The right quiet.
Dodgers Playoff Baseball is back, and with it an annual postseason tradition.
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This is Sax and Cakes in the A app back Go with Broway. Dodger legend Steve Sacks is joined by your favorite Dodger pregame host Tim Kates. If you want to talk Dodgers, get in on the show on eighty six six nine eighty seven two five seven now. While the Dan Patrick Show streams on the Ihearts radio app.
We've been banished to the Internet until this Dodgers playoff run concludes. Here they are broadcasting live on AM five to seven e LA Sports. It's Tim Kates and Steve Sachs.
We're back, Saxon, Kates and the AM. It's back on this Monday morning, October fourteenth. Thanks for being with us here in Southern California, live in love on your home of the Dodgers A five seventy LA Sports here until nine o'clock this morning as we lead you up to Game two of the National League Championship Series. That's right, the Dodgers won on Friday night. They beat the Padres in Game five of the NLDS and this series has already started, as the Dodgers are up one game to
nothing on the New York match. I am Tim Cages, joined by two time World Series Champion, Rookie of the Year, and one hell of a guy. He is Steve Sack. Saxy.
Good morning, Good morning, Tim. How are you?
I know you slept better. I'm just saying I did sleep better. I feel really good about where the Dodgers are right now. Honestly, Saxy, I have felt so good since about nine o'clock on Friday night, when I sat in traffic at Dodger Stadium for over one hour getting out of Dodgers Stadium fifty eight thousand plus at Game five of the NLDS on Friday night, it was rocking.
It was the greatest environment I've seen in years at Dodgers Stadium for a playoff game, and they didn't disappoint the Dodgers with a two nothing to win over the Padres. But ever since since, Saxy, I've been feeling really good about this Dodgers team. A quick turnaround forty less than forty eight hours later, the Dodgers already have a one oh series lead.
Yeah, little housekeeping real quick, just so you know, I've spent I did the dumb thing of trying to get an uber out of Dodger Stadium and when the game was over, that's a three hour ordeal. I mean, I mean it just got my own car, right, I mean, it's just too much. Anyway, back to baseball, Yes, I know you felt better. Hey, could you feel that well? I don't want I don't want to say this too soon, but you could feel the difference in caliber of ball club.
I think from playing the Padres. I said this early on, I said, I think the Dodgers are playing the best, the most talented team in the playoffs with the San Diego Padres. This is going to be probably the best caliber club that they're going to play. And you know, we went five games. It was a battle. It was a knocked out, own, drag out thing. But could you kind of feel it a little bit maybe against the Mets, it just wasn't the same edge man going against these
other guys. Now, that could be a very dangerous thing because these guys can thump you. I mean I think after May, the Dodgers and the Mets basically had the same record. Yeah, you know, so this is these guys ain't chumps. Man, they can play and they can fool you. They can jump on you. When you think you got your guard down a little bit and you don't need it up, they can thump you. So you gotta watch it.
I was fully anticipating the l word that happened yesterday, let down for the Dodgers, at least early on, because emotionally, how could you not be drained. I was at the game on Friday night and I looked at somebody at the end of the game and I said, Man, I'm exhausted. I had goosebumps during the game. I was an emotional wreck. I can't imagine these guys, the high, the adrenaline they were on Friday night, the deep sigh of my gosh, we just got back passed past the Padres were down
this series. We come back and win in this fashion when you did, Oh, we got a game on Sunday night, I wouldn't have been surprised if they had a letdown. Even the fans would have had a let down after the emotional game on Friday night. But everybody brought it. The fans brought it last night in game one into the player's credit. Man, they brought it and Jack Flaherty was phenomenal.
He was just he just didn't give in. Even when he was missing with the slider. He was not going to give in to these guys. Look, here's what's going on without being there. Let me tell you what's going on right now without being there. The Dodgers are too professional of a team. That's the undergirding of what this club is made of. What you see out there in the field, and you see, you know, the hits, the
runs and the pitching and all that. That's great. What you don't see is the is the locker room, locker to locker conversations. Not necessarily the big, big meeting with Dave Roberts. A matter of fact, they probably don't even have those. It's the locker to locker conversations guys are having within themselves. They kind of police themselves. You know, Dave's at the top, but these guys are working it in the locker room too, way too professional of a team,
too talented of a team to let that happen. What you're talking about the letdown, don't I don't think that's going to happen because the team's too professional's there's guys helping each other. There's guys picking each others up there, you know, adding confidence. I just don't see that happening as far as the letdown goes. But sometimes you got to. You gotta watch it because it can be a little
drip on you. You know, you can be like, oh my god, a little bit here, a little bit there, and pretty soon you're looking at each other and saying, what the hell just happened?
Right?
You can't let that happen, and I don't believe it will.
After the game on Friday, Nikki her Nandez was very vocal with Kenny Rosenthal on the field at Dodger Stadium in the celebration, and the players afterwards were very emotional in talking about nobody gave it them a shot. Eighty percent of the media that predicted this game, and all the predictions from ESPN insiders and the Athletic and Fox and Yahoo and all these guys picked against the Dodgers in the NLDS, and I think Saxy they took that
to heart, as in, nobody believes in this. We're the underdogs, believe it or not, in this five game series against the Padres, and I think that's the sort of feeling and the mantra. Now I think moving forward for this Dodgers team is we're the underdogs. Either everybody hates us because we're the Dodgers, or nobody's picking it for us because they think we're gonna collapse.
