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Speaker 2: We are continuing the party here on Dodger Talk after
Speaker 2: a great tour stop with Petro some money in Coastamasa
Speaker 2: at the van's headquarters. So we have Dodger Talk for
Speaker 2: you until seven o'clock tonight here on a five to
Speaker 2: seventy LA Sports Coming up. At the bottom of the hour,
Speaker 2: you will hear from the Dodger manager, Dave Roberts, and
Speaker 2: we'll get into what his life is like these days.
Speaker 2: And certainly a great day to have a Dodger Talk
Speaker 2: show for the fans, because the Dodgers certainly took a
Speaker 2: lot of you by surprise by designating for assignment, basically
Speaker 2: releasing veteran outfielder Jason Hayward today to activate Chris Taylor.
Speaker 2: And I have been telling you for the last two weeks,
Speaker 2: with Tommy Edman and Munsey coming off the IL, they
Speaker 2: were going to have to make somewhat tough decisions, and
Speaker 2: with Chris Taylor coming back and acquiring Kevin Kiermeyer, the
Speaker 2: Dodgers were going to have to make even a harder decision,
Speaker 2: and today we got which direction they went into. Now,
Speaker 2: I've been getting a lot of texts, a lot of tweets,
Speaker 2: very emotional fan base out there, and rightfully so, and
Speaker 2: I know the players in that clubhouse are very emotional
Speaker 2: right now. But I will say this, for the purpose
Speaker 2: of the show tonight, how about you make your argument
Speaker 2: for who would you keep Chris Taylor, Kevin Kiermeyer, Jason
Speaker 2: Hayward or Andy pah Has. You can only keep two
Speaker 2: of those four because Andy pa Has when the rosters expand,
Speaker 2: from what I've learned, is going to be called up
Speaker 2: when the rosters expand. And for me, are you really
Speaker 2: going to sacrifice a veteran presence like Jason Hayward. All
Speaker 2: we've heard about since last year and especially since the
Speaker 2: beginning of spring training is what kind of leader Jason
Speaker 2: Hayward is And if he is that leader, which he was,
Speaker 2: He's a very respected veteran in that clubhouse. He's not
Speaker 2: a raw, raw guy, but he has presence. And when
Speaker 2: guys have you know, some sort of issue, or are
Speaker 2: dealing with something or need to talk something through, Jason
Speaker 2: Hayward is a great sounding board if you've listened to
Speaker 2: the interviews we've done with Jason Hayward. I've told him before.
Speaker 2: I can understand why players come to you. I can
Speaker 2: understand why your teammates going back to Atlanta and Chicago
Speaker 2: have loved you so much. You could be my life
Speaker 2: coach any day. And basically, the Dodgers decided the production
Speaker 2: was not there, and they chose Chris Taylor, who has
Speaker 2: one more year left on his contract. If you were
Speaker 2: listening to Dodger to the last couple of nights, I
Speaker 2: told you they have to find a way to keep
Speaker 2: Kevin Kiermeier on this roster. My only question is, and
Speaker 2: maybe we'll get this answer tomorrow, why couldn't Chris Taylor
Speaker 2: wait until September first to come back? Talking to some
Speaker 2: people yesterday, they told me he's ready now. We can't
Speaker 2: make him wait anymore. So that was the predicament the
Speaker 2: Dodgers were in. But this was a really tough decision.
Speaker 2: I know Dave Roberts took it really hard that he
Speaker 2: had to be part of that conversation. After last night's game,
Speaker 2: that's when the Dodgers let Jason Hayward know that they
Speaker 2: were going this direction. I hope they didn't say we're
Speaker 2: going in a different direction, because that's the old cliche
Speaker 2: line when somebody gets fired, we're just going in another direction.
Speaker 2: It's not you, it's us. Hopefully they did not do that.
Speaker 2: But here we go eight six six nine eighty seven
Speaker 2: two five seventy. We have three lines open and we
Speaker 2: are with you until seven o'clock. So this is what
Speaker 2: we're going to do. I'm Andrew Freeman. I got my
Speaker 2: sunglasses on, I got my big bottle of fancy water
Speaker 2: in my hand. You are going to tell me, you're
Speaker 2: going to make your argument why Jason Hayward should still
Speaker 2: be on this team. Eight six six nine eighty seven,
Speaker 2: two five seventy is the phone number. Now, I know
Speaker 2: everybody is completely off the Chris Taylor bandwagon. I am not.
Speaker 2: He's an October player and before he heard his groin,
Speaker 2: his season was to turn around. In his last twenty
Speaker 2: six games, Chris Taylor was hitting two point fifty with
Speaker 2: an eight thirty ozh ps and striking out at a
Speaker 2: very surprising clip only twenty one percent. He was striking
Speaker 2: out in his last twenty six games for the average
Speaker 2: in the league. That's twenty four percent, So he was
Speaker 2: under the average as far as strikeout percentage goes, But
Speaker 2: when is Chris Taylor going to play? They have Keik
Speaker 2: a Hernandez who was having a great month of August
Speaker 2: until Max Mounsey returned. Where does Chris Taylor fit? You know,
Speaker 2: right now, I would still trust key a Hernandez more
Speaker 2: than Chris Taylor. I know he's said he's felt better
Speaker 2: at the plate, He's made some noticeable swing adjustments, but
Speaker 2: at this point, I'm still going as far as the
Speaker 2: depth chart goes, getting a start, maybe a pinch hit,
Speaker 2: I'm going with key k a Hernandez. So I'm not
Speaker 2: sure how Chris Taylor fits in or why it was
Speaker 2: important to have Chris Taylor. Right now, I feel like
Speaker 2: Jason Hayward and Kevin Kiermaier really fit this team better.
