August 8, 2025 • 21 mins
Shohei Ohtani is doing it again. We ask LA Times beat writer Jack Harris if fans appreciate Ohtani's insane talent and if there's an element of complacency for LA in the regular season. Harris also covers the question about the best position for Mookie Betts, Rōki Sasaki's recovery timeline and the importance of Max Muncy's return. Additionally, Jack shares who the Dodgers hope to have in their postseason starting rotation.
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(11:08) KP, Cam & Scott examine the BETMGM World Series winner line movements on select teams. They also view the heaviest championship bet liabilities.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Shoe.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Otani had a day yesterday. He was dealing, He struck
out the side in the fourth inning, he punched out eight.
He hit a danger who was his one thousandth career hit,
and it went to center fields Otani style. Now, his
team lost the game five to three, So we'll get
into that as well, but we are again witnessing something
that no one else has done really ever in our sport.
(00:26):
You can go back to Babe Ruth. It was a
little bit of a different style and a different game
back then. Show Otani is one of a kind. Jack
hairis La times. That's the pleasure of watching Otani often
in person. Jack Ray to have you back on the show.
So how did Otani look? Because I will also mention
that there was some concern from fans about the cramping
that he had, and I think those concerns are dwindling.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, I mean, he can still pitch a little bit.
He can still swing the bat pretty hard. I mean,
you know, and even in that game in Cincinnati, like
he was pitching okay until the fourth inning. It was
really like the first time all year he's kind to
look human in a way of just like not being
able on one day to physically, you know, get through
a full two way outing. So to see him come
back yesterday and look as dominant as he did on
(01:11):
the mound, continue to look as sharp as he has
coming off a second Tommy John, which I think is
kind of the underrated part of all this is just
how seamlessly he's come back as a pitcher this year,
and then to have another good day at the plate.
He had been struggling a little bit. He'd only been
hitting you know, like two thirty since he started pitching
again back in June. But the last week you've seen
him get on base a little bit more, You've seen
(01:33):
him come up with some really big hits, and then
you know, obviously the home run he had yesterday put
him in a position to win the game. It was
his thousandth career hit. So for all the little other
things that the Dodgers are still working through right now,
to have that guy playing as well as he is
again probably is the biggest reason for hope that they
have going into these final two months here, that they
(01:54):
can play up to their ceiling in a way that
they haven't really done for an extended stretch this season.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Hey Jacks, as a fan, now that I'm on the
side of a fan and now media as well, and
we talk about things like voter for teg, voter fatigue,
and I'm not even talking about the MVP race. Do
the Doddie fans still appreciate how special it is to
watch Shoe Halo tiny on the daily basis now that
he's back on the mount as well. I know last
year he was incredible as a DH, but to see
(02:20):
what he's doing on both sides, I think sometimes as fans,
you know, we take for granted how special this is.
I mean, it hadn't happened over you know, centuries, you know,
since Babe Ruth. How special you know, is it to
watch him? Do they still appreciate how good he really is?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I think especially just because they're getting to watch him
pitch for the first time since he didn't do it
last year, and to see him, you know, like watching
him pitch is such a it's just a visually kind
of different experience. He throws the ball so hard. He's
such an imposing presence up on the mound. He has
a little bit of a different demeanor, you know, when
he's hitting, he's he kind of playful, you know, waving
(02:57):
around it guys, and when he's pitching, he just Dave
Roberts talked about this, you know, just has a little
bit more of an edge out there, like, okay, this
is this is the thing that you know, going all
the way back to when he was coming up like
that's he always kind of looked at himself as a
pitcher first. So I think that's been a cool thing
for fans to get to experience. Obviously in a game
like yesterday where he strikes out eight guys and then
(03:17):
goes to the plate and hits a home run. You know,
for all he did last year, that kind of experience
is a different thing. And I think again has been
one of the cooler parts about this season for the
Dodgers is because when he signed last year, there was
some uncertainty about, Okay, how you know, how long is
it going to take him to go back to being
a two way player? Is he going to be as
good as a pitcher once he does try to return
(03:38):
to it, Can he be you know, as good at
this incredibly difficult role as he was with the Angels,
And so far he has been. And I think it's
been one of the things that Dodger fans have appreciated
most about the season.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
Can't be you up, Yeah, I mean we're gonna just
talk about a talent hit right here, and during break
I was able to get my baseball, my one thousand
hit off my show. This is one of my pride
and joys. But it took me almost ten years to
get it. So there's not really a question here. I
just want to say it makes me sick how good
he is, how quickly he is able to get it.
But my question to you is just being around the team,
(04:15):
watching the team. I know it's a real thing. I've
been a part of some good teams that have been
to the playoffs every year and really they're playing to
win a World Series. Do you think there's an element
of just a little bit of complacency in the regular
season right now, just you know, kind of count down
the days waiting to get to the regular season. Obviously
they've had some health issues too, but you know, when
you're a team that goes to the playoffs every year,
(04:38):
you know, I don't want to make breaking news here,
but the regular season to a lot of those guys
is a little bit boring, you know, it's kind of
all practice games until they get to the real season.
