Speaker 1: Now boarding flight five seventy to Arizona.
Speaker 2: Welcome to a springs Raining edition of Dodger Talk on
Speaker 2: a home bringing you all the latest on the blue
Speaker 2: and taking your calls, hosted by Dodgers insider David Vassi.
Speaker 3: LA favorite son David Firsa.
Speaker 2: To catch anything you missed, subscribe to Dodger Talk on
Speaker 2: your podcasting platform of choice. Welcome back, Oh the Boy back,
Speaker 2: and now your host, David vas say.
Speaker 4: We are live in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, not with just
Speaker 4: our partners, but with our family of a five seventy
Speaker 4: LA Sports.
Speaker 3: We have a very special edition of Dodger Talk for
Speaker 3: you tonight. Our very own Rick Monday, who has been
Speaker 3: in the Dodgers radio booth since nineteen ninety three, has
Speaker 3: showed up and is going to join us. Coming up
Speaker 3: in our next segment. Andre Ethier, also a proud Arizona
Speaker 3: State Sun Devil, is expect to join us at some
Speaker 3: point in time, and a lot of insults will be
Speaker 3: thrown at me between Rick and Andre.
Speaker 1: So that'll be the entertainment tonight.
Speaker 3: But before we go forward, I just want to say
Speaker 3: thank you to our partners and our family of AM
Speaker 3: five seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: If we can all raise a drink to.
Speaker 3: Each other here in downtown Phoenix and to the world
Speaker 3: champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Thank you to the California Community Colleges.
Speaker 3: Thank you to CCHLA. You guys do such a great job.
Speaker 3: Thank you to zenc Shooe Sushi Bonzai's NC Shushie Bonzai,
Speaker 3: Engelbert Strass Alignment, Health Intuitive Agency, Chumash Casino. We all love,
Speaker 3: We all love Chumash, Marongo, our good friend Marogo, Scott Cooper, Coop,
Speaker 3: good times, good times, Coop.
Speaker 1: I'll be there. I'll be there.
Speaker 3: Don't worry, Jay Pritchard and Daniels Jewelers. Diamond dreams do
Speaker 3: come true, don't they. Rick, You're having one right now.
Speaker 3: This is a dream. This is a dream. So thank
Speaker 3: you for joining us tonight. And it's not a coincidence.
Speaker 3: You have seen the two best games of spring training
Speaker 3: since you got here last night. These people here in
Speaker 3: this room at the Arrogant Butcher Witness Show. Hey Otani's
Speaker 3: first game of spring witnessed O'tani's first at bat and
Speaker 3: of course a home run. Who else can do that?
Speaker 3: Nobody can do that. Otani can do that. And then
Speaker 3: today you witness two things. Freddie Freeman's first home run
Speaker 3: of the spring, and some would say a bigger miracle.
Speaker 3: Hey Son Kim got a hit and it was a
Speaker 3: home run, three runs scored. Dodgers beat the Giants six
Speaker 3: to five. Last night you saw Dalton Rushing walk the
Speaker 3: Dodgers off with a win. And we all love beating
Speaker 3: the Giants right six to five today, that's always special.
Speaker 3: How about what Rick Monday pointed out? And Rick's gonna
Speaker 3: join us in just a moment, but I love that.
Speaker 3: Rick Monday again pointed out an Arizona State Sun devil's accomplishments,
Speaker 3: Austin Barnes, who, by the way, is the longest active
Speaker 3: Dodger position player on this roster. Nobody else has been
Speaker 3: on this team longer than Austin Barnes, except Clayton Kershaw,
Speaker 3: who was here for the first three days but then
Speaker 3: went home to be a dad. But he'll be back.
Speaker 3: He's not starting the season. But Austin Barnes, with this
Speaker 3: new automated strike zone where catchers, pitchers, hitters can challenge
Speaker 3: the balls or strikes, Austin Barnes today may have set
Speaker 3: the home plate umpire on tilt, back to back pitches
Speaker 3: and he got him right. And he is five for
Speaker 3: five this spring for appealing balls and strikes. Yeah, Barnesy,
Speaker 3: that guy is uh, he's special. He brings something to
Speaker 3: the team that doesn't show up in the box score.
Speaker 3: So I had to give Austin Barnes some kudos. And
Speaker 3: you know, the biggest question for the Dodgers this spring,
Speaker 3: and even Rick touched on it a little bit, is
Speaker 3: second base and center field. That's the biggest question. There's
Speaker 3: two spots for four guys. Can you name the four
Speaker 3: guys that are competing for two spots? One of them
Speaker 3: is Hey Song Kim Whu Homer today. The other is
Speaker 3: Andy Paez, who could play center field in the corner.
Speaker 3: The other is James Outman, who had a rough sophomore season.
Speaker 3: And the fourth, if you want to put him in
Speaker 3: the mix, is Chris Taylor. Oh, come on, I mean,
Speaker 3: I mean, really, Chris, don't we don't we have some
Speaker 3: credit with Chris Taylor. Come on, Chris Taylor's built some
Speaker 3: credit in this room, hasn't he He's built some credit
Speaker 3: in this city. But those are the four guys that
Speaker 3: are competing for a spot. And for me personally, I
Speaker 3: feel like, you know, Kim is learning a new swing.
Speaker 3: I don't know, maybe I think he's on he's on
Speaker 3: the uh on the bubble to make the team. I
Speaker 3: would pick Pahz right now. And it feels like ct
Speaker 3: is going to be on this team at least to
Speaker 3: start the year. So those are You know, in spring training,
Speaker 3: you come and you get competitions for jobs. There's not
Speaker 3: too many competitions for jobs on this Dodger team this spring.
Speaker 3: I mean, who's gonna take Freddie Freeman's job, Who's taking
Speaker 3: shoey Otani's job, Who's taking Will Smith's job?
Speaker 1: Nobody? So that's the way it looks right now, and
Speaker 1: I feel like.
Speaker 3: We all should just take it in because of all
Speaker 3: the heartbreak over the last thirteen years.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers.
