Dodgers Territory - Garrett Crochet Rumors, CT-3B? Shohei Derby

Episode Date: July 1, 2024

Matthew Moreno from DodgerBlue.com joins the show to talk about the latest rumors involving White Sox ace Garrett Crochet and starting rotation concerns for the Dodgers.As the Dodgers leave San Francisco with some things to think about, DT hosts Alanna Rizzo and Clint Pasillas discuss the continued black hole at third base for LA and the plan to give Chris Taylor an extended look at the position. Will the Dodgers be rewarded for sticking with CT3 through his months of struggles?Finally, Alanna and Clint argue that Shohei Ohtani needs to be in the upcoming Home Run Derby as part of MLB's All Star Game festivities.Questions? DT streams Mondays & Thursdays LIVE at 3p ET/12p PT all season long on the DT YouTube channel! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Before investing in any exchange traded fund, you should consider its investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus, an offering circular, or if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully. While active ETFs offer the potential to outperform an index, these products may more significantly trail an index as compared with passive ETFs. ETFs are subject to market fluctuation and the risks of their underlying investments.

ETFs are subject to management fees and other expenses. Fidelity broker services LLC, member NYSE, SIPC. I can't do it today. I already have plans. Something came up. There are a million reasons to put off a cancer screening, but one reason to keep it. Early detection can save lives.

Every screening, every result, every early detection matters. At Pfizer, we're fighting against cancer, aiming for eight cancer breakthroughs by 2030. Join the fight against cancer and get screened at Pfizerfor-all.com forward slash screenings. Show he could choke on a hamburger. So are we not going to let him eat? Didn't Tom Brady trip over his dog?

Let's show him out. Not to participate in the Home Run, Derby. Oh, everybody. Good morning. I am Alana Rizzo. That is Clint Paseas. We are your two hosts for Dodgers Territory. What do you got there?

Oh, you're just waving high to the people. Okay. Don't forget to rate us five stars. Like, subscribe. Say yes to YouTube. Say yes to us. Dodgers territory, wherever you get your podcast. It's great to be with you.

It's been a few days since we spoke. Of course, our last show was on Thursday. So before we get into things, just your quick takeaway over the course of the weekend, my friend. Everything's fine. I'm totally not mad or upset or butt hurt about anything. Everything is fine. And I want to get myself some of those Mickey Mouse ears

that the Giants gave away on Sunday because that's a real pro move from an organization. Oh, it's ridiculous. You're so ridiculous because if we did that, if we would have come up with it first, you would have thought it was the greatest thing ever. So I don't want to hear it. Let's get into the big ticket. All right, Clint, I think the last thing you need to worry about, my friend, are the Mickey Mouse series. I think the bigger concern is the black hole that is third base. Go. Yeah, it's been a little bit rough, we'll say, numbers wise, what is it since? Where I'm at? 20, Kike Hernandez and Kevin Bigio, who have been. taking the lion's share of time at third base since Muncie has gone down. 21 for 135. That's a 156 clip, 40 strikeouts. Overall, not having a good time at third base. And that has now open up the door for Chris Taylor to get a run there.

The resurgent Chris Taylor, the dare I say, back from the dead, Christopher Armand Taylor, CT3, getting a chance. Nine for 20 over his last two weeks of the season. And what I like about CT3, Alana, you're somebody that did not give up on Chris Taylor. Chris Taylor, sorry, the Dodgers did not give up on Chris Taylor either. And it's not just, you know, it wasn't just a switch that was hit. It wasn't, you know, him getting lucky. No, there's actual swing changes that got us to this point.

And Dave Robert says he's going to get a run at third base and it looks earned. It looks earned. I don't ever give up on Chris Taylor. I know that there's a lot of people that wanted to take him to the train station. And if you watch Yellowstone, you know that reference, which, by the way, Kevin Costner and friends figure it out. So we can actually finish Yellowstone as a series instead of just like leaving everybody hanging on a cliff. But the point is, Chris Taylor has done some really good things in a Dodgers uniform. And I just was not quite ready to give up on him yet.

