Dodgers Territory - Matt Kemp Joins! Tommy Taters, Yamamoto Hope, Buehler’s Huge Step Back

Episode Date: September 12, 2024

Alanna Rizzo and Clint Pasillas talk about the berth of "Tommy Taters" and the statement made in Yoshinobu Yamamoto's first start back from the injured list. (0:46)(9:14) Our hosts discuss how Anthony Banda’s self-inflicted broken hand poses problems for the Dodgers' bullpen. Use promo code FOUL at Navage.com/FOUL to order a Navage starter pack and you’ll get a cleaning kit as a FREE gift with your order!(12:51) Dodgers great Matt Kemp joins the show to talk about his recent retirement, playing for the Dodgers, his legacy and much much more. It's a chat that's sure to put a smile on your face.Dodgers Territory airs LIVE on Mondays & Thursdays at 3p ET/12p PT all season long on the DT YouTube channel! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!Go to vuori.com/FOUL for 20% off your first purchase and discover the versatility of Vuori Clothing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kentucky can count on bourbon, basketball, and 975. WAMZ, Kentucky-N-A-N is number one for country. Hey, it's Rachel Elliott, and we never take for granted that you make us part of your day. That's why we make it a point to play your favorite country. Whether you're starting your day off with the Bobby Bone Show, making your workday go a little faster by hanging out with me on the job, or dealing with that Gene Snyder traffic on the ride home with Corey Calhoun, you can count on us for the best country music in Kentucky. In Louisville, you can catch us on the radio dial at 975 and anywhere on the I-Heart Radio app. I mean, I feel like people play better when they're in that uniform because I feel like Dodger fans do a really good job of holding us accountable when we suck. They're going to let us know when we suck.

Hey, hi, hello, everybody. Welcome to the live edition of Dodgers territory on this Thursday afternoon. I'm Alana Rizzo alongside my guy, Clint Paseas. We're taking you through the next 30, 35 minutes. We appreciate you. Join the conversation. Get those questions in. Load up the chat for us.

Rate us five stars. Subscribe. YouTube wherever you get your podcast. By the way, Beast Mode, Clint Paseas is going to be on the show today. Matt, Ryan Kemp, is scheduled to appear. Before that, let's get into the big ticket. Let's do it. All right, taking a look at the Cubs series. That just happened. The daughters are off today before they start another series. What did you take away from it? What was your biggest headline? Well, you don't want to lose that series against the Cubs, but if we're looking positive, we're going to spend positive, I can't not be happy about seeing Yoshin, Nobu Yamamoto absolutely carve up the freaking Cubs, four innings, eight Ks, a run, was a three hits. He just looked phenomenal. The ability to dominate still there despite missing, you know, what is it, close to three months with that shoulder injury.

I've been telling you, Alana, he's my game one guy. And I think this has to solidify it even more. Yeah, the Cubs aren't, you know, they're not the 2016 Cubs. They're not the Yankees or whatever. they're okay. But I like what you see out of Yamamoto. What do you think? One thing I took away from this has nothing to do with the Dodgers. Pete Crow Armstrong is a hell of a defensive outfielder. My goodness, some of those catches. Max Muncie's got to be like, what do I have to do to get a home run? But anyway, good for him. He looked great defensively.

But yes, I was wondering what Yoshinovo Yamamoto was going to look like coming off the IL. He's been on the shelf for quite some time. You say he's an ace. You were very excited about that. He looked good. I mean, he did show me something there. I still think Flaherty is our number one starter unless Tyler Glasnow comes back and he's okay. But Yoshinoa Yamamoto looked really good. Looked exactly where he needed to be coming off the IL. You know, you got two and a half weeks.

I mean, wild card round Clint Paceas, Clint James Paseas starts three weeks from yesterday. So we're running out of time here. But he did look good. I mean, he goes four innings, gives up the four hits, just the one earned run. No base on balls, which you love to see that. And he had eight Ks. So for what we expected him to give in terms of the amount of pitches he was going to be allowed to throw, I thought Yoshinovo Yamamoto looked good.

On the position player standpoint, Tommy Edmund had one heck of a series. Tommy. Tommy. Tommy Taters. This guy, back-to-back, multi-homer games, is hitting 300 as a Dodger OPS, over 800, playing some really nice center field, playing some nice shortstop. It's like maybe Andrew Friedman in the front office know what they're doing at the trade deadline, but this kid has been a fun addition to the lineup. He's swiping some bags as well, hitting with runners and scoring position. He's getting on base, keeping innings going when there's an out, two outs.

