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00:00Let's welcome back to Shine Time, California Post senior writer, my guy Dylan Hernandez, who covers the Dodgers.
00:08Dylan, welcome back to the show, my friend. How are you?
00:11I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on.
00:13I absolutely, positively love everything about this series, what it means for baseball, what it means, frankly, for both these
00:22teams.
00:22And look, you've been covering baseball forever.
00:25So I want to get your takes. I'm always a believer in this.
00:29Sometimes in the course of a season, course of 162, there are just certain games, certain series that just mean
00:39a little bit more.
00:40Is that a fair assessment and backdrop going into this matchup?
00:46Yes and no. You know, I do think that the pitching matchups are pretty lopsided right now.
00:50Right. So the Dodgers, you know, if you look at their rotation, you know, in the top half, it's been
00:55Otani, Yamamoto, Glass now.
00:58Right. And kind of on the bottom half, you have kind of three relatively unproven guys.
01:02The name is Sheehan, Roki Sasaki and Justin Robleski.
01:04Now, Robleski's arguably been their best guy, you know, for the whole season.
01:08But, you know, you look at Sale, Strider, Elder.
01:11Obviously, the pitching matchups do favor Atlanta.
01:13Now, I do think where the Dodgers happen to be right now, which is, you know, their office is kind
01:18of scuffling.
01:19It's OK. This team doesn't quite look the way we thought it was going to look.
01:22You know, for them to get a chance to go up against really what looks like a real playoff rotation
01:28here,
01:29I do think is going to be a measuring stick, at least for the offense.
01:32Now, you know, again, if they wind up losing because, you know, Roki Sasaki gets bombed,
01:37I think you can kind of live with that if, you know, the again, if the offense kind of gives
01:42a good show
01:42against these quality of starting pitchers that the Braves are going to throw at them.
01:46I think it's a fair take. I echo that. And I think it's going to be results-oriented.
01:51I don't think there's any question about that.
01:53You referenced the offense scuffling. Obviously, we know all about the Mookie injury.
01:58You see, obviously, a lot of wasted great starts.
02:02Dylan, why has this offense scuffled like it has?
02:06And I firmly believe that, you know, I'm a firm believer of the back of the baseball bubblegum card theory.
02:13You know, guys who have certain batting averages over the course of 162 will live up to that.
02:18I don't worry big picture about the Dodgers offense. Do you?
02:24I kind of do, you know, just because I think kind of coming into spring even,
02:29one thing that was very noticeable was the number of guys that were kind of in their mid-30s, right?
02:34They were getting old together.
02:35You know, I think kind of very early in, you know, the Andrew Friedman tenure, right,
02:41they really kind of try to, you know, they were kind of prioritizing quantity over quality, I would say, right?
02:48And I do think everything kind of changed when they got Mookie Betts.
02:52It's like, okay, let's go out and just get the best players possible.
02:54Now, they did this year after year.
02:56And so what ended up happening is you kind of wind up stacking up a bunch of guys that are
03:01like a similar age,
03:02and they're all kind of aging together now.
03:03So, you know, between Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teosca Hernandez, Max Muncy.
03:09Now, I will say this, they all came into camp in great shape.
03:11But, you know, when you get older, things don't always work out the way you plan it to, right?
03:15So Mookie Betts gets injured running.
03:17You know, he's going to be starting a rehab assignment.
03:20We don't think he's going to be out that much longer, but that's kind of disconcerting, right?
03:23Now, I think Freddie Freeman has hit into a lot of bad luck.
03:26I think his performance has been better than his numbers indicate.
03:30That said, he's had some games where he just looks just kind of worn down,
03:34and you wonder, okay, this guy's 36, going to turn 37 now is the age of factor.
03:39Teosca Hernandez has been the guy that's probably the most disconcerting where, you know,
03:42he looked old last year.
03:44He, even though he came into great shape in a camp this year, he looks old too.