Do you get a sense of that at all.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, I mean that's always been something the Dodgers, as
you know, Kevin like, would have to battle over the
last decade. Now with the run of success that they've had,
I think especially this year, I mean you look back
at the last eighteen months for this team. They've had
two international trips to Korea and Japan. They have had
the circus of the media, circus of having Shoheo Tani around,
(05:10):
and all that's gone into that. They have last year's
you know, World Series run, they have this offseason where
they spend a bunch of money and there's all this
talk about are they bad for the sport or whatnot?
And yeah, I think what you might be seeing now
is a team that has all of that baggage in
the background, coupled with Max Munsey was hurt and some
(05:31):
of their best hitters were struggling, and you're at that
part of the season where, especially when you're in kind
of an extended slump as a lineup, it's hard to
generate a lot of energy if guys aren't hitting and
you have, you know, key guys that are out injured,
and you're kind of trying to grind through the year.
I think to that end, you know, the impressive part
about what the Dodgers have done so far is keep
(05:51):
themselves in first place, is to overcome some of the
injuries and underperformances and just the general grind of the
season and still be in a pretty good spot going
into the last two months. But now they're getting to
the point where they do need to flip the switch
a little bit, especially as the Padres keep nipping at
their heels, especially as the rest of the NL continues
to play well. I mean, the Dodgers want to win
the division. They want to have a top two seed,
(06:13):
and if they're gonna do that, they're gonna have to
be a lot better over these last two months and
kind of find that higher gear again like they did,
you know, way back at the start of the season
when they got off to a hot start.
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Speaker 1 (07:27):
You talk about flipping the switch, jack, Is there any
chance when we flip that switch and the lights come on,
well we see Mookie Betts and right field. Because I
truly believe you know, Dave Roberts has done this for
a long time. He is one of my mentors in
San Diego. But I spoke about this the other day
and started somewhat of a debate. I truly believe if
you want to take some pressure, some mental pressure off
of Mookie bekscause I think it's between the ears. I
(07:48):
know physically he went through some things early in the season,
but I just really believe, you know, having going through
going gone through a position change, moving him back to
right field will really free up some mental and allow
him to just do something that he's really accustomed to
in the big leagues and go out and just focus
on hitting. Like, what are the chances that you know,
when that switch comes back on, we see MOOKI and
(08:10):
right and not to mention it might make the defense
better when you put Tao in left. It kind of
lines everything up in the way that I think defensively,
you know, bodes well for the Dodgers. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
I mean this has been the big unanswerable question with
Mookie Betts's season and kind of what it means for
the team. He's been pretty adamant that playing shortstop is
not the reason why he has struggled. He points to
the fact that last year he hit really well over
the first half of the season while initially making that switch.
You know, the fact that that at the start of
this season. He got off to a good start his
(08:40):
first couple of weeks while trying to you know, reacclimate
at the shortstop position at the same time. You know,
the longer this slump has gone on, the harder it
is to not look at the shortstop things at least
being a factor. And maybe it's not the reason he
has slumped or did kind of lose his mechanics with
the swing, but you know it might be something that
certainly is and helping him get out of it. I
(09:02):
think the challenge this year compared to last year when
they did move him back to right field down the
stretch and did have him there when they won the
World Series, is that a the roster it doesn't quite
line up as well. You know, if you put him
back and right, you probably could move to Oscar to
the left. You'd have Andy pae Has in center. But
they've liked the way Michael Confordo's been swinging the bat.
(09:23):
They added another outfielder, and Alex called the trade deadline.
They certainly haven't operated as if they're planning to move
Mookie Bets back to the outfield at some point. And
then Mookie Betts has been a lot better shortstop this
year than he was last year, and I think he
does take pride in that and in the fact that
you know, he's become, you know, an above league average
player at you know, one of the most demanding positions defensively.
(09:48):
This is, though, is all kind of part of the
calculus the Dodgers have to weigh.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Now.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Dave Roberts has been adamant, like, you know, I don't
see if I just put him in right field one day,
he's suddenly going to have three hits and everything's fixed.
And I do think that whatever the cumulative toll of
playing shortstop has been, you know, at this point, I
don't know if moving him to the outfield kind of
undoes all that and fixes it. So I'm not expecting
him to move. The Dodgers certainly haven't indicated that that's
(10:13):
going to be something. They consider it all. They like
what he's giving them defensively. They think that there's still
going to be some production in his back come the
end of the season. You Know, one thing that he
did well last year is he didn't finish the season
all that great. The last three weeks. He was really
bad going into the playoffs, but then he got to
October and just kind of wiped the slate clean, focused
on putting together more competitive at bats, got out of
(10:35):
his head a little bit about all the mechanics, and
then had a really nice postseason. That's kind of what
the Dodgers are banking on again, and this time doing
it probably with him at shortstop.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
Yeah. I want to give my flowers to Will Smith.
And I guess my question to you is are we
not making a big enough deal of the season he's having.
I mean, he's on the verge of potentially winning the
batting title as a catcher. And I don't know the
historical context. I know it hasn't been done in recent history.
I don't know how many years. But are we not
making a we? It sounds we like we the media.