Yeah. Well, I understand that's a good thing to take with you because it's it's a bit of a motivator, if you will. It's maybe more of a way to just keep your feet on the ground and realize that this is always tenuous. In the playoffs, anything can happen. These guys are here for a reason. And you know, you hear people talking about I heard it this weekend. Well, you know the Dodgers, you know they expected to win. They spend billions of dollars. I got folks, guess what.
The Mets have a much higher pay role than the Dodgers do. And people don't realize that. They're thinking, well, the Dodgers are the big gliath and they spend all the money and that's what. No, oh, no, that's not the case. Look at the Cleveland Guardians. This team is very low payroll and they're in it. I mean they're going against the Yankees. I mean usually it does bear it out that if you spend more money, you get
better players, you have better results. Not always, it doesn't always happen that way.
Last night, Jack Flaherty was fantastic. The kid from Burbank right here in the eight one eight Harvard Westlake High School in twenty thirteen, Saxy for those guys hang out to him just to ask you, I mean, he's from there's a little younger than me. Little younger than me, but probably went to the same spots growing up. But he went to Harvard Westlake High School just down the
road here in Studio City in the valley. And in twenty thirteen he was on the mound guiding Harvard Westlake to a CIF Southern Section championship, a win over Marina High School his senior year at Dodger Stadium, where he wins seven innings helping them win a CIF championship. He was a first round pick of the Saint Louis Cardinals. He was talked about a lot here a decade ago
for how talented he was in high school. And fast forward now to twenty twenty four and to see what he did last night, Steve, to see what he did when the Dodgers needed a starting pitcher to go out there and put up zeros in the first inning, the second inning, and onward. He was the right guy. He had the off speed pitches with him. He had the guy's chasing from the New York match, which was big.
He got a lot of chases from that lineup. But ninety two, ninety three, ninety four, it might as well have been looking ninety nine to those medsitters because he had him fooled last night.
Yeah, and are you starting to see a little trend here?
I am.
You know, when all the doubters are saying, you know, they just don't have the depth and pitching not really their fault because of all the injuries they have. Yeah, get it. You know you're kind of trying to make that conversation. Yet look at the last two starts. You get Yoshi Noobu Yamamoto, who goes out there and shoves right. Then you have Flarty who comes out, starts and shoves. You know, I'm starting to see some shove and going on right now in the starting rotation, which is something
I don't think the Dodgers really predicted. I thought they meant maybe looked at this as a limited amount good but limited amount of starts of innings. But hey, they're taking that pressure and the length possibilities off of that rot off of that bullpen, which is huge. Right now, this is what you need. You know, not to look too far forward, but hey, you get some miles out of your starters BUNDVA.
You look at the narrative going into the postseason for the Dodgers, really good, won the division, best record in baseball. They can score runs in bunches, but do they have enough pitching is a bullpen gas, they have a lot
of miles on those arms. Here in twenty twenty four and now thirty three consecutive scoreless innings, going back in Game three of the NLDS from Walker Bueller and what he did giving up those six runs in the inning and then putting up zeros the of the way to the bullpen game in Game four of the NLDS to Yamamoto as you mentioned, in the bullpen on Friday night putting up zeros, and then last night Jack Flaherty and
crew putting up more zeros. Thirty three consecutive scoreless sittings, and this is a rotation saxe No Clayton Kershaw, no Tyler Glass now, no Gavin Stone, no Tony Gonsolin this year, no Dustin May this year. Oh yeah, and no Joe Kelly and Bruce dr graderole in the bullpen right now in this postseason. A pitching staff that everybody said was the weakest link on this Dodgers team has proven to be the best pitching staff so far in the postseason.
That that's incredible. That's what champions are made of. Uh, And isn't it great that the real question mark of this team turns out to be maybe the strongest point, right, That's what it is. They turned that narrative right around, and it's looking you just you just try to stay in this zone, you know, you try to just ride this pony as long as you can. And I think Dave Roberts has done a phenomenal job. I'm glad, you know. I love when our listeners call in and they voice
our opinions. But hear too much.
About Dave Roberts, now, have you When you don't hear about him, it's like an umpire doing a great job. That's when you know he's doing just that. When you don't hear about it. And that's what we got with Dave right now. It's funny. Last week, Saxy, we were talking about this Manny Machado baseball being thrown into the dugout, and Dave Roberts took exception to that and said, hey, yeah, yeah, I was a little too close. I didn't think that
was very cool, and we talked about it. Well, maybe this is a little Phil Jackson asked, a little gamesmanship. In fact, Dave Roberts came out over the weekend and said, yeah, I was trying to take the pressure off of my guys being down in this series, going to San Diego, with them having all the momentum and all the chatter about the Padres and slam Diego. He admitted, Saxy, we were right. He was trying to take the pressure off his guys.
Yes, and that's what great managers do. I mean, isn't it something to think about this job. Look, you're gonna take a job on right now. You're gonna have to take all the slings and arrows for your team. When you do great, you can't take credit for that. You just take care credit for the bad stuff. That's what you do here. But that's what baseball managers. Do you are hired to fired unless you are Tommy the Sorder or Dave Roberts. It doesn't have all these guys.
