DodgerHeads Postgame: Shohei Ohtani & Decoy first pitch, Walker Buehler takes big step

e M magic DOD have won at all High Fly ball into right field she is gone he struck him out two balls at a strike the count on Taylor fires swinging a Drive De left downi his right back [Music] Tay what's up everyone welcome into Dodger Heads live presented by Dodger blue.com part of the bluewire podcast Network my name is Jeff spegel joined tonight by Matthew Moreno special guest because he's not usually here with us on Wednesday night but always good to have Scott gearman here breaking down what started out as maybe a discouraging night and ends on a positive note the Dodgers end up winning this one six to four to maintain a three-game lead in the National League West they take back sole possession of the best record in Major League Baseball as always we appreciate the folks joining us live on Facebook on YouTube on Twitter hopping into the chat we appreciate you gonna be a fun show tonight uh Scott I'll just come straight to you uh this thing could have gone about a thousand different directions it ends up being kind of a pretty comfortable win over a really good Orioles team definitely a lot to get into a lot to break down about Walker b a lot of signs like a lot of positive stuff there coming out of his pitch mix we've seen him um you know struggle as of late and then his comments Following last his last outing uh he said it he was he said I'm gonna say this and it might sound ridiculous but he felt better uh and tonight he looked better defense didn't help him out at all but some stuff with his pitch mix made me very encouraged he was working backwards a lot of time Landing stuff in the strike zone I liked what I saw tonight it was great for the offense to pick him up yeah Matt that that's the storyline is the offense against a guy in Corbin Burns who I know has been struggling but still is one of the better pitchers in Major League Baseball gets six runs which was enough to not just cover up Walker buer because we're going to get into the issue was more defense than it was Walker buer but this felt like just a team effort ber looked good the bullpen was absolutely lights out with Michael copc another electric ninth inning and the offense tasar Hernandez sh Otani six runs from them as well so this is kind of the complete team effort that it feels like we've been missing of late yeah definitely and I can't believe we got into what about three minutes into this video without mentioning decoy who was uh the big the biggest star arguably of the night uh but yeah I mean it was great you know Otani he's kind of been doing more of what we've seen from him the past you know all entire this entire season really for the for the most part and yeah to your point I know Scott has a lot of uh data and stuff he's excited to share about ber and for me I was excited to know I was going to be on tonight and I saw it lined up the ber start because I believed I knew that Walker buer was going to uh take that step forward that he's been promising everybody Scott did you hear the disdain in his voice when he said the word data right there it was just like he got this data that he's some some big some big Rubik's cube of data man I've got just some simple pitch mix stuff I'm bringing up tonight just some simple stuff I promise stay tuned see I've tried doing Simple with Matt before and the feedback I got is that it's it's rarely simple uh let's get to a couple super chats for M Smith o Walker buer a stake uh this one could have gotten ugly early on the defense left Walker buer down in the second as he's referring to here an error by m a brain fart from Will Smith lead to a two out two-run double and then an RBI bloop single but buer rebounds the offense covers it up and so what could have gone sideways defensively ends up coming back we're going to circle back to Will Smith in some of this conversation so hang tight there uh Christopher um Walker Beer's real line five Innings no earn five strikeouts one walk five hits gets charged for the earned run uh for a runner that will allowed to score Mis check swing call charged another earned run and lost a strikeout um I I'm with Christopher here in that I think Walker ber as we were breaking down hey what are we gonna talk about tonight ber to me Matt is the storyline uh Christopher says his line is five innings no ear and run the box score is going to go down I don't know what Matt's itest says we'll check in on that in a second but the Box Score says 4 and2 five hits four runs only two of them earned one walk four strikeouts 26% was the whiff rate on that Matt give me just your reaction to what we saw from Walker buer especially in light of kind of the narrative around him given his performance thus far this season I mean it was it was important for him to put this kind of start together and you know it was unfortunate I wanted him to be able to get through five innings just because it looks a little bit cleaner to be able to finish that off and you know even five is not necessarily the type of length that I know that he would want to provide the Dodgers but where he's at right now isn't the pitch we've discussed this he's not the pitcher he used to be a couple years ago and that's fine like I think he can still you know hopefully find some Middle Ground where he proves to Be an Effective pitcher for the Dodgers it's unfortunate the defense the defensive miscues even though you know it was only one air technically but the two sort of mishaps uh reality is bu's not in a position right now where the Dodgers can really get away with that stuff I mean they did tonight I guess but they're not in terms of getting away I mean like you do stuff like that and odds are right now the runner that you just let on base is probably going to score because berer still not at you know anywhere near his peak of like I said what we saw last year or hopefully where he'll you know kind of get to at this point this season If he if he keeps taking you know a half step forward here and then a full step forward the next time out whatever the case is yeah no I'm with you and you know you mentioned the pitch count obviously that number would have been lower had Will Smith made the play Max Muny made the play he gets out of that one the earlier Super Chat referenced the check swing which you know that's a that's a I don't that that unfired down at third base deserves zero benefit of the doubt okay that said fine I either way he calls that I think you could justify it berer ends up giving up a double but Scott let's get into the mix um I was surprised you were on a text thread with Matt and I and and you were actually positively encouraged by Walker beer heading into this one not reactionary to what we saw but actually looking at the the data as Matt would say coming into this one and saying you liked you were optimistic that The Bu we saw tonight was actually the guy we were going to see so talk me through what you saw coming into this one and then then maybe what you what was confirmed with uh with what came out of it so all along you know if you've looked back at his you know start to start a common denominator has been his cutter and I know I see a lot of people in chat we've got a smart chat in here tonight great job guys that his cut fast ball has always been terrific it's but he's landed himself in counts where it's just has been an inopportune times to throw it um it's it's I've seen a lot of people say it's a strikeout pitch it's a setup pitch for you know something you know Wipeout thing but his cut fast ball has been consistently good uh and what tonight was very very you know ey raising uh is that his knuckle curve usage on the year it's been right around 16% right tonight he's throwing about 37% knuckle curves he landed about half of them in the zone that's a big percentage so going from an uncompetitive pitch something that he's used as a waist pitch he's Landing those for strikes in the zone and we saw him tonight I know he gave up I think it was a double on a on a knuckle curve that kind of hung up outer half but he landed those for strikes and he was working backwards and he had a lot of Cutters and I I saw somebody else in chat say it looked like Walker ber was knowing what he was doing and I know Matt's gonna love this line I'll go pitch by pitch I don't know if anybody else does this but during counts I'm gonna say I would like to go you know fast ball away here cut her inside it looked like you could Telegraph what he was doing because there were smart pitch selections today and you could tell when he was missing was right there and that's the first time I've seen it in quite some time well and even going back to his last start Scott is when you started to see the knuckle curve was the most prominent pitch that he threw last time he actually got it more into the Zone 52% of the time his last time out so what I'm hearing from you is when Walker beer comes out of the game last time and says I know the results aren't there but I actually feel better is you're seeing alignment between last time out and this timeout even though the results were better that you actually is that kind of what what I'm hearing from you chane took away he took away the Sinker he took away the Sinker right in tonight he only threw three of them and he went completely away and I I just I really enjoyed what I saw from him and I'm going to keep on that uh I love the fact that he flips some usage around go with whatever feels good instead of trying to force feed things uh he said before in the past he needs to start being a like trying to get to a pitcher that he was and we've all all said on here and everybody watching Walker bu has said he needs to start being the pitcher that he is so I think right now is an encouraging thing from him and his fast ball played up at some points because guess what he wasn't throwing it in really really uh predictable counts yeah well and the number to me on the fast ball that jumps out was 80% of his fast balls were in the zone tonight and so it's an it's a keep you honest pitch that when you're throwing that many knuckle curves and the fast ball is actually Landing for strikes and it's not just balls and Strikes there's a command element it's not just like oh that was a strike but he missed his spot by 3T he was hitting corners of the Zone he was hitting the glove oral even mentioned it on the broadcast the glove isn't moving and so that's sort of the key for me so let me ask both you and Matt I'll Loop you back in here like what from what we've seen from ber on a night like tonight what about this do you believe is sustainable like who's the real Walker buer because if you look at this guy's game log we know what tonight is four and two3 two earned runs and and let's be honest let's call it five innings one earned run because that feels like a more accurate repres presentation of what we saw this is the same guy who's given up 13 earned runs over the three starts prior to this this is the first time he got past the full four Innings at any point so Matt I'll start with you which of those two Walker beers do you think is more likely to be the guy we see moving forward and both of you I'm saying right now you can't say in the middle if you had to choose if you had to choose the Walker buer that's like a you know three and a halfish ER guy or the Walker bueler who's a five and a half ra guy which one are you choosing Matt I'm going to choose to be optimistic I like it and I'll I'll hedge