Speaker 1: Okay, here we go, Fred Rogan Rodney Pete on five
Speaker 1: seventy LA Sports. It's two hours today to get ready
Speaker 1: for what might be the final Dodger game of the season.
Speaker 1: On the other hand, it could very well be another
Speaker 1: step in their road to the World Series. Rodney, And
Speaker 1: which one do you think it'll be. Well, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: stay positive here here, Fred. I think it's going to
Speaker 1: be a step in another road to the World Series.
Speaker 1: I think that the game five is coming back to
Speaker 1: Dodger Stadium. And I say this because you know, everybody
Speaker 1: wants to point to previous years and say, oh, the
Speaker 1: Dodger struggles in the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Here we go again, this and that. But I think
Speaker 2: this year is is a little bit different and a
Speaker 2: lot of ways we talked about going into these playoffs
Speaker 2: is that first off, you know, a different, different lineup
Speaker 2: obviously with o Tani and he's got a hit and
Speaker 2: we'll we'll talk about him. But I think that because
Speaker 2: they they had to fight. These are the things we
Speaker 2: talked about going into the series. They had to fight
Speaker 2: to win the division. But also there were several times
Speaker 2: this year where their backs were to the wall, they
Speaker 2: were struggling they needed to win, they needed to stop
Speaker 2: the bleeding, and they did it. And I think that
Speaker 2: because of that, this year can be different. Now they
Speaker 2: still have to go out and do it on the field,
Speaker 2: but I think they can only because I'd look at
Speaker 2: and I'd probably be looking at this different if the
Speaker 2: game ended up different last night. But it was a
Speaker 2: close ball game. It was hard fault. We saw the
Speaker 2: emotions of Walker Buehler. You know, obviously Uh Tasker hitting
Speaker 2: the Grand Slam was was huge, but there wasn't a blowout.
Speaker 2: And I think because the Dodgers' bullpen has been pretty good,
Speaker 2: I think they can handle tonight and get it back
Speaker 2: to Yamamoto. But I do I feel like it's a
Speaker 2: it's a little bit different than year's past. Now we
Speaker 2: hope that comes true, but I think it's a little
Speaker 2: bit different feeling. But things have to happen in this
Speaker 2: game that haven't happened in the two losses.
Speaker 1: Okay, so I am with you. I think the Dodger
Speaker 1: bullpen will pitch well tonight. I am with you one
Speaker 1: hundred percent on that. That does not, though excuse the
Speaker 1: distinct lack of hitting t Oscar Homwerk last night and
Speaker 1: Mooky finally broke out of it. Thank goodness, Mooki came alive.
Speaker 1: Mooky hit the ball. Mooki hit a home run. So
Speaker 1: Mooki showed up last night. He had been missing in action.
Speaker 1: He showed up big time. Yeah. I don't want to
Speaker 1: be wrong about something that I've said. You questioned it
Speaker 1: when I said it. I don't want to be wrong
Speaker 1: about it. But I may be is Otani made for
Speaker 1: the moment because after his performance in Game one, he
Speaker 1: has been absent hitting, and he's got to hit tonight.
Speaker 1: He's got to hit. He can't be chasing. He's got
Speaker 1: to hit, and there can't be when a guy has
Speaker 1: a bad game, there's no bad games. Now he's got
Speaker 1: to hit tonight. Mooky's got to continue tonight. I think
Speaker 1: the bullpenal'll do a fine job. Yeah, I do too.
Speaker 1: I'm concerned about somebody hitting tonight because aside from ti
Speaker 1: Oscar last night and Muki, what happened, what happened? Nobody
Speaker 1: hit nobody, Freddie body, Freddie Freeman's ankle is bothering him.
Speaker 2: That very apparent. But he got a big hit, he yes,
Speaker 2: but his ankle had to come out of the game.
Speaker 2: He couldn't run, but his ankle. I mean, you know,
Speaker 2: we'll get in to the defense. But yeah, he is
Speaker 2: a And here's the thing you just wish, uh, you know,
Speaker 2: Otani could play first base, because if Otani plays first base,
Speaker 2: you can DH Freddy. I don't need Freddy. I don't
Speaker 2: need Freddy to beat out a infield hit. But I
Speaker 2: certainly think he can still be effective at the plate
Speaker 2: without having to play the field, and so that becomes
Speaker 2: a lie better. But you can't dch anybody because Otani's
Speaker 2: the DH. But yeah, you're you're absolutely right. And we
Speaker 2: say this all the time, and I hear the narrative
Speaker 2: all the time. You fred Oh, you know, in the playoffs,
Speaker 2: you gotta have pitching, starting, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitch.
Speaker 2: I think it's the opposite. The last few years, it's hitting.
Speaker 2: We see some of the top pitchers in the league
Speaker 2: go in like ready to win the cy young get
Speaker 2: lit up in the playoffs. It is about hitting because
Speaker 2: the players at this point in the season and his
Speaker 2: teams and they always say, and it still is true,
Speaker 2: that it comes down to how hot you are, how
Speaker 2: hot the team is. But at the end of the day.
Speaker 1: It is hitting.
Speaker 2: When you have a lineup where six, seven out of
Speaker 2: the nine guys coming to the plate are on fire,
Speaker 2: are in a groove, you can't stop them. Aaron Nola
Speaker 2: is one of the best pitchers in the league and
Speaker 2: has been. The Mets lit him up.
Speaker 1: And the Mets have been hot. The mess has been
Speaker 1: that team with a little momentum, Yes, and they're hitting.
Speaker 2: They never feel like they're out of a game because
Speaker 2: their offense can bring them back at any moment. And
Speaker 2: it's not just one guy, and it's not just two.