Absolutely, he is Steve Sacks, Im Tim kats here On Saxon Kates in the AM on AM FI seventy LA Sports eight saxty six nine eighty seven to two five seventy is our number. Jump on board. We're talking a lot about what happened over the weekend. A lot to get to a Game five of the NLDS on Friday, and certainly last night Game one of the NLCS, and don't look now. Game two is a day game at Dodgers Stadium today for the Dodgers, will go up against Sean and Ia the left hander. It'll be Johnny Holstaff
a bullpen game for the Dodgers. First pitch is coming up at one oh eight eight sixty six ninety seven, two five seventy coming up. We're gonna hear from the manager, Dave Roberts. We're gonna check in with David Vass. We're gonna hear from Will Smith, who has been one of the guys that has helped this Dodger pitching staff over the thirty three consecutive scoreless adiens. We'll hear from Freddy Freeman.
We'll absolute story time with Steve. He promised last week if the Dodgers and Mets face off in the NLCS, he will give his stories from the nineteen eighty eight and LCS. That is coming up real quickly, Sacks, you want to give a shout out to the guys at the Glendale Water and Power. They are fantastic and listeners of scam. Ran into some of the guys over the weekend. Part of the Lineman crew, the guys that keep the power on for you, either climbing the polls or underneath
or doing the street lights. They're big listeners. They do to their warm ups and they're stretching and getting ready for the day out at the yard over there in Glendale. So shout out to the boys at the yard at the Glendale Water and Power this morning. They're big time scam listeners and want to make sure I shout them out. After seeing a couple of the guys over the weekend.
Asofellas, Yeah, we need those guys big time and they are scam listeners.
I've heard that absolutely. They keep the lights on for us. Eight sixty six nine eight seven two five seventy. Jack Flaherty, what a night last night. He just absolutely was dealing for the Dodgers and probably could have gone even deeper in to the game seven shutout. It needs two hits, six strikeouts, ninety eight pitches. Let's go back to post game last night, Saxony. Here is Jack Flaherty after his Game one win.
It's a lot of fun. You can't really you can't really put it all in the words, but you know, the most important part was coming out and setting a tone. You know, like I said, Will, Will did a really good job. He called a really good game, We had a really good game plan, and defense came out and made plays too. And then you know, when we get the lead there, I haven't done a really good job
of putting together a couple of shutdown endings. So once we get the lead there in the first to get them right back in the dugout, and then we had another one and then for another shutdown ether thing right there. It's kind of huge, just just overall. And then you know, look at the play that Kyk made there in the fourth inning, kind of changes I don't know what the name it was, but kind of changes the outlook of when maybe the play that ending goes. Getting that out there,
so it's huge. But you know, being able to be here and have some some family in the stands and see some of them beforehand, it kind of just lets you relax a little bit and understand that we're we're we're playing a game, and.
So having some fun with your fastball usage and just the command you had today. How did that just set the tone for you personally when it came to executing your pitches and using just everything else.
Kind of, Yeah, it was huge. Being able to be able to use my fastball tonight was was huge. Some of the other things my side was a little off early, wasn't able to put over the plate, and then as a game went on, we're able to mix with everything. Yeah, you know, I guess like Bill did a really good job back there, and you got some pitches for me as well.
So uh.
Yeah, all in all good, just just really just one guy after the other, just feeding off each other. So it's been a lot of fun.
How good did you feel out there in terms of actual execution.
Yeah, I felt good.
I felt like I had kind of figured some some things out. The last couple of days, just just working through things. I felt like my stuff and again San Diego was okay. But even in that game, was able to get some out and put put a couple of zeros together, and then was just able to clean some things up in my delivery, work on a couple of things, work on my stuff, and yeah, you know, warm up for the game felt good, felt good yesterday, and just
then it just comes out to executing. You know, if you just work on the stuff on days in between, you know, today just comes down and going out and competing.
Jack to piggyback off of what Dylan was saying, to the dreams that you had about pitching here. Obviously you pitched in high school, but to do it and then a game coming after seven shoutout innings, walking off the mound, everyone giving you a standing ovation, fifty five thousand people, getting that hug from Dave Roberts, your mom right there behind home plate. You know, what is that feeling like? Putting your team, you know, in a position three wins
away from the World Series. And then I saw later you did come out and embrace your mom, gave a hug. What was that conversation?
Would you guys say, you know, it's hard not to smile about those things. This this game is fun. This game is a lot of fun. And I've been lucky to do it since I was a little kid, and I'm still lucky to be able to do it today and be put in these positions, which is why I kind of try to describe all these games as fun. You know, as high pressure as they get, I just tell the guys it's going to be fun. And we
got to remember that sometimes. And so, you know, walking off the mountain, they usually be able to keep it together no matter what, even if it's the end of an outing. But I kind of had a feeling goes towards the end of line, and yeah, it just was
hard on smile there. And then you know, at least here like they had asked me to come back out, So I just I told my mom I was gonna come out, and you just give her a hug kind of the way we have been able to look him back on high school or a couple other starts, when when I get the opportunity just instead of you know, waiting to meet her underneath or whatnot, if I can just go out give her a hug and you know,
tell her thanks for being there and supporting me. It's always always important, all right.
