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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 LA Sports. It's Tim Kates and Steve Sacks.
It's Sax and Kate's in the AM on this Monday morning, October fourteenth. Thanks for being with us Southern California. As the Dodgers have already taken a one nothing lead in this best of seven n LCS Quick Turnaround Game two coming up at one oh eight this afternoon. It is a bullpen game for the Dodgers left hander Shaman Naya. We'll go for the New York Mets. He is Steve Sacks. I am Tim keatese with you here until nine o'clock this morning. Moroco Casino, Dodgers on deck. We'll get our
coverage started coming up at noon today. As the Dodgers win Game one last night nine to nothing over the New York Mets. Jack Flaherty seven shutout Indians as the Dodgers get the victory, and now thirty three consecutive scoreless Indians pitch by this Dodger pitching staff eight six, six, nine eighty seven two five seventy Saxy joining us now our Dodger insider. He was up late last night doing Dodger talk. He is a one and only David Vese DV. Good morning, buddy, how you doing?
Hey, good morning, Steve sas can recognize some of these streets I'm passing. I'm on the one oh one headed to Dodger Stadium, just passing Racina Boulevard. Soup familiar Saxy.
Oh, yes, David. Absolutely, I got.
David a lot of us.
When he played for the Dodgers.
Absolutely, my first year, my first year. We'll start right there. Hey, do you want to go first?
Him?
Yeah? Go for us. Actually, all right, since we're already talking to the great David Vasse, David what's the talk. I mean, look, no dingers, you have we got seven, eight, nine killing it. Uh and this is done by small ball as well. I'm just loving the way the Dodgers are winning these games stringing hits together. Who would have guessed that. I mean, it's been great defense, it's been base running, it's been base hits the other way. How about Key k and Tommy Edmond lining the change up
the other way like a textbook. I mean, this is amazing what we're seeing right now with the Dodgers. No slug but big wins.
Yeah, especially from those groups of hitters for the Dodgers, the bottom part of the orders seven, eight and nine not having too big of a swing. And you know what I also love, Steve, is the fact that Tommy Edmund and Gavin Lux each laid down sacrifice buns to put a runner at second base for show. Hey o, Tommy, the Dodgers are playing for each other right now. They have come together ever since that loss in San Diego.
I've been told after Walker Bueler came into the dugout through the cooler of bubble gum and Taeoscar Hernandez trying to will this team back to victory that night. That's when things really changed for the Dodgers, and certainly they have a lot of confidence right now and they're playing for each other. That's what you need to do in the postseason.
Jack flaherty has pitched before Dodger Stadium, albeit in a CIF championship game against Marina High School back in twenty thirteen. But last night in the postseason, when they needed him on the biggest stage in Game one, to go out there and shut down the met in the first inning, he did more than that. Seven shutout innings. What a performance from the young man out of the eight.
One a day.
Hey, that's the best I've seen Jack flaherty pitch for the Dodgers since they traded for him. He's had some pretty good starts too, but in that situation, coming off in okay start against the Padres in the DS, that was the best I have seen Jack Flaherty. And you know, I would venture to say that's the best he's pitched
probably since he was a Saint Louis Cardinal. He had his curveball working, he had his slider working, and he was attacking with his fastball, and all three of those pitches so you know, not only did Jack Flaherty win the game for the Dodgers and put up a zero going seven innings last night and the Dodger offense scoring nine runs, they helped themselves today to give Walker Bueller the start in New York and go with a bullpen game the day before a day off in this series.
Yeah, David, I look at the underpinnings of this team, and what I'm seeing now is a new dement of this club being added. I'm sure they did it sometimes during the season, but the unity and the humility on the ball club, Like Father Gary when he called in and told us about this, when Freddy crosses a plate and Mookie kind of props him up and they kind of give each other the you know, kind of a nice bro hug.
There.
The thing about it, it's genuine. It's not it's not made up. They're not looking at cameras. This is genuine stuff. We're seeing right now that everybody's getting excited about somebody else being successful. That's winning stuff. Man.
That was my favorite. There were two moments last night that were my favorite scenes that I think when they make the Dodgers World Championship video will be at the center part of it. Mookie Bets catching Freddie Freeman to help him put the brakes on, and Jack Flaherty's finding his mom and them embracing after his game last night. Those are two my favorite moments last night. And look, Steve I said this during the regular scene. The Dodgers were too nice. Rookie Bets and Freddie Freeman are two
of the nicest guys you'll meet. Luki Betts is so humble that he loses confidence and forgets how good he is. That's why having a guy like Otani, having a guy like Taioscar Hernandez key y Hernandez And don't you know, I know Tommy Edmond is a smiling assassin, but that guy when he's between the lines, he's not your friend anymore. And Jack Flaherty has some of the biggest edge and
mount presence you will find on the Dodgers' staff. So they need these guys because the superstars from the last couple of years have been too nice.
