Right as we go on the air we learn that the Dodgers have DFA'd Austin Barnes and called up Dalton Rushing. Jaclyn Ruiz & Melissa Myer from the Talk Dodgers To Me Podcast hop on. Roki Sasaki is on the IL with a shoulder issue as the hits keep coming to the Dodgers' starting staff.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
All right, let's go freend Rogan Rodney Pete five seventy
LA Sports Rodney a big three hour show today, and
you might consider this breaking news off the top. A
lot to talk about concerning the Dodgers, but the most
pressing issue the Dodgers have designated Austin Barnes for assignment.
David Vass reporting that, so Austin Barnes, a veteran, had
(00:25):
been here, really one of the most beloved guys on
the team designated for assignment. Dalton Rushing has been called
up from the miners. Are you surprised by that?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I am? I am.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
You know, Austin Barnes has been here for what as
long as I can remember, you know, and we all know,
and David Vassy has reported this several times on our show,
that the pitchers absolutely love Austin Barnes have behind the plate. Now,
Will Smith obviously is a better hitter and probably a
better all around player and does a and it's gotten
(01:00):
better as a catcher over the years. But in terms
of framing the ball, in terms of receiving the ball,
a lot of the pitchers love Austin Barnes behind the plate,
not necessarily that they always prefer him, but they like
him behind the pate because he's a great defensive catcher,
which is why he's stuck around as the backup catcher
for the Dodgers for I don't know how long, as
(01:20):
long as I can remember. Well he's fifteen, yes, So
I'm i'm I'm I'm really surprised about it at this
juncture in the season. You know, we may fourteenth right now,
seasons a month and a half in, and he's already
been designated to you know, for assignment. And I don't know,
(01:42):
maybe it's they they want to get their future going
with Dalton Rushing. I don't I don't know if that's
the case. But it's just a little weird giving the
entries to the pitching staff that they would make this
happen right now. Yeah, I think shocking. Obviously, Dalton Rushing
was going to be called up at some point. We
(02:04):
knew that he's hitting three o eight in Oklahoma City,
so he hit the ball really well. But here's the
other thing, Fred, but they had him up before. He's
talked about they've talked about playing. He's played in other positions, right, So,
I don't know if if that was a possibility or not,
But it feels like it was a little bit of
a nature because when he's been up before, they've allowed
(02:25):
him to play different position. Was there somebody else that
could have brought down or sent down or done something
with other than Austin Barnes.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, so Austin Barnes. Again, pitchers loved throwing to him.
He was on our show at Hollywood Park, if you remember,
correctly designated for assignment. I think that caught everybody off guard.
People knew Dalton Rushing would be called up. It was
just a matter of when. And the feeling was when
he was called up that he would be an outfielder
(02:52):
because they had him working there. Then they said they
were putting him back behind the plate. But for him
to come up at this point, you've got to believe
that he's going to play. And given that he's hitting
three oh eight, perhaps the Dodgers decided we'll sacrifice a
little of Austin Barnes behind the plate for a guy
that could tear the cover off the ball. I mean,
(03:16):
I am really surprised by this as well, But you
knew Rushing was coming up. I just don't think anybody
believed it would be Austin Barnes, that would get it.
You know, if you look at the Dodgers, seeing the
problem is Pie has played well, so there's no position
for him there.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Right's playing well.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Confordo's starting to hit Conford last night, Yeah, three doubles.
So we'll get into that. You're not going to get
rid of keyk. Kyk is not going anywhere. He's too valuable.
And Chris Taylor's not going anywhere. So you've got your covered.
And when Tiaskar comes back, you're you're covered in the outfield.
There's nowhere I get it, There's nowhere else hit for
him to play. It's just timing wise, it just feels
(03:59):
feels a little weird. And just because you listen, we
all know this. Just because you kill it in another league,
whether it be Triple A, whether that be in Japan
or Korea, doesn't necessarily gonna kill it in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well, another question is you want this guy to play?
How much is he going to play? Because Will Smith
isn't going anywhere that we know, No, he's not locked in.
And what did Austin Barnes play once or twice a week,
once a week, twice a week, just to give Will
a break.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
That's all he did, really, And and Will is going
to be your everyday catcher. And Will is going to
be your everyday catcher for the next I would say
five six years.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Fred at least. Yeah, his deal was ten years.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, so he'll he'll you know, at the at the
six or seventh year of that deal, you know, he
probably will move the first base. You know, Freddie will
be older and probably gone by then, but uh, he'll
move the first base, and then there will be a
room for another catcher to come in.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
But for the foreseeable future, Smith is the catcher for
the Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Yeah, so that was pretty shocking, and that happened just
before we went on the air. David Vassail joined the
program at two o'clock today. He'll be out at the
stadium and he will have the latest. He was the
one that first reported that Austin Barnes had been DFAD
asked for the Dodgers last night. Well, you know, my bad,
like the kids said the playgroun my dad. Yeah, No,
(05:22):
I tried to tell you, Fred tried to tell you,
Kevin had tried to tell you. We all tried to
tell you this team is not that bad the Oakland
A's given their situation, it's really incredible.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Wait wait, wait what did you say? I'm sorry the Athletics. Thanks,
sorry the Athletics. Given where they play in a minor
league park that they have no home, I say, no, hope,
I said they have no home. Yes, they are a
very good young baseball team that is playing with a
(06:00):
lot of confidence. And don't take them lightly. I mean
they absolutely destroyed Landon Nack last night and they ambushed
him at the plate and they are no slouts and
you better be ready to play them. So yeah, I'm
mad at you, Fret, because you you jinxed it. You thought, oh,
here come to Colorado Rockies. Here come the Rockies. That's
(06:23):
what the doctor ordered. A's are coming to town. No, no,
it's different. It's different. They are a good baseball team.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Well, Land and Nack got knocked a couple of times,
and that you know, Nat was knocked. That's what happened.
A thousand Oaks High alum Jacob Wilson uh run homers
and that was pretty much lights out. And then of
course the wheels came off the bus. Yes, and then
(06:52):
Mickey Roe has to come in and pitch, you know,
but we love that anytime he gets a pitchers bonus,
you just don't expect him to pitch against those guys.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
No.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, so that that was really pretty uckily last night.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
If it was a bright spot, weren't you happy for
Michael Conforto, Yes, I mean three doubles, you know, one
down the line, one in the left center field gap,
one in the right center field gap. It was it
was great and all three of them were with two
strikes on him and so, uh we said it in
(07:28):
the last series and Jerry Harriston said in you know,
when he was on with us yesterday that he has
been hitting the ball hard, it just hasn't found holes.
And he continued to do that and now they found
some holes. He had three doubles. Uh, it was great
to see because they got to need that left handed
back going forward. Hopefully he continues this. Yeah, that was
good to see last night.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I'm just sitting here thinking, if you're Dave Roberts, how
do you have that conversation with Austin Barnes.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I don't know, ten years, he's been there ten years
up here.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
How do you have that conversation Austin was hitting two fourteen.
This year he had nine hits knocked in two runs.
How do you have that conversation with him? How does
that conversation begin? What is the room like? What is
the mood in the room.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, And the one thing we do know about Dave
Roberts is he's a stand up guy. He's gonna let
you know. And the Old Doctor organization is like that
Andrew Freeman. We've had him on and he's talked about that. Listen,
guys in free agency. We love you, we want to
have you. I want you to come back, but we're
gonna let you go test the market. We can't give
you maybe what you're asking for, but go test it
(08:39):
and see if we can match it. And he lets
guys know that upfront, which is all you want as
a player. Dave Roberts is the same guy and which
is the reason why the players absolutely love him. He's
not going to sugarcoat it. He's not going to play around.
He's not gonna BSU. I would that they have teetered
(09:04):
around with this conversation before that this was a possibility
with Austin that at some point, maybe you know, get
ready for this because you don't you're not in an organization,
you're not up with the big leagues for ten years
and them not giving you a heads up and get
blindsided like this.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
At least the Dodgers don't do it that way. I would.
I would.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
I would be willing to bet that They've had many
conversations with him leading into this season. At some point
we gotta we gotta get Dalton up here, and we
got to get him going, and it might be a
situation where you you have to go down.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
It doesn't mean Austin Barnes is on a baseball by
the way, no another club can sign him now. Dodgers
can manipulate a deal I think in the next ten days,
and if that's the case, he'll land somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
If that doesn't happen, then he's basically unrestricted and he
can sign with any he wants. But boy, that would
be a tough conversation. Yesterday we wondered about Roki Sazaki's Yeah, velocity,
That's what we wondered about yesterday, and it was down,
and then we tried to come up with explanations as
(10:16):
to why it was down. Jerry Harrison was on it,
and he said here's why he's overcompensating. He's trying to
throw strikes, and because of that, he's not throwing the
ball as hard, because he seemed to be all over
the place. Well that was a possibility. Then, of course,
there was this possibility. His arm is injured, his shoulder,
and now he's on the iel. That's what it is.
(10:37):
His arm hurt, Rodney, and that's why he wasn't throwing
his hard. Dave Roberts said yesterday, he'll be out until
he's better. There's no rush here, so now they're just
going to sit and wait and wait for him to heal.
