Yoshinobu Yamamoto Returns & Looks Better Than Ever

what's going on Dodger fans thank you for tuning in to another episode of the incline Dodgers podcast we are presented by tickpick and fansided Kevin Klein speaking your Los Angeles Dodgers are 86 and 59 as they are now only four and a half games up on the San Diego Padres and five games up on the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the nest we don't have a whole lot of games left but the Dodgers do have one more with the Chicago Cubs home at Dodgers Stadium as they've dropped the first two games of the series we'll get into yoshinobu Yamamoto and some of the other things Dodgers but let me pass it over to my co-host Jake Riner what's going on Jake how you feeling what's what's new with you not much Kevin you know normally I would look at a four and a half to five game lead in the division over the Padres and the Diamondbacks and feels somewhat comfortable with that given the track record of the Dodgers and the nol and all of that stuff but as we've known the Dbacks and the Padres have kind of been the hottest teams in baseball since the trade deadline they don't seem to be going away and they're they're tough teams to saave off because they are on fire and so for the Dodgers to drop the first two games of this series at home to the Cubs trying to avoid a sweep and I'm you know a little worried I'm not you know panicking by any means because this Dodgers team is still really good and they've played a lot better as of late uh overall so I'm not too worried but it does make me a little nervous and there are a couple of uh concerns with this team injury-wise that are are still giving me pause uh as we head to the postseason so um I'm I'm cautiously optimistic I would say is is my is my level right now I'm not really worried about the division anymore I think once we took three or four against the Arizona Diamondbacks that was enough to maintain that lead believe we got one more series left with the San Diego Padres and the key to that series is pretty much at least have a lead of of four games in the NL and we'll be fine because we've got a number of matchups still left with the the Colorado Rockies I think we have two two series with the Rockies one more with the Marlins both garbage teams we've got the Atlanta Braves coming up next um Friday through Monday that's a four game series just uh I'm asking for a split in that series but we'll kind of dive into the matchups and see where maybe the Dodgers have an advantage but let's talk about yoshinobu Yamamoto making his return for the Dodgers and at Dodgers Stadium last night he hadn't pitched in what felt like three months I believe his last outing he came out early um and that was when he went on the is with what ended up being a shoulder rotator cuff issue sideline him for a while went on the 60-day made some rehab starts and wow this guy looked like he hadn't been on the injured list for half the season for what it felt like he looked as sharp as ever he was able to go four innings for the Dodgers which was pretty huge through 59 pitches I believe and what was the most impressive part was he struck out eight Chicago Cubs that was the part that I wanted to see was how did the fastball look how' the splitter look had the curveball look well he ended up with eight strikeouts like I just said his fastest pitch thrown was 98 miles per hour which maybe let's let's cool it down there yoshinobu Yamamoto you're you're fired up to be back but we don't need to be out there throwing 98 but what what was your impressions of the return of Yamamoto I mean what what other impression could you have than just to be impressed by what he was able to do I mean we know how good he is but to come back from the injured list and dominate a team like that over the first four Innings again uh fellow countrymen imaga that was a great uh you know matchup to see not only imaga versus Otani but Yamamoto versus seya Suzuki I mean it was it was really cool to watch and even from the first batter of the game for Yamamoto to strike out Ian hap on that just devastating breaking ball that kind of bounced before it even got to the plate and Ian hap was so far out in front of it that he had no shot at it and he had already overcommitted to it so to see him come back and dominate like this is really really encouraging and it's something that um I was worried about with this team you know kind of gearing up for October is who is going to be available and not just available too because you look at Walker bu and Bobby Miller and both those guys are quote unquote available but they haven't been necessarily effective so for for uh Yamamoto to be not only available but dominant is such a good sign as we go into October I just hope that he can maintain his health and Kevin I also saw a video uhen with his curveball and working with him it was really cool to see Kershaw just kind of uh giving his advice and and and telling the the rookie how to how to go about uh throwing that curveball and it seems like Yamamoto uh's curveball was the best we've ever seen it last night curveball looked good hadn't made a start for the Dodgers since June 15th so that's that is a long time I did not realize how much time has gone by since the last time we've seen Yamamoto throw for the Dodgers um but yeah he was he was Sensational I'm happy where where he's at in terms of his buildup 59 pitches we're here uh that was September 10th so he's probably got three more three or four more starts left this regular season get that get that pitch up count between 80 and 90 miles uh 80 80 to 90 pitches and he'll be pretty much stretched out for a playoff start so if he was able to go four effectively and efficiently against the Cubs um I'm not really worried about him going five or six innings in the postseason so I think we're at a good spot with Yamamoto it's it's just about staying healthy like you said and I was just impressed like I looked at his baseball Savant stats from last night um his called strikes plus whiffs generation percentage was 41% so he was really accurate and he was generating a lot of swings and misses I think overall he had 30 between 30 I don't know my mic keeps going 30% whiffs so he was brilliant for the Dodgers here's the thing about the Dodgers starting rotation and it may be a blessing and disguise that these guys have gotten injured like glass now and Yamamoto when they did because it means that they're not pitching as much as they as they would be if they were healthy now granted glasnow has pitched more Innings than he's ever pitched in his career so maybe this time off is really going to help him and hopefully when he gets back if he comes back but let's say when he comes back that he's going to be just as effective as he once was and we know he is a big time postseason pitcher and so