it a little bit even though and I'm going to try to hopefully not put this put me in the middle but I think if Walker like if he we I feel like we did see this so earlier in the season and Scott you can correct me if I'm wrong I think you and Blake were on it early in the year of you know his pitch mix and his Arsenal and what he was doing and there was I think a one start in particular and he might have been successful in it where he went away from the Sinker and a lot of the stuff that kind of be giving him a hard time and it seemed like okay he figured it out like he realizes he he was admitting to you know I need to make adjustments I need to do this and that but then I thought there was some regression and he went back to you know try as Scott trying to be the pitcher that he was and then he got himself into trouble so if you know Walker like one thing like he's very cerebral like that's something that everybody has always said is you know he thinks the game through he's very aware of things and stuff like that so if he's going to be open-minded to how he needs to approach things now with what he's got then I think this is the picture we can see we can we'll see moving forward that's who I'll pick but if he decides to go Haywire on me again I that can't be held against me I'm gonna say well no I I added that caveat so that's how I'm kind of covering covering my uh behind here if you will Scott I'm gonna come to you and it is interesting because I do want to point this out I was just digging in it's it's what I'm hearing from you on the pitch Mi is mix is interesting to me and the only reason I'm hesitant to buy in is because it's the exact same pitch mix he had one St too he ditched his Sinker against Seattle and still gave up 10 base runners in four Innings he was high knuckle curve and still only had one strike out in that game now I said after that one that the whiff rate was encouraging he was getting more swing and miss and so maybe it was just a matter of like it hadn't translated to actual like batted ball luck if you will so Scott the same question I asked to Matt three and a half ER or five and a half ER if you were forced to choose one of those for Walker beer moving forward which side would you sort of put your chips on so I've said that you know I think on last stream I had with Blake I think we we spoke on Walker bu and I had a pretty solid you know answer to something Blake said about Walker bu hasn't been losing them games when he's been in there he's been fine you know he sticks right around there if it's threee runs something like that sticks right there that's been okay like the offense has to play it has to pick up if you're ask me to say is he more of round of five a five is I'm going to say he's right around a little bit above three and a half now I'm going to say I'm encouraged by what he's been seeing I like his spray charts are way better he's staying more in the strike zone it looks like it's more competitive pitch to pitch and I think that game planning going within I haven't checked how Baltimore was going on you know big off speed stuff there knuckle curves curveballs stuff like that going in but I was really encouraged at the fact he was changing eye levels his waist pitches were competitive he wasn't completely getting away from stuff and his cutter was right where it should be and he wasn't leaving it and looked all night that it looked like Walker bu had the Orioles off balance yeah and that was a big thing for me uh and and so I'm going to say I'm not going to say three and a half I'm going to say a tiny bit above I'm going to say he's a little bit he's a little bit more to four but if he's able to give them four he's able to stay competitive and you can give him five because you think about a night like tonight Orioles are a top offense they're they're a terrific ball club and if those errors don't happen Walker Beer's start is extended and he went through the heart of the order multiple times and I felt encouraged each time through so I'm going to say he's a little bit above a three and a half if right at four fine by me this is you know steps ahead so Walker rer with what he said that he's been feeling better you saw it tonight my only question now Jeff and Matt you know is how much time does Walker ber have to you know keep working on it how much more time does he have to keep tinkering away he's got a month he's got a month yeah I think he bought himself some more time and I'm with you the reason I think it's significant that that both of you are saying kind of that three and a half to four range is because to your point Scott you know on one hand you you could frame it as he hasn't been losing them games um I would argue three Innings and three earned runs isn't like yes that's an the earned run column has a three in it but if you look back game by game I mean obviously he had came into the game with a 6.09 erra on the season but this is a guy that three earned in four Innings you know four three earned in three and a third seven earned in four three earned in five three earned in three so those are all big numbers closer to nine than they are to three and so but I'm with you because this is two starts in a row that we've I I think there's been encouraging you know and I I know Matt this I don't know is whiff rate is that a nerd stat Matt help me out here swing and Miss it's as simple as it comes I'll no I'll I'll say that one isn't that's a that can be that's in my category we're good and and for me with Walker beer it's two in a row where the wi rate has been encouraging and if he's missing bats to Scott's point is able to mix up the pitches locate the fast ball get the knuckle curve in the zone and make it a competitive pitch that they have to respect keep guys off balance mix in the cutter to which Scott's point the Scutter the cutter might be his best pitch and sometimes we make the mistake of well the best pitch is the one you throw the most no the cutter is the one that he's getting like his whiff rate on that pitch is like 50% in some of these games and it's in part because he's saving it for opportune moments when he can get the swing and Miss they're looking fast ball and they're getting cutter instead so um I'm with you Scott in that he's bought himself time and you know I was saying with Anthony last time and I was wrong about this I was like I don't know how many more starts he has Scott is there any doubt in your mind that that Walker beeler's in the rotation until I'm not saying in the playoffs but basically until the end of the season yeah I mean they kind of have to with the way the you know injuries currently are Yamoto making his way back you don't know um at the end of the day you've got arms that you can bring up land a knack roesy you can go from there um but with what Walker bu's doing I would say I know I see people in chat saying we had him out but I would I would push back that if you looked at at bats to at bats it's a lot of him getting into two strikes and not being able to find an out pitch and these last this last little bit I would say this start and a little back end of the one that he's shown a little bit more and that's all we can ask of a guy who is walking the line if is even a major league pitcher anymore uh and can he stick and be a contributor so I would say there's there is more to see from him it's just going to be you know in the next queue how much is he doing because if he stays on this track Like It's he can give him some solid Innings I'm not saying he's going to blow people down but tonight's line is not indicative of what he was he was he was solid tonight he was good yeah and look I I'll own that I was the one that said that you know I don't see it Anthony was telling me six Innings two earned last night and I was like bro you're crazy what are we smoking over here and and he gets credit technically I was more right four Innings two earned runs was my prediction which was closer but I said Anthony gets the win because I I was not optimistic like Anthony was but look I think that's one thing that I think we as a show do a good job of we say something we're wrong we stand up here and say hey we were wrong I thought ber was off and out and done and maybe there's a little more life in Walker ber than we thought let's get to some of these super chats I apologize that we've waited a little bit Godfrey with a $10 Super Chat he's complimenting Scott and the Super Chat is covering Scott's face so we apologize for that there we go uh said Scott I agree with you defense is important that's why kir Meer is on the team I know munty has improved defensively but his defense is bad he's a player I feel has no position either uh this is interesting uh Scott because Muny actually graded out really well defensively prior to the injury so is this just rust working him way his way back into shape or is this kind of the Mony of old popping his head back up he's had the ability and and you know Matt and Matt will know Matt keeps an eye on these things he's big on the air category um max munzy with throws down a third base has always been a work in progress it just has that's him he's shown that he you know bounce some stuff take his time you know moving to his left has been sometimes an issue charging on some things which he hasn't proved on but but I would say you know it's going to be periodical that Max Muny has these hiccups uh it's just was at a very very tough spot so it's magnified uh you just can't have these things for like I said we we spoke on a side that you can't have these mistakes uh with a pitcher that needs your defense to be perfect yeah I'm with you it's one thing if it's glass now on the mound or flarity on the mound who you feel like has the ability with Walker beer it's like give this guy every break he could possibly get he didn't get that tonight and he's still battle guys who are giving up contact can't have these type of things if it's Happ a balls in play on a play that needs to be made you have to make that play y yeah Ro Helio says sticky stuff Bandit Walker is here to say Matt I didn't get a chance to come to you uh Walker buer gonna gonna start baseball games for the Dodgers from here until the end of the regular season oh definitely I mean I I think he was regardless of what on short of I guess if he had only pitched like one inning tonight or something I think he was going to make at least another start or two uh with how tonight went I think know you can pretty much pencil them in through the rest of September yeah even if they get totally healthy with Yamamoto and glass now back which we'll get to don't don't don't get your hope stuff on that one even if they get there you could easily keep Kershaw Stone and bu go to the six-man rotation which they've uh allegedly not done at any point this season and yet practically have done for the entirety of the season when uh when given the option uh John with the Super Chat Anthony said Walker would surprise us tonight again Anthony gets a victory tonight because he held on to his walker beer stock and uh you know everybody was selling that stock taking what they could get for it Anthony Held on so kudos to Anthony uh Lucas with the Super Chat copc equals game over you guys have a phenomenal show we appreciate the kind words Lucas thank you uh Scott I tweeted Michael copc is who Craig Kimbrell thinks he is uh he's got the man bun he's a lot bigger than Craig Kimbrell he actually throws 101 miles an hour still and he's nasty now all due respect Craig kimberl