(11:10):
I guess I'm part of the media now because I'm
no longer a player. But we should we be making
a bigger deal of it?
Speaker 1 (11:16):
No.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
I mean I made this exact point too well at
the All Star Game because I wrote about how his
season's gone overlooked, and I said, you know, I think
even from us, we've kind of, you know, missed exactly
how good you've been this year. Because he has. You know,
this is a guy who, especially the last couple of years,
was dealing with injuries, did not have very good second
halfs to the season, and there were some questions about,
(11:38):
you know, was he going to get back to being
this top of the line offensive catcher that it looked
like he was going to be early in his career.
And this year, you know, it's been pretty simple for him,
he said, a he's healthy, he's been able to stay
fresh that you know, he's he's kind of teetering right
on that line of having enough qualified or enough plate
appearances to be a qualified hitter, because they have been
(12:00):
managing his workload a little bit more and he's just
found something with a swing that he said has has
been repeatable, you know, for for basically the entire season.
You know, this is a guy who's always had kind
of a simple, compact, repeatable motion. He struggled getting to
fastballs the last couple of years while he was dealing
with some injury stuff. But now that he's healthy again,
you know, he can he can cover all parts of
(12:21):
the plate so well. He has such a good eye,
and you know he might he might not hit thirty
home runs. He's not gonna have a cow Rawley kind
of season. He's not gonna have a show Heyo Tani
kind of season in terms of, you know, some of
the top line numbers, but in terms of someone who's
been a consistent, productive, top of the line hitter, especially
for a lineup that lately has needed that kind of
(12:42):
consistent production. There's a few guys I think that have
been more valuable to their teams than will Smith, especially
when you later on when he's done behind the plate
and managing a pitching staff that's used to forty different
pitchers this year. So yeah, I think even even within
the Dodgers this year, you know, he's gone a little
bit overlooked, but he's gonna be someone at the end
of the year that yeh'd probably be a surprise if
he doesn't win the batting title right now, and it
(13:04):
is probably going to be getting some MVP votes too.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
You talk about getting some guys back pitching right the
starting rotation, and I don't know if he's going to
be a starting role or a bullpen roll. But where's
Roki Sazaki right now? His his you know, journey back
to helping the Dodgers, Like you said, trying to win
another World Series title.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
He's in a throwing program. He's supposed to do a
three inning live VP at the end of this week,
after which he could go out on a rehab assignment,
and the hope is that he'll be back as a starter,
maybe near the end of this month early in September.
In terms of a longer term role, it's going to
be open ended. Dave Roberts put it this way, just saying,
(13:46):
you know, when we go into October, we're going to
take the thirteen best arms we have. If Roki Sasaki
is one of them, whether it's to help fill out
the rotation or maybe serving a bullpen roll, you know,
he'll be part of that group. And if he's not,
he won't be And that's gonna be the big question
for Roki. You know, assuming he can come back healthy,
he can get through a rehab assignment without any more setbacks,
(14:06):
it's how does he look. You know, his fastball was
only sitting around ninety six at the start of the year.
That's a pitch that's supposed to be closer to one
hundred and kind of needs to be closer to one
hundred because it's just a little bit flatter and easier
to hit, and opponents were able to square it up
a lot early in the season. You know, can he
locate his splitter a little bit better. It's a really
good pitch. It's got you know, you even Dodger teammates
(14:29):
have lotted you know, just how tough it is to
pick up in the box and the kind of movement
he gets on it. But if he can't throw it
for strikes, it becomes easier to lay off. And then
he's tried to add a two seam er two, which
I think is something that's just an interesting development for
a guy who clearly at this stage of his career
is trying to figure out, Okay, how does my stuff
play in the big leagues? What do I need to
(14:51):
do to get big league hitters out. He struggled with
that while being primarily a fastball splitter guy at the
start of the season, with a few sliders mixed in.
So I think it's a good sign of growth that
he's willing to embrace, you know, trying out a two
seam or trying something new and seeing if it gives
him a little bit more success. When he does come
back this year as the Nadyers trying to figure out
if he's somebody that they can trust in a postseason environment.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Well, somebody I know they can trust. And I continue
to say there's no staff for character, but there's also
no staff from Moxie, right. How important it is it,
you know, and has it been to get Max Munthsy
back in that lineup? We saw him hit you know,
two homers Tuesday night and in the struggling lineup. How
you know, just important is his energy and him being
that lineup? You know, how much does it mean to
(15:35):
his Dodgers team?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Yeah, I mean there's obviously everything he does with the
bat and the ability to work good at bats and
supply some power and get on base and make things happen.
But you know, Dave Roberts described it as just the
presence of having him in the lineup, especially with how
well he was hitting before he got hurt, with what
he looked like on Tuesday with the two home run game.
