Dodger Talk (6-19-23)

Off-day Dodger Talk with with David Vassegh before the Dodgers begin a two game road trip in Anaheim versus the Anaheim Angels.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Off Day Dodger Talk.David Vasse with you until eight o'clock tonight
here on AM five seventy LA Sports. The Dodgers will be back in action
tomorrow night. There'll be in Anaheimthe start a two game series against the
Angels, and it should be afun two games because Tomorrow night Clayton Kershaw
is starting for the Dodgers and onWednesday Night show, Hey Otani will be

(00:24):
making his first start ever against theDodgers in the regular season, so that
should be fun on Wednesday night andTomorrow night. Always fun when Clayton Kershaw
is on the mound. Remember lastyear when Kershaw pitched in Anaheim, he
took a perfect game into the eighthinning, So we'll see whether or not
he can find that magic again tomorrowat the Big A Morongo Casino. Dodgers

(00:47):
on Deck begins at six o'clock tomorrownight with Tim Kates and First Pitch with
Rick Monday and Tim Neverett at sevenoh seven. We got a great show
for you tonight. Coming up atthe bottom of the hour, we'll share
our extended conversation with former Dodger Aj Ellis, who was the catcher the
night that Clayton Kershaw threw his nohitter nine years ago yesterday. We shared

(01:12):
a portion of it, a smallportion of it yesterday after the game.
So we'll get into more detail witha j Ellis about just the whole night,
what Kershaw was doing so well,and the handling Ramirors error that prevented
it from being a perfect game.So we'll hear from a j Ellis at
the bottom of the hour. Comingup in fifteen minutes, Mookie Bets made

(01:36):
a very strange announcement yesterday in avery strange way. We'll let you know
what that is. And as wego to eight o'clock tonight, we will
take your phone calls. I knowthere's been a lot of edgy Dodger fans
out there after games, so ifyou want to call in tonight, we'll
get you in at eight six,six nine, eight seven, two five

(01:57):
seventy. We all know about theDodgers recent struggles. They're five and ten
in June, they're just twelve andeighteen. Since May sixteenth, their bullpen
ra is six and a quarter.In the last thirty games, their starter
ra is over five. They hadthe worst bullpen ra in the National League

(02:21):
overall this season at five zero four, their bullpen has given up the second
most home runs in the National Leagueor actually in Major League Baseball thirty eight
home runs. So those things arethere's no way to spin it right.
They have not performed well. Theyare the same group of relievers for the

(02:43):
most part, outside of Shelby Miller, that we saw last year. But
I have said this after games,they're missing a couple of key components down
there, and that's just talking tosome of the relievers themselves, some veteran
leadership down there. I know ShelbyMiller just got to the Dodgers. He
kind of has filled in as wellas he can in that spot. But

(03:06):
the Dodgers are missing Daniel Hudson,and they're missing David Price. David Price
and Daniel Hudson really were two guyslast year that those relievers, young relievers
with not a lot of experience,could lean on in a lot of different
ways. So they're missing that.And Daniel Hudson is expected to be back
by the end of the month.During that road trip at the end of

(03:29):
the month that the Dodgers will bein Denver, in Kansas City and also
Julio Riis will be back during thatsame road trip, and now that's according
to the manager, Dave Roberts.Things obviously can change between now and then,
but that's what the Dodgers are lookingat, and once they get those
two pictures back, I feel likethe waters will get a little calmer than

(03:53):
what they are right now. Consideringthe Dodgers are dealing with a lot of
injuries to their starting rotation, andthat's been part of the issue on why
they really haven't been able to getany momentum or have a better record than
what they have had since May sixteenth. It's not a coincidence the Dodgers went
into a downward trend when Dustin Mayand Julio Rias got hurt within three games

(04:18):
of each other. That's when allof this started. The Dodgers are twelve
and eighteen since all that happened,and it's not just about the injuries.
It's about playing better and being betterwith runners in scoring position. I've talked
about how the Dodgers seem to havethese big innings four to six innings,

(04:40):
but they're not tacking on in otherinnings and that's costing them late in games,
especially with a very shaky bullpen,which, by the way, since
the beginning of June, certain guyshave done better than others during this five
and ten month for the Dodgers.In the month of June, I know
everybody wants to lump them all together, and at the end of the day,

(05:02):
they are one unit. They succeedtogether, they fail together. But
when you look at a guy likeYency Almonte, who has appeared in seven
June games. Outside of the tworun home run that Jake Berger hit off
of him to tie the game lastweek, that hit off the foul pole,
by the way, that's how closeit was. Outside of that,

(05:27):
Yancy Almonte has only given up oneurn run. So I can make the
argument that Yancy Almonte has been thebest Dodger reliever in the month of June.
He has given up the same amountof urn runs in less amount of
innings as or in more amount ofinnings than Evan Phillips and Bruce Starr Graderol.