He's doing a little bit of everything. And I think he's filling a massively important role there in like the lower half of the lineup where, you know, behind him or in front of him, you're going to have Max Muncie, who we know what Max Muncie can do and just makes this lineup once again makes it that much deeper and that much more frightening when you get into a short series or even a long series in October. But Tommy Edmund, that was great, great, great pickup for this team. Yeah, six for 13, four home runs, six RBI over the course of that breakout series for him. And again, I was super psyched about, you know, some of the folks coming over.

I didn't know what we were going to get from Tommy Edmund. He's turned into Mani Ramirez, Juan Torrevio. I don't know about that. I don't know about that. Calm that. calm down, slow your role there a little bit, but he looked good. And again, to your point, given some depth to the lower part of the lineup, a great defensive player, I'll take it. Linda de Casale, I'm going to go to, I'm going to say that Linda's Italian. Linda del Casale, PCA and Shohei

worth the price of admission, no doubt. I mean, they were absolutely incredible. By the way, I mean, Shohei, again, show Tommy, Bob Nightingale, what's up, my man, joining the show. We appreciate you. Probably not really, Bob Nightingale, but that's okay. The point is, Shohay's close again, and it's really good. What did you think about the fact, though, in your opinion, Flaherty and Yamamoto, two good starting pictures we feel good about in terms of health and performance. I like that, but two's not enough, Clint. Yeah, two is not enough.

There's some help on the way. They say we had some positive progression with Tyler Glass now this week. He's going to throw, I think it's a live bullpen tomorrow. and then after that they're set, if all things go well, they're set to activate him, and he'll be another guy that's on pitching, you know, an inning limit or pitch count. But beyond that, you know, we were hoping to get something out of Walker Bueller. That's not a thing. Bobby Miller, I'm sorry, Bob. I talked about him on a post-game stream on my channel last night.

I'm out. I am strongly out on Bob Miller. It's not even Bob. It's Robert Miller. I'm done. His season should be done. I don't think he's going to have provide very much. you know, a positive, he's not going to be additive to this team in October.

But yeah, there needs to be a third guy. There needs to be a fourth guy in a postseason rotation. And they don't quite have those dudes right now. Of course, Gavin Stone, most likely done for the year with that shoulder inflammation, maybe could come back in an LCS situation. They don't know. We don't know where he's at. But you're missing some guys.

And once again, we come back, we circle back. It's full circle. Alana, you've been worried about the starting pitching situation all season long. and you wonder where the team would be at without that Flaherty edition, but they still need more. I'm still worried about it. I'm still worried about it. You can't go into the postseason with this many question marks.

What about Landon Nack? Is that enough for you? You know, he's looked a lot better. He showed a lot in his kind of spot start there on Friday. He's going to get another start this weekend in Atlanta, whether it's Friday. I haven't seen if they've announced the rotation yet or whether that's Flaherty on Friday and then Landon Nack.

But he's got a real opportunity in front of him, especially with Walker Bueller, kind of taking a big step back in this Cubs series. You know, you wonder, I'm still going to hold out hope. I'm very much, I love Walker Bueller. I love what he's done for this organization. He's an absolute monster in the postseason, but he's pitching his way out of any possibility

of being a part of this postseason rotation or even, you know, the pitching staff as a whole. Landon Nack has an opportunity right in front of him if he can just give this team five, six solid innings over his next two or three appearances, because he will be in the rotation, he will be getting starts. He could be that guy that sneaks in and plays an important role as a number four guy for this team in October. It's crazy to me to think that there might be a situation, Clint, where we have a postseason.

We don't have a Justin Verlander or Kershaw on a postseason roster for the Houston Astros or the Los Angeles Dodgers. Let me talk to you a little bit more about Walker. It's one thing when you see Walker and you just know that his stuff isn't quite right because he's just not quite back to where he needs to be pre second surgery. It's another thing entirely when Walker Bueller, who is one of the most confident guys I've ever seen take the ball, one of the most confident humans in general, and you see quotes that you start to question whether he's questioning himself as far as where he's at mentally.

You can see a quote by Fabi and Ardaya, who does a great job covering the Dodgers for the athletic, where it says, I screwed us from the jump at some point. Given the way the season's going, I'm kind of just trying to survive it at some point. That does not sound. You know who that sounds like? Remember Mike Bullsinger? Oh, man. It was like, you know, I'm just not a starter. I don't even know why they run me out there every fifth day, which, by the way, I'm totally paraphrasing.