There's Jack Flaherty after the game last night. Seven shutout innings for the right hander. Born here in southern California and Bourbank grew up a Dodgers fan. Was at the twenty fifteen NLDS, by the way Zaxu, the last time the Dodgers and Mets faced each other in the playoffs, with the old Chase Utley sliding into Dahata and breaking his leg. That was twenty fifteen. He was in the
minor leagues with the Saint Louis Cardinals. His season was over, and him and his brother went and bought tickets and was at Dodger Stadium for that NLDS. And here he is in twenty twenty four. He was absolutely dealing, but I mean ninety three for the fastball, he had a seventy seven mile an hour knuckle curve kind of averaging right around there, and then you mix in the slider he was thrown last night was about eighty five eighty six.
Those three pitches at those three different speeds. He had guy's guests and he was pitching backwards as they say to hit hers to Lindor, they didn't know what was coming.
Yeah, and that's great. First of all, what a grounded young man, you know, to talk about his high school days, having his mom there, she's obviously very central in his life. That's great. Sounds like, you know, how fortunate I was with my family. My parents were at every game and it was just great. But what I like about the difference, the difference in speed that really throws a hitter off.
You only need to be thrown off like this much, just a little tiny bit, and that's all it takes for you to you know, roll over or pop one up. And he was changing the eye angle of the hitter too. And I know sometimes our listeners say, what does that mean. Well, sometimes when you throw, you know, a big curveball, like on strike one, they're looking fastball. You throw that big curve ball at the at the hitter kind of like at his head, and then it breaks off into the
strike zone. That's great because they're not looking for that pitch. You can usually steal first strike or strike win, which is very important. And then you're coming off, you know, with ninety four ninety five on a fastball on the black and then change it with a slider that it's like about eighty six miles an hour, So you got ninety four, ninety five, eighty six and then seventy seven with that curveball. That's amazing. That will keep anybody off.
And if you can throw it for strikes, you're dangerous. And that's and hitters know this.
He was dangerous last night, seven shutout innings. The Dodgers came in with two relief pitchers, Daniel Hudson, and then of course Ben Cosparius pitched the ninth Indians. The Dodgers win Game one of the NLCS, convincing nine to nothing win over the New York Can match last night at Dodgers standing and quick turn around. Today. Game two is at one o'clock. It'll be Sean Manaya the left hand are going for the men's. Johnny Holstaff the bullpen game
for the Dodgers in Game two. Then they head off to New York for Games three, four, impossibly game five. We're taking your phone calls. Coming up next, we'll hear from Dave Roberts as well, Will Smith, David Vat say, we'll check in with us. We'll go down memory lane with Steve in nineteen eighty eight, the NLCS, Dodgers and Mets so much to get to. We appreciate you being with us this morning. It's Sax and Kate to the Am. Are your home of the Dodgers. AFI seventy la Sports,
Sax and Kate to the Am. Thanks for being with us on this Monday morning, October fourteenth, We'll forget. You can listen to the Dan Patrick Show via the iHeartRadio app. Just click on AFI seventy la Sports Live a local this morning until nine o'clock. They'll have things off to Colin Cowherd leading you up to Dodger pregame. Dodgers on deck at noon, first pitch at oneh eight. A quick turnaround, Sax. See Dodgers play a lot of baseball in the span
of like ninety six hours. There Game five on Friday night. You know the NLDS game won last night. We got Game two today at one o'clock.
They won't feel it. They won't feel it at all. Guaranteed those guys are gonna pop out of bed like they didn't. They didn't recognize that that the game was so quick and it was just you know, like a few more hours and boom, we were out there ready to play again. They won't even know it. I mean, these guys are just so hyped up right now. The deal is they got to ratchet it back a little bit and trying to not have to get over the skis
because they're excited right now. There's there's not no worries about the sleep.
Don't think that the Dodgers aren't taking tickets or collecting tickets, as the kids say. As far as people who have picked against them, it was funny last night on the Fox postgame show, Max Munsey was on with Big Poppy and a Rod and the crew Derek Jeter and Big Poppy was like, hey man, Max, we know we're so happy for you guys. And Max took looked them and said,
you picked against us. You didn't think we'd get past the Padres And he goes, no, no, no, I picked you And they're like, no, no, no, no, you picked against us. Max Munts. He's going around making sure people know that if you didn't pick the Dodgers to even get out of the NLDS, don't start coming now and saying, oh, we think you guys are so good. These guys are
they've remembered Saxy. Yes, and maybe that's the motivation they needed as a team that nearly won one hundred games, had the best record over on baseball, the high payroll. Everybody wants to talk about, Oh, you should be here, You're expected to be here, and maybe this is the motivation that they're using. You know, they're collecting receipts as they say.
Yeah, they're using the motivation from getting bounced too early, especially last year with just three games and they're out. I mean, the expectations are so much higher and they are so much better than that. Everybody knows that. If you just look at the numbers across the board, it bears it out. For instance, their offensive output this year was one hundred and fifty seven plus right run differential, and that is amazing, more than anybody else in baseball.
So the good thing about the Dodgers is they know even if they get down in a game, they can turn around with one swing of the bat. You know, you get a couple of guys on and you got so many bombers on this team. It's built to slug and that's dangerous.