And it seems like he's kind of turning a corner a little bit. Is he an All-Star? No. Is he Shohei Otani? No. but I do believe that he has had enough success in that uniform with enough black type and enough stuff on his baseball card to warrant him getting another chance and getting this run at third base. Now, the Dodgers have the luxury of being able to continue to give him that run because they

have the lead that they have. They have the other talented guys surrounding Chris Taylor. So hopefully this is an opportunity for him to continue the success that he has had recently swing in the bat, not striking out, hitting the long ball. But where is Miguel Vargas? Why is Miguel Vargas not at third base? Well, they gave up on the Miguel Vargas third base experience, experiment a season or two ago. Two off seasons ago, the plan was, hey, this kid is going to take over at second base, worked all offseason, learning the new position with Dino Evil. Gavin Lux was there. They were putting in a whole bunch of work in the offseason at Dodger Stadium. And

the bat wasn't there. Something that was always part of Miguel Bargis' game was the bat. You look at his minor league numbers before making his major league debut. I mean, this kid was a hitter. He was a can't miss star hitter with the bat. The defense was always going to be questionable. So they did not like him at third base. Second base, not massive fans of him. Even though to me he kind of passed the eye test. It wasn't pretty. Advanced metrics will tell you, no, not great there. And now they've kind of put him in this weird defensive purgatory. where he's barely playing, but when he gets in the lineup, where are we at? We're hitting 324 at the Major League level this season, 914 OPS, 290 with an OPS over

1,000 at AAA this season. The bat is back, and they need to find a way to get him in the lineup because, you know, Kevin Bissio hasn't been great defensively at third. Kike Hernandez, Dave loves the defense at third or whatever, but if we can find a way to mix him in, he's got a strong enough arm, you got, you know, the best defensive coaches in the game at the big league level. At this point in the season, you're okay to kind of just try it, but I would rather see him not get buried anymore.

The kid's earning it's turning. Yeah, I'm with you. I think, listen, if you thought so highly of Miguel Largus, why are we limiting his at-bats? Why are we burying him in AAA? I mean, it's not like the bottom third of the order is, you know, crushing the ball and lighting everything on fire. So perhaps we give him a little bit more of a run.

Again, I'm never going to give up on Chris Taylor, but there is a spot in the infield for Miguel Vargas. Let's get this kid a little bit more time. But you know what? Let's talk to Matthew Moreno, who does a great job as the executive director of Dodger Blue. He's a good friend of ours. He's been a longtime supporter of Gidreys Guardian Foundation, and he's kind enough to join us today on this Monday afternoon.

And Matt, always good to see you. You have been a steady force in the Dodgers coverage for as long as long as you. as I know. So it's always good to have you here. Why should we be concerned if we should be about the hole in our minds at third base? I mean, I don't know if there's necessarily reason to be overly concerned just because Max Muncie is going to return at this point. At some point, I know, you know, his oblique injury has certainly lingered longer than we were initially told the expectation was, but we've all followed this sport for a long time. Oblix can certainly be tricky, so it wasn't too much of a surprise, at least for me, that Muncie wasn't ready yet.

So, you know, and Alana, like you were just saying, the Dodgers do have the luxury of, you know, a comfortable lead in the NL West, second best record of the National League, all that stuff. So even if Muncie were to miss another three weeks or a month, the Dodgers should be okay. They have been okay. My concern always with this team is what does it look like for October. And when you're looking to October, like I said, Muncie should be back at that point and that solves the third base problem. And in the meantime, if, you know, Chris Taylor is going to be getting more opportunities. there. He is certainly trending up the last 15 games, definitely the last seven games. Then that becomes, you know, an answer at least for the meantime. And then once once he is back,

if you need Taylor to platoon somewhere else, then he's in a much better position than what we've seen so far this season. Matt, you're somebody that's active on the social media machine. You know a lot about this team, a lot about what the fan base is thinking. What is the pulse of the fan base right now coming out of a series where they didn't look too good. Yeah, you love the come from behind win or sorry, the big extra innings win on Saturday. But how is the fan base feeling, in your opinion? Some frustration with how the weekend went, definitely. There's a lot of Kevin Bigio criticism, Kike Hernandez, as well as you said.

