Speaker 1: The Dodgers are in Miami getting set for Game two
Speaker 1: of this three game series, and I'm joined right now
Speaker 1: by one of the biggest assets the Dodgers have, and
Speaker 1: that's pitching coach Connor McGinnis. Connor, thanks a lot for
Speaker 1: the time, appreciate.
Speaker 2: It, Yeah, no problem, man, anytime.
Speaker 1: A lot of moving parts with your pitching staff this season,
Speaker 1: and of course in the last two weeks. You were
Speaker 1: out there in the bullpen watching Clayton Kershaw throw what
Speaker 1: Dave Roberts said was close to eighty pitches. What did
Speaker 1: you think about what you saw?
Speaker 2: It was a big step forward. I think he finally
Speaker 2: started find a little more comfort with a toe and
Speaker 2: starting to look more and more like himself. So it
Speaker 2: was a big step forward for him, for sure.
Speaker 1: That's a little unusual for a guy to throw an
Speaker 1: eighty something pitch bullpen. What drove that?
Speaker 2: It's more he's just trying to maintain his volume in
Speaker 2: the foundation alrea he built up from the you know,
Speaker 2: the season and the throws previously, so that way, when
Speaker 2: he can really give it a full go, he's not
Speaker 2: that far behind.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like he's done a pretty good job
Speaker 1: of being able to keep the arm moving whenever decided
Speaker 1: for him to start in a game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a it's a pretty daunting task given this
Speaker 2: injury for him. You've seen the videos of him trying
Speaker 2: to throw the chair or do the knee drills and
Speaker 2: and whatnot just to kind of keep the arm in
Speaker 2: shape because he worked really hard to get that shoulder
Speaker 2: healthy and come back from that. So I know he's
Speaker 2: frustrated dealing with his toe now, but giving this guy
Speaker 2: and his workout that he's been getting after it, and
Speaker 2: so I know he's had some frustrating days and whatnot,
Speaker 2: but this was a really promising one.
Speaker 1: You're a very creative person yourself on how to get
Speaker 1: things done. What did you What did you think about
Speaker 1: some of the creative methods Kershaw used, Like you mentioned
Speaker 1: the folding chair to keep the arm moving.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's all him. I got. I got nothing to
Speaker 2: do with any of that. That's all him. He's just
Speaker 2: making sure that he can keep that volume up and whatnot.
Speaker 2: So I think it's been brilliant about how he's been
Speaker 2: going about it. I know he's been working hard to find,
Speaker 2: you know, the right footwear to try to alleviate some
Speaker 2: of that pressure on the toe, and like I said,
Speaker 2: today was the first time I really saw him actually
Speaker 2: kind of getting closer and closer to his true delivery.
Speaker 2: Before he was just really struggling to push off as
Speaker 2: anyone could possibly imagine. So this was a good one
Speaker 2: for him.
Speaker 1: Connor McGinnis and Mark Pryor have had their hands full
Speaker 1: as far as watching a lot of bullpen sessions. I've
Speaker 1: never asked you though about Otani's throwing program. Where is
Speaker 1: seeing all that.
Speaker 2: As far as as what as far.
Speaker 1: As coming back and you know, obviously today another bullpen session.
Speaker 1: It's up to seven now. Is he closer to facing
Speaker 1: hitters in the next progression?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's a bigger question for Mark and
Speaker 2: the medical team and just making sure Show's comfortable and
Speaker 2: on board with that. But he's progressing incredibly well. I mean,
Speaker 2: this guy's got a lot on his plate. His bullpens
Speaker 2: have been outstanding. He's going through it. You know, just
Speaker 2: introduced the splitter today during the bullpen session. So we're
Speaker 2: just happy to see him back up there doing his thing.
Speaker 2: But yeah, that's about all I know from this point.
Speaker 1: Hey, speaking of the splitter, Yoshi Yamamo has a pretty
Speaker 1: good split fingered fastball. What have you seen from Yamamoto
Speaker 1: in his first two starts that are so encouraging?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know that first one back, it was like
Speaker 2: watching a video game. This guy had everything rolling and
Speaker 2: really found the curveball and split going through. I think
Speaker 2: in Atlanta he just was a little out of sync,
Speaker 2: you know, couldn't really find his throw early on, so
Speaker 2: that splitter was kind of wandering away from him. But
Speaker 2: I think he did a really nice job working with
Speaker 2: Smitty and Barnes just to make sure that they still
Speaker 2: went to it even though he didn't necessarily have it,
Speaker 2: and he was able to clip some better ones as
Speaker 2: the adding went on.
Speaker 1: I noticed he was throwing his cut fastball when he
Speaker 1: couldn't find the split fingered fastball. Is that a great
Speaker 1: sign from a pitching coach standpoint that he can adapt
Speaker 1: on the fly.
Speaker 2: Yeah. You know, he's very unique in that he doesn't
Speaker 2: throw all of his pitches warming up, so I think
Speaker 2: sometimes some of the pitches get lost through the shuffle
Speaker 2: time and time again. So I think they've done a
Speaker 2: nice job just from a game planning stamp point, knowing
Speaker 2: when and how to deploy the other pitches and I
Speaker 2: just think, you know, it wasn't necessarily on the other
Speaker 2: team's radar, and it was a perfect time to introduce
Speaker 2: it and kind of help him reset the rest of
Speaker 2: his arsenal. So I think it's just good for us
Speaker 2: to remember not to forget about his little wrinkles even
Speaker 2: when he doesn't warm up with him.
Speaker 1: Connor McGinnis is our guest as we're getting ready for
Speaker 1: first pitch in Miami. The Dodgers made the announcement earlier today, Connor,
Speaker 1: that Bobby Miller has been optioned. What was your message
Speaker 1: to Bobby after last night's start and just how to
Speaker 1: find a way to get better for whatever is ahead
Speaker 1: of him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's not lost on us how great
Speaker 2: of a pitcher Bobby is and how much work he
Speaker 2: put in last year and then this offseason leading up
Speaker 2: to it. He came in incredible shape and had an
Speaker 2: outstanding start to the season, was unfortunately hit with a
Speaker 2: little bit of a shoulder injury, which I think he's
Speaker 2: been battling back from. He did awesome work with b
Speaker 2: mack and to kind of get his throwback and dialed,
Speaker 2: and right now it just feels like he's just pressing
Speaker 2: and so I just think for him, he just needs
Speaker 2: a little bit of a mental reset, just get reminded
Speaker 2: he can be one of the best pitchers in this game.
Speaker 2: And so for him, I just feel for him. I
Speaker 2: know it's been a frustrating journey for it, but this
Speaker 2: guy's only gonna learn from it and get better. That's
Speaker 2: a guy I bet on every day.
Speaker 1: No doubt Bobby Miller will be back stronger than ever. Connor,
Speaker 1: thanks a lot for the time. Always appreciate the insight.
Speaker 1: And I'm starting to ruin your cover. You might not
Speaker 1: be the best kept secret in baseball anymore.
Speaker 2: No, I stop him. Man, you're being way too kind.
Speaker 2: You're being way too kind, and we've got a really
Speaker 2: good team.