I will say this Dodger fans, because probably the first
thing that comes into your mind is, well, there you go,
(10:57):
another guy, another picture for the Dodge, another one with
arm problems. What did they do? They did nothing. The
guy just got here. He just showed up. He wasn't
in the system. So whatever you might think about, well,
obviously the Dodgers have to change the way they train
these guys. He just got here. So this one is
(11:20):
just on the situation.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Rodney.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
He's got a sore arm and now he's on the
injured list.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Yeah, a sore arm that he didn't admit to when
it was sore, and he went out and pitched with
a sore arm. And I get this as a young player,
when you're coming into an organization and you're trying to
make your mark and you've got all this hoopla around you,
you the last thing you want to do is be
(11:51):
a liability or be someone that's injured. And if it's
something that you think in your mind that's minor, you're
not going to say anything about it. I remember I
did this when my first two years in the league
at the Lions. You know, there were little things that
would bother me and I was like, man, I can't
I don't know if I can go this week, or
just as bothered me. I didn't want to mention it
(12:12):
because I didn't want to come out of the lineup.
I didn't want to lose reps. I wanted to be
there and I wanted to show them that I was tough.
And I think the same thing for him is that
he fought and wanted to be a Dodger and they
signed him and he wanted to go prove himself.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
And when things started to.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
You know, be sore or ail him, he was reluctant
to tell the training staff or tell anybody that, hey,
my arm is sore. Given the fact that all of
the injuries with the pitching staff, He's like, I can't
be another casualty for this team. I don't want to
be another liability for this team. I'm not going to
say anything. But what he did was made the situation worse,
(12:58):
you know, And you always got to as an athlete,
you always, I don't care how small and how much
you think your egos plays into it or you think
they're gonna think this way of me, you have to
always report an injury or something that is like not right,
because there's ways to fix it. There's ways of rest,
there's ways of treatment, there's ways of medicine, and you
(13:21):
always have to report it.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
You do not. This is a lesson for him.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
You do not hold back when it comes to injuries
or anything that is sore. You always always have to
report that.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Well, he didn't and now he's on the injured list.
So if there is a bit of good news, another
one bites the dust. But Clayton Kershaw will be back
this weekend. Now, Clayton Kershaw didn't have a great deal
of velocity last season. As a matter of fact, he's
pretty much lost that part of his game. Now he
is a pitcher and he puts the ball in spots
(13:55):
and okay, seeing his last start, I think gets you
ready four miles an hour?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
All right, well stop it, stop it.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
No, no, no, no, I'm saying by big league standards, You're like,
oh no, I'm being honest, and by big.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Slider was hitting eighty four, his friend, Come on, he
wasn't throwing eighty four on his fastball, on his four seam,
he was not throwing eighty four.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Okay, Well, the bottom line is this.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Bottom line is this.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
He's got to spot the ball. The Dodgers need him,
and I'll say this, heading into the season, the Dodgers
didn't think they need him right now. As a matter
of fact, he was going to be a luxury. He
just kind of be floating around if somebody needed a blow.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
They definitely need him.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
They need him, they need him, and unfortunately, Dodgers need
guys starting pitchers that can give him length. Clayton right
now is not a guy that's going to get you
into the seventh in he he's not a guy that's
going to go three times through a lineup. He'll get
through two, and I think he can be effective because
he again, like you mentioned, he's got great stuff. He
(14:58):
can he's a pitcher. Now he's learn that he can
place the ball. He's still got the great curveball, and
his velocity obviously is down. So even if he's at
ninety one ninety two miles an hour, ninety miles an
hour with the offset of his eighty two mile an
hour curve ball, he can throw hitters off for a
couple of rounds. But that third time around, you don't
(15:18):
want to have him.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
In the game.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
So you know he's going to give you five maybe
at best, but don't look for him to get into
the sixth seventh inning. And that's again going to be
taxing on a bullpen that's already pits more than any
other bullpen in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
David Vat saying, will jump on the program today at
two o'clock. He'll update us on everything now, Rodney, coming
up next, a couple of guests that you suggested for
the show. You want to talk a little bit about it.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Yeah, yeah, I've got some friends that are going to
join us next. They have a podcast called Talk Dodgers
to Me. Two brilliant young ladies, Melissa Meyer and Jacqueline Ruiz,
who host this podcast and it is a must watch.
They also you can find them on Instagram that way too.
(16:07):
But they talk Dodgers in a way, Fred that is
really specific. They understand the game, they understand the Dodger players,
they get it, and they are it's not just surface.
They get in deep with the Dodgers and how the
Dodgers operate. And they are true fans and it's gonna
(16:28):
be brilliant to have them on.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
So I'm excited about it.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Alrighty, So we have special guests coming up next on
the program. One o'clock, Delan Hernandez of The Times will
join us, and at two o'clock David Vansay is on
the show.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Oh yes, friends, very important to have some friends, Rodney
p Fred Rogan on a hump day. It is when
day and uh, we have some very special guests joining
(17:06):
us right now. If you get an opportunity, please please
check out the Talk Dodgers to Me podcast and follow
them on Instagram at the same name. My good friends
Melissa Meyer and Jacquelin Luiz, who hosts the show and true,
(17:29):
true blue Dodger fans. Ladies, thank you for joining us,
Thank you for bringing a part.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Of the program.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Rodney, thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
What an intro?
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Come on so much, Come on, ladies, show the oh,
thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Thank you for that. Now listen.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I stumbled on you guys by you know, just you know,
accident right before the Japan trip, and I saw you guys,
and I I started paying attention. And it wasn't just
like the surface Dodger fan stuff. It was you guys,
get in depth. And you have guests on I know
(18:15):
Earl Herschazer is a is a part of you guys,
and and and and does some some advertising on it
has been on your show.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Steve Sacks has been on your show.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
But first off, guys, how did you were you always
Dodger fans? And then how did this come about that
you started this podcast?
Speaker 5 (18:33):
Well, Jacqueline, you are yeah. I mean I was born
and raised here in la I was born in eighty eight,
so I went through a big energy where football we
didn't really have a big football team, so I was
My household was Lakers Dodgers from the start. There was
no question. Yeah, so yeah, I've always been a Dodgers fan.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
For me, I'm actually from New Jersey and booked a
one way flight here in twenty eleven. Started going to
Dodger games, started learning about the organization and the culture,
how they treat the players. We were in the postseason
every year. And I come from a big family of
sports fans, not one of them is a Dodger fan.
So I pretty much had to start a podcast to
(19:18):
find people to talk to about the Dodgers.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
All right, well, let me ask you this.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Okay, you told us how you developed or how you
thought about doing this. Who are you? What do you
really do? What are you doing life?
Speaker 4 (19:35):
That's so funny. I mean, this is Melissa talking. I've
had lots of different jobs over my fourteen year LA journey,
but it all kind of seems like it took me here.
I have a background as a life coach and with
a psychology degree, so that is a business I had started.
And then I really kept getting into the Dodgers more
(19:56):
than ever, and just like escaping into baseball and would
walk into grocery stores and around.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
The street and just be like, did you see Freddie's.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Home run last night? Or this or that? And like
didn't really like people weren't really meeting my excitement. Uh
So I just thought of talk Dodgers to me and
and got the handle on Instagram and found someone to
produce it and found someone to talk to. And then
last season, Jacqueline, who has a boutique, reached out for
(20:25):
me to wear one of her dresses on the podcast,
and as soon as we met, we just had an
instant connection and instant friendship and.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Just we're supporting each other.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
And I brought her on the podcast for this season
and we're just having so much fun.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Yeah, my my named Jacqueline.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
This is me talking.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
But yeah, I was born and raised here. I played sports,
and then I went to.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
So I went to a village.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
I went to a village Christian and then I went
and I went and played volleyball and softball at College
of the Canyons out in Santa Clarita, and then I
finished off at Seasun which I ended up getting my
degree in broadcasting journalism, and I worked with iHeart a
little bit, and then I ended up moving out to
Texas and starting my boutique and it went game day
(21:11):
and then that's when I moved back to La and
people were begging me for some Dodger stuff and then
I said, all right, let's do it. And then I
met Melissa and we kind of just the season last year.
October just went beautifully. Our boys really just showed up.
And now I'm on her podcast for season two.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
I mean, starting a podcast in the team winning the
World Series the same year. It feels really meant to
be in a lot of ways.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Seriously, Now, listen, ladies, a lot of people love the Dodgers,
and a lot of people are fans of the Dodgers.
But you guys decided to do a podcast, and it's
not just and again I encourage everyone to tune into
the podcast Talk Dodgers. To me, it's not just you know,
I'm a fan of the Dodgers. You guys get in
(21:58):
depth to details about baseball and the players and stats
and all of those things. Was this something that you
guys grew up with, that you were that involved in it.
I know, Jacqueline, you said, you know you played sports,
But when I hear you guys talk about, you know,
the pitching staff and the injuries and then batting averages
(22:21):
and get in details with some of your guests, it's
like you guys are almost in the clubhouse that you
guys got so much knowledge.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
I mean, don't tempt us with a good time.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
We're trying to get in that clubhouse. I mean.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
Something that's really cool is that growing up, my dad
used to call into the fan and he would go
in our basement bathroom where he installed the journals because
he had the ultimate man cave.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
And so I grew up.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
Listening to him call into the radio. So to be
talking to you guys right now is a really cool thing.
