The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 10/27/2020 - HOUR 3 - Dodgers game 6

Episode Date: October 27, 2020

The pressure is on the Dodgers tonight if they lose game 6Guests: Justin Herbert, Tom Verducci Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app,

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So Joy and I, before the last draft, we both like Burrow. Joy loved Burrow, and I liked him. And then I loved Tua, and she liked him. But both of us said on Justin Herbert, we kept saying, we don't understand the critics. He got better every year. He won the academic Heisman. He was like a four-point biology major.

Everybody liked him. And then we watched the Rose Bowl. We're like, we don't understand. What is everybody? He looks like Trevor Lawrence, like big, strong kid. So he goes to the Chargers, and we're kind of waiting, wait, and Tyrod Taylor. And then one day, I turned the television on and they say, I'm on my couch. And they're like, oh, Justin Herbert's starting.

He was giving a heads up five minutes ago. And you're like, oh, this is going to be rough. He was fantastic. Patrick Mahomes. He's been evacuated, by the way. He's down in Orange County. He's been evacuated. He's safe.

He and his two roommates now are, I imagine, in an apartment somewhere in Orange County. We've got fires here in Yorba Linda in Orange County, and he is joining us, Justin Herbert. Number six pick, the Rose Bowl MVP. First of all, I'm glad you're safe. So great to see. Take me to. You're playing the Chiefs. And you're probably looking at Patrick Mahomes over there.

Well, that guy's unbelievable. And then somebody taps you on their shoulder and says, hey, Justin, you're playing. Was it that? It was literally like that? First off, thanks for having me. Big fan of the show. It was like that. Honestly, we were going down the sideline.

I was ready to get to cheer on the offense. I was saying, let's go low, let's go, oh. Coach Lynn comes out to me and says, Justin, you're going in. And I just didn't really know what to say at that time. And then Coach Steichen and Coach Hamilton, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, they come up to me. and I'm like, wow, this is really real.

I'm going in. I just had to knock this smile off my face, and I was just so excited to get out there. It was a really cool moment. Yeah. Now, what's interesting is if I recall, I thought you sailed a ball early. But I thought you made a couple of throws up the sideline,

and I was thinking to myself, oh, my emotions would be coming out of my, my heart would come out of my uniform. As you were playing in the first series or two, how did you bring it down? Because obviously, I mean, you got a big arm to begin with. That thing, you got testosterone emotion going through you like crazy. Were you sitting there thinking, okay, don't overthrow everybody.

You're highly emotional. I mean, take me to what it was like. Oh, that's a great point. I went out there, and I was just so excited to be out there. And that first passed to Keenan Allen on the sideline, I threw that about as hard as I could have. It was probably five feet over his head. But after that, I kind of settled down and realize, you know, just go out there, have fun. and play your game and good things will happen.

You know, at Oregon, I kind of felt watching you that, listen, they didn't have a backup ready to be you. And they were kind of playing kind of at a national championship level. So they kind of protected you a little. Then in the Rose Bowl, they were like, okay, kid, go play. They ran you a lot. And it was interesting because some people, the criticism of you was, well, you know, the offense is conservative.

And I'm like, well, I watched the Rose Bowl. And he's running all over the field making Wisconsin guys miss. when people, the critics, were saying, well, you know, Justin, you know, I don't know if he has it. Did you hear the critics guy, you know, TV shows? Did you hear it? Did it affect you? What did you think of it?

I think we did a great job at the University of Oregon of shutting all that extra noise out. And that was one of our biggest focuses was just know what's going on in the building, in the program and leave it at that. And all the people on the outside, they're not with you when you're lifting at 6 a.m. or at practice.

And so we did a great job of just kind of staying and building and listening to our coaches and our teammates and kind of things like that. You are a quarterback. I think it's in your DNA. You like to air it out. You're not a finesse. You like to air it out. Is it with Anthony Lynn in every start?

There's a balance there, Justin. You've got a big time arm. And sometimes the downside of that is you'll try to squeeze a ball into a space that like an average arm guy could not. Is that something you and Anthony talk about? You've got this incredible weapon, but sometimes it becomes a burden because you can make every throw. All the time. That's one of those things that, you know, because I feel so confident in my arm that sometimes I wait and I'm late over the middle.