Speaker 2: They got five to six to seven guys in that
Speaker 2: lineup that are dangerous. And you look at the Padres
Speaker 2: right now, that lineup, that lineup is dangerous. Seven guys
Speaker 2: in that lineup are dangerous. I mean, Arise at the top,
Speaker 2: who's not even hitting right now, not even really being
Speaker 2: a factor as much right now and now defensively he has,
Speaker 2: but offensively he's he's a hit king. I mean, he's
Speaker 2: the you know, led the league in average profar got
Speaker 2: to watch out for him, obviously. Tattoos is on fire,
Speaker 2: Machado's on fire, the young kid Merrill, He's dangerous at
Speaker 2: the plate right now, Croninworth is dangerous. Paralta. Paralta is
Speaker 2: hitting the ball like he's an All Star. I mean,
Speaker 2: they got seven guys that are dangerous at the plate,
Speaker 2: and like you mentioned before, the Dodgers have one or
Speaker 2: two each game they get hot. Not gonna cut it,
Speaker 2: not gonna cut it, not gonna cut it. Your seven, eight, six, seven, eighth,
Speaker 2: ninth hitter has got to come through.
Speaker 1: I mean, we love Max Munsey. Hit the damn ball. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know what, America's catcher Will Smith hit the ball.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're to that point you don't want to
Speaker 1: start calling people out. You don't want to do that
Speaker 1: because we love the Dodgers. But that's it. It's go time.
Speaker 1: There's no turning back now. We can't have Max Munsey
Speaker 1: whoosh these gigantic swings and makes no contact, or he
Speaker 1: hits it and he flies out. One home run every
Speaker 1: seven games is no. I'm gonna cut it now. Trying
Speaker 1: to hit it.
Speaker 2: It feels like he's trying to hit a home run
Speaker 2: every time up and every swing doesn't matter if it's
Speaker 2: two strikes or no strikes.
Speaker 1: His swing is hitting it. I'm gonna hit it a
Speaker 1: country mile. You got to just hit it. Sometimes you
Speaker 1: got to put it in play. Will Smith, let's be honest,
Speaker 1: and you know he's probably been dinged up. He's the catcher,
Speaker 1: and we know. I mean from a defensive standpoint, I
Speaker 1: think he led the league in throwing guys out. But
Speaker 1: they signed him to hit. They gave him this giant
Speaker 1: deal to hit. And now's the time you gotta hit.
Speaker 1: Now's the time you cannot give them clean innings anymore.
Speaker 1: I mean, look at the game last night, Rodney. I
Speaker 1: gotta tell you what I thought. Walker Buehler left it
Speaker 1: out there. How that Walker Bueller did as well as
Speaker 1: he could. He seemed in command, He was in charge,
Speaker 1: he was comfortable. Did he get a lot of third strikes? No,
Speaker 1: who cares? He had them in the game. There were
Speaker 1: two miscues that killed him and he led to this
Speaker 1: giant inning. Why Freddy goes to second to try to
Speaker 1: start a double play. As much as you hate Manny
Speaker 1: Machado as a fan, that guy gets it. He's a
Speaker 1: baseball player. He gets it, and he just kind of
Speaker 1: ran around so that when Freddy threw it, Rojas wouldn't
Speaker 1: be able to see it. Yeah, and because he hit him, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's legal. That's smart, that's baseball.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was as long as you're not trying to
Speaker 2: avoid a tag, you can run in anywhere in the
Speaker 2: baseline right right.
Speaker 1: So that was azarm.
Speaker 2: He even checking looked back real quick to see where
Speaker 2: Freddie fielded the ball, and then he and then he
Speaker 2: curved inside on the grass.
Speaker 1: But very just very smart, smart baseball. Okay, But that
Speaker 1: that little moment right there, just the slightest thing just
Speaker 1: changed everything. That adjustment Machado made where you didn't you
Speaker 1: thought initially what is he doing? Oh, okay, he knew
Speaker 1: the game and.
Speaker 2: The game, and I think he got on on on
Speaker 2: a two strike pitch where he was got fooled and
Speaker 2: he reached out over the outside portion and just flicked
Speaker 2: it into left field, and that's how he got on.
Speaker 1: It was one of those when you're going good, you're
Speaker 1: going good, all right. So now that was critical. And
Speaker 1: then the other moment in that inning, uh, Miggey Rojas
Speaker 1: yep ball to Shutter, flipped the ball. You got to
Speaker 1: throw the ball a second basement, right, And I think
Speaker 1: he was puzzled as to why he didn't flip it.
Speaker 1: If he flips that ball to Lox I'm not saying
Speaker 1: it's a double play, but it certainly gets the runner
Speaker 1: at second. It's the runner at second instead, what happens
Speaker 1: the runner at second is there, The runner at first
Speaker 1: is safe and now and now look and when it's
Speaker 1: all said and done, six runs six to one. Right,
Speaker 1: So you think it at that point. And they even
Speaker 1: talked to Dave Roberts during the telecast and he goes,
Speaker 1: we're not waving the white flag yet. Yeah, right, okay,
Speaker 1: so now you're looking at it and going, God, this
Speaker 1: is exactly what you don't need. But Bueller never lost
Speaker 1: his composure. Never. Well he did in a dugout, Well
Speaker 1: that was different. Yeah, on the hill he didn't. He
Speaker 1: never lost it. Yeah. But in the and you know what,
Speaker 1: that's ok I love that me too. That's okay. At
Speaker 1: least somebody act like they care. So he gets back
Speaker 1: out there, why because all of a sudden, the Dodgers
Speaker 1: are back in the game. They're back. Yeah. King looks
Speaker 1: confused and disheveled, and and Ti Oscar hits a grand
Speaker 1: Slam and you're going, okay, we're early in this game. Early,
Speaker 1: we're one rundown. Oh no, we got him, Now, we
Speaker 1: got him. Now it's we that's it. They're in our sights.
Speaker 1: We'll shut them down, and we'll shut them up and
Speaker 1: then they can't hit. Yeah, and then that's it. No,
Speaker 1: I mean no, that doesn't work. And the excuse, well,
Speaker 1: you know it's the playoffs or King or the reliever
Speaker 1: they brought. Who cares, doesn't matter. It doesn't matter now, guys.
Speaker 2: No, teams that are winning and have one are teams
Speaker 2: that hit the ball, like creating. It's offense the back
Speaker 2: he's talking about the pitch. It's offense. Arizona on their
Speaker 2: run last year as their two pitchers got hot, but
Speaker 2: it was their offense that got hot. And up and
Speaker 2: down that lineup, you didn't know who to pitch to
Speaker 2: and who to pitch around. And that's the same thing
Speaker 2: with the two teams that are leading right now in
Speaker 2: the National League, the Mets and the Padres. Who you
Speaker 2: want to face. You know, you just old stay away
Speaker 2: from tattoos, stay away from Machado, you gotta stay away
Speaker 2: from Merril.