(05:48):
The fascination with Bruce Starr Graderol isfascinating to me. I have never
bought into him being a closer.I have never bought into him being a
guy that can get big outs inthe eighth or ninth inning, and that's
no disrespect to him. I feellike where the Dodgers have used him over
the course of the last couple ofseasons is where he fits because he gives

(06:12):
up a lot of contact. Andin the month of June, it's shocking
how much contact he has given up. Although he has only given up three
earned runs in the month of Juneand six and a third innings, he
has given up ten hits in sixand a third. That's really hard to
do as a relief pitcher. Hehas given up double digit hits in the

(06:32):
month of June and only six inningsbasically, and hitters are hitting nine oh
five off of him. You knowit's even more shocking is the Dodgers don't
have a left handed specialist anymore.Alex Vessia has not been himself because of
the pitch clock. He has notlooked the same with the pitch clock.
I feel like that's part of thereason why the Dodgers sent him down to

(06:55):
the minors for a period of time, for him to get a better pace
of pitching with the pitch clock inplace. Because he has not done well.
His era is skyrocketing well past eight. Caleb Ferguson is better against rights.
He probably is the best left handerin the Dodger bullpen right now because

(07:15):
after a very good start, VictorGonzalez has not been that good. And
Victor Gonzalez is there to face lefties. Do you know what lefties are hitting
off Victor Gonzalez this season? Threefourteen with an ops of seven ninety seven.
That's your left handed specialist. Leftiesare hitting three fourteen off of him.

(07:39):
He's better against rights. Righties areonly hitting one thirty five against Victor.
And yesterday he was able to comein with runners on bass and not
get out of it. He gaveup a hardline drive to Lamont Way Junior
that went off the glove of FreddieFreeman. It was an eighty five off
speed pitch right down the middle atlate night. Lamont did not miss in

(08:01):
the middle of the day. Sothese are the Dodgers guys, And all
I'm saying is the Dodgers need theAll Star break. That's what I'm trying
to say, which is only twoweeks away. This will be good for
all these guys in the bullpen toget away from pitching thinking about pitching for

(08:22):
four or five days clear their heads. It's not always about the stat sheet,
the spin rate all that. Theseguys are human beings, and right
now they're chasing their tail. They'retrying to do more than what you should
do, and getting away from baseballduring the All Star break I believe will

(08:43):
help them reset in the second half. I have something else for you.
See, I just don't have negativenews for you. I have positive news
for you. And at the beginningof this season and during spring training I
told you this Dodger roster reminded meof the twenty eighteen season, where the

(09:03):
Dodgers really didn't make any big timemoves during the offseason and they were playing
in a very weak National League thatyear. There's an argument to be made
that, considering a lot of teamsare underperforming, the National League is as
weak as it was in twenty eighteen. Do you know what the Dodgers record
was in twenty eighteen after seventy twogames. I can tell you what the

(09:28):
record was after seventy two games.Thirty eight and thirty four was the Dodgers
record in twenty eighteen. In twentytwenty three, after seventy two games.
They are seven games above five hundredand that All Star break, Andrew Freeman

(09:48):
pulled the trigger to trade for MannyMachado with the injury to Corey Seeger.
He also made two other key acquisitionslast year or in twenty eighteen, Ryan
Madson, who was a big partof the bullpen the second half of the
year and a big key reliever inthe NLCS, and David Freeze a right
handed bat. Sound familiar. Itfeels like it's the same needs the Dodgers

(10:13):
have this year in a very weakNational League, and maybe not a shortstop,
but they certainly need a bat thecaliber of Manny Machado, and they
certainly need a starting pitcher, whichthey didn't really need in twenty eighteen,
and they do need some bullpen help. I'll say this, they need a
right handed bat. That's what theyneed. David Freeze provided that, and

(10:35):
the starting pitching part of this equationmay be more difficult than to land than
the other two a right handed batand a high leverage reliever because there is
going to be so much demand,because the difference in twenty twenty three compared
to twenty eighteen as of now isthat there aren't as many teams out of

(10:56):
it, because if you remember intwenty eighteen, there were not six teams
making it to the postseason in eachleague. That's what makes this year a
lot more complicated for Andrew Freeman topull off the type of deals that he
has in the past at the tradedeadline. So these are there, guys,

(11:16):
and hopefully after the All Star Break, these guys reset and come back
and pitch the way they did lastyear. I feel like the All Star
Break is coming at the perfect timefor the Dodgers, who are still seven
games above five hundred. Now,as we talk about all this, let
me just put this in context,not only what they were in twenty eighteen

(11:39):
and similar circumstances with the league,but also the fact that there are six
teams making it now two extra wildcardspots in the National League. Are you
trying to tell me the Dodgers won'tbe one of those wildcards if they don't
win the division. The Dodgers aremaking the postseason. They just have to
figure this out to be able toput themselves in the most advantageous position for

(12:03):
October. They are one of thesix best teams in the National League,
and their record reflects that they haveone of the best records in the National
League, after the Braves, theDiamondbacks, and now the Giants who are
in second place. So all ofthose things just keep in mind as everybody
else that don't watch every game orevery inning or have that type of perspective

(12:28):
want to say the sky is falling. The sky isn't falling. Trust me.
By the end of this month,if Julio Ureus and Daniel Hudson come
back, things will be better.And I fully expect this bullpen to be
better in the second half. Eightsix six nine, eight seven two five
seventy is the phone number. We'regoing to take a time out here on
Dodger Talk. When we come back, we'll share with you the very interesting