Speaker 2: And like I said, the human element to this this
Speaker 2: has sent ripple waves throughout the Dodger clubhouse. That's how
Speaker 2: beloved Jason Hayward was, And sometimes you have to give
Speaker 2: that more weight than hitting two oh three and really
Speaker 2: not doing much of anything this year as a pinch hitter,
Speaker 2: the role that would have had in the postseason, he
Speaker 2: was four for eight with two home runs. And seven RBIs,
Speaker 2: including the go ahead, pinch it three run home run
Speaker 2: a couple of nights ago against the Mariners that was
Speaker 2: ninety nine at the top of the zone. But if
Speaker 2: you're asking me strictly by the numbers, strictly as the player,
Speaker 2: who would I choose between Jason Hayward, Kevin Kiermeyer, and
Speaker 2: Chris Taylor, I'm sorry it would be Jason Hayward would
Speaker 2: be the odd man out in that situation. Kevin Kiermeyer
Speaker 2: brings way too much in a lot of different ways
Speaker 2: to the Dodgers. Chris Taylor is under contract for next year,
Speaker 2: so he's got to be on this roster. But if
Speaker 2: you're telling me I had to choose between Jason Hayward,
Speaker 2: Kevin Kiermeyer, Chris Taylor and Andy pie Has, I'm take
Speaker 2: you can't just look at the spreadsheet here, because that's
Speaker 2: not real life. Real life is how much Hayward is
Speaker 2: meant to a lot of guys in that clubhouse. First
Speaker 2: and foremost, his bestie, Freddie Freeman. Freddy's a pro. He's
Speaker 2: going to keep going, no doubt about it. But obviously
Speaker 2: Freddie and Jason had some sort of inclination. This was
Speaker 2: on the table because they really haven't had their normal
Speaker 2: usual life the last week or so. So that's where
Speaker 2: it's at, and we have a full boarder calls. Now
Speaker 2: when we continue here on Dodger Talk, I'm Andrew Friedman.
Speaker 2: You are making your pitch to me on why Jason
Speaker 2: Hayward still belongs on this roster. I've laid out why
Speaker 2: I believe he still does. This is basically the last
Speaker 2: man on the roster, and all of a sudden, now
Speaker 2: you've created some shock and awe in that clubhouse by
Speaker 2: letting him go. So here we go Dodger Talk. Dodger fans,
Speaker 2: it's your show. Coming up at the bottom of the hour,
Speaker 2: you'll hear my conversation with Dave Roberts. Dodger Talk with
Speaker 2: you until seven o'clock right here on five seventy. LA
Speaker 2: Sports have a day off tonight. They will be back
Speaker 2: in action at Dodgers Stadium tomorrow to open up a
Speaker 2: three game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. First pitch
Speaker 2: at seven to ten. Our coverage begins at six o'clock.
Speaker 2: Bobby Miller will be looking to get his season back
Speaker 2: on track against the Rays, and it will be without
Speaker 2: Jason Hayward. Who, in case you missed the news earlier today,
Speaker 2: was designated for assignment, basically released. And for anybody that's
Speaker 2: thinking he's going to clear waivers and tak an assignment
Speaker 2: to Oklahoma City, you're dreaming. And the reason why I
Speaker 2: feel like Jason Hayward and the Dodgers are done is
Speaker 2: when a team sends out a thank you tweet that's
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty four a pretty official sign that they
Speaker 2: have parted way. So sorry to break it to you,
Speaker 2: Jason Hayward is no longer a Dodger. The Dodgers opted
Speaker 2: for Kevin Kiermeyer, Chris Taylor, and eventually Andy pa Has
Speaker 2: on September first instead of Jason Hayward. So here we
Speaker 2: are Dodger Talk until seven o'clock. I want you to
Speaker 2: pitch me. I'm Andrew Friedman. I want you to pitch
Speaker 2: me on why Jason Hayward should still be a Dodger
Speaker 2: and maybe somebody else should not be on this roster.
Speaker 2: Eight six six eight seven two five seventy is the
Speaker 2: phone number. Let's go out to my hometown, Woodland Hills. John,
Speaker 2: You're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 3: Yeah, David, I you know what. I love your show.
Speaker 3: As always, I I don't really understand why you were
Speaker 3: with Genie Buss at the Petelson Money Vance location today.
Speaker 3: I think Costa Mesa is close enough.
Speaker 2: Did you know what mentioned me? Genie mentioned me? I
Speaker 2: hope ja Orke did not get jealous with Genie mentioning
Speaker 2: me for the first time.
Speaker 3: She did not mention Magic Johnson for the first time
Speaker 3: in her whole life.
Speaker 2: So I'm not Magic Johnson.
Speaker 3: It was a productive no, but it was a yeah,
Speaker 3: you have a Johnson. So it's a fat.
Speaker 4: From Jamie.
Speaker 2: All right, john enough of all this to make I'm
Speaker 2: Andrew Freeman. Pitch me on why Jason Hayward should be
Speaker 2: on this roster or if you believe they made the
Speaker 2: right decision, let me know.
Speaker 3: Yeah. So, what we learned from this year as a
Speaker 3: Dodger fan is that Andrew Friedman has the best interests
Speaker 3: in mind of Dodger fans. Because we all thought the
Speaker 3: season was over two weeks ago, but now that months
Speaker 3: he's come back and Edmund is now in the lineup.
Speaker 3: Everybody knows that the Dodgers have a good shot of
Speaker 3: winning the World Series. So what does a two to
Speaker 3: oh four hitter have to do with the equation. Absolutely nothing.