for these guys to not have that many miles on their arms at this point is maybe a good thing I don't know I just hope that they're healthy because we know that when they're healthy they're dominant and to go into a playoff series with Yamamoto and glas now at the top of this rotation is massive and then you add a guy like Jack flare to have those three guys healthy and dominant I mean I don't know what a better one two three punch there is in Major League Baseball uh that you could even match or you know be you know come up with a better three than those guys yeah we talked about on the last episode um just where Jack Flare's at versus The Other Guys it kind of looks like he's cemented himself as the Dodgers game one starter he's the most certainly for based on health and performance I would agree yeah he's been a sensational pickup and we kind of talked about he's up there with the Max cers and the rich Hills for just best deadline pickups that the Dodgers have been able to do Under the Andrew fredman era like he's been better than advertised I think his Dodgers ER is 260 so he's been an ace quote unquote just the way he's pitched for the Dodgers so you have to feel pretty good about him going for the Dodgers in a game one if needed um but now that you add glass now who looks like he's coming back soon and Yamamoto that's a very fortified strong big three I mean it's it's kind of crazy when you think about it Kevin because you you look at this Dodgers rotation you know throughout the year they they they've lost Kershaw Walker bu's been out and bad Bobby Miller's been out and bad they don't have River Ryan anymore they don't have Gavin Stone anymore but you add You Know Jack flurty at the deadline and then you got Landon Knack coming up in the system and then you bring up robitzki who's been bad you know it just seems like every time the Dodgers either lose a starter or a starting pitcher comes up and pitches horrifically there's always a backup plan which is kind of a testament to how this organization is run pitching wise they just have a plethora of arms I just hope that they're all healthy and ready to go but the the way it's lining up right now I'm actually getting re excited I've been kind of down all season long when looking at this at this Dodgers team because it's like oh no not again we're we're limping into the playoffs with not a strong starting staff but it seems like these guys are coming back together at just the right time I was worried that there were too many things that had to go right for this team in order to to to gear up for October but it looks like I'm wrong and I'm happy that I am smack that like button while you're here let's get more people in the chat to show up and get involved but uh more thoughts on who that fourth starter would be for the Dodgers in a few minutes but I want to talk about the rest of this game because as great as Yamamoto looked the Dodgers ended up losing this game and they played some pretty shitty baseball the the goods were Tommy Edmond hit his first Dodgers home run ended up with two home runs in the game off imanaga and he's looked like a excellent deadline pickup batting average of 293 um switch hitter which is very hard to come by these days a guy that can hit both left-handed and and right-handed pitching and not only that he plays a really good defensive center field other than that throwing air and he can play short stop and second base um so he's the new versatile player that makes up for kind of the lack of production that Chris Taylor and maybe Kik Hernandez have provided at times for the daughters so love Edmond and then Max Muny hit home run and I know you wanted to talk about Max Muny in a little right now but Max Muny took the Lefty imanaga deep as well yes and that's just my point is that if if you crunch the numbers right and you look at you know historically what Max Muny has done against left-handed pitching it's not pretty but you look at the body of work that he's provided as a Dodger and I'm specific talking about the late game heroics and the clutch stats there should be no world in which you're platooning Max Muny with anybody else I don't care how great of an average Kik Hernandez has now the Dodgers did take three out of four from the Diamondbacks and there was a game in there where Dave Roberts pinch hit Max munzy who is already two for two in that game with Kik Hernandez with with the bases loaded and one out I believe the situation was and you're you're you're telling me that you'd rather have Kik Hernandez at the plate than Max Muny in that situation I get that Kik Hernandez has been clutch in the past and he's good against left-handed pitching but to me Max Muny is a player that you just don't pinch hit forever he is in my opinion in the tier of Otani Betts Freeman Smith teoscar Hernandez you're not pinch hitting for those guys under any circumstances I believe Max Muny deserves that same respect because of the clutch stats and also because he can hit left-handed pitching it may not be at the clip that he hits right-handed pitching but his last two home runs are off lefties he's a major league baseball player and a really good one he can hit left-handed pitching there should be no world where pinch hitting or platooning Max Mony and it just we almost lost that game thank God the Dodgers were able to to to come back and thank God Tommy Edmond again as you mentioned has been great and he was clutch in that game in Arizona so the Dodgers ended up winning that game but boy oh boy that would have been a hard pill to swallow had the Dodgers lost that game and what did Kik Hernandez do in that situation he struck out on three pitches you you would rather have a guy coming cold Off the Bench in that situation than a guy who's already two for two and one of your best hitters and best power hitters and and biggest run producers on this team I I just don't understand that logic how quickly does Dave Roberts forget that Max Muny at times was one of the Dodgers better hitters against left-handed pitching I mean he took Madison Bumgarner deep multiple times throughout his career and come postseason I don't think that the Dodgers should um if it were if it were to be a left-handed pitcher to start I don't think Max Muny should be on should be on the Ben on the bench excuse me he shouldn't be on the bench under any circumstances if he's healthy he needs to be in the lineup and he should not be taken out of the lineup under any circumstances yeah he's also just been better I feel like with his plate discipline um overall he's been able to get some walks and work the count so even if he's not per se hitting lefties as well he's still able to work deep deep counts and set the table pass the Baton for the next guy up and I just I just feel like a guy like Max Muny has too much of a proven track