There's something about, especially for a team that's been struggling,
(15:58):
just knowing that they have that that one extra guy
in the lineup who can help make something happen, that
one extra guy that lengthens things out A little bit
who can deliver a big swing, and then when he does,
you know, just kind of raise the confidence and the
energy around the team. And I think that's what you've
seen from Max Munsey maybe more than any other player
outside of Shoheo Tani this year, which is when Munsy's
hot and he's hitting big home runs and he's getting
(16:20):
on base and he's making things happen, the Dodgers have
been really good. They were the highest scoring offense in
baseball before he got hurt, and then they were the
lowest scoring offense in baseball during the twenty five games
he missed. That's not all because of him. There are
some other factors that went into that, other guys struggling
while he was out. But a stat like that really
underlines how important he's been, not just with what he's
(16:41):
been able to produce, but also just the way his
presence in the lineup can change a little bit what
the Dodgers are able to do offensively.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
That sounds like a fun case on his side. When
they have another contract discussion, I think he usually signs
like the two year extensions, or you could just be like,
I'm going to play this clip from Jack harris On
found territory on August seven. Then you guys make the
offer the way you want to make it, and you know,
I want to be here, right.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
He's picking the wrong year to do this ahead of
a team option next year.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
I'm afraid that's true.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
It's going to be though.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Hey they haven't they been doing that. They tack on
an extra year or two.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Something like that.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Yep, DoD Dodgs are the one team that I feel
like I have done some really good faith deals and
taking care of guys.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Kershaw. Yeah, Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
I think it's funny we're sitting here. I think it's
funny we're sitting here talking about the Dodgers as if
they're not playing well, where they're not a good team
still record, and it's just it's just the expectation they've
created for themselves, the Dodger brand. We expect them to
never lose.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Yeah, And I think that is kind of like the
story of this year so far, as if for all
that's gone wrong, they are still in a good position here.
It's just about, you know, can they show that kind
of that higher level version of themselves down the stretch
that they're going to try to defend a world.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
So okay, one last one before you go. Man. With
that said, what are they hoping the rotation looks like
going into October? Like, what do they help Dries and
everything involved? What do they say, best case scenario, this
is our starting rotation going into the playoffs, That's what
I want to know.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Yeah, in an ideal world, in some order, it's Yamamotos
Snell Glass now, and then whatever you're getting out of Otani,
which at this point you know, could be five or
six innings at least one time in a playoff series,
maybe a couple if you try to put them in
a Game one and a Game five or something like that. So,
assuming they stay healthy, I think that's the biggest difference
about how this team might look the rest of the
(18:40):
year compared to how it's been up to this point,
is that the starting pitching should be better, should be healthy,
should be a lot closer to what they envisioned coming
into the year. And if they get that, I think
it takes care of a lot of the other problems
that they've had. But then again, they've had a lot
of years the last few seasons where they expected to
have a certain amount of deductive and trustworthy guys in
(19:01):
their rotation, and they got to October and didn't. So
as long as that group stays healthy and productive, I
think they're going to be okay. And I think they're
going to look a lot closer to one hundred plus
win team we expected to see this year, but that
still is a little bit of an if as they
try to navigate these last two months.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
That's true. I think they'll have more firepower in October
from their rotation than they did last year, and they
did win a World Series last year. Jack, good stuff,
Thanks for stopping by. Give Jack a follow at by
Jack Harris on Twitter. Check them out in the La Times.
Thanks Jack, Thank you guys. Line movement, let's see if
we can get through two here open to now. Dodgers
opened at plus four hundred. Now they're at plus two
(19:39):
fifty to win the World Series. Phillies from plus eleven
hundred to plus eight hundred, and the Tigers are huge
movers right now. They're at plus nine hundred to win
the World Series. They started this season or a little
before that, right when the line opened at plus four thousand.
A nice little jump there, KP. Tiger's in a better
spot than what most people thought, including the books.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
Yeah, I mean, I don't think they should have been
you know, plus four thousand after the type of season
they had, but maybe people thought it was a little
bit of an unsustainable run they went on at the
end of the season. But I mean, if you're a
Tigers fan and you're a betting fan and you saw
that number early in the year in spring training and
you took it, good for you.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
That's right, got a shot and biggest liability cam for
World Series winner with the minute to go here Angels, Giants, Dodgers.
Now you have to understand what we're talking about here.
This means Betham jam takes the biggest hit. If the
Angels in the World Series, Giants, there's some people that
threw down and got amazing odds, but their odds are
long for a reason. Now with the Dodgers, that's the
(20:43):
volume of how many people have thrown down on them
to win the World Series. So that explains how this
is put together For people that are like, wait, what
the Angels the Giants. Yeah, there's people going, hey, I'm
gonna get plus five thousand on this right, absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
That's and that for me, those are the smart betters right,
because a lot of those two you bet the daughters
is like you know, bet bet attle, bet a little
to win a little, or bet a lot to win
a little. So yeah, you know, of course, why would
you not, man, that's how you bet. I'm not a
gambling man, you know that. You know, you guys are
still teaching me how to gamble, evenough I'm even though
I'm up in the money this year.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
To me, Yeah, for me, I'm not touching that. There's
a there's a really happy medium there where you can
find teams like the Phillies, Padres, et cetera. There you go,
giants and angels, your bolts if you're going there. But
if yeh, lightning strikes, great for you.
Shoe.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Otani had a day yesterday. He was dealing, He struck
out the side in the fourth inning, he punched out eight.