Speaker 1: You gotta watch out for Barlton, now, crowning Worth.
Speaker 2: I mean they up and down that lineup, everybody is
Speaker 2: a threat, and they they're they're coming through where the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: you can't you can't say you really can't say anyone
Speaker 2: tied on the Dodgers hitting the ball.
Speaker 1: They're not, of course, you can't say it. They're not.
Speaker 1: And you know something in the postseason houstings that they've suffered.
Speaker 1: You can't say it about any of them. Then, No,
Speaker 1: in the past two years, you can't say it they
Speaker 1: aren't hitting.
Speaker 2: No, And in years that they didn't make it to
Speaker 2: the World Series, it was there often they did hit
Speaker 2: because about picture. It was it was Corey Seeger and Bellinger,
Speaker 2: even it was Chris Taylor who had that hot series
Speaker 2: and a couple you know, and and Key k who
Speaker 2: had big moments in the in the in hitting, it
Speaker 2: was up and down that lineup, you know, And and
Speaker 2: now there's there's just I mean, it's almost like they're
Speaker 2: waiting on Otel and Mookie to save the day.
Speaker 1: Well, nobody else can do anything, and you know, talking
Speaker 1: about Miggey Rojas. All right, Dave Roberts made two decisions
Speaker 1: last night. Two one, I thought, and I agree with
Speaker 1: you was gutsy and brilliant when he went out to
Speaker 1: talk to Bueller. The minute he comes out of the dugout.
Speaker 1: We know what that means. We know that's it. And
Speaker 1: he went out there and he had a conversation and
Speaker 1: I didn't hear it, nor did you, But I can
Speaker 1: assure you one thing. Bueller said, I'll get him. I'm
Speaker 1: not coming out. I got this, and Dave Roberts stuck
Speaker 1: with him. I thought that was a gutsy decision, and
Speaker 1: I agree with you. It proved to be the right decision,
Speaker 1: and it showed what Walker Buehller is made of. All right, son,
Speaker 1: So there's one decision he made. Let's talk about the
Speaker 1: other one. When he takes Rojas out of the game.
Speaker 1: I'm not there, You're not there. We don't know what
Speaker 1: the plan was ahead of time. Tell me you didn't
Speaker 1: think t K would go in he played piz Yeah,
Speaker 1: you didn't think would go in? I thought, I thought, yeah,
Speaker 1: I thought key K. I did think k K was
Speaker 1: coming in the game. I did.
Speaker 2: But I get it, I get I get it. Edmund
Speaker 2: moving from center to shortstop turned out to be a
Speaker 2: good move too. Defenses. Sensibly, he made some plays that
Speaker 2: outside of Mickey Row, I don't know if anybody else
Speaker 2: maked it on that team. No, they were great Rodney,
Speaker 2: you know, but I did believe and and and and
Speaker 2: you said this last I think you said it going
Speaker 2: into UH into the playoffs or or even before that.
Speaker 1: You like the way pi Haz was playing was hitting.
Speaker 1: I did too.
Speaker 2: I thought he'd kind of come around. He was, he
Speaker 2: was hitting the ball well, he was getting hot. But
Speaker 2: I think in that moment, yeah, I felt like key
Speaker 2: K because he had been there and he'd done that.
Speaker 2: You know, he was in the situation before. He's been
Speaker 2: in big moments, and and yeah, I I certainly thought that.
Speaker 2: But I get it, and I understand, you know, when
Speaker 2: you need somebody maybe to run into one and Pi
Speaker 2: Haz has kind of been offensively, he's kind of been
Speaker 2: hot and you get to move Edmond to UH to shortstop.
Speaker 2: I mean that it didn't It didn't bother me as
Speaker 2: much as as as maybe some other people didn't bother
Speaker 2: I mean, like again, I was leaning as soon as
Speaker 2: it happened. Soon as he pulled up at third base,
Speaker 2: I was like, Oh, here comes k K. That's what
Speaker 2: I thought. And I mean, and you know, kindsight could
Speaker 2: could could be he want it to me, comes up
Speaker 2: hit the three run bomb or he strikes out Dwight.
Speaker 2: We don't know, you don't know what's gonna happen, but yeah,
Speaker 2: I thought being the experience of Key K would have
Speaker 2: probably been the move I would have made.
Speaker 1: Hright, Dodger fans. Uh, we're gonna open the phone lines,
Speaker 1: not quite yet what we'll do. David Vassiel joined us
Speaker 1: from San Diego when we come back and after that,
Speaker 1: we're gonna open the phone lines and let you talk
Speaker 1: about what needs to be done or what you expect
Speaker 1: to be Hey, Rodney, Pete, Fred Rogan, getting ready now
Speaker 1: or never? Yeah, that's one. We're gonna look at it now.
Speaker 1: We're never. All right, Let's bring on David vass from
Speaker 1: San Diego. Dave, good afternoon.
Speaker 3: Hey guys, good afternoon.
Speaker 1: Okay, we'll start with this. Do we know who's starting
Speaker 1: for the Dodgers or who's pitching tonight?
Speaker 3: It's gonna be a bullpaying game. Fred, I've been laying
Speaker 3: that out for you every time time I come on
Speaker 3: the show. What we saw in Denver was going to
Speaker 3: be something that was going to be replicated tonight. So
Speaker 3: you're going to see either Vesti or Banda more than
Speaker 3: likely start the game to face two of the three
Speaker 3: first hitters that are lefties, and then from there you're
Speaker 3: going to see Landon Knack at some point and they're
Speaker 3: going to go with a bullpen game. He was not
Speaker 3: really a surprise. I don't know why everybody's so surprised.
Speaker 3: I've been saying that since the beginning of the series.
Speaker 1: No, no, I was going to open it up again.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's going to be a leftie to face the
Speaker 3: lefty hitters.