(12:52):
announcement or decision Mookie Bets had yesterdayand the way he announced it. I
love Mookie, just surprised he woulddo this and the way he did it.
Dodger Talk with you until eight o'clocktonight right here on AM five seventy
LA Sports. I'm Clayton Kershaw againstRead Debtmer's Morongo Casino dontres on Deck begins

(13:15):
at six o'clock with first pitch atseven oh seven. And by the way,
the next Petros and Money Summer Tourlive broadcast is this Friday at Brewery
X and Anaheim starting at three o'clock. You can join the party for your
chance to win a two nights stayat the MGM Resorts Destination in Las Vegas
plus food and beverage credits. Ohyeah, visitt MGM resorts dot com today

(13:41):
to plan your dream Vegas getaway toyour favorite MGM Rewards destination. Eight six
six nine eight seven two five seventyis the phone number. We have two
lines open and we'll get to youin just a moment. But I wanted
to share this with you. Ifyou remember, at this time last year,
I was begging for Aaron Judge andMookie Betts to take the biggest stage

(14:05):
at the home run derby Dodgers Stadiumin Los Angeles and participate neither one,
did I think. I bug MookieBetts nearly every week to try to convince
him to give the hometown fans whatthey wanted. There would be no bigger
stage for a home run derby thanhere at Dodgers Stadium last year, and

(14:28):
MOOKI decided not to. Aaron Judgedecided not to, and yesterday on MLB
Network, on a random show ona Sunday on Father's Day, Mookie Betts
was talking to Harold Reynolds. Theinterview was over and Mooki announced that he
would participate in the Home Run Derbyin the Cloudy City of Seattle. Great

(14:52):
stuff, continue success. Proud ofyou man, proud of what you're doing,
and you just keep going. We'llsee you in see the All Star
game, Yes, sir, I'llsee you guys and see how I'm doing
the Home Run Derby too. Yougot any advice for me? Oh my
goodness, you're doing it. Huh. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna
do it. I'm gonna do itas long as I'm an All Star.
I gotta be an All Star personthen I and then I'm gonna do it.

(15:13):
Well, that's no better way thanto get more votes and to say
that I'm voting for you now forsure that Now listen, Mookie Bets has
a big time podcast. Now he'smister social Media. He's going to announce
that he will be part of theHome Run Derby if he makes the All
Star team. At the very endof an interview, like a throwaway comment.

(15:37):
That's not very production minded. Mookieand number two, are you serious?
You're going to participate in the homerun Derby in Seattle? In Seattle
and not Dodgers Stadium? Are youkidding me? I love Mookie Bets,
but come on, man, geez. Anyway, Mooky's going to participate in

(16:00):
the home run derby. And speakingto Mookie, he made a great play
at shortstop yesterday. One of thefew highlights of yesterday's loss for the Dodgers
was the play Mookie Bets made ona hard hit ground ball up the middle
by Michael Confordo. I believe itwas in the fourth inning, and he

(16:21):
made a play that was spectacular,look routine. He gathered himself very calmly
through the third base to get thelead runner, Thiro Estrada, for the
first out of that inning. Itwas an amazing play. And he's only
played shortstop seven or eight times thisyear. Just amazing what he can do.

(16:41):
But Mookie, Seattle over La,are you kidding me? I'm not
watching the All Star Game this yearor the home Run Derby this year.
I was into it last year eightsix, six, nine, eight seven
two five seventy is the phone number. I mean, listen to the way
he announced it too, great stuff, continue to success. Proud of you,

(17:02):
man, proud of what you're doing. And you just keep going.
And we'll see you in Seattle withthe All Star game, Yes, sir,
I'll see you guys and see howI'm doing the Homer and Derby too.
You've got any advice for me?Oh my goodness, you're doing it.
Huh. I'm gonna do it.I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna
do it as long as I'm annaAll Star. I gotta be an All
Star person then I and then I'mgonna do it. Well, that's no
better way than to get more votesand to say that I'm voting for you

(17:23):
now for sure. Oh, Mookie, Mooky, I can be your don
king. I could be. You'rea promoter. If you need me to,
I could help you. You couldhave broke that news on Off Day
Dodger Talk or on Mookie bets Instagramor on the Bleacher Report podcast. You
do with sunglasses on and hat backwardsthrow away common at the end of an

(17:45):
interview on MLB Network, and you'redoing it in Seattle, Mooky, you're
breaking my heart. I knew itwas you, Fredo. Eight six six
nine eight seven two five seventy isthe phone number. Let's go out to
the phones. Ony in Santa Clarita. You're on Dodger Talk with David Vasse.
How are you doing, Tony?Tony, I bet you didn't even
know Muki said that before I playedit right now. No, I was

(18:08):
busy today, But you forget happenedyesterday. Created to get Matt Kemp back
in twenty eighteen. That was duringthe off season. It wasn't at the
trade deadline. Like, is therelike a Matt Kemper a poo Hoole's big
money guy that could be on waiverssoon that the team cannot afford it.
He's gonna go away anyway. Idon't see any right now, like a