And my dad passed away when I was sixteen, and
he's really been my connection to baseball. So just like
thinking about him seeing what I'm doing right now, it
just like brings me so much pride and love.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Yeah, I mean for me, I just yeah, playing very
much fuels a lot of how I connect to the
game and just kind of connecting the athlete feeling to
what these guys are and all that. But I've always
had a love for the game, and I've always had
a safe space with my dad, my uncle, my friends,
like so many people that have made it so that
(23:24):
I could talk about it. And I don't know, you
just start learning and you just pick it up. I
don't even think I try. We also both just have
these growth mindsets where we want to learn and we're
so passionate about the game that we just want to
keep learning about it, and like we have different curiosities.
I love learning about the players and their mindsets behind.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
What they're doing, and I know all their wives' names,
their kids' names, but also we know how many home
runs each player has hit. I think something that I
hated like during my life is when people would be like, oh, wow,
you actually know what you're talking about. To me, that's
like the challenge to learn even more, right, And all I.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
Want to know is like, go ahead, no, go ahead,
no no.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
I was just going to say, what do you want
to know?
Speaker 4 (24:09):
I want to know why Austin Barnes was depaid right
before Clayton.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Kersha'll starts there you go, And that's what I was
going to ask the two of you, since you do
the podcast and you do know what's going on, what
do you think of that decision today?
Speaker 4 (24:24):
I find the timing to be very interesting because I
read a book about Clayton Kershaw that taught me how
mad he was when they traded aj Ellis and then
he didn't talk to the front office for six months,
so I know he has such a close relationship with
Austin Barnes. I find the timing to be interesting with
him starting on Saturday. However, I know that Austin Barnes
(24:45):
hasn't played very well, and I know there's been a
lot of talk about Dalton rushing. So it's like, I
get it, but I'm a little heartbroken. Also, I know
Austin Barnes is considered the captain, and I wonder what
that does to the clubhouse culture.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
I don't know, I got I got lots of offs.
There's a lot of emotion. I feel really sad, but
I also feel like we trust the team. We just
have to trust that they know why they're making the decisions.
But man, Barnes, no, what do you guys.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Think about it?
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Well, I was saying the same thing. I just I
wonder how it disrupts the clubhouse because he's been there
since twenty fifteen, and from all accounts, every pitcher loves
the way he receives the ball and loves him behind
the plate. Now, obviously Will Smith is a better offensive
player and better probably all around player, but Austin Barnes
(25:42):
from a pure just catcher standpoint, the pitchers love him,
and to your point, the timing of Clayton Kershaw coming
back and him being DFA is just kind of interesting
to me, you know. So I'm a little concerned about
that because we all love we all love Barnesy. He
(26:03):
just does his thing and and it feels like he
belongs in a Dodger uniform, so that that that hurts
to see him go. One of the things I want
to ask you guys also is you know, what do
you what do you make of the.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Season so far?
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Because a lot of Dodger fans die are Dodger fans,
even though the team is at the top of the
league in terms of record, a lot of people are
not satisfied. And maybe it's because of the injuries. Maybe
it's because things that happened, like what happened last night.
And you guys were at the game last night where
the Athletics beat him eleven to one. But they're not
(26:38):
dominating or they're not undefeated right now on May fourteenth,
like a lot of people expected them to be. What
do you make of the season so far for the Dodgers?
Speaker 5 (26:50):
I feel like when people start getting nitpicky this early
in the season, and it's like, I don't know, do
you just not know baseball at all? Like I think
we would come off of a win seasons, so obviously
things kept going in our favors, so maybe people just
got really used to that feeling, and when things aren't
going in our favor, it's like, I mean, for me,
(27:11):
the teams that come to play the Dodgers are on
their a game from start to finish, and as they
should be, and so you got to let a little
bit of baseball happen.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
The fans really put the fan in fanatics, and I
think I've even I watched the game a little differently
now since having the podcast and really really getting into baseball,
where I'm giving our team a bit more grace because
this season is so long. It's so funny that we're
complaining about how our team's doing while we're the best
team in baseball. I mean, I know, it's like this
(27:44):
like mind game of like.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
I'm you're not playing the best ball, and it's kind
of frustrating, but you're still just like really good and
winning and you're actually playing pretty well as a team,
and everyone's stepping up randomly when they're supposed to and
they're swerving and it's like, I don't know full well.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Also, last season, we interviewed two Dodger wives, which it
was really fun to talk to them, and they talked
about how they watched the games and they can't really
hang on to every single win and loss because of
how long the season is, so I kind of try
and do it like that.
Speaker 5 (28:16):
I also think.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
That our management are being a little cautious. We got
a lot of guys on the il, which makes me nervous.
We've been using these bullpen arms way too much for
my comfort. But we've got a really great team and
we have so much depths that I think that eases
my worry.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
So you said a little bit like Andrew Friedman. By
the way, I don't know if he's been on a podcast,
but Andrew Friedman would sit and tell you I don't
even start worrying about anything until the end of May.
Then I started evaluating where we're at. But first you
have to get started and then kind of seeing how
you're going, and then we'll figure it out at the
end of May. So you now have the same philosophy
(28:56):
as Andrew Friedman, which is very impressive.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Wow, okay taking it to the front office.
Speaker 5 (29:02):
I liked it.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
I mean we started to see them we're undefeated, and
we're like, oh my gosh, we're gonna go one sixty
two and oh and then all of a sudden we
hit a cold streak. And on the podcast, our scene
is we're fine, guys, we're fine. You know, we're ride
in the highs and lows.
Speaker 5 (29:18):
I feel like there's plenty of baseball to be played,
and I would rather than be cautious about injuries now
than to push them and then at the end when
we really need them to, like you know, strike through,
everyone's like falling apart.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
So we're running out of arms and duellers going to
close us out like last year.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
So you mentioned you talked to some players wives last year.
Who'd you talk to? What did you learn.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
That was Alex Vessi's wife Kayla and Gavin Lux's fiance Mollie.
They were so awesome. I loved having them on. You know,
we learned so much about the players. What the Dodgers
do that I love is how well they take care
of the wives. They have someone and what they taught
us was there's an employee that their job is just
(30:04):
to take care of the wives and what and to
think of like what that does for the player to
just ease their mind knowing their wife and their family
are comfortable is so important. And that's why I think
the Dodgers go the extra mile and why I appreciate
them so much to think of things like that.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Yeah, no, absolutely, I mean we talk about that all
the time. The reason why the Dodgers stand out is
because they do the little things. I mean, we just
found out that they have two planes that they charter,
right that they have a plane for the just the players,
and then they have a plane for the personnel, which
no other team in baseball does that. I don't think
any other team in sports does that. But the Dodgers
(30:42):
have two planes. They upgraded the clubhouse not only for
themselves but for the visiting team. So it is the
little things that the Dodgers do that make them that
make them stand out. Melissa Meyer Jacqueline Ruiz are with us.
They host a podcast called Talk Dodgers to Me. Also, guys,
I want to know, so you've you've had opportunities to
(31:05):
talk to not only the wise but several Dodger former
players as well. Talk about that experience, and I know
Oral is one of them, and you also talked to
Steve Sachs. But being able to engage with some of
the Legends, how's that been for you, guys?
Speaker 4 (31:23):
That's been really cool. I mean I worked at a
restaurant in Beverly Hills as a hostess and met Oral
Hirscheizer eight years ago and he was so kind and
genuine that day that it really stuck with me. And
when I started the podcast, I had heard he opened
a sports memorabilia store called Legends Attic, and I called
and just introduced myself and asked if I could come
(31:45):
by and maybe record an episode there. And from that
day I created such an amazing relationship with the Legends
Attic team, including Oral, and their support behind our podcast
has been just incredible and is given me and now
us so many great opportunities. I had Miguel Rojas.
Speaker 5 (32:04):
Who was our first active player on the podcast last season.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
That was amazing.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
Yeah, I mean, my first interview for this season, we
just landed from Japan and we went straight into an.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
Event with Kirby Yates and after we interviewed Joe Kelly.
Speaker 5 (32:21):
Which was so much fun.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
To talk to him, got to sit down with Steve Sachs.
Speaker 5 (32:25):
For a while.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
It's really been cool, even like watching Steve and Oral
interact with each other, and we got to meet Steve
Garvey one day and just watching them talk baseball with
each other and you can't help but just stop and
stare at them.
Speaker 5 (32:41):
And they're probably like, why are they staring at us?
But it's just they get in so in depth and
then it's just the history and the stories and you're
just like I'm geeking out just staring at these men
talk about baseball.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
And it's been beautiful.
Speaker 5 (32:54):
I mean we've even been able to sit down and
at the Jime Harrien golf tournament found and really talk
to him, which this was the first one without Fernando
for him, and you know, we just like off the record,
got to sit down with him and have a thirty
minute conversation of just what that was like going through
you know, that whole era. And so it's been a
(33:15):
lot of beautiful pinch me moments of just like us
looking at each other like this is our life. I know.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
So cool.
Speaker 5 (33:21):
And now we're on the radio with you guys, I mean.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Geez, next listen listen guys before we let you go.