Yeah, so what you're saying is you're talking about hornis.
Well, I think they all have it to a certain extent. But you can't be too nice. You can't be like all right, mister polite, Let's play baseball in the polite way. No, you gotta play like key K does, like Monsey does, like Taoscar Hernandez does, the way Jack Flaherty, you know, is mouthing off to Machado in the last round. That's who he is. Walker Buehler has that. That's what the Dodgers were missing when I was going toe to toe with Eric Carrows in August.
You mentioned Kek Hernandez in the fifth inning last night, David, there was a little bit of a heartbeat from the New York Mets. A Jesse Winker single and then Iglesias with a single to left center field. The Winker's going first to third on it, and a smart play by key K, but a deck by key K. His body looking one way, he throws the other way like Patrick Mahomes throwing a football in the scramble, and he kind
of confused Winker out there. How about key K being KEYK making a big play there and get the getting Winker out there at third.
Kek, you know, for everything else people focus on, he is one of the smartest players on the field, and quite honestly, yeah, it was a great play, but Jesse Winker made a bonehead based running play. He was almost at third base. I don't know why he stopped. Yeah, and let's face guys, the Mets are not winning this series if they don't play my guy, America's DH JD. Martinez. I mean, they're playing Jesse Winker over JD. Martinez. I know Martinez had one of the worst slumps of his career,
but JD. Martinez, do you guys realize what he has done at Dodger Stadium. He's hitting three to eleven with twenty two home runs at Dodger Stadium. All that handedness and everything else has got to go out the window. And thank you again to the twenty eighteen nlcs CO MVP David Stearns. Thank you again for this year's NLCS Hey.
David, wanted to ask you about, you know, what's here in present with this bullpen game today. Well, first question is how really, you know, rested up and good and not really nicked up is this bullpen as we speak right now? And secondly, who might be the bolt guy if there is going to be one today?
Yeah, great question, Steve. In the last bullpen game, the Dodgers really didn't go with a bulk guy. Dave Roberts was pretty up front that he was going with all of his high leverage relievers in that bullpen game. I would imagine after the way things went yesterday, it's going to be the same thing. Unless this game gets out of hand, you're going to see guys for an inning plus. I don't think you're going to see a landing neck for five innings. I don't believe you're going to see
Brent Honeywell for four innings. This is going to be a high leverage type of game every single inning, and the biggest loss to the bullpen is Alex Mesia. Now it's not as big of a loss in this series, even though he's really good against righties as well, But if he's not able to pitch in the world, that may be a bigger, you know, kind of hole in the bullpen.
Gavin Locks last night left the game with the right hip flexer that when it flared up, they got the left hander Sean mcni are pitching to lux may Or may not be in the lineup, but usually against the lefty, he's not out there, so this could be a good thing. Maybe David to get an extra day of rest, on that hip.
Well, he has been playing against lefties recently. There was a period of time where he was struggling and the Dodgers wanted to get Chris Taylor at bats and keep him sharp for whatever reason. I guess for this reason. Because I don't see Luck starting today, I would be surprised, especially with the day off tomorrow and the lefty. Like you said on the Mountain, that makes sense. Chris Taylor, Kei,
k Hernandez will both be in the starting lineup. I haven't seen a lineup yet, but I would imagine that because of Sean and I being on the mound, it would give the Dodgers an opportunity to make sure Lux is ready to go for Game three.
Hey, David, last one for me. I want to just make a point here is when you see the Dodgers doing the small ball thing and winning games without hitting a home run, not only jacks up the guys that are supposed to hit the home runs that we know are going to hit home runs, but it puts an infusion of optimism in the pitching staff too. The pressure gets taken off of everybody when you win games and manufacture runs like the Dodgers are doing right now. They
can ride this thing for quite a while. I believe.
The most dangerous part of this Dodger offense now, Steve, is how multi dimensional it is.
There's no question you got a fifty fifty.
Guy hitting leadoff right and in the NLDS, the twenty five of their runs were scored on sixteen home runs. Now last night they scored nine runs without hitting a home run. That's scary for the opposition.
David. We appreciate it. You're on your way into the ballpark now. It's an early one today, first pitch at ONEHO eight. Looks like Ryan Brasier will be the opener for the Dodgers like he was in Game four of the NLDSHA and left ender Sham and Naya is going to go for the New York Mets. Appreciate it, David.
All right, thank you guys. I'm passing Van Eyes Boulevard right now, so you got me from Rosita to Van Eyes.
All right, you're creeping slowly, but surely else the one. Thanks to David Vasse, our Dodger insider. Yeah, a lot of you driving into work right now, dvs. Driving into the stadium again an afternoon game today. If you're heading out there, get out there early. The stadium gates have opened as the Dodgers and Mets will play Game two of this NLCS and then head off to New York for games three, four, and if necessary, Game five Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at City Field in New York. Eight
sixty six ninety seven two five seven. Let's sqeeze in a call before we take a break here, Saxy, go out to Victor in LA, who's been waiting patiently. You're always sax with kateson AM on this Monday morning. How you're doing, Victor.