(18:29):
right handed Hayward. I don't seeone right now, Tony done, No,
I don't see one right now.Thank you for the phone call.
Eight six six nine eight seven twofive seventy is the phone number. Glenn
and Hemmett. Glenn, I betyou didn't even know Mookie Beds had announced
that on MLB network yesterday until youheard it right here on a legitimate media
outlet. You got that right,Dave. I wanted to talk to you

(18:53):
about Mma him. I know youknow, hits the Giants for six innings,
and I thought he was right.Any chance of him saying in an
extra inning, and any other relieversor starters that could use at a tripoid
to help the bullpen, or evena starter, all right, Well,
the Dodgers just called up one yesterday, Brian Hudson. He had a little

(19:17):
bit of a rocky first appearance yesterdayagainst the Giants, And as far as
Mtchen goes, I'm with you,Glenn. I thought the Dodgers should have
brought him back out, or shouldhave brought him back out for the seventh
inning and go pitch to pitch,batter to batter with him, and if
he gave up a hit or awalk or he looked tired, then you
take him out. But eighty ninepitches and he's getting extra rest. He

(19:41):
won't pitch again until Friday at theearliest at Dodgers Stadium. So I'm with
you on that, heartbook. Iwas heartbroken when they took him out and
he had a no hit or goingout, he probably wasn't going to finish
the game, Glenn. But whatif he has a six pitch seventh inning,
why not send him back out therefor the eighth and go batter to
batter exactly all right, Glenn,thanks a lot for the phone call.

(20:04):
Eight six six nine eight seven twofive seventy is the phone number. Let's
go out to Sherman Oaks. Ash, you're on Dodger Talk with David Vassay.
Hi, Ash, mister David,I'm sorry I might have some background
noise with my children's my friend hodapis. I listened to you religiously. The

(20:25):
last time I called, I wascrying because they had just traded Piazza,
my friend. Okay, So Ilove to listen to you and listen to
the listeners, so I'm not gonnatake much time. But you know,
I'm wondering, man, I justdon't feel like a true blue blood besides
Kershaw, but he's getting old,man like you're just talking about these guys

(20:47):
coming from Boston, other true Dodgers. But my main question to you,
sir, are they putting too much? You know, too many eggs in
one basket, so to speak forhoping for miraculous tide of Otani. I
wouldn't say they're putting too many eggsin one basket. Ash. They have
a very good team and competitive teamin Their payroll is well over two hundred

(21:11):
million dollars, so they are tryingto win this year. But it's smart
baseball business to leave roster flexibility thenext couple of years to make a run
at Otani this offseason. Could youimagine Otani on this team right now?
The Dodgers would be ten games ahead. I sure do, And I'm okay
with hunting one year. No,no, they're not punting. I will

(21:34):
not accept punting, Ash, Iwill not accept punting, and the Dodgers
will not accept punting. I donot either, But I just feel like,
depending on what they do on thetrading deadline, I'm okay. You
know we're spoiled, Sands, myfriend. You know I like being spoiled
where Dodger Nation. We love ourteams, it just it hurts us.

(21:56):
We don't live in Pittsburgh. Thisis not Cincinnati or Pittsburgh, Ash,
we don't live in Pittsburgh. Thisis not Tampa Bay. This is not
Cincinnati. This is La where theStars play. We work hard, we
play hard. We pay good moneyto go see our teams, and we
expect that winning standard each and everyyear, and that's all I'm asking for

(22:22):
it again, I'm okay having ayou know, we can't win the division
every year. You know, we'respoiled like ten years in a row,
like Atlanta did that and they didn'twin it in twenty twenty one. We
swallowed at twenty twenty one, welost it. I love you, I
love your perspective. But if you'rethinking the Dodgers are punting on this season,
there is that is not the case. And I believe in you and

(22:47):
what you say because you in thein the trenches. But I'm an I
bleed blue, all right. Ilove it Ash, you know, and
I wish them the best. Theteam, you know, they're might team,
their LA team. I hope theyget that guy because imagine will be
like a in every single of theworld they would know Dodgers because he's he

(23:10):
is that guy, you know,the pitches hits. I would love to
get that guy. But I don'twant to give this season away just to
get that, you know, thenext babe Ruth. So I wish them
the best. I'm still gonna,you know, watch him every night,
almost every night, because it's hardwith two kids watching a you know,

(23:32):
three hour game. But anyways,I don't want to take much time of
your of your time. Thank youfor taking my call. Let's go blue,
Let's get this back all right,Ash. I'll see you on Ventura
Boulevard one day. Maybe I'll seeyou at sadaf Restaurant one day. Bovard.
Right now, my friends, havea good night. Hold your shoulder
and your chest is and your ribsare, you know, back to normal.