He probably didn't say it exactly that way, so please do not start yelling at me on Twitter. but it reminds me of a guy that doesn't have any sort of confidence, and that is a complete 180 from who Walker Bueller is. Yeah, I mean, he's a thousand percent gone through the ringer over the last three seasons, but this season has been as close to a nightmare as you can get for Walker Bueller. They've tried everything. I think they've literally thrown the kitchen sink at it, and it just has not worked.

He had that little stretch where things were kind of trending in the right direction, but right now it's just, it's not there. the mentals are not there and it's kind of a situation you know i'll bring up gavin lux in this you know early in the season he wasn't saying very much didn't have that kind of um he didn't have the mentals on his side with that the confidence on his side now you see a completely different human being and gavin lux when he steps up to the plate that's just completely m i a right now for for walker bueller and i he doesn't have time he really does not have time to find it i don't think he does for this team let me ask you a question let's talk

about Anthony Banda here for just a hot second. On Fair Territory, Ken Rosenthal, on his show, talked about a dude and a dork of the week. And Anthony Banda was a candidate for Dork of the week. And in a moment of unclarity or whatever it was that Dave said, a moment of frustration, he decides to punch a wall. Why do pitchers always punch waltz? Like, can we find something else for them to, like, get their stress? Give them a stress ball. Like, let's get somebody, Gidre's Guardian Foundation, we'll start sponsoring stress balls. Because why are you punching walls? You're jeopardizing your season.

You're jeopardizing your health. You're jeopardizing your career. And you're not for nothing. You're effing over your team. Damn straight. The team part is the part that frustrates me more than anything. But it's stupid. It's embarrassing.

And I mean, we know Bonda already feels dumb about it. We know Dave is annoyed. The team should be annoyed. But guys, if you're going to punch shit, don't use your pitching hand. Don't use the moneymaker. Use the other one. They can figure something out if you're, you know, hitting shit with your right hand.

Or here's something. Maybe just don't punch with any hand. Maybe you just don't punch stuff. Like you're not going to win against a wall. I have yet to see somebody punch a wall or run into it, Jake Plummer, Denver Broncos quarterback, and live to see it through it. Like that's just so dumb.

Like, I mean, come on, man. Like, I just, don't your sponsored break rooms. I just, you know, I think it's silly. But anyway, not for nothing. Now you're hurting your team. And you can ill afford to do so. You know, this is where I feel bad for pitchers, because Alana, you were in that dugout for a long time with the Dodgers. You know there's the tunnel.

There's the door that has stayed. Well, there's also, yeah, there's also the bat rack there. But there's that door that takes its fair share of abuse. At least hitters get to swing a bat at a door or some inanimate object, which is also dumb. We'll throw it out there. It is very dumb to do that as well. It's also dangerous. But with pitchers, they have to kind of like, what do I do with my hands?

Well, I guess I'm going to just start. You mentioned the bat wreck. Andre Aether took a bat to that door, too. So it wasn't just the bat rack. If you guys ever get a chance to take the Dodger Stadium tour, they'll take you through the dugout there. Just look at those double doors that take you into the tunnel and into the Dodgers Clubhouse.

You're going to see some frustrations. Oh, there's some frustration, no doubt about it. All right, Beast Mode is coming up in just a few seconds before we listened in on Matt Kemp and welcome into the show. Let's take a quick word from AJ. Krasinski, Eric Kratz, and Scott Braun. Congestion from sinuses, allergies, or a cold can be all-consuming. That includes snoring for me.

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Thanks to our friends at Navaj. There he is. Matt Ryan Kemp joining the show now. Matt, it is always great to see you. First of all, before we get into this, say hello to your beautiful mother. I want to say thank you, but before that, congratulations on a career. that has just been so fun to watch. What was it like for you?

You've had a moment to reflect on it, to go back to Dodger Stadium and retire as a Dodger. What was that experience like for you? It was unbelievable, man, to be able to see a lot of familiar faces and to be able to just be around the boys again, be in the locker room. There's a lot of stuff you miss about being a baseball player,

not just baseball, but just the camaraderie and to be able to be in the locker room with the boys and to do all those things. And even be around the great fans, there was a lot of love. And, you know, I miss being there day in and day out. But it was a good goodbye. And now we're in a different stage of my life.

