Speaker 1: And now your host of Dodger Talk, David Vase.
Speaker 2: We are live at Nationals Park in our nation's capitol
Speaker 2: after the Dodgers fall to the Nationals six to four
Speaker 2: in the first game of this three game series and
Speaker 2: have dropped two games in a row for the first
Speaker 2: time this year. Phone lines are open at eight six
Speaker 2: six nine, eight seven two five seventy. We will hear
Speaker 2: from Jose Mota a little bit later. We will also
Speaker 2: give you an update on Clayton Kershaw. We had a
Speaker 2: chance to check in with him today, and whatever you
Speaker 2: need to know about Blake Snell's injury, I will.
Speaker 3: Be able to answer those questions.
Speaker 2: Not to mention, we do have a winning bid on
Speaker 2: the World Series ball that Will Walker Bueler and the
Speaker 2: Dodger Foundation collaborated to auction off to benefit the fire
Speaker 2: Relief Fund. So we'll let you know how much that
Speaker 2: last out baseball from last year's World Series went for.
Speaker 2: Speaking of last year's World Series, we all talked about
Speaker 2: how base running and defense in the little things were
Speaker 2: the difference in that World Series. Right now, I'm not
Speaker 2: seeing any of that from the Dodgers. I'm seeing an
Speaker 2: offense that is trying to make up for a lot
Speaker 2: of mistakes, whether it be base running or defense. You're
Speaker 2: not gonna be able to have your offense bellue out
Speaker 2: every single night, even though the Dodgers have had that
Speaker 2: happen a few times, and tonight they were very close.
Speaker 2: It was very risky for Davy Martinez to bring in
Speaker 2: Kyle Finnegan, who yes, is their closer, but for a
Speaker 2: five out save on the third straight day that he's pitching.
Speaker 2: That was a gamble that paid off this time for
Speaker 2: Davy Martinez. And the facts are I feel like when
Speaker 2: I say a team survived the Dodgers, that applies tonight
Speaker 2: more than any other game this year that the Dodgers
Speaker 2: have lost, and they've only lost three.
Speaker 3: The Nationals survived this game.
Speaker 2: It was it was close to being over if Tommy
Speaker 2: Edmond comes to the plate in the ninth inning. Instead,
Speaker 2: Mookie Betts grounds out with runners at first and third
Speaker 2: to end the game. So a very risky managing decision
Speaker 2: by David Martinez that.
Speaker 3: He got away with.
Speaker 2: And look, the Dodger defense now has committed seven errors
Speaker 2: in eleven games. The problem is they have guys that
Speaker 2: are out of position. Look, I know Mookie Betts put
Speaker 2: in a lot of time during the offseason to learn shortstop,
Speaker 2: but he's out of position.
Speaker 3: It's a new position.
Speaker 2: I believe we can all agree on that, and there's
Speaker 2: going to be still growing pains and all that, not
Speaker 2: just him being able to field ground balls, but more
Speaker 2: importantly the nuances of the position where he should be
Speaker 2: on relay throws, just the feel for the position. And
Speaker 2: tonight he missed a ground ball that he probably should
Speaker 2: have had that led.
Speaker 3: To a run.
Speaker 2: Miguel Rojas, who is sure handed as anybody, but hasn't
Speaker 2: played a lot of second base the last year plus,
Speaker 2: made a costly era as well.
Speaker 3: So you got two guys.
Speaker 2: Up the middle that aren't really used to playing those positions.
Speaker 2: Those are not their natural positions, let's put it that way.
Speaker 2: But you had guys that have played defense in left
Speaker 2: field and center field a lot, and Chris Taylor and
Speaker 2: Tommy Edmond it's no coincidence they made a lot of
Speaker 2: good plays tonight. So there is that, And there is
Speaker 2: the fact that the Dodgers have been on their feet
Speaker 2: since nine am this morning with the White House visit
Speaker 2: and then coming directly to Nationals Park to play in
Speaker 2: very cold weather. That's not an excuse, it's just a
Speaker 2: fact in reality. I'm not saying that's the reason why
Speaker 2: they made a couple of errors early in the game,
Speaker 2: but it was a tale of two games. I felt
Speaker 2: like the Dodgers played a lot better after the third
Speaker 2: inning tonight.
Speaker 3: And how about Dustin May.
Speaker 2: Think about what Dustin May did tonight, and our good
Speaker 2: buddy Petros even recognized it back at his home on
Speaker 2: the Hill. Dustin May went six innings tonight, allowed just
Speaker 2: one earn run. That is exactly what the Dodgers needed
Speaker 2: tonight after their bullpen was used so much in those
Speaker 2: last two games in Philadelphia, where their starters gave them
Speaker 2: a combined six innings, including Tyler Glasnell's meltdown in the
Speaker 2: third inning yesterday where he only went two plus coming
Speaker 2: off Rochi Sazaki going four plus innings the day before.
Speaker 2: It was huge what Dustin May did tonight. Dustin May
Speaker 2: is the unsung hero of the game tonight and maybe
Speaker 2: the last series on the road here in Washington, d C.
Speaker 2: For what he was able to do tonight. Let's head
Speaker 2: downstairs right now, do you hear from the big ginger
Speaker 2: Dustin May?
Speaker 4: Probably the fourth inning, fourth fifth and six. I felt
Speaker 4: pretty settled. I felt like I could throw a strike
Speaker 4: the first three innings. I don't think I could have
Speaker 4: been paid anymore to throw a strike, So yeah, I
Speaker 4: settled down in the fourth, fifth, and sixth and felt
Speaker 4: like it was a strong anam, What.