I saw recently because I do follow you guys, and
I really love what you guys post and I love
your podcast. But you recently were at an event at
Dodger Stadium. We just talked about little things that the
Dodgers do, but you're at an event of women in sports,
(33:45):
and can you just tell us real briefly about that
event and what the Dodgers have done for women and sports.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
You know, it's really incredible, and it kind of kickstarted
me starting the podcast. I went on my computer, was
in a really tough place in my life, saw that
there was a women in Sports event and just bought
a ticket and I went and I sat at a
table with a group of amazing women listening to me
passionately talk about the Dodgers, and they're like, you got
to do something about this, And that's when I started
(34:16):
the podcast from that event. Now this year is my
third year going and Jacqueline came with me, and from
the guest speakers and their stories to all the amazing
women you know from college looking for opportunities, it's showing
us what jobs exist that you don't even know about,
and just connecting us with each other. We had so
(34:37):
many people come up and tell us they listen to
the podcast, and it really is amazing that the Dodgers
continue to put this on and make it better each
year and allow us to just learn from women in
really powerful roles and how we could possibly get there ourselves.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
They are Jacqueline Ruiz and Melissa Meyer of Talk Dodgers
to Me the podcast. Follow them on Instagram as well. Guys,
thanks so much for joining us. I appreciate it. We
love you, you know, I follow you and appreciate you,
and keep it up.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Keep it up.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
You guys are inspiring for a lot of people, so
keep keep up the good work.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
Thanks so much. Guys, You're welcome on our show anytime.
Speaker 5 (35:24):
Let's make that happen.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
You got it.
Speaker 4 (35:26):
We're in, We're in, Yes, okay, booking it.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
Thanks guys, appreciate it. Roderie good call. It was a
good call. They are good man. I saw them, you know,
I was when we're in Japan, fred I saw them
posting a lot. They actually traveled to Japan and did
a lot of stuff, and then I just started following them.
I was like, it's not just the normal podcast. These
guys they know what they're talking about, and they get
(35:53):
in detail about the Dodgers and their play and it's
a good follow it's a good podcast.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
So iourage everyone to tune in. All right.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
If I've said this once, I've said it a thousand times,
and I don't mean to upset anybody. Really, nobody cares
what you think. Nobody cares what you think on social
media until you've made a mistake, and then they do.
Speaker 6 (36:19):
All right, then, Today's afternoon Delight is never Land by
Kid Cuddy.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
This song marks the first release of twenty twenty five
for the artists as he gets set to release his
short film of the same name, which would debut at
the Tribeca Tribeca Film Festival next month. In a statement cut,
he said, never Land marks the beginning of an exciting
new era for me. I'm really proud of this new sound,
(36:48):
and I can't wait for fans old and new to
experience what's coming again. Today's Afternoon Delight is never Land
by Kid Cuddy.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Why Ronnie? That was unnecessary.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Ronnie was talking to me my ear, Okay, he said,
as you like to call him, Kid Cootie. They're two
entirely different performers. Sorry I'm to say that on the air.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Okay, yeah, you told me that it was pretty funny though. Okay, look,
please don't let this cut you to your core.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
Please.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
No one's trying to be cruel, but this's is a
reality associated with life. I understand every single thing everybody
thinks is vitally critical and the entire world must know it.
And they get to know it because you post on
Instagram or x or TikTok, and if you're older Facebook,
(37:47):
you use social media. Truth of the matter is, and
this is what I don't want to upset you. No
one really cares what anyone thinks. That's really the truth.
But we have this need to tell everybody everything. And
if you get a couple of people liking something or
even responding, you go, okay, I'm making a difference. You
know how many people there are in the world, it's
(38:08):
hard to make a difference. But still we have this
burning desire and most of the time it really means
absolutely nothing until it does, and when it does, you've
probably made a mistake. And when you make the mistake,
despite the fact you may have lived in anonymity forever,
(38:30):
suddenly people know you, and that is the case of
Douglas Seafoo. And you go, who is Douglas Seafood. Well,
he is the Associate governor of the Florida Panthers. He's
also the CEO of Virtue Financial. So what does that
tell us about Douglas Seafood. He's got a lot of money.
(38:51):
He's got a lot of money. That's what it tells
us about Douglas Seafood.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
So listen to the story.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
And really, you wouldn't know his name unless I told you,
and I'm sure you don't follow him on social media.
But he's like number two with the Florida Panthers with
an enormous investment in the franchise. So, Florida is playing
Toronto in the playoffs and Seafood posted messages on x
(39:22):
during a spat with a Maple Leafs fan after the
Panthers defeated Toronto in Game four. So let's start with that.
He is the vice governor and the CEO of Virtue
Financial is now bantering back and forth on X or
(39:42):
Twitter with someone who supports the Maple Leafs. Okay, this
is a guy. We don't know what he looks like.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
He could drink beer.
Speaker 1 (39:50):
He could be a season ticket holder in Toronto.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
I don't know, but.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
Who this this person is no idea, We don't have,
no idea. We don't know, but we do know this
with Seafu is the number two guy in the organization.
So the fan opened the back and forth by commenting
on several high hits by Panthers players against the Maple
Leafs and then invoked the Israel Gaza war. Seafu had
(40:16):
displayed five Israeli flags in the bio of his ex account.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
So this is some guy. We don't know who he is,
where he's from, what he looks like, and now he
is commenting on several high hits in the series. The
guy who is number two in the organization, who should
be above everything, responds to him. He sees this, and
(40:43):
he responds. He calls him a whiny dope all right now,
if that's not enough, Later he posts eat shit you
know what that word is. Then he writes fifty first
state anti Semite loser, with an apparent reference to the
President's comments in recent months that he wants to see
(41:04):
the United States at Canada as its fifty first state. Okay,
this guy, Douglas Seafoo. You don't know who the hell
he is, and when he finished this conversation, you'll forget
about him and won't care. But the guy's got an
awful lot of money, has a very important job, and
(41:27):
is the number two guy with the Florida Panthers. So
he responds to some fan and gets into this with
him on social media. So what do you think happens
to Douglas Seafoo who just had this desire to start
with someone on social media? Okay, those posts were deleted.
(41:49):
His account has been deactivated, and Monday, the league suspended
Seafood from any involvement with the team or the league.
Next up, have a conversation with the commissioner to figure
out what's going to happen next. Again, no one really
cares what you think until you made a mistake. But
(42:11):
when you've made a mistake, then people care. What do
you think of that, Rodney, I'm so confused. I'm confused.
I'm confused and confused. Even when you were explaining it,
I was confused. Seafoo is the number two guy at
the Panthers. What you're saying, correct, and a fan said
(42:32):
something he got into it with the fan. Correct, and
it became racial. Yes, and so Seafoo. His response to
the fan was what Seafood's response to the fan, Well,
(42:57):
let's see. The fan wrote, Hey, what's worse using headshots
to win a series or using starvation as a weapon
to win a war? This is what the fan writes
to Seafood because Seafoo has this Israeli flags on his account. Okay, okay,
Seafood responds, he's a winy dough eight s fifty first
(43:19):
state anti Semite loser. Here's the thing, So that's what happened.
Why are you, Douglas Seafood?
Speaker 2 (43:27):
Why are you going at it? Yeah?
Speaker 6 (43:29):
Why are you doing this to a random fan? Why
are you even getting waiting?
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Why are you saying anything? You're the CEO of a
financial company and a number two guy with an NHL team.
Aren't you above this? Don't you understand with the responsibility
you have comes restraint. Why are you responding to arbitrary people?
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Why?
Speaker 1 (43:57):
Why would you even take ten seconds to consider that?
Speaker 2 (44:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (44:01):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's uh yeah, why would you even
consider that? Because I don't know the percentage, but there's
a number of fans, a big percentage of fans that
all they do is troll and try to get a
(44:23):
response out of celebrities, personality, sports figures, whatever and want
you to get you How do I get him engaged.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
I'm gonna say something.
Speaker 6 (44:32):
I'm gonna say something so bad to Lebron that I'm
gonna get him and engaged with me, and that I'll
become famous or I'll become known. That's what they do.
That's what so many people sitting in their basement will do.
And for him to be that naive to respond to
it is you question, Yeah, you questioned the judgment of
(44:54):
this guy. That's your number two. Why are you responding
to this? It's clearly what the guy was trying to
get on your your skin and trying to get you
to respond to him, and you did.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
You took the bait. You took the bait, and now
look where you are.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
If you need social media, Doug Seafood, then create a
different account. Why are you even on it? If you
want to know what's going on and I get that,
then create an account and just look at things.
Speaker 3 (45:28):
Turn off your comments, you don't, you don't have to
respond to comments. You can just post say look, I'm
gonna put this out and I don't have to. I
don't look at what a lot of guys, a lot
of people do, especially slaps do where they don't, you know,
because it's hit or miss. You put something out like
Lebron puts stuff out and fifty percent of the people
(45:48):
will go at him and try to antagonize him and
try to get him to respond, or any celebrity does that.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
But you can turn it off and so you don't
see it.
Speaker 3 (45:57):
You post what you want to post, you want to
put out there, and you let it go and people
respond and they do whatever they want to do, but
you don't see it. You don't get a chance to
see it, or you don't even want to see it.
Why is he looking at it and trolling his own
post or whatever and trolling social media and then responding
to some random fan again, ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
Again.
Speaker 1 (46:20):
Everybody thinks they're important and everybody wants to say what
they have to say on social media. No one cares
really what you think until you've made a mistake, and
then they do.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
All right.