And now I get to go to the stadium as just, I guess, a regular fan. I want to follow up on that for a second before we let Clint jump in here. It took you a minute to be able to want to go back to the stadium. I mean, it's hard when you're an athlete and you finish your career and it's all that you've ever known to come to terms with that. How long did it take you to do that and know that you are all right? What was my last? I mean, my last baseball game was 20-20. It's 24.

So my plan was to retire at the age of 40. I'll be 40 in 12 days. So I still should be playing baseball. My plan was I still should be playing baseball. but God's plan was bigger. It took a while, man. It's something that I've been doing since I was four years old. And I mean, I guess to say goodbye,

there's some players that never even have retired. So they haven't like formally retired. But for me, it was just to say goodbye to everybody and kind of just start that next chapter in life. You know, Matt, we won. We appreciate you coming on. We appreciate the video we're seeing here. You know, that's inducing.

I love that you put that together. Dodgers fans are going to love you for the rest of their lives. Appreciate everything you did. What's the thing you miss most about the game and putting on a Dodger uniform? Man, I mean, there's a lot of different things, but, I mean, nothing really matches Dodgers Stadium at night playing against, I don't know, a rival or the Arizona Diamondbacks or the Giants or whoever. or playoff baseball, Dodger Stadium. Playoffs against the Cardinals, baby. Yeah, it's just a different feel.

And it's crazy, man. You see a lot of guys come over from different teams. And every time they experience putting on a Dodger uniform, I mean, I feel like people play better when they're in that uniform because I feel like Dodger fans do a really good job of holding us accountable. When we suck, they're going to let us know when we suck. And for me, it's like, I needed to, when I sucked, I needed to hurry up and get out of that

because I didn't want them bullying me or being mad at me. So they hold us accountable. And, I mean, just the energy in there is electric. And, you know, you could be in a batters box and you can look in the stands and you might see one of your favorite actors or actresses or models or whoever. But there's just something about L.A. that's that you can't repeat or anybody. It's just one of those places that you have to go there to see it for yourself. It brings out the best in you. Yeah, we've heard a lot from other players kind of coming over

and sharing that sort of that feeling you're saying there. You have to play better when you're wearing Dodger Blue. Just before you joined us here, I was talking about that, that poor defenseless door there, the double doors down. I was cracking up. That's what we were told before we were able to see. You talk about that. You're holding yourself accountable there or whatever.

You're playing like crap. You're going to take it out on some things. What's the wildest situation? Either maybe you've gotten yourself into. You've seen a player. Of course, we remember Dre Day going off on the bat rack, an iconic. I mean, that was, that was, yeah, I wasn't really a bat rack guy. If I was going to, if I was going to do something, it was going to be where somebody didn't see it.

But Dre was definitely known for that. But the crazy thing about it is, like, for me, that was. was like something that Dre would do. And then the next at bat, he'd go up there and hit a home run. So it was kind of like something that he needed to just get out of his system. It would calm him down. But the crazy thing is when he started having kids, you started not seeing it as much. He was way more calm. So the younger, the younger Dre, when he had no, when he was kidless with just with just his wife, he was nuts. And now he has four kids. He and Maggie have four kids. So how has becoming a dad, you and Amher,

have a little girl, just beautiful baby girl. How has that changed you, Matt? Oh, man, it just made me realize that it's not about me. It's not about me. It's not about anybody, but, you know, being there from my daughter, being a dad, and it's kind of cool to be able to, like, have Tyler as I've gotten younger, because I have a lot more time to do a lot more things with her,

rather than if I was playing, I'd probably be a lot more busier. But it's definitely changed my life. And I mean, it's the best thing that's happened to me. She's three years old, but she's crazy. And it's hard to keep up with her because she's probably one of the most active kids I've ever known. Yeah, like daughter, like daddy. What was it like? We had a fan question that wanted to know here.

What would that chemistry was like between you and Andre? I mean, it's so important to have your outfielders have good communication. I do believe you guys are boys. What was that like for you? Yeah. It was great. You know, me and Dre, we first met each other in the Fall League. And he was actually playing for Oakland at the time. And I've told this story before, but when he got traded over from Oakland, you know, Oakland was pretty much known for like,

I think they had a rule in the minor league where every tenant bats, they had to have like three walks. And I was like, when he got traded over to L.A., I was like, hey, bro, that doesn't slide here. Like I was like, we hit bombs and we drive and runs. And he's like, I got you, man. You know, he always had really, really good plate discipline. But, you know, he became more of a power hit than when he came over here because he was trying to keep up with us. But our chemistry, man, I remember one season we got pretty much called into the office.