You know, he's oddly kind of struggled defensively recently. Chris Taylor, I think because he got off to such a poor start this season that his recent trajectory and upswing isn't necessarily being recognized. But, of course, you know, that tends to happen. can kind of remember what a player has been. And if, you know, Taylor's not hitting a home run or doing something in every single at bat, then it's, oh, you know, he's been struggling all season long. So, yeah, I mean, I think there's some frustration.

But it's important to always, you know, kind of take at least half a step back and really look at the entire picture of things right now. Matthew Moreno is Garrett Crochet and Dodger by the All-Star Break? No, I don't think so. Come on. Where do you think this team goes at the trade deadline? because they're in this kind of precarious spot where we know there's a lot of bodies coming back, bullpen, potentially starting rotation.

You know, you mentioned Max Muncie. Maybe there's an opening at second base. The outfield kind of seems to be figuring itself out. Which way, which direction do you think they're thinking at this moment? Yeah, so for me, like, I think they do, I think the Garrett Crochet stuff was interesting, and it is indicative of they are going to certainly address the starting rotation. And ideally, not just with, you know, somebody to kind of fill in, you're going to, they're going to look for, you know, some high ceiling.

I know that's a popular descriptor at times, but certainly a talented, you know, maybe not quite an ace, but somebody who could start the second game of a postgame series. And so a week ago, two weeks ago, I wasn't quite as convinced that they would look to address the starting rotation. But with that speculation, I think that becomes a focus. I think at shortstop, I'm not fully convinced that they go and get one of the big names. I know Boba Chet has been popular. The Brewers are playing well, so I don't know if they'll end up.

trading Willie Adamas. But it wouldn't surprise me if maybe they find somebody who could just kind of maybe spell Miguel Rojas at shortstop. It does seem like they might be more open to keeping him there once Mookie does come back. That being said, Miguel Rojas is older than he is younger. And it doesn't mean he certainly hasn't been productive or impressive. But the Dodgers have always been mindful of his workload and not putting too much on him. He's had some soft tissue injuries in the past. And they want to obviously avoid those moving forward. So it wouldn't shock me if they go starting rotation and maybe finding, you know, more of a defensive-minded type shortstop kind of second-level guy that you weren't necessarily anticipating.

Fidelity active ETFs have the flexibility to shift and transform as markets do the same. So instead of just riding an index, they can seek to outperform it by adapting to market conditions and pursuing new opportunities as they emerge. And while you get the potential outperformance of an actively managed fund, you can still buy and sell it on your terms, just like any other ETF. Markets can change in real time. Make sure your ETF can too. Learn more at Fidelity.com slash active ETFs. Before investing in any exchange-traded fund, you should consider its investment objectives,

risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus, an offering circular, or if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully. While active ETFs offer the potential to outperform an index, these products may more significantly trail an index as compared with passive ETFs. ETFs. ETFs are subject to market fluctuation and the risks of their underlying investments. ETFs are subject to management fees and other expenses. Fidelity brokerage services LLC, member NYSE, SIPC.

Hello, hello, I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Smart Talks with IBM. I recently sat down with IBM's chairman and CEO, Arvin Krishna. And I asked him, how can companies use AI to its fullest potential to create smarter business? My one advice to that. Pick areas you can scale. Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side. For example. If anybody has more than 10% of what they had for customer service 10 years ago,

they're already five years behind it. If anybody is not using AI to make their developers who write software 30% more productive today, with the goal of being 70% more productive, Yeah. Wow. So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it. We say you can leverage what we did. We're happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process, because the biggest change is not technology,

is getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things. To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com slash smart talks. I can't do it today. I already have plans. Something came up. There are a million reasons to put off a cancer screening, but one reason to keep it, early detection can save lives. Every screening, every result, every early detection matters.

At Pfizer, we're fighting against cancer, aiming for eight cancer breakthroughs by 2030. Join the fight against cancer and get screened at fiserfor-all.com forward slash screenings. Are there real starting staff rotation concerns? I have not thought, and Clint can attest to this, I have not thought that the daughters were deep enough in their starting staff. And that was with a healthy everybody. And it seems like nobody's healthy. So are you concerned about the Dodgers starting staff particularly?