perfect inning tonight but we'll send that to the side uh the Dodgers have a close cler and he's intimidating and it's 100 miles an hour and it's a real deal we guys everybody in chat you guys have you the last show Blake and I were on we had the conversation about uh closer Craig not Craig Kimbell uh Michael copc in the ninth or Evan Phillips in the ninth you know how's it going to go in the eth swap him around pick your spots there is Evan Phillips gonna have two righy a lefty it works out phenomenal tonight uh Michael cop's got the stuff he's got the he's got the vibe of a closer and I don't think anybody can you know argue that Evan Phillips had a terrific outing tonight he looks confident when he was having that turnaround it was moving him around and I loved it Blake kept it honest and said like instead of trying to I fan him my Elm or send him back down figure it out keep him in a low leverage spot let him work through it get that Mojo where he was best in that fireman role and I think that's what it is and I don't care if copc doesn't want to be the closer just put him in the ninth I don't if if it's if he's not the closer uh just put him there like it doesn't need to be the closer but he's got the best stuff on staff and when he comes in that's a 101 plus you know fastball man like wipe out stuff like you said there's no doubt it's game over like it's we haven't seen this in a bit man so I think you just have to lock it in Michael copc will own it man he's got that mound presence that it's it's it's top end top end yeah and and the thing that I've you know kind of highlighted when you look at his page yes it's a 99th percenti fastball velocity of 98.7 average but the extension he's 6.9 feet off of the because of how big he is so it's it's one of the fastest fasts that's coming at you from closer than just about every other fast ball in the league that combination it may ring 100 101 on the gun but it feels like 103 104 I'm sure to these guys coming home um and Matt to the point that Scott's making I think sometimes we imagine Dave Roberts as a guy who just mixing matches in his Bullpen but if you look at big picture over the last few years he kind of picks a guy who's the closer and sticks with that player for most of the time it was Daniel Hudson at one point this season um but it definitely seems like over the last few weeks it is it is clear to everybody watching that Evan Phillips is the fireman Michael copc is the closer and everybody else kind of fits in around those two guys it looks that way but Dave says that the Dodgers have a closer by community so they don't have any they don't have any Clos right now don't get me Dave say there you go buddy there you go no yeah that was I think when I was on with Daniel uh earlier this week that was something that him and I like we discussed the bullpen and I said look I what Scott basically just said like copc has pitched well enough to earn that closer job just put him in there I think the Dodgers and probably even Evan Phillips even though Phillips has been open to any role they've needed but I he found his the majority of the bulk of his success before this year obviously in the fireman role and that worked like you could trust him you know if if you need to use copc in the eighth inning for whatever reason then okay Phillips could be the guy you use in the ninth if you haven't uh ped pitched him yet or Daniel Hudson and you know once bruar graterol is back maybe you know he's somebody who could get back into that uh role Ryan brazer has pitched well so yeah I do agree with you know to sound like a broken record with what Scott said and Jeff you as well like yes just let copec be your closer let Evan Phillips go back into the fireman role that kind of vaulted him into the closer role because he pitched so well and was so locked down anyway and then you also have Blake Tran and Daniel Hudson who I know have I mean Hudson hasn't pitched in what nine days now or something like that so he's getting a little bit of a of a break to reset so fine but if Hudson and or tryan can get back to or close to the levels that they showed earlier this season then you just mix and match with everybody and I I think that the Dodgers at that point could be in a position where they have one of the best bullpens in baseball I mean and then you get in you know as much as you want length from starting pitchers like I would like to see it like the reality is the Dodgers don't have that right now but hey if Tran Hudson Phillips those four or five guys can cover fessia four or five innings for you before you get to copec yeah that's not a bad strategy yeah and look I mean the way baseball is played especially nowadays is is you kind of need two Elite relievers the fireman role is equally as important as the closer because what we've learned as they've kind of studied this stuff and analytics has moved more into the Forefront is hold on I'm hold on pause yourself here yeah is is that if the the two three four five hitters in a lineup are due up in the seventh inning that inning is just as important if not more important than facing seven eight and N in the ninth inning and so for the Dodgers you need two guys it's not like well where do we pck this guy it's okay you need an elite fireman boom Evan Phillips has done that role succeeded in that role fine and then Michael copc you need a guy who can handle the ninth inning those are both different deals you need a guy who can handle the adrenaline of the ninth inning the tight game and copc by all account can and you also need a guy in Phillips who doesn't know when he pitching he doesn't know like minute to minute hey is it going to be the seventh inning is it going to be the eighth inning is it going to be the sixth inning is there going to be two two guys on and nobody out in the the top bottom of the six and they need me there and so the Dodgers have found it and to your point Matt as the thing that I've tried to be be on all year is they have the guys to mix and match around vessia bonda Hudson Tran like all four of those guys have potential to be in the same category as Phillips and and copc that we're talking about they have been at various points and so if you have six guys that you can mix and match in the sixth seventh eth and nth then all of a sudden you're starting to cook with some gas there so uh couple more Super chats here saki bomb with the $5 Super Chat We Appreciate You Kik looked uncomfortable at first with his footwork tonight uh Scott I'll be honest I've been impressed with Kik Hernandez at first face because the bar to me was not replicate what Freddy Freeman has done but all things considered I think Kik has more than handled himself over at first he's been fine fine he's been absolutely fine like filling in there like the play in short right where he went out there I said to my buddy I was chatting with I was like Freddy probably relinquishes relinquishes that play to Lux and K is able to get out there just you know he as long as you don't make a mistake and you don't you don't make it more complicated than it has to be you're fine fill him in there I'm I'm very happy that they're keeping Max M Muny at third base and they're not moving him around the diamond like lock him in there let him get you know didn't work out tonight um but I'm really happy with it so K's been fine K's been fine I I agree with you Scott on the M piece like we just talked about he's fresh off the injured list let him get as many reps as possible there are going to be some ugly moments yes but uh so be it uh rod with the Super Chat here lots of unearned runs scored by both teams tonight and I do think this is worth pointing out we talked about all the Dodgers errors uh in that second inning but the Dodgers get one back uh with Kik Hernandez reaching on an error and then scoring another run on a Gund Henderson error so both teams basically gave away two runs You could argue maybe the Dodgers gave away three so I do think Matt that the defense was bad for the Dodgers but we we can say say that we were a bit fortunate by a couple of Errors By the third baseman in the shortstop for Baltimore as well yeah I mean Gunner Henderson for he's an all World Talent him and Bobby Whit Jr we entering a very special time for Short Stops in Major League Baseball but something Gunnar Henderson will work on the offseason and throughout the year uh is going to be his Fielding he has 20 errors on the year year now I think it's they put the stat up on the on snla that it's uh third in Major League Baseball so yeah Dodgers got a gift there but you take advantage of it I was really encouraged that uh with Otani on Third and two out or two strike count Lux put the ball in play Force Gunner Henderson to have to hurry up make a play and you profit off of that you you you cash a run in and make it happen so that's something I really liked I'm I'm yeah man you gota you got to make those things pay when those things happen against top teams every opportunity you can get every you mentioned Otani it's tragic that we're at the 29 minute Mark and we have yet to talk about the guy who now is 42 home runs and 42 steals we're going to get to that in one second we have one more Super Chat here from the Lucas and sad show uh who are the starting pitchers for the Arizona series we got one more game against Baltimore okay but Friday Saturday Sunday and Monday the weird wraparound deal at Arizona uh a big one for the Dodgers yeah nothing official here ESPN is is kind of the place go to when we're speculating on who the pitchers are going to be because they tend to map it out eight or 10 days ESPN has Kershaw Stone flarity and the same guy we saw tonight Walker berer in that setup so Bobby Miller kind of the one guy in the Dodgers rotation if you will that that Arizona would be missing so to answer this question Matt Kershaw Stone flarity and ber against Gallen Kelly fought and Rodriguez uh how we feeling about that Matt as it as it plays out on ESPN you might you might have better better info than me yeah I was going to say first a couple things one is I mean I know flare will get into it he does seem to be okay but I mean if the Dodgers decide to air on the side of caution they could move him around a little bit uh two is on September 1st that's the first days that act first day that active rosters expand okay and so there is the potential that the Dodgers will call up somebody to make a spot start okay uh I don't know if maybe it wouldn't be and it wouldn't be Yamamoto because both of those guys pitched tonight it could be roesy though it lines up it works for him I don't know if maybe the Dodgers are going to see like how the first three games go before throwing a rookie against the Diamondbacks in Arizona I don't know if they'll just say hey like kids's gonna have to learn this to sink or swim I mean he started against the Astros also like it you know it wasn't like he's not uh completely inexperienced with a hostile environment uh but that could be something to sort of monitor as well but I mean that aside I think look the Dodgers pitching like it kind of it is what it is like it I could see it going both ways right like Kershaw could continue to keep trending in the right direction but if he also has historically sort of struggled at Chase Field so if he were to have a little bit of a clunker would I be shocked not really uh my bigger concern just to kind of go back to the MSY stuff would be the Dodgers heirs tend to come in bunches when they start committing