And it's all about those anticipation throws where, you know, you get it out on the hitch or before the plant. And I think sometimes, you know, I rely on my arm too much. And so that's just part of learning. and Coach Hamilton has done a great job with me of kind of talking that through, and we've worked on that a lot. So I think I've progressed a bunch, and I've still got plenty of room to grow. So this is a real dorky question, but I'm a dorky guy, so I get one. So you were on the field with Tom Brady. I cannot imagine.

You're a young guy. You play at Oregon. You're in the NFL, and about an hour later, after Mahomes, you get Tom Brady. It was there ever just a moment when you were like, I'm on a football? football field with Tom Brady? Like one moment of that? Pre-game. Yeah, I was out there. I was warming up and I saw him come out on the field and I just kind of watched him for five minutes, just seeing what he was doing and got so much to learn from the guy and he's had so much success and I've always been a big fan of his. So it was really cool to be able to line up across him.

So college to pro, if you were to give advice to a college quarterback, a Trevor Lawrence, a Justin Fields, a Trey Lance, on reading defenses, on the speed of the game. What are one or two, because it's obviously working for you, what are one or two pieces of advice that maybe you got, maybe you didn't, that you would give the young quarterbacks about the transition college to pro. Yeah, I would say not to overthink things. You have to go out there and you have to play relaxed. That's where film study and all of those comes in and being able to watch that throughout the week.

But when you get to Sunday, you have to relax out there. You have to go out there and have fun. Trust your instincts and go out there and just rip the ball. I think that's probably one of the biggest pieces of advice that I've been given. I always think it's really hard to be a rookie quarterback and play. Joe Burrough similarly, that quarterback is a leadership position. Now, at Oregon, you were the leader. You'd been there.

You'd been accomplished. So guys would listen to you. There's constantly young players. In the NFL, you're like one of the youngest guys in the kids. the room and yet organizations want quarterbacks to lead. Is it different or challenging to be one of the youngest guys and yet the face of a business, a face of an organization? It's definitely tough, but I think it's a great opportunity. And kind of heading into this year, I knew that that's kind of come, it's going to come with the position. And so being genuine, being myself,

going out there and just hanging out with the guys and talking with them, I think that's a great way getting to know them and being comfortable with them. And I know they can come to me for anything, just like I can go to them for anything. And, you know, even though I've only been here for a couple of weeks, I feel like we've got a really close locker room. And I'm just really happy to be to be in this spot. The two loudest college football stadiums I've ever been in, Gainesville, Florida, the Gators, and Otson Stadium in Oregon.

It's a zoo. It's nuts. You can't hear yourself talk. Now you're playing in empty stadiums. It's got to be weird, right? It is a little weird, but honestly, I think it might be better. It just kind of seems like practice, and so you go out there and you got two teams playing, but it's just like practice.

So you go out there and you execute and you have fun, and you don't really have to worry about all the extra stuff going on around you. But, I mean, it would be great with fans, but either way, we're having fun out there. Listen, you also are in a tough spot. Tyrod Taylor is one of the most respected light guys in the league. He's a total pro. You're the young guy. You come in.

That's not easy, Justin. that's a tough, tough spot to be in. Is it okay, the relationship, and you kind of walk in, I mean, this situation, you had a veteran, he was starting, there's an incident, how's that working? He's been an incredible teammate. He's been awesome in the locker room, and he's one of those guys that I'd look up to so much. And he's always there on the sideline, helping out, giving advice, and even when we're watching film together, he's a great guy to have in your locker room, and one of the best guys that I've ever met. So by the way, Joy, so Justin, when Justin was a kid, Justin would get in your, was it your dad's car or your grandpa's car?

My grandpa's garage, actually. So you just have it playing on the radio. His grandpa really likes my show. Thank you very much. Mr. Yeah, that's why Justin's got a four-point student. There's all these years of wisdom. Exactly.

Hey, you're so much fun to watch. I'm so happy for you. Everybody in Oregon is, and good luck. Kid watching for a long time. Thank you so much, Justin. Thank you. Really good to talk to you. All right.

Justin Herbert. We say this all the time. How lucky is this leak? Mahomes, Lamar, and Josh Allen, and Burrow, and all these guys. He was very quarterback.