Speaker 2: Okay, bandassie, there's a lefties out there. They What was
Speaker 2: the what was the vibe after last night's game? I mean,
Speaker 2: I know, was you know, disappointing and all that, But
Speaker 2: did you get a sense of like head down or
Speaker 2: was it we got we got to get tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 3: I mean that clubhouse was down last night, but that
Speaker 3: was last night. Obviously, he lost a playoff game. You're
Speaker 3: down two games to one, and he blew a great
Speaker 3: opportunity to come from behind because they did not have
Speaker 3: all but one base runner. They only had one base
Speaker 3: runner the last six innings of the game after taoscar
Speaker 3: Hernandez's Grand Slam. So I think they were all disappointed
Speaker 3: with that fact. And you know, today's a new day.
Speaker 3: And I said this on Dodger Talk last night, and
Speaker 3: I'll say it again that this team has showed some
Speaker 3: more fight than what we have seen in each of
Speaker 3: the last two playoffs series. And a big reason why
Speaker 3: is ta Oscar Hernandez. He's the personality that you know,
Speaker 3: hopefully is contagious to the rest of that clubhouse. And
Speaker 3: you know, there's no other player that I believe would
Speaker 3: have come through with that type of hit other than
Speaker 3: Taoscar Hernandez in that spot.
Speaker 1: Dave iout Walker Bula looked good last night for being
Speaker 1: Walker Bueller. He seemed confident, he seemed comfortable. I mean,
Speaker 1: he got tagged by that the two defensive moments. But
Speaker 1: aside from that, Dave I thought he did a pretty
Speaker 1: good job.
Speaker 3: Freddy gave up six runs in one inning. Yeah, I
Speaker 3: don't know how anybody can say that he pitched well
Speaker 3: last night.
Speaker 1: Okay, but here's the same, Dave. If Freddy Freeman doesn't
Speaker 1: throw the ball and hit one player and then Mickey
Speaker 1: Rojas throws the ball to second base, he's not giving
Speaker 1: up six runs.
Speaker 3: Well, Number one, that was a smart base play by
Speaker 3: Manny Machado. It was very much within the rules. If
Speaker 3: you've been watching Justin Turner and Chase Utley run the bases.
Speaker 3: They used to do the same thing, so that was
Speaker 3: not out of bounds. Number two. Yeah, Mickey Rojas tried
Speaker 3: to be a hero and tried to do too much.
Speaker 3: That would have been one out. But that still doesn't
Speaker 3: change the fact that Walker Bueler had two strikes on
Speaker 3: all those hitters hitters and couldn't put them away. He
Speaker 3: was a victim of paper cuts. But he can't be
Speaker 3: absolved of that six run inning.
Speaker 1: No he can't.
Speaker 2: He can't, But the complexion of the inning changes if
Speaker 2: he gets one of those outs.
Speaker 3: I really believe that is there. But two strikes is
Speaker 3: two strikes, Rodney. You got to be able to put
Speaker 3: away hitters.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you do. Got to be able to put away hitters, Dave.
Speaker 2: You know that, But I'm just saying in all in all,
Speaker 2: and then to come back after that, and I thought
Speaker 2: it was big for Dave Roberts to leave him in
Speaker 2: the game, But to come back after that and shut
Speaker 2: it down, I thought that was big too.
Speaker 1: Were you pleased with that?
Speaker 3: Sure? Yeah, that was good that he was able to
Speaker 3: stabilize the ship. But that's been a microcosm of his season.
Speaker 3: Where he has a inning where there's a huge crooked
Speaker 3: number in an inning, and that's just been him this
Speaker 3: year because of the reasons that I just mentioned. He
Speaker 3: can't put away hitters and that's unfortunate. So it was
Speaker 3: great that he gave them five. But you know, if
Speaker 3: they're not going with a bullpen game today, does Dave
Speaker 3: Roberts have more urgency to take him out of that inning?
Speaker 1: I don't know. I actually thought when he went out
Speaker 1: and talked to him, I thought Walker probably said, I
Speaker 1: can get this guy or let me go.
Speaker 3: I was in the fifth inning. That was in the
Speaker 3: fifth inning. That wasn't in the second inning.
Speaker 1: Oh you mean the second inning? Yeah, yeah, yeah, But again,
Speaker 1: as you said, he was victimized by paper cuts. The
Speaker 1: issue was they didn't hit Dave. They didn't hit that
Speaker 1: was the problem. If if Machado doesn't get hit by
Speaker 1: Freddy's ball and Mickey Rojas flipped it to Lux, he's
Speaker 1: not giving up six ones at inning. And then if
Speaker 1: Tiascar hits a home run a Grand Slam, which.
Speaker 3: He did, they just didn't very just forgetting about Fernando's
Speaker 3: Tatis Junior's home run. We're just gonna forget about.
Speaker 1: That come to the plate at that time, does he
Speaker 1: even get to come up?
Speaker 3: Well, you know, that's neither here or there. David Peralta
Speaker 3: seemed to be able to get a big hit as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but also Dave, you know, you strike.
Speaker 2: Maybe not the strikeout, he doesn't have to put away
Speaker 2: strikeout pitch, but he got to ground balls.
Speaker 3: I mean that's part of it. Five innings. But he
Speaker 3: did give up six runs. All six runs were charged
Speaker 3: to Walker Buehler. Okay, there were no unearned runs in
Speaker 3: that inning.
Speaker 1: Okay, well yeah, okay, and that's fair. But what about
Speaker 1: the fact they didn't hit? Isn't that then.
Speaker 3: They scored five runs.
Speaker 1: Mookie hit, but who else hit? Mookie hit, and so
Speaker 1: did Ti Oscar? Who else hit?
Speaker 3: Well, that's a problem as well. They only had one
Speaker 3: base runner last six innings. Guys named Will Smith, Max Munsey,
Speaker 3: Gavin Lux, Tom Y Edman were combined zero for fifteen.
Speaker 3: That's not going to get it done either. Usually when
Speaker 3: you score five runs in a playoff game, you should
Speaker 3: win it.
Speaker 1: Were you surprised that he didn't put kek in instead
Speaker 1: of Andy Pays?
Speaker 4: I was.