And they told me and Dre that, like, right field was one of ours. We were competing for right field job. And then we got the spring training. We looked at each other like, man, that's my boy. So like whatever happens happens. But we both played so good that they threw me in center. They threw him and right. And it was just like one of those situations where we were like,

man, you're not. They didn't necessarily try to pin like pin us against each other. But it was like kind of kind of felt that way. I was like, man, we're both. We're both ballers. So it ended up to where I was, he was on the left side of me and I was on the right side of him. That was a fun outfield for quite some time.

Definitely miss seeing your boys run out there to center and right field. Got a pretty good team on the field for the Dodgers right now, even though they maybe don't have center field. They didn't have center field figured out for a little bit. Anytime you got Mookie Bilt and right field, you're going to have a very, very good baseball team. What do you like about this 2024 edition of the ball club? They're fun to watch, man.

I'm just kind of jealous, man, because I've been a part of some really, really great teams, but I've never, like the stuff that's going on on the field right now with them, man, it's just something you've never seen with Otani, Muki, Freddie. It's just, it's like I can name about 20 different players that can be superstars on another team, and it's just, they're just, very consistent, man. I've never seen a team, you know, like I say, with the Dodger fans,

they're like, we need to do this or we need to do that, We've lost seven games in a row, and then they'll win like 20 games in a row. I'm like, y'all need to calm down, man. Like, this is baseball. A lot of crazy stuff happens in baseball, and you just got to be patient. But, I mean, they're getting at the point where, like, it's, like, they're playing really good baseball, and they're getting hot at the right time. September is the time you want to really gel together and do some special things.

And, I mean, you've got to do that, that literally, I believe, will be a feeling. 50-50. I was, I remember one year I almost got 40-40 and they asked me what I needed to do to win MVP. And I said, maybe maybe the next year I need to go 50-50. And, you know, they printed it on the paper and it says, Matt Kemp will go 50-50 next year. And we got, you got somebody on the team is actually about to do it. Plus, I think people, I think people don't realize that this dude can win 20 games on a mound. Like he's a, he's a, he's a, he's a freaking superhero. And I don't think we've ever seen anything like it.

Yeah, let me ask you this, Matt. It's not always one and the same. What's the most talented team you've been on? And what's the team that's had the best chemistry and the best brotherhood that you've been on? I think the most talented would have to be like, was it, was it, 09? Manny was 09, 09, right? 08, 08, 08, 08, 09. But that would be one of my, my, my, my, my, my favorite.

favorite team teams to play on. But 2018, the chemistry in LA was way different. Like, we were all doing a lot of things together. And I wish we could have won a World Series that year. We came up short. But like I said before, that was probably the most fun I've ever had on a team. I wasn't playing every day. Maybe that's why.

So, but that was definitely the most fun I never had. Yeah, what was that like coming back in 18? I know you've talked about it, but now you're that much further removed. There were still, you know, a lot of the familiar faces there, but like you said, it was different. That 08, those 09 teams, those were you guys. You guys came up, you know, the Jacksonville 5 came up and you established that. This was what this ball club was. A lot of people still figuring some things out.

When you came back in 18, this was a team that already, you know, just kept getting better, getting better, just went to a World Series the year before running off this crazy run of division titles and all that. What was the difference in aura between those early teams and kind of what you came back to? I know this might sound crazy, but I think it'll make sense to a lot of people. I feel like if we had like a Kike Hernandez on those 08-09 teams, the way he just made, like I said, I've said it before, like he made baseball really, really fun. And he made the club how he's crazy. He's very crazy.

But he makes baseball, like, really fun. And you make it more of a kids game when you have somebody on the team like that that's goofy and could play around. And then also in the playoffs get really big hits and do a lot of great things on a team. Matt, you're one of the few Dodgers that we can talk to that was back there in the Vero Beach days to the Camelback Ranch days. You walk those halls with legends of the game. I know you had a special relationship with Don Newcomb, obviously, the way that he related to you guys.

Every batting practice, the best dressed man in the world is sitting right there. But he had a really good connection with players of color, too, you and Kenley. And what's that like for you? And what do you hope is the Matt Kemp portion of that legacy? I mean, kind of just to continue that legacy of Dodger Great. I mean, those guys paved away for us. and they also made it, told us that it's okay to be us, to have that type of swagger and to play hard.