He hit a danger who was his one thousandth career hit,
and it went to center fields Otani style. Now, his
team lost the game five to three, So we'll get
into that as well, but we are again witnessing something
that no one else has done really ever in our sport.
(00:26):
You can go back to Babe Ruth. It was a
little bit of a different style and a different game
back then. Show Otani is one of a kind. Jack
hairis La times. That's the pleasure of watching Otani often
in person. Jack Ray to have you back on the show.
So how did Otani look? Because I will also mention
that there was some concern from fans about the cramping
that he had, and I think those concerns are dwindling.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, I mean, he can still pitch a little bit.
He can still swing the bat pretty hard. I mean,
you know, and even in that game in Cincinnati, like
he was pitching okay until the fourth inning. It was
really like the first time all year he's kind to
look human in a way of just like not being
able on one day to physically, you know, get through
a full two way outing. So to see him come
back yesterday and look as dominant as he did on
(01:11):
the mound, continue to look as sharp as he has
coming off a second Tommy John, which I think is
kind of the underrated part of all this is just
how seamlessly he's come back as a pitcher this year,
and then to have another good day at the plate.
He had been struggling a little bit. He'd only been
hitting you know, like two thirty since he started pitching
again back in June. But the last week you've seen
him get on base a little bit more, You've seen
(01:33):
him come up with some really big hits, and then
you know, obviously the home run he had yesterday put
him in a position to win the game. It was
his thousandth career hit. So for all the little other
things that the Dodgers are still working through right now,
to have that guy playing as well as he is
again probably is the biggest reason for hope that they
have going into these final two months here, that they
(01:54):
can play up to their ceiling in a way that
they haven't really done for an extended stretch this season.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Hey Jacks, as a fan, now that I'm on the
side of a fan and now media as well, and
we talk about things like voter for teg, voter fatigue,
and I'm not even talking about the MVP race. Do
the Doddie fans still appreciate how special it is to
watch Shoe Halo tiny on the daily basis now that
he's back on the mount as well. I know last
year he was incredible as a DH, but to see
(02:20):
what he's doing on both sides, I think sometimes as fans,
you know, we take for granted how special this is.
I mean, it hadn't happened over you know, centuries, you know,
since Babe Ruth. How special you know, is it to
watch him? Do they still appreciate how good he really is?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I think especially just because they're getting to watch him
pitch for the first time since he didn't do it
last year, and to see him, you know, like watching
him pitch is such a it's just a visually kind
of different experience. He throws the ball so hard. He's
such an imposing presence up on the mound. He has
a little bit of a different demeanor, you know, when
he's hitting, he's he kind of playful, you know, waving
(02:57):
around it guys, and when he's pitching, he just Dave
Roberts talked about this, you know, just has a little
bit more of an edge out there, like, okay, this
is this is the thing that you know, going all
the way back to when he was coming up like
that's he always kind of looked at himself as a
pitcher first. So I think that's been a cool thing
for fans to get to experience. Obviously in a game
like yesterday where he strikes out eight guys and then
(03:17):
goes to the plate and hits a home run. You know,
for all he did last year, that kind of experience
is a different thing. And I think again has been
one of the cooler parts about this season for the
Dodgers is because when he signed last year, there was
some uncertainty about, Okay, how you know, how long is
it going to take him to go back to being
a two way player? Is he going to be as
good as a pitcher once he does try to return
(03:38):
to it, Can he be you know, as good at
this incredibly difficult role as he was with the Angels,
And so far he has been. And I think it's
been one of the things that Dodger fans have appreciated
most about the season.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
Can't be you up, Yeah, I mean we're gonna just
talk about a talent hit right here, and during break
I was able to get my baseball, my one thousand
hit off my show. This is one of my pride
and joys. But it took me almost ten years to
get it. So there's not really a question here. I
just want to say it makes me sick how good
he is, how quickly he is able to get it.
But my question to you is just being around the team,
(04:15):
watching the team. I know it's a real thing. I've
been a part of some good teams that have been
to the playoffs every year and really they're playing to
win a World Series. Do you think there's an element
of just a little bit of complacency in the regular
season right now, just you know, kind of count down
the days waiting to get to the regular season. Obviously
they've had some health issues too, but you know, when
you're a team that goes to the playoffs every year,
(04:38):
you know, I don't want to make breaking news here,
but the regular season to a lot of those guys
is a little bit boring, you know, it's kind of
all practice games until they get to the real season.
Do you get a sense of that at all.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, I mean that's always been something the Dodgers, as
you know, Kevin like, would have to battle over the
last decade. Now with the run of success that they've had,
I think especially this year, I mean you look back
at the last eighteen months for this team. They've had
two international trips to Korea and Japan. They have had
the circus of the media, circus of having Shoheo Tani around,
(05:10):
and all that's gone into that. They have last year's
you know, World Series run, they have this offseason where
they spend a bunch of money and there's all this
talk about are they bad for the sport or whatnot?
And yeah, I think what you might be seeing now
is a team that has all of that baggage in
the background, coupled with Max Munsey was hurt and some
(05:31):
of their best hitters were struggling, and you're at that
part of the season where, especially when you're in kind
of an extended slump as a lineup, it's hard to
generate a lot of energy if guys aren't hitting and
you have, you know, key guys that are out injured,
and you're kind of trying to grind through the year.