Speaker 3: I was shocked. I was shocked, and I actually thought
Speaker 3: before the game that keyk Hernandez should have got the
Speaker 3: start in center field and tom Yeddman should have been
Speaker 3: at short stop because obviously Rojas is limited defensively and
Speaker 3: is he really a difference maker offensively? Back to your
Speaker 3: point about not hitting, he really is not that guy.
Speaker 3: So I'm hoping that Key k Hernandez does get the
Speaker 3: start today.
Speaker 2: What does it look like, David, do you think it's
Speaker 2: going to look like? You think Key Caman lineup? What
Speaker 2: about Freddie? And and does does Edmunds play short and
Speaker 2: Key k play first? I mean, what do you think
Speaker 2: it looks like?
Speaker 3: I think Freddie Freeman plays first tonight, And like I said,
Speaker 3: I hope it's Key k Hernandez in center and tom
Speaker 3: Y Edmondette short.
Speaker 1: Uh Okay, Dave, As you approach the game tonight, and
Speaker 1: you've mentioned and so have we, you know it's been
Speaker 1: a season of adversity, they've been able to fight back.
Speaker 1: Do you think they have enough fight left in them
Speaker 1: for tonight?
Speaker 5: I do?
Speaker 1: I do.
Speaker 3: I've seen more of that in this series than I
Speaker 3: have seen in the last two years. And look, a
Speaker 3: bullpick game can go great or it can go sideways
Speaker 3: on you because you're asking a lot of different pitchers
Speaker 3: to be on their game. So if you go back
Speaker 3: to twenty twenty one, the last time the Dodgers won
Speaker 3: a road playoff game, it was in San Francisco the
Speaker 3: night they used an opener for Julio Orias. So maybe
Speaker 3: that's the magic pill tonight. Go back to the opener
Speaker 3: and use Land and Knack, and you win a road
Speaker 3: playoff game for the first time in seven games.
Speaker 1: I think the g is going to be fine. I
Speaker 1: think they're gonna feel like the bullpen will be fine too.
Speaker 1: It just it just they can't.
Speaker 2: It's risky, but they can't get off to the starts
Speaker 2: that they've been getting off to. And that's just the
Speaker 2: pattern for the Dodgers that they can whoever you know,
Speaker 2: starts the game and comes in next. It can't be
Speaker 2: down three to nothing and four to nothing in the
Speaker 2: second inning again like they like they've been doing.
Speaker 3: I will say this, the questions I'm getting from around
Speaker 3: baseball are valid ones. That the Dodgers have this payroll,
Speaker 3: they obviously spent a lot of money during the off season,
Speaker 3: but don't have a starting pitcher for Game four. That's
Speaker 3: a valid question to be asked one hundred percent.
Speaker 1: But I think the bigger question is which will be
Speaker 1: explored during the off season. The reason they don't have
Speaker 1: a picture for Game four is because they're all hurt,
Speaker 1: and how did that happen? That's I think the bigger
Speaker 1: question here, that's the valid question. Why is the majority
Speaker 1: of the Dodger starting staff injured or suffering from Tommy
Speaker 1: John problems? Why? I think that's what has to be explored, Dave.
Speaker 3: So that's something that Andrew Freeman said he's already starting
Speaker 3: to dive into and more during the off season. But
Speaker 3: the facts are they traded for a pitcher that has
Speaker 3: had a long list of injuries with his arm, and
Speaker 3: that's Tyler Glass. Now, he made the most starts of
Speaker 3: his career last year, which was only twenty, so he
Speaker 3: has a track record that shouldn't be as big of
Speaker 3: a shock as everybody's making it out to be.
Speaker 1: All Right, Well, Dave, thanks for coming on.
Speaker 3: Okay, guys, thanks, all right, there he goes.
Speaker 1: David Vassa. Jesus, he was ready. He was ready.
Speaker 2: He was feeling it like the like the like the
Speaker 2: players are right now. He's just like, you know, it's
Speaker 2: very animated for it. He was animated. And I have
Speaker 2: to tell you, we're not with him every day, Rodney.
Speaker 1: No, he feels it.
Speaker 2: He feels that that pressure and all that stuff that
Speaker 2: he gets from those players in the locker room and
Speaker 2: all those things because he's in it every single day,
Speaker 2: and the angst and all of that.
Speaker 1: So it came out a little bit today. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: here's the thing. I will respectfully and again, we're not
Speaker 1: with that team every single day watching them, but I'm
Speaker 1: going to respectfully disagree with his assessment of Bueler. I
Speaker 1: am too.
Speaker 2: I am too, because you can't put it all on him,
Speaker 2: and you can't you know, you know, yeah, he's supposed
Speaker 2: to put away pitches. Well, he's not that guy. You
Speaker 2: can't look at him from last year's previous and go, well,
Speaker 2: Walker Buhler two years ago, Walker Buhler four years ago
Speaker 2: would have struck that guy out instruct that. Well, that's
Speaker 2: not who he is anymore, at least not this year.
Speaker 2: Coming off to Tommy John.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: But if he gets you know, this guy on first
Speaker 2: and there in that inning and he gets a ground ball,
Speaker 2: double play ball, you expect to get a double play.
Speaker 2: He gets a ground ball, and you expect to get
Speaker 2: at least one out out of that. You know, he's
Speaker 2: doing his job basically, so to suggest that he's not,
Speaker 2: you know, he didn't put those guys out. Yeah, he didn't.
Speaker 2: On paper, he didn't put him out. But he did
Speaker 2: what most pitchers are supposed to do, give me a groundball,
Speaker 2: double play, and he got a ground ball and didn't
Speaker 2: get the double play. Not only did he not get
Speaker 2: the double play, he didn't get anybody out right.
Speaker 1: That made it worse. Yeah, all right, it's like six nine, eight,
Speaker 1: seven seventy. All right, we're get up on the phone lines.
Speaker 1: Dodger fans. You can weigh in now. You can weigh
Speaker 1: in on your thoughts. You can weigh in on what
Speaker 1: David Says has to say. Boys, God, but this is it?
Speaker 1: What do you think about? Oh yeah?