them so that would be probably my bigger worries like are they G to is Arizona we've seen it in not so much this season but last year like they applied a bunch of pressure on the Dodgers because they're stealing bases this and that putting the ball in play and so if if the Dodgers have another little rough patch defensively like that can end up dooming them more than whoever's on the mound Scott if you're Dave Roberts and you're choosing between basically roesy or Walker buer to get that four start because flarity is going to pitch either whether it's on Sunday or Monday um I'm looking at the after that is at Los Angeles at the angels I should say Angels scream roesy and Bobby Miller two starts right there to like it's just calling out to me in neon lights do do you think they go roesy and bump everybody back and give the rest or say hey these games matter Walker buer right now gives us a better chance to win than Justin roesy we're gonna leave things as is are you saying that or you being Dave Roberts cap I'm asking do I would say ber gives you a better chance to win than Justin roesy okay so this year disagree I I I do I want to say I'm going to say I'm I'm going to say the number show that Arizona has been a sub 500 team against left-handed starters but Justin roesy has had his own hiccups and it doesn't look like the Diamondbacks are going to get Christian Walker or catel Marte back uh which is humongous like that I can't overstate how big that is uh and but I'm gonna say I want to see I want to see what Walker berer can do because you have to throw him in the fire yeah uh but it also wouldn't shock me to give Walker bu a start against the Angels or push it back a bit and call Rob bless up uh and give them a better opportunity just based on the data and having not not having catel Marte or Christian Walker in there and don't give jock Peterson a chance to face uh Walker buer so if you want to ask me what the numbers say it's that I would start roesy but for where Walker ber is at in his development it would be Walker bu so if they want to go with what the trend is then you start roesy but if they're going to believe in what bu's got for the last little bit that we're seeing then it's going to be ber yeah it's interesting to me Matt because you said roesy also I love roesy I got to see him pitch I got to interview him everybody knows how I feel about guys that get to interview I buy in he's a great dude I love this stuff 100 from the left sometimes I feel like maybe the results we've actually seen from roesy we kind of forget about because he's young and he throws a 100 like we all just said we think Walker Beer's a three and a half to four ra guy robbles is a 47 ra guy on the season his last time out was three home runs allowed to the St Louis Cardinals in Innings so talk me through Matt why roesy is ah head of BU in your mind as well yeah that's fair I remember you and I did uh one of our short videos and you put up kind of blank stats and you know had me pick and robles's numbers being as high as they were were like eye popping like I hadn't realized that they were that bad all of this is fair and I love this conversation that we're having ultimately honestly what it may boil down to is the Dodgers how they want to give whether it's ber or another pitcher an extra day of rest like that is probably going to be more of the driving Factor than and do we trust ber matching up do we want roesy this like and so this is a fun exercise and I love doing it it's it's a great debate and you know I I would lean roesy more so than ber just from the standpoint of I think the velocity still gives you a little bit more of a margin for air and that can be helpful uh that being said like you pointed out robles's stats this season have you know he's not exactly been shutting you know every opponent down yeah look and I think roesy like don't take this the wrong way I I'm buying Rob Lei stock longterm I'm just saying shortterm I think it's interesting uh and again Walker beer had one good start and here we are having this conversation so all things are fair on this one uh Super Chat $20 Super Chat from David he said all right Matt you guilted me into this $20 hope you enjoyed the food picks as much as I enjoy sending them David is is a loyal listener we appreciate you David uh he loves the food conversations that we have I don't know if it's a weekly deal or what but he goes to this place that serves incredible looking food I believe it was a lobster B bisque and some like uh cheese crustinis there it looked fantastic there was a $20 bill sitting on the side of the picture and Matt said are you saving that for the Super Chat so David comes through clutch he only had one bowl instead of two Lobster bis because of you Matt but the 20's coming to us so shout out to David we appreciate you and uh Matt Lobster bis you a lobster B bis guy I'll eat it like I don't love like it's not necessarily the first thing I would pick David's picture did look very good like I would what he ordered like if somebody set that down in front of me I would have happily uh eating it and you know yeah I did see the the 20 there so of course had to give David a little bit of a hard time we appreciate you David not only tonight but you know every you're in here pretty much every night with us so thank you Scott lobster bisque not gonna happen not a big you know cream stuff cream based things come on wrong guy wrong guy wrong guy all cream all cream stuff no no no pass this over get out of here no more no more heat no more heat don't do this you know where this is Brandon bails you out here super chat does show get to 50 as I said showy Otani 42 home runs tonight two more stolen bases 4242 Matt he is now one Homer and one steel away from being the first player to ever have 43 homers and steals in the same season that's the number that nobody's ever gotten to in both categories it's 43 of course nobody cares about 43 everybody wants to know about 4545 or 5050 Joe Davis mentioned on the broadcast that he's now on Pace for 51 and 51 I've said all along I'm not worried about the steals the steals he can get pretty much whatever he wants he's been stealing second he's been stealing third they had they had the stat 18 consecutive stolen base attempts successful for Otani the guy gets stolen bases whenever he wants Matt I'll give you the first bite at the Apple here does Otani get to 50 home runs no wow there we go all the optimism all the Walker optimism we used it all up it's all gone I think he'll finish uh just short okay Scott you want to uh you want to redeem the optimism The Vibes here for a second or you going under as well he needs to get one in the next three days another Homer in the next three days and Otani gets 5050 okay I like yes the Home Run he hit today the Home Run he hit today was so stupid crazy he had no legs all arms reaching for it and just pop like no big deal what we say last year little remember little flick little flick stupid just a little flick he's he's stupid like that this stuff is so dumb everything this guy does is crazy to me uh the stolen base at second then the wild pitch situation in between third dodging the foul ball his dog I mean he's got the best trained dog mat in the history of dogs apparently 70,000 people however many people got there for Bob it's not 70 I know but for the dog to just become cool collected pick up the ball straight to home plate I mean nails that that you mentioned it like every performance we saw tonight decoy like if we do first second and third star and we do the player of the game decoy player of the game that that many people screaming my dog won't come to me in a dog park with like eight people there 50,000 people screaming and this dog's just like beine for home plate Matt yeah that was impressive I have I'm fortunate enough I have a pretty well-trained dog uh but she gets she has anxiety and so out in public like that there would be no shot I don't think that she'd be able to pull that off off uh yeah I mean not you know to sit there to pick it up and like you said to run pretty much a straight line right down the middle was uh certainly impressive and Jeff like you said you know let's see let's see a cat do something like that yeah exactly Blake's not on here to defend the cats but uh Scott you're not a cat guy are you I'm not a cat guy I don't trust him I don't trust him a cat could never was my tweet and uh I stand by it you know so take that Blake no no no way near and by the way for the record I'm all in on 5050 absolutely I said this a few days ago I broke down how many at bats how many at bats per game he's averaging four at bats per game it's like you know one out of every I think it was 10 eight or nine at bats he's been hitting home runs so we're all in otani's gonna get there 5050 no problem uh that's my uh that's my thing Hawaiian Kira wants to know do you think Otani will have a four home run game Allah Shan green uh this is where my optimism dies I'm gonna go no on the four home run game but who knows I mean yordon had three today judge is hitting a million like he's capable it but uh I'm going to I'm going to go I'm going to go under on four Home Run games Matt you want to you want to reverse you going to say yes to a four home run game and no to 5050 that'd be a take yeah no I'm gonna say I don't see him getting that either and I'm gonna blame this on analytics all the computers have changed the way uh pitchers approach the game so he wouldn't even be given a shot at hitting four homers yeah because of the computers Scott under year are they are we here Kier are you asking this year is his entire 10 open up you think he hits a four home run four home runs in one game as a Dodger in his oh boy what is Mookie bets's stat doesn't he have more three- run home run games than he has two run home run games well he has more three Home Run games I believe than anybody in major league history or something like that he either has the most or like is tied for the most but it's yeah he's up there I might have it it's crazy somebody says this somebody's gonna have to pull this clip it and pull it up somewhere uh I'm gonna say yes because anything is possible with shoh Otani sure I like it I like it all right let's uh let's shift gears here a little bit uh one of the other topics that I promised some people on social media we would get to before Scott leaves and I don't know if he's going to be able to stay uh The Vibes are going so we'll see what we can get uh it's Will Smith Scott you tweeted out it's time to have a conversation about Will Smith uh most people are down so what's the conversation what what do we need to have he has the brain fart defensively uh we know the batting average is like 200 for the last three and a half months uh big picture you look at the big numbers they look all right but again since I believe it's May June July and August it's been a disaster for Will Smith so what's the conversation we need to have on the Dodgers catcher I really think that at this point you need to put Will Smith and I would say the lower third of the order and it's kind of a no exceptions type of thing um if there's nothing medical if it's you know if he's going to be in there all the time one he cannot have the mental lapses like happened tonight he needs to be perfect defensively I'm not sold on just him throwing guys out we're getting to a point where it's hard to turn away from what Austin Barnes is doing when he's in there but it's getting to a point where is Will