record and has a lot of playoff success that it' be kind of foolish to have him on the bench at any point in a baseball game yeah so so I'm right there with you again like I I I feel like there are some players in this lineup like if you let's say if you were to start Kevin kerm against a right-handed pitcher of course you want to pinit Kik Hernandez against the Lefty if they bring one in against Kier Meer obviously that's the move but I believe Max Muny deserves the treatment that Otani bets Freeman Smith and and Hernandez and and teoscar Hernandez get which is they're in the lineup the entire game unless something unforeseen happens like an injury but they're going to be in the lineup no matter what yeah so for the first half of this game it was awesome Dodgers were hitting home runs Edmond Muny Yamamoto struck out the side I believe twice against the Cubs and he was dealing then we get to the bullpen and it really falls apart I believe in the eighth inning Evan Phillips comes into the game um he gives up some hits he doesn't really have the sharpest command but the Dodgers defense as a whole was just awful in that inning they had three airs Austin Barnes had an air that he should have came through with Kik Hernandez seemed to have flashbacks of the last time he made contact with Cody Bellinger when he ripped his shoulder apart unintentionally and ended Bellinger's Dodger successful career and so he had an air Tommy Edmond had a throwing air and so the Dodgers just unraveled they ended up giving up five runs I think they were up 3 to one and ended up trailing six to3 by the time the inning was over and I'm not going to put really much of it on Evan Phillips but this was another inning where once again Evan Phillips was a little shaky but the Dodgers defense was the culprit here they were just bad yeah I think other than that niik horer double which was a pretty hard hit ball the rest of the balls in that inning were pretty soft was a lot of soft contact I mean what the hell was that throw from a Austin Barnes it it looked like he wasn't even trying to fire it down there we know Austin Barnes doesn't have the best arm or a good arm at all but to me in that situation you got to make a strong at least a strong throw to first base it was so it wasn't even it wasn't even close I didn't understand what was going on there and then Kik Hernandez tried to make a Do or Die Play by Fielding the ball and trying to tag out the runner Bellinger in between first and second and he missed everything and then it was a weird there was also a weird play in the Outfield where Tommy Edmund threw the ball away and Miguel Roos I guess didn't know the trajectory of where the ball was going so he kind of Let It Go as if to kind of maybe let the ball go to third base but that ball was not even going close to third base and then the ball gets out of play and runs score so um yeah I I don't blame Evan Phillips here um because he got he got the soft contact that he was looking for and he should have not given up coughed up the lead the way that they did here I am trying to look up Austin Barn stats thinking that he's been crappy at the play same thing he hitting well yeah so I was about to make the argument like why not have Dalton rushing up on the team and serve as the backup catcher come postseason because it's not like Austin Barnes is probably going to start in the nlds anyways but when I see Austin Barnes batting 368 over his last seven games with three RBI I'm like well that's not going to fly with Dave Roberts because he loves his veterans and he loves his guys so discount that Barnes ain't going anywhere unfortunately I do kind of want to get your opinion though Andy pz or Chris Taylor neither of them have been playing that impressive is this even a race right now or do we just have the Impressions that they're going to give it to Chris Taylor I think it's pretty clear that when they DFA Jason award and basically chose Chris Taylor over him that I I I would say you're probably right that they would lean towards adding the veteran player to the playoff roster given Chris Taylor's track record in the postseason and kind of the you know feel for The Dramatics but man it is it has been a tough watch for ct3 this year um there were a couple moments the in the game where teoscar Hernandez uh in got injured um they brought in ct3 and there was a big spot late in the game where you needed Chris Taylor to put the ball in play and he struck out I think and you kind of wonder why not Andy pz now granted Andy pz makes a plethora of mistakes out there mainly defensively the other night it was a base running era where he it was just a lazy pickoff attempt that he got he got out on uh last night so it's a tough sell uh when you're comparing the two but if it were up to me I would go Andy pz just the way he's been hitting the power um that he possesses and his and he's been hitting the ball a little bit better lately I just think that you know you're you're you're kind of you know you're kind of like holding your nose here um making this pick but yeah I I would go with pz but I fear that you know like we like you mentioned about Austin Barnes and you know Dave Roberts loves his vets and you know ct3 is a proven postseason player so they'll probably go with him asking from Craig osterberg do you think thosar Hernandez is back tonight wasn't he supposed to already be back he was supposed to be back Monday or Tuesday um but like in Dodgers fashion they're always late I will say he was in the on Deck Circle last night he was going to bat but until Muny got robbed by oh my God the vanilla cupcake that is also Willie May apparently in center field Pete Crow Armstrong who you throw you hit anything in his Direction and this guy catches it I mean he is literally the cracker vanilla version of Willie mace out there he's insane he's very athletic you know there was a play last night where was a flyball hit to right center field and he didn't look like he had a beat on it and then the last second like caught it like kind of below his below his waist in between his legs and it was just like I mean [ __ ] if he's making those catches you're screwed I mean t you know you talk about Max mty getting robbed the the last at bat he almost it almost looked like he was gonna Rob Tommy Edmond's second home run last night I mean he was not not that far off from Catching that ball either and then he also robbed Kik Hernandez that was that you know saved a run for them that would have been a huge uh boost uh insurance-wise for the Dodgers so um yeah he completely uh owned Us in the Outfield last night in and in this series not to mention the jobs that Bellinger and and Michael Bush have done too feels like center fielders for whatever reason always have their best performances against the Dodgers there was I don't know