I'm not worried about the regular season, Matt. We know that they're going to the postseason. But in a five game series, who were your top three? And do they need to go out and get a strong frontline starter? Yeah, I think you have to at this point. Yamamoto's injury changed a lot of things. And not only is it an injury, but it's a rotator cuff. And those are always tricky for any type of pitcher and obviously a starter.

Before that, I felt like the Dodgers did potentially have enough of a rotation. Bobby Miller has been more inconsistent than I anticipated this season. But factoring everything in, like you said, you know, the injuries, some of the performances. Yeah, right now it looks like you have Tyler Glassnow and Gavin Stone. And that's about it. And Gavin Stone, as great as he's been, he still, you know, would be. getting kind of his first taste of October baseball. And you never know. That could work out well. He could certainly rise to the moment. I think there's reason to believe he can, but also how much

is fair to reasonably expect out of a young pitcher in that situation for the first time. Yeah, we're looking right now. Tyler Glasnow is nearing his career innings limit or a career single season's inning limit. Stoner last year between AAA or sorry, AAA and the big leagues. He's got about 131 innings. So those are definitely some real concerns there. You mentioned Bobby Miller, who in your mind are you more concerned about in the long run for this season? Is it Bobby Miller or is it somebody like Walker Bueller who we have not seen anywhere close to vintage butane of old? Who's more standing out in your opinion? I think I'm more concerned with Bobby Miller just because I had more expectations for him this year. With Bueller, I thought if he somehow

comes back and is like a very, very good number three or a very, very good number four starter, great. But fact of the matter is, his second Tommy John surgery, he's been out for a long time. Like it was going to take him, I thought if anything, next year would be a better season for Bueller. So because of that, in my estimation, Bobby Miller was certainly somebody the Dodgers were counting on, I think, a little bit more. And so to see some of his inconsistency, obviously he only made, I think it was three starts before going on the injured list. He was out for an extended period of time. It's only been a couple starts so far. But what we've seen, I think there is reason to be more concerned with him because of, I think, what he means to the doctor.

for October. Matt, what's your bigger level of concern if that's even a fair statement? Is it the starting rotation and the lack of depth there? My words, not yours, or the bullpen? And also give us an update on Joe Kelly's status and if they need another like legitimate bullpen piece, Honeybun can only do so much, Matt. Yeah, I think the bullpen I'm not too concerned with. You know, hopefully Bruzenaradryl is back at some point this season. Joe Kelly is, you know, he's going to be out for still going to be out for a while. Dave Robert said his return won't come until sometime after the All-Star break. And that's obviously a loose sort of timeline because Joe will need to go

on a rehab assignment and all that. And for relief pitchers, that is certainly shorter than a starter. And so, you know, once he gets back, I think he could help. I think, you know, maybe the Dodgers could still stand to benefit from adding a relief pitcher. An experienced one, certainly doesn't have to be a closer. I know that there's a little bit of Kenley Jansen speculation out there, which hasn't been met by positive feedback, at least with the fan response that I've come across since that's come out. But yeah, to your point, Evan Phillips can't necessarily do everything. Blake Trannon and Daniel Hudson have pitched well. I know there've been some bumps in the road of late, but then after that, you know, you're sort of relying on Anthony Banda, Johann Ramirez, who have done

well. But again, these are inexperienced guys that, you know, you don't know how that's going to necessarily go come the postseason. All right. So the people in the chat are clamoring for some vintage Matt Moreno talk here. We know you're a big time foodie there at Dodger Stadium. We see it on the feed. Make sure you guys are following him at Matt. You, is Matthew double underscore Moreno on the internet? Yeah, it's the whole name there.

But I understand you got some excited coming up here. You're excited about, was it Japanese Heritage Night? Is that what it is? Ponzo fries? Yeah, this is interesting to see the Dodgers doing, like it says, for the first time. first time they've blended some Mexican-Japanese fusion food. I don't know if I'll necessarily be up to trying them. I might have to have Blake. I like to give him a hard time and say, hey, I'll recommend stuff and you try it and let me know. And if it's good, then maybe I check it out

after the fact. But I'm not the most adventurous person when it comes to food. I mean, I get it. Like, I totally understand what they're doing. I mean, nothing screams Japanese heritage like fries. I do get, though, Ponzu. Like, that part I understand, the Ponzu sauce. I get that. Let me ask you this. Best ballpark food, Matt, that you have ever had anywhere. Ooh, that's a great question. I'm going to go. So several years back, Pecco Park had this Philly cheese steak that they served on a pretzel bun.