Smith I we all know that he can run into one and a broken clock is right twice but in the second half of the year as I tried to had it but I closed the window but in the second half of the year he's got a 473 Ops he's doing virtually nothing at the plate you saw him tonight against Corbin Burns he looked like he was guessing start to finish getting down quick early he was cheating on Fast balls and getting nothing so there has to be something done I don't I'm not going to say a phantom iel he's going to be in there if he's healthy but you've got to protect him like you've got to put him in the lower part of the order there and guys who are more consistent push them up Joe man I see you not getting Dodgers not getting base hits they're not and Will Smith's a big part of it he's a big part of it Freddy Freeman's a big part of it but Will Smith right now is was the big consistent he was one of the guys that could have been a big four but you cannot afford to have the mental lapses you've got to stay locked in with your pitchers and it looks like he's a guy right now that is completely lost I don't know what the solution is whether Hunter fedua is going to get time whether Dalton rushing is going to be a conversation which I don't think it is uh but you have to protect him and I think the best spot would be putting him in the lower third of the order and trying to find as low leverage of spots for him but eventually the game's going to find him yeah and I mean to be fair that's basically what the Dodgers have been doing prior to Freddy Freeman being hurt he was batting seventh um ever since Muny came back so I I don't think that you know I I think everybody is kind of in alignment on that um I I guess like he made the mental mistake today I don't feel like that's been a common occurrence from Will Smith defensively am I do you do you disagree with that Scott like have you seen a consistent pattern of these mental lapses or is tonight just kind of magnified because of the stretch that he's in I think a lot of that it bleeds into me seeing stuff at the plate where he doesn't look as certain and I know Rod you know you said he sent one to the track but he doesn't look locked in at the plate I know that's clear because the results but at bat quality same type of thing it'd be different if he was locked in and just missing baseballs and but we're talking about a very prolonged period where he's been just missing for a really long time uh and it's at the point where it's bleeding into both uh it's just a part where you've got to do something in the crunch time let's say you're going into October and he's like been a guaranteed 0 for three 0 for four for some time it's going to be a hard sell if you're giving away an out all the time yeah well I mean this is so I dug this up everybody knows I like Will Smith and and I I I've said like I'm not hiding the fact that he's been brutal for the last three and a half months I I was curious because to the point that you were referencing in the comments the ball that Will Smith hit to the to the warning track yeah and I I we looked up the statcast numbers and the statcast stuff the nerd stats Matt here uh they like him like all the stuff is still above average there's a lot more red than there is blue on his page I looked up his last 10 balls that had been put into play and of those 12 seven have been hit 99.7 mil hour harder that that's not just a hard hit rate that's like well above hard hit rate 10 of the 12 have been 90 miles an hour or harder five of the 12 have been 101 miles an hour harder so Scott to me like I I know what I hear what you're saying and 12 at bats doesn't overcome three and a half months but like with much like Walker beer you said you saw last start he gives up 10 base runners in four Innings to the Mariners one of the worst offenses in baseball and you're looking at saying yeah but pitch mix some of the swing and Miss stuff some of the mechanics like is it possible we're seeing the same the start of the same thing with Will Smith offensively maybe I think you know Matty M says it right there I test we've got to see it we've got to see a little bit of a exit velocity is our eye test right yeah I mean I sure yes I mean I'm I've been aligned with that for a while yeah you know the the data is there but he's a guy who has fallen off considerably like and I know if he saving for the postseason then then it happens but it's a it's a matter of yes critique is warranted here because a guy goes from a lock in the top four of the order top five no matter what to is he gonna be the guy is he gonna get ymani grandal like is that going to be a thing like I don't think so but there's a conversation of why is this consistently happening with Will Smith the second half downtrend each year and this one is really bad this is really bad when it started it started in may he didn't it didn't wait till the second half so I'm with you on that uh and it will be interesting because look when Will Smith was really good offensively Matt your guy Austin Barnes started to catch some postseason games despite that now I would argue defensively Will Smith is now the more valuable defensive player um and we could get into pitch calling and that kind of a thing but obviously what he's done in the running game which is a huge deal especially in the postseason the fact that he's literally the best in baseball at throwing guys out caught Steel above average all that kind of stuff and so how do you see this playing out Matt like Anthony and I had this conversation Barnes hitting a little bit better but he's one of the worst defensive catchers in baseball especially when it comes to controlling the running game you've got a guy in Dalton rushing who's smashing the ball at Triple A smashing the ball at Double A but has stopped playing catcher he's played exclusively left field since coming up to Triple A we know fedua is not in the mix because even when he's on the major league roster they don't want this guy to play so how do you see this playing out for Will Smith down the stretch I me he's going to be the starter like I don't I don't see them uh going as Scott alluded to and I think we did get a a Super Chat to that we can throw up at some point um going down the path of yasmani grandall losing his starting job because Austin Barnes was on some crazy heater uh for the playoffs more I'm at a loss with Will Smith I know we've seen this we've seen this before and this is more pronounced in a in a longer period than just like oh okay he got through the first half was really good and now it's the second half and he's cool pulling off uh I I mean I I've seen people questioning like in the chat you know asking if if he's healthy this and that to the best of our knowledge he is I mean they did conceal an injury with him in the past before but I don't know like nothing really sticks out in this case yeah uh so more than anything like I I'm just confused like I I don't know great way what like confused what is behind it like is it just is it mental like players are human beings and they go into slumps and they so is it just that he's pressing right now and can't get out of it for whatever reason like I don't know like that's the to me like that's not the biggest surprise but like it's that is like the question mark it's not so much like I'm not as wor like I don't I don't know I'm I'm at a loss for words I mean and they talked about on the broadcast his hand where his hands were at and talking about that RVs has been saying hey keep your hands up so there's less moving pieces Joe Davis talked about how it felt like it was a little bit more pronounced so we'll see I mean Smith has a track record at a career rate that even though like the last three and a half months I I'm going to be honest I'm not optimistic that Will Smith is just going to be able to turn a switch because if all the things we're talking about these second half slumps like you don't get less tired in octob September and October than you do early on in the season I I will say because we've seen it for extended periods of time him being as good as he's been I I I refuse to believe he's this bad like he's just going to be a 190 hitter what' you say Scott like a 480 Ops you know like and that's an extended period so I I I'm going to follow the numbers on that I I think there's there's some signs some of the exit velocity stuff to me is encouraging now does that translate does that materialize we'll see you know you could have you could get a 26% whiff rate as a pitcher and strike out one you can get 26% whiff rate and struck out five like the the some of the underlying stuff may look the same but the outcomes are going to be different we'll see how this plays out so um Scott big picture to answer this question nothing changes with Will Saki Bomb wants to know who's starting game one it sounds like you're you're saying Will Smith do you have any confidence that he's gonna earn his way there or is this just simply reputation alone it's it's going to be Will Smith purely based on back of the baseball card he's been there he is the best in Major League Baseball throwing guys out run prevention absolutely matters and by then we hope Freddy Freeman's in the lineup everything's good offense is clicking they have a full-blown setup where having Will Smith in there and the pop that he can provide and the the what he's done in the postseason where flip switches and that's how it goes uh I think it's going to be Will Smith and we might see Austin Barnes in there serieses go deep you know Clayton Kershaw's on the mound if that's what happens at some point um I know the Dodgers have two catchers that are solid right and Will Smith is supposed to be one of those Superstar guys but I'm going to believe back of the baseball card we don't know how high he's going to go because of how low this part is is it going to be a case Jeff where we are just sitting here waiting for some flash like is than what we've seen right and that's all we can ask for at this point because he just cannot be a black hole an 0 for four where we're just praying just please get Bat on Ball let's see that bat speed get ticked up I saw somebody bring it up and chat it's a good point uh I know like they're stacking bat like uh tracking bat speed now posting that and he's got a very low percentile bat speed it's you know try to analyze that he's barreling stuff stuff will fall let's keep an eye on it go from there and the best I can say is I'm with Matt I'm confused I don't know what it is perplexed on it let's just keep an eye yep I'm with you I think confusion is the best word to describe it and again I I don't think there's a ton of reason for optimism with Will Smith right now which is unfortunate uh John with the Super Chat here props to Dave Roberts on using the bullpen perfectly tonight four and a third two hits no earned six strikeouts for the bullpen tonight uh bonda was great Razer was great uh Phillips was great copc was great those guys did their job and I mean this is the recipe Matt you know I know it's only four and two3 from Walker berer but I didn't mention Hudson I didn't mention Tran I didn't mention vessia so they didn't even use those three guys and yet four and two-thirds dominant you know not even hey get the job done dominant performance from the bullpen yeah well for I'll give credit to Jon for recognizing Dave in this regard because we every I mean every time a bullpen a relief dis a bullpen decision a relief Pier doesn't do well then it's always