03:48And, you know, now that's where you're supposed to have the Otanis and the, you know,
03:54Kyle Tuckers and the Will Smiths, the guys in their primes, kind of carry the team.
03:58Now, none of those guys have gotten hot either.
04:01And so, you know, frankly, what has carried the offense up to this point have been like
04:05the younger guys that they weren't counting on too much.
04:07You know, early on in the season was Andy Pajes, Dalton Rushing kind of had a little bit
04:11of a run here.
04:13You know, right now, Alex Freeland and Haesong Kim are playing pretty well.
04:17But I think, you know, it will kind of come down to those guys like Otani, guys like Kyle
04:22Tucker, Will Smith, the guys kind of in their prime years, can they get going?
04:26And then, you know, again, with the older guys, look, I think you're going to understand
04:29that over a six-month season, maybe they're not going to give it to you day-to-day.
04:33But you kind of hope that they can give it to you semi-regularly enough that if the guys
04:37in their primes are kind of carrying this team, you know, that they will be able to get through
04:40a six-month regular season, which I think they will.
04:42And then hopefully in the playoffs, you kind of go into, right, that in good form.
04:46And those guys will kind of, you know, you hope that they'll come up in big situations
04:49like they have in the past.
04:50I totally echo that.
04:51It's a great way to phrase it.
04:53But Shohei Otani, Cy Young, could this actually happen, Dylan?
04:58I mean, the way he's pitching right now, you can make an easy case that he at least,
05:03right way to phrase it, best pitcher in the National League so far this year?
05:09Yeah, I think so.
05:10You know, I would like to see a couple more, you know, like longer starts, right?
05:14I'm a beginnings guy.
05:15I'm kind of old school in that way.
05:17Years ago, years ago, right, you know, when Kershaw and Granke were in the same rotation
05:21here, right?
05:22I think Kershaw finished the year with like 20 more innings and, right, Granke finished
05:26ahead in the voting.
05:26I would have given the vote to Kershaw, frankly, just because I think that you can sit here
05:30and say, hey, it's only one inning a start.
05:32But those innings add up over the course of the year in terms of resting the bullpen and
05:35stuff.
05:35So, you know, I would like to see some more length.
05:37But clearly, he's determined to do this.
05:39You know, and one thing that we saw in Japan early in his career, right, as he was kind of
05:43trying
05:43to establish himself as a two-way guy, is he would have these years where it's like,
05:47okay, the focus was clearly on pitching, and we would see him make great strides on the
05:50pitching side.
05:51You know, then the next year, it's like, okay, now I need to focus on the hitting.
05:54And you would see him kind of like really kind of grow as a hitter.
05:57And then the next year, go back to pitching.
05:59And, you know, you kind of go back and forth, right?
06:01And, you know, now obviously, this is kind of because he's gotten so good at both.
06:05Like, he's pretty good at both now.
06:07But, you know, clearly kind of coming into this year, I do think that the focus was on pitching
06:11just because I think he understands, you know, he's 31 right now.
06:15He will turn 32 this year.
06:17You know, if he has another arm injury, God forbid, you know, when he comes back, he's
06:22going to be like in his mid-30s.
06:23So if he wants to kind of leave his mark as a pitcher, this is his year to do it.
06:28I think we shouldn't forget either that, you know, the Dodgers came close to signing him
06:31when he was coming out of high school.
06:32And the vision that they sold on him then, right at that time, was, you know, we're going
06:37to make you the best pitcher in the world.
06:38And, you know, there's kind of this very famous goal chart that Otani made, right, as a high
06:43school kid.
06:44And it was all about pitching, right?
06:45So I do think that as good as he is as a hitter, and interestingly, right, all the teams in
06:49Japan, most of them thought he was a better hitter than he was a pitcher.
06:52American teams kind of like the velocity more, right?
06:55Americans, I think, kind of viewed him more as a pitcher.