He was very, like they're 22 years old. He's on this show. Presidents come on this show and are nervous. They're just so, I mean, very intimidating.

It's just, but when you're a general manager and you can drive to the facility every day. And no, I got that. guy. Chicago's been looking for that guy. It's a nice feeling. Chicago's been looking for that guy for since 1949 and Sid Luckman. Miami's been looking for that guy since the 80s.

Yeah. Like you just don't understand what you did the idea that you can go from Philip Rivers. I mean, Peyton Manning to Luck, Philip Rivers to Justin Herbert, it just doesn't work that way. That's not the way the NFL works. It never works that way. There's like this you go through about four of them and then like I say with Denver. And by the way, even Denver had the guy I liked that of Arizona. State. Plummer. Yeah, Jake. That's pretty good.

I mean, they've had guys. Yeah, I mean, Jake could play. He was a great player in the college. But it's like, even as good as he was, like, it's just, it's hard to find a quarterback. Oh, it's almost impossible. Good stuff. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to?

to do a little Kim. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host,

and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person

while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. By the way, Michelin Endurance XT, Silicon Wiper Blades, real world proven. Walmart. Last two times longer. Joy with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

I'm trying to think what I was up to when I was 22. No good. Well, nothing's changed at 30. I see your pictures occasionally. You'll put up early joy pictures. Oh, no. I mean. You were kind of out of control.

My 20s, kind of. You were really? Well, you know what? I kind of settled down a little bit. I don't know. I have some stories. You're 24-year-old joy pictures. You really could not tell me anything until I was 25 years.

old. 25 years old was the first time I ever took a good solid piece of advice and my life's been on mostly the right track ever since. But before that, I was not taking a lot of advice. I would certainly would not be the face of a billion dollar organization. According to Albert Breer, the Patriots have discussed trading 2019 defensive player of the year, Saffon Gilmore. Wow, when did this come? I didn't see this. They were reportedly in contact and had conversations to the teams about trading him before the draft this year. And then again in August, Breer believes that the Patriots acknowledged that Gilmore may not be with the team next year

when they moved money from 2021 to 2020 to give him a raise this season and they could be looking to see what they could get in return for the star quarterback before the trade deadline next week. Oh, I think he can get a first round pick for Stefan Gilmore. I think he's arguably the second first top three corner in the league.

Albert agrees. Well, actually no, he doesn't think that they would be able to get a first round pick. Who said that? Who said that? Albert Rear said he does not think that they would a second round pick? I mean, I don't know why you wouldn't get a first round pick or at least a very high second round pick. Oh, I'm trying to think of who needs

a corner bad. Most of the good teams have decent corners. They all need it seems like they all need pass rushers. Does Tennessee need the corner? His base salary in his cap hit is $16.7 million and his contract expires after the 2021 season. So it's actually a pretty good deal.

Goulet makes a good point. Nobody doesn't need a great corner. It's like cake. There's never a bad time for cake. Nobody's ever said, you know, cake, I'll pass. Breakfast. Oh, no, I've had olive oil cake in the morning. What is olive oil cake?

Oh, it's stupendous. How can it be stupendous? Oh, it's the best cake it's ever been made. Olive oil is good, but like, what does it taste like? Oh, it tastes like deliciousness? It's just like cake bread? Listen, I can't even explain it. You're going to have to get some.

Oh, it's a lord. I'll try it, but I'm confused. Can somebody on social media back me on that? It's the best cake. I've never even heard of it before you mentioned it like months ago. travel the Mediterranean like I did as a child. Sorry. The Rams shut down the bears last night and the 24-10 win.

And it was punter Johnny Hecker that was one of the stars of the game. He punted five times and landed all of them inside the 10-yard line. And Sean McVeigh gifted him with a game ball. He was phenomenal tonight. Exactly what we expect. Don't ever take it for granted. But he came through and he did. I wasn't surprised, but you're definitely appreciative of the effort that he had tonight.

It was a big time deal. I met him one time. I went to a soccer game, L-A-F-C. Hacker or McVeigh? A hecker. And so I'm a soccer game, and I look over and I'm like, God, he's a big tall guy. And he's like, we just looked at each other. We exchanged glances and I'm like, we both kind of knew each other.