Dave Roberts made the wrong choice so I'm going to play a little bit of Devil's advate here and say like had he used the pitchers in the exact same situation in the exact same order but maybe Bond gives up a run on an inherited run or something like that like are people going to be sitting here and saying hey Dave did a great job again probably not uh and so I think this just kind of speaks to the broader point of hey like sometimes I know Blake has tried stressing this on Twitter like relief pitchers sometimes like have to do their jobs like it's not Dave Robert's fault that Joe Kelly maybe gives up four runs right uh but yes back to the original point the bullpen I mean yeah Dave you know we talked talked about it earlier there are a lot of different options for him to go with mixing and matching when you kind of you know work backwards with copc sort of being your deao closer yeah absolutely and my bad vessia got one out four pitches three strikes so he did get in there so uh they uh they used it Scott your thoughts Blake owned me the other night about this topic when I was just trying to trying to play a little bit of Devil's Advocate like hey let's not meddle with this let's keep it the way it was and it worked out tonight well you know Blake this is the way it goes tune in buddy like but I just have some roles for guys like Closer by committee is all well and good having that mentality at the back end of a game's all fine but if there's manufactured spots where knowing where you possibly could be going and I know they probably do this all the time let's not be naive like they have road maps to the end of games 27 outs they do all this stuff it gets more magnified in the postseason and they talk about this a lot uh but I would just like them to have it you know if ban is a good option earlier in the game go for it like if that's where it lines up perfect I would just like to them to know their roles a little bit but I want that back end to be kind of set I kind of want that back end to either be Evan Phillips Michael copc and vessie has been there done that so vessie at the back ends fine for me I just want them to have a little bit more defined roles but yeah common Dave Roberts W guys yeah absolutely uh Matt says or excuse me Dodger blue I don't know if it's Matt working at tonight but he says uh role is get outs get outs when called upon a good role so yeah I guess that's your guy Blake uh there Scott com yeah he can't he he's not taking the L for the record I see no acknowledgement of the L that he's apparently holding Bas no he owned me he owned me the other day he he basically said shut up Scott without telling me that okay okay well you know tough one tough one for everybody involved then I guess uh let's do this let's do a quick injury update because uh we did get sort of this I wanted to call this segment Matt uh Dave Roberts update is because it feels like every single day we're talking about some quotes from Dave Roberts and every single day uh we're not entirely positive about how these things are uh are what what what's actually happening here so glass now um good news a day after saying he is not getting better Dave Roberts told us today Matt that glass now is getting better and that he will resume throwing on Friday so um I loved all the people in my mentions that said he must have visited mun's chiropractor and kik's optometrist so shout out to the doctors taking a guy from not getting better to getting better within 24 hours despite apparently not throwing a baseball yeah I I I don't know what like I don't know what to make of this like hopefully glass now is getting better because that's that's what matters it maybe Dave misspoke had a misunderstanding yesterday other than that like I I unfortunately I have nothing for you other then good news Friday Friday will be a big test for glass now once he plays catch again because that that was in all seriousness that was the issue uh the first time around when he started playing catch the next day or two he just didn't really feel great so yeah he could get through playing catch on Friday feel better throughout the weekend that'll certainly be encouraging but I mean even with the you know he's getting better now one day after not getting better I I think the uh this is still going to be a slow process still applies like we didn't get any sort of reversal on that so it's not like last now was you know a week from returning or anything yeah absolutely second one here Jack flarity we mentioned this one his wrist is sore minimal swelling shouldn't affect him moving forward that's huge news for the Dodgers he took a line drive I guess he want to call it a line 83 milph that hurts that's still fast takes it off the wrist and uh stayed in the game got four more outs I believe in that one and uh says he's going to be fine basically said everybody else was more worried about it than he was so good news there uh bruar gradall du to make uh a rehab appearance soon so we talked about the Dodgers Bullpen could be getting another guy back whether or not he factors in in the postseason uh to be determined and then maybe most importantly based on the conversation we just have Austin Barnes expected to be back and starting tomorrow if not it'll be Hunter fedua so whether or not he's ready I guess to be determined but good news on flarity good news on grall good news on Barnes so uh last night we had one positive and two negatives Scott four positive injury updates from the Dodgers today it's uh and they win the baseball game come on now we should go buy lottery tickets did we bring a Yamamoto also from his Vis rehab today Let's Do It Let's Do It Good positive rehab outing from uh from Yamamoto absolutely yeah just gives up a solo shot looks good there I mean hey for a team like this where it's all all full steam ahead we're complaining about you know some mental lapses behind the plate worrying about you know hoping our the Superstar catcher can reach that potential but at the end of the day it's about we're getting these starting pitchers that are going to have to carry it where we need we talked about it all Year guys that you need to have one working with the other you need to have the rotation to be able to give your offense a chance to stay in it your offense is going to need your you know your your starters to have some run support to you know pitch to according to the game plan and getting positive stuff on glass now for whatever Dave Roberts wants to give us Yamamoto another you know another step he's gonna be key A lot of people on our chats on Blake and I streams we talk a lot about how the postseason rotation hinges I think on Yoshi noou like it it's he's a big piece to the whole thing and that's obvious but flarity yes good sign there um Tyler glass now it's iffy we really I don't we don't know that's that's a perplexing thing there like he says that he can pitch that he he should be out there it's not that big a deal and Dave Roberts says he's not not looking good tonight all good I can't do this I tweeted out what did I say I was like I can't do this anymore man like I I joke with you we you if you just get every other Dave Roberts injury update it probably would be a coherent stream of thought the problem is the days in between where he's like oh yeah did I say he was doing well he's not doing well I mean I mean he is doing well sorry whatever I yeah exactly Yamamoto real quick two innings one hit one earned run no walks two strikeouts through 31 pitches 23 strikes Matt it sounds like the expectation is he will make at least one more appearance in Oklahoma City I imagine the goal for that one is to get to three Innings and then they can kind of figure out is the four inning appearance going to be at the major league level do they give him two more down in Oklahoma City um but you know for a guy that at the end of August August 28th for him to be making a rehab appearance you can kind of map out in your head a world where September 10th 11th 12th range Yoshi noo Yamamoto is not only with the Dodgers but has the capacity to give you essentially the length that Walker berer gave you tonight yeah definitely I mean I think the biggest thing in all this honestly has been Yamamoto has gotten through the recovery process checked off different boxes without any sort of setback because that was my biggest concern was one the type of injury had we were looking at a long recovery in two because of the schedule like they needed everything to sort of go right and fortunately for the Dodgers in Yamamoto it has at this point yeah my guess is he he will make one more Rehab start uh and then I think he's back with the Dodgers after that just because I mean how much like let him just start facing major league pitching sooner rather than later because then if you make another a third Rehab start with a minor league affiliate by the time he comes back up to the Dodgers there's less time to basically get ready for the postseason and if there's any sort of rust you need to knock off at the major league level like just get that over with now I don't want his you know game two start in the nlds to be his second time pitching for the Dodgers or something like that I want to apologize to everyone in the chat by the way Blake spewing Star Wars propaganda about a show that apparently nobody likes except for him and then immediately following it up with Blake tweeted out a quote about Yoshi no Yamamoto as if the Star Wars quote didn't obviously out himself who's find it so apologies to everyone I haven't seen the acolyte it sounds like it's terrible uh Blake says it's great though so there we go no opinions uh from us um all right let's have a little bit of fun here uh sh Otani bobblehead holding decoy highly popular event there were videos of people lining up like seven or eight hours prior to this game starting um I think somebody tweeted out like it felt like a World Series crowd when you saw some of the pictures of this game and um I have a take that that I don't know how popular of a take actually I have a pretty good sense of how popular this take is going to be and I'm just going to let it out I wasn't that impressed with this bobblehead guys like I I everyone's losing their minds about Otani holding the dog and I'm looking at 2024 bobbleheads I'm going to give you my ranking here in just a moment the ones they gave up at first I was like I don't even know if it's top three I'm gonna go one step further I don't even know if this is one of the five best bobbleheads they gave out this year so I'm gonna start there I'll let that one settle a little bit man I'll come to you first how how hard of a take is that that this is outside of my top five 2024 Dodger bobbleheads wow I mean beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder right as my daughter would say don't yuck somebody else's yum I'm not telling you you're dumb if you love this bobblehead I'm just saying for me I'd I I'd take it I'd put it up my daughters would love it but I'm just saying like for me there's others that would be higher on my list I agree with you I think there there are arguments to be made for other bobbleheads being higher up on the list I disagree with I think this one is good enough to be top five for mainly because it's creative it's at least something different and I think I think the Dodger bobbleheads in general have gotten a little bit mundane more times than not so at least this one was thinking outside of the box and so it gets boosted up my rankings because of that