if he was playing center field that night but the the night Mike talkman robbed Albert phol of the Home Run he was left but yeah that would have been the the the difference in the division and then Brandon Doyle always seems to come up with amazing catches against the Dodgers when we play the Rockies and now you've got Pete Crow Armstrong who I wanted to pull up his Savant page to see is this guy for real or was he just having a a lucky night but no he is Apparently one of the fastest players in the league so that's why he's able to cover so much ground he has a Sprint speed of 99 out of 100 in the percentiles and then his outs above average he's got he's a plus 11 so he might be a gold Glover this season yeah and he has to be pretty good to move Bellinger to right field I mean we know how good Bellinger is as a center fielder so that's that's a defensively really good Outfield they have there in Chicago yeah so all all you can do is tip your cap to Pete Crow Armstrong the guy was a pesk and we get probably one more night of him so we'll see if he makes any more amazing catches but I mean that pretty much covers this game it was the Pete Kow Armstrong defensive show The Return of Yamamoto and the Dodgers having one of their off nights where they just looked lost defensively but I want to get into the first game of the series now where Walker Beeler started for the Dodgers and he looked bad he gave up five runs nine hits um and he got completely owned by Michael Bush and Cody Bellinger both of them homered off him yeah yeah it's been a rough ride for Walker ber this year it's been very frustrating I mean he just he's just getting hit so hard that you're you're kind of looking at him and you're like we can't have this in the playoffs we just can't like you just and it's such a weird concept too to have a healthy Walker buer and say we don't want him pitching for us in the postseason I mean that's a crazy thing to to think and to say and to experience um because this guy as we know at one point was all world in the playoffs and ever since 2021 it's been a a real rough ride with him not only being out but then being back and pitching pretty badly so yeah he's just getting teed off on right now and with the way that the that game one went last season with Kershaw giving up just a million runs the Dodgers could not recover from that not only in that game obviously but in that Series so if if we're using that as kind of a benchmark you just can't afford to have that happen in a short series you can't afford your starting pitcher just get absolutely shelled and and expect to recover from that because these games are too precious so for me him making this sort of audition tape for himself going into the playoffs he's got to do something pretty spectacular over these last these next couple weeks otherwise I don't know how you even roster him at this point I can't believe I'm saying this in the year 2024 but I'm completely out on Walker bu Clayton Kershaw and Bobby Miller all for making postseason appearances I AG with you they've all been just disappointing for a variety of reasons but since we're talking about Walker beer I mean I understand the struggles because he's coming off a second Tommy John I wasn't expecting him to be the Walker beer pre the second surgery but B but even besides that he's been worse than I expected I thought okay I'll be happy with a high three low four erra he can't even be that for us he has no nasty spin or real true command of his forcing fast ball even when the velocity is there at times it still get hit hard opponents are hitting well above 350 against his four seam fastball um this this other secondary pitches for the most part have been junk too his curveball has been crappy the the change up has been horrendous opponents are hitting 500 against his change up probably because it looks like the same fast ball the way it's coming out of his hand so the really the only pitch that's works for him is his slider but he doesn't really throw that a lot in his pitch mix only about seven and a half perc of the time everything else that's coming out of Walker beeler's pitch mix for the most part has been getting hit hard he's getting lit up and honestly he's just been pretty crappy for the most part ER is basically six his FIP is six expected erra is over five he can't strike anyone out his um Chase rate is very low as well he's walking a lot of batters there's really nothing I positive I could say about Walker berer this season no I mean really no he's had two fairly decent starts pretty much all season and the rest have been bad and he's not only giving up runs but he's getting he they're hitting home runs off of him you know and he walks and he's been walking a lot of guys so you're you're looking at Crooked numbers in the playoffs I I that scares me that scares me um and and same with Miller I just he got shelled by the Angels last time out and I mean to me like looking we're we're what you know mid almost midt right now yeah Bobby Miller I feel like this is his last shot right now I mean to to do anything that would convince the Dodgers to allow him to be uh in the playoffs um but I mean if you have a healthy Yamamoto a healthy glass now you've got Jack flare and Landon Knack I would take those guys every single day over Walker ber Clayton Kershaw and Bobby Miller I just don't think it's particularly close right now basic saying that all those guys are healthy yeah I mean you just mentioned him I think Landon knck based off just who's left he might have to be the game four starter um the last thing I want to add with Walker beer is the last full good season from berer he threw 208 innings for the Dodgers gave up 19 home runs this season he's thrown 59 innings for the daughters he's allowed 15 home runs so the Home Run clip has just been bad and you mentioned earlier that Kershaw is coming back at least he's trying he's been throwing Bullpen sessions again they made him Sketchers made him I think specialized shoes so that he can come down on that toe since it's been aggravate aggravating him with the Spurs and so Kershaw's trying to come back but another guy who just he just looked bad in his last two outings the Rays start wasn't impressive at all and then he was GNA get hit hard regardless in that Arizona Diamondbacks game I think almost him coming out kind of spared him for what what was set up to be a complete shell shitfest because whether it was the injury or not I don't think Kershaw is gonna do well in that game and I think we almost got lucky that he had to come out so that the bullpen saved the day and fortunately the Dodgers actually the bullpen didn't really save the day overall but fortunately the Dodgers offense posted 10 runs that night so that M that made up for the nine runs that ended up being allowed because well and also