Speaker 3: Somebody that's batting two to oh four, no matter how
Speaker 3: much influence he has in the clubhouse, does not have
Speaker 3: an impact on the Dodgers and where they might end
Speaker 3: up with a World Series or not. So I respect
Speaker 3: the decision. I think it was the right decision. I
Speaker 3: do have a problem with Chris Taylor because I hope
Speaker 3: that they're gonna designate him for assignment and they might
Speaker 3: pick up or Schelle or somebody that might be dropped
Speaker 3: off from another team in the near future. I mean,
Speaker 3: that's what's gonna happen, right, I mean, you just can't.
Speaker 2: Play fantasy baseball here.
Speaker 3: John.
Speaker 2: We're at the stage of the season here where you're
Speaker 2: gonna start gelling as a group, and the Dodgers were
Speaker 2: starting to jel as a group now all of a sudden,
Speaker 2: but you're Andrew Freeman. You're gonna start bringing in these
Speaker 2: different guys. And you know, to me, that's fine when
Speaker 2: you're playing fantasy baseball and Woodland Hills at TGI Fridays,
Speaker 2: But that's not the real world in a baseball CLUBHOUSEGI
Speaker 2: Friday is closed years ago. I'm aware. I gotta move on.
Speaker 2: We got a full board. We could talk Woodland Hills
Speaker 2: places all day. Call me back, all right, Johnny made
Speaker 2: a good point eight sixty six nine eight seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy. All right, john has taking the emotion out
Speaker 2: of it. And it's one thing to say you agree
Speaker 2: with it. Because Jason Hayward's ops was only six't eighty two.
Speaker 2: He had ample opportunity to really play every day while
Speaker 2: Mookie Betts was on the IL and basically the Dodgers
Speaker 2: were bare bones. But I've been in baseball clubhouses before.
Speaker 2: It's not just about your ops. It's about what you
Speaker 2: mean to that room. And you can't tell us one day,
Speaker 2: or for a full year, how much Jason Hayward means
Speaker 2: to everybody. And then all of a sudden, you're in
Speaker 2: a roster crunch and you designate him for assignment that
Speaker 2: you can't. That just doesn't add up. And that's why
Speaker 2: I think all of us are having a hard time
Speaker 2: wrapping our head around it. Let's go out to Bellflower, Gilbert,
Speaker 2: you're on Dodger Talk. How you doing, Gilbert?
Speaker 1: Hey, how you doing?
Speaker 3: David?
Speaker 1: Thanks taking my call, so I was calling in for
Speaker 1: what you came back to the commercial. From as far
Speaker 1: as you know, them bringing him back if he clears
Speaker 1: waivers and they don't outrighte him to OKAC right because
Speaker 1: as of today, right, people are wondering why did they
Speaker 1: do it today? Well, today is a twenty second. Ten
Speaker 1: days from now is August thirty first, meaning that September first, Right,
Speaker 1: if everything goes per planned, they can bring them back
Speaker 1: and put them back on the forty man roster.
Speaker 2: But that's not happening.
Speaker 1: It's not happening. Well, it's not not happening. He probably
Speaker 1: won't not happen.
Speaker 2: He's not taking an assignment to Oklahoma City. And like
Speaker 2: I said, Gilbert, when a team tweets out a thank
Speaker 2: you goodbye, I think that's a sign to all of
Speaker 2: us that Jason Hayward has decided he would not take
Speaker 2: an assignment to Oklahoma City and he wouldn't go on
Speaker 2: to il with some sort of back issue that he's
Speaker 2: been dealing with all season. And Chris Taylor obviously did
Speaker 2: not want to wait nine more days to be activated.
Speaker 2: So yeah, sorry, he's not coming back. Does that change
Speaker 2: your opinion?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 1: Yeah again here here in your what your comment was
Speaker 1: when you came back and commercially does but I mean
Speaker 1: it it's ten days, right, I said, does he have
Speaker 1: to go to OKC or he can just stay?
Speaker 2: Would he would? He would say yes, I'll take an
Speaker 2: assignment there, or no, give me my outright release. And
Speaker 2: he's not going to Oklahoma City. Gilbert, all right, this
Speaker 2: guy's made hundreds of millions of dollars. He's not going
Speaker 2: to Oklahoma City for Andy Paez and Chris Taylor. Do
Speaker 2: you think Jason Hayward is feeling really generous these days?
Speaker 1: No, yeah, he's no.
Speaker 2: Thank you for the phone call. Eight sixty six nine
Speaker 2: eight seven two five seventy. And here's another example and
Speaker 2: a lesson to all of you down the road. When
Speaker 2: you start criticizing players for not having loyalty to any
Speaker 2: sports team that you love, remember this. There's not a
Speaker 2: lot of loyalty these days in professional sports. Today's a
Speaker 2: great example of that. Eight sixty six seven two five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number. Let's go out to Jim
Speaker 2: in San Diego. You're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: How you doing, Jim David?
Speaker 6: What a privilege to talk to you, man. You are
Speaker 6: the Dodger insider.
Speaker 2: I love it, Thank you, Jim. I appreciate it. It's
Speaker 2: an honor to speak to you.
Speaker 6: I hate this move for all the reasons you outlined.