Speaker 3: If you don't know the history of their name, and
Speaker 3: here's a fun fact. Back in Brooklyn, they were the
Speaker 3: bridesmaids to start out with, right they were they were
Speaker 3: they were always coming up second the Yankees in Brooklyn
Speaker 3: and la But we've had that in recent history as well,
Speaker 3: and that's why it means so much for them to
Speaker 3: win the twenty twenty four World Series so I think
Speaker 3: we all should appreciate that you saw the parade. It's
Speaker 3: a special time to be a Dodger fan. This is
Speaker 3: the golden age of Dodger baseball, especially in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3: All right, we're gonna take a time out when we
Speaker 3: come back. The one and only Rick Monday, who is
Speaker 3: seated next to me, who is giving me a lot
Speaker 3: of judgment looks in that first segment. I am being judged.
Speaker 3: I'm always being judged. He keeps me honest. Rick Monday
Speaker 3: will join us. Well, he's sitting right next to me,
Speaker 3: but he'll put the headset on.
Speaker 1: I think.
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk live from the Arrogant Butcher in downtown Phoenix
Speaker 3: with our family having a great time in spring training
Speaker 3: right here on your home for the world champion Dodgers
Speaker 3: and five seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 2: We return to more of this edition of Spring Train
Speaker 2: Dodger Talk, your host and Dodger insiders, David Vasse.
Speaker 3: We are live in downtown Phoenix as we are hosting
Speaker 3: a very special Dodger Talk on this beautiful Saturday night
Speaker 3: in the desert in the shadow of Chase Field, and
Speaker 3: we are having a great time with our partners here
Speaker 3: in Phoenix. They got to see two of the best
Speaker 3: spring training games this spring so far. I want to
Speaker 3: say thank you to our hosts, Jeff Thomas, Julie Martski,
Speaker 3: Joel Kelly, and Dave Waste. But we are joined right
Speaker 3: now by a man that is the star of Dodgers Radio,
Speaker 3: the anchor of the Dodgers broadcast on AM five seventy
Speaker 3: LA Sports. A man that joined the broadcast team in
Speaker 3: nineteen ninety three, a man that made his name in
Speaker 3: Major League Baseball for nineteen great seasons, hit one of
Speaker 3: the biggest home runs in Dodger playoff history in nineteen
Speaker 3: eighty one, the first overall draft pick ever in night
Speaker 3: teen sixty five. And that is our very own treasure,
Speaker 3: Rick Monday. Please get Rick Monday from love. Thank you,
Speaker 3: Thank you for coming by. Rick and I met Oh no.
Speaker 1: No you didn't.
Speaker 5: But I do want to commend you on the fact
Speaker 5: that you read it exactly as I wrote it. But
Speaker 5: that worked out well. By the way, David, you obviously
Speaker 5: have not paid attention. There is a sign over there
Speaker 5: that says no loitering, and management wants to talk to
Speaker 5: you about it. So I mean this is great. I
Speaker 5: mean the world championship means a lot. I wear this
Speaker 5: ring for eighty one for a lot of reasons. It
Speaker 5: reminds me of twenty four teammates, it reminds me of
Speaker 5: a coaching staff, reminds me of a front office. It
Speaker 5: reminds me of everyone in the Dodge organization, the people
Speaker 5: that supported the game itself, and everyone in this room
Speaker 5: you've had a.
Speaker 1: Part in it.
Speaker 5: So a celebration of a world championship, it does not
Speaker 5: happen that often, and when it comes around, it is very,
Speaker 5: very special. And the biggest thing is is you saw
Speaker 5: in the video Briefly, it's a good excuse for adults
Speaker 5: to act like six year olds after you win a
Speaker 5: World championship, and that's exactly what happens, and it's a
Speaker 5: wonderful feeling. The oddity is, after you win a World Series,
Speaker 5: it kind of sings in a couple of days later,
Speaker 5: and the clock gets to that area in the afternoon
Speaker 5: where you normally leave your house and you go to
Speaker 5: the to the ballpark. The clock gets that area that
Speaker 5: normally you're taking batting practice. And then the clock gets
Speaker 5: that area that said, well, normally, it's the anthem in
Speaker 5: the first pitch there was a song many many years
Speaker 5: ago about is that all there is? And after you
Speaker 5: win the World Championship, if things kind of calmed down,
Speaker 5: it's the silence is deafening because you're used to fifty
Speaker 5: thousand people. And for the Dodgers and the Yankees, I mean,
Speaker 5: it was a World Series that everyone watched. I've always
Speaker 5: said the Dodgers and Yankees could play any tiddlewinks contest
Speaker 5: and you would have a big, big crowd, and that's
Speaker 5: exactly what happened. And then the Doctors went it in
Speaker 5: five games. So this is special. Embrace it, taste it
Speaker 5: because it does not go around that often.
Speaker 3: Rick Monday's Dodgers, Yes, indeed, Rick Monday's Dodgers played the
Speaker 3: Yankees three times in the World Series, lost back to
Speaker 3: back years in seventy seven and seventy eight, but there
Speaker 3: was redemption in nineteen ninety on.
Speaker 5: A setting on the edge of my seat because to me,
Speaker 5: you know, I grew up in Santa Monica, so I'm
Speaker 5: a West Coast guy to begin with. I live in
Speaker 5: Florida now, but yeah, I did not care for the Yankees.
Speaker 5: And then three World Series and it came down Finally,
Speaker 5: there were some things that we thought could have happened
Speaker 5: in a couple of those games, like Reggie Jackson throwing
Speaker 5: his hip out on a throw that Bill Russell was
Speaker 5: making an attempt to make a double play. Frank Pully
Speaker 5: is a second base umpire. I don't remember much about it.
Speaker 1: Sounds like you haven't gotten over it, right.
Speaker 5: No, no, no, No. Hardack lasts for a long long time,
Speaker 5: but through the twenty twenty four Dodgers there was an
Speaker 5: extra special thing for me to kind of live vicariously
Speaker 5: through their accomplishments because they were able to do so much.
Speaker 5: I mean Freddy Freeman, it's amazing that, first of all,
Speaker 5: he was able to play, especially in the World Series,
Speaker 5: and then he hits that Grand Slam in Game one.