And I couldn't figure it out. I'm like, you, you, you. Wonderful guy. Wonderful guy. Really bright, really funny. And he is one of the best legs. I'm not joking. Ray Guy of Oakland years ago was unbelievable.

he's a top five leg ever. No, he came through last night. That was some performance. Obviously, he got the game ball. The Rams are a very confusing team. They are. But they're not confusing in the way that the bears are confusing. Now, the bears have limitations and we can all see them.

Yes. And they can win ugly. But the Rams, the Rams can either like surgically take you apart or play a really bad game or be incredibly incredible on the defensive side. Jalen Ramsey now is driving me crazy. He almost got smoked twice last night. I know he's talented, but he takes way too many chances. Jalen Ramsey, if he comes on the show, you're going to have a word with him.

He bites on too many early moves. Well, he's a, I mean, he's a big play guy. He's a big play guy. That's what you get with big play guys. Finally, Ron Rivera completed his final rounds of cancer treatments this week. Nurses, doctors, and staff lined at the. line the hallway to cheer on Rivera as he left from his final chemo round. I am not going to lie.

I tear it up a little bit watching this yesterday. Some tossed confetti over as he walked out and he stopped to ring the bell to mark completion of his treatments. And he also took part in the social media, how it started, how is it going trends and posted a picture of the start of his chemotherapy and the end when he rang the bell for his last treatment. So he has been coaching while going through chemo the past a month or two. And I've been, I mean, Ron Rivera is a all-time respected, just all-class guy. But that's very impressive. On top of it being a pandemic. So really impressive stuff from Rivera.

And congrats on your last chemo treatment. Congrats. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. I want to get Jalen Ramsey on. I'm going to tell him right to his face.

I'm going to say, do you think he would respect me if I said, you bite on too many early moves? Stop it. He would probably argue with you. I just say, listen, Jalen, you bite on stuff. Stop it. He's trying to make big play. Hey, I don't need big plays.

Just stay in, keep the guy in front of you. I don't need pick sixes twice a game. Keep the guy in front of it. That would be nice. No, I mean, he's a tremendous. He actually tackles. Like he likes, he's a physical corn. There's not a ton of those.

Like Richard Sherman. Yeah. He's a physical corner. There's a presence. Richard Sherman has a presence when he plays. Not all corners do. Some are just fast dudes. Tom Verduci, the best baseball reporter in the history of the world.

World Series game six tonight. That's pressure. He'll be joining us next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skis. hits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah. Literally. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode

where we've discussed, correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me. and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth? Or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Good to have you in. So it's game six of the world. series tonight and as Joy and I were talking about an hour ago, it's a little bit of a dilemma. So Walker Bueller is the Dodgers ace.

You could, you have a three, two series lead. You could go on short rest and pitch him tonight. But ideally, I agree with the Dodgers. Let him be well rested. You have confidence. They're hard to beat with him on the mound. The downside is that I think the race will win tonight and then game seven for this organization as favorites will be immense on the Dodgers.

It feels like game seven pressure will be on this young star pitcher, this roster. So Tom Verducci's won four Emmys. Fox Sports Baseball analyst and reporter is joining us live now. Game six tonight, seven Eastern, 7.30 Eastern on Fox. So let me just, the premise is I think most baseball people would say Walker Bueller Game 7. That makes the most sense. But boy, Tom, this is not an upstart team.

They have been in this spot, these big games for six or seven years. The city freaks out every pitching change. It's palpable. And if you lose tonight, could I not argue, Tom? The pressure is all on Los Angeles game seven. You go Bueller tonight. If it doesn't work out, you got a game seven. Do you agree with the decision?

100% I agree with it. I mean, you have one game of the next two to win. You have a choice of Walker Bueller on short rest, which they really don't do, especially with the blister issue, or have them go game seven, one of the biggest big game pitchers in the game and give them the ball fully rested. That's a no-brainer for me. So I do agree with you, though, that if Tampa Bay wins game six, all the pressure, obviously, is on the LA Dodgers.