Speaker 6: And I also think that from a player's standpoint, and
Speaker 6: I'm shooting in the dark, that they at this point
Speaker 6: in the season, that the clubhouse would respect Jason more
Speaker 6: than Chris. And I've been and I don't I think
Speaker 6: I mean, sorry, mister Friedman, I think that that you
Speaker 6: don't need Chris Taylor. He you don't need a jack
Speaker 6: of all trades. You have Tommy Now that can do
Speaker 6: that in Kermeyer, who can start in center field. Keep
Speaker 6: Jason on your bench role. He's been lighting it up
Speaker 6: and he gives you a left handed bath that can
Speaker 6: go yard at any time. So and it seems like
Speaker 6: he's found his groove. Not to mention all the intangles
Speaker 6: about the older, mature, more respected player in the locker.
Speaker 2: Room, let me ask you a question, Jim, and I
Speaker 2: appreciate you role playing the way I asked. And you
Speaker 2: don't have to call I don't think anybody on Andrew
Speaker 2: Freeman's staff calls a mister Friedman, but I will say this,
Speaker 2: Does this send a message to everybody that it's really
Speaker 2: not about you know, it's more about the numbers in
Speaker 2: production than anything else. And I think we all understand that,
Speaker 2: right because, like I said, if it's up to me
Speaker 2: and you put a gun to my head and you said,
Speaker 2: who are you letting go from this roster, it would
Speaker 2: probably be Jason Hayward. But understanding how much he means
Speaker 2: to his teammates, that's a different level of value. And
Speaker 2: like I said, all Dave Roberts, and Andrew Friedman and
Speaker 2: everybody else has been telling us how big it is
Speaker 2: to have him in their clubhouse, and now he's hot
Speaker 2: in their clubhouse.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Andrew, I don't think that. I think you have
Speaker 6: to look at the eye test, and some of the
Speaker 6: sabermetrics crap that I think sometimes has invaded baseball is youthful.
Speaker 6: But the eye test, the eye test, sure, you could
Speaker 6: make a case that Chris was coming back, that he
Speaker 6: was starting to hit the ball more. But I've watched
Speaker 6: as many Dodger games on my handy Danny MLB app
Speaker 6: as anybody in the last two years or three years.
Speaker 6: Chris his swing is bad. And I felt a lot
Speaker 6: more comfortable Jason coming off the bench than I will
Speaker 6: with Chris.
Speaker 5: I just want, well, I can tell you.
Speaker 2: This, Jim Andrew Friedman was very encouraged by what he
Speaker 2: saw from Chris Taylor before he got injured. And it's
Speaker 2: hard to argue with it because in Taylor's last twenty
Speaker 2: six games before he got hurt, he was hitting two
Speaker 2: fifty with an eight thirty oh ps and he was
Speaker 2: only striking out at a twenty one percent clip, which
Speaker 2: was lower than the league average and certainly lower than
Speaker 2: what we've seen all season from him. And he's found
Speaker 2: something in the minor leagues. According to Chris, he's made
Speaker 2: swing changes during this time that he's been hurt. So
Speaker 2: and he's under contract for next year for about thirteen
Speaker 2: fourteen million dollars, so that's poor reality.
Speaker 6: Where's he going to play?
Speaker 2: Exactly where is he and when is he going to play?
Speaker 2: I don't know, but I will tell you this. The
Speaker 2: reason why Chris Taylor and keyk Hernandez are are on
Speaker 2: this team is because of October. And if that's what
Speaker 2: you believe in, then they have to be on this
Speaker 2: roster for October. Yeah, yeah, all right, Jim, thanks for
Speaker 2: the phone call. Came back anytime. Enjoy talking to you.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy. I'm
Speaker 2: Andrew Readman, you are going to convince me why Jason
Speaker 2: Hayward should still be on this roster. And if you
Speaker 2: believe the Dodgers made the right decision, like already two
Speaker 2: or three of these callers have made, that's fine as well.
Speaker 2: It's not an easy decision, honestly, and I think it's
Speaker 2: taken a lot out of Dave Roberts emotionally having to
Speaker 2: have this cloud because I'm sure Dave Roberts knew the
Speaker 2: last few days this was the direction the Dodgers were
Speaker 2: going in. Nothing that Jason Hayward did or didn't do
Speaker 2: the last three or four games was going to change that.
Speaker 2: So obviously he knew what the front office had in mind.
Speaker 2: And he's part of these conversations. And how much input
Speaker 2: does Dave Roberts have. He has some, but ultimately it's
Speaker 2: Brandon Gomes, It's Andrew Freeman that tell him these are
Speaker 2: your players. Let's go out to your Belinda, Carrie, you're
Speaker 2: on Dodger Talk. How you doing Kerry? Hey, Dave, how
Speaker 2: are you my pleasure? How you doing, Carrie?
Speaker 4: I'm doing well. Hey. One of the things that I
Speaker 4: just think with with with Jason Hayward, I must say ja,
Speaker 4: but there's that's that's Hairston. But I think the Dodgers
Speaker 4: have enough guy. It's based on the last two three
Speaker 4: years that and let's be honest, we got enough guys
Speaker 4: to blink in the postseason, h when the when the
Speaker 4: bright lights come off, and I think having a guy
Speaker 4: like Jason there just to kind of even if he
Speaker 4: only gets in a bat or two, but I think
Speaker 4: it's a guy. Look, you know, everybody talked about how
Speaker 4: he riled everybody up in that in that come Room series,
Speaker 4: and maybe it's only in about Tree, but having a
Speaker 4: guy there that can keep everybody high held. We love him,
Speaker 4: a good player, but we got enough guys that blink
Speaker 4: in the postseason. We don't need another new guy coming
Speaker 4: up and saying, well, it's his first postseason. You know,
Speaker 4: it's a lot for them. We got it. We've had
Speaker 4: enough of that.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I feel like at this the Dodgers, being with the
Speaker 2: Dodgers in a race and still have baseball's best record, Carrie,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers will find a way. They have a lot
Speaker 2: of veterans that will keep moving forward. They're not just
Speaker 2: going to shut down because the Dodgers. Dodgers went in
Speaker 2: this direction with Jason Hayward. They're going to keep moving forward.