Speaker 2: Especially one for Dodger fans. Today's afternoon delight is Won't
Speaker 2: Back Down by Eminem featuring Pink. It was off Eminem's
Speaker 2: seventh album, Recovery from back in twenty ten, which had
Speaker 2: a lot of features on it, including this one here
Speaker 2: from Pink. That's what the Dodger's got to do, Freddy,
Speaker 2: don't back down again. Today's Afternoon Delight is won't back
Speaker 2: down by eminem and Pink.
Speaker 1: Let's go, let's go, all right, let's open it up.
Speaker 1: Let's hear it, Dodger fans, oh, Juan in Guardina.
Speaker 6: Let lose, all right, guys, I just want to I
Speaker 6: just want to make this point Walker Buehler throwing that
Speaker 6: pitch that Tati's hit.
Speaker 3: To me, it was down right.
Speaker 6: It was a home run, batting practice pitch. My thing
Speaker 6: is coaching. What's going on with coaching? Why do we
Speaker 6: why can't we like get coaches, change up the coaches
Speaker 6: at the end of the day, like these guys were
Speaker 6: every year, it's the same coaches.
Speaker 1: Well, what do you mean by change up the coaches?
Speaker 1: What do you want the coaches to do? One they wanted?
Speaker 2: You want the coaches to pitch? It was a mistake
Speaker 2: that certainly was a mistake by Walker Buehler. But but
Speaker 2: guys make mistakes when you're playing sports and it's a
Speaker 2: real deal.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what do you so, seriously, what do you want
Speaker 1: the coach to do?
Speaker 5: Well?
Speaker 6: Like, for example, Mark Pryor is a great guy, but
Speaker 6: you know what guy's life, Greg Maddix, I was growing up,
Speaker 6: I was a huge fan of the way that he would.
Speaker 6: It wasn't about how fast you through.
Speaker 3: It was about location.
Speaker 6: And I just don't see these players really getting coached
Speaker 6: to where they make adjustments.
Speaker 1: Okay and one and one, thanks for calling. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: answer that for you. Thanks for calling. Uh, here's the thing,
Speaker 1: guys in Major League Baseball are all throwing harder now.
Speaker 1: The game evolves and changes. I think one makes a
Speaker 1: valid point, Rodney. Yeah, it's different now, and it doesn't
Speaker 1: necessarily mean it's better now when it comes to that.
Speaker 1: But I don't think it's Mark Pryor standing behind Walker
Speaker 1: Bueller and telling them you better pitch it right to
Speaker 1: that spot. I think Walker Bueller knows where to pitch
Speaker 1: the ball. It's said. It's it's a question of is
Speaker 1: it going to end up where he wants to admitted it?
Speaker 2: Yes, Okay, I'm coming up to the plate. I'm going
Speaker 2: to hit a home run right now because we need it.
Speaker 2: Right I'm going to get a pitch that's ninety five
Speaker 2: and it's on the inside half of the plate, and
Speaker 2: I'm going to hit a home run right here, right now.
Speaker 1: And you pop it up. What fault is that? Well,
Speaker 1: it's a hitting coach obviously. Yeah, it's not saying I mean,
Speaker 1: and I get it. Fans are passionate.
Speaker 2: They're not in the they're not in the practice sessions
Speaker 2: where they go over this is where we want to
Speaker 2: pitch this guy. This is this is how we want
Speaker 2: to attack him. You know, you can't throw a slider
Speaker 2: out over the plate to tattoos. Of course, you can't
Speaker 2: do that. It's like telling a quarterback, hey, don't throw
Speaker 2: any interceptions.
Speaker 1: Yeah, don't do that. Don't do that.
Speaker 2: Okay, but you go out and you misread something or
Speaker 2: the ball gets tipped or you know, guy makes a
Speaker 2: great play that's on the quarterback or the coach.
Speaker 1: You know, it happens. The point is it happens.
Speaker 3: Go ahead, Hey, what's going on? Fred Rodney?
Speaker 1: What's that?
Speaker 4: Man? I don't think this. I don't think this whole
Speaker 4: thing's on Walker. You got to remember he was out
Speaker 4: there for a long time. You notice, Man, he was
Speaker 4: sweating like crazy. With those guys making those bad plays
Speaker 4: behind him. It just left him out there longer. And Rodney,
Speaker 4: you know, it's like throwing a past where receiver is
Speaker 4: supposed to be and he goes the wrong way and
Speaker 4: all of a sudden it ends up in somebody else's hands.
Speaker 3: That's not your fault.
Speaker 4: That's the guy, the receiver's fault for making the wrong move.
Speaker 4: Same with our short stop and Freddie making that those plays.
Speaker 4: That's what caused Walker to be out there even longer
Speaker 4: than what he should have been.
Speaker 3: Yep, And it's not on him.
Speaker 4: I mean, my son's a pitcher. I see him fish
Speaker 4: all the time, and a lot of times it's your defense,
Speaker 4: and it makes you out there having to throw more pitches,
Speaker 4: and the more pitches you're getting tired. I mean these
Speaker 4: relievers that come in, they're not out there for thirty
Speaker 4: five pitches, and you'll notice that how their pitches aren't
Speaker 4: as sharp when they're throwing.
Speaker 3: Thirty five pitches in anything. So that's why I said,
Speaker 3: this isn't.
Speaker 4: All on Walker.
Speaker 3: He battled it out. I mean, look how well he
Speaker 3: did after he got out of that inning.
Speaker 2: Billy appreciate it. Thanks, thanks, really, absolutely absolutely. He can't
Speaker 2: put it all on him. When you're gonna you know,
Speaker 2: you think you're getting out of the inning. He got
Speaker 2: a ground ball and you're getting a double play, and
Speaker 2: he don't all right right in Long Beach, go ahead,
Speaker 2: Robert up.
Speaker 5: Guys, thanks checking my call. You know, last night is done.
Speaker 5: I'm not interested in talking about that at all. I
Speaker 5: am choosing to be optimistic tonight. As a lifelong Dodger fan.
Speaker 5: I think the pod is going to come in over confident.
Speaker 5: I think the guy, our voice and I are going
Speaker 5: to do great. I think show he goes four for four,
Speaker 5: the Dodgers win tonight five to three.
Speaker 7: That's it, guys.
Speaker 1: Done, all right, thanks Robert, done, done, done. I get
Speaker 1: you know, at the end of the day, you said it,
Speaker 1: start the show. It all comes down to hitting. You know,
Speaker 1: we can. You can trot out everybody you want to.