Speaker 5: He could barely walk. We're still seeing the after effects
Speaker 5: after having the surgery during offseason. It was a very
Speaker 5: special year and a lot of different reasons that came
Speaker 5: into it, including the fact if you look at the
Speaker 5: bullpen for the Dodgers during that World Series, even in
Speaker 5: postseason play, they were so lights out remarkable. It was
Speaker 5: amazing because he had injuries into starting rotation, but this
Speaker 5: is a ball club that has the resiliency I said
Speaker 5: last year in Game one of Spring Trending, and I
Speaker 5: reiterated it again in Game one this year. Last year,
Speaker 5: I said the Dodgers were perceived as the Goliath of
Speaker 5: baseball and everyone wanted to be David and slay Goliath. Well,
Speaker 5: David didn't show up last year. Well, my personal opinion
Speaker 5: is David has gotten bigger, stronger, and better during the offseason.
Speaker 5: But you can't wait it on paper. You still have
Speaker 5: to go out and play the best baseball one hundred
Speaker 5: and sixty two games in order to get to the playoffs,
Speaker 5: and then one team is going to win eleven games
Speaker 5: and be crowned as the world champions.
Speaker 3: What have you seen from the Dodgers so far in
Speaker 3: spring training. I know it's hard to assess, but it
Speaker 3: feels like there's still.
Speaker 5: Still difficult I said, really coming in is that there's
Speaker 5: two question marks. The decisions can be difficult, and that's
Speaker 5: the nice thing. But centerfield and second base, as you
Speaker 5: were talking about earlier, no one has really stood up
Speaker 5: and said, hey, I'm the guy. So limited number of
Speaker 5: only twelve more days here because the Dodgers will leave
Speaker 5: early and go to Tokyo. They'll have a couple of
Speaker 5: days there to work out. Then they played the two
Speaker 5: exhibition games against two different teams from Japan, and then
Speaker 5: they open up against against the Cubs. So you know,
Speaker 5: there's there's a time a time span in here that
Speaker 5: someone is going to have to raise their hand by
Speaker 5: how they perform on the field in order to win
Speaker 5: one of those two positions. And it may be it
Speaker 5: may be a combination of different people.
Speaker 3: It might be just one position, right because Tommy Edmund
Speaker 3: can play second and center and shortstop.
Speaker 1: He has a high baseball and I think if you look.
Speaker 5: David, we've seen it. The Dodgers have had versatility. And
Speaker 5: it's not just guys say, hey, go out and play
Speaker 5: second base and we hope nobody hits the ball to you.
Speaker 5: Go out and play left field, we hope nobody hits
Speaker 5: the ball to you. The Dodgers have had the depth
Speaker 5: in different positions where the guys go out and they
Speaker 5: play the positions very well. You know, you look at
Speaker 5: Chris Taylor, you look at k K. Her Nanaz, you
Speaker 5: look at Tommy Edmonds. You bring up on top of it,
Speaker 5: and now Michael Conforto come in primarily to play left field.
Speaker 5: He's still trying to get the swing going and get
Speaker 5: back into the pattern. Because I remember Conforto years ago
Speaker 5: at Shaye Stadium when he made his major league debut
Speaker 5: and it was against the Dodgers in New York, and
Speaker 5: he was very highly touted, and it comes over. I
Speaker 5: think you're talking to Andrew Friedman, the president of Baseball Operations.
Speaker 5: He said that he believes very strongly that the eye
Speaker 5: of Conforto really presents itself better with Dodgers Stadium than
Speaker 5: it did with that real big right center field fence
Speaker 5: and configuration that they had in San Francisco. But you know,
Speaker 5: there's a lot of water that has to go into
Speaker 5: the bridge. But what a bridge it is. The Dodgers
Speaker 5: have been able to build because in my estimation I
Speaker 5: look at it, this is a better team on paper.
Speaker 5: Now how they perform could be a different story. I
Speaker 5: don't think so. But I expect the Dodgers full well
Speaker 5: to be in postseason again. But again, once they get
Speaker 5: to that point, you have to win eleven games.
Speaker 3: Rick Monday calls more games than any other Dodger broadcaster
Speaker 3: and was with the Dodgers all the way through last year,
Speaker 3: and certainly is I don't want to demean your broadcasting skills.
Speaker 3: But you are the Austin Barnes of the Dodger broadcast
Speaker 3: team because you are the longest active tenured Dodger broadcaster
Speaker 3: going back to nineteen ninety three, and you have you
Speaker 3: have the rare perspective, the rare perspective to kind of
Speaker 3: relate to Freddie Freeman. I remember one of the first
Speaker 3: couple of years working with you, Rick, we were in
Speaker 3: the Dodger Coaches Clubhouse and your former teammate Davey Lopes
Speaker 3: was down there and I put you on the spot.
Speaker 3: I said, what's your biggest baseball highlight? Of course saving
Speaker 3: the flag? But Davey Lopes and I agreed, your home
Speaker 3: run in nineteen eighty one was just as big in
Speaker 3: the baseball world. Can you relate to what Freddie Freeman
Speaker 3: was feeling in Game one of the World Series?
Speaker 5: I guarantella he did not feel a bad ankle going
Speaker 5: around the bass, because really, I mean, you feel like
Speaker 5: you're on a cloud because there's so much emotion that happens.
Speaker 5: Freddy's was different because it ended the game. With the
Speaker 5: Grand Slam games over from our standpoint, you go back,
Speaker 5: you know, decades and decades we took the lead, but
Speaker 5: in my estimation Montre Lexpos were a better team than
Speaker 5: the New York Yankees. They had more firepower, they had
Speaker 5: more things that could beat you. They had speed, they
Speaker 5: had all kinds of power to go with it. They
Speaker 5: have very good defense, and I felt, okay, we took
Speaker 5: the two to one lead at that particular time, but
Speaker 5: we still had three huge outs and the Expos in
Speaker 5: the bottom of the ninth inning had the tying and
Speaker 5: winning runs on base. And there were two planes at
Speaker 5: the airport. The Dodger plane was one of them, and
Speaker 5: the Expos had another plane. One of them was going
Speaker 5: to leave that night because the World Series was going
Speaker 5: to begin the next evening in New York. Fortunately it
Speaker 5: was the Dodger plane that left.