Speaker 3: Did you seem was just missing?
Speaker 5: I guess really in the game for you that wasn't
Speaker 5: allowing you to execute the pitches as.
Speaker 4: You'd like to kind of everything just wasn't really feeling
Speaker 4: SYNCD up in my mechanics and everything was just kind
Speaker 4: of feeling rushed and couldn't repeat a delivery.
Speaker 6: Is that maybe when the velocity was down a little
Speaker 6: bit tonight?
Speaker 7: No, how do you get it from like when you're
Speaker 7: not feeling SYNCD up early to kind of find in
Speaker 7: a rhythm later. Is it just kind of getting into
Speaker 7: the game and change you made at all?
Speaker 4: Did reps just getting more throws? I mean for me,
Speaker 4: the more I throw, the better I feel. So being
Speaker 4: able to get out and get through the rough innings,
Speaker 4: what was a good mentality boost knowing that I can
Speaker 4: bounce back.
Speaker 5: Through I really do for yourself kind of feeling that
Speaker 5: way you know earlier and starts or is that something
Speaker 5: that you just have to figure out.
Speaker 4: Yeahs the w see what was I mean?
Speaker 8: It was just today. I mean, just how the start
Speaker 8: of today run.
Speaker 7: How different does the start day feel when it starts
Speaker 7: at the White House and everything you guys did this morning.
Speaker 4: It was the early launch today. Normally would not be
Speaker 4: up that early, but I mean I just didn't have
Speaker 4: it in the first three.
Speaker 9: So it's all you can tell.
Speaker 5: I know, you talked about how just after your last
Speaker 5: that was more of a kind of the emotions to
Speaker 5: return and the anticipation of that if you felt just
Speaker 5: with this one it was kind of just back to
Speaker 5: your routine and kind of getting yourself to a good spot.
Speaker 6: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 4: I mean once I got to the field to day,
Speaker 4: I mean everything was normal go and then was normal
Speaker 4: feelings throughout the whole day. So yeah, nothing different, just
Speaker 4: like less weight on my shoulders.
Speaker 2: All right, there's Dustin May. Thanks to Sports Net LA
Speaker 2: for bringing tonight's starter. And look, he even said it
Speaker 2: early launched today. It's not an excuse, it's just the reality.
Speaker 2: Baseball players usually don't wake up until eleven ish, especially
Speaker 2: on the road. After the Dodgers trained it from Philadelphia
Speaker 2: to Washington, d C. They knew they had an early day,
Speaker 2: and obviously a great honor for them to be invited
Speaker 2: to the White House. And you know they're not going
Speaker 2: to use that as an excuse, but it's a reality.
Speaker 2: And Dustin May, you know, he averaged ninety five miles
Speaker 2: in hour on his four seam fastball tonight. I didn't
Speaker 2: feel like there was any issues with the velocity and
Speaker 2: he's not going to throw his teammates under the bus,
Speaker 2: but if there were some defensive plays made behind him,
Speaker 2: especially since he's a ground ball pitcher, you need really
Speaker 2: good defense on the infield behind him, And to me,
Speaker 2: I don't care, you know, I know he's disappointed with
Speaker 2: the team losing and him giving up three runs while
Speaker 2: he was in there, even though one was earned. Dustin
Speaker 2: May did more than his job tonight, especially like I said,
Speaker 2: what took place the previous two games for the Dodgers
Speaker 2: where they had to go to their bullpen in the
Speaker 2: fifth inning on Saturday, and they had to go to
Speaker 2: their bullpen in the third inning yesterday because Tyler glass
Speaker 2: Now couldn't handle the rainy conditions. So I mean, Dustin
Speaker 2: May going six innings tonight was huge, eight six six,
Speaker 2: nine to eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: Like I mentioned, the Dodger infield defense the first three
Speaker 2: innings not the best. Like Dustin May said, it felt
Speaker 2: like the Dodgers kind of woke up after the third
Speaker 2: inning and it was a much different game, and they
Speaker 2: came this close to coming back against Kyle Finnegan in
Speaker 2: the Nationals, except Finnegan was able to wiggle out of
Speaker 2: some trouble in that ninth inning after giving up two
Speaker 2: runs in the eighth to make this a game. It
Speaker 2: kind of felt like the walls were going to break
Speaker 2: there in the ninth inning, considering Finnegan finished with thirty
Speaker 2: two pitches going for that five out save, and the
Speaker 2: fact that he had pitched the previous two days to
Speaker 2: close out two other Nationals wins. So a gamble that
Speaker 2: paid off for Davy Martinez tonight as the Dodgers fall.
Speaker 3: Six to four.
Speaker 2: Now, I know it's early in the season, and I
Speaker 2: mentioned this in the Clubhouse Show, but after the Dodgers
Speaker 2: started undefeated eight to zero to begin the season, and
Speaker 2: there's a h one hundred and fifty games less left,
Speaker 2: so this really doesn't mean a whole lot, but it's
Speaker 2: kind of odd that the nine to three Dodgers will
Speaker 2: wake up tomorrow firmly in third place in the NL West.
Speaker 2: Whether or not the Giants winner lose tonight against the Reds,
Speaker 2: they will wake up tomorrow in third place. I believe
Speaker 2: that's more of an indication of how good the NL
Speaker 2: West is. The Giants signed Willia Doomas, who was a
Speaker 2: huge difference maker for the Brewers. That's evident by how
Speaker 2: the Brewers are kind of floundering to start the year.