(23:53):
Everything's all good, Ash, Thankyou, thank you, appreciate the
phone call. Eight six six nineeight seven two five seventy is the phone
number. I love it when somebodycalls me from Ventura Boulevard. That's my
neck of the woods right there,big, big time Dodger fans in the
San Fernando Valley. And I knowwe experienced that up in Thousand Oaks as
well at Tarantula Hill, big timeDodger fans from Ventura all the way down

(24:18):
to downtown La East La, allof it. So I'll say this again,
we work hard, we play hard, we work hard to make our
money here in La California. Thisis a town where the perception is a
lot different than what the reality is. We pay good money to see our

(24:38):
teams play, and we expect winningteams. That's the standard. If you
don't like it, then don't playhere. Eight six six nine eight seven
two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go out to Azuza, Sergio.
You're on Dodger Talk with David vasseHi. Sergio. Hey, Hey,
how's it going, buddy? Heylisten, Buddy, I wanted to
stick to that. I thanks Chief. They scorn, they scorned the big

(25:03):
Dodger in this guy like Tommy thesort of used to say the big blue
man in the sky. And Ithink that I'm against mixing politics with sports.
I think I should have known whenyou said, Buddy, Sergio,
I'm here for baseball. If youwant to talk baseball, we'll talk baseball.
I'm here for baseball. My pointis exactly baseball. And why why

(25:26):
do we go against our code ofconduct a class organization like the Dodgers.
Sergio, you're continuing, See you'reno, I'm not going there. I'm
not going there, Sergio. I'mhere for baseball. Tim Conway Junior six
forty am. You could call him, He'll take your phone call. I'm
here for baseball. And it's overwith Friday is past eight six six nine

(25:51):
eight seven two five seventy is thephone number. We're gonna take a time
out here on Dodger Talk. Whenwe continue, more of your phone calls,
Plus we'll hear from j Ellis.Had a great conversation with Aja regarding
the night Clayton Kershot through his nohitter. It was nine years ago yesterday
at Dodgers Stadium that Kershot through sofar his one and only career no hitter.

(26:12):
Plus, we'll take more of yourphone calls. We have two lines
open at eight six six nine eightseven two five seventy Off Day Dodger Talk.
I love it, Thanks for participating, Thanks for being with us until
eight o'clock right here on M fiveseventy LA Sports. Hope summer vacations going
well for the kiddos. Dodger TalkOff Day edition with David Vasse until eight

(26:36):
o'clock tonight here on AM five seventyLA Sports. The Dodgers have two games
to play in Anaheim starting Tomorrow night. Clayton Kershaw will be on the mound
Tomorrow night first pitch at seven ohseven, and on Wednesday night you will
hear show Hey Otani pitching against theDodgers for the first time in his career

(26:56):
right here on Dodgers Radio five seventyLA Sports. And then on Thursday night
the Dodgers have their big Fancy LADodger Foundation Gala, and then they'll be
back in action on Friday night againstthe Houston Astros at Dodgers Stadium. So
we hope to see you all weekin Anaheim and at Dodgers Stadium. Eight

(27:18):
six six n eight seven two fiveseventy is the phone number. Let's go
out to Dan and Camario. You'reon Dodger Talk with David vasse Hi.
Dan oh Hi, Dave love yourself. Hey, I'm and I hope to
see at Trachela Hill because I liveright up the hill, right down the
hill from Thousand Oaks. But anyway, I couldn't I couldn't watch the games

(27:40):
this weekend because I was in inParis, California working the nights A World
Series. But i'd heard where sheHan had a no hitter after five innings
and they pulled them and then theyblew the wind for him. And then
yesterday or day before, Gonslin onlypitts five innings and he gave up seven

(28:03):
runs, so somebody's making some questionabledecisions in regards to pitching. But it's
gonna be okay because next year we'regonna be able to see Otani, Bueller,
Pershaw and May serious as their youknow, their pictures, so they
don't forget about Bobby Miller and yeah, and yeah, you knew right,

(28:27):
You're exactly right, I miss BobbyMiller. I agree with you one.
And we're going to the playoffs.Like you said, everybody chill out.
We're going to the playoffs. Andthey're they're they're in a winnet. They
have been for since the nineteen sixties. And I love him and I lived
my life for the Dodgers and Ihope to see him down in Anaheim in

(28:49):
the next couple of days. Loveyour show, butN and I'll see you
transfer the hill. All right,Dan, thanks for the phone call.
Appreciate it. If the Dodgers dosign show Hey Otani in the offseason,
or any team, if they signOtani, they will have to go to
a six man rotation. And Ihave news for you. The Dodgers don't
really advertise it, but two thirdsof the time since Andrew Friedman has taken

(29:11):
over. They basically have gone toa six man rotation, and they certainly
have the pitching depth to be ableto do that. What other team,
by the way, with all theseinjuries to key starters, could plug in
a guy like Emmet Sheen, couldplug in Bobby Miller. No other team
can do this. Let's not forgetthat part. I know everybody likes to

(29:32):
marinate in the negativity when things aren'tgoing like they were earlier in the season,
but you gotta give kudos to AndrewFriedman, Billy Gasparino, and the
rest of the Dodgers sketting department tobe able to have this much talent in
the minor leagues in the pitching side, to be able to call up and
plug in with unforeseen injuries to twokey starting pitchers in Julio Ureas and Dustin

(30:00):
May eight six six nine eight seventwo five seventy. Let's go out to
Bob. Bob, you're on DodgerTalk with David Vassy. How you doing
David's vast say, Holy crap,Holy crap, you're on Dodger Talk.
I love it. I love it. Man, Long time listener, first
time caller. Day. First ofall, I want to reiterate what you're
saying, which is, let's notunderestimate the brain power that the Dodgers organization