Speaker 1: Thanks to Rick Monday. They call it Blue Monday in Montreal.
Speaker 5: Still get hate mail.
Speaker 3: The Dodgers would not have had that opportunity for redemption
Speaker 3: in nineteen eighty one.
Speaker 1: It wasn't for Rick Monday, but I.
Speaker 5: Had to hit it David quite frankly, because Sunday's game
Speaker 5: that was going to be Game five was rain slash snow.
Speaker 5: Doubt I say snow because from something California to see
Speaker 5: his snow floorry. Oh no, no, it's snow. So we
Speaker 5: played on Monday, and quite frankly, I asked Fernando Venezuela,
Speaker 5: who we missed nearly. I asked Fernando before the game,
Speaker 5: I said, have you ever seen snow? And he looked
Speaker 5: at them and he laughed. He goes, yeah, less Mendonia's
Speaker 5: up in the mountains. But he pitched like he was
Speaker 5: a Frosty the snowman. But I had to hit the
Speaker 5: whole run because, quite frankly, I was freezing right.
Speaker 1: And how is the plane ride to New York short?
Speaker 5: I've never been you know, you talk about short flights
Speaker 5: with turbulence. Oh, there was created turbulence on that one.
Speaker 5: And we had to play the next night.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Game one of the World Series was the day after
Speaker 3: Game five of the NLCS against the Montreal Expos.
Speaker 1: Steve Rodgers the pitcher.
Speaker 5: Yeah you remember him, Yes, I do. And he took
Speaker 5: a lot of heat and he should not have because
Speaker 5: he shut us out what three days prior to that,
Speaker 5: and it came down to it. That's why, that's why
Speaker 5: postseason gets our attention, whether you're a fan, whether you're
Speaker 5: a player. Obviously gets your attention of your player. But
Speaker 5: there's something special about it because you work so hard
Speaker 5: to get there and you follow a team and it
Speaker 5: is truly it is a special moment in someone's life
Speaker 5: if you follow it. And that's why I say he
Speaker 5: look everybody in here, you had a part, You had
Speaker 5: a part in it, whatever that involvement was. There's something
Speaker 5: special about the moniker of World Champion. It makes the
Speaker 5: broadcast better right from the open because we don't say
Speaker 5: it's the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio and outlet. It's the
Speaker 5: World Champions And only one team can make that claim
Speaker 5: no doubt.
Speaker 3: And Rick Monday brought a World championship to the city
Speaker 3: of Los Angeles in nineteen eighty one, and they're looking
Speaker 3: to make it back to back championships to Major League
Speaker 3: Baseball for the first time in twenty five years. Rick
Speaker 3: Monday is truly a treasure to the city of Los Angeles.
Speaker 3: Listen to the Dodge organization, keep trying to bury it
Speaker 3: every day. Thanks Rick, Thanks for showing up tonight, even
Speaker 3: I was going.
Speaker 1: To be there.
Speaker 5: Well, no, I did not know you're Dave. I told
Speaker 5: Dave Weis, who's the cameraman. Very talented I told Joe
Speaker 5: Edward that had I known you would have been here,
Speaker 5: I'd be back at my condo. Uh, you know, yeah,
Speaker 5: right now. But but I didn't know that because some
Speaker 5: of the faces here I know over the years, and
Speaker 5: there's a special relationship when you when you get involved
Speaker 5: and uh, you know, we see we see only the
Speaker 5: booth and there are there's so many different pieces of
Speaker 5: the puzzle that have to go together in order for
Speaker 5: us to even have the opportunity to have a broadcast.
Speaker 5: And everyone in here with the companies, you have, the
Speaker 5: relationships that you have, you're part of that. Uh, it's
Speaker 5: like a spider web. It's not just one little strand
Speaker 5: that works. You need everybody else to be there. And
Speaker 5: whether it be with the radio station, whether it be
Speaker 5: of the sponsorship, whether it be with the broadcast or
Speaker 5: anything else. There's so many different moving parts each and
Speaker 5: every day. It's phenomenal. We have a good time on
Speaker 5: a pregame show that we do, at least that's our
Speaker 5: stance on it. We have a good time. Don't know
Speaker 5: if anybody likes it or not, but we have five
Speaker 5: minutes of a pregame show where we kind of put
Speaker 5: our feet on the ground and be honest about it
Speaker 5: and go back because you have the greatest relationship. And
Speaker 5: I mean this sincerely, David Vassay has the greatest relationship
Speaker 5: with the players and the coaches and really his finger
Speaker 5: on the pulse of the ball club each and every day.
Speaker 5: There's nobody else in the entire game of baseball that
Speaker 5: has the relationship that David Vassa has. And he has
Speaker 5: it because he has a a great sense of humor
Speaker 5: and he spends the time and the energy and spends
Speaker 5: hours and hours with all of these guys and it
Speaker 5: makes it enjoyable for us because he's Johnny on the spot.
Speaker 5: And from time to time, including today, we go to
Speaker 5: the David before a broadcast. Today he said, hey, anything
Speaker 5: and down there that it might be out of the
Speaker 5: ordinary that we don't see because you make it a
Speaker 5: lot of fun.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Rick, you make it fun too.
Speaker 3: They want to be the same coming to the ballpark
Speaker 3: without seeing you the first person.
Speaker 1: Thank you to Rick Monday for showing up.
Speaker 3: And another Arizona State Sun devil, Andre Ethier is going
Speaker 3: to join us and we'll pick this up when he
Speaker 3: shows up and the insults will be flying for sure.
Speaker 1: Thanks Rick, and you are first class, no doubt about it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, well, it's one of those things I had trouble
Speaker 5: to find it.
Speaker 1: I parked.
Speaker 5: I parked just like you, like, two doors down, and
Speaker 5: I wound up coming out of the parking structure a
Speaker 5: block and a half away. I'm gonna police.
Speaker 1: Wasn't waiting for you outside?
Speaker 5: No, I told you. If I don't, if I'm not
Speaker 5: there tomorrow for opening pitch, I'm still looking for my car.
Speaker 1: We need you, Rick. I hope you find it.