06:57But I do think that there's part of him, right, that dream of being the best pitcher in
07:00the world is still in him.
07:02And you know what?
07:03Usually when he puts his mind to something, he winds up doing it.
07:06So, yeah, I wouldn't bet against him.
07:09You know, I mean, I love Yamamoto.
07:10I mean, obviously, I've watched the way the guy works and everything, and he's just the
07:14way his delivery and everything just seems so perfect, right, in terms of as a craftsman.
07:18I think he's a more skilled guy.
07:20You know, that said, I'm not going to lie, like last year during the playoffs, I remember
07:23talking to guys in the Dodgers front office saying, like, why isn't Otani your game one
07:26starter, right?
07:27Because just like as a competitor, I, you know, I think from like a mental standpoint, he's one
07:34of the most formidable athletes I've ever covered.
07:36And so, yeah, even if somebody might be a little bit better, if he sets his mind to
07:40something, I would bet that he's going to get it done.
07:44Do you think, and you and Jack Harris have done a great job peppering Dave Roberts with
07:49these questions.
07:50And frankly, I think Dave's had some really good answers, right?
07:54Should Otani hit when he pitches?
07:56What's your take all the way around?
07:59Yeah, so here's the thing about this, right, is that when you sign Shohei Otani, you're
08:04getting into the two-way business, right?
08:07You're getting into the dream chasing business.
08:10And, you know, and again, like, again, it's hard to kind of, you know, take ourselves back
08:1510 plus years, whatever.
08:16But like when he broke into professional baseball in Japan, there was a huge outcry.
08:21You know, how can this guy try to play both ways, right?
08:25If anything, he was kind of taken as being disrespectful to the game, right?
08:28How easy does this guy think professional baseball is?
08:31And, you know, guys that are, you know, like Hall of Famers in Japan, those former players
08:35were coming out and like calling him out on this stuff, right?
08:38So there was a very kind of negative reaction to this.
08:40And I think one thing you kind of have to understand about Otani is that that's what
08:45he's about.
08:45That's what's kind of really characterized his career is, okay, when everybody thinks
08:49he can't do it, he's going to do it, right?
08:52And so I think that was the reason he chose the Angels, frankly, right?
08:55If he, you know, say signed with the Yankees and all of a sudden you're in contention,
09:00they might force you to make that choice, right?
09:02Hey, we really can't afford to have you hit or we can't afford to have you pitch, you
09:06know, do what's better, better for the team.
09:08I think he purposely went to a team that was going to kind of allow him to do both, right?
09:11And so he's a dream chaser.
09:13I think the Dodgers knew that.
09:14So this is, you know, Roberts at some point last week said, you know, this is a moot point.
09:19He's going to do both, right?
09:20And I think, you know, very smartly, Ohtani is like basically playing for free.
09:25He's deferring all of his contracts.
09:27He's getting paid two million bucks a year.
09:29And one thing that has done, I think, is it has kind of subverted the traditional employer-employee
09:35relationship, right?
09:36Because like, let's just say, take Juan Soto, right?
09:38If, you know, Stevie Cohen wants Juan Soto to make a public appearance somewhere, or he
09:43wants him to do something somewhere, Juan Soto kind of has to do it, right?
09:46Because, you know, Cohen's paying him.
09:48In this case, the Dodgers aren't paying this guy.
09:51They're making hundreds of million dollars in revenues just because he's there.
09:54And I think that probably that was kind of part of the calculus, right?
09:57Is that like, OK, I'm going to put myself in this position where I'm going to buy my freedom
10:02in a way.
10:03And so, look, as long as he wants to do this, I think he's going to keep doing it.
10:07And, you know, personally, you know, again, my mother's Japanese.
10:11I'm very, I kind of grew up in that culture.
10:13So I think I understand it.
10:16This is about like, again, this is about like dreams, right?
10:18And kind of pushing the boundaries of what's possible.