Speaker 2: The Giants left side of the defense, left side of
Speaker 2: the infield defense is arguably the best with the Damas
Speaker 2: and Matt Chapman. Not to mention Jung Ho Lee in
Speaker 2: center field, so in that ballpark, Buster Posey understands pitching
Speaker 2: in defense wins in their home ballpark. So the Giants
Speaker 2: are going to be very competitive this year. Not to
Speaker 2: mention the diamondback Scott Better. And they were just what
Speaker 2: one win away from being a playoff team last year
Speaker 2: and the miracle OMG Mets being out and the San
Speaker 2: Diego Padres, despite how many people want to just dismiss them,
Speaker 2: they did not do a selloff this offseason. They are
Speaker 2: still really good and don't discount the fact that Jason
Speaker 2: Hayward is in that clubhouse. That's a very emotional team
Speaker 2: and having a steadying personality like Jason Hayward is going
Speaker 2: to make a difference where it means the most. So
Speaker 2: the Padres are going to be there. Trust me, they
Speaker 2: will be a playoff team. Eight six six eight seven
Speaker 2: two five seventy is the phone number. How about show Aotani.
Speaker 2: He's amazing. And we had Michael Conforto on the pregame
Speaker 2: show earlier today and he was just marveling at the
Speaker 2: preparation Otani has and how hard he hits the baseball,
Speaker 2: not only in games, but even in batting practice, and
Speaker 2: that was evident again tonight. His first three at bats,
Speaker 2: he gets on base and is just a double shy
Speaker 2: of the cycle. Otani has hit for the cycle before,
Speaker 2: he did it at Tropicana Field a few years ago
Speaker 2: playing for the Angels. He was just a double shy
Speaker 2: tonight after going three for three against National starter McKenzie Gore,
Speaker 2: left handed pitcher Mackenzie Gore, Otani infield single in his
Speaker 2: first at bat, then ties the game with a two
Speaker 2: run home run a no doubter, and then triples off
Speaker 2: the tall wall in straightaway center field. He was off
Speaker 2: to the races and had a couple of chances to
Speaker 2: be able to double.
Speaker 3: He struck out in.
Speaker 2: His fourth at bat and then walked against Finnigan in
Speaker 2: the ninth inning, And I actually thought, speaking of that
Speaker 2: at bat in the ninth inning, Finnigan wonted no part
Speaker 2: of Otani. He didn't intentionally walk in, but he was
Speaker 2: doing the unintentional intentional walk to Otani, and then you know,
Speaker 2: try to get back into the count very dangerously. He
Speaker 2: threw a three to zero fastball right down the middle
Speaker 2: for a strike to Otani, and Otani took it. That
Speaker 2: was the pitch of the at bat, and Otani took it.
Speaker 2: It was three to one and then three to two,
Speaker 2: and then he walked him on the sixth pitch of
Speaker 2: the at bat. But uh if Otani was a little
Speaker 2: bit more aggressive there. Maybe he puts a little bit
Speaker 2: more pressure on finnigin with two outs and Mookie Bets
Speaker 2: coming to the plate.
Speaker 3: But it just it didn't happen.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine, eight seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number, no other way to put it. It
Speaker 2: didn't happen. Two lines open. Let's go out to the
Speaker 2: phones for the first time tonight.
Speaker 10: UH.
Speaker 2: Let's go out to uh Santos in upland you're on
Speaker 2: Dodger Talk Live from National's Park.
Speaker 3: Hi, Santos, Hey DV. How you doing brother, I'm doing great.
Speaker 3: I can't believe I got this much energy. I've been
Speaker 3: up since seven ares.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 10: You know, first, I just want to talk about like
Speaker 10: I've been look enough to have been to the two
Speaker 10: walkoffs of Mookie nol Tani, and I just like this
Speaker 10: team's never really out of it. Even coming down to
Speaker 10: that last I bat, it really felt like we could
Speaker 10: come back. So, I mean, this team definitely has some fight,
Speaker 10: and you know, it's kind of disappointing to see those
Speaker 10: airs in the second or the third, but I think
Speaker 10: no matter how far we get down, our leadership really
Speaker 10: can take us to a win.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, their offense is really good. There's no better
Speaker 2: offense out there than the Dodgers, but that doesn't win championships.
Speaker 3: Santos. We saw that in the World Series last year.
Speaker 3: They've got to get this rectified.
Speaker 2: And look, we're they've only played twelve games, so seven
Speaker 2: errors in what twelve games? I'm not going to, you know, overreact,
Speaker 2: but it feels like it's one of those things. By July,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers will kind of move the chairs around on
Speaker 2: the on the infield and possibly in the outfield to
Speaker 2: be able to have their offense still as good as
Speaker 2: it is, but putting guys in positions that they can
Speaker 2: excel in. Right But I'm not saying that they're not
Speaker 2: doing that now one hundred percent.
Speaker 3: But look, last year we saw it.
Speaker 2: Mookie Betts recognized that maybe he was better for the
Speaker 2: team and right field, and who knows, he may have
Speaker 2: that revelation again and slide to second base, and tom
Speaker 2: Yedman goes to center. And you know, we're going to
Speaker 2: see Hayesan Kim at some point this year, and he
Speaker 2: can help the team defensively and be a good nine
Speaker 2: hitter to turn the lineup over with speed for Otani
Speaker 2: and Betts and Edmund and Freeman. So the Dodgers have
Speaker 2: so many options at their disposal. It's only twelve games
Speaker 2: into the season. They want to see what this version
Speaker 2: looks like.
Speaker 10: Hey, I got one more thing for you. No, definitely,
Speaker 10: I think we'll definitely turn around. It's just the beginning
Speaker 10: of the season and everyone's out a place. I thought
Speaker 10: it was really good point. You brought up the one
Speaker 10: more thing. What was like your most memorable moment for
Speaker 10: today's White House? Is it for yourself?