I'm doing great.
I'm doing great. Happy the Dodgers line.
Yeah, no doubt. Need to keep it going today. You need to take a two zero series lead back to New York and kind of squeeze any kind of life this offense the Mets has.
Out of them.
Yeah, for sure.
I think the bullpening game is perfect today.
Yesterday when the Mets lost, they were looking like they lost the game four.
So I believe if the Dodgers shut them out, they'll have no momentum going back into New York.
Yeah, you got it all right, Victor. Appreciate the phone call. We'll see I think Sean and I is an interesting choice for the for the Mets, and certainly one of their only choices. This isn't a dominating rotation. I mean that's something to keep in mind, Steve, that this isn't you Darvish Dylan Cees when healthy Joe musgrove on that Padres rotation and the bullpen that the Padres have. Sure they got Edwin Diaz at the back end the Mets do with that bullpen to close things out.
He can be dicey sometimes.
Absolutely, He's not the Edwin Diaz of a couple of years ago before the knee injury. But this isn't a dominant rotation. I mean, it's it's Sean and I of frying out a lout in Game two tonight.
Yeah, and the Dodgers got to just keep the site set high, not played down to what they might fe may feel is not quite a good or a talent to team as they are. You just got to keep putting the pressure on these guys, keep putting, you know, the pressure with speed, run on the base paths, and do those little things that they're doing right now. That's gonna make the difference. David, I got Tim I gotta ask you a question. I'm not sure what the injury
is with Vesia. It's not an intercostal or an oblique, Is that right? Or what is it?
Yeah, it's something with his back, his side. He pulled it in Game five on Friday night against the Padres, and it was bad enough that he couldn't be put on this roster. And as David alluded to, hopefully he's available for the World Series if the Dodgers were to advance, because yeah, as it is now, they got one left hander.
They need him, they need him, and just to make good on this Dodgers no home runs, one double and a bunch of singles and they pack on nine runs. Correct, Yes, great news. That's just brilliant for them.
It is fantastic when you can get to all those runs and you're not having Hotani go deep months he go deep, or none of the big boppers having to go deeper. This Dodgers team. Game two coming up the this afternoon. It's an early one Wrongo Casino. Dodgers on deck. Gets it all started at noon, first pitch at oneh eight, and then it's off to New York for Games three to four and if necessary, Game five Dodgers win Game one last night, a nine to nothing win over the
New York Mets. He is Steve Sacks, I'm Tim Kates. Thanks for being with us. Your phone calls the rest of the way. It's Sax and Kate's in the Am live and local on your Homer showy Otani and the Dodgers AFI seventy LA Sports, Saxon Kate's in the Am. It's a five to seventy LA sports live in local as your home of the Dodgers. Leading up to Game two of the NLCS, Ryan Brasier on the Mountains for the Dodgers in a bullpen game, Shaman Naya. We'll go
for the New York Mets in Game two. Dodgers a one to oh series lead after a nine to nothing victory last night. In this series opener, Marongo Casino, Dodgers on deck will get it all started at noon. First pitch from Dodger Stadium is coming up at one eight.
After the game today, the Dodgers will head east to New York, get into New York early in the morning, day off tomorrow, workout at City Field late in the afternoon, and then getting ready for Game three of this NLCS on Wednesday, traveling in this series sex you guys did it, of course back in nineteen eighty eight. And this NLCS going east coast to west coast reminiscent of the Dodgers Mets, the Lakers and Celtics back in the eighties. It's not
a short trip, it's a long flight. So a lot of times they were thinking, reflect on what you've done in the first two games in the series, and for the Dodgers certainly would be a nicer flight if they're up to Oh.
Yeah, well, there's no question to call that a happy flight, and that's what they're looking for today. Hey, the great thing about it is when you're in the big leagues, remember you don't touch your luggage. You don't have to deal with any of that. You have a whole row that lay down and go to sleep on the plane if you want. That's what I tried to do is
sleep as much as I could. I never really got tired throughout the court of the year because all I did was sleep and play baseball and eat good food, you know, And that's what the Dodgers are doing. I don't think with the height and awareness of what's at stake that you're going to see any fatigue factors setting in as being a reason why the Dodgers didn't get something done. Regardless of the fact that you're going coast
to coast, it doesn't matter. They're going to be well rested and they're going to be right where they want to be.
Were you somebody that didn't want to talk on flights? Were you a movie watcher if they had movies back then at the time, certainly not the portable devices they have now. But were you a card game guy? Maybe a card game in the back of the play Well, who was Steve Sacks on these flights?