(30:26):
has not only had for so long, but currently has with Friedman meeting the
charge. The moves that are madethat we don't even know about or realize
are always substantial to taking our teaminto the playoffs and where it goes from
there is up to a great playingball club. With all the problems that
may be happening at the moment,I want to keep the positive blue rainbow

(30:48):
coming out of Dodger Stadium that endsus in sunshine to say, this is
a great organization. Look at thestar power we have on the field.
I was at yesterday's game. Iwas at Wednesday night's game against the Whites,
both of which were losses. We'rewatching Mookie Betts play baseball. We're
watching Freddie Freeman played baseball. We'reseeing Clayton Kershaw pitching so dominant. If

(31:10):
you told me ten years ago wasan anniversary, I would believe it was
yesterday. You've got upcomers like JamesAltman in center field, Bobby Miller,
Emmet Sheen, newcomers like Rojas andJD. Martinas seeing David Parol to play
and then are steadfast, tried andtrue Blue Will Smith, Chris, Bob
is your last name? Freedman?Is your last name? Freedman? Are

(31:33):
you related to Andrew Uncle Andrew?I'm not related to Thanks. Thanks a
lot for the phone called Bob.Appreciate it and appreciate the positivity. Eight
six six nine eight seven two fiveseventy is the phone number. Speaking of
the Kershawn no hitter? Can youbelieve it already has been nine years yesterday

(31:55):
that Kershaw had that near perfect gameagainst the Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Fifteen
strikeouts that night. In that gamewhere he had a no hitter, and
many people believe one of the greatestgames ever pitched in the regular season by
anybody in baseball history, Kershaw onlyhad one three ball count. It was
in the second inning against Josh Rutledge. I spoke to j Elis on the

(32:21):
Extra Innings podcast a couple of yearsago, and I felt like it was
such a good conversation I wanted toshare part of it with you since he
was catching that night and embraced Kershawonce he got the final out. On
that date yesterday, nine years agoat Dodgers Stadium. He has a good
slider. I think he threw toget a ground out. I'm not mistaken,

(32:44):
But yeah, it was a daywhere it was it was one of
those days where Clayton would get strikeone in a simple pattern or his standard
pattern, and how he pitched atthe time of it was just aggressive,
fast, line side. I thinkthey were loaded all righty and hitters on
that day, aggressive line up act. Dickerson let off at the lefty.

(33:05):
But but then it was one ofthose those handful of times I can remember
where he had his an A plusslider and his A plus curveball working on
the exact same day. So reallybehind the plate, it was, honestly
just pretty simple for myself of justputting down a pitch, getting to strike
one and then kind of just mixingand matching between the two breaking balls that
we needed to use. And hewas he was efficiently putting guys away,

(33:29):
and you know, to strike outfourteen guys. I believe it was that
fifteen so few. Don't short changehim. Yeah, that's right, fifteen
guys and so and so few pitches. This speaks to how just you know,
dominant and efficient he was in thatgame. Hey, the seventh inning
was very eventful. Miguel Rojas madea great play on Tulwitzky and Adrian had

(33:51):
a nice scoop. But also inthat seventh inning was Hanley's throw that Adrian
me or me not up, shouldhave been able to get. And Brandon
Barnes was the next batter after theHanley error in the seventh inning. Were
you a little concerned that that mayfrustrate Clayton and things could unravel there in

(34:13):
that inning? No, actually Iwasn't. I think my only concern at
that point was that he had pitched, you know, six clean innings in
a row, so this is hisfirst time being in the stretch the entire
day. So you know, thisguy, he just pitched from the wind
up for for sixth straightings, likemaybe trying to find his rhythm and find
his timing from the stretch, butit's pretty evident that he was. He

(34:34):
was in a good spot right there. But really tough flight for Handley.
I know he came and got thaton the run. And I love watching
back the highlights and watching you know, Handley's hat go flying off, and
if you go back and watch it, you see Clayton bend over and pick
up his pick up Handley's hat handedto him and say, hey, nice
try the handling. Just like nofrustration, no no recasion. And Clayton
probably you know, probably never evenlooked at the school board. There was

(34:55):
always go onto the next hitter,and it was on to the next guy.
You have to get to strike outof barns and then you know,
two a whiskey, just a youknow, always a tough battle in those
NLS years that we had, andhe and Clayton had had many epic showdowns
over the years and groundball down theline they go Rojas who uh you know,
it's really made the name for himself. You know, I think back
then he was kind of an upand down utility infielder. Can kind of

(35:20):
plug him, you know, morefor his glove than his bat and rip.
You know. As an aside,really proud of Miguel in the career.
He's been able to carve out,carve out in the leader he's become
for that Marlin team. But it'sjust a fantastic play down the line and
just to get rid of the balland a gray scoop, buy a gold
glover over there first base. Soit's just a good all around play.
And then to go and strike out, you have to reminding up with his
will and ros sorry, I wasnext. If that's umstay if I'm not

(35:45):
through through through through a nasty curveballthere to freeze him. And at that
moment, chatting off, trotting offthe field, it's almost like, hey,
that's that's the bullet we dodged,you know, let's let's push through
the finish line right here. Yeah, And in that eighth inning, it
was very easy for you guys toget through that inning. And I noticed
when both of you were coming offthe field, but especially Clayton, he