Scott give me give me big picture your thoughts on Otani holding the dog bobble head which by the way the dog's head it appears bobbles so I'm going to give kudos to that my daughter was like the dog said B I'm like no it doesn't they show the clothes up I'm like well I'm wrong you're right uh 10-year-old nailed it on that one Scott are you a fan are you all in on this uh Otani holding the dog bobblehead I like it I think Matt spitting like the Dodgers put out some incredibly generic bobbleheads like you look around Major League Baseball there are some fun ones like take some time there are some ones that are hilarious yeah like all over the board yeah what I think this year I and I think this year they've been better so let me let me give you my list here I I'll I'll I'll put my rankings out here and you tell me okay number one is easy otani's first bobblehead is better than this one because it's his first bobblehead so I've got otani's bobblehead number one Scott's got it it's the first okay that's the that's my number one bobblehead of 2024 okay Matt already hates it that's fine my list Matt don't yuck somebody else's yum okay uh number two this is where I'm gonna start to catch some heat and this is partially personal preference I've got glass now's bobblehead ahead of this one glass Now new Dodger good-looking dude he's got the hair the bobbleheads a cool looking bobblehead I'm going glass now number two number three same vein people are going to be mad about this give me yamamoto's first Dodgers bobblehead these are guys that are gonna be here they're studs they're Stars they're gonna be here forever I want the first one so I've got Otani number one glass now Yamamoto two and three now I'm losing people here but I'm gonna get Scott back right here because Scott you know where number four is on this list you probably got it higher Matt Kemp number one Matt Kemp bobblehead I've got that ahead and and just for posterity sake might be the last one let me clay Kershaw's bobblehead number five all five of those I would rather have than this one uh I I will say these are not higher but to the creativity point I thought the the Kik doing the dance creative I like that one graterol doing his thing I thought was cool uh mooki playing infield I actually have that one so I thought that was cool because it's just mixing it up uh T Oscar Hernandez his first bobblehead as a Dodger not mentioned Evan Phillips I believe his first bobblehead is a Dodger not mentioned as well so I've got Otani glass now Yamamoto Kemp and Kershaw all ahead of Otani holding the dog bobblehead uh Scott I'll come to you first your thoughts um number one for me is Matt Kemp off top that's like you know growing up alltime stuff big 27 bison like Matt CM gave me some of the best baseball memories y ever ever man um I'll go number two is Clayton Kershaw uh just because it's on my daughter's birthday that's one so biased Big Time biased but it could be the last Dodger you know Clayton Kershaw Dodgers bobblehead that we get like that could be the very last one besides like you know stuff from FCO um and then I'm gonna go directly right to you know Otani and uh decoy like that's You' got it ahead of you've got it ahead of otani's first one yes okay I like I understand that but I like the fun ones like I understand the significance of it but there's going to be many more like there will be many more but I think the one how many with decoy are we going to get after tonight after tonight are we positive decoy making the first pitch is it going to be its own bobblehead we're going to get a decoy bobblehead itself that's a good point I will say the the attendance number surprised me though I thought for sure that tonight was going to be their biggest crowd of the season was it not it was not it's not even it's not even the biggest Otani bobblehead crowd wow everyone got freaked out by those pictures of people lining up at 11:00 a.m. they're like I ain't messing with that yeah the uh the first one the biggest crowd the Dodgers had this year still so far is Kik Hernandez bobblehead uh it was 54,7 that's otani's first bobblehead was 53,5 27 his bobblehead with decoy was 53 290 okay so Matt give me give me what about my rankings Otani first GL now Yamamoto Kemp Kershaw I have those five ahead where where are you most defended is it glass now and Yamamoto no I think it's that you have otani's first one first because I get like I can I can understand a little bit of like it's his first one with the Dodgers fine but it's just so generic like FCO released like five or six bobbleheads between the time Otani signed and the first one with from the Dodgers that I think were better designs yeah uh and so that probably bothers me the most close second is that you have Matt Kemp down at Fourth that that you should be higher oh yeah way higher he's that one's first on my list I agree I have kep bobbleheads that's part of my reasoning I have kept bobbleheads I've got right there the one that you want to talk about cool ones Matt Kemp making a catch up against the wall in the bobblehead that's a legendary D Dodger bobblehead it's sitting down right there next to try Turner sliding you can't see it it's off camera uh so so I'm with you I'm fine if you want to move Kemp up the rankings I just like having like a first one and then I'm with you I do like the unique ones like I have Clayton Kershaw batting that's one of my favorite bobbleheads the Dodgers have ever done I have the Mook Fielding like playing infield which I think is cool so anyways uh those are my takes I'm sure I'll get absolutely demolished in the comments for that but uh those are my rankings Otani first glass now Yamamoto Kemp Kershaw and then again I think the Kik one is cool graterol is cool mooki taao Phillips they're first ones so uh good look I love bobbleheads clearly as you look behind me so I'm Pro bobbleheads I'm not anti- this bobblehead I just I thought the the the Fanfare the the talk about it I thought was was interesting and uh you know it's cool it's cool I like dogs uh we talked about decoy you know unbelievable performance on the first pitch so maybe I need to adjust my rankings go back and watch the tape of the first pitch and adjust but let me know what you think Below in the comments about all that kind of stuff so let's get to some questions here before we close this one out we got a few more minutes if you've got a question for us all caps questions and then throw your thoughts behind it uh for me for Matt for Scott uh we do have a super chat here from 300 gjw glass now's Health worries me um I think I think we all agree here like I think it's like the Will Smith thing in a sense where we'd all like to be optimistic there isn't a whole lot of reason to be optimistic based on history based on the updates that we have gotten uh other than I guess Scott to your point glass now saying he'd be pitching if it were up to him I mean I guess that's one reason for optimism that the latest report we got was positive but um I don't know how you could not be worried about glass let me ask I'll ask it this way Scott I'll come to you are you more worried about glass now or Yamamoto for the Post oh glass now absolutely glass now like tendonitis like stuff like that is troublesome and the fact that timeline when you initially hear that you're like oh that could be done you look up standard timelines there like how do you with a guy that currently on his where he's at with his Innings career stuff uh length of contract financials in him do like how much you going to push him I know it's you know all hands on deck but Dodgers are going to be smart with their Investments and then we get stuff like this that oh he's going to pick it right back up he's good it's where does this really where are we really at and what's the severity initially from this and why are there breakthroughs like this happening with multiple players why is this happening with multiple guys why is this happening with mty why is this happening with glass now are we getting a whole lot of smoke and mirrors it's just it leaves fans and like analysts and people covering the team in a really dark spot so yes I'm worried about glass now just because of his Innings of you know initial stuff of tendonitis and how bad that can actually be and are we going to get to a point in the postseason right where we're going getting there and they're saying oh he had a setback yeah and then things weren't all actually all good yeah no I'm with you I joked like there is no middle ground between a 10day ion with a sore elbow and out for like months at a time like there's no such thing as a like a six- week elbow injury it's either oh we're just resting him he's fine or he's not fine we're entering the territory of leaving well he must be fine and so I think it's a totally fair question and uh and again we all I think there's good reason to be worried BMR wants to know Jeff you're a cat person aren't you absolutely not dogs dogs dogs all dogs grew up with three big dogs in my house uh my my eight-year-old wants a cat and I told her when she has a place of her own she's welcome to it but not in this household uh let's get to a couple more David wants to know don't you guys agree this battle down the stretch will benefit us more than winning the division by 15 games Matt this has been a talking point over the past few years do you buy in that this divisional race Padre's drop a game tonight back for back Diamondbacks down 84 in the OR 54 excuse me in the bottom of the eighth Corbin Carroll two outs Grand Slam because of course he did they win uh do you think this is good for the Dodgers or do you think they would be better off especially with some of these injuries being able to take their foot off the gas a little bit no I I think of all years this would def this is one of them where you would want them to be well ahead in the division I think David's question in a perfect world maybe it's somewhere in the middle like that you don't need to be 15 games up but probably you want a little bit more of a cushion than just kind of the 3 three and a half it's sort of been fluctuating in recently yeah uh John with the Super Chat 53290 in attendance at $131 minimum ticket the next Bobblehead Is decoy throwing out the first pitch to Otani I will watch my games at hoe uh so Matt you you either one of you guys might know the answer to this I'm not local so I'm not paying attention to ticket prices here did the Dodgers like 100 31 is that a secondary Market ticket price or is that what it would have cost you to buy tickets when they went on sale from the Dodgers do you know I'm not sure of this specific number but I know the Dodgers like pretty much every other team uses like Dynamic pricing so if it's a big opponent tickets are more expensive if it's a bobblehead date I think tickets are more expensive and so they you know and that's a common practice whether you agree with it or not like it's just not specific to the Dodgers so I don't want people to take this as the Dodgers are the only team doing that uh but I mean I think in general this season ticket prices for any game were were increased across the board and I think even next year I saw for some people who got renewals for season tickets uh they were saying that they those are going up as well and so it's just kind of a a sign of the times unfortunately yeah looks like for Kershaw knight uh $51 is the minimum ticket if you buy straight from the Dodgers that's a Padres game uh on a Wednesday night so