Eight sixty six, nine seventy We shut it out the guys who are rann through over the weekend from Glendale water in power. How about the guys down at the Port of La the guys there on the docks. David at the Port of La joins us here on a five to seven LA Sports. Good morning, David.
Hey, good morning guys, David Monday morning, after that Dodger win. But I know I called last week after I think it was Game two, and I was a little bit hard on Max muntsey Man for that infield play. But uh, I think, uh what, you guys hit it right on the head.
Uh they get.
A fire right underneath all these guys and they're mad. That whole panel, I call them the haters. All picked the padres man, all pick the padres, all of them.
And I didn't want to give a.
Credit or it's due our pitching staff man.
Thirty three scoreless innings.
It's perfect.
They're playing perfect ball right now.
They're on a high note, and I think they're.
Just gonna just smoke these whole playoffs.
I think they're gonna sweep everybody.
I really do.
Let's not get I far ahead of ourselves here. It's one game, and this is a Mets team. That got here by knocking off the Phillies and the Brewers, David. So they're they're a good team. They were riding high. They were probably one of the hottest teams in baseball going into the October postseason. So it's one game. Well, we'll see today in game two.
Oh, we'll see and everything's better when the Dodgers win.
Man, I'm out all right, appreciated David eight six six, nine, seven two five seventy him.
Is that the guy that that you know, just be tween you and me listening right now, Is that the guy that they said Munsey was kind chubby? Was that the same guy?
You can be pointing the finger in a lot of people, but just saying that. But yeah, match Munsey has taken his lumps this season, Steve. This is a guy who's been hurt, had the a dominal issue or the oblique injury.
Yeah, that's tough to overcome to you.
And just couldn't get right and struggled at the plate. Fans like to get after him because he's a slug player, and that's kind of where he burst onto the scene a few years ago when the game was at that direction where it was home run deep fly balls or strikeouts, and he's still sort of in that mold of a slug player. And that's okay, but it's swing or missed with Max Munsey and then strikeout or home run for Mat.
To walk in there too. Sure, But you know what, I really like him. He grows on you because you know something. He's a guy that's meant for the moment. He can hit that big home run. Hey, look at I think he's underrated defensively too. He can play third, he can play first. He's a versatile guy. He's a very much a team guy. And you know what you're getting with him. You're gonna get a walk, a strikeout, or a home run. I mean, he's not going to
string together seven singles. It's not gonna happen with Max. But you need a guy like that on the team, and he's he fits perfect. Remember they got Max Muncie from the scrap heap of the Oakland A's many years ago. When they got him over he he he had a total of like five home runs in his career. Now that look could happen when he comes over the Dodgers. I mean, how do you really pick somebody like that out that's I mean, there's a lot of guys that
are on the scrap heat from teams. What do you do? You go in there and uh, I'll take the guy in the red shirt, right, just bring him over here and we'll we'll turn this around and we'll put his foot over here and we'll make him swing a little higher, and that'll do it.
Well.
They obviously knew it because it turned out to be a boon for the Dodgers.
That's development though, right, That's that's the guys in player personnel, in the front office recognizing there's something there in Anthony Bonda, who was on the scrap peaks Ryan Brazier a year ago. The Boston Red Sox couldn't get rid of him fast enough. Even Key Key Hernandez last year was underachieving so much in Boston they couldn't wait to get rid of him. The Dodgers would gladly take him back, fix his swing. And what they do with the pitchers, which is so great, Steve,
is they'll recognize what you're good at. If you're a four pitch pitcher, you know what, get rid of this one, get rid of that one. Yeah, these two pitches, you're really good at you know what, put your index finger up a little high on the knuckle curve, and we think you can get a little bit more spin rate on that and get some chases. And the difference is speed between your ninety three mile on hour fastball and now a knuckle curve or a slider or a sweeper
is going to be even greater to a hitter. And they just tweak you a little bit because they see something and they can find that. That's what they're so good at. They find something in everybody and they magnify that to the greatest degree.
You know what else is really good? In and Out Burger? Aren't they? Aren't they good? You know why? You know why In and Out Burger is good because they have a very simple menu. They cut it way down. They get rid of all the slough. This is really good. This is really good, and you know what you're getting every single time you go in there. That's kind of what they do with these guys. They take that out, take that out of your repertoire. You don't need this,
Like you said, go to the knuckle curve. A little bit more pressure on your fastball on the side will make it move to the left. That's what you gotta do, and that and that they keep it simple and that's what's made it look when they got Max Munsey too. Max Munsey kind of reminds me, not because he's a big, tough guy. You know, he likes to to you know, to scrap it up with the other team and whatnot. But I'm using the analogy of like a Rocky Marciano
in Rocky Marciano the Fighter, he's my favorite fighter. When he was a fighter, he was very crude. He was not a good boxer. He was off on his feet, wasn't good and he had to really work on a lot of his footwork. But the reason that they took Rocky Marciano on and took a chance on him because the guy could really punch. He had a great right hand. He had an unbeliev he called it the Susiq and
it was an unbelievable right hand. So what they did is they took that unbelievable ability to punch and then they worked it as much as they could into a guy that was forty nine to zero for his career. Kind Of what you see was some of the players in all the scouting department with the Dodgers. They take this guy a Max Munsey who was not gonna make it anywhere with Oakland. He was trying a bunch of
different things. Hey, let's take this guy over. Why because he can Because he can hit the ball out of the ballpark. He's got power and you can't manufacture that any other way. Let's take him, refine him a little bit, work him, and get him a little bit more. Uh, you know in tune with the powerstroke and bang, look what happened. So that that's what happened. You take that one ability and you kind of hone it in and then you got Max Munzi.