fortunately I believe that was the Merl Kelly game and the Dodgers own him no I think it was Gallen oh was it I'm pretty sure Gallen Gallen came out one these games one of these games we sh Marl Kelly was the second game where we jumped off to a three nothing lead with the mukie oh yeah that was yeah that was the Gavin Stone game yeah yeah yeah yep you're right um but yeah so Kershaw is another one I don't feel good about him starting a postseason game for the daughters and after Bobby Miller's horrible outing against the angels I don't care if he throws a no hitter tonight against the Cubs I don't think that's enough for me to win me over for him starting a postseason game he's been too sporadic as well he's the most volatile of anybody even more than any of our relievers you don't know what you're going to get from Bobby Miller every time out right and and he I don't want to say he lacks the temperament but the he he does let his emotions get to him a little bit on the mound and if he's going bad he doesn't really have the tools yet to kind of course correct in the moment and especially if he's pitching poorly and he's not commanding his pitches which he's had a lot of command issues this year I agree but again it's like you know the Dodgers pitching staff at a moment's notice could implode with injuries so it's very important that Bobby Miller is as good as he can be each time he gets the ball same with Walker be because if those guys are your only healthy guys we might not have a choice unless unless you want to try and do a bullpen game for one of these playoff games which would be just H I hate that but you know you might not have a choice I don't know if we were facing Roger marris and Mickey Manel or if that was Michael Bush and Cody Bellinger but it might as well have been Roger marris and and Mickey Manel because I don't know what it is about especially Michael Bush facing the Dodgers but he's gone off against us in both series now he went four for five in that game had a home run drove in three RBI and I feel like Cody Bellinger every time faces us now has a great series he had a home run in three RBIs they seem like guys that we should be able to contain and yet like every former Dodger whether it's them Corey Seager cert Ruiz Justin Turner they have their times against us and again you know Michael Bush I I couldn't tell you what his personality is like because he doesn't really show it Bellinger a little bit more but still kind of a reserved guy on the field at least I don't know whether they have chips on their shoulders but both Bush and Bellinger were kind of castoffs for the Dodgers they Dodgers kind of gave up on them at a certain point and so they may be fueled by that it seems um getting a chance to show the Dodgers that you should have kept us and especially for Michael Bush who for years was just blocked from playing anywhere because he's not a great defender and the Dodgers were basically blocked at the corners with Muny and Freeman there was really no place to put Michael Bush um I bet that if he does have that kind of mentality that that would kind of give us an explanation as to why these guys are playing so well but I mean good for them honestly because they're they're kicking our ass we'll see what they do tonight they do have an easier opponent with Bobby Miller so I'm expecting some more runs from this and who's and who's pitching for the Cubs uh I think his name is Jordan Wicks oh yeah that the former Cardinals guy yeah so another Lefty I think Mookie Betts will have a big game um we'll get to your guys' questions in just a couple of minutes so start dropping down those questions and I see some as well so we'll definitely tackle those but I do want to get some injury updates in there um first of all talked about bruar graterol being back so that's obviously a great sight to see um Yamamoto came back Tyler glass now had a very successful Bullpen session and is gonna throw a simulated game in Atlanta I believe is what I heard and he should be back in the Dodgers rotation very shortly if all lines up well to be determined on Kershaw um we're getting some questions about Gavin Stone like from Carlos Gomez don't think we've got any updates on Gavin Stone because I'm pretty sure they shut him down from throwing for at least 10 days and then they'll re-evaluate to see where he's at but I don't really expect Gavin Stone to throw again during the regular season but hopefully I'm wrong there and he comes back um new guys did end up on the iil though first off Anthony Bond what the hell man what every year there's some [ __ ] out there that punches a wall loses their temper I feel like there was even someone that punched the wall when they won the division I'd have to Google that but I'm pretty sure that happened like year or two ago wasn't that Devin Williams it might have been I I know he definitely punched the wall I got to look up to see if that was what caus to be at and this year this is like the third year out of four years now where the Dodgers have someone that's somewhat instrumental in their pitching staff and we lose them for probably the season oras was for much worse reasons off the field but we lost him and now it looks like we're going to lose Anthony Bondo for probably the rest of the season because he had to punch a solid object which was no surprise to me when I the me the minute I heard that that was why he was going on L when he broke broke his hand I was like [ __ ] idiot probably punched something and then the media was able to confirm it after the game but yeah he punched his throwing r or throwing hand so uh broken hands fractured hands those are usually six weeks minimum recovery timelines so he's probably done and I'm pissed off like they could DFA him for this [ __ ] and honestly I wouldn't be be upset it's just so frustrating I I I'll admit something to you Kevin and everyone else out there like I do struggle with the wi with anger issues playing sports like I can get pretty hot whenever I'm playing tennis or softball or whatever I used to play baseball in high school and stuff like that like whenever I play a sport and I don't do well like I I do get furious at myself uh and and might throw equipment or whatever um or break something um but again you know the difference between me Anthony bond is that uh he's a major league baseball player getting paid a lot of money and I'm uh a struggling actor so that's the big difference and and and nobody's counting on me to be a guy that that is gonna lead a team to a World Series or or be a part of a World Series contending team Anthony bond is that guy and especially for him where they kind of brought him on and you kind of thought oh what are we going to get from him and he's been a remarkable surprising addition to this team after the Dodgers you know they they