Speaker 1: They're hitting. We're not. The Mets are hitting.
Speaker 2: The Phillies bottom half of their their team is not hitting,
Speaker 2: and it's the reason why those guys are two and one.
Speaker 8: You bring up the hitting there, Rodney, and it's facts. However,
Speaker 8: there was a decision made before this series started that
Speaker 8: I think is looming pretty large right now that I
Speaker 8: haven't heard anyone bring up. I was talking about with
Speaker 8: Fred earlier. They said we're going with Jack Flarity as
Speaker 8: the starter in game one, and then they said, Yama Moto, Well,
Speaker 8: right now, if Flarity had gone Game one, he could
Speaker 8: be pitching tonight instead of having a bullpen game. You
Speaker 8: think that decision isn't being rethought now, that's.
Speaker 2: Huge, No, because I think they still believe it's going
Speaker 2: five and they got Yama Modo going going in the
Speaker 2: fifth game, and that was the plan going in which
Speaker 2: everybody in their and their brother before this series thought
Speaker 2: this game, this series was going five games. And if
Speaker 2: you're believing that it's gonna go five games, then you
Speaker 2: trot your best guy out there for the game one
Speaker 2: and game five.
Speaker 1: Is he their best guy?
Speaker 8: Yamamota was clear cutover Flarity.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I don't even think.
Speaker 8: I bet he doesn't start Game five. I bet Flarity
Speaker 8: does if they get there.
Speaker 1: No, No, I bet the rank that Yamamoto starts Game five.
Speaker 1: I think tonight Dodger pitching is going to be fine.
Speaker 1: I think the bullpen's going to do their job tonight.
Speaker 1: I don't think anybody's giving up six runs in an inning.
Speaker 1: I don't think anybody's getting not to be allowed to.
Speaker 1: What I'm saying is seriously, I mean, I don't think
Speaker 1: anybody's gonna go out there and give up back to
Speaker 1: back home runs. Boom boom. I think the bullpen is
Speaker 1: going to do well tonight. I think the Dodger pitching
Speaker 1: will be fine. Whatever the definition of that is. At
Speaker 1: this time, I think it's comes down to the hitting.
Speaker 1: If they hit tonight, they win. Yeah. Period.
Speaker 2: And you remember way we used to say, you know,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers go in years in a few years past,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers go how Mookie goes. But the Dodgers go
Speaker 2: how Otani goes. And if he doesn't lead off the game, okay,
Speaker 2: you don't lead off the game with a hit or
Speaker 2: home run or whatever.
Speaker 1: But he's got it. He's got to be the catalyst
Speaker 1: for this team.
Speaker 2: He's got to be the guy that gets everybody going
Speaker 2: because people feed off of him when he's going. When
Speaker 2: he's going well, the rest of the team does. And
Speaker 2: it shouldn't have to be that way, but that's just
Speaker 2: the way it is, and the way the season has
Speaker 2: gone is that they fed off of a time when
Speaker 2: he's not kind of in the mix and he's a
Speaker 2: non factor. It affects the rest of the team.
Speaker 1: Alli, Christ and La thanks for holding go ahead.
Speaker 7: Hey guys, you know I don't want to oversimplify this
Speaker 7: because I know we're all trying to figure out an
Speaker 7: answer to this problem. But I'm gonna give you the
Speaker 7: old baseball adage of this is just baseball, and it is.
Speaker 7: It's not like any other sport. It's a game of failure.
Speaker 7: If you bat two fifty, you're only successful twenty five
Speaker 7: percent of time. Rodnie, if you threw twenty five percent
Speaker 7: completions in the NFL, you wouldn't have been an NFL quarterback.
Speaker 7: And that applies to basketball too. These players are up
Speaker 7: there trying to hit. Nothing has changed in their approach
Speaker 7: when they were hitting the heck out of the ball
Speaker 7: before the postseason. The difference is you're batting against better pitching,
Speaker 7: supreme pitching. That's why Aaron Judge is one for twenty something.
Speaker 7: So when you have a normal twenty five percent success
Speaker 7: rate or thirty if you're batting three hundred, Now when
Speaker 7: that's when you're hitting against fourth and fifty starters on
Speaker 7: bad teams too, All that included. Now you're going against
Speaker 7: the best pitchers of the teams that made the playoffs.
Speaker 7: You're getting the best of the best. There's no way
Speaker 7: in the world wild Tony would be killing the ball
Speaker 7: up until the postseason. And he strikes out three times.
Speaker 1: In last night.
Speaker 7: Because he's hitting bad pitching.
Speaker 3: Pitching beats good hitting. Our pitchers are.
Speaker 1: Not at Aaron got up.
Speaker 7: Of course, of course it happens, Rounnie. Sometimes I'm talking
Speaker 7: about just what I'm.
Speaker 2: Saying, is it happens. It's happening in these playoffs. We're
Speaker 2: hitting hitting. Everybody stays pitching, pitching, pitching. But it's the hitting.
Speaker 2: It was happening for Arizona last year. It's the hitting.
Speaker 2: The Rangers. Corey Seeger got unbelievably hot for them last year.
Speaker 2: So yeah, you can. You can say that and it
Speaker 2: gets you through a game maybe, but at the end
Speaker 2: of the day, in a series, you got to be
Speaker 2: able to hit the ball.
Speaker 7: Roddy, I agree.
Speaker 3: I agree.
Speaker 7: But let me ask you this, just looking at it logically,
Speaker 7: what's changed, And it's not just the Dodgers, this Paul Baseball.
Speaker 7: What changes between the playoffs and the regular season. It's
Speaker 7: hitting against the pitching. You have to hear, you have
Speaker 7: to get timely, you have to get those bleeders that
Speaker 7: the padre has got.
Speaker 1: Last night, you have a press Chris Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris.