Speaker 2: It's just an emotional day for a lot of people
Speaker 2: in that clubhouse and for Dave Roberts, because you know,
Speaker 2: Jason Hayward was a very prominent figure in that clubhouse.
Speaker 2: And he wasn't a raw, raw guy like I said,
Speaker 2: but he was a presence. And Kevin Kiermeyer, by the
Speaker 2: way I've witnessed it, he's a great teammate. He engages guys,
Speaker 2: he pumps them up. I love Kevin Kiermeyer, and that's
Speaker 2: the reason why I said, They've got to keep Kevin
Speaker 2: Kiermeyer somehow, some way. And the only question I have
Speaker 2: out of all this, and I'm gonna let it breathe
Speaker 2: a little bit. I'm not calling Andrew Freeman to or
Speaker 2: I can wait to talk to Dave Roberts during his
Speaker 2: media session tomorrow, or maybe even Chris Taylor tomorrow. Why
Speaker 2: couldn't Chris Taylor wait eight more days? And why couldn't
Speaker 2: the Dodgers tell Chris Taylor wait eight more days. It's
Speaker 2: not like he has, you know, had a great year
Speaker 2: where he has the leverage to tell them, hey, I
Speaker 2: want to be activated, right now, and look, I'm a
Speaker 2: believer in Chris Taylor, but there was a way to
Speaker 2: have all these guys still on the roster on September first,
Speaker 2: and for whatever reason, there must have been something going
Speaker 2: on behind the scenes. They had to make a decision
Speaker 2: to activate Taylor today and not wait until September first.
Speaker 2: Eight six, six, nine, eight seven, two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. This is Dodger Talk David Vass with
Speaker 2: you until seven o'clock tonight here on AM five to
Speaker 2: seventy LA Sports. Let's go out to riverside. Fred. Are
Speaker 2: you on board with this decision.
Speaker 7: I'm on board with this decision, Dave. When you take
Speaker 7: the emotion completely out of it, we're not talking about
Speaker 7: Albert Poolhols. We're not talking about David Threes. In terms
Speaker 7: of guys when the lights are the brightest in the postseason,
Speaker 7: these are the guys who have had the experience and
Speaker 7: the numbers there to perform and go after those World
Speaker 7: Series moments. We're talking about Jason Hayward, a career one
Speaker 7: forty eight hit hitter in the postseason. When you look
Speaker 7: at Chris Taylor, He's hit three point fifty in the NLCS, Okay,
Speaker 7: now the sample side, even the eye test tells me
Speaker 7: to your point, Chris Taylor is a guy who rises
Speaker 7: to the occasion. In October, you think about those moments
Speaker 7: he had against Milwaukee, making game saving catches or doing
Speaker 7: it with his bat against the Cardinals and eliminating them.
Speaker 7: This is a guy who you can throw his numbers out.
Speaker 7: His versatility, his experience is something that elevates the rest
Speaker 7: of the team in the postseason. And if you want
Speaker 7: to just focus on hey, well we need better and
Speaker 7: guys in the in the clubhouse to keep everybody spirits
Speaker 7: up and pad him on the back or be in Well.
Speaker 2: That's not Jason Hayward. That's not Jason Hayward. I'm just
Speaker 2: saying he was a different, quiet type of presence where
Speaker 2: if guys had something nice they could go to him.
Speaker 2: It's not Mookie bedspread. Nobody's going to Mookie Beds for advice.
Speaker 2: I hate to break it to you.
Speaker 7: Well, we need we have guys like Clayton Kershaw that
Speaker 7: needs to stuff for pitchers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, for pictures, it's a different guys. No, position players
Speaker 2: don't always lean on pitchers. Pitchers don't always lean on
Speaker 2: position players. So hey, I'm with you, Fred, I could
Speaker 2: see your argument. I'm not going to push back on
Speaker 2: your argument because, honestly, how many at bats with Jason
Speaker 2: Hayward going to get between now and the end of
Speaker 2: the season, and how many at bats was he really
Speaker 2: going to get in the play it was trying to
Speaker 2: catch lightning in a bottle like he did the other night.
Speaker 2: That would be the only thought to it. Thanks for
Speaker 2: the phone call, eight six six seven two five seventy.
Speaker 2: As far as on the field now, like I said,
Speaker 2: you know, the Dodgers can get over this, and they're
Speaker 2: going to have to get over this if there is
Speaker 2: some heavy emotions and it may take a day or
Speaker 2: two to really play a few games to get over this.
Speaker 2: But today, trust me, a lot of those guys that
Speaker 2: were teammates with Jason Hayward last year and this year,
Speaker 2: they're a little emotional today. Eight six six nine eighty
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number. Let's take
Speaker 2: one more call before we take a break. Eric in Hollywood,
Speaker 2: you're on Dodger Talk. How you doing, Eric, Dodger Day shut.
Speaker 8: Drew. I just want to tell you, thank you. That
Speaker 8: was a great move of getting rid of Jay Hey
Speaker 8: was a tough You need something to fire up this team, Drew,
Speaker 8: and you did a good job. This will fire up
Speaker 8: the team. You get rid of somebody get this team uncomfortable.
Speaker 8: They need to band together right now with the team
Speaker 8: that they have and that are coming together, the roster
Speaker 8: that's being put together right now needs to band together,
Speaker 8: and they need to get tough. And tough is what
Speaker 8: they need. That guy was great.