Speaker 2: Well, I wasn't with the team, right, So I wasn't
Speaker 2: on the bus with the team to the White House.
Speaker 2: I was credentialed with the rest of the media and
Speaker 2: first time ever for me to be at the White House.
Speaker 2: And for me, the most startling thing to, you know,
Speaker 2: find out is how small that briefing room is, because
Speaker 2: that's where all the press is, that's where they hang out,
Speaker 2: that's where all the press conferences are, and it's so
Speaker 2: small and antiquated.
Speaker 3: It's crazy. We watch it on TV and we think
Speaker 3: it's this huge room. It's not.
Speaker 2: It's anything but that. That was That was the one
Speaker 2: thing that stood out to me. But today was an
Speaker 2: eventful day in the world, and the Dodgers were there
Speaker 2: playing in the sandbox for a half hour or so
Speaker 2: with the President, so it was it was an eventful
Speaker 2: day news media wise, and that was pretty cool to see.
Speaker 6: Cool well, Dodgers.
Speaker 3: All right, Santos, thanks for the phone call.
Speaker 2: Speaking of the White House, I'll get more into it
Speaker 2: when we continue here, because I'll just share my experience there.
Speaker 2: It was different than the players because I wasn't allowed
Speaker 2: where they were allowed in the White House and everything else.
Speaker 2: So I'll share that with you, and also I'll let
Speaker 2: you know how much that final out baseball from last
Speaker 2: year's World Series went for. The auction closed yesterday and
Speaker 2: they got a pretty good haul. And that's thanks to
Speaker 2: Will and his wife, Kara Smith, Walker Buehler and his
Speaker 2: wife and the Dodger Foundation all coming together and saying,
Speaker 2: let's choose this baseball for good and auction it off
Speaker 2: for the fire relief funds. So we'll let you know
Speaker 2: about that, and you'll hear from Clayton Kershaw plus Jose
Speaker 2: Moto will join us and your phone calls. Two lines
Speaker 2: open eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy.
Speaker 2: Dodgers fall to the National six to four on a
Speaker 2: five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 1: Dodger Talk is available on AM five seventy LA sports
Speaker 1: dot com hand of the iHeartRadio app. Back to more
Speaker 1: Dodger Talk with Dodger insider David Vasse.
Speaker 11: Now too old, pitch Otani swings hammers are deep to right.
Speaker 3: This one's heading back to the wall, it has gone
Speaker 3: a home.
Speaker 11: Run and Otani ties the game with his fourth home
Speaker 11: run of the season.
Speaker 2: Show Hey Otani, a double shy of the cycle tonight
Speaker 2: and a losing effort as the Dodgers fall to the
Speaker 2: Nationals six to four. David Vasse live at Nationals Park
Speaker 2: with you until the top of the hour. Eight six
Speaker 2: six seven two five seventy is the phone number we
Speaker 2: want to remind you that Daniels Julius presents the home
Speaker 2: run forecast. Go to am fire seventy lasports dot com
Speaker 2: and use the keyword home run for your chance to
Speaker 2: win a fifty dollars Daniels Jewelers gift card predicting the
Speaker 2: number of home runs in the next game. Daniels Jewelers
Speaker 2: Own the Dream. Eight six six nine eighty seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy is the phone number you heard our caller
Speaker 2: before the break asked me about my experience or what
Speaker 2: stood out the most about the White House?
Speaker 3: Uh Number one.
Speaker 2: Being a kid growing up a Dodger fan, a Laker fan,
Speaker 2: you had seen these teams over the course of decades.
Speaker 2: Go to the White House after winning the NBA Championship
Speaker 2: or winning the World Series from Ronald Reagan to UH,
Speaker 2: Bill Clinton, UH, to Obama to you know, Joe Biden.
Speaker 2: You've seen all those teams go to the White House
Speaker 2: after winning the World Series and winning the NBA Championship.
Speaker 2: It seems so far away. Never in my wildest dreams
Speaker 2: did I believe that I would be at the White
Speaker 2: House with the Dodgers or the Lakers watching Oral Herscheiser,
Speaker 2: Steve Sachs, Kurt Gibson in nineteen eighty eight. That was
Speaker 2: so cool to see them be at the White House
Speaker 2: after winning the World Series, the Miracle Dodgers of.
Speaker 3: Nineteen eighty eight. That was awesome.
Speaker 2: To see Magic and Kareem at the White House during
Speaker 2: the eighties, So that was awesome.
Speaker 3: That was awesome. So it just seems so far away.
Speaker 2: And when I've come to Washington, DC over the last
Speaker 2: thirteen years, I've walked by the White House daytime, nighttime,
Speaker 2: but you know, you're only allowed so close. And it
Speaker 2: was a process to get the media credential. It's not
Speaker 2: easy to get into the White House, even with the
Speaker 2: press credential when you're not an everyday pool reporter. So
Speaker 2: up until about nine o'clock Eastern time last night, I
Speaker 2: did not know for sure that I was going to
Speaker 2: be approved for a credential, and I got that word
Speaker 2: that I was in. I got to the White House
Speaker 2: at about nine am. Jack Harris of the La Times
Speaker 2: and I met at a coffee shop across the street,
Speaker 2: walked across the street together. He was let in first,
Speaker 2: and then I stood out there for thirty minutes because
Speaker 2: my credential was not ready in the computer system. So
Speaker 2: I was standing in the rain for thirty minutes outside
Speaker 2: of the White House, but nonetheless got in. And once
Speaker 2: you get in, you have to stop at another security
Speaker 2: booth where you get your pass, and then from there
Speaker 2: there's a walkway.