But, I mean, those guys, I don't think I'll ever be able to, you know, like guys like Don Newcomb and those guys, I'll never be able to even imagine some of the stuff they went through back in the days of like sleeping in different hotels. And I know a lot of those other crazy things that happened to them. You know, I was, you know, blessed enough to not be able to experience stuff like that. But the most special thing about, you know, that is, like, wearing a Dodger uniform. It's a legendary jersey.

It's something that, you know, everybody sees it. It's never changing. It's never going to change. It's just one of those iconic jerseys that you put on. And it's something that the Dodgers did a really good job of teaching us when we're in a minor league. like the history of the Dodgers. And to be able to learn the history and then it would be really, really close to people that actually were a part of that history is pretty cool.

So I guess you can say I have a little, I'm a, I have a somewhat a little bit part in that history now. So I can kind of like pay that forward. But just to be able to be associated to the team is like, it's truly a blessing. I'm lucky to be able to have done that. Yeah, I'll tell you as a long-time fan of this team, Matt, they need you. This organization needs people like you, Andre, Russ Martin, people that will continue to spread that good word of Dodger baseball because there were some lean years there, you know, early McCourt

times, Fox, like killing some ties to some of the players, guys like you, the next versions that are going to be the next Don Newcom's, the next Maury Will's. Thankfully, Bulldog still around. Thankfully, Eric Carroll still. But I'll tell you, this is a plea to you guys. Hey, this organization needs you around some way to perform. I appreciate that, man. And we appreciate again, everything you did for this organization.

So we know you're at the golf course today. I'd ask you some golf questions. Yeah, man. You've got to challenge you in one of these days too. But besides golf, what comes next to that camp? I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what to do, man.

There's so many things I want to do, but I can, I'm only one man. I can only do so much. I mean, I would love to, I mean, kind of dibble and dabble in TV and figure out if I'm good at that because I know that's not an easy job. You know, I still like to mentor. You know, I got a few kids, some in college, some in high school, you know, mentoring kids. I got a big old batting cage at my house. Kids come and we just have like break sessions. I call it the kitchen.

I call my hit, I call my hidden, I call my hidden lab at the kitchen because that's a lot. that's where we cook. So I still love to like, I love to teach people about the game and just to, I guess, like I said, pay it forward and like teach kids what I didn't know about the game when I was when I was younger and I got taught. So I feel like that's one of my jobs. If you could go back and tell Matt Kemp, the Matt Kemp that was drafted, the Matt Kemp that had his, you know, first day in the big leagues. If you could go back and tell that young man something that you know now, what do you wish it would have been? man, dude, I don't know if we have enough time.

There's a lot. You've had all the time in the world. You're Matt Kemp. I have a list. There's like a list of things that I would probably tell myself that I didn't know when I was younger. I was blessed enough to have some really good mentors, but like there's a lot of things that you got to learn on your own when it comes to like being a big league. But I mean, the main thing is just always, I feel like always trying to get better. You know, you're only as good as you're, I feel like you're, you know, when you have a really good season, I feel like you have to go into the next season and work even harder to have an even better season.

You know, in baseball, man, it's hard to be really, really consistent because it's just a game of failure. And you're going to have a lot of, you know, hot and cold moments. Look at like Francisco Landauer where, you know, he struggled the last year, I believe, year and a half. and now he's back and he's in a race to win MVP. Baseball is just the hardest sport in the world other than golf. I think golf is way harder than baseball, but baseball is really, really hard. It's just a sport that, like, it's,

unless you're Otani, you can't just dominate a year in and year out. I mean, that's all I would say is just when you have a good season, work even harder, man. I wish I could tell myself. I worked hard, but I feel like you have to, you have to work a billion times harder because I feel like people are just gunning for you every season, especially when you're the man. Competition, you know what that does. It makes a really good outfield for the Dodgers sometimes in left or in right field and in center. You got to have that competition. The next guy coming after you. That's definitely what I feel like we're kind of missing in the game right now is the competition of like, I think now we're,

and people get mad at me if they want to, I really don't care. But like I'm kind of, I was on the back end, like, I started to see like, you know, teams giving kids jobs instead of them earning jobs. Like when we were in the minor leagues, like they literally like, hey, Dre, Kim, Wrightfield, it's one of y'all, y'all go compete for it and do it. Now it's like, there's a level of competition that keeps, it keeps you going and you want to strive to be better and better and better. And now it's getting to the point where they'll just give out jobs and then kids go and struggle. And it's like, what happened is because you threw them into the, you threw them into the fire and they weren't ready. Amen. But you know it is what it is.