Speaker 4: He's awesome.
Speaker 8: They're gonna love him. They can always FaceTime him and Drew,
Speaker 8: I gotta tell you one thing, man, I think you're
Speaker 8: on the right path.
Speaker 4: Here you go.
Speaker 8: You've got all the pieces that you need to make
Speaker 8: this a caliber, winning championship team. But I gotta tell
Speaker 8: you what, Dag Drew, We've gotta fire this team up.
Speaker 8: We need fire. Nobody needs to push us around, Drew.
Speaker 8: So you need to either talk to Dave and tell them, hey,
Speaker 8: how are we gonna recalibrate the roster, because nobody needs
Speaker 8: to push us around now. Nobody pushes baby in the.
Speaker 7: Corner anymore, Drew.
Speaker 8: I don't know if you've seen that. You're kind of young, Drew,
Speaker 8: so I don't know.
Speaker 4: If you see that movie.
Speaker 8: But nobody pushes baby in the corner. Drew, and remember
Speaker 8: one dig remind cedg one thing like it, shaving Private Ryan.
Speaker 8: Bake this worth it, Make this worth it. We've got
Speaker 8: rid of subty. Make this worth it. But Drew, you're
Speaker 8: doing a great job.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 8: You gotta work on the pitchy, bro.
Speaker 4: But that's a better thing.
Speaker 8: We already talked about Jay Hey, but.
Speaker 3: Drew, you gotta work on the pitchy.
Speaker 2: But that's all right, Let's save that for tomorrow. Eric,
Speaker 2: Let's save that for tomorrow. That was great, Thank you
Speaker 2: for the phone call. Great as always. Two movie references,
Speaker 2: Saving Private Ryan and dirty Dancing. Never thought I would
Speaker 2: say that on this show anyway. Great call, and honestly
Speaker 2: a little surprised that everybody is in agreement with Andrew
Speaker 2: Friedman and the Dodgers to let Jason Hayward get away.
Speaker 2: And look, like I said, in a vacuum, his numbers,
Speaker 2: his production, how many at bats he was going to have?
Speaker 2: And if you had to activate Chris Taylor today, yeah,
Speaker 2: he would be the odd man out, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2: It wouldn't be Kevin Kiermeier. But there's more to it
Speaker 2: than just the ops and the batting. G average. There's
Speaker 2: a little bit more to it, all right, thanks for
Speaker 2: the phone calls. We're gonna keep it going. I did
Speaker 2: record a pre I didn't record an interview with Dave
Speaker 2: Roberts before yesterday's game. I was gonna use it tonight,
Speaker 2: but with the news of Jason Hayward being designated for
Speaker 2: assignment and we got a full board of calls, we're
Speaker 2: going through. You could find the Dave Roberts conversation on
Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app. That's where you could podcast it. If
Speaker 2: Dave Roberts called in live, we put him on. But
Speaker 2: right now it's a taped, outdated interview. So we're going
Speaker 2: all in with the phone calls. At eight sixty six nine,
Speaker 2: eight seven, two five seventy, David Vase with you until
Speaker 2: seven o'clock right here on a f five to seventy
Speaker 2: LA Sports Petrosen Money had a successful final summer tourist
Speaker 2: stop at the van's headquarters and Costa Mesa g Bus
Speaker 2: was there. It was a good time had by all,
Speaker 2: and that's why we're on an hour earlier. We're taking
Speaker 2: you to the top of the hour and we'll be
Speaker 2: back with you tomorrow night at six o'clock for Morongo
Speaker 2: Casino Dodgers on deck before first pitch between the Dodgers
Speaker 2: and Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers have a home stand,
Speaker 2: a nine game homestand all three series are against American
Speaker 2: League teams. The Dodgers just swept the Seattle Mariners and
Speaker 2: basically put Scott Servis's job so much in jeopardy that
Speaker 2: he got fired today, and they'll have the Rais in
Speaker 2: for three games. The Rays had two players going at
Speaker 2: it against each other in their own dugout last night
Speaker 2: in Oakland, Yondi Diaz and Jose Cabierro. So the Rays
Speaker 2: are coming in with some dissension in the ranks. And
Speaker 2: after the Rays leave town, the Dodgers have another day
Speaker 2: off on Monday, and then we'll welcome in one of
Speaker 2: the best teams in base the Baltimore Orioles. The good
Speaker 2: news is the Dodgers have held their own and then
Speaker 2: some against the American League this year. They're twenty three
Speaker 2: to twelve against the American League teams this season. Eight
Speaker 2: six six nine, eight seven two five seventy is the
Speaker 2: phone number. I gotta say, I'm a little surprised that
Speaker 2: so many of you agree with the decision to release
Speaker 2: Jason Hayward, and honestly, I can understand why. The only
Speaker 2: surprise by me was that the Dodgers actually did it,
Speaker 2: That the Dodgers actually went this direction. It's a tough
Speaker 2: decision to make because the people making the decision are
Speaker 2: not you and me. They're the guys that are in
Speaker 2: the clubhouse every day with him. They're the guys that
Speaker 2: sign him, they're the guys that manage him, they're the
Speaker 2: guys that play with him. And obviously the players had
Speaker 2: no decision in this, But for the Dodgers to make
Speaker 2: this decision was not an easy one. It's not like
Speaker 2: they were very flippant about it. It's a tough decision.