Speaker 3: Thanks to Rick Monday for stopping by, and we will
Speaker 3: continue with Dodger Talk from the Arrogant Butcher in downtown
Speaker 3: Phoenix as we get set for the Dodgers to defend
Speaker 3: their World Series championship on the World Champion Los Angeles
Speaker 3: Dodgers Audio Network.
Speaker 2: Don't miss a moment of spring training Dodger Talk. Subscribe,
Speaker 2: follow our podcast on whatever platform you prefer. And now
Speaker 2: here's David Vase.
Speaker 3: We are live in downtown Phoenix at the Arrogant Butcher,
Speaker 3: a very special Saturday night edition of Dodger Talk. Thank
Speaker 3: you to our good friend Rick Monday, your friend kind
Speaker 3: of mine. He won't admit it publicly, but thank you
Speaker 3: to Rick Monday, and thank you to all of you
Speaker 3: that have joined us. You could tip the bartender Miranda.
Speaker 3: She is really slinging these drinks over here. All of
Speaker 3: you are enjoying it all. And thank you so much
Speaker 3: for being with us this week. And it's been a
Speaker 3: great weekend of spring training. And look, it's gonna be
Speaker 3: a great year. The Dodgers are starting the season in Tokyo, Japan.
Speaker 3: Yoshi Yamamoto is going to start Game one against fellow
Speaker 3: countryman Shota Imanaga. And I'll be there live in Tokyo.
Speaker 3: Rick will be packing his bags in El Segundo, but
Speaker 3: we'll connect via the magic of radio on the Dodgers
Speaker 3: Morongo Casino Dodgers on Deck Show. Yeah, Coop, there we go.
Speaker 3: Good times anyway, It's gonna be a fun time. It's crazy,
Speaker 3: really my first trip, my second season with the Dodgers.
Speaker 3: They started the year in Sydney, Australia. Rick Monday was there.
Speaker 3: He got to go on the team cruise while I
Speaker 3: got kicked out of a few bars in Sydney, Australia
Speaker 3: for no apparent reason. And the travels with the Dodgers
Speaker 3: have taken me to a few different continents last year
Speaker 3: with the Dodgers in Soul, Korea, it was it was
Speaker 3: an experience. I did not get kicked out of any
Speaker 3: bars just for you know, a little darker shade of skin.
Speaker 3: You were in El Segundo for that too. It's interesting
Speaker 3: because so many fans came there and it was the
Speaker 3: Otani show there, and that's what why all the players
Speaker 3: and everybody around the team is so excited about starting
Speaker 3: the season in Japan.
Speaker 1: It's not just.
Speaker 3: Because they're going to Japan, one of the great countries
Speaker 3: in the world, but the fact they're going with the
Speaker 3: Taylor Swift of Major League Baseball and sports entertainment show,
Speaker 3: Hey Otani. And when we went through the airport last
Speaker 3: year and sold Korea, there were fans, there was media
Speaker 3: as we got through customs. My understanding is they're trying
Speaker 3: to limit that in Tokyo, Japan in the airport because
Speaker 3: it will be overwhelming. So it is going to be
Speaker 3: like traveling with the Beatles, Rick Monday, it's like traveling
Speaker 3: with Taylor Swift. Julie Martsky, just trying to put it
Speaker 3: in different contexts of generations. The Dodgers beat the Giants
Speaker 3: six to five today. Freddie Freeman hit his first home
Speaker 3: run a spring. Hayesan Kim, who will be joining the
Speaker 3: Dodgers in Tokyo, Japan, also homer today he had to
Speaker 3: reconstruct his whole swim. The biggest news of today though,
Speaker 3: was that my guy Blake Snell snell Zilla, the newest
Speaker 3: Dodger two time, two times cy Young Award winner, through
Speaker 3: a bullpen session. It was electric, Rick, It was an
Speaker 3: electric bullpen session.
Speaker 1: Today.
Speaker 3: He's gonna pitch on Monday, a day off for the Dodgers,
Speaker 3: because he's getting lined up, probably not to start in Japan,
Speaker 3: and there's still some question whether or not Roki Sazaki
Speaker 3: will start Game two of that Japan series. I know
Speaker 3: the Dodgers had mentioned he's going to pitch there, but
Speaker 3: there's still a little question mark about who is going
Speaker 3: to be the Game two starter. I could see somebody
Speaker 3: named Tony Gonsolin possibly starting that game, or a Tyler
Speaker 3: Glass now starting that game. And I could see snell
Speaker 3: Zilla starting the home opener against the Detroit Tigers against
Speaker 3: the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Trek Scoobel.
Speaker 3: How about that, And just to line up the schedule
Speaker 3: in case you're trying to line up your lives here.
Speaker 1: It is.
Speaker 3: The home opener against the Tigers is not going to
Speaker 3: be the ring ceremony. Game two is going to be
Speaker 3: the ring ceremony where the players get their rings. And
Speaker 3: keik A Hernandez shared with us on the Morongo Casino
Speaker 3: Dodgers on Deck show a couple of days ago that
Speaker 3: he had a lot of fomo, a lot of fomo
Speaker 3: the last time the Dodgers won the World Series because
Speaker 3: he signed with the Boston Red Sox so he was
Speaker 3: not there with the rest of the team to get
Speaker 3: his ring.
Speaker 1: So he will be there this time.
Speaker 3: And I saw key A Hernandez showed himself in full
Speaker 3: living color in October. But even more to me this
Speaker 3: morning in the clubhouse, I'll just leave it right there. Tmi, tmi.
Speaker 1: That's it.
Speaker 3: You know, That's what I that's you know, that's what
Speaker 3: happens in the clubhouse, right I know, I know. Anyway,
Speaker 3: that's the kind of good times we have, good times
Speaker 3: like at Morongo Casino. Yeah, we had some good times
Speaker 3: this morning, Coop. I'll tell you about it later, Rick,
Speaker 3: I won't. I will tell you, but we're having a
Speaker 3: great time here. It's an exciting time to be a
Speaker 3: Dodger fan. And I hear a guy that is very
Speaker 3: much in demand in this city. It's his city these days.
Speaker 3: Andre Ethier is going to be joining us. I heard
Speaker 3: he had a hard time there he is. Wow, surprise guest.