I think to that end, you know, the impressive part
about what the Dodgers have done so far is keep
(05:51):
themselves in first place, is to overcome some of the
injuries and underperformances and just the general grind of the
season and still be in a pretty good spot going
into the last two months. But now they're getting to
the point where they do need to flip the switch
a little bit, especially as the Padres keep nipping at
their heels, especially as the rest of the NL continues
to play well. I mean, the Dodgers want to win
the division. They want to have a top two seed,
(06:13):
and if they're gonna do that, they're gonna have to
be a lot better over these last two months and
kind of find that higher gear again like they did,
you know, way back at the start of the season
when they got off to a hot start.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
It's summertime, it's bathing suit time, and it's time to
get a better bathing suit liner. It's twenty twenty five krats.
I would like to feel more comfortable, and I would
like to thank Fair Harbor for doing that.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
It's super easy get the fair Harbor breezon it liner
in your shorts. You can go play football on the beach,
you can play paddle ball, and you don't got to
worry about that crappy liner that other bathing suits have.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
It is so comfortable. You gotta check it out. I'm
telling you, it's like but but a baby. You gotta
check out the Fair Harbor not only bathing suits, but
they carry full line of casual clothing shorts, shirts, hoodies.
Go to the website Fairharbor Clothing dot com. Slash foul
and use code foul for twenty percent off your first purchase.
(07:11):
That's Fair h A R B O R Clothing dot com.
Backslash foul for twenty percent off your first purchase, and
make sure that you use the FT promo code so
that they know we sent you and you get the discount. Foul.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
You talk about flipping the switch, jack, Is there any
chance when we flip that switch and the lights come on,
well we see Mookie Betts and right field. Because I
truly believe you know, Dave Roberts has done this for
a long time. He is one of my mentors in
San Diego. But I spoke about this the other day
and started somewhat of a debate. I truly believe if
you want to take some pressure, some mental pressure off
of Mookie bekscause I think it's between the ears. I
(07:48):
know physically he went through some things early in the season,
but I just really believe, you know, having going through
going gone through a position change, moving him back to
right field will really free up some mental and allow
him to just do something that he's really accustomed to
in the big leagues and go out and just focus
on hitting. Like, what are the chances that you know,
when that switch comes back on, we see MOOKI and
(08:10):
right and not to mention it might make the defense
better when you put Tao in left. It kind of
lines everything up in the way that I think defensively,
you know, bodes well for the Dodgers. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
I mean this has been the big unanswerable question with
Mookie Betts's season and kind of what it means for
the team. He's been pretty adamant that playing shortstop is
not the reason why he has struggled. He points to
the fact that last year he hit really well over
the first half of the season while initially making that switch.
You know, the fact that that at the start of
this season. He got off to a good start his
(08:40):
first couple of weeks while trying to you know, reacclimate
at the shortstop position at the same time. You know,
the longer this slump has gone on, the harder it
is to not look at the shortstop things at least
being a factor. And maybe it's not the reason he
has slumped or did kind of lose his mechanics with
the swing, but you know it might be something that
certainly is and helping him get out of it. I
(09:02):
think the challenge this year compared to last year when
they did move him back to right field down the
stretch and did have him there when they won the
World Series, is that a the roster it doesn't quite
line up as well. You know, if you put him
back and right, you probably could move to Oscar to
the left. You'd have Andy pae Has in center. But
they've liked the way Michael Confordo's been swinging the bat.
(09:23):
They added another outfielder, and Alex called the trade deadline.
They certainly haven't operated as if they're planning to move
Mookie Bets back to the outfield at some point. And
then Mookie Betts has been a lot better shortstop this
year than he was last year, and I think he
does take pride in that and in the fact that
you know, he's become, you know, an above league average
player at you know, one of the most demanding positions defensively.
(09:48):
This is, though, is all kind of part of the
calculus the Dodgers have to weigh.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Now.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Dave Roberts has been adamant, like, you know, I don't
see if I just put him in right field one day,
he's suddenly going to have three hits and everything's fixed.
And I do think that whatever the cumulative toll of
playing shortstop has been, you know, at this point, I
don't know if moving him to the outfield kind of
undoes all that and fixes it. So I'm not expecting
him to move. The Dodgers certainly haven't indicated that that's
(10:13):
going to be something. They consider it all. They like
what he's giving them defensively. They think that there's still
going to be some production in his back come the
end of the season. You Know, one thing that he
did well last year is he didn't finish the season
all that great. The last three weeks. He was really
bad going into the playoffs, but then he got to
October and just kind of wiped the slate clean, focused
on putting together more competitive at bats, got out of
(10:35):
his head a little bit about all the mechanics, and
then had a really nice postseason. That's kind of what
the Dodgers are banking on again, and this time doing
it probably with him at shortstop.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
Yeah. I want to give my flowers to Will Smith.
And I guess my question to you is are we
not making a big enough deal of the season he's having.
I mean, he's on the verge of potentially winning the
batting title as a catcher. And I don't know the
historical context. I know it hasn't been done in recent history.
