It's hot and steamy out here at Angel Stadium, but Max Munsey's bat has been even hotter since his return from the injured list, and the great Funky Munsey joins us here in the Dodger dugout. Thanks a lot for the time you hear the ooz and o's. Everybody stops when they hear us talking to Max Munsey.
No, I think I think it's more so they're just hearing your loud voice. I go throughout this empty stadium right now. You know, you do a good job of protecting your voice even though no one really wants to hear it.
Munsey. You see that guy down the bench, that's Connor McGinnis, the best kept secret in baseball. He tries to talk like he's a surfer even though he's from Virginia Beach. How do you put that together? Uh?
Well, I mean the biggest, uh probably the biggest surfer on the team is Chris Taylor, and he's from Virginia Beach as well. So, uh, you know, it's a you know, I guess it's just you get out to the West Coast and you just want to learn how to surf.
Yeah, I guess, so just trying to fit in. A lot of sharks out there in Virginia Beach and a lot of sharks in our capital where Connor McGinnis is from. Sure, sure, I'm not sure where you're trying to go with that one, but sure, let's talk baseball, maximunth. So you guys are coming off a big series in the Arizona. I feel like I'm more excited about it than you guys are. Yeah.
You know, obviously it was a huge, a huge series. No one's trying to take anything away from that. But something that we continue to preach and continue to focus on is it doesn't matter who the opponent is. We got to go out there and play our game, and that that's no different tonight. You know, we did have a big series and now we have a two game set against the Angels, and you know, they haven't been playing great. But at the same time, we can't worry
about the opponent. We have to go out there and worry about our game. And if we go out there and focus on what we we need to do, then we feel good about ourselves. Against any opponent that's out there, it doesn't matter, you know what name they got across their chest.
Yeah, that's a great point. If you come out here and fall short against the Angels, all that work in the desert was for.
Not exactly, And you know, just every single day you have to go out and prepare and play that game to win that day, and you can't worry about what you got coming up ahead or what you've already done. You know, we all we and folks on is what we're going to do tonight for nine innings, and that's hopefully come out with a w.
I love talking to players on this team that have been here for a while and understand the identity of what it takes to win. Do you feel like this team, this offense is starting to resemble what you guys have had in prior years.
Yeah, you know, and for the you know better part of this entire year, we haven't had our full healthy lineup, and you know, to that extent, we're still not entirely fully healthy.
Now.
I'm still dealing with my my rib thing. Freddie's got a broken finger. You know, guys are still trying to figure out where they are. But we're we're slowly getting back to having a full and deep lineup. You know, Luxy coming around and being who who Luxy is. That helps us out tremendously. And you know, we all knew
he was going to get there eventually. It's just when you miss that amount of time from baseball, it's it's tough to come back and and and especially when you're a young player trying to figure out who you are, it's tough to come back and and be the guy you need to be. And he's finally starting to learn that, and he's he's been extremely fun to watch, you know, these these couple.
Of months, and it feels like with all you guys coming back, playing times are being adjusted, and rightfully so. But it feels like the guys that filled in are understanding their roles with all of you guys back.
Look, everyone here wants to win. That's why we're all here. That's why the guys that were free agents that came here decided to sign here. They want to win. And you know, you can't complain about anything when when you signed up for this, and that's uh, you know, everyone in this clubhouse understands that, myself included. You know, I know I'm getting a chance to play against the lefty to night, but uh, you know, for the most part,
we have guys that hit left. He's very well, and so that might mean I'm missing out on some playing time because there's a left hand around the mountain. And I'm okay with that as long as it puts us in the best chance to win. Do I want to be out there one hundred percent, but I'm not going to throw a fit and cause a scene and and and you know, make it a toxic environment. And that's something that this whole clubhouse has done extremely well with that.
Everyone in here wants to go out there, and everyone also knows at any given moment, your name can get called on to making it to make a difference in the game, whether you started or not. And you know, so everyone's everyone's bought into that.
Max Munsey is our guest. Just in front of first pitch between the Dodgers and Angels and Anaheim, you mentioned how you're just coming back and still working through the rib cage issues. How have you been able to hit the ground running after missing as much time as you did.
You know, it's just trying to just stay on top of my mechanics and stay on top of my approach. And you know, when you have three months off, you kind of have a chance to refine some things. Obviously I couldn't work on anything mechanically, but mentally, I was trying to figure out what would be the easiest thing to do. And you know, I found some cues for me that I can focus on mentally when I'm doing my pregame work, and that way, when I take it into the box, I'm not having to think about it.
And it's just kind of been a result of that. And you know, when you have a chance to watch from the side, you feel like the game is a lot easier than what it actually is, and so you get a chance to focus on your approach. And that's you know, every single night I was sitting there watching those games, That's what I was doing, was I was just trying to figure out an approach, and you know, what would I do against this guy? How do I think they would pitch me? How do I think this
guy had pitched me? What would I be looking for? And I felt like I was, you know, able to refine that a little bit. And you know, in this era now with the pitch clock, when you step in that batter's box, it goes a lot faster than what people think, and you don't have a chance to really focus on what pitch you're trying to look for. And so when you're able to just sit there for three months and reinforce yourself what you would be doing, it
kind of comes second nature. When you get in the box, you're not having to think about it.
We're always learning something, no matter how old you are, how much experience you have, Do you feel like this is something that's going to benefit you moving forward? It sounds like you're visualizing success before you even get close to first pitch. Yeah.
You know, when I had my best years before my arm injury, that was something that I did extremely well. Was I just stepped out of the box and I focused on, you know, what was going on in the game, what pitches had the pitcher thrown me already, how do I think they're going to throw? And I had a chance to kind of breathe and think about it before
I step back in the box. And then, you know, just the last couple of years trying to get healthy with everything, and then the pitch clock coming around, it's been a little a little challenging to to refocus on what I need to be doing in the box in terms of the mental game, and you know, you get three months off to watch it, and like I said, from the side, it always looks easier than what it
actually is. Yeah, you know, it helped me understand a lot of things that I needed to be doing better, and so far I've been doing that since i've been back.
Love it, Monsie. I'm a nostalgia guy, so talking to the og Dodgers really makes me happy. Thanks a lot for the time, and obviously La is very happy Max months he's back.
Thanks David, appreciate it.