Speaker 3: And this was so.
Speaker 2: Behind the scenes, behind the curtain. We watch all these
Speaker 2: morning shows, whether it's Channel KCBS or NBC, the Today
Speaker 2: Show this morning, all those well they have their reporters
Speaker 2: standing outside the White House, and I saw all of
Speaker 2: them in their isolated canopy tents walking to the briefing room.
Speaker 2: And the briefing room is where we waited until call
Speaker 2: to the East Room, and that happened at about ten
Speaker 2: forty five. And the briefing room, like I mentioned, is
Speaker 2: so small, and I.
Speaker 3: Was talking to reporters.
Speaker 2: An AP reporter that has a locker there said during
Speaker 2: the summer, it's so hot there's no air coming through,
Speaker 2: and you can understand why it gets heated in there
Speaker 2: in a lot of different ways. But it's so small
Speaker 2: and it looks so big on television. And then just
Speaker 2: being there in the East room watching the Dodgers come
Speaker 2: in to I Love La and we are the Champions
Speaker 2: by the White House Band. It was surreal and like
Speaker 2: Mookie Bets and Keik Hernandez told us the previous a
Speaker 2: couple of Dodger talks in Philadelphia, it didn't feel political
Speaker 2: at all. This was just being celebrated and that's it.
Speaker 2: So that was my experience. I was not with the team.
Speaker 2: I was behind the ropes with the rest of the
Speaker 2: media documenting the Dodgers for you, like I do everywhere
Speaker 2: they go, whether it's Tokyo, Japan, Sydney, Australia, or Washington, DC.
Speaker 2: Eight six six seven two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 2: Let's go out to Hollywood. Roy, You're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: How you doing, Roy?
Speaker 9: Good Dave, You're still mister Dodger Baseball in my book,
Speaker 9: but I want to put you on the spot a
Speaker 9: little bit far, tuny Uh, do you have a prediction
Speaker 9: I would care to make one on the steels this
Speaker 9: year as well as the home runs. And do you
Speaker 9: think stealing is uh something that he could get hurt with?
Speaker 9: I mean obviously did last year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, obviously it's a risk because in when he stole
Speaker 2: his first base of the season, he kind of went
Speaker 2: back to his old uh sliding pattern where the play
Speaker 2: that he jammed his shoulder in the World Series. But
Speaker 2: since then he's been reminded and he's reminded himself to
Speaker 2: keep you know, his left arm above ground and kind
Speaker 2: of cross it over his shoulders so he doesn't jam
Speaker 2: that left shoulder again. He only has two stolen bases
Speaker 2: right now, two out of three three attempts, So I'm
Speaker 2: going to say twenty five twenty five stolen bases.
Speaker 3: How about that? You like the over on that or
Speaker 3: you like the under on that.
Speaker 6: I would take the over, but I like it.
Speaker 9: I think that's a good total. I like it five.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, Roy, thanks for the phone call, appreciate it.
Speaker 2: And I don't believe we're going to see Otani pitch
Speaker 2: until the second half of the season. I've been saying
Speaker 2: that since day one of the regular season starting, and
Speaker 2: I am not moving off of that. Nothing has indicated
Speaker 2: to me that that's changing. So the Dodgers want him
Speaker 2: as a weapon in the postseason. They also want Clayton
Speaker 2: Kershaw to be a weapon in the second half and
Speaker 2: in the postseason. And Kershaw not only made a great
Speaker 2: speech representing the organization at the White House today, but
Speaker 2: he also threw a bullpen session. And here's what Clayton
Speaker 2: had to say when I asked him about when he
Speaker 2: might be coming back. What's the process in timeline for
Speaker 2: him to make his return to a major league mound.
Speaker 12: Yeah, through another bullpen today. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna
Speaker 12: go and face some hitters on Thursday in Arizona. You
Speaker 12: know I did that last Thursday, face through two innings,
Speaker 12: So I'm kind of just gonna keep on that schedule.
Speaker 12: It's it's kind of a weird needle to thread because
Speaker 12: physically my arm is ready to go, you know, I'm ready,
Speaker 12: but my toe isn't all the way there yet. So
Speaker 12: it's just like, whenever my toe finally is strong enough
Speaker 12: to be out there, I want to be ready. So
Speaker 12: it's just kind of threading that needle as best I can.
Speaker 12: It's obviously a unique injury for pitching, unique injury for baseball,
Speaker 12: so there's not a whole lot of precedent with it.
Speaker 12: So we're just kind of where whenever my toe is
Speaker 12: ready to go, I'll be ready to go.
Speaker 2: Is it similar when you're coming back from your shoulder
Speaker 2: the day after, field after or is it something they
Speaker 2: get feeling in the moment.
Speaker 12: No, I mean day after it usually goes back to
Speaker 12: the way it is. So I think it's just just
Speaker 12: that final little push off that I'm trying to figure
Speaker 12: out how to get that last little bit of be low,
Speaker 12: that last little bit of life to your pitch, you.
Speaker 3: Know, all right there?
Speaker 2: Actually I don't know, but I'll take his word for it.