I don't know how many years. But are we not
making a we? It sounds we like we the media.
(11:10):
I guess I'm part of the media now because I'm
no longer a player. But we should we be making
a bigger deal of it?
Speaker 1 (11:16):
No.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
I mean I made this exact point too well at
the All Star Game because I wrote about how his
season's gone overlooked, and I said, you know, I think
even from us, we've kind of, you know, missed exactly
how good you've been this year. Because he has. You know,
this is a guy who, especially the last couple of years,
was dealing with injuries, did not have very good second
halfs to the season, and there were some questions about,
(11:38):
you know, was he going to get back to being
this top of the line offensive catcher that it looked
like he was going to be early in his career.
And this year, you know, it's been pretty simple for him,
he said, a he's healthy, he's been able to stay
fresh that you know, he's he's kind of teetering right
on that line of having enough qualified or enough plate
appearances to be a qualified hitter, because they have been
(12:00):
managing his workload a little bit more and he's just
found something with a swing that he said has has
been repeatable, you know, for for basically the entire season.
You know, this is a guy who's always had kind
of a simple, compact, repeatable motion. He struggled getting to
fastballs the last couple of years while he was dealing
with some injury stuff. But now that he's healthy again,
you know, he can he can cover all parts of
(12:21):
the plate so well. He has such a good eye,
and you know he might he might not hit thirty
home runs. He's not gonna have a cow Rawley kind
of season. He's not gonna have a show Heyo Tani
kind of season in terms of, you know, some of
the top line numbers, but in terms of someone who's
been a consistent, productive, top of the line hitter, especially
for a lineup that lately has needed that kind of
(12:42):
consistent production. There's a few guys I think that have
been more valuable to their teams than will Smith, especially
when you later on when he's done behind the plate
and managing a pitching staff that's used to forty different
pitchers this year. So yeah, I think even even within
the Dodgers this year, you know, he's gone a little
bit overlooked, but he's gonna be someone at the end
of the year that yeh'd probably be a surprise if
he doesn't win the batting title right now, and it
(13:04):
is probably going to be getting some MVP votes too.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
You talk about getting some guys back pitching right the
starting rotation, and I don't know if he's going to
be a starting role or a bullpen roll. But where's
Roki Sazaki right now? His his you know, journey back
to helping the Dodgers, Like you said, trying to win
another World Series title.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
He's in a throwing program. He's supposed to do a
three inning live VP at the end of this week,
after which he could go out on a rehab assignment,
and the hope is that he'll be back as a starter,
maybe near the end of this month early in September.
In terms of a longer term role, it's going to
be open ended. Dave Roberts put it this way, just saying,
(13:46):
you know, when we go into October, we're going to
take the thirteen best arms we have. If Roki Sasaki
is one of them, whether it's to help fill out
the rotation or maybe serving a bullpen roll, you know,
he'll be part of that group. And if he's not,
he won't be And that's gonna be the big question
for Roki. You know, assuming he can come back healthy,
he can get through a rehab assignment without any more setbacks,
(14:06):
it's how does he look. You know, his fastball was
only sitting around ninety six at the start of the year.
That's a pitch that's supposed to be closer to one
hundred and kind of needs to be closer to one
hundred because it's just a little bit flatter and easier
to hit, and opponents were able to square it up
a lot early in the season. You know, can he
locate his splitter a little bit better. It's a really
good pitch. It's got you know, you even Dodger teammates
(14:29):
have lotted you know, just how tough it is to
pick up in the box and the kind of movement
he gets on it. But if he can't throw it
for strikes, it becomes easier to lay off. And then
he's tried to add a two seam er two, which
I think is something that's just an interesting development for
a guy who clearly at this stage of his career
is trying to figure out, Okay, how does my stuff
play in the big leagues? What do I need to
(14:51):
do to get big league hitters out. He struggled with
that while being primarily a fastball splitter guy at the
start of the season, with a few sliders mixed in.
So I think it's a good sign of growth that
he's willing to embrace, you know, trying out a two
seam or trying something new and seeing if it gives
him a little bit more success. When he does come
back this year as the Nadyers trying to figure out
if he's somebody that they can trust in a postseason environment.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Well, somebody I know they can trust. And I continue
to say there's no staff for character, but there's also
no staff from Moxie, right. How important it is it,
you know, and has it been to get Max Munthsy
back in that lineup? We saw him hit you know,
two homers Tuesday night and in the struggling lineup. How
you know, just important is his energy and him being
that lineup? You know, how much does it mean to
(15:35):
his Dodgers team?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Yeah, I mean there's obviously everything he does with the
bat and the ability to work good at bats and
supply some power and get on base and make things happen.
But you know, Dave Roberts described it as just the
presence of having him in the lineup, especially with how
well he was hitting before he got hurt, with what
he looked like on Tuesday with the two home run game.