(36:07):
had a sense. You could tellhe had that smirk on his face coming
back to the dugout. He hada sense he was going to get to
the finish line. Did you feelthat way too after coming off the field
in the eighth inning, Yeah,it felt good about it, for sure,
And you're exactly right. It was. It was very, very evident
that the Rockies had figured out,do not let this guy get two strikes

(36:27):
because he's got a nasty strikeout stuff. And I toel like their desire to
swing at first pitches to be abat and just try to get the first
pitch they saw in play was definitelywhat their game plan became from that point.
But there's a great moment there afterthe eighth inning, you know it
was We're sitting over the bench andRick Honey cutting myself are over there,
and obviously it's a no hitter,and it really wouldn't matter for to know

(36:49):
it or not. Clayton's gonna sitby himself and no one's going to talk
to him that he's gonna let himsay in his tunnel vision. And you
know, Rick and I are tryingto figure out who they're gonna pinch it.
I can't remember who all they hadI do the pitch hit or being
Charlie Colverston who became a Dodger herowith a big home run in his career,
But Charlie was at the Rockies.He's a bench player. Both Rick
and I are trying figure out whothey're gonna who they're gonna pinch it,
and what our game plan is gonnabe against him and him and are kind

(37:13):
of Rick and I are kind ofstaying there talking and looking. Also we
feel this presence come behind us andit's Clayton right there, and he was
liking this. He says, Hey, who do you think they're gonna pinch
hit? Well, you don't wantto jinx no hitter, and no one
wants to talk to the pictures.So Rick and I are just staring at
each other like uhh uh, likeI'm not gonna go first, and uh
and Rick, and then Clayton justsays that I think it's gonna be Colverston.

(37:34):
I'm just gonna pitch some of mystrengths. And I'm like that's kind
of not my head, like,yeah, pitch of strengths. And he
went back and sat back. ButRick, Rick Rick ut, I always
chuckle and we tell that story justthinking about nobody wanted to be the one
to talk to Clayton, and Claytoncame over and I wanted to talk about
who the pinch hitter was gonna be. And yeah, I mean there wasn't
gonna be some detailed game play.Hey, Charlie Coldburston. We got a
little curb off first pitch and great, no man, you were you were

(37:57):
so locky. He was so lockedin on that day that to strengths,
you know, and for ninety ninepercent of Clayton's career, especially in that
that arrow that their pitch to strengthswas usually a pretty easy game plan for
him to go out and be whohe was. Yeah, and Culberson swung
at the first pitch for the secondhour. Yea, he had a nice
pop up the yassy yell out therein right field, which is probably the
only time that yassy yell caught aball with two hands out there in right

(38:20):
field, which was interesting. Yougo back and watch that highlight. But
yeah, he secured the catch andthen set up the final bat with Culberson
I'm Sorry with Dickerson, which isalso has a great fun moment where Clayton
Sorry, Corey flips the foul ballon the into the left field or rehind
the dugout bleachers and I go runningin full steam and I end up in

(38:40):
Magic Johnson's lap over there in theowner's box. I'm trying to catch a
foul ball. It was probably abouttwenty five rose deep, but at that
point I'm trying to catch everything Ican. You had to know I was
going to bring that up, soyou jumped me. No, I didn't
know. That's it usually comes up. It's one of the It's one of
those funny I ran full steam andthat thing like an idiot, you know,
it's it's it's it's just uh tryingto make a play, trying to

(39:02):
get there, and the adrenaline tookgop. But uh yeah, are running
in. Clay's like laughing at me. If I remember Riley, He's like
kind of like smiling. I'm like, what are you doing. You're you're
you're an idiot. Yeah, andso yeah, but he went back and
uh, you know I was ableto you know, uh call, I'll
call a pitch. Yeah, hethrew a slider and got the punch up.

(39:24):
Did you did Magic say anything toyou? I don't think so.
I don't even know if I waslike right by. I just know I
was right by the owner's box andit was right there, and uh yeah.
And then uh yeah, next pitcha slider that they got got got
to the gloves and uh yeah.I don't know if you're gonna you're gonna

(39:45):
bring this one up or not either, but uh uh it's funny if you
watch the highlights back and watch thegame. Uh three weeks earlier, uh,
roughly in Philadelphia. I was goingto bring this up. I was
not going to bring this up.Josh Beckett threw a no hitter and Drew
boutera. I love Drew. Drew'sa great friend, a great another great,

(40:07):
great character in our game. Drewwas a starting catcher and I Drew
enough to celebrate as he should.And he's out there in the dog pile,
bounce around his mask. Catcher's maskgoes flying into the pile. Well,
here comes the athletic Midwest thirty thirtyfive year old, you know,
lumbering catcher into the dogpile. Jumpsup into the pile to celebrate it with
my teammates, and I land withmy right foot right on top of the