Speaker 2: And that was Kershaw before the game today, just giving
Speaker 2: us an update on where he's at. Right he's kind
Speaker 2: of the forgotten guy, and he shouldn't be, because his
Speaker 2: arm feels great and when he was healthy last year
Speaker 2: he was really good and the Dodgers could use him
Speaker 2: and use what he represents on the mound, and that's
Speaker 2: a lot of toughness and the Dodgers certainly need that
Speaker 2: no matter what these other guys. You want to talk
Speaker 2: about Snell Glass. Now, all those guys, Yeah, their stuff
Speaker 2: might look great on the on the stat sheet, and
Speaker 2: they haven't accomplished what Kershaw has, and they don't represent
Speaker 2: what Kershaw represents to the organization. And they don't have
Speaker 2: the toughness that Krushaw has. He's the toughest competitor I've
Speaker 2: been around since covering the Dodgers in twenty twelve, and
Speaker 2: I think the only other athlete I could say that
Speaker 2: has had the work ethic and mental toughness is Kobe Bryant.
Speaker 2: I've covered both those guys. I've seen them both behind
Speaker 2: the scenes, and those are the two guys that are
Speaker 2: above and beyond everybody else in that department.
Speaker 3: All right, let's check in with Jose Mota.
Speaker 1: It's tough to go around the horn with Jose Mota.
Speaker 3: Jose Mota is joining us.
Speaker 2: He's part of the Dodgers Spanish radio broadcast in Jose.
Speaker 2: It felt like a tale of two different games. The
Speaker 2: Dodgers seem to forget when first pitch was tonight, but
Speaker 2: after the third inning they looked a lot sharper.
Speaker 6: Oh yeah, I know, thanks to a guy in the
Speaker 6: mound who came back after an emotional start and gives
Speaker 6: them a chance to you know, staying the game. So yeah,
Speaker 6: I mean and even a you know, a game of
Speaker 6: two different parts from the defensive side day when he
Speaker 6: consider two guys thrown out by the Dodgers at third base,
Speaker 6: a guy at home plate, and then a couple of
Speaker 6: mischus that again become very costly things. As you have
Speaker 6: been saying throughout the show, shows, they're going to get
Speaker 6: cleaned up. Guys are going to get their grip on things.
Speaker 6: Some pieces will be moved. But I'm going to make
Speaker 6: a point about Mookie Bets. Mooki Bets works as hard
Speaker 6: as anybody taking ground balls early. Right, you know about that, right?
Speaker 6: Dave does he Yeah, he does, he does. Okay, here's
Speaker 6: one thing the Mookie still has got to get used to.
Speaker 6: In my opinion, they're talking to experienced coaches and all
Speaker 6: star players balls off the bat. It is a different
Speaker 6: story to get used to the backgrounds, the different in
Speaker 6: fields that he's going to be playing in now. Is
Speaker 6: an everyday short stuff. Because it's great that you're a
Speaker 6: good athlete, it's great that you are willing to do it,
Speaker 6: but these are going to be adjustment, So you're gonna
Speaker 6: have to be adjusting on the fly and taking ground
Speaker 6: balls off the fungal sometimes is not enough. And I'm
Speaker 6: not saying he needs to be can both off the
Speaker 6: bat and VP, but just taking jumps off the bat
Speaker 6: and understanding that conditions and every single ballpark are going
Speaker 6: to be different and go out there, makes some plays
Speaker 6: and feel comfortable. Sometimes you got to play deeper. Sometimes
Speaker 6: you got to bary your angle. Sometimes you got to
Speaker 6: really almost stay lower because the backgrounds is not really good.
Speaker 6: So things like that are going to catch up with
Speaker 6: him eventually. But it's an adjustment for Mookie Bets and hopefully,
Speaker 6: you know, he'll come through this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's interesting because all we heard about and Mookie
Speaker 2: told me he never started working out as quickly as
Speaker 2: he did after last season. In his career, he was
Speaker 2: at Crespy High School, he was at different high schools
Speaker 2: around the San Fernando Valley working on playing shortstop, and
Speaker 2: so it's not like he just started in spring training.
Speaker 2: So I still feel like there's nuances to that position
Speaker 2: that's hard to come by at this stage of his career.
Speaker 6: Oh, no doubt. David and Dank consider this. You got
Speaker 6: a guy like Dustin May throwing ground balls a ton
Speaker 6: of them there today, And and then you got to say, Okay,
Speaker 6: if he is at ninety nine and one hundred miles
Speaker 6: an hour with that velocity, perhaps I'm going to really
Speaker 6: read swings and see how they're reacted to velocity today
Speaker 6: at ninety four ninety five. Well, sometimes that thinker is
Speaker 6: not going to be is going to be more effective,
Speaker 6: I should say, And you got to be anticipating a
Speaker 6: little bit more. And even cheats as we call in
Speaker 6: the infield, keeps your right against the riters a little
Speaker 6: bit more. So things like this. All those noises you're
Speaker 6: talking about are very true. And I can tell you
Speaker 6: that as a former player, I can spend the whole
Speaker 6: off season hitting VP and then came back speed called
Speaker 6: facing game speed and is not the same. So that
Speaker 6: is what Mooki's going through right now. Where the game
Speaker 6: speed is the one's going to be dictating to him,
Speaker 6: perhaps where he should play, how how many ground balls
Speaker 6: he should take, where he should be positioned when the
Speaker 6: values are so good at that positioning guys in the
Speaker 6: right spot. But repetitions are going to be the key
Speaker 6: for him to understand the ball is going to find you,
Speaker 6: but adjustments coming to fly pretty much every single pitch
Speaker 6: and every single ballplub that playing Jose.
Speaker 3: Mota is joining us.
Speaker 2: After the Dodgers fall tonight six to four to the Nationals,
Speaker 2: how about Dustin May. I've been singing his praises all
Speaker 2: night long. I mean, after Sazaki and Glassnew give them
Speaker 2: a total combined six innings in their previous two games.