Speaker 3: Two sun devils right there, Two sun Devils right there,
Speaker 3: Andre Ethier, who played all twelve Major League seasons with
Speaker 3: the Los Angeles Dodgers and as a great ambassador man.
Speaker 3: Two lefties, two Arizona State sun Devils, and two number
Speaker 3: sixteen's right here sitting at the same table. There's a
Speaker 3: lot in common here. Thank you for joining us, Ethier.
Speaker 3: Please sit down. I'm sorry the valet wasn't ready for
Speaker 3: you when you when you showed up.
Speaker 6: Oh that's all right, but I'm glad one of us
Speaker 6: dressed up at least today.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, what do you mean? This is your
Speaker 1: type of shirt right here? The wolf?
Speaker 6: What do you think you put some wolfs and snakes
Speaker 6: on it? And you're an Arizona A lot of edge, yeah,
Speaker 6: a lot of edge?
Speaker 1: Right? Hey Rick Rinday Monday, guys, what an honor.
Speaker 6: A quick story to share with you, real quick. Vass
Speaker 6: kind of mentioned it, but a little full circle for
Speaker 6: me and Rick Arizona State, Arizona State. I got my
Speaker 6: number sixteen given to me by the clubhouse staff my
Speaker 6: first game in Dodger Stadium, not by my choice.
Speaker 7: I didn't choose sixteen.
Speaker 6: It was given to me because Rick war sixteen and
Speaker 6: played at Arizona State. Paul Laduca played at Arizona State
Speaker 6: in war number sixteen, and I was the third sun
Speaker 6: Devil to come along and from Arizona State. So a
Speaker 6: little full circle there that Arizona State and Dodgers wearing
Speaker 6: sixteen is a is a pretty cool thing.
Speaker 3: And uh, maybe you guys could chip in some nil
Speaker 3: money since you're all mister Arizona State.
Speaker 1: Wow, I mean to talk about money yet like this,
Speaker 1: come on too, proud Arizona State guys, spend.
Speaker 7: Some money on your outfit.
Speaker 1: Wow, geez, what's it like for you?
Speaker 3: Andre Ethier actually was a coach. Coach Ethier in camp
Speaker 3: this spring he put on the uniform and he had
Speaker 3: the edge out there. What was it like being around
Speaker 3: the team as a as a guest instructor.
Speaker 6: It's fun, Uh, getting getting to come back and uh
Speaker 6: not have the pressure of making the team and getting
Speaker 6: put on the uniform is there any is there anything
Speaker 6: better than that? But uh, I mean I'm in awe,
Speaker 6: I'm in ob seeing uh you know those guys out
Speaker 6: there and the quality of players this team has, and
Speaker 6: the way this organization just keeps figuring out a way
Speaker 6: to get better. You think it isn't possible, but they
Speaker 6: keep figuring out a way to make this team better.
Speaker 6: With everything out there, and you know that new uh
Speaker 6: batting cage facility.
Speaker 1: Did you get to go inside this very secretive batting lab.
Speaker 6: Yeah, the batting lab. I don't know if anyone's seen
Speaker 6: this batting lab, but it's a.
Speaker 3: Big structure now where just outdoor cages used to be
Speaker 3: when Andre Ethier showed up a camel back ranch.
Speaker 6: Yes, and now it's fully endorsed, so no one knows
Speaker 6: what's going on in there. But yeah, it's it's a
Speaker 6: pretty impressive, you know facility with all the bells and
Speaker 6: whistles that you could want from the pitching hitting side,
Speaker 6: tons of cameras and analytics type information going on in there.
Speaker 6: Guys can get in there really dial in their swing
Speaker 6: in pictures the same way. That's where all the catchers
Speaker 6: are doing a lot of their work early on or
Speaker 6: after workout. They go in there and they have some
Speaker 6: camera motion stuff so the catchers can analyze, you know,
Speaker 6: they're framing some of their footwork stuff they're doing. So yeah,
Speaker 6: there's a lot of high level and then I guess
Speaker 6: the brains of the organization from the analytics movement side.
Speaker 6: Everything is has offices in that in that building also,
Speaker 6: so they're in there dissecting, coming up with a game
Speaker 6: plan and figure out to make this team better.
Speaker 3: Everybody wants to know what's it like to be up
Speaker 3: close and personal with shoe hey Otani. I mean we
Speaker 3: get close to him on the backfields there as close
Speaker 3: as fans can ever get to Otani to see just
Speaker 3: how big and how much of our presence physically he is.
Speaker 3: For a guy like you that played the game, what's
Speaker 3: it like to see a specimen like him.
Speaker 6: I think that was the most surprising thing when I
Speaker 6: first met him, was how big he is. You know,
Speaker 6: he's a he's a he's a very big guy and uh,
Speaker 6: you know, and thick thicker than you think too, and
Speaker 6: uh it makes sense why the ball goes so far
Speaker 6: when he hits it. Yeah, yeah, he's a big guy,
Speaker 6: and uh, I think that the thing that first impressed me.
Speaker 6: Not only about that, was just also how humble he is.
Speaker 6: You know, a guy who's achieved so much and is
Speaker 6: breaking records NonStop in this game, and you see the
Speaker 6: historic season he had last year, and he is still
Speaker 6: just like a little kid out there running around and
Speaker 6: enjoying the game, having fun. And I think he loves
Speaker 6: being a Dodger, you can tell it. And I think
Speaker 6: that's that's the best thing for me, is to see
Speaker 6: someone who has now found his hopefully forever baseball home,
Speaker 6: which is the good side of la uh, which that
Speaker 6: isn't even l A. I said to Anaheim. Yeah, we
Speaker 6: don't talk about that, but we're the real la.
Speaker 7: Yeah we are. You know.
Speaker 6: I'm glad he's a part of our team and organization
Speaker 6: and he's gonna be a Dodger forever.
Speaker 3: Andre Ethier, the Mexican Prince of the Desert, is joining
Speaker 3: us here at the Arrogant Butcher.
Speaker 1: What do you get that, Nicolo about nicol little ultra?
Speaker 1: Is that what you're drinking now? You're looking for your figure?
Speaker 7: You should wow.
Speaker 3: Hey, I'm like Shack. I get into shape when the
Speaker 3: season starts.