for what it's worth I I do think some of this gets inflated by secondary but that means somebody bought him first so you would think somebody would be shown up to these games but uh who knows John we appreciate the Super Chat uh as always uh I love some of these questions make me laugh we'll get to a couple of the fun ones uh as we get this is a good one Ivy wants to know if you could design a bobblehead what would it be uh I'm trying to think I mean well I guess they already I was gonna say like I love the picture of Kershaw holding the World Series trophy is like the iconic Dodger picture of my lifetime um but bobblehead exists I think right uh no I have I have one of him it's uh they did the like from the ring ceremony he's standing with his fist up holding the ring oh okay then give me Kershaw holding the World Series trophy F FCO might have done one with him holding a trophy actually I mean i' I've lost track so I guess I don't know like if you know if we're want to do Dodger specific or if it was you know if FCO counts but whatever whatever if you could design a bobblehead Matt you any anything jump to mind oh man this is tough um Scott anything jumped to mind for you right away darn right I've got two I've had two in the tank for a bit um I would do a tandem I don't know if they've done it but I would do a Kershaw and Sandy kofax stand like side by side holding the baseball uh and then I would do the trio and I don't think they've done this and I don't want FCO to do it if they do it cool but I want the Dodgers to do this I want a Kemp a looney and an Ethier all and one like give it to us like that that carried us man I don't care that Trio carried us through some tough times and we supported them like no tomorrow I got buddies that watch this they're going to be n their heads like I thought you were going to say Piaza mesy and Kos like but again I this is an era thing I guess I've got some crazy Mike Piaza memorabilia like like B like giveaway baseballs like yeah picture on them like I've got some great stuff man Matt anything jumped to mind no not really sorry I'm I'm design is if you bring a design to me I can help bowling you want a mookie bowling Bob head Matt that could work that would be popular I mean I think look I know people were saying it decoy I think is is the obvious choice for uh for next season and I think that'll end up being a a pretty popular one maybe some more uh Magic Johnson ones they did I you can't see it I have one up with just texted me he wants Tony gonin holding his cat he wants that as a bobblehead and then I think he wants Dustin may dressed up as Captain Spock from Revenge of the Sith so he's got those two penciled in as his his choices I think sorry there we go Blake Blake will definitely be at the stadium for those games that to make sure he was Blake we were going to have to you know console him there were rumors going around that there weren't going to be enough bobbleheads for the Press tonight and Blake was going to be in in tears coming out of there but fortunately he did get one I was hoping somebody was going to be like only 40,000 people got T got bobbleheads and of course the Press gets them why don't they give these to fans wait there's fans waiting eight hours and up blak's up there eating his Caesar salad and chicken strips hugging the bobblehead of Otani and the dog and it's like I was hoping for that he didn't get enough blowback in my opinion staring up at the sky aren you beat Rider amazing amazing uh let's see um uh Ed Rico what's the plan for Bobby Miller Beyond 2024 he asked six teams in the NL for the playoffs and seedings that's a conversation for another day um Scott I I guess just quickly I mean Bobby Miller the last start we saw was encouraging nobody's giving up on Bobby Miller have have your expectations for Bobby Miller Beyond this season changed dramatically by the struggles or much like Gavin stone is there sort of bandwidth for hey couple bumps in the road but still highly optimistic this is a future Frontline Ace I'll say that it's you know Gavin Stone type that the the turnaround is happening late in the year uh it's going to be not a full hard reset but it's going to be where did the command go where did this rookie season you know go what happened between then and now uh in the initial start and that those flashes right away because I got re receipt by my entire group chat that I was like Bobby's got something cooking and then the start against the Cubs I remember that early on I think in the first like two innings wasn't it like he looked like he was throwing smoke and then it just all blew from there like something happened so where did that go wrong you know it's it's gonna be a a dissecting really what happened and then the offseason's gonna be big for him but again he's got that contract he's got the team control uh I don't believe that the Dodgers will be Hasty to get rid of a guy like that who is has such good stuff uh but it's going to be a lot of you know an like a analysis period for him uh Kenny not a question he says no Blake will pay for another Star Wars bobblehead for 150 and then rationalize it by saying quote it lights up I somebody else highlighted that one uh Blake it wasn't me all right but you know might be true also at the same time uh well that's a that's a direct that did H Blake and Scott they were was it your last show that you guys did the Millennium Falcon and he's like look it lights up oh my gosh it's amazing it's amazing so there you go uh oh this GI this one for you Matt and then we'll get to a couple more Flare's been solid he hasn't been particularly amazing do you consider extending him a multi-year offer based on what you've seen thus far not unless it's like pretty Team friendly terms uh FL is somebody that I like I have understood some of the potential there but I also think that there are question marks like has it necessarily been a whole lot of sustained success yet in his career so if it's Team friendly then sure because as we found out two years ago last year this year Dodgers get to September and they somehow one way or another don't seem to have enough starting pitching so yeah if you could potentially Bank him then yeah but if it's you know anything above like kind of Team friendly terms I would wait so like if it's if it's in the glass now range 5 years 130 million ion range 26 a year that's way too much for you yeah absolutely not what like I mean glass now's glass now's an under Market deal as far as I'm concerned based on potential Scott where are you at on flarity it's good yeah uh flarity is going to get like anybody thinking you're going to get a bargain deal on Jack flare like he I think he's 29 still like he's 28 he's 28 yeah going right in there so it's going to be north of a 100 million I would say he won SC would you give him five for 130 I mean with Sasaki out there you're going to invest that money in flarity you can do both brother absolutely do yes but yes but then we're gonna be sitting here cost nothing sasaki's gonna cost nothing except International free agent money that's right yeah we'll be S we'll be sitting here a year from now saying ticket prices went up again Blake's Press Box Meal is now $25 it' be a it'd be a mess I'm in on flarity local kid 28 29 if you can get him for five years in that like 120 to 130 range I'll do that I think he's an Innings eater he's a guy you can depend on we saw you're depending on a lot of young guys and I think he plugs right in so I'd be all over flarity for sure yep uh William wants to know Jeff what's the fastest you could throw a baseball right now it's a number that you would not be impressed by I can assure you that uh I would hurt my arm for sure trying to throw this uh Scott you got a number how hard you think you could throw right now we touching we touching 65 70 I mean I I hurt my elbow when I was a kid and I probably needed TJ and I never had a done something like that and it just you know I don't know I could probably hit Max like geez I yeah I have no I have no number I'll hurt my shoulder just I'll meet people I'll meet people behind the three-point line instead let's play basketball yeah there you go Blake somewhere Blake is saying 65 for himself somewhere he's saying he could throw 65 Saki Bomb if Otani gets to 45 45 is the MVP locked up Saki Bomb if he gets to 4242 the MVP's lock oh he's already there yeah the MVP's locked up it's like minus 2,000 on in Vegas wherever you want to bet this so uh it's pretty much a route The Narrative the whole deal he's gonna win the MVP so that's good news for the Dodgers there last one noisy ninja predictions for Bobby Anthony Anthony nailed this yesterday he he was said surprise positive surprise Walker Bueller Bobby Miller coming off his best performance much like what we saw from bu where the final line kind of didn't really fully line up with what we saw the eye test if you will Matt uh so give me walk Bobby Miller against the same Orioles team tomorrow give me a give me a prediction I think it's similar what we saw from bu I'll go five and a third three runs allowed five and a third three runs okay Scott last so last time out for Miller was six Innings seven hits three earned two homers no walks nine strikeouts that was yeah he shoved like that was yeah that's that's shoving um you said six three six Innings three earned or no you said four third five and a third god I'm an idiot five and a third and how many earned three okay all right five and a third three earned Scott I'll stick with a solid five and he's gonna go five three earned I'm gonna under but he's gonna get six punch okay I like that I like that how many with that Scott give me six Innings how many walks with that oh how many walks uh no walks last time out he's going to go he's going to go one walk Orioles are an aggressive Bunch I'm going to take Anthony's Q here six Innings two earns that's what we're getting from Bobby he's fighting back Dodgers offense Cruiser tomorrow 10-2 Dodgers win tomorrow 10-2 offense absolutely lights it up Otani hits another home run lux's going yard Will Smith two homers tomorrow night everybody's gonna pipe down about Will Smith because the uh the home runs are coming two homers tomorrow night that's just joke we get a post game we Blake and I get a post game you know how long it's been since we had a Thursday post game yeah well yeah two months probably long time trust me I keep looking at the nights I got a I got these things from like 10:15 to 11:15 I'm like oh cool Scott and Blake another 7 PM show four guys over here getting to sleep early getting their beauty rest no wonder they look so good but anyways it's going to be good stuff so check out Scott and Blake tomorrow night right here on the Dodger blue YouTube page uh hey we appreciate everybody for joining us almost 1600 people again the Dodgers win 6 to4 Walker buer impresses sh Otani 424 to the bullpen looks great Dave Roberts getting some credit in the chat which never happens so allaround performance from the Dodgers tasar Hernandez we didn't even talk three-run Jack two outs big hit there big swing puts the Dodgers ahead so good stuff all around as always thank you if you're a podcast person listening thank you if not check out Apple Spotify Google find the Dodger heads podcast on YouTube dodgerblue 1958 postgame content all sorts of stuff Blake at the stadium so make sure you check that out as well that is Matt that is Scott gearman I am Jeff Spiegel folks enjoy the rest of your night and as always go Dodgers