And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker.
Dodgers return home for a big ten game homestand beginning tomorrow night against the San Francisco Giants. Our coverage begins at six o'clock. First pitch at seven to ten, Yama Moto against Webb, a great first pitching matchup between the Dodgers and Giants. And don't forget tomorrow is the twelfth annual kickoff to the PMS Summer Tour at Rock and Bruce and El Segundo from three to six o'clock. They got prizes, Dodger padres, tickets, gift cards to living spaces
and barbecues galore. They're giving away a fifty five inch Westinghouse TV. So they got a lot of stuff out there. And of course you got Petros papadaekas out there. That's the main attraction. And you never know if you might see the fancy bow tie of our next guest at Rock and Bruce and El Segundo tomorrow. He runs ys
for the athletic. He does it on television as the number one sideline reporter for Fox Sports Baseball's coverage baseball coverage, and he is the best baseball insider out there, and that's our friend, the great Ken Rosenthal. Ken, thanks a lot for taking the time to call in. Appreciate it, David.
I appreciate that build up. You're very kind. However, it's going to be difficult for me to be in El Segundo tomorrow as I am right now in Boston.
Oh okay, okay, yeah, well we'll take a rain check on that.
I didn't mind being there though. For Yamamoto Web, that's going to be special.
Yeah, it is. And we're all trying to figure out Ken, how are the Giants just to game back of the Dodgers with that lineup that they have. Have you seen them? Are they for real? Can they stand the test of a marathon season?
They pitch and that's why they're where they are right now. And I believe lest I checked that we're second in the league and you're aight to the Mets, and you're right. The lineup has been I wouldn't say awful, but it hasn't been great, and now they're without Chapman and Bailey,
who are two critical players for them. Adamis seems like he's finally getting going, but their offense has been a challenge for them, and first dates is a particular challenge, but even beyond that, they need more out of players that they have as well. So it's going to be an interesting test for them against the Dodgers, and obviously they're a team that has hung in there. I expect
them to be aggressive at the deadline. Bust O Posy, in an interview with Tim Kalakami of the San Francisco Standard recently, kind of indicated that he wants to do some things, and David I found this really interesting. He reflected back on the Zach Wheeler for Carlos Beltron trade. I believe that was twenty thirteen, and obviously that trade did not work out great for the Giants in the sense that they did not win that year and Whiller became.
Of course, Willer became. But what Posey was saying to Tim KALACAMEDI was that's the kind of trade you have to make. So it's going to be interesting to see how they handle the deadline under Posey, and I do expect them, because of those comments, to be at least trying really hard to get some players.
All right, Since you brought up the trade deadline as far as the Dodgers are concerned, and just around the league, can the Braves obviously have had a disappointing start. If they get towards the end of July and they believe that the Phillies and Mets and the wild card situation is just not going to happen for them this year, do you believe they would consider trading Chris Saale.
They're gonna have to be buried to do that, and I'm not totally convinced yet that they will be. And when I say buried, I mean really out of it, and in an expanded playoff format, David, I know the Dodgers don't have to worry about this effort, but it's kind of tough to paul out of it unless you're really bad, like the Rockies or the Marlins, some team like that. So obviously they have not played well. They've been a huge, immense disappointment, and in some ways it's
difficult to see them turning it around. But they're going to give it every opportunity to do that, and they may even add in the coming weeks because they know that the situation has turned urgent quite frankly, and if they're going to get back in this thing one. They have to play better and maybe they have to find some more offense somewhere. So it's a tough question to answer. And I know there's so much deadline talk already, but it's an eternity away seven weeks.
Yeah, it's a while, a whiles away. But even in Los Angeles, ken people are starting to have dreams of Walker Bueller wearing a Dodgery uniform again, could you see that happening? And he's on a one year contract. If the Red Sox are out of it, could he be one of the more valuable trade ships out there?
He could be. But that's another team that is intent on competing hard this year. After several disappointing seasons in a row, they're coming off back to back series victories now over the Yankees and Race. They've got Roman Anthony up finally, top prospect in the game. They're not going to concede easily either.
Now, even with all I'm saying here, art creates that are of by cell nature possible, yes, and maybe that's how a Walker Brewer's tray comes about. But right now their biggest need is starting pitching. So I don't see how they can do that viewers. He's been consistent, but he pitched better the other night. It seems to me they need to add pitching, and their surplus is with the outfield, and really the problem, it's a very interesting problem. They've got too many.
Good position players to fit on everyday lineup, So I would expect that they're going to look for pitching. And again, I don't expect that they're going to sell easily at all.
Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic and Fox Sports is joining us on off Day Dodger Talk the Dodgers and Giants in Action tomorrow night. All right, Ken, you've been around the Dodgers a lot. You're around them throughout their entire postseason run last year. I'm curious, from your standpoint, has Freddie Freeman's legacy become something that we should be talking more about after the heroics of the World Series last year?
Has he elevated the way people value him because he's always so consistent and those players sometimes get lost in the shuffle.
The World Series definitely elevated Freeman. Now, you're right, he is not a showy type, obviously, and he is someone who just is kind of like a metronome.