gave up on Victor Gonzalez they gave up on Caleb Ferguson they got rid of Ryan Yarbro all these lefties because they could rely on guys like vessia who's been spectacular and bond who's been very effective not as good but pretty effective as another Lefty out of the bullpen for him to have a bad outing out there which it happens to all relievers and then basically to ruin the rest of his season because who knows if he's going to come back from a broken hand I mean you know everybody's different but like at this stage of the season to break something you're not coming back from that and and even if he does come back from that what what are you going to get from someone like that on his pitching hand no less it's just kind of it seems immature it seems irresponsible and also you're kind of letting your teammates down too um that sucks especially your fellow uh Bullpen mates um you know guys that have been there for a long time like Tran and braer and Phillips and Bruce draer all came back I mean you got gu Daniel Hudson I mean you got a very veteran core of relievers there that are counting on young guys like Anthony bond to come through and for him to do that the way he did it is just it's just so disappointing and frustrating yeah so because of this injury now it sets us up to have someone else who's been worse potentially like Joe Kelly all of a sudden his name probably comes up and could be on the Dodgers postseason Bullpen roster mix but I'm not the first to say this and I'm certainly not the last this opens the door and I think the Dodgers got to pull the trigger you probably have all heard the name by now the flamethrower down in Triple A who's worked his way up through the system rapidly Edgardo henriquez the 22-year-old who can throw 104 mil oper hour gas he's made 11 St 11 appearances now in Triple A Oklahoma City for the Dodgers and the guy has a 169 ER 16 strikeouts over 11 Innings thrown I would just roll the dice pull take a flyer on this guy and bet on the talent and add him to the Dodgers 40-man roster and just just gamble I I think there's just a lot of upside with guys like him and I I mean we've seen a lot from Jo Kelly and other awful players like Nick Ramirez who's maybe the worst relever I've seen for the Dodgers in years I thought Yan Ramirez was worse I'll gladly take him over Nick Ramirez because every time Nick Ramirez goes out there I feel like the guy just came from the buffet line and he's ready to serve some meatballs he's been dog [ __ ] yeah ready to serve them or eat them so yeah know he's been he's been bad um yeah I would be down to take a flyer on that guy too I it just the the track record the Dodgers doing something like that there it isn't it doesn't really exist um they haven't really done that with unproven relievers before just kind of you know FastTrack them to the playoffs or the to the playoff roster um you know without really seeing what they have first for you know a considerable amount of the season so we'll see about that um here's a crazy thought what about adding a guy like Rich Hill for the rest of the season to spot start Maybe come out of the bullpen as a guy that that that that could help you I mean why not I I I why not add him to the roster and see what you got I mean at this point it's like the Dodgers need arms to finish the rest of the season they need to cover Innings um you you're not guaranteeing that Rich Hill is gonna be on your playoff roster I don't think he's eligible what I don't think he'd be eligible yeah okay maybe maybe that's maybe then that's perfect um but I'm just saying that you know you need a guy eight Innings and that's a definite candidate to do that I don't know if he stretched out to be honest I thought he was going to start for the Red Sox and then I looked up his game logs the other day and I have him up again um he was only going one inning basically the most pitches he threw in one outing was 25 so I don't even think he'd be that serviceable for the Dodgers because I don't know how stretched out he is but I do have an alternative solution if you don't know Jake feels a certain way about this pitcher and he fast-tracked himself quicker than I expected and he just pitched yesterday for the Oklahoma City Dodgers and he's been an Allstar before Tony gelin Tony gonin threw two innings had three strikeouts and I don't expect him to be anywhere near the All-Star version of Tony gsin I think the Dodgers themselves even said that if he were to come back this season he'd be a reliever which thank godness thank goodness they actually have the intelligence to think this way because they made that drastic mistake with Dustin may a couple years ago where they kind of almost rushed him back from Tommy John surgery and tried to make him a starter and he was all over the place and effectively ended his season why not see what you've got with Tony gonsin give him a couple more outings in Oklahoma City and audition him for that last spot in the Dodgers Bullpen because they definitely need one or two length guys I you know I I'm not a huge Tony gonin fan as you know but at this point [ __ ] it like we need arms we need healthy arms in this Bullpen and and in this rotation and whether you make gonin an opener where he pitches the first two or three Innings of a game or you make him the bulk guy where he comes in after an opener and pitches three to four in the middle Innings or comes out of the pen and pitches one inning you know you see what you got with him if he's healthy and ready to go why not I mean I'm willing to take a flyer on Rich Hill I'm willing to see what Tony gonin has in store I'm willing to take a flyer on the guy you mentioned in Triple A I'm fine with all of that stuff what I'm not fine with is banking on a guy like Joe Kelly to come back because I've just about had it with Joe Kelly I I I've never really felt comfortable with him at any point really as a Dodger whether he's healthy or on the mound it just seems like it's so unpredictable and a recipe for disaster your Joe Kelly is my Michael Grove I hope Michael Grove's nowhere near the postseason roster he's just been awful as well since coming back he's always been bad I mean he's had stretches of being good but but overall bad yeah so those are both two guys that I don't trust so yeah take a flyer on someone else that we've mentioned um drop your questions below getting to the the final of the show so let's get your questions in there um hit that like button if you haven't yet and there's not that many games left for the Dodgers this regular season so if you're trying to go to Dodgers Stadium and press a friend and press a loved one take a family member maybe you want to go on a road trip download the tickpick app no service fees at checkout and I've been scouting the prices out there on the market they're for the most part