Speaker 6: Yeah, sometimes you don't ever get in shape.
Speaker 1: I guess, oh, man, look at this.
Speaker 3: Wow, Wow, this is a big wig at iHeartRadio, and
Speaker 3: she just got you a beer from behind the bar.
Speaker 3: That's Julian Markski and that's Miranda. Please tip the bartender. Ethier,
Speaker 3: you know what that's all about, doing a great job. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I like, wow, Wow, I got that shade right there. Hey,
Speaker 3: I'm gonna ask a lot of fans during the season. Hey,
Speaker 3: salute to Andre Ethier. Huh, salute to Andre.
Speaker 1: Everyone enjoys.
Speaker 6: Everyone's been out to spring training before, right, mostly everyone here.
Speaker 3: Some some are repeat visitors, some are first timers. How
Speaker 3: did you treat spring training? Did you love mingling with
Speaker 3: the fans when spring training started? Because I knew how
Speaker 3: locked in and serious and focused you were when the
Speaker 3: season started.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 6: I think this is the funnest time of the year,
Speaker 6: not only for the fan but also for the player,
Speaker 6: especially this team, you know, Dodgers team. The last fifteen years,
Speaker 6: there's not been a lot of spots.
Speaker 1: Being earned or yeah right, yeah, you.
Speaker 6: Coming to camp. Everyone knows their spot. Everyone knows their
Speaker 6: their place. You kind of see it. I know it's
Speaker 6: not always the fans' favorite thing, but you know, you
Speaker 6: get two or three at bats, you're done for the day.
Speaker 6: Your kids, family're waiting for you in the backfields. You're
Speaker 6: at home by four four thirty, having dinner with the family,
Speaker 6: talking to fans, fans you've gotten to know over the years.
Speaker 7: You know new ones you're meeting.
Speaker 6: You know, it's fun, it's it's it's relaxed. The seriousness
Speaker 6: of the game hasn't started yet. You're not out there,
Speaker 6: you know, really competing. You're just trying to get yourself
Speaker 6: ready for the season.
Speaker 7: And you know it's fun.
Speaker 3: It's uh being in the role that you're in as
Speaker 3: an ambassador and being a guy that puts on the
Speaker 3: coaches uniform, the hoodie and the hat and all that.
Speaker 3: You were so locked in as a player, and that's
Speaker 3: part of the reason why you were as successful as
Speaker 3: you were. But at this stage of your life and career,
Speaker 3: when you're open to fans coming up to you, are
Speaker 3: you shocked how much you meant to a lot of
Speaker 3: fans into La and Dodger fans?
Speaker 1: Did you? Were you aware of that?
Speaker 6: You hear cheer for you in the stadium and you
Speaker 6: know they're they're pretty loud, but yes, you don't realize.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 6: And someone said it great. I think Dave said this
Speaker 6: great in a meeting one of the days I was
Speaker 6: in camp was you know, we're all out here trying
Speaker 6: to be successful baseball players, and you don't realize that
Speaker 6: this name across your jersey, you know this Dodgers, this
Speaker 6: is Los Angeles.
Speaker 7: Which we used to wear on the road.
Speaker 6: The Los Angeles name on the road means more than
Speaker 6: any individual gets to put on this uniform every day, right,
Speaker 6: And so, uh, this team represents the city, represents community,
Speaker 6: represents generations of uh, you know, Dodger.
Speaker 7: Fans and LA people.
Speaker 6: And when you realize that, you know you're playing for
Speaker 6: something bigger than just yourself.
Speaker 3: Andreth year is in downtown Phoenix. When was the last
Speaker 3: time you were in downtown Phoenix, Andre Ethier, I know
Speaker 3: you were. You were a Sun season ticket holder, but
Speaker 3: being here for two weeks, it feels like the sky
Speaker 3: is falling. The Sun has been eclipsed by the great
Speaker 3: Lakers Lebron and Luca and Austin Reeves.
Speaker 1: Have you given up your season seats in Phoenix?
Speaker 7: I still have season tickets.
Speaker 1: Only for Laker games, Lakers Suns.
Speaker 7: Yes, I will go to the Lakers Sun's game.
Speaker 6: I know you got a lot of brag about with
Speaker 6: h oh Luca Luca dot.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I'm just saying Andre is a big
Speaker 3: Laker fan, but obviously born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona.
Speaker 1: He has a lot of local pride.
Speaker 3: His favorite player was Tom Chambers and Dan Marley. But
Speaker 3: I mean, what's it like now that's my dinner for tonight?
Speaker 1: Meet loaf?
Speaker 7: Yeah, you look like a meatloafs guy. He looks like
Speaker 7: a meat loaf.
Speaker 1: Right, Like they didn't have nachos?
Speaker 6: Was everyone disappointed when they got to see you for
Speaker 6: the first time?
Speaker 7: A little bit? All right, A little bit, A little bit.
Speaker 3: I saw too much a key k today, I'll tell
Speaker 3: you that anyway. Andre Ethier is our guest here a
Speaker 3: Dodger Talk live at the Eric and Butcher in downtown Phoenix.
Speaker 3: I'm going to ask fans all season long because I'll
Speaker 3: never get tired of hearing first hand experiences of where
Speaker 3: you were when Freddie Freeman hit his walk off grand
Speaker 3: slamming Game one of the World Series.
Speaker 1: I have not asked.
Speaker 3: Andre Ethier this, where were you when Freddie ended Game one?
Speaker 6: I was I I'm trying to think I wasn't in
Speaker 6: la yet because I came from game two.
Speaker 1: Huh were you at one of your kids games?
Speaker 6: Probably I was coaching a flag football game like four
Speaker 6: hours ago, were you really? I had a seven year
Speaker 6: old playoff flag football game that I was out there at.
Speaker 7: So yeah, so I was doing that.
Speaker 6: Actually, I believe I was at home and we were
Speaker 6: all watching the game because I was I knew I
Speaker 6: was coming out the next day to come throw the
Speaker 6: first pitch with our guy Matt Kemp.
Speaker 7: The for the second World Series game.