But I'm telling you, Walker Bueller, he's impervious to pressure. If not, you know, bring it up, bring up the pressure even more because he's proven that time and time again. And I think his stuff, and you've seen it one game all. already against a swing and miss lineup like the raise, bodes really well for the Dodgers if there's a seven. So there are certain athletes that they, I mean, the Dodgers have had all sorts of players for a long time. I mean, Bellinger now been there a few years and your Corey Seegers and your

tailors and your Kershaws. It's Justin Turner. It's not a question of talent for them. But I do feel like they've lacked a little bit of an it, a little juice. and I think Mookie Betts comes in, and you can't take your eyes off him. You could just, I mean, just like he's a, baseball doesn't have a lot of playmakers. He's a playmaker. And I look and I think, how did the Red Sox?

What? Like, did the Dodgers ever think he would be available on the market? They were hoping. Everybody was hoping, right? And they did the smart thing by locking them up and keeping them away from what should have been or would have been his walk year. You're right about him as a playmaker. I love that term because baseball has become a very static game, right? It's walk, strikeouts, and home runs.

You can't take your eyes off, Mookie, whether he's in the field on the bases or in the batters box. I love that, the energy, the motion, the action he brings the game. And let me tell you this, Colin, do not undersell Mookie, because his skills are obvious. You can all see the athleticism. Do not undersell the baseball IQ. This postseason for the Dodgers turned around in the NLCS when he made that shoe string catch in right field. Remember that against the Braves? He's got the double play on the appeal.

He's so smart because most outfielders go down to catch that ball. But if he went to the ground, it would have taken too long to get up and throw home. He knew he had to stay on his feet somehow made the catch. That was amazing. The contact play at third base against the raise. That was one of the best base running plays I've ever seen in the postseason. And so everything he does, and I love the phrase that manager Dave Roberts says, he's always in the moment.

You know, he's not looking forward to the next at bat. He's in every moment, no matter where he is on the field. And, yeah, this is the best Dodger team I've seen in this run of eight straight division titles. Mookie's got so much to do with that. Yeah. Listen, they're, Jensen, they're, Kenley Jensen, they're closer. He's older. You know, the bottom line is everybody throws 97.

He didn't quite have, he didn't quite have that, I guess. if you had to get two outs in this bullpen for the Dodgers, like, I mean, where do you go? Like, is it, I always say it's hard to win a Super Bowl with a bad offensive line, although we never talk about them. It's hard to win a World Series with a shaky bullpen, although we don't spend a lot of time talking about it. Do you worry about the Dodgers' back end?

Well, a little bit. I think tonight in a perfect world, Dave Roberts probably would want Blake Trinan to close the game. The issue may be he's, probably not going to get a lot of length of Tony Gonsolin, and he loves plugging Trinan into a trouble spot in the middle or late in the game. So then you have Jansen behind Trinin, and you hit on something with Jansen.

His stuff actually is really starting to play up. He had a, actually, he was his former pitching coach, Rick Honeycutt. They sent him video of mechanics of Jansen right before the NLCS, and it was Honeycutt who actually suggested a fix, and he's been much better. But when everybody else is throwing 98, and you bring Jansen and throw a 90 mile an hour cutters and 92 sinkers,

you know, his stuff doesn't look as good as it once did. Yeah. So I think he's going to play tonight at somewhere in this game. Like I said, Trinan, it's probably at a perfect world for Dave Roberts, his closer tonight, but I think he may need him earlier. So I would, I'm just thinking this out loud. I do think the demons of Kershaw have been at least, if not removed. I think he's had a very nice world series.

I just have this weird feeling. We're going to go to a game seven and they're going to need him in the eighth inning. Is there a chance all hands on deck in a game seven? We had an off day yesterday that Kershaw may pitch an inning or two. Am I nuts on that? Well, there's always a chance, but I think in the pecking order, he's got to be further down. I mean, Victor Gonzalez has been a go-to guy from the left side for Dave Roberts. And Colin, the reason I believe Clayton, one of the many reasons why Clayton's had such a good postseason, not just the World Series, is they have. haven't overused him. Yeah. This whole year, I mean, he's never pitched on short rest. You know, they haven't used him at the bullpen in the postseason. He hasn't thrown more than 100 pitches. They've got him at the games at the proper time rather than trying to bleed him.