There's something about, especially for a team that's been struggling,
(15:58):
just knowing that they have that that one extra guy
in the lineup who can help make something happen, that
one extra guy that lengthens things out A little bit
who can deliver a big swing, and then when he does,
you know, just kind of raise the confidence and the
energy around the team. And I think that's what you've
seen from Max Munsey maybe more than any other player
outside of Shoheo Tani this year, which is when Munsy's
hot and he's hitting big home runs and he's getting
(16:20):
on base and he's making things happen, the Dodgers have
been really good. They were the highest scoring offense in
baseball before he got hurt, and then they were the
lowest scoring offense in baseball during the twenty five games
he missed. That's not all because of him. There are
some other factors that went into that, other guys struggling
while he was out. But a stat like that really
underlines how important he's been, not just with what he's
(16:41):
been able to produce, but also just the way his
presence in the lineup can change a little bit what
the Dodgers are able to do offensively.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
That sounds like a fun case on his side. When
they have another contract discussion, I think he usually signs
like the two year extensions, or you could just be like,
I'm going to play this clip from Jack harris On
found territory on August seven. Then you guys make the
offer the way you want to make it, and you know,
I want to be here, right.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
He's picking the wrong year to do this ahead of
a team option next year.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
I'm afraid that's true.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
It's going to be though.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Hey they haven't they been doing that. They tack on
an extra year or two.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Something like that.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Yep, DoD Dodgs are the one team that I feel
like I have done some really good faith deals and
taking care of guys.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Kershaw. Yeah, Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
I think it's funny we're sitting here. I think it's
funny we're sitting here talking about the Dodgers as if
they're not playing well, where they're not a good team
still record, and it's just it's just the expectation they've
created for themselves, the Dodger brand. We expect them to
never lose.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Yeah, And I think that is kind of like the
story of this year so far, as if for all
that's gone wrong, they are still in a good position here.
It's just about, you know, can they show that kind
of that higher level version of themselves down the stretch
that they're going to try to defend a world.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
So okay, one last one before you go. Man. With
that said, what are they hoping the rotation looks like
going into October? Like, what do they help Dries and
everything involved? What do they say, best case scenario, this
is our starting rotation going into the playoffs, That's what
I want to know.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Yeah, in an ideal world, in some order, it's Yamamotos
Snell Glass now, and then whatever you're getting out of Otani,
which at this point you know, could be five or
six innings at least one time in a playoff series,
maybe a couple if you try to put them in
a Game one and a Game five or something like that. So,
assuming they stay healthy, I think that's the biggest difference
about how this team might look the rest of the
(18:40):
year compared to how it's been up to this point,
is that the starting pitching should be better, should be healthy,
should be a lot closer to what they envisioned coming
into the year. And if they get that, I think
it takes care of a lot of the other problems
that they've had. But then again, they've had a lot
of years the last few seasons where they expected to
have a certain amount of deductive and trustworthy guys in
(19:01):
their rotation, and they got to October and didn't. So
as long as that group stays healthy and productive, I
think they're going to be okay. And I think they're
going to look a lot closer to one hundred plus
win team we expected to see this year, but that
still is a little bit of an if as they
try to navigate these last two months.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
That's true. I think they'll have more firepower in October
from their rotation than they did last year, and they
did win a World Series last year. Jack, good stuff,
Thanks for stopping by. Give Jack a follow at by
Jack Harris on Twitter. Check them out in the La Times.
Thanks Jack, Thank you guys. Line movement, let's see if
we can get through two here open to now. Dodgers
opened at plus four hundred. Now they're at plus two
(19:39):
fifty to win the World Series. Phillies from plus eleven
hundred to plus eight hundred, and the Tigers are huge
movers right now. They're at plus nine hundred to win
the World Series. They started this season or a little
before that, right when the line opened at plus four thousand.
A nice little jump there, KP. Tiger's in a better
spot than what most people thought, including the books.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
Yeah, I mean, I don't think they should have been
you know, plus four thousand after the type of season
they had, but maybe people thought it was a little
bit of an unsustainable run they went on at the
end of the season. But I mean, if you're a
Tigers fan and you're a betting fan and you saw
that number early in the year in spring training and
you took it, good for you.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
That's right, got a shot and biggest liability cam for
World Series winner with the minute to go here Angels, Giants, Dodgers.
Now you have to understand what we're talking about here.
This means Betham jam takes the biggest hit. If the
Angels in the World Series, Giants, there's some people that
threw down and got amazing odds, but their odds are
long for a reason. Now with the Dodgers, that's the
(20:43):
volume of how many people have thrown down on them
to win the World Series. So that explains how this
is put together For people that are like, wait, what
the Angels the Giants. Yeah, there's people going, hey, I'm
gonna get plus five thousand on this right, absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
That's and that for me, those are the smart betters right,
because a lot of those two you bet the daughters
is like you know, bet bet attle, bet a little
to win a little, or bet a lot to win
a little. So yeah, you know, of course, why would
you not, man, that's how you bet. I'm not a
gambling man, you know that. You know, you guys are
still teaching me how to gamble, evenough I'm even though
I'm up in the money this year.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
To me, Yeah, for me, I'm not touching that. There's
a there's a really happy medium there where you can
find teams like the Phillies, Padres, et cetera. There you go,
giants and angels, your bolts if you're going there. But
if yeh, lightning strikes, great for you.
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