Speaker 2: And like we have been worn the last couple of
Speaker 2: weeks because of the Dodgers getting healthy and with the
Speaker 2: acquisitions of Tommy Edmond and Kevin Kiermeyer, production and the
Speaker 2: way you played and the way you fit on this
Speaker 2: roster was going to be a big part of the
Speaker 2: decision making process. And the Dodgers basically felt that they
Speaker 2: were good with Kevin Kiermeyer from the left side, even
Speaker 2: off the bench, and Jason Hayward really did not have
Speaker 2: a role moving forward. Eight six six seven, two five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number. Let's go out to Fullerton. Marlin,
Speaker 2: you're on Dodger Talk with David vasse Hi Marlin.
Speaker 5: Hi, David, thank you for letting me on. David look
Speaker 5: tough decision on the Hitward situation. He's a great guy,
Speaker 5: but you know, the Dodgers are the big picture. The
Speaker 5: whole year was to win it all. That's what the
Speaker 5: Dodgers need. They got the lineups, sheelling. Now they've got
Speaker 5: some pieces. Roberts is on. He's under a huge amount
Speaker 5: of pressure, David, because we don't expect anything else in
Speaker 5: Los Angeles to win a title. Okay, so it's all
Speaker 5: about that and that's just the way it goes. I
Speaker 5: hate to see a guy go like that, but Roberts
Speaker 5: is under extreme pressure. It's tougher when you got a
Speaker 5: team built and you're built to win than the team
Speaker 5: that's an also ran. That's what I wanted to say, David.
Speaker 5: We're in a good position now, we're ready to roll.
Speaker 5: I'm glad that it's tight because those two years were
Speaker 5: way ahead and then we lose their juice. Down the stretch.
Speaker 5: We're playing meaningful games and Roberts says, playoff mode, and
Speaker 5: that's the mode we need.
Speaker 2: To be in, all right, Marlon, I appreciate the phone call,
Speaker 2: and yeah, the manager sets the tone, and if he
Speaker 2: has that playoff type intensity and urgency to win every game,
Speaker 2: that obviously is felt by his players. And the Dodgers
Speaker 2: certainly have had a great year. The way people write
Speaker 2: about them, the way they talk about them, you would
Speaker 2: think they were the New York Mets where they're hanging
Speaker 2: onto a wildcard spot, or the Braves holding onto a
Speaker 2: wildcard spot. This team has the best record in baseball.
Speaker 2: The reality is the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego
Speaker 2: Padres are two of the top four teams in the
Speaker 2: National League. It's the Dodgers, it's the Phillies, it's the Diamondbacks,
Speaker 2: it's the Padres. And in Major League Baseball, if you
Speaker 2: include the Orioles, those are to me your top five
Speaker 2: teams in Major League Baseball this year. It just so
Speaker 2: happens that the two of those five are in the
Speaker 2: same division with the Dodgers. And look, I agree, this
Speaker 2: is not a bad thing to make the Dodgers feel
Speaker 2: a little heated to play meaningful games now. I will
Speaker 2: say this going down the stretch. On paper, the schedule
Speaker 2: does benefit the Dodgers because none of their last twelve
Speaker 2: are again against the Rockies and Marlins. And before they
Speaker 2: get to all that I mentioned, they got the Race
Speaker 2: this weekend, and then the Orioles to close out this
Speaker 2: homestand and then after the Orioles, the Dodgers head out
Speaker 2: to play four games at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona,
Speaker 2: against those Arizona Diamondbacks. And the Dodgers will not have Yoshiyamamoto,
Speaker 2: the highest paid pitcher in Major League history, and they
Speaker 2: will not have Tyler glassnaw, it appears because he's still
Speaker 2: not throwing. So the Dodgers are not going to have
Speaker 2: the two pitchers that they thought they would have for
Speaker 2: big games like this down the stretch. All they can
Speaker 2: hope for is both those guys being ready at this
Speaker 2: point in time for October and to deliver in October.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. Let's go out to Danny in Claremont.
Speaker 2: You're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 9: How you doing Danny, Hey, Dave, thanks for giving me.
Speaker 9: I'm doing well. It was kind of surprising. News to
Speaker 9: here today for sure about Hayward. But really I think it,
Speaker 9: you know, it's just kind of the cost of doing
Speaker 9: business nowadays in baseball, and you know, everyone's trying to
Speaker 9: put it up between him and Taylor and and really
Speaker 9: it's just that kere Meyer has come on so strong
Speaker 9: and it is playing so well and really fills a
Speaker 9: role in the team that they need.
Speaker 2: They were just about Taylor versus Hayward. It's really Hayward
Speaker 2: or keer Meyer, because Taylor was going to be on
Speaker 2: this roster.
Speaker 9: Oh oh, definitely, especially with you know, he was playing
Speaker 9: a little bit better, and you know, they got up
Speaker 9: signed for another year. He wasn't going anywhere, and they
Speaker 9: didn't want to get rid of any word. They're kind
Speaker 9: of backed into the corner and something had to happen.