Speaker 1 (46:37):
Up next Dyllan Hernandez of The Times will join us
All right, let's go freend Rogan Rodney Pete five seventy
LA Sports Rodney a big three hour show today, and
you might consider this breaking news off the top. A
lot to talk about concerning the Dodgers, but the most
pressing issue the Dodgers have designated Austin Barnes for assignment.
David Vass reporting that, so Austin Barnes, a veteran, had
(00:25):
been here, really one of the most beloved guys on
the team designated for assignment. Dalton Rushing has been called
up from the miners. Are you surprised by that?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I am? I am.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
You know, Austin Barnes has been here for what as
long as I can remember, you know, and we all know,
and David Vassy has reported this several times on our show,
that the pitchers absolutely love Austin Barnes have behind the plate. Now,
Will Smith obviously is a better hitter and probably a
better all around player and does a and it's gotten
(01:00):
better as a catcher over the years. But in terms
of framing the ball, in terms of receiving the ball,
a lot of the pitchers love Austin Barnes behind the plate,
not necessarily that they always prefer him, but they like
him behind the pate because he's a great defensive catcher,
which is why he's stuck around as the backup catcher
for the Dodgers for I don't know how long, as
(01:20):
long as I can remember. Well he's fifteen, yes, So
I'm i'm I'm I'm really surprised about it at this
juncture in the season. You know, we may fourteenth right now,
seasons a month and a half in, and he's already
been designated to you know, for assignment. And I don't know,
(01:42):
maybe it's they they want to get their future going
with Dalton Rushing. I don't I don't know if that's
the case. But it's just a little weird giving the
entries to the pitching staff that they would make this
happen right now. Yeah, I think shocking. Obviously, Dalton Rushing
was going to be called up at some point. We
(02:04):
knew that he's hitting three o eight in Oklahoma City,
so he hit the ball really well. But here's the
other thing, Fred, but they had him up before. He's
talked about they've talked about playing. He's played in other positions, right, So,
I don't know if if that was a possibility or not,
But it feels like it was a little bit of
a nature because when he's been up before, they've allowed
(02:25):
him to play different position. Was there somebody else that
could have brought down or sent down or done something
with other than Austin Barnes.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Yeah, so Austin Barnes. Again, pitchers loved throwing to him.
He was on our show at Hollywood Park, if you remember,
correctly designated for assignment. I think that caught everybody off guard.
People knew Dalton Rushing would be called up. It was
just a matter of when. And the feeling was when
he was called up that he would be an outfielder
(02:52):
because they had him working there. Then they said they
were putting him back behind the plate. But for him
to come up at this point, you've got to believe
that he's going to play. And given that he's hitting
three oh eight, perhaps the Dodgers decided we'll sacrifice a
little of Austin Barnes behind the plate for a guy
that could tear the cover off the ball. I mean,
(03:16):
I am really surprised by this as well, But you
knew Rushing was coming up. I just don't think anybody
believed it would be Austin Barnes, that would get it.
You know, if you look at the Dodgers, seeing the
problem is Pie has played well, so there's no position
for him there.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Right's playing well.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Confordo's starting to hit Conford last night, Yeah, three doubles.
So we'll get into that. You're not going to get
rid of keyk. Kyk is not going anywhere. He's too valuable.
And Chris Taylor's not going anywhere. So you've got your covered.
And when Tiaskar comes back, you're you're covered in the outfield.
There's nowhere I get it, There's nowhere else hit for
him to play. It's just timing wise, it just feels
(03:59):
feels a little weird. And just because you listen, we
all know this. Just because you kill it in another league,
whether it be Triple A, whether that be in Japan
or Korea, doesn't necessarily gonna kill it in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well, another question is you want this guy to play?
How much is he going to play? Because Will Smith
isn't going anywhere that we know, No, he's not locked in.
And what did Austin Barnes play once or twice a week,
once a week, twice a week, just to give Will
a break.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
That's all he did, really, And and Will is going
to be your everyday catcher. And Will is going to
be your everyday catcher for the next I would say
five six years.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Fred at least. Yeah, his deal was ten years.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, so he'll he'll you know, at the at the
six or seventh year of that deal, you know, he
probably will move the first base. You know, Freddie will
be older and probably gone by then, but uh, he'll
move the first base, and then there will be a
room for another catcher to come in.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
But for the foreseeable future, Smith is the catcher for
the Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Yeah, so that was pretty shocking, and that happened just
before we went on the air. David Vassail joined the
program at two o'clock today. He'll be out at the
stadium and he will have the latest. He was the
one that first reported that Austin Barnes had been DFAD
asked for the Dodgers last night. Well, you know, my bad,
like the kids said the playgroun my dad. Yeah, No,
(05:22):
I tried to tell you, Fred tried to tell you,
Kevin had tried to tell you. We all tried to
tell you this team is not that bad the Oakland
A's given their situation, it's really incredible.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Wait wait, wait what did you say? I'm sorry the Athletics. Thanks,
sorry the Athletics. Given where they play in a minor
league park that they have no home, I say, no, hope,
I said they have no home. Yes, they are a
very good young baseball team that is playing with a
(06:00):
lot of confidence. And don't take them lightly. I mean
they absolutely destroyed Landon Nack last night and they ambushed
him at the plate and they are no slouts and
you better be ready to play them. So yeah, I'm
mad at you, Fret, because you you jinxed it. You thought, oh,
here come to Colorado Rockies. Here come the Rockies. That's
(06:23):
what the doctor ordered. A's are coming to town. No, no,
it's different. It's different. They are a good baseball team.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Well, Land and Nack got knocked a couple of times,
and that you know, Nat was knocked. That's what happened.
A thousand Oaks High alum Jacob Wilson uh run homers
and that was pretty much lights out. And then of
course the wheels came off the bus. Yes, and then
(06:52):
Mickey Roe has to come in and pitch, you know,
but we love that anytime he gets a pitchers bonus,
you just don't expect him to pitch against those guys.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
No.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, so that that was really pretty uckily last night.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
If it was a bright spot, weren't you happy for
Michael Conforto, Yes, I mean three doubles, you know, one
down the line, one in the left center field gap,
one in the right center field gap. It was it
was great and all three of them were with two
strikes on him and so, uh we said it in
(07:28):
the last series and Jerry Harriston said in you know,
when he was on with us yesterday that he has
been hitting the ball hard, it just hasn't found holes.
And he continued to do that and now they found
some holes. He had three doubles. Uh, it was great
to see because they got to need that left handed
back going forward. Hopefully he continues this. Yeah, that was
good to see last night.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
I'm just sitting here thinking, if you're Dave Roberts, how
do you have that conversation with Austin Barnes.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I don't know, ten years, he's been there ten years
up here.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
How do you have that conversation Austin was hitting two fourteen.
This year he had nine hits knocked in two runs.
How do you have that conversation with him? How does
that conversation begin? What is the room like? What is
the mood in the room.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, And the one thing we do know about Dave
Roberts is he's a stand up guy. He's gonna let
you know. And the Old Doctor organization is like that
Andrew Freeman. We've had him on and he's talked about that. Listen,
guys in free agency. We love you, we want to
have you. I want you to come back, but we're
gonna let you go test the market. We can't give
you maybe what you're asking for, but go test it
(08:39):
and see if we can match it. And he lets
guys know that upfront, which is all you want as
a player. Dave Roberts is the same guy and which
is the reason why the players absolutely love him. He's
not going to sugarcoat it. He's not going to play around.
He's not gonna BSU. I would that they have teetered
(09:04):
around with this conversation before that this was a possibility
with Austin that at some point, maybe you know, get
ready for this because you don't you're not in an organization,
you're not up with the big leagues for ten years
and them not giving you a heads up and get
blindsided like this.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
At least the Dodgers don't do it that way. I would.
I would.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
I would be willing to bet that They've had many
conversations with him leading into this season. At some point
we gotta we gotta get Dalton up here, and we
got to get him going, and it might be a
situation where you you have to go down.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
It doesn't mean Austin Barnes is on a baseball by
the way, no another club can sign him now. Dodgers
can manipulate a deal I think in the next ten days,
and if that's the case, he'll land somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
If that doesn't happen, then he's basically unrestricted and he
can sign with any he wants. But boy, that would
be a tough conversation. Yesterday we wondered about Roki Sazaki's Yeah, velocity,
That's what we wondered about yesterday, and it was down,
and then we tried to come up with explanations as
(10:16):
to why it was down. Jerry Harrison was on it,
and he said here's why he's overcompensating. He's trying to
throw strikes, and because of that, he's not throwing the
ball as hard, because he seemed to be all over
the place. Well that was a possibility. Then, of course,
there was this possibility. His arm is injured, his shoulder,
and now he's on the iel. That's what it is.
(10:37):
His arm hurt, Rodney, and that's why he wasn't throwing
his hard. Dave Roberts said yesterday, he'll be out until
he's better. There's no rush here, so now they're just
going to sit and wait and wait for him to heal.
