sure if their soreness
Speaker 2: still lingering, you know, comes Saturday, it's gonna be it's
Speaker 2: gonna be fine. He you know, maybe maybe a little
Speaker 2: bit of a mechanical adjustment there, but he'll be just fine.
Speaker 2: He's he's got he's got some of the best hands
Speaker 2: in the game when it comes to swinging the bat,
Speaker 2: so I'm sure his legs won't get in the way
Speaker 2: of his amazing swing.
Speaker 1: Adrian and Zalez had so many great moments in a
Speaker 1: Dodger uniform, so many fun times. He knew how to
Speaker 1: be inclusive with everybody in that clubhouse. He knew when
Speaker 1: it was time to be serious, he knew when it
Speaker 1: was a time to lighten the mood. When you look
Speaker 1: back at those Dodger teams that you played on, Gone,
Speaker 1: So is there one that you're more fond of than
Speaker 1: the other. I'm not going to ask you which was
Speaker 1: the best, but which one were you the most fond of?
Speaker 1: If you can put it into context.
Speaker 2: You know, I think, in my opinion, the twenty thirteen
Speaker 2: team the first team that we know the first year,
Speaker 2: you know, when it started, this twelfth season run, right,
Speaker 2: I believe that was the team that you know, we had,
Speaker 2: the team, we had the everything going for us to
Speaker 2: win it all. Obviously, you know, Hanley Ramirez being hit
Speaker 2: in the ribs and his ribs being broken and for
Speaker 2: pretty much taking him completely out of that, he's really
Speaker 2: hurt us. And uh, you know, he was our best
Speaker 2: hitter at the time. He was he was you know,
Speaker 2: he had an incredible series against Atlanta and and you know,
Speaker 2: he was our number three hitter. And I think, you know,
Speaker 2: the fact that he was a guy that you know,
Speaker 2: was taken out of that series really affected us. So
Speaker 2: that's that's the That's the thing that I look back
Speaker 2: and I'm like, man, if if he was healthy that series,
Speaker 2: I think I think we had a really really good
Speaker 2: shot at winning that whole thing.
Speaker 1: I still give Joe Kelly crap about that gone, So
Speaker 1: I don't let him forget that. I haven't forgotten.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, for sure, I uh, I'm uh, you know,
Speaker 2: maybe maybe maybe you can get him to admit on
Speaker 2: there that that it was semi semi on purpose just
Speaker 2: to uh to just to get under him a little bit.
Speaker 2: But Joe Kelly is a great guy. He's unbelievable, and uh,
Speaker 2: you know it was it was you know, they like
Speaker 2: they pitched inside with with no repercussions, you know that team.
Speaker 2: They they if a guy was was ready to lean
Speaker 2: out there, they made sure to throw one up and
Speaker 2: then on purpose and as they hit you as well.
Speaker 1: When you major first debut as a Dodger you hit
Speaker 1: a home run. Is that still one of the more
Speaker 1: special moments of your career?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Having Vin Scully be able to call that was
Speaker 2: very special, you know. And then obviously my first at
Speaker 2: Bad and the way that I got a standing ovation
Speaker 2: from the Dodger fans. I was, I don't know what
Speaker 2: to expect, you know, coming from a padre being a
Speaker 2: pottery for all those years, So it was just very
Speaker 2: special to me.
Speaker 1: I'll never forget twenty thirteen the Mickey Mouse ears. Maybe
Speaker 1: the Dodgers can come up with something like that.
Speaker 2: You know, they said I was a Mickey Mouse uff though.
Speaker 2: You know what, let's I'll show you what Mickey Mouse
Speaker 2: stuff really is, you know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, hey, we follow you on Instagram. We follow
Speaker 1: you on x. You got this five am workout club, Gonzo.
Speaker 1: You got girls to raise, so you're getting You're getting
Speaker 1: your work out early before the sun comes up. What's
Speaker 1: up with this five am crew that you always post about.
Speaker 2: You need to come. You need to come to work
Speaker 2: out with us every Tuesday and Thursday, five thirty in
Speaker 2: the morning. You know, group of guys, most mostly parents
Speaker 2: of the school, but you know, we got we got
Speaker 2: some some others that have been added onto the group.
Speaker 2: It's a it's a group of about twenty five. We
Speaker 2: get between six and twelve every every day. And yeah,
Speaker 2: we get we get it. We get the workout done before,
Speaker 2: you know, before the kids are up, before it before
Speaker 2: the day starts. And you know, the way we like
Speaker 2: to say it is, you know, we start the day
Speaker 2: with a w The rest of the day is just
Speaker 2: for us to enjoy it because we've already won the day.
Speaker 1: Love it. See, Gonzo is leading the school parents now.
Speaker 1: See just like you did when you played, you know
Speaker 1: how to galvanize and include everybody.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean you have to write. I mean you
Speaker 2: have to create a community and you have to you know,
Speaker 2: have a goal in mind. And you have to go
Speaker 2: after it.
Speaker 1: Love it, Gonzo. It's great to hear your voice. You
Speaker 1: meant so much to the Dodgers in this city ever
Speaker 1: since you put on that uniform, and certainly one of
Speaker 1: the great Dodgers of the last thirteen years. And Dodger
Speaker 1: fans still love you and we can't wait to see
Speaker 1: you again on sports in at LA. And maybe Adrian
Speaker 1: Gonzalez is throwing out a first pitch in the NLDS.
Speaker 2: Oh man, that would be great. Now it's you know,
Speaker 2: it's gonna be a great series, regardless of what team
Speaker 2: it is. And you know, I can't wait for the
Speaker 2: Dodgers to, you know, be able to win that series,
Speaker 2: you know, after a couple of tough seasons.
Speaker 1: All Right, Adrian, thanks a lot for coming on, and
Speaker 1: thanks a lot for making that trade. It's a done deal.
Speaker 2: It's a done deal, Dave. It's a done deal. Our
Speaker 2: teams are going up from here on out.
Speaker 1: Here we go two and three from here, Gonzo.
Speaker 2: That's right, that's right.
Speaker 1: I'll talk to you soon. Okay, thanks a lot for
Speaker 1: coming on.
Speaker 2: All right, I appreciate it. I appreciate it, Dave. We'll
Speaker 2: talk to them