Speaker 9: It's just unfortunate that the rules of baseball didn't allow
Speaker 9: them to keep him on the team. You know, and objectively,
Speaker 9: he's the right choice to go. But you know, I
Speaker 9: definitely see the other side of it what you're saying,
Speaker 9: where you know, for me, I think chemistry, team chemistry
Speaker 9: cohesion means so much, especially when you get into you know,
Speaker 9: the type of games that they're going to be getting
Speaker 9: into and how highly he's spoken of in the in
Speaker 9: the dugout by all the players. You know, you don't know,
Speaker 9: so I guess we'll see how the team responds. And
Speaker 9: that's really going to be the answer, you know, in
Speaker 9: the next week or so, just to see how the
Speaker 9: team responds to to losing that type of presence, because
Speaker 9: I don't think it's insignificant despite you know, he's him
Speaker 9: not having a great year at the plate.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and the good news is, Danny, just my observations
Speaker 2: of when I'm allowed in the clubhouse, Kevin Kiermaier is
Speaker 2: a great teammate and even in the dugout, being close
Speaker 2: to the dugout on this last road trip, he's a
Speaker 2: great teammate, and he's a very inclusive teammate, and he's
Speaker 2: a veteran that has respect as well. I think he's
Speaker 2: going to be a big difference maker in more ways
Speaker 2: than one down the stretch. Appreciate the phone call, Danny,
Speaker 2: Thank you for the call. Eight sixty six, nine eighty
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number. And now
Speaker 2: that Jason Hayward has been designated for assignment, similar maybe
Speaker 2: I'm being nostalgic because Matt Kemp came back for a
Speaker 2: one day contract, obviously a different situation a couple of
Speaker 2: weeks ago to retire as a Dodger. But it would
Speaker 2: be really special if this is the last season Jason
Speaker 2: Hayward is going to play Major League Baseball, and there's
Speaker 2: a very good chance it is. With this situation of
Speaker 2: him being the odd man out with the Dodgers and
Speaker 2: free to sign with any other team, I would hope
Speaker 2: the Cubs or the Braves would pick up Jason Hayward.
Speaker 2: The Cubs are going nowhere, and Jason Hayward was part
Speaker 2: of their only World Series team in the last one
Speaker 2: hundred plus years. He has beloved in the city of Chicago.
Speaker 2: He's ingrained in that community. The Cubs should pick up
Speaker 2: Jason Hayward and let him play the final month of
Speaker 2: the season with them, or even the Braves. They have
Speaker 2: a lot of injuries. That's the team he came up with.
Speaker 2: That's where Freddie Freeman and him created a brotherhood. The
Speaker 2: Braves aer Cubs should pick up Jason Hayward. Down the
Speaker 2: stretch here, let's go out to downtown. Man, you're on
Speaker 2: Dodger Talk. How you doing, Manny, Hey, what's going on, Dave?
Speaker 10: Pretty good. I'm celebrating the birthday today, but I really
Speaker 10: wanted to get this call, and thank you Dave. Eight
Speaker 10: twenty two, Leo. I'm just going to get straight to it.
Speaker 8: It was.
Speaker 10: It was a tough thing to wake up to seeing
Speaker 10: that Hayward was cut because, like the last caller said,
Speaker 10: he was a great teammate to you know, having the clubhouse.
Speaker 10: He brought that veteran leadership and he's a really close
Speaker 10: friend with Freddie Freeman. And but we we spoke about
Speaker 10: this a couple of weeks back, how this team needed
Speaker 10: and I don't want to say, you know, cutting Jason
Speaker 10: Hayward to you know, approve a point or anything. But
Speaker 10: they have Careenmeyer now and they bring such a different
Speaker 10: type of energy to this team that this you know,
Speaker 10: the Dodgers got some big wins and a big sweep
Speaker 10: against Seattle. So as much as it hurts us being
Speaker 10: like a fan favorite of j hay you know, it
Speaker 10: was the right decision ultimately. But I don't know how
Speaker 10: that rocks the boat chemistry wise, because this is this
Speaker 10: is a team that's going you know, for the last
Speaker 10: forty games or solely into a really deep race not
Speaker 10: only for the division but also maybe the best record
Speaker 10: in baseball to get home field. So hopefully that pays off.
Speaker 10: But my question to Night David is what happens when
Speaker 10: Blake trying In, Yoshi and Glassnow come back. We're gonna
Speaker 10: see some more heads roll or go back to Shiblee.
Speaker 2: Well, when Glassnow and Yamamoto come back, it's not that
Speaker 2: hard if Walker, Bueller and Bobby Miller don't start pitching better,
Speaker 2: so that will take care of itself. As far as
Speaker 2: Blake Trin and he's back already, so they already have
Speaker 2: their bullpen settled. It's really not that tough a decision
Speaker 2: when you're getting back to pitchers the caliber of Yama,
Speaker 2: Moto and glass Now. Happy birthday, Manny. I'm sorry I
Speaker 2: couldn't get to all your calls tonight, but call back
Speaker 2: tomorrow night after the game Dodgers and Rays right here
Speaker 2: on your home for Dodger Baseball and five seventy LA Sports,
Speaker 2: hope you make it out to Dodger Stadium. With forty
Speaker 2: five thousand plus at the Ravine last night, the Dodgers
Speaker 2: have welcomed in over three million fans for the thirty
Speaker 2: fifth time in their Dodg Stadium history. It's been open
Speaker 2: since nineteen sixty two. And this team is nothing without
Speaker 2: the fans. No matter who owns this ball club, they
Speaker 2: are a caretaker for the city. That's how we all
Speaker 2: feel about the Dodgers. And a big reason why is
Speaker 2: the great Dodger fans. Trust me, I've been around the country,
Speaker 2: I've seen other fans. The Dodger fans are the best,
Speaker 2: the loudest, and they certainly had the love and respect
Speaker 2: of their fans of their players for sure. All Right,
Speaker 2: that'll do it for us on Dodger Talk tonight. Thanks
Speaker 2: to Ronnie Fozio for all his help. Coming up next,
Speaker 2: Jason Smith on Fox Sports Radio. We'll talk to you
Speaker 2: tomorrow night from Dodger Stadium at six o'clock before Dodgers
Speaker 2: and Rays at seven ten. Have a great rest of
Speaker 2: your night.
Speaker 3: See you