I will say this Dodger fans, because probably the first
thing that comes into your mind is, well, there you go,
(10:57):
another guy, another picture for the Dodge, another one with
arm problems. What did they do? They did nothing. The
guy just got here. He just showed up. He wasn't
in the system. So whatever you might think about, well,
obviously the Dodgers have to change the way they train
these guys. He just got here. So this one is
(11:20):
just on the situation.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Rodney.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
He's got a sore arm and now he's on the
injured list.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Yeah, a sore arm that he didn't admit to when
it was sore, and he went out and pitched with
a sore arm. And I get this as a young player,
when you're coming into an organization and you're trying to
make your mark and you've got all this hoopla around you,
you the last thing you want to do is be
(11:51):
a liability or be someone that's injured. And if it's
something that you think in your mind that's minor, you're
not going to say anything about it. I remember I
did this when my first two years in the league
at the Lions. You know, there were little things that
would bother me and I was like, man, I can't
I don't know if I can go this week, or
just as bothered me. I didn't want to mention it
(12:12):
because I didn't want to come out of the lineup.
I didn't want to lose reps. I wanted to be
there and I wanted to show them that I was tough.
And I think the same thing for him is that
he fought and wanted to be a Dodger and they
signed him and he wanted to go prove himself.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
And when things started to.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
You know, be sore or ail him, he was reluctant
to tell the training staff or tell anybody that, hey,
my arm is sore. Given the fact that all of
the injuries with the pitching staff, He's like, I can't
be another casualty for this team. I don't want to
be another liability for this team. I'm not going to
say anything. But what he did was made the situation worse,
(12:58):
you know, And you always got to as an athlete,
you always, I don't care how small and how much
you think your egos plays into it or you think
they're gonna think this way of me, you have to
always report an injury or something that is like not right,
because there's ways to fix it. There's ways of rest,
there's ways of treatment, there's ways of medicine, and you
(13:21):
always have to report it.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
You do not. This is a lesson for him.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
You do not hold back when it comes to injuries
or anything that is sore. You always always have to
report that.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Well, he didn't and now he's on the injured list.
So if there is a bit of good news, another
one bites the dust. But Clayton Kershaw will be back
this weekend. Now, Clayton Kershaw didn't have a great deal
of velocity last season. As a matter of fact, he's
pretty much lost that part of his game. Now he
is a pitcher and he puts the ball in spots
(13:55):
and okay, seeing his last start, I think gets you
ready four miles an hour?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
All right, well stop it, stop it.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
No, no, no, no, I'm saying by big league standards, You're like,
oh no, I'm being honest, and by big.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Slider was hitting eighty four, his friend, Come on, he
wasn't throwing eighty four on his fastball, on his four seam,
he was not throwing eighty four.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Okay, Well, the bottom line is this.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Bottom line is this.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
He's got to spot the ball. The Dodgers need him,
and I'll say this, heading into the season, the Dodgers
didn't think they need him right now. As a matter
of fact, he was going to be a luxury. He
just kind of be floating around if somebody needed a blow.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
They definitely need him.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
They need him, they need him, and unfortunately, Dodgers need
guys starting pitchers that can give him length. Clayton right
now is not a guy that's going to get you
into the seventh in he he's not a guy that's
going to go three times through a lineup. He'll get
through two, and I think he can be effective because
he again, like you mentioned, he's got great stuff. He
(14:58):
can he's a pitcher. Now he's learn that he can
place the ball. He's still got the great curveball, and
his velocity obviously is down. So even if he's at
ninety one ninety two miles an hour, ninety miles an
hour with the offset of his eighty two mile an
hour curve ball, he can throw hitters off for a
couple of rounds. But that third time around, you don't
(15:18):
want to have him.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
In the game.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
So you know he's going to give you five maybe
at best, but don't look for him to get into
the sixth seventh inning. And that's again going to be
taxing on a bullpen that's already pits more than any
other bullpen in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
David Vat saying, will jump on the program today at
two o'clock. He'll update us on everything now, Rodney, coming
up next, a couple of guests that you suggested for
the show. You want to talk a little bit about it.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Yeah, yeah, I've got some friends that are going to
join us next. They have a podcast called Talk Dodgers
to Me. Two brilliant young ladies, Melissa Meyer and Jacqueline Ruiz,
who host this podcast and it is a must watch.
They also you can find them on Instagram that way too.
(16:07):
But they talk Dodgers in a way, Fred that is
really specific. They understand the game, they understand the Dodger players,
they get it, and they are it's not just surface.
They get in deep with the Dodgers and how the
Dodgers operate. And they are true fans and it's gonna
(16:28):
be brilliant to have them on.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
So I'm excited about it.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Alrighty, So we have special guests coming up next on
the program. One o'clock, Delan Hernandez of The Times will
join us, and at two o'clock David Vansay is on
the show.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Oh yes, friends, very important to have some friends, Rodney
p Fred Rogan on a hump day. It is when
day and uh, we have some very special guests joining
(17:06):
us right now. If you get an opportunity, please please
check out the Talk Dodgers to Me podcast and follow
them on Instagram at the same name. My good friends
Melissa Meyer and Jacquelin Luiz, who hosts the show and true,
(17:29):
true blue Dodger fans. Ladies, thank you for joining us,
Thank you for bringing a part.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Of the program.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Rodney, thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
What an intro?
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Come on so much, Come on, ladies, show the oh,
thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Thank you for that. Now listen.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I stumbled on you guys by you know, just you know,
accident right before the Japan trip, and I saw you guys,
and I I started paying attention. And it wasn't just
like the surface Dodger fan stuff. It was you guys,
get in depth. And you have guests on I know
(18:15):
Earl Herschazer is a is a part of you guys,
and and and and does some some advertising on it
has been on your show.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Steve Sacks has been on your show.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
But first off, guys, how did you were you always
Dodger fans? And then how did this come about that
you started this podcast?
Speaker 5 (18:33):
Well, Jacqueline, you are yeah. I mean I was born
and raised here in la I was born in eighty eight,
so I went through a big energy where football we
didn't really have a big football team, so I was
My household was Lakers Dodgers from the start. There was
no question. Yeah, so yeah, I've always been a Dodgers fan.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
For me, I'm actually from New Jersey and booked a
one way flight here in twenty eleven. Started going to
Dodger games, started learning about the organization and the culture,
how they treat the players. We were in the postseason
every year. And I come from a big family of
sports fans, not one of them is a Dodger fan.
So I pretty much had to start a podcast to
(19:18):
find people to talk to about the Dodgers.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
All right, well, let me ask you this.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Okay, you told us how you developed or how you
thought about doing this. Who are you? What do you
really do? What are you doing life?
Speaker 4 (19:35):
That's so funny. I mean, this is Melissa talking. I've
had lots of different jobs over my fourteen year LA journey,
but it all kind of seems like it took me here.
I have a background as a life coach and with
a psychology degree, so that is a business I had started.
And then I really kept getting into the Dodgers more
(19:56):
than ever, and just like escaping into baseball and would
walk into grocery stores and around.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
The street and just be like, did you see Freddie's.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Home run last night? Or this or that? And like
didn't really like people weren't really meeting my excitement. Uh
So I just thought of talk Dodgers to me and
and got the handle on Instagram and found someone to
produce it and found someone to talk to. And then
last season, Jacqueline, who has a boutique, reached out for
(20:25):
me to wear one of her dresses on the podcast,
and as soon as we met, we just had an
instant connection and instant friendship and.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Just we're supporting each other.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
And I brought her on the podcast for this season
and we're just having so much fun.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Yeah, my my named Jacqueline.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
This is me talking.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
But yeah, I was born and raised here. I played sports,
and then I went to.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
So I went to a village.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
I went to a village Christian and then I went
and I went and played volleyball and softball at College
of the Canyons out in Santa Clarita, and then I
finished off at Seasun which I ended up getting my
degree in broadcasting journalism, and I worked with iHeart a
little bit, and then I ended up moving out to
Texas and starting my boutique and it went game day
(21:11):
and then that's when I moved back to La and
people were begging me for some Dodger stuff and then
I said, all right, let's do it. And then I
met Melissa and we kind of just the season last year.
October just went beautifully. Our boys really just showed up.
And now I'm on her podcast for season two.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
I mean, starting a podcast in the team winning the
World Series the same year. It feels really meant to
be in a lot of ways.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Seriously, Now, listen, ladies, a lot of people love the Dodgers,
and a lot of people are fans of the Dodgers.
But you guys decided to do a podcast, and it's
not just and again I encourage everyone to tune into
the podcast Talk Dodgers. To me, it's not just you know,
I'm a fan of the Dodgers. You guys get in
(21:58):
depth to details about baseball and the players and stats
and all of those things. Was this something that you
guys grew up with, that you were that involved in it.
I know, Jacqueline, you said, you know you played sports,
But when I hear you guys talk about, you know,
the pitching staff and the injuries and then batting averages
(22:21):
and get in details with some of your guests, it's
like you guys are almost in the clubhouse that you
guys got so much knowledge.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
I mean, don't tempt us with a good time.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
We're trying to get in that clubhouse. I mean.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
Something that's really cool is that growing up, my dad
used to call into the fan and he would go
in our basement bathroom where he installed the journals because
he had the ultimate man cave.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
And so I grew up.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
Listening to him call into the radio. So to be
talking to you guys right now is a really cool thing.