And it had like kind of a spicy. The cheese that they used was like almost like a spicy nacho cheese type. That was very good. But then I remember I forgot what year I had it. And then I went back the following season and it was gone. And it hasn't been back since. You're the only one that's disappointing. That's cold-blooded stuff right there.

Hey, bring it back for our guy, Matt. You know, he's already had a rough enough season. By the way, great to see you back on your feet doing this coverage. You know, what we're all here doing. I'm going to put you on the spot here. Who is the starting shortstop for the Dodgers come October? Miguel Rojas. Giving some love to our guy, Miggy Row, Alana.

I don't know if you know this, Matt. I don't know how much you watched Dodgers territory. But, um, Clint Paseas is infatuated with Miguel Rojas. And Miggy Rose, streak just ended. But you have to admit, Matt, that that was quite the streak. And what he brings to the table as far as leadership, anyone that can coach and mentor Mookie Beetz on anything,

that to me is impressive. And Miguel can do that. I find it funny that everyone's like, oh, he's old. He can't do it every day. If he's old, I'm ancient and dead. But what do you think on his return trip to the Dodgers that he has meant to this club? He's been a lot. I mean, like you said, the leadership aspect, I think, can't be overvalued.

And that's something that I know fans sometimes are a little bit quick to dismiss. And especially, you know, not everybody is as fortunate if we have been to kind of be around the team, see Miguel Rojas before batting practice, during batting practice in the clubhouse, kind of the conversations he's having and just how much respect he commands, like you said. from Oogie Betts from everybody in the team. And, you know, I think to your point, like, yes, he wasn't, the streak was certainly fun and it was sad to see his undefeated record come to an end when he had a hit and all that. But the, and we were trying, actually, we were trying to drum up some NL MVP support for him.

I don't know why that wasn't happening. But yeah, you know, Rojas has been great. And I think it's been interesting is, you know, he's embraced any role that the Dodgers have asked. And this wasn't supposed to be it. He was even going back to last year, was going to be a utility infielder off. the bench, but then of course, Gavin Lux's unfortunate injury happened and that changed some things. Miguel Rojas was ready. He didn't have the season that he would have wanted out of himself, worked harder in the offseason, got healthier, further removed from his wrist surgery, and now

you're seeing, I think, some of the benefits from it. Yeah, I got a gripe about the whole Rojas situation before we get to Elisheva's comment here. I think everybody started getting too crazy, too loose with the ball there, and bringing up the streak. Miggy Roe talking about the streak with Chris. Rose, you know, they're talking about that on his show. Everybody's started talking about too much and you take the magic away from that one. That's what we do. That's what we do so well. We beat, I'm not going to say this because I'm an animal, I'm an animal advocate, but we beat stuff to death, right? Like, that's what we do. We like log on, like, we like lock on to streets.

We lock on to statistics and the guys hate that more than anything. So it's our own damn fault, by the way. Ellis Sheva Jones is such a good supporter of our podcast. I want to know what size shirt you wear. I want to know what your, your noggin sizes, because I'm sending you stuff. Elisheva, I need you to give us your address and give us your shirt and hat sizes. I'm hooking you up. Yes, no, you're not the only one that sees that Vizia is awesome. I just, do we, do we not talk about Vesia enough, Matt? I don't think, well, he gets talked about it. If he pitches poorly in one game, then it's like, oh, that's no one fair, though, right? Yeah, I mean, and that's, you know, that's always kind of

the battle with following a team and trying to, cover them and update fans on, you know, what's going on. It's, again, like to my point earlier, it's important to take that half step back, the full step back, kind of look at the bigger picture. You know, he has had some bumps in the road along his career, but he's also gotten back on track. He was demoted last year, came back, pitched well, had some early struggles this season, but I think is back, you know, into being another sort of trusted reliever for Dave Roberts.