He has been fantastic over the years with the Dodgers, and when healthy has been hitting the ball fall for them as well with the power. Let's go to Josh in la Is next up here on Saxon Kates and the Am on this Monday morning, the Dodgers up one game to nothing in the NLCS. How you doing, Josh, good morning?
Was at the game last night.
I mean there's nothing more spiritual than the national anthem and the flag rolling out on the field and got the Dodgers lined up ready for a win. And and I just thank you you know that this game is so beautiful, but there's a there's an aspect of spirituality.
To this game, and and the baseball guys definitely smiling down on us when we play the game right. And I just want to say that I was at the game when it gets to Padres, when we had the triple plate turned on us, and I swear that the guys are telling me that there was no chance we had a shot this year. And then I was at the game last night and I see us getting bunched down.
Then the next time, I bet DMan gets ahead, and the gods are smiling down upon us. Let's keep playing the game right, and let's take it home, all right.
Appreciate that, John. I wonder if that is the baseball gods looking down on the Dodgers and the way they're playing here in October Saxy because the bottom of the lineup, it's no it's no secret. When there's guys on. For shoe Otani, his numbers are through the roof with runners of scoring position. When there's nobody on, he's like, oh for the postseason.
Right now.
With that being said, there is a clear there is a clear message that the Dodgers are sending that they are trying to get guys on for him at the bottom of the lineup, whether they bunting guys on, whether you know great hitting the opposite way that we saw price, yes from Kiki Hernettis and Tommy edmund and Rock bunting a guy into scoring positions so.
They can great change up and hit that ball the other way.
It is unbelievable to see this bottom of the lineup manufacturing things, getting guys on and setting the table for the feast and show hail TONI.
You know, you know what's so fantastic about this whole thing is the only thing you hear about is, oh, the Dodgers are really lacking in that starting rotation, you know, because of all the injuries. And that's the reason, just the injuries. But they're really lacking. I don't know what they're gonna do. What happens, they come out and they just stick it to them with the starting rotation. That's point number one. Point number two. Boy, they can really slug.
That's the way they're built. They're gonna hit all these home runs. Let me see Tommy Edmonds and Keith k hernan Is lining in a soft change up the other way, exactly the textbook way that you're supposed to hit that ball the other way. They're bunting, they're stealing bases, they're throwing behind the runners like a caught winker with this hand in the cookie jar or his thumb up somewhere else.
I don't know where, but anyway, they're doing all the little things that a big mashing team kind of overlooks and doesn't have to do.
Well.
Guess what they're doing it And that's the reason why they're in the position tore in now because it's the little things that they're doing.
They were doing in fantastic last night. It's it's beautiful to see it when it works, and guys are moving around, stays in the station, and then you get a Shoeotani who just powers a ball between first and second or muscles one up off the base of the wall in right center field, and guys are just being waved home by Dino Ebel and they put a ninth spot up on the board last night in a nine to nothing shutout win over the New York match. Alfred in La is next up with Saxon, Kates and Am on this
Monday morning. In between Game one and Game two of the NLCS h I Alfred.
Hey, good morning, guys.
How you doing.
I've been trying to get on the show for a long time. I've been trying to defend the Dodgers. Man. They're the best team in baseball. They deal with adversity for a very long time and they still got the best, best record in baseball. This is a championship build team, man, and a lot of people will on Dave Roberts doesn't realize that he changed his whole strategy. Now he's playing a bunch of small ball and teams just don't know how to play small ball anymore. He's bringing old school
baseball back and it's being very effective. And I mean, this is a built championship team, you know, with a game of failure and everything like that, this team is destined. But you know, we'll see they got a flush last night and come out tonight and play a good game and we'll see what goes on from there.
All right, appreciated, Alfred. I mean, Dodger fan see it, saxy. They understand that in a postseason, whether it's a nine to nothing to win or it's a two to nothing win like it was on Friday Night and a pitchers duel that shocked everybody, and we thought we're gonna get a high scoring game five of the NLDS doesn't matter the score, high scoring or low scoring. Small ball matters. And Keiky Hernandez going two for four getting on base, Gavin luck Is getting on base with the walk at
the bottom of the order. And then Tommy Edmund being unselfish one for three a bunch but also drives in a run, scores a run. I mean Tommy Edmond to me again, I can't say it enough. I understand now why Andrew Freeman wanted him on this roster for the last three years. The kind of player that he is, unselfish, plays multiple positions, can hit for power, can hit for average, and it's just a gamer. Is that what you call him? Just a baseball gamer?
Yes, you know love players like this, And I give a shout out to to my nephew. He plays just like this same exact way. I mean, Pop, you know, we're hiting both sides of the play. Great defense, he can run bunts great you know. So this type of player that he is, that Tommy Edmond, you can't replace. Guys like this are too valuable here we are talking about it. Listen, what happens at the power is you have a little power outage for a couple of games.