Speaker 2: For Dustin May, like you said, and like he said,
Speaker 2: maybe not to have the life on his fastball that
Speaker 2: he wanted the first two or three innings, but to
Speaker 2: hang in there for six and pitch really well. I
Speaker 2: mean that says a lot in something we didn't see
Speaker 2: the pre or yesterday.
Speaker 3: We did not see that yesterday. It was great.
Speaker 6: I mean, think about it. This guy has power stuff
Speaker 6: to knock you out your feet and to have some
Speaker 6: swings of misses. But he showed me a lot more
Speaker 6: today than if he had fan ten guys. He showed
Speaker 6: that his stuff plays well, and it plays well up
Speaker 6: in the zone when he needs to. Because now with
Speaker 6: ninety four, when Gouzrin sayspenty ninety nine, he can beat
Speaker 6: upstairs a little bit easier. And he didn't try to that.
Speaker 6: He was like, Okay, this is working. Let me try
Speaker 6: a little bit less. Let me put those guys to work.
Speaker 6: You're still gotta go out there and trust your defense.
Speaker 6: And these are the types of outings that to me
Speaker 6: tell more about a guy and his makeup, dave and
Speaker 6: evolution and immaturity than anything else in punching out ten
Speaker 6: guys as I mentioned, which we all love. But I
Speaker 6: just hope that tomorrow the headlines are not about him
Speaker 6: and velocity being down because this guy pitched today and pitchability,
Speaker 6: as we know nowadays is not something you run across
Speaker 6: very often. But to him, second start still very emotion.
Speaker 6: We'll be on my own now on the road. I
Speaker 6: think I applaud the effort because he still give the
Speaker 6: team of chans by going out there and really trusting
Speaker 6: his stuff and being on the zone.
Speaker 2: I can't talk to you tonight without bringing up Otani
Speaker 2: just a double shy of the cycle. I'm sure you
Speaker 2: were there in Tampa Bay when he hit for the
Speaker 2: cycle his only time in his major.
Speaker 3: League career a couple or a few years ago.
Speaker 2: Did you feel like he was going to get that double?
Speaker 2: Do you believe that he's thinking about that double in
Speaker 2: his last two plate appearances.
Speaker 6: Heck, yeah, he is. I mean, don't let him lie
Speaker 6: to you. He's thinking about that place we don't show, Hey,
Speaker 6: with all the things that you've accomplished in one swing
Speaker 6: and throughout his career, he's like, when I need one
Speaker 6: more thing, I'm going to go out there and find
Speaker 6: it with the fifty to fifty number forty, with a
Speaker 6: grand slam, things like that. He's going to find a
Speaker 6: way to get it done right. A quick story about
Speaker 6: when he did it in Tampa Bay. I'm doing TV
Speaker 6: and we go down and do the posting an interview
Speaker 6: with him and we'll record it right. So I got
Speaker 6: a signal in my ear Dave that you want to
Speaker 6: hear as an interviewer, Jose tell him that we didn't
Speaker 6: have the interview. We have to do it again.
Speaker 12: I'm like what.
Speaker 6: Oh no, I'm like, I'm like, shure, Hey to his
Speaker 6: interpreter back then, do you mind doing this again? He's like, Okay,
Speaker 6: no problem. But he's like full of dirt, he's tired,
Speaker 6: and he's like, no, it's not a problem. So I'm like,
Speaker 6: thank you very much. So the producers like, please thank him,
Speaker 6: Please thank him, because I mean he really saved us.
Speaker 6: So nonetheless, he was as gracious as ever. And no,
Speaker 6: I had no doubt in my mind that he was
Speaker 6: closely doing that again today Eddie got in the pitch,
Speaker 6: not the three old one, but if you got in
Speaker 6: the pitch hit, I think he was living for that double.
Speaker 3: All right, Jose, thanks a lot for sharing that. That's
Speaker 3: a great story.
Speaker 2: We'll check in with you tomorrow night after Justin Robleski
Speaker 2: makes his season debut. Was back all right, there he
Speaker 2: goes Jose Mota, part of the Dodgers Spanish radio broadcasting. Yes,
Speaker 2: Justin Robleski will make the start that Blake Snell was
Speaker 2: supposed to make tomorrow. Snell obviously on the il, probably
Speaker 2: going to miss two starts. And the reason why Dave
Speaker 2: Roberts said the Dodgers chose Robleski over Nack or Miller
Speaker 2: is because that was his scheduled start date. And Dave Roberts,
Speaker 2: with a smirk, also said, anticipate Landon Nack being activated
Speaker 2: either tomorrow or Wednesday. The Dodgers need a spot starter
Speaker 2: on Wednesday as well, so likely you're going to see
Speaker 2: Robleski tomorrow and landon NAX start on Wednesday eight six
Speaker 2: six seven two five seventy is the phone number Dodgers
Speaker 2: fall to the Nationals tonight, six to four. Let's go
Speaker 2: back out to the phones. Diana in Granada Hills. You're
Speaker 2: on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 8: Hi Diana, Hi David. How are you doing.
Speaker 3: I'm doing great, fun.
Speaker 8: Day, awesome, awesome. So piggybacking on the Mookie Talk, I'm
Speaker 8: sorry if you mentioned this already, but I'm really trying
Speaker 8: to understand the true reason we have Mookie playing shortstop
Speaker 8: when we have other options there, and you know he's
Speaker 8: an amazing right fielder. I don't get it.
Speaker 2: I know it's a hard one to figure out, Diana.
Speaker 2: I mean a lot of people that saw Willie May's
Speaker 2: play that I've spoken to, said Mookie Betts is the
Speaker 2: best outfielder they have seen since Willie Mays.