cheaper on many given nights than like the seat Geeks The Ticket Masters the StubHub ofs the world um if you're trying to go to a concert tonight maybe you're all about that Lincoln Park reunion download the tickpick app and go check out Lincoln Park with their new singer I have more thoughts on that but you'd have to ask me on Twitter Javier T do you guys see Landon Knack on the postseason roster I mean at this point he's one of the four Health well not healthy but because class now is not back yet but let's say for the sake of arent glass now is back he is one of the the four healthy slash effective starting pitchers that we have so I don't see why you wouldn't add him to the postseason roster given what ber Miller and Kershaw have done so far Landon KN is a Bonafide pitcher continue to let him start every time out and if he just continues to come through Landon a should definitely be on the Dodgers postseason roster Justin yamus lovely Discord member loyal guy you can always count on him to ask great questions Jack flare or and TI Oscar Hernandez do we resign either of them it's G to be tough because T Oscar is going to demand a pretty hefty contract and Jack flare has pitched himself into a very very uh formidable contract uh with the way he's been going so it's going to be tough to sign either of them at let alone both um but I feel like they do need to to retain at least one of them um because why not I mean the the Dodgers have have struggled to especially with starting pitching the Dodgers have struggled to find guys that are good and healthy and flare has been that um this year who knows if he's going to continue to be healthy we know he struggled um you know after coming up with the Cardinals and being effective as he was we know he struggled with injury and coming back from that so uh you kind of take that with what you will and T Oscar Hernandez has had a resurgent year this year can he continue to do that uh year in and year out I mean those are questions that the Dodgers need to answer before they Pony up this money but certainly with what they've done for this team I would love to keep both of them but definitely at least one of them I'd be shocked if the Dodgers don't resign TI Oscar Hernandez I mean the guy gave a press conference the other day to announce that he's not having a season ending injury for crying out loud like this guy has embraced being a Dodger I think he wants to come back I think that the Dodgers are willing to offer him his market value deal I'm calling it almost a near lock that they bring back to Oscar flarity on the other hand I think he's purely a rental I think he's earned a big contract I don't think the Dodgers want to allocate their funds to it I think they're going to focus more on signing a left-handed starter in the offseason because our lefties are very thin both in the bullpen and the starting rotation so I think they pivot make that move there um next up from Maria G what are the chances we make copc a serious offer um I'll say that Michael copc is not an upcoming free agent he's got at least one more year of control and so I don't think the Dodgers have to even make any serious thoughts about this right now I don't know if Michael copc wants to eventually become a starter again because that is naturally what he is or because he is a Boris client maybe they feel that they can chase the most money with him being a reliever I do think the Dodgers will make him an offer when he does become a free agent I don't know how all in they are on him yet because they still have another year to decide agreed okay we got another question from Javier T hate to ask the question but the four starters for the postseason would be glass now Yamamoto uh and then he added Jack flare below Landon Walker and Mill and Miller I mean we've already covered all this those are definitely the guys in consideration um throwing Kershaw I don't think we're missing anyone else Ivy like you guys mentioned with only about two weeks left of the regular season what are your overall thoughts about the reg how the regular season went and was it what you were expecting since spring training pretty good question that is a good question yes it was what I was expecting out of spring training in terms of the where this team is I mean they are battling with the Phillies for the best record in the National League I mean that seems like we could have predicted that because of the way that this team was stacked what I did not expect was just the ravaging of injuries and the amount of Tommy John surgeries this team has racked up just this year of guys going down and needing that surgery has been just mindblowing um and a lot of the the the pitching performances of Walker bu and Bobby Miller I thought especially Bobby Miller I I thought you know Walker berer you didn't really know what you were going to get because he was coming back from from TJ the second one in his career but with Bobby Miller I was like after what he did his his rookie year I was like I was excited for sophomore year Bobby Miller I mean the way he looked out of the gate too I was like here we go this is what we wanted this is what we expected um you know I just think that it's been a very disappointing year starting pitching wise the buen has been amazing Otani has been good if not better than advertised he I don't even know why we're having a conversation about MVP it seems like in my opinion it's a lock for sh Otani and nobody including Francisco Lindor and Chris Sale would even should even be in the conversation if you stack up their uh P their their respective Seasons so um I think my expectations have been met in terms of how well this team is done in the regular season but again the the big worry that I have is will a this starting P this starting staff be ready for October healthwise and effective wise and B will this offense be able to score runs without hitting home runs will they be able to manufacture runs when they need to push runs across scratch and Claw and not just wait for the home run or will they just be hitting home runs left and right because we know if they do that they're going to be winning these ball Gam yeah I mean I would say that so far the the season has definitely met my expectations I'm actually really happy with the starting staff overall it's Miles Ahead better than last season despite just being snake bid in by injuries left and right I mean Gavin Stone was awesome Tyler glass now has definitely met what I was expecting I didn't expect him to throw 200 Innings um at this point I I'm happy with where they're at with him just be healthy for the postseason Yamamoto kind of a blessing in disguise that he didn't have to throw 200 Innings either so hopefully he's fresh for October flarity was an awesome pickup Bullen has been kind of volatile at times there were