You have to have guys in there to keep the wheels moving, to keep the game in action, to bring back some of that old flair, speed kills, defense kills, And that's what these guys bring. You gotta have guys like.
This, absolutely do. And the Dodgers have it right now. They've got it going right now. He won nothing's lead in this NLCS. We'll come back. We'll get to your phone calls. We will hear from Dave Roberts. Next hour, we'll hear from Freddie Freeman. We'll get back to a flashback from nineteen eighty eight the Dodgers and Mets. Yes, they met in the NLCS during that magical run and World Series postseason run for Steve Saxon the eighty eight Dodgers.
We'll go down memory lane. The Dodgers are closing in on an MLB record after tying it last night on
the mound in the ninth inning. David Vasse will join us in the final hour your phone calls on this Monday morning, Dodgers A one nothing series lead in the National League Championship Series, Game two today out at Dodgers Datum right here on your home of the Dodgers, A five seventy LA Sports, Saxon, Kate's and AM on this Monday morning, October fourteenth, live and local, as the Dodgers are up one game to nothing in the Best seven
NLCS over the New York Mets. After a nine to nothing victory last night behind Jack Felherty's seven shutout innians, the Dodgers now thirty three consecutive scoreless innings. Pitch going back to Game three of the nl DS against the San Diego Padres. He is Steve Sax, I'm Tim Kates coming up, David Basse. In our eight o'clock hour, we'll
hear from Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. Next hour, we'll get a great nineteen eighty eight flashback from the Dodgers Mets n LCS, the last time these two teams met in the Championships Series. We'll get back out to your phone calls. In his second but last night, the Dodgers with a nine to nothing win, and afterwards, here's the manager, Dave Roberts talking about his team's.
Win Lernie, what's your kind of key of that parting, but how that came together and how that looked.
Like it was just a pitching clinic. I thought he did a great job of filling up the strike zone with his complete mix, used as fastball when he needed to just minimize damage. And you know, once we caught a lead, he did a great job of just going after those guys in attacking. And you know, for us to get seven innings in a long series was huge.
There's a lot on a guy when a team brings up a high profile player in at the deadline and then he gets game one and there's more on him. How has he handled all that part of it, sort of being the guy to come in and help with everything else going on in your.
Starting paper, I think that for us, we're getting Jack at the perfect time. As far as he's a veteran player, he's been through a lot highs lows and found his way back. This is certainly a childhood dream for him and his family, and we just knew that. You know, youvet a guy and you just feel that he can handle this market, handle being a pitching in a playoff game, starting a playoff game, and so that wasn't really a
surprise for us. And I felt, like I said to I think he's gonna spit out a really good one tonight, and you know, the moment just isn't going to get too big for Jack.
Execution wise at the plate, took the bat out of the hands a couple of times. Everything went right in that regard. Can you talk a little bit about the execution that you guys had up and down the lineup to get so many runs.
Well, I thought, you know, you could see clearly that Sanga just didn't have his a stuff tonight. The split was non competitive, he didn't use the sweeper, and then he was just kind of relying on the cutter of working behind hitters, walking guys, so for us to take our walks create stress. The Maximunsey base hit was huge, and I just thought tonight we kind of checked down and got some big bass hits, whether you know, moving a guy over, moving him up and then getting a knock.
I just thought, all night long we were really stubborn. I thought the hitting coaches did a great job of putting together a game plan, and then the players executed.
Mike and the third row.
Dave had sacrifice bunts all season. You had two in the first four innings. Ton I what prompted the small ball approach.
It's just playoff baseball. I just think that, you know, it's just it's the fact. The truth of the matter is that the postseason is different than the regular season, and you know, it's about kind of ninety feet and giving yourself and some of the some of that was making sure show he had a chance to get up. But to Tommy's credit, to Key Case's credit, driving in those runs were huge, and then Gavin getting the butt down,
Tommy getting the butt down. It's just team baseball. And I think that, you know, if you can get a guy in scoring position, it just creates a little bit more stress.
I was asked you about show Hey his numbers a good guys on base and bass is empty or very extreme as postseason. Why you think that is and does it just emphasize the importance having guys on for him?
It's certainly were better when we get guys on with show Hey up to bat. Obviously, when guys are in scormp there might be a little bit more focus. But I think right now he's just he's in a good spot. And like I said that last series, I thought he chased a little bit. But I think tonight he got back into his hitting zone and some good things happening. Even one of his outs, you know, was close to being a homer.
All right, there's Dave Roberts last night after the game talking about Jack Flaherty and this new small ball that the Dodgers have incorporated here in this twenty twenty four postseason. He mentioned the Maxi Munsey two run single in the first inning, Saxey. They had Kodai Singa on the ropes after the groundout from Otani to lead off the bottom of the first back to back to back walks, the Betts, Freeman and tay Oscar Hernandez will Smith flies out to
shallow center field, two down, bases still loaded. Singa could have got out of that inning after all that with a zero on the scoreboard, but the Dodgers again with two outs, get a big bass hit. Max Munsey delivers with the two runs single.
Lot.