Speaker 3: So it's hard to figure out.
Speaker 2: But I could tell you this, MOOKI and the Dodgers
Speaker 2: agree that maybe you take him off his feet a
Speaker 2: little bit more by having him play the maybe not
Speaker 2: necessarily shortstop, but second base when it's all said and done, so,
Speaker 2: if he moves off a shortstop, I don't see him
Speaker 2: going back to the outfield unless there's a catastrophic injury
Speaker 2: to Taoscar Hernandez or Michael Conforto.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 2: If the Dodgers and MOOKI feel like, you know what,
Speaker 2: we're a better team. If I'm somewhere else, then I
Speaker 2: believe it'll be second base. But that's the reason why
Speaker 2: they want to keep him off his feed and he
Speaker 2: wants this challenge right now. And they were able to
Speaker 2: move ta Oskar to right field and sign Confortos, So
Speaker 2: your lineup is that much deeper with Muki at shortstop.
Speaker 8: Okay, Dave, I count on you.
Speaker 3: I'm with you.
Speaker 2: It's like it's hard to wrap your head around that
Speaker 2: the best right fielder in the game is playing shortstop.
Speaker 3: But I mean, we'll see. We'll see what happens, Diana, We'll.
Speaker 8: See what happens, all right, David, thank you so much.
Speaker 3: Thank you for the phone call. Appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number Dodgers fault to the Nationals tonight, six
Speaker 2: to four.
Speaker 3: Look, I understand what you're all thinking out there.
Speaker 2: I'm with you, and I was very vocal about it
Speaker 2: last year, and I was happy that Mookie realized it,
Speaker 2: you know, in season, only having a week to prepare
Speaker 2: for that position. The Dodgers were better off with him
Speaker 2: in right field. But he's worked all off season to
Speaker 2: try to make this happen. And I believe he deserves
Speaker 2: more than just twelve games before the Dodgers pulled the
Speaker 2: plug on him, which they're not going to do. I
Speaker 2: just feel like he deserves more than twelve games, more
Speaker 2: than fifty games to see where it goes. I mentioned,
Speaker 2: and I was kind of bringing attention to this because
Speaker 2: it was a great cause. The last strikeout, Walker Bueller
Speaker 2: striking out Alex Verdugo. Will kept the lost out of
Speaker 2: last year's World Series, the baseball of last year's World Series,
Speaker 2: And you could argue that he owned some of it.
Speaker 2: Walker Bueller owned some of it. The Dodgers owned some
Speaker 2: of that baseball. Well, they all came together, the Bueller
Speaker 2: family Foundation, Will and Carra's Foundation, Catching Hope, and the
Speaker 2: Dodgers Foundation came together with a great idea to auction
Speaker 2: off that baseball, the final out from last year's World Series.
Speaker 2: Auction it off, and with the unfortunate fires and the
Speaker 2: Palisades and Alta Dina why not donate the funds to
Speaker 2: the fire relief fund. And that's what they did. The
Speaker 2: auction closed on Sunday, and thanks to my good buddy
Speaker 2: Harlan Werner, he was the one that hosted the auction.
Speaker 2: He let me know that the auction for that baseball
Speaker 2: went for four hundred and fourteen one hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker 2: Four to one four one hundred thousand dollars. That's how
Speaker 2: much the last out baseball from the twenty twenty four
Speaker 2: World Series went for in an auction, and the proceeds
Speaker 2: are going to the fire relief Fund. So I just
Speaker 2: wanted to go and give you the full circle on
Speaker 2: all that, and congratulations to Will and Carras Smith, Walker
Speaker 2: and McKenzie Buehler and the Dodger Foundation for doing the
Speaker 2: right thing and trying to help out those that need
Speaker 2: it the most with the fire relief funds.
Speaker 3: So kudos to them.
Speaker 2: Now, tomorrow, game two of this three game series between
Speaker 2: the Dodgers and Nationals, as the Dodgers all of a
Speaker 2: sudden have a two game losing streak that they're trying
Speaker 2: to snap, Justin Robleski will be making a season debut.
Speaker 2: He was really good in spring training, and it wasn't
Speaker 2: just spring training. He made some big time adjustments to
Speaker 2: get better, and we'll see it on display tomorrow in
Speaker 2: a regular season game, the first of the year for
Speaker 2: Robleski taking the spot of what would have been Blake'snell's
Speaker 2: spot Marongo Casino. Dodgers on Deck begins tomorrow at two
Speaker 2: thirty with Tim Kates, first pitch from National's Park at
Speaker 2: three forty five with Rick Monday and Tim Neverett. That'll
Speaker 2: do it for us tonight on Dodger Talk. Thanks to
Speaker 2: Dwayne McDonald and Colin Yee for their help.
Speaker 3: Thanks to you for listening.
Speaker 2: In case you missed any of the show, you can
Speaker 2: find it on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3: That's also where you can.
Speaker 2: Listen to our full conversation with Dodger left fielder Michael
Speaker 2: CONFORDO get to know him a little bit better and
Speaker 2: his thoughts on hitting and being a Dodger.
Speaker 3: It's a great conversation.
Speaker 2: A great guy, humble guy, and a proud Italian American. Also,
Speaker 2: if you want to see some photos from today or
Speaker 2: the Dodger season, you can follow me on Instagram at
Speaker 2: officially Vassa and on x at the Real underscore DV
Speaker 2: once again. The final score tonight from Nationals Park in Washington,
Speaker 2: d C. The Nationals defeat the Dodgers six to four.
Speaker 2: Have a great rest of your night. We'll talk to
Speaker 2: you tomorrow.
Speaker 3: See ya, La,