So I think that's had a lot to do with why he's been so good. And I think he's in a great place mentally. I've never seen Clayton, you know, happier, smiling more often. Dave Roberts talks about how he's more engaged, you know, team dinners off the field. He found his voice during a lot of the protests about social injustice, which is outside of his comfort zone. He's in a really, really good place. Now, knowing Clayton, I mean, he would take the ball tonight if they asked him.

That's not going to happen. But I think the way the Dodgers bullpen is set up, unless it's an extra inning game, I just don't see it happening in a seven. You know, it's interesting. The Dodgers, and this, usually great teams do this. They're great with two outs. And I guess if you went back in history, maybe all the great teams are. It's a weird thing.

Like it's almost like a football team that's great on fourth down or third down. How do you explain it? Is it because, you know, they're not an old team. They've got a lot of guys at 25, 26 years old. Or are they special on two outs or is this historically most good teams hit these, score these runs and hit, they're just so productive with two outs. Is that unique or just not? Well, to the extent that they're doing it, it's unique.

I mean, I think the last time I checked, they were hitting 360 with. two outs. That's just ridiculous. But I think one of the reasons, Colin, is that you look in that lineup one through nine, you tell me where the soft spots are. Yeah, I know. I mean, they've got Jack Peterson and Kike Hernandez coming off the bench. Those are everyday players for a lot of teams. So I think it's the fact that no matter where they are in the lineup, they can hurt you. And that's been a big difference in this series. Tampa Bay just can't turn their lineup over often enough to get to their good hitters at the top. And Los Angeles can really beat you at the bottom, middle top, doesn't matter.

Somebody's watching this in Tampa and they're saying, you're not giving the raise any credit. And I know that, but I said this the other day on the air. I said, in a sport with no salary cap and a division with the Red Sox Yankees, they are way better than they should be. Now, we talk about the A's and money ball all the time. We never talk about Tampa. I don't know if it's the scouting department, but it seems to me,

given the budgetary limitations, they're way better than they should be. What is their secret sauce? it seems about every three years you look up and they've got all these arms or all this talent. Yeah, and Colin, they find a lot of that talent other places. You know, I like to call them the Antiques Road Show of baseball because they find Picasso's in the attic, you know, Jackson Pollock paintings in a dumpster. They find guys who just don't fit in other organizations, maybe had an injury, maybe weren't using the right pitch, and everything begins to play up when they get to Tampa. They do that time and time again, so it's not an accident.

Now, they have to win on run prevention, right? Most expensive thing to buy in baseball is power. So they really don't have a lot of power. That's right. And I guarantee you tonight, Kevin Cash is looking to win a game, you know, four to two, three to one. He doesn't want to get into a slugfest with the Dodgers. But this team, I'm not counting them out by any means. Listen, they had a winner go home game against the Yankees.

They won it. They had a winner go home game against the Astros. They won it. Those are two battle tested postseason teams and the Rays won both of those games. it wouldn't surprise me for them to force in game seven all right game six world series tonight seven 30 eastern only on fox tom verduc you'll be there it's been a really dramatic world series absolute pleasure to have you tom and good luck tonight thanks collard yeah good stuff so i'll take the raise tonight uh and it would just be so dodgers i'll take

the raise tonight and then uh walker bueller in game seven dodgers when you put him out there with their lineup there really is an amazing lineup i can remember you know it's just like it's strange because it's not like they went out and bought it. Like I heard a story a couple years ago where they spent all their money on research and develop. Remember, they had Bryce Harper if they wanted him. They wouldn't bid. Mani Machado.

They had him briefly. They wouldn't resign him. So they have not been big buyers. Clayton makes a lot of money and they just gave Mookie a lot of money. But by and large, they've done it through their system, research and development. And I don't know where I read it a couple years ago where they poured tons of money into that. But when they bought it for that.

that big price tag. A lot of people thought they would be the Yankees West. They just go buy the best players. But it's finding guys like Max Muncie. I mean, they've got a lot of these guys. Chris Taylor comes up, boom. Their guys all hit. Like they bring guys into the bigs.

They seemingly all hit. So it's not just, we're going to spend the most money. Mookie's the first guy in several years. They've gone out and said, all right, we're going to beat the market. And they, you know, let's be honest, they draw over $4 million a year. So they, in most years, they've got a lot of money. But good stuff. All right, good show today.

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