And my dad passed away when I was sixteen, and
he's really been my connection to baseball. So just like
thinking about him seeing what I'm doing right now, it
just like brings me so much pride and love.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Yeah, I mean for me, I just yeah, playing very
much fuels a lot of how I connect to the
game and just kind of connecting the athlete feeling to
what these guys are and all that. But I've always
had a love for the game, and I've always had
a safe space with my dad, my uncle, my friends,
like so many people that have made it so that
(23:24):
I could talk about it. And I don't know, you
just start learning and you just pick it up. I
don't even think I try. We also both just have
these growth mindsets where we want to learn and we're
so passionate about the game that we just want to
keep learning about it, and like we have different curiosities.
I love learning about the players and their mindsets behind.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
What they're doing, and I know all their wives' names,
their kids' names, but also we know how many home
runs each player has hit. I think something that I
hated like during my life is when people would be like, oh, wow,
you actually know what you're talking about. To me, that's
like the challenge to learn even more, right, And all I.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
Want to know is like, go ahead, no, go ahead,
no no.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
I was just going to say, what do you want
to know?
Speaker 4 (24:09):
I want to know why Austin Barnes was depaid right
before Clayton.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Kersha'll starts there you go, And that's what I was
going to ask the two of you, since you do
the podcast and you do know what's going on, what
do you think of that decision today?
Speaker 4 (24:24):
I find the timing to be very interesting because I
read a book about Clayton Kershaw that taught me how
mad he was when they traded aj Ellis and then
he didn't talk to the front office for six months,
so I know he has such a close relationship with
Austin Barnes. I find the timing to be interesting with
him starting on Saturday. However, I know that Austin Barnes
(24:45):
hasn't played very well, and I know there's been a
lot of talk about Dalton rushing. So it's like, I
get it, but I'm a little heartbroken. Also, I know
Austin Barnes is considered the captain, and I wonder what
that does to the clubhouse culture.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
I don't know, I got I got lots of offs.
There's a lot of emotion. I feel really sad, but
I also feel like we trust the team. We just
have to trust that they know why they're making the decisions.
But man, Barnes, no, what do you guys.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
Think about it?
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Well, I was saying the same thing. I just I
wonder how it disrupts the clubhouse because he's been there
since twenty fifteen, and from all accounts, every pitcher loves
the way he receives the ball and loves him behind
the plate. Now, obviously Will Smith is a better offensive
player and better probably all around player, but Austin Barnes
(25:42):
from a pure just catcher standpoint, the pitchers love him,
and to your point, the timing of Clayton Kershaw coming
back and him being DFA is just kind of interesting
to me, you know. So I'm a little concerned about
that because we all love we all love Barnesy. He
(26:03):
just does his thing and and it feels like he
belongs in a Dodger uniform, so that that that hurts
to see him go. One of the things I want
to ask you guys also is you know, what do
you what do you make of the.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Season so far?
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Because a lot of Dodger fans die are Dodger fans,
even though the team is at the top of the
league in terms of record, a lot of people are
not satisfied. And maybe it's because of the injuries. Maybe
it's because things that happened, like what happened last night.
And you guys were at the game last night where
the Athletics beat him eleven to one. But they're not
(26:38):
dominating or they're not undefeated right now on May fourteenth,
like a lot of people expected them to be. What
do you make of the season so far for the Dodgers?
Speaker 5 (26:50):
I feel like when people start getting nitpicky this early
in the season, and it's like, I don't know, do
you just not know baseball at all? Like I think
we would come off of a win seasons, so obviously
things kept going in our favors, so maybe people just
got really used to that feeling, and when things aren't
going in our favor, it's like, I mean, for me,
(27:11):
the teams that come to play the Dodgers are on
their a game from start to finish, and as they
should be, and so you got to let a little
bit of baseball happen.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
The fans really put the fan in fanatics, and I
think I've even I watched the game a little differently
now since having the podcast and really really getting into baseball,
where I'm giving our team a bit more grace because
this season is so long. It's so funny that we're
complaining about how our team's doing while we're the best
team in baseball. I mean, I know, it's like this
(27:44):
like mind game of like.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
I'm you're not playing the best ball, and it's kind
of frustrating, but you're still just like really good and
winning and you're actually playing pretty well as a team,
and everyone's stepping up randomly when they're supposed to and
they're swerving and it's like, I don't know full well.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Also, last season, we interviewed two Dodger wives, which it
was really fun to talk to them, and they talked
about how they watched the games and they can't really
hang on to every single win and loss because of
how long the season is, so I kind of try
and do it like that.
Speaker 5 (28:16):
I also think.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
That our management are being a little cautious. We got
a lot of guys on the il, which makes me nervous.
We've been using these bullpen arms way too much for
my comfort. But we've got a really great team and
we have so much depths that I think that eases
my worry.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
So you said a little bit like Andrew Friedman. By
the way, I don't know if he's been on a podcast,
but Andrew Friedman would sit and tell you I don't
even start worrying about anything until the end of May.
Then I started evaluating where we're at. But first you
have to get started and then kind of seeing how
you're going, and then we'll figure it out at the
end of May. So you now have the same philosophy
(28:56):
as Andrew Friedman, which is very impressive.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Wow, okay taking it to the front office.
Speaker 5 (29:02):
I liked it.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
I mean we started to see them we're undefeated, and
we're like, oh my gosh, we're gonna go one sixty
two and oh and then all of a sudden we
hit a cold streak. And on the podcast, our scene
is we're fine, guys, we're fine. You know, we're ride
in the highs and lows.
Speaker 5 (29:18):
I feel like there's plenty of baseball to be played,
and I would rather than be cautious about injuries now
than to push them and then at the end when
we really need them to, like you know, strike through,
everyone's like falling apart.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
So we're running out of arms and duellers going to
close us out like last year.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
So you mentioned you talked to some players wives last year.
Who'd you talk to? What did you learn.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
That was Alex Vessi's wife Kayla and Gavin Lux's fiance Mollie.
They were so awesome. I loved having them on. You know,
we learned so much about the players. What the Dodgers
do that I love is how well they take care
of the wives. They have someone and what they taught
us was there's an employee that their job is just
(30:04):
to take care of the wives and what and to
think of like what that does for the player to
just ease their mind knowing their wife and their family
are comfortable is so important. And that's why I think
the Dodgers go the extra mile and why I appreciate
them so much to think of things like that.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Yeah, no, absolutely, I mean we talk about that all
the time. The reason why the Dodgers stand out is
because they do the little things. I mean, we just
found out that they have two planes that they charter,
right that they have a plane for the just the players,
and then they have a plane for the personnel, which
no other team in baseball does that. I don't think
any other team in sports does that. But the Dodgers
(30:42):
have two planes. They upgraded the clubhouse not only for
themselves but for the visiting team. So it is the
little things that the Dodgers do that make them that
make them stand out. Melissa Meyer Jacqueline Ruiz are with us.
They host a podcast called Talk Dodgers to Me. Also, guys,
I want to know, so you've you've had opportunities to
(31:05):
talk to not only the wise but several Dodger former
players as well. Talk about that experience, and I know
Oral is one of them, and you also talked to
Steve Sachs. But being able to engage with some of
the Legends, how's that been for you, guys?
Speaker 4 (31:23):
That's been really cool. I mean I worked at a
restaurant in Beverly Hills as a hostess and met Oral
Hirscheizer eight years ago and he was so kind and
genuine that day that it really stuck with me. And
when I started the podcast, I had heard he opened
a sports memorabilia store called Legends Attic, and I called
and just introduced myself and asked if I could come
(31:45):
by and maybe record an episode there. And from that
day I created such an amazing relationship with the Legends
Attic team, including Oral, and their support behind our podcast
has been just incredible and is given me and now
us so many great opportunities. I had Miguel Rojas.
Speaker 5 (32:04):
Who was our first active player on the podcast last season.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
That was amazing.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
Yeah, I mean, my first interview for this season, we
just landed from Japan and we went straight into an.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
Event with Kirby Yates and after we interviewed Joe Kelly.
Speaker 5 (32:21):
Which was so much fun.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
To talk to him, got to sit down with Steve Sachs.
Speaker 5 (32:25):
For a while.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
It's really been cool, even like watching Steve and Oral
interact with each other, and we got to meet Steve
Garvey one day and just watching them talk baseball with
each other and you can't help but just stop and
stare at them.
Speaker 5 (32:41):
And they're probably like, why are they staring at us?
But it's just they get in so in depth and
then it's just the history and the stories and you're
just like I'm geeking out just staring at these men
talk about baseball.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
And it's been beautiful.
Speaker 5 (32:54):
I mean we've even been able to sit down and
at the Jime Harrien golf tournament found and really talk
to him, which this was the first one without Fernando
for him, and you know, we just like off the record,
got to sit down with him and have a thirty
minute conversation of just what that was like going through
you know, that whole era. And so it's been a
(33:15):
lot of beautiful pinch me moments of just like us
looking at each other like this is our life. I know.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
So cool.
Speaker 5 (33:21):
And now we're on the radio with you guys, I mean.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Geez, next listen listen guys before we let you go.