10:21And the truth is, it kind of doesn't matter.
10:24The Dodgers are going to be playing baseball in October.
10:26I'm sorry, right?
10:26It doesn't matter.
10:27Like, if they win, they lose in the regular season.
10:29It doesn't matter.
10:30They're going to get to October.
10:32You know, and then if you have to make some decisions there, you make them there.
10:35But this to me is just, again, this is just kind of part of his journey.
10:39And if you got him on your team and you signed him, you made that commitment to him,
10:42I think you're obligated to kind of see this through.
10:44And the Dodgers, to their credit, are living up to that agreement.
10:48100%.
10:48And this is the greatest answer I've heard on this.
10:50I mean, phenomenal breakdown on every single level here on why this is the case and why
10:56it makes sense.
10:57Dylan, before we let you go, you referenced something at the end there that I want to
11:01hit you up on.
11:01Because last time we had you on, you know, you said 120 wins for this team, and I agreed.
11:06I didn't think that was a crazy take.
11:07We were on the same page.
11:09So, look, I still think Dodgers are winning the World Series.
11:14I don't scream that like I did.
11:17I think, as an example, my Yankees feel great.
11:20I think the Braves can compete.
11:24There could be other teams.
11:25I mean, the Cubs, all they do is keep winning.
11:28You know, Boyd comes back.
11:29We could talk about Chicago if we won.
11:31So, what is now your expectation for the rest of the regular season for the Dodgers?
11:37And are they unequivocally, in your mind, the best team, team to beat in baseball?
11:43I still do think they're the best team just because they're going to have the best rotation,
11:47the deepest rotation, especially when Blake Snell, right, is just around the corner from
11:51coming back.
11:52I do think that the experience kind of, right, the age thing, it's kind of a two-way, right?
11:57It cuts both ways, right?
11:59On one hand, you're older, makes it probably tougher in the regular season.
12:02You know, I think that's going to come up big in October for them.
12:05Absolutely.
12:05Now, I do think, you know, Edwin Diaz getting hurt and being out for a while.
12:09I do think that we're going to see the effect of that on the bullpen at some point, right?
12:13And so, last year, kind of in the middle of the season, they went through a bit of a
12:16slump where they couldn't really close out games.
12:18I wouldn't be shocked if something like that were to happen again because right now, every
12:21time they have a lead, they keep going back to the same three guys.
12:24Those guys are going to get worn down at some point.
12:26I expect that to be a problem.
12:28But, you know, again, you know, with a lot of these offensive problems, again, I just
12:32kind of referenced the age stuff.
12:34I think it's going to come around because whenever Otani gets going, the team kind of
12:39seems to get going.
12:40And look, he's traditionally maybe not quite this slow, but he has always kind of been
12:45a slow starter.
12:46You know, he usually picks up around June, late May.
12:49And I expect that to happen.
12:51And once he kind of gets going, it's going to change the dynamic of everything.
12:55Because right now, even, you know, frankly, he went through a stretch, you know, when
12:59the team was in San Francisco.
13:00He was like an automatic out.
13:01And he just kind of, right after that, he kind of started taking his walks.
13:05All of a sudden, he's on base.
13:06He's stealing bases.
13:08There's just a presence at the top of the lineup that's just different.
13:10And that was without him really hitting.
13:12Once he kind of gets going, it's going to kind of change everything.
13:14And I think the way we view this team is going to change completely.
13:18And I just expect that to happen just because he's Otani.
13:22He's not going to go through the whole season like this.
13:24No chance.
13:25Dylan, you're the best.
13:26Unbelievable stuff.
13:27Always love having you on the show.
13:28Phenomenal work with the California Post.
13:30Enjoy this series.
13:31I think it's going to be terrific for baseball.
13:33Terrific for you guys with the California Post.
13:35Keep up the great work.
13:36And we'll talk to you again real soon.
13:37Hey, thanks so much for having me on.
13:39You got it.
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