Well, we appreciate the time, Matt. You know, hopefully we get you on again, and we have a crazy, you know, wide. trade deadline to cover or very little because we don't know quite what this team's going to end up doing. But I'm sure it'll be fun and sure it'll be exciting. Tell the people where to find you, of course, the executive editor over at dodgerblue.com, but tell the people where to find you on the internet, man. Yeah, well, I appreciate you sharing the fancy title. But you can find us just dodgerblue.com.

We have a great staff. We cover the team on a daily basis. Even an off day like today, we've got a bunch of content up for you. And over on our YouTube channel, certainly Dodger Blue 1958. We have a bunch of videos. and, of course, Twitter, Instagram, all that Dodger Blue 1958 as well. All right. If you guys don't know why they call it Dodger Blue 1958, you better recognize and start studying up.

Matthew Moreno, we appreciate you. As always, thanks so much. We will talk to you soon. Always a pleasure to talk to Matt with Dodger Blue. Fidelity active ETFs have the flexibility to shift and transform as markets do the same. So instead of just riding an index, they can seek to outperform it by adapting to market conditions and pursuing new opportunities as they emerge. And while you get the potential outperformance of an actively managed fund,

you can still buy and sell it on your terms, just like any other ETF. Markets can change in real time. Make sure your ETF can too. Learn more at Fidelity.com slash active ETFs. Before investing in any exchange-traded fund, you should consider its investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus, and offering circular, or if available,

a summary prospectus containing a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully. While active ETFs offer the potential to outperform an index, these products may more significantly trail an index as compared with passive ETFs. ETFs are subject to market fluctuation and the risks of their underlying investments. ETFs are subject to management fees and other expenses. Fidelity brokerage services LLC, member NYSE, SIPC. Hello, hello. I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of Smart Talks with IBM.

I recently spoke with IBM's new director of research, Jake Mbeta. We discussed his vision for the future of quantum computing. At IBM research, what we always do is answer what is the future of computing, whether it's coming up with new algorithms, coming up with better AI, coming up with quantum, or coming up with just how do different accelerators go together. It's our DNA to answer the question of what is the future. Isn't it a perfect problem for IBM because you kind of need to have a legacy of building stuff? Yes.

Building actual physical machines. Yeah, it's why I came to IBM. I wanted the experience, the culture of building hard things that others have not done before. Where do you imagine we are in the timeline of this technology? There will come a point when it will mature. Right? Yeah. My cell phone is a mature technology at this point.

How far are we from that point with Kondo? By 2029, we'll build the first fault-tolerant quantum computer. That is one that can run a very, very large. large problem. To learn how IBM is building the future of computing, visit IBM.com slash quantum. I can't do it today. I already have plans.

Something came up. There are a million reasons to put off a cancer screening, but one reason to keep it. Early detection can save lives. Every screening, every result, every early detection matters. At Pfizer, we're fighting against cancer, aiming for 80s. cancer breakthroughs by 2030 join the fight against cancer and get screened at Pfizer for all.com forward slash screenings time now for Leslix all right Clint me quickly introduce you to Kaya Kaya is a one-year-old lab mix she's a sweetheart

she's phenomenal with kids she is phenomenal with other dogs she is healthy she is spayed are about to be spayed she just passed her puppy obedience class with flying colors which is you know Nothing that I can say about you and I didn't pass any obedience classes with any sort of colors. She's a great, great, great dog. She is loving and wonderful. She's available for adoption. She's in a foster home right now, but wants a forever family.

Connect with us at giddreasegardion.org or hit us up on social media. Kaya is worth getting to know more about. I want to ask you this, Clint, about Shohei Otani. Has expressed interest, I believe. And of course, everybody I would think would like to see it. Shohei in the home run derby. Taken from both sides of the perspective, my friend, from a fan perspective and from an ownership perspective.