(40:28):
Drew's catcher's mask, and it's prettyseverely sprained my ankle and to put me
on the dal for eighteen days.And I always gave Drew a hard time
about it, and I said,hey, like, if I ever catch
a no hitter, I'm not takingmy mask with me. I'm not gonna
put my teammates in harm away.I'm a better teammate than you, like
I care about people, and justgive him a hard time. But I
did. He I got the strikeguy. And if you watch back I

(40:49):
leave my mask at home play andI run out there guys, Like I
told Drew, I care about myteammates more than he does. Yeah,
yeah, I remember. I rememberthe day. The next day, after
we got back from Philadelphia, Iwalk into the clubhouse and your ankle is
all taped up and you're like sobummed out that happened. Oh, And

(41:09):
I was like, and I waslike, I think I was talking to
you. I think I was talkingto Alana Rizzo at the time. I'm
like, please get video footage ofthe story. Like, the last thing
I want is like with people liketo not believe me. I think that
I like was you know, likeyou like as you said earlier, over
served in Philadelphia side and the likesumbled stumbled over a curb or or trip
somewhere. But like, please,a lot of people know this was actually

(41:30):
like an idiotic, idiotic, nonathletic, n athletic move, but actually
did happen on the baseball field.Hey, speaking of the celebration, there's
that iconic photo of you and Kershawembracing on the mound. How big of
that photo is hanging in your livingroom right now? Is it sixteen by
twenty or larger. Uh it is, you know what I think? Uh,

(41:52):
well, which one? We gotone? We got one on each
floor of the house. You know, uh you know there, I'll be
first one to be uh you know, self apprecating. And there are people
out there who will say that Iam sitting right now in the house they
curshop built. I'm not. I'mnot. Like there's part of the camp
Tony that our relationship was special,and I will be the first admit that

(42:12):
my career was probably extended and probablya little bit overinflated because of our relationship
and my ability to work with him. But now I do have a nice
I haven't I you know an honestly, Dave, I haven't putting up.
I do haven't. I've been fullof no Hitt and the memorability from that
game, and it was the scorecardand the baseball from that game and a
couple of other items. It definitelythose photos. And we've talked about doing

(42:35):
something. I'm putting putting up,putting up maybe a plaque. But at
at the same time, like it'ssimilar to what you said earlier. It's
like not about like the items likeyou mentioned the ring, It's about the
relationships and it's about the memories,and like I, I love the memories
I have from that day, andeven just talking right now, I'm smiling
right now just thinking back this somuch that happened on that day and just

(42:58):
just just the moments of that day. And he's talking about celebrating and and
there's a great moment there on thefield and you know, Ellen, she
comes down and and they get toshare it together. But we go in
the clubhouse and you know, obviouslyI don't know if as fans know this
or not, but there's a MajorLeague ruel and it's a very wise rule
that there's not there's not on thealcohol served in the home clubhouse because people

(43:19):
have to drive home after the game. But we we had other items of
you know, different types of milkand soap and you know anything you're getting
a shady cream and Clayton got togo. Clayton got to go get in
the shower, and we all gotto kind of do our best. I
got of dirty him up a littlebit, but not after he showers,
did his media. He was sittingthere by the locker and you know,
one of the traditions I had whenI was in LA and then my career

(43:42):
was if the Dodgers of the teamI played with one, my son Luke
got to come and spend time inthe clubhouse afterwards, because the clubhouse was
it was fun and boisterous and youknow, it was a good, good
place for kids, and you know, he got to come and have a
chocolate milk and just have have agood time. But he there's I have
a great picture of him and Claytonand they both kind of holding up a
zero sign with their fingers and Lukehas no idea what he's doing. He's

(44:04):
you know, he's five years oldat the time and I'm sorry, four
years old at time, and hedoesn't even know what he's doing, but
he's David Clayton. They're both holdingup at zero. And it's like,
memories like that are what are reallymuch more special than uh, you know,
any any framed photo or you know, nostalgic plaque or anything like that.
It's the memories. It's the people. It's conversations like this, just

(44:24):
you know, we get to share, all right. There was a former
Dodger catcher, aj Ellis. Noother Dodger catcher has caught more games more
Clayton Kershaw games than A j Ellis, Austin Barnes the second most, and
obviously Kershaw had a great picture catcherrelationship with A j Nine years ago yesterday,

(44:46):
Clayton Kershaw pitched his one and onlycareer no hitter to date. Still
maybe a number two in there somewhere, but A j Ellis always great to
talk to, and that interview wasfrom a podcast as I did that you
could still find on the iHeartRadio appExtra Innings. You could hear the full
conversation, and it was a conversationdedicated to that night nine years ago yesterday

(45:10):
when Kershaw pitched that note hitter withfifteen strikeouts against the Rocky. So thanks
to A. J Ellis again forall his time and sharing those stories with
us and great memories and obviously moreto be made. That'll do it for
us on Dodger Talk tonight. We'llbe with you tomorrow night from Anaheim.
Our coverage begins at six o'clock withfirst pitch on Kershaw Day at seven oh

(45:36):
seven. Thanks to Ronnie Fassio backat the Burbank Studios. Thanks to you
for listening and everybody that called intoday and in case you missed the show.
You can also find this one onthe iHeartRadio app under Dodger Talk.
Jason Smith Fox Sports Radio is next. We'll see it tomorrow. Take care,