Speaker 6: So I was just sitting at home here in Phoenix
Speaker 6: watching the game, and I could tell you I still
Speaker 6: I was. We were going to get that job done
Speaker 6: in that game. Like I didn't have any feeling of like, oh, shoot,
Speaker 6: this isn't gonna work out.
Speaker 1: I was like, this is we got this.
Speaker 6: We got this started that inning and yeah, as soon
Speaker 6: as Freddie connected, it was yeah, yeah, you know it
Speaker 6: was over, and I think our whole house was screaming,
Speaker 6: jumping up and down.
Speaker 7: Yeah. I was just excited as ever to see.
Speaker 1: That Rick beat the Yankees. In nineteen eighty one.
Speaker 3: He talked about just how much pride he had as
Speaker 3: a Dodger that the Dodgers were able to not only
Speaker 3: win the World Series but to beat the Yankees. How
Speaker 3: much pride did you have because you showed up in
Speaker 3: the bubble in twenty twenty to text? I saw Etherier.
Speaker 3: We went to a driving range. He said, Hey, what
Speaker 3: do you want to do? I was like, you want
Speaker 3: to call me to the driving range. So he was
Speaker 3: in the bubble in Texas. He saw the Dodgers win
Speaker 3: the World Series in twenty and he gets to see
Speaker 3: the Dodgers win again in twenty four.
Speaker 1: So how much.
Speaker 3: Pride do you have playing your entire major league career
Speaker 3: with the Dodgers even though you weren't on the field
Speaker 3: that they want it.
Speaker 7: I was super excited.
Speaker 6: I think I had a little more, I guess, like
Speaker 6: angst in me and like wanting to beat the Yankees.
Speaker 6: I was in all the games in New York for
Speaker 6: the Mets series, and I think the Mets fans and
Speaker 6: or the Yankees fans were wanting the Dodgers in that
Speaker 6: and they were already talking smack everywhere. You know, you
Speaker 6: walk in with my la stuff and all the Yankees
Speaker 6: fans would yell at me, We're gonna get you guys
Speaker 6: next series.
Speaker 7: You know, all that stuff. Right everywhere you went.
Speaker 6: And I remember showing back up to the same hotel,
Speaker 6: you know, a week later, and all the bellman, all
Speaker 6: the everyone is talking smack to me, and yeah, it
Speaker 6: was exciting to be a part of it, and I
Speaker 6: guess reminded me of all those highlights.
Speaker 7: I saw Rick in that team in eighty one playing
Speaker 7: the Yankees.
Speaker 6: And you know, Dodgers back in the day, and it
Speaker 6: was nice just to have that matchup and of course,
Speaker 6: you know, take it to them the way we did.
Speaker 1: Yeah, are you gonna come to the home opener, the
Speaker 1: ring ceremony? Where are you gonna be? I know you
Speaker 1: still you have such a connection to this organization.
Speaker 7: Still, I don't know if I'm going to open to yet.
Speaker 6: I'm I'm hopefully my bag will be unpacked by then,
Speaker 6: but I am making a trip to Tokyo, So I'm right.
Speaker 6: I'm heading out to Tokyo on the fourteenth for that
Speaker 6: trip out there, and we have a few things going
Speaker 6: out on out there.
Speaker 1: For Are you making appearances on the streets of Tokyo, Japan?
Speaker 7: I am.
Speaker 6: I was just getting recommendations of the best ramen spot,
Speaker 6: you know, don spot. Is there any secret YAKATORI, I
Speaker 6: have to visit in the middle of the night, you know, stuff.
Speaker 1: Like that, So yes, one, I must one.
Speaker 7: I don't want to.
Speaker 6: Tell you where I'm going because I know you follow me.
Speaker 1: Jeez.
Speaker 3: He he showed me the good life the last couple
Speaker 3: of years. If him playing, he found all the good
Speaker 3: foodie spots, so I'll be trailing you. Actually started to
Speaker 3: google Eaters top thirty eight restaurants in Japan.
Speaker 1: I found one that Obama visited.
Speaker 3: I tapped into the Japanese media and they have led
Speaker 3: me down the right path.
Speaker 6: So I'm gonna make sure to look up that that
Speaker 6: same Eaters, and I will avoid all thirty eight of
Speaker 6: those match funs.
Speaker 1: Wow, thanks a lot.
Speaker 3: I can't wait to see you in a Japanese garden somewhere.
Speaker 3: I'll be in the middle of meditating and I'll just wait.
Speaker 7: And we'll have a Machia tea ceremony.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it sounds good. Sounds good.
Speaker 7: Me and you back together.
Speaker 1: Oh man, what a team. Don't worry, snell Zilla won
Speaker 1: be part of the equation.
Speaker 7: That's all I hear about. You followed him around.
Speaker 3: Don't worry, it's you and me home team right here.
Speaker 3: Everybody was anticipating you. Two great sun devils have joined
Speaker 3: us here on Dodger Talk. Dre thanks a lot for
Speaker 3: the time, and I'll see you in Tokyo.
Speaker 6: Yeah, see in Tokyo.
Speaker 3: Appreciate Andre Ethier, a great Dodger and a champion of
Speaker 3: the people.
Speaker 1: Thank you to all of you for being here.
Speaker 3: In case you want to listen to this again or
Speaker 3: missed any of it, or you want to relive it
Speaker 3: on the way home, you can find it all on
Speaker 3: the iHeartRadio app. You can listen to all the Dodger
Speaker 3: talks on the iHeartRadio app after you miss it after
Speaker 3: the game in case you're asleep at night by the
Speaker 3: time we're driving home. But all the Dodger talks, all
Speaker 3: the interviews, you can find him on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3: And we're looking forward to another great season. Our next
Speaker 3: Dodgers Radio broadcast is coming up on Tuesday, and we'll
Speaker 3: we'll have all the action with the Dodgers and Angels
Speaker 3: this week and as we lead you towards Tokyo, a
Speaker 3: great thing we are doing at an five seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 3: First pitch in Tokyo is three am Pacific time. But
Speaker 3: don't worry. We will replay it at six am, including
Speaker 3: Morongo Casino, Dodgers on deck, good times.
Speaker 1: Thank you for being here, thank you for listening. We
Speaker 1: love you all. We'll talk to you on Monday. Sea