Yeah, I mean, the Dodgers are probably the ones that are in the toughest spot for this. Shohei has said he's down to do it if he is asked. I think everybody in the world would love to see Shohei Otani participating in the home run derby. But the Dodgers, understandably, invested a lot of money into this man. Two million dollars a year is what they invested. it. And of course, $700 million in the grand scheme of things. He is recovering from an elbow surgery. They do expect him to come back at some point as a pitcher and all of that. But that said, I think taking a few G-hacks out there in Texas isn't going to set him back massively. I think he can

do it. I think he can give the fan base what he wants. I think the Dodgers should be open to it. I know Dave Roberts has come out and said that ideally they would rather not have him do that, but they're not going to get in the way if he wants to do it. They're going to let him do it and get the biggest stars in the game. This is a global sensation superstar, whatever words you want to use. Everybody in the world knows about Shohei Watani, and he should be out there representing this great game, spreading the goodwill of baseball by hitting the shit out of some baseballs in Texas. I do not subscribe to the fact that playing in the home run Derby,

jacks up your swing. It does not. So stop it. And Shohei Otani is a global sensation. As you mentioned, I echo that, my partner. If Shohei Otani wants to participate in the show run derby, I should just freaking change it to show run derby. If Shohei Otani wants

to participate in the home run derby, then let Showhay Otani participate. We want kids to get involved and want to love baseball and want to learn about our great game. Then let the best players and the most dynamic players and the most unique players participate in this. You cannot live life and you cannot run a franchise, easy for me to say,

because I'm not a billionaire that has a team, but you cannot run a franchise based on what you think is going to happen and all this doom and gloom, like, what if he gets hurt? You know what? I have covered players that have tripped upstairs, tripped over their dog, like have been hurt their clavicle carrying deer meat up the stairs. Like there's not enough stuff that you can put in a collective bargaining agreement of what players are not allowed to do. because you cannot anticipate all of the weird shit that can happen to a player to get them hurt. So let Shohay Otani participate in the home run derby, put butts in seats. Let's see how awesome he is.

I'm all for it. I get it from an ownership perspective. You're trying to protect your commodity. And by the way, Javier Herrera should be the Grand Marshal of the All-Star game. Because if you're trying to protect Shohayotani, Javier Herrera is the man that you should be given half of Shohayotani's salary. because he just made sure his noggin was fine. Stephen Richter, Luis Robert Jr. was in last year's home run derby and is now batting 200.

Stephen, it has nothing to do with the home run freaking derby. It has to do with the fact that he's having a terrible year, Mr. Classic. And if Shoah gets injured from the derby, you know what? Shoah could choke on a hamburger. So are we not going to let him eat? Like, I'm not, I'm not into that. Oh, God, no, Colossal Jaguar. Listen, you guys, there are so much stuff that can happen.

You cannot live your life based on fear. You can't. He's not going to get, you know what? Edwin Diaz got hurt at the WBC. Are you not going to let him participate and play for his country? I'm sorry, if someone comes to me and says, hey, will you be the sideline reporter for Team USA or Italy or Cuba? Hell yeah, I'm in. What if I trip over my freaking IFB cord and smash my face into the ground? Oh, well, maybe I should be less clumsy. I mean, you can't, you can't live your life based on that. Let show hey play. let show hey play and things happen also you brought up the what's it called the deer meat i forget i remembered that who was that clint barmus clint barmas clint barmas of the colorado rockets and he you know they these guys a lot of these guys are hunters man

they're hunters and gatherers apparently they don't realize that we have freezers and grocery stores so they're hunters and gatherers and he went hunting and he was like carrying deer meat up the stairs or something and he heard his clavicle i mean this is tom brady tripped over didn't tom brady trip over his dog i mean like This is stuff that like you can't, you can't predict this stuff. Like what if you're up in the middle of the night and you stub your toe or you walk on your kids legos? Has anyone ever walked on a Lego? Let show me, Otani participate in the home run derby. I'll say this.

Showy Otani is a grown boy. He is a very large amount of man. I think he can handle taking 40 to 50 swings in a in a night, maybe more. You know, go out there to have some fun. Just, you know, if you feel tired, you can exit the derby. whatever. Do you want to grow this game? Do you want kids that have the attention span of a gnat pay attention to what,

I mean, Major League Baseball and Rob Manfred have done a tremendous job of doing some rule changes to do, you know, speed up pace of play. I love that. I'm all for the pitch clock. I'm four bigger bases. I'm for,

you know, stealing more bags. I'm for the ghost runner in, you know, in the 10th inning, not in the postseason, but I'm for the ghost runner, you know,

in extra innings you guys you can't worry about stuff like that you can't sorry and i'm a thousand years old so you can't you can't worry about stuff like that say i think there was also like somebody said it or somebody somewhere said that they changed some rules uh that should be a brett b says the new rules would help otani anyways i heard there were new rules i didn't look into that yet but they introduced and will be announced there's new rules to the derby today so maybe we'll talk about that Later. Maybe we can do that on Thursday. Yeah, Brett, be the new rules would help Otelian.