instances where I was frustrated that we were relying on guys like Johan Ramirez and Nick Ramirez and um letting other guys get saves that had no business being out there so I think the bullpen took a minor step back but it's been solid overall with the addition of Michael copc um and then offense ly yeah it sucked when mooki went down but he would be the MVP right now if he didn't get injured I think I think that's a pretty um sensible take that if if mooki Betts had played a full 162 for the Dodgers it'd be him or shohi for the National League MVP and I think it' be mookie bets to be honest because he's having one of his best seasons ever and it kind of went under the radar because he missed significant amount of time and Sh has just been the superstar that he's been with the home runs and solo bases but m bets has been an awesome number two if you want to call him that yeah and and also to pick up where he left off after he got hit in the hand to basically the MVP level that that we saw when he went down with the injury is nothing short of remarkable um I I I've been loving what I'm seeing from Muki bets not only the fact that they were smart enough to put him back in the Outfield thank God because that is where he belongs but also the other stuff the hitting with runners in scoring position has been massive the guy is hitting out of it way way way way over 350 with runners in scoring position um has been Elite uh in in pretty much every aspect of the game he's also stealing bases and running the bases a lot better than than he normally does um so I you can't say enough about Muki but it's also just his willingness to play shortstop and to and to move around the diamond the way he has for this team um should show you a lot about who he is yeah so I'll give people a chance if you haven't asked a question yet um in the chat but for now that's probably it on the questions I want to just cover real quickly this upcoming Series so wow I did not realize that the Dodgers are now second in the National League they fell behind the Phillies because of this recent slid slide to the Cubs the Dodgers are facing the Atlanta Braves starting Friday they're going to Atlanta right now the Braves and New York Mets are deadlocked tied for that last wild card spot so the Dodgers have a real opportunity to knock the Braves out of the postseason all together and I mean it won't be easy we've got Landon Knack in line to start against schwellenbach who's a good who's been a good rookie for the Braves the game two will be the Marquee match up Jack flare against Chris S probably the NL sa Young front runner and then I don't know if Walker beer will make that start or they'll push him back a day but I've seen Walker beer for against Charlie Morton in game three and then game four is to be determined but kind of any uh predictions expectations what you hope to see in this series just based on the pitching matchups the Dodgers um I'd be confident in saying that that that they'll win two out of three um probably game one and game three depending on who pitches in that game because the Dodgers typically hit Charlie Morton well um they've seen him a lot um over the course of his career especially kind of the second half of his career they've seen him a lot so and they've and they've done pretty well against him um schwellenbach is a really good rookie for them so he he could dominate this Dodgers lineup but I feel confident with Knack on the mound and the Dodgers ability to um to score runs that they that I I feel confident in that game one the game two is going to be an interesting one I feel like Jack flare is gonna Gonna Keep the Dodgers in the ball game and it's just a matter of if the Dodgers can beat Chris Sale and Chris Sale has been had a very resurgent year and like you said front runner for the Sai Young so that's gonna be that's gonna be a tough game to win yeah so this is sorry I'm standing corrected it's a four game series yeah it's four okay well then so do we know the match up for the the I don't think the Dodgers have haveen lined up or even know who their starter would be for the Braves it might be Max freed but also I think he's pitching today so to be determined um yeah I mean I'd be happy I'd be happy with a split you know I think given the matchups and the fact that we're on the road uh a four game series a split um but three out of four obviously is the goal yeah we got a split at a bare minimum we haven't locked up the division yet so a four game sweep would be absolutely devast stating for us to to face so we got to win some of these games and just continue to play good baseball and have that NL locked up by the time we Face the Padres but yeah I think this is a good showcase for Jack flarity not only for the Dodgers but his upcoming free agency if he can throw a master class against the Braves that'll be a really big booster at Landon Knack if he dial if he's dialed in and dazzles then it makes us feel more confident about him starting a postseason game for um the Dodgers and if Walker beer is pitching in this series and gets lit up then I think you got to pull the plug and maybe cut his season short so lot writing on Walker beer in this series um Freddy Freeman obviously making his return to Atlanta once again hopefully he goes off he he's been quiet in this Cub series but I feel like Freddy Freeman is gonna get fired up to be in Atlanta I think this is this is going to be just a big big booster for a guy I can yeah I agree it's a it's it's a big series and fortunately in the in the most recent uh pass the Dodgers have done well against good teams I mean they took two out of three from Cleveland they took three out of four from the dback so this is another test of a good team and I think the Dodgers are ready and they're healthy enough to win this series if not you know at the very least split it yeah all right well I think that's all I got today Jake is there anything else you wanted to cover any final segments topics questions you want to throw out there no I think that I think that pretty much covers it podcast today if you haven't hit that subscribe button yet and you're listening on the audio feed please hit that subscribe button and if you're watching the YouTube channel and you are watching after the fact after we went live because once we go live these videos are out there forever so if you want to revisit this in three years and make fun of some of our takes that's out there unfiltered so you can see what aged well what didn't age well but anyways where I'm going with this is leave a comment drop a comment below share your thoughts what do you think the Dodgers are going to do against the Atlanta Braves and who would be your game four starter if you had to choose Landon Knack clay Kershaw Walker berer Bobby Miller someone else let us know we're going to