Speaker 1: We got you. We're gonna let you go. We'll keep
Speaker 1: talking about we gotta let you go up against the break. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're absolutely right. It's hitting, it's getting the bleeders, it's
Speaker 1: getting one to fall in. It's not having the padre
Speaker 1: outfielders make great plays the other night and taking base
Speaker 1: hits away from you. It's all of those things. But
Speaker 1: it's also this and if you are a superstar, Aaron Judge,
Speaker 1: this is your moment show Hey, o Tani, this is
Speaker 1: your moment because you're right. During the regular season, they're
Speaker 1: facing guys who are third or fourth on the other
Speaker 1: teams rotation from god knows where Pittsburgh or Cincinnati or
Speaker 1: Kansas City, where you can hit them. Yeah, these are
Speaker 1: the best pictures. But when you are a superstar, this
Speaker 1: is when you shine. This is why you are a superstar.
Speaker 1: This is what counts Now, it doesn't matter the regular
Speaker 1: season is over. You are compensated. You have great responsibility
Speaker 1: to go along with that money. You're paid that because
Speaker 1: you are a star. If it wasn't that way, why
Speaker 1: wouldn't they pay everybody what they pay Otani? Or why
Speaker 1: wouldn't they pay everybody what they pay Max Muncie. There's
Speaker 1: a difference, and the difference is more is expected of you.
Speaker 1: That's just the way it goes. You can sit and say, well,
Speaker 1: it's a lot harder, yes, but you are supposed to
Speaker 1: be someone who can deal with that. That's because it's harder, superstar,
Speaker 1: because it's harder. You say, you know, it's harder on
Speaker 1: the hitters because of good pitching, but it's also harder
Speaker 1: on the pitchers because it's good hitting. Guys are in
Speaker 1: a groove this point of the season.
Speaker 2: Your teams make the playoffs because guys are playing well,
Speaker 2: because guys are in a groove. And that means whether
Speaker 2: you're on the mound or whether you're at the plate,
Speaker 2: Guys get into a groove and get hot at the plate.
Speaker 2: So you can say good pitching, yeah, but sometimes good
Speaker 2: hitting will beat good pitching.
Speaker 1: I cannot sign off on the excuse well, look at
Speaker 1: Aaron Judge. Yeah, look at him. You can hit seven
Speaker 1: hundred home runs during the regular season. You're in the playoffs. Now,
Speaker 1: this is what matters. This is it. That's why you're
Speaker 1: Aaron Judge. We don't need to pay you all of
Speaker 1: that money to do this in the playoffs. We just
Speaker 1: don't because we can find somebody for a lot less
Speaker 1: can do it in the playoffs. That's why you're paid.
Speaker 1: That's the frustration here with this Dodger team. That's why
Speaker 1: David Vassy said people around baseball look at their look
Speaker 1: at their salary, look at their pay roll. Will Smith
Speaker 1: signed a ten year deal. You got to hit right now,
Speaker 1: You've got to hit. That's the frustration, I think, Rodney.
Speaker 1: But you say it's hitting. I mean, yeah, keep going
Speaker 1: back to it, but yes, it is. It is hitting.
Speaker 2: And I just ran down the Padres lineup and and
Speaker 2: seven of those guys are in a in a groove
Speaker 2: I want to say in a zone. But they're all
Speaker 2: in a groove right now, and they are hitting the ball.
Speaker 2: I mean, if there's not any easy outs for that
Speaker 2: Padres lineup right now.
Speaker 1: Look at it like this. As you watch the game, okay,
Speaker 1: as I watch the game, when one of the Padres
Speaker 1: comes up to bat right now in this series, here
Speaker 1: comes one of them. In the back of your mind,
Speaker 1: don't you think Jesus that guy get a hit? Yeah, okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: When you watch the Dodgers come up to the plate
Speaker 1: right now, in the back of your mind, do you
Speaker 1: think God, I hope he gets it. I hope, I
Speaker 1: hope he gets a hit. God, he's just got to
Speaker 1: get on. He's just got to get on. So we're
Speaker 1: talking about just as observers, whoever comes up for the Padres,
Speaker 1: you think that guy's getting on base? Oh god, oh no,
Speaker 1: don't let it be him. And with the Dodgers, you're
Speaker 1: thinking about man, I hope he figures out a way
Speaker 1: to get on. Yeah. Yeah, there there's the story. And
Speaker 1: you know, if you're a fan, you're looking at it
Speaker 1: the same way. Oh god, not Machado.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, oh no, not Merril. Oh my good, arouses
Speaker 2: up again? No, the lineup again?
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, that's what you're thinking watching, Oh god, can
Speaker 1: Bueler get him. On the other hand, when the Doctors,
Speaker 1: because Tattoos is up next, right, that's what you're thinking
Speaker 1: as a fan watching. On the other hand, here comes
Speaker 1: Max Muncy. Damn. I just hope he hits it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there and there it is. Yeah, that's why they're where
Speaker 1: they're at. I said before the series started, and I
Speaker 1: think you agreed. Pitching wise, the Dodgers, they're all hurt,
Speaker 1: they're in trouble. Ye, you're just gonna have to if
Speaker 1: they score six, you're gonna have to score eight. If
Speaker 1: they score five, you're gonna have to score seven. I
Speaker 1: said that before the playoffs began. That's the only way
Speaker 1: they're going to win. They're just going to have to
Speaker 1: outscore them.
Speaker 2: Yep, yep, it's no doubt. There's no doubt. It's just
Speaker 2: the where they are right now. You know, And I
Speaker 2: think you're a spot on Fred.
Speaker 1: You know. I don't want to something in.
Speaker 2: The water or whatever, but they got to really examine
Speaker 2: so many injuries to all these pitchers.
Speaker 1: Oh, it's absurd.
Speaker 2: Over the last five years, it's just been I mean
Speaker 2: every single year. It's not just one guy, not just one.
Speaker 1: Guy, Rodney. They have a whole staff having Tommy John surgery.
Speaker 1: It's like they haven't they have enough pictures having Tommy
Speaker 1: John or had Tommy John that they could be an
Speaker 1: entire pitching staff. They could be your starters. That's how
Speaker 1: many guys have had it. Think about that. Yeah, they
Speaker 1: have an entire rotation from their system that has undergone
Speaker 1: Tommy John surgery. Yeah, that's scary. It's scary. We'll continue.
Speaker 1: Dylan Hernandez will join us next, and then we will
Speaker 1: open the phone lines back up