You're right. You're right, Brett. They would. Again, we don't have time to go into them now, but we will, maybe perhaps we'll address that. We actually have our show this week on Wednesday. We are not, we are closed on Thursday. It is the 4th of July Independence Day.

So Clint and I will be back on Wednesday, hopefully with a special guest. I don't want to spoil it in case I can't get them. One last thing for you, Lana, before we get out of here, because it's now July 1st, if you were to put a grade on this Dodgers team from what you've seen over the first few, month of the season, what would that grade be? Letter grade. I mean, it's so tough because how do you, how do you give anything but an A to a team that has a seven game lead in the division or whatever it is? But there's also an expectation that that's what you're supposed to do, right? I think they've done a good job with the amount of injuries that they've had, but no one feels sorry for the Los Angeles

Dodgers when it comes to injuries. Nobody cares. I say that all the time. Nobody cares. They're doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing. So I guess I'm going to give them an A minus. The bottom of the order needs to figure it out. And I'm nervous about. our starting pitching in the postseason. So I'm going to give this team an A-minus. We'll see what they do, what our boy Andrew Friedman does at the trade deadline. I have all the faith in the world in this team. I always have. Little Andy F, he's got to put in some work. Him and Brandon Gomes, put in some work, make some changes on the fringes. The bones are there. The meat is there. They just need to work.

What's your grade? And then tell me what you got going on tonight. I know you have a couple of shows coming up. So what are you got going on? So my grade, I'm not going to spoil it, because that's coming out tomorrow on my channel. So boom, teasers. But guys, join me tonight, my channel, All Dodgers with Clint Pesias. Hey, that's me. We are doing our Monday overreactions, Dodgers overreactions, via the voicemail hotline. So people call in.

They complain about the team, and I play it on air, and I react, and we talk about it. So that's tonight, 6 p.m. Pacific time. And then tomorrow, our friend Scott Gehrman, who has been on the show a few times. He joins me every month on my channel. And we grade the team and we complain about things and we try to spend some positive. So that will also be live 6 p.m. tomorrow on my channel before the Dodgers play those diamond backs. Scott Airman does such a good job. And I love hearing Craig Osterberg B plus. That's fair.

I think B plus A minus Craig. I think that's fair. I think you're being, you know, you're like it's just B. All right. Well, this guy was a tough grader. He doesn't like the bell curve very much. But that's fine. B.C gives them a B.

What is it a B, a C or a B, a two B. I don't know. I think that this Dodgers team is doing what they're supposed to be doing. Like, what A plus is, how many games have they played? 80 and O would be an A plus. I mean, I don't know what else to say. I mean, they're doing what they can with what they have and, you know, injuries, nobody cares. Nobody cares.

No one feels sorry for the Dodgers. No one feels sorry for the Dodgers. Nobody feels sorry for the Yankees. They just don't. And certainly nobody feels sorry for the Astros. Yeah, this is a team that doesn't have their ace and Yoshinoma Yamamoto, doesn't have their lead off man in Mookie, Bats. hasn't had one of their best relief arms all season in Bruce Darkradorol,

whole bunch of injuries and other problems, underperformance, and still looking at a team that's 19 or 20 games over 500. I would also argue with you, though, that Yamamoto is not the ace. Tyler's the ace. I think Yamamoto's are really good. I'm going to say Gavin Stone then, just for funnies. No, Gavin Stone now is the number two. Tyler is still the ace until he proves otherwise.

All right, Clint Pisces has so much going on on all Dodgers with Clint Pisces. YouTube tube in as Clint likes to say. Thank you for watching. Like and subscribe to us on our YouTube page. Of course, Cal Territory, our parent page. Please rate us five stars. We need it. We're desperate.

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