I thought that was important because instead of just a zero and keeping him, you know, in the game, singer and lingering around and maybe he can start figuring out his fastball and it's getting it over his his offsby pitches for strikes. They jumped on him and really put the pressure on him. He was never able to rebound. Yeah, it changed everything. And remember that came on the heels of Mookie holding up at third base, yes, right, and
not going on the on the fly ball. So yeah, I mean, that's that's what you get when championship, championship teams come into the fold. You see, the expectations are there that this team is going to beat you up with the home run. But there's, man, there's all these other things are doing. Like you talk about small ball, we know that eventually that somebody's gonna slug and a game or two is just going to be dominated by
the home run. It's it's bound to happen. Okay, not that you can absolutely say it is and guarantee it, but it's bound to happen. But you you steal a couple of games by a bunt, a line drive to right field, by you know, your seven eight nine hitters hitting the change up the other way, a great base running move, a phenomenal play in the outfield where you deep Jesse Winker and having really in no man's land,
and it changes the whole landscape of the game. These things that can't even be predicted are the things that the Dodgers are doing right now. And this is it's really not even subtle. It's out there and it's big, and people are loving this how they're winning these games. They put nine runs up on the board last night in his zero home run.
How about that.
That's unbelievable.
It's a beautiful thing. Like I said, the home runs are going to be there, you know, without question. You put nine runs up on that team with you know, without hitting a home run. That's phenomenal. And the Dodgers are going to keep this going. As long as they can keep this thing churning, they will.
You heard Dave Roberts when asked about showey Otani with runners in scoring position, he's like six for eight with a home run and like five RBIs with bases empty. He's over the postseason.
I think he's like twelve for sixteen, I mean going with bases with and scoring positions, some ridiculous number like that. What does that tell you? Well, when it's uh, when it's on the line and they have to pitch to them because they're the bases are clogged that's when he just he just hammers. You know, they had to come in there. And you remember, show, Hey, with all the great phenomenal home runs, the one hundred and thirty RBIs, et cetera, he's still a really good hitter. He's a
really phenomenal hitter. Him and there and Judge are two of the best hitters in the game because of the amount of damage they produce, but because they're good, purposeful hitters and they can hit the up ball the other way with authority. That's why they're so great.
I'm glad you brought that up. When they have to pitch the show a Otani because runners are on base and they can't walk them and afford to load the bases up or put another guy on base. That's important, right, Saxony, Because when you've got nobody on and you've got Otani up, and you say, you know, pitch around him, they're they're nibbling, right, They're throwing pitches are maybe on the black or certainly not in the strike zone and hoping that he'll chase right.
Right right. And people say, well, sometimes it chases, and you know that's that's his aggressiveness. I say, you take the warts. Yeah, you know what if there's anything that you can put a nick on him and say, well, you know, you chase that ball, chase a ball that he had, don't we all? I mean, you take the warts. That's part of his aggression. You don't want to take that away from him because that's what produces the home runs.
So you live with it. And when the game's on the line, that dude produces.
Father Gary in Burbank, real quick, father Gary, before we hit the top of the hour break, Good morning, Father Gary. We needed some doctoring Guide intervention on Friday, and we got it. And now the Dodgers real quickly, you're back up one game to nothing in the NLCS.
Guys, I'm thrilled. My attitude is much different than it was a week ago at this time. If you would allow me just a quick liberty to explain something so that I don't confuse any listeners or confuse you guys. But in our Greek Orthodox tradition, the clergy can be married as long as we get married before war ordained and Sactually, I got a confession out of my wife
last night. She was a huge fan of yours when she was thirteen, and she wanted me to give you a shout out and tell her that she had a huge crush on you growing up, but thank god I ended up with her. But listen, guys, I just want to say real quick. I know work press for time, but just let me just say real quick, press for time. There's a humility in our clubhouse that you don't find since nineteen eighty eight. There's a humility in there. We
got characters like nineteen eighty eighteen. We got like Mickey Hatcher's, we got Freeman, been around the bases like Kurt Gibson got we got players, guys, we got players. It's re enacting itself. So I'm excited to hear about what you guys are gonna do with the nineteen eighty eight replay. Rewind flashback right now. But let me just tell you that we have humility in that clubhouse, and it's showing people not afraid to bond. Oh Tawny hustling around the basis. Man,
you see him running, Mookie pitching Freeman. He comes across the plate.
That's kind to hurt the man.
That's gotta hurt Freddy as he comes across. I love it, guys. We're playing like a team. We're playing baseball. It's fun to watch because humility. This is what we need.
I love it.
Thank you, father, Gary, appreciate you checking in, and yeah, join the club.
There's what a great point, Tim, father Gary, great point that was. He's right.
Humility has a great way to describe this team, as they now take a one to zero series lead in this best at seven and LCS quick turnaround Game two this afternoon out of Dodger Stadium, and then the teams will fly east for games three, four, and if necessary, Game five. Dodgers win it last night nine to nothing over the New York Mets behind Jack Flairty seven shutout Inians. We'll come back. David Vesse joins us in the eight
o'clock hour. Next hour, we'll get story time, a flashback with Steve Sacks, so we go back to nineteen eighty eight, same matchup, Dodgers Mets. We'll go back with Steve. Then we'll also get to your phone calls eight sixty six, nine eighty seven, two five seventy. He is Steve Sacks. I'm Tim Kates. It's m five seventy l A Sports