Producing and producing, producing after day. There's not much color to him, but it seems to me, and I was talking about this with someone just this week. Leaving Atlanta, as painful as it was for him, best thing that ever happened to him. He got to play for a Dodger team that of course won the World Series, and he got to be the hero of that World Series,
the MVP of that World Series. And as much as he loved Atlanta and didn't want to leave, La was home, a different kind of home where he grew up, and it worked out great. And if you had Freddy on, I'm sure you've had Freddy on, he would say this has been tremendous. And of course last year, the outpouring when his son was ill from the fans, all of that plays into it. So his legacy is going to be quite prominent and vast and something we do talk
about for a long time. Even if your point is well taken, David, he is somewhat overlooked in the pantheon stars right now. He's still the guy.
Ken, I never asked you this before. You were the first one to interview Freddy after his walk off Grand Slam in Game one of last year's World Series. I'm just curious from your standpoint, in that moment, you understand the history of the game, what were your feelings, How did you compose yourself to be able to capture the moment and calmly interview Freeman.
Well, David, you've done this countless times too, and it is easy to get caught up in the moment and it is hard to collect your thoughts because there's so much happening. You've just witness history. You know the importance of a game one walk off Grand Slam in the annals of the sport. So my first question, actually was it a great question? If you asked me looking back, it was, Hey, where did this one rank for you? But Freddy Dee, and Freddy he gave a good answer.
It is obviously the biggest hold of his career. And from there there were things to ask And obviously when he went over to his dad, I saw that and I asked him what was said? And if Freddie is a really good interview. And it's funny to me people will sometimes say those are good questions, those are bad questions. The questions are generally the questions. It's the answers that you're looking for and Freddie is really good in that moment.
And when that interview was over, I thought it was good, but not because I was so brilliant in asking the questions. He just is someone who is really eloquent, frankly, in those moments, and he was that night.
That's a lot different than Kirk Gibson blowing off Bob Costas before he went into the clubhouse to celebrate with his teammates and then came back out.
Well, David, I was at that game. That was my second year as a baseball writer, and in that era, that was the late eighties, and it was just different. Players were different. Gibson was the most course of all of them, but players in general were not as cooperative, not be the right word. They just didn't see media the way players do today. It's players today, in many respects see it as a vehicle who promote themselves. Not
necessarily fready, but they understand media. They've been interviewed from the time they were in high school. It was different back then. And yeah, Kirk Gibson, he did that. I remember one year with the Cardinals, might have been twenty twelve where they were doing a ceremony after the game, Jim Edmonds would run into the clubhouse with all the players. They'd toast themselves after when and then they'd come out
for the interviews. That wasn't great, and then baseball couldn't stop them, and it was the same kind of situation. But in general, players today are pretty good and it's kind of a pleasure now. Where before when I started, I was afraid to walk into the clubhouse, now it's not the case.
Yeah, did you immediately think Kirk Gibson as you see Freddie and the flight of the ball, I mean it landed almost in the same place that Gibson's home run landed in nineteen eighty eight.
Well, I didn't think it as quickly as Joe Davis did, And that was an amazing moment in my opinion as a broadcaster doing that and quickly immediately connecting the two and his call was unbelievable. He just won the Sports Emmy for play by play a couple of weeks ago, and I have to think that call had a lot to do with it. That was just so brilliant and it reminded me of his predecessor, Joe Buck. Joe Buck
had some amazing calls in his career. I remember one in particular, when the Cardinals forced Game seven, the David Freeze home run, and Joe's call was, we'll see you tomorrow night, and that was an echo of his father in nineteen eighty seven, Kirby Tunker's home running Game six, he said the same thing, and the best play by play people, I don't even know how they do it. They're amazing. And Joe was amazing that night. So he
thought of it even faster than I did. He thought of it in the moment, which was cool, amazing.
Yeah, Yeah, that's the soundtrack. You got to have the soundtrack to a great moment, and he did. Freddie Freeman Justice. Ken Rosenthal does the players justice on Fox Sports and The Athletic all the time. Before I let you go, Ken, you did cover the last team. You were there on the national stage for the last team to win back to back World Series championships, and that was Joe Torrey's Yankees.
Do you believe the Dodgers have what it takes, not only talent wise, but the mentality to give it a run. Do you feel like with the extra round, even with that, they have as good of a chance as you've seen in the past. I don't know, handful of years.
Is healthy. Yes, My question is are they ever going to get And I know they're basically slow, playing the entire regular season and trying to set up everything so that they're strongest in October. That's what they should be doing, and it's easy to understand the way they're going about it. It's just David, I wonder if it's all going to come together. Is easily, not as easily, but the way that they think it's going to come together, that's the concern I have. Who is going to be pitching at
the end. It's going to be Otani, Yamamoto and snow If so, I give the doctors an excellent chance. I just don't know if that's going to happen. And Glass now, of course, is another wild card, and that to me is the concern. Position player wise, the lineup good, good enough for sure to do what you just describe back to back. It's the pitching that I just wonder about, because for whatever reason, they have a hard time getting it right.
Yeah, they have a hard time keeping it healthy, that's for sure. But one thing I'll guarantee he can snail Zilla will be there at the finish line all season. Well, there are little hiccups, Ken, We'll get the hiccups worked out. He'll be there at the finish line.
Hey, he's a great second half pitcher. So I'm looking forward to seeing it.
Hey, can't wait to see you back at Dodger Stadium. Ken, thanks a lot for the time. And you got what Red Sox Yankees at Fenway I would imagine.
Yes, that's exactly right, all right, look.
Forward to seeing that. Thanks a lot for the time, Ken, and we'll see you on the West coast soon.
David sounds great. Thanks for having me there.
He is the best, the best in the business, all class. Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports and The Athletic