But I mean, these kids now, they're super athletic, super talented in a shoe. They're going to be making $60, 70 million a year like here in the next two or three years. These salaries are getting getting crazy. I want to be reincarnated and come back as a younger, a younger person. Right, somebody getting Ed Colletti on the phone and he'll get you another big bag. Yeah, man. I remember one year I hit 248, I had like 30 home rounds and like 90-something RBIs and they said, he's terrible, he sucked. You hit 248 now? With 30 home runs, they're going to be like, here's $50 million a year. I got booed out of the stadium for hitting 248.

has absolutely changed over the last 10 to 15 years. And I was probably somebody would be mad at me. Somebody's been mad. Hey, hey, Kristen. People are going to be mad about everything. You can say everything perfect and they're still going to be mad. I'll call it a perfect day though, man. I was at that retirement game where you were there.

I loved every bit of it. A little warmer than I wanted it to be, but it was a fun experience. Dodgers walking. Dude, I asked, I asked Lon, I was like, why can I get a night game, bro? I couldn't even watch the game. I have to go on the street tonight. Huh? That said, Andre, you're here?

He got nighttime. Come on. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. See, he's way more special than me, man. You know, see? One last quick one, though. Who's the next great Dodger you think that's going to get one of those days?

Oh, my goodness, bro. Oh, man. Who's that? Who deserves it? Or needs it or deserves it? Who's that next guy? Curs. I mean, yeah, it has to be Cursed.

I mean, Curses on the back. in his career. I mean, I don't know exactly how many years he wants to play, but he's for sure next. Like, I mean, that dude, I don't care how you put it, man. He's one of the greatest left-hand pitchers ever what he's done. On and off the field. I say it all the time. It's way bigger than the stuff that Kurtz does on the field, off the field. Man, this dude is a legend, building schools and, you know, feeding thousands and thousands and thousands of kids. Like, he literally use his platform to try to make the world better. And like I said, he's a Hall of Famer on and off the field.

And that says a lot about him and, you know, everything he's done. Matt, when I think of Dodgers outfielders, you're at the top of my list. I appreciate you. I've known you for a long time. Nothing but the best. If you want to be a broadcasting, my friend, we got you. So thank you for taking it tonight. I told you.

I'm about to ask you so many questions. You can ask, hey, we are here. What did I do right? What did I do wrong? You're going to be like, well, you suck. You suck today. Stop it. Stop it.

Stop it. Power positive thing. All right. Well, good luck in the kitchen with the kids. Best to look to your family. Thanks for everything. And thank you for being here. We appreciate you.

Appreciate you. Have a good day, guys. All right. Matt Kemp, the best. We appreciate it very much. Time now for Viori. You guys, this is, I'm telling you, I can't stop talking about this stuff. Viori is an investment in your happiness.

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last looks. All right. So Amy and Sheldon have been adopted. There are still five puppies, Clint, that need to be adopted. We are showcasing Leonard and Beverly today. These two Bubba's. They are German Shepherd and American Bulldog mixes. They are four months old. In fact, they turn four months old on Saturday. They are fully vaccinated. They are microchip. They are ready to go home to their forever families. If you're interested in adopting either Beverly or Leonard, please reach out giddreysguardian.org for more information. All right. We already know that you sent Bobby Miller to the moon. So what is coming up on all Dodgers with Clint Paseas? So I was actually live last night. He got football going on. I won't be live tonight, but I'm probably going to be dropping a video talking about the kind of second base situation and really the final roster spot situation and how it relates to Chris Taylor, Andy Paez, Kevin Kiermeyer. So that'll be coming up some point on the channel, Tube In, subscribe over there. Those are the things that really help out the channel.

And we also at some point have to talk about this show, Hey, O Tani could be available. to pitch this year. So you might see that on my channel if you hit that subscribe button. All right. We can definitely talk about it on Monday, too. That is when we are back with a fresh new podcast, Dodgers territory, Alonarizzo, Clint Pisces. Make sure you like us, subscribe, rate us five stars. Big massive thanks to Matt Camp. We appreciate him so much. Have a good weekend, everybody. Go Dodgers. Bye.