I saw recently because I do follow you guys, and
I really love what you guys post and I love
your podcast. But you recently were at an event at
Dodger Stadium. We just talked about little things that the
Dodgers do, but you're at an event of women in sports,
(33:45):
and can you just tell us real briefly about that
event and what the Dodgers have done for women and sports.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
You know, it's really incredible, and it kind of kickstarted
me starting the podcast. I went on my computer, was
in a really tough place in my life, saw that
there was a women in Sports event and just bought
a ticket and I went and I sat at a
table with a group of amazing women listening to me
passionately talk about the Dodgers, and they're like, you got
to do something about this, And that's when I started
(34:16):
the podcast from that event. Now this year is my
third year going and Jacqueline came with me, and from
the guest speakers and their stories to all the amazing
women you know from college looking for opportunities, it's showing
us what jobs exist that you don't even know about,
and just connecting us with each other. We had so
(34:37):
many people come up and tell us they listen to
the podcast, and it really is amazing that the Dodgers
continue to put this on and make it better each
year and allow us to just learn from women in
really powerful roles and how we could possibly get there ourselves.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
They are Jacqueline Ruiz and Melissa Meyer of Talk Dodgers
to Me the podcast. Follow them on Instagram as well. Guys,
thanks so much for joining us. I appreciate it. We
love you, you know, I follow you and appreciate you,
and keep it up.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Keep it up.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
You guys are inspiring for a lot of people, so
keep keep up the good work.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
Thanks so much. Guys, You're welcome on our show anytime.
Speaker 5 (35:24):
Let's make that happen.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
You got it.
Speaker 4 (35:26):
We're in, We're in, Yes, okay, booking it.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
Thanks guys, appreciate it. Roderie good call. It was a
good call. They are good man. I saw them, you know,
I was when we're in Japan, fred I saw them
posting a lot. They actually traveled to Japan and did
a lot of stuff, and then I just started following them.
I was like, it's not just the normal podcast. These
guys they know what they're talking about, and they get
(35:53):
in detail about the Dodgers and their play and it's
a good follow it's a good podcast.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
So iourage everyone to tune in. All right.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
If I've said this once, I've said it a thousand times,
and I don't mean to upset anybody. Really, nobody cares
what you think. Nobody cares what you think on social
media until you've made a mistake, and then they do.
Speaker 6 (36:19):
All right, then, Today's afternoon Delight is never Land by
Kid Cuddy.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
This song marks the first release of twenty twenty five
for the artists as he gets set to release his
short film of the same name, which would debut at
the Tribeca Tribeca Film Festival next month. In a statement cut,
he said, never Land marks the beginning of an exciting
new era for me. I'm really proud of this new sound,
(36:48):
and I can't wait for fans old and new to
experience what's coming again. Today's Afternoon Delight is never Land
by Kid Cuddy.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Why Ronnie? That was unnecessary.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Ronnie was talking to me my ear, Okay, he said,
as you like to call him, Kid Cootie. They're two
entirely different performers. Sorry I'm to say that on the air.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Okay, yeah, you told me that it was pretty funny though. Okay, look,
please don't let this cut you to your core.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
Please.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
No one's trying to be cruel, but this's is a
reality associated with life. I understand every single thing everybody
thinks is vitally critical and the entire world must know it.
And they get to know it because you post on
Instagram or x or TikTok, and if you're older Facebook,
(37:47):
you use social media. Truth of the matter is, and
this is what I don't want to upset you. No
one really cares what anyone thinks. That's really the truth.
But we have this need to tell everybody everything. And
if you get a couple of people liking something or
even responding, you go, okay, I'm making a difference. You
know how many people there are in the world, it's
(38:08):
hard to make a difference. But still we have this
burning desire and most of the time it really means
absolutely nothing until it does, and when it does, you've
probably made a mistake. And when you make the mistake,
despite the fact you may have lived in anonymity forever,
(38:30):
suddenly people know you, and that is the case of
Douglas Seafoo. And you go, who is Douglas Seafood. Well,
he is the Associate governor of the Florida Panthers. He's
also the CEO of Virtue Financial. So what does that
tell us about Douglas Seafood. He's got a lot of money.
(38:51):
He's got a lot of money. That's what it tells
us about Douglas Seafood.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
So listen to the story.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
And really, you wouldn't know his name unless I told you,
and I'm sure you don't follow him on social media.
But he's like number two with the Florida Panthers with
an enormous investment in the franchise. So, Florida is playing
Toronto in the playoffs and Seafood posted messages on x
(39:22):
during a spat with a Maple Leafs fan after the
Panthers defeated Toronto in Game four. So let's start with that.
He is the vice governor and the CEO of Virtue
Financial is now bantering back and forth on X or
(39:42):
Twitter with someone who supports the Maple Leafs. Okay, this
is a guy. We don't know what he looks like.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
He could drink beer.
Speaker 1 (39:50):
He could be a season ticket holder in Toronto.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
I don't know, but.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
Who this this person is no idea, We don't have,
no idea. We don't know, but we do know this
with Seafu is the number two guy in the organization.
So the fan opened the back and forth by commenting
on several high hits by Panthers players against the Maple
Leafs and then invoked the Israel Gaza war. Seafu had
(40:16):
displayed five Israeli flags in the bio of his ex account.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
So this is some guy. We don't know who he is,
where he's from, what he looks like, and now he
is commenting on several high hits in the series. The
guy who is number two in the organization, who should
be above everything, responds to him. He sees this, and
(40:43):
he responds. He calls him a whiny dope all right now,
if that's not enough, Later he posts eat shit you
know what that word is. Then he writes fifty first
state anti Semite loser, with an apparent reference to the
President's comments in recent months that he wants to see
(41:04):
the United States at Canada as its fifty first state. Okay,
this guy, Douglas Seafoo. You don't know who the hell
he is, and when he finished this conversation, you'll forget
about him and won't care. But the guy's got an
awful lot of money, has a very important job, and
(41:27):
is the number two guy with the Florida Panthers. So
he responds to some fan and gets into this with
him on social media. So what do you think happens
to Douglas Seafoo who just had this desire to start
with someone on social media? Okay, those posts were deleted.
(41:49):
His account has been deactivated, and Monday, the league suspended
Seafood from any involvement with the team or the league.
Next up, have a conversation with the commissioner to figure
out what's going to happen next. Again, no one really
cares what you think until you made a mistake. But
(42:11):
when you've made a mistake, then people care. What do
you think of that, Rodney, I'm so confused. I'm confused.
I'm confused and confused. Even when you were explaining it,
I was confused. Seafoo is the number two guy at
the Panthers. What you're saying, correct, and a fan said
(42:32):
something he got into it with the fan. Correct, and
it became racial. Yes, and so Seafoo. His response to
the fan was what Seafood's response to the fan, Well,
(42:57):
let's see. The fan wrote, Hey, what's worse using headshots
to win a series or using starvation as a weapon
to win a war? This is what the fan writes
to Seafood because Seafoo has this Israeli flags on his account. Okay, okay,
Seafood responds, he's a winy dough eight s fifty first
(43:19):
state anti Semite loser. Here's the thing, So that's what happened.
Why are you, Douglas Seafood?
Speaker 2 (43:27):
Why are you going at it? Yeah?
Speaker 6 (43:29):
Why are you doing this to a random fan? Why
are you even getting waiting?
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Why are you saying anything? You're the CEO of a
financial company and a number two guy with an NHL team.
Aren't you above this? Don't you understand with the responsibility
you have comes restraint. Why are you responding to arbitrary people?
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Why?
Speaker 1 (43:57):
Why would you even take ten seconds to consider that?
Speaker 2 (44:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (44:01):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's uh yeah, why would you even
consider that? Because I don't know the percentage, but there's
a number of fans, a big percentage of fans that
all they do is troll and try to get a
(44:23):
response out of celebrities, personality, sports figures, whatever and want
you to get you How do I get him engaged.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
I'm gonna say something.
Speaker 6 (44:32):
I'm gonna say something so bad to Lebron that I'm
gonna get him and engaged with me, and that I'll
become famous or I'll become known. That's what they do.
That's what so many people sitting in their basement will do.
And for him to be that naive to respond to
it is you question, Yeah, you questioned the judgment of
(44:54):
this guy. That's your number two. Why are you responding
to this? It's clearly what the guy was trying to
get on your your skin and trying to get you
to respond to him, and you did.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
You took the bait. You took the bait, and now
look where you are.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
If you need social media, Doug Seafood, then create a
different account. Why are you even on it? If you
want to know what's going on and I get that,
then create an account and just look at things.
Speaker 3 (45:28):
Turn off your comments, you don't, you don't have to
respond to comments. You can just post say look, I'm
gonna put this out and I don't have to. I
don't look at what a lot of guys, a lot
of people do, especially slaps do where they don't, you know,
because it's hit or miss. You put something out like
Lebron puts stuff out and fifty percent of the people
(45:48):
will go at him and try to antagonize him and
try to get him to respond, or any celebrity does that.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
But you can turn it off and so you don't
see it.
Speaker 3 (45:57):
You post what you want to post, you want to
put out there, and you let it go and people
respond and they do whatever they want to do, but
you don't see it. You don't get a chance to
see it, or you don't even want to see it.
Why is he looking at it and trolling his own
post or whatever and trolling social media and then responding
to some random fan again, ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (46:19):
Again.
Speaker 1 (46:20):
Everybody thinks they're important and everybody wants to say what
they have to say on social media. No one cares
really what you think until you've made a mistake, and
then they do.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
All right.
Speaker 1 (46:37):
Up next Dyllan Hernandez of The Times will join us
Roggin And Rodney News
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