Uh?
Never never played cards. Wasn't really a movie. I would talk. I like to talk, you know, with my teammates and stuff, and then I like to sleep, do a little bit of talk, eat some good food, and then go to sleep. That's that's all I want to do. I didn't want to play cards, you know, rock it up a little bit and watch a long alum movie. I just wanted to kind of say to myself, and you know, I did like to talk. I did like to be boring to talk baseball with with my teammates. I really enjoyed that.
I remember having some really good conversations with Kurt Gibson on flights. He used to like to talk baseball, so we were lockermates next to each other too, So I like to pick his brain a lot. And also I remember in eighty eight, get this, remember when Don Sutton was on our team in eighty eight, and I used to listen to him and pick his brain. He was a five and fly five and fly guy on our team because he was, you know, eighty three years old.
But nonetheless, I would pick the brain of a pitcher. You know, guys, you're going against sure and you know this is a Hall of Famer, and so what a what a great benefit it was to pick the brain of a guy that's gonna be in the Hall of Fame, and he was a pitcher. That's that was a good advantage for me. That is very cool.
That is certainly you're not a book guy though on the flights, you're not one of these guys.
Yeah. I love to read. I love to read, so I do that too, but not not being loud. I you know, sometimes they play cards. There's chewing and there's loud and there's slapping cards down. No, I never I never tht I'd done in that too much.
All right, Dodgers will get on a plane after Game two later on this evening. Game three will be on Wednesday. But need to take care of business today in this day game of this NLCS. Go back on to the phones, Junior in San Fernando. It's been waiting patiently on this Monday morning. Saxon Kates and am how you doing? Junior?
Good?
Good good. I just want to ask Steve Sach a question if he remembers the New York Mets championship game when all the fans ran into the field and got Hersheizer's had his hat everything.
We ran in there.
I was fifteen years old.
I was with my brother twenty two years old.
We ran in the field.
You don't remember that sex.
Was this in New York?
No, it was in La Oh.
No.
I do remember one thing. I do remember, inasmuch as they tried to really up the you know, the security and whatnot, but people still ran on the fields. Then, Tim, He's right, I mean, especially we ran.
In the field. We got oral Hershider's head. He was he was long, sleety first head. It's on the home, Fred Rogan, if you guys see it on YouTube or something.
Would you do with that hat?
We took his hat, we get, we get We gave Oralizer his hat back.
Oh you did, okay, and he was happy.
And we got it.
We got that.
We got the reef.
And if you got the hat today, would you would you have given it back to him? Or would you have put that thing on eBay? What do you think that would go for?
No, that's he gave us a brand new hat.
He just wanted his hat because he was superstitious.
Yeah, sure, really we got we got My brother got that hat, oral Hersizer's hat. It's leather, insight, the grim leather back.
Then awesome, solid band, awesome junior appreciated eight sixty sixth ninety seven two five seventy. Is there a baseball artifact that you needed to have, saxy? If oral Herscheizer needed his lucky hat, did you need your lucky Mizzoulo glove, your lucky cleats, your lucky wristband had your face on it?
Of course? I mean yeah, listen, if I was riding a good streak, I would wear the same you know, cleats, the same underwear, the same undershirt. And I remember the one I was with the Yankees in Detroit. I was on a really hot streak and and I had this bat I was using. I just it just felt so
good in my hands. And I remember I used it so much, but I was getting so many hits with it that I remember one time I came up and I hit a line drive to less center field, and it almost looked like it was a pillow fight because the bat was was shearing at the end in the in the contact sess you know, the real meat of the bat. It was starting to fray and I would and then finally the umpire said, look, I came. I scored a run. He says, look here the bat you're using.
No mas that I can't even be let it be legal now because the thing's going to be nothing pretty soon. It just kept chipping away, but I kept getting hits with it, so I kept using it. He said, that's it, eliminate the bat. I gotta like say, you can't use it anymore. So that was it. So absolutely people stick with those superstitions.
If I asked you right now, make and model of your baseball value, you remember, yes, yep.
Louisville Slugger S two Pete Rose model.
Really.
Oh yeah, I was using it, using that same bat in the minor leagues and I used it my whole career. Kind Of thin at the handle, you can get a lot of whip in it, and it's a little thicker at the end. And it was really a very balanced bat. And that's what I liked when I was hitting a bat that was very balanced, and that was an S two model. A Louisville slugger loved it.
Did you ever experiment with another model, maybe in spring train, to say, you know what, wou'd switch it up? Maybe I like that. Maybe there's a new bat out here that I liked that.
I used a Worth Black bat, remember the Worth bats. I used a black Worth bat, same development style. It was like an S two and I had my best year ever hitting three thirty two with that bat in nineteen eighty six. I don't know why I didn't do it the rest of my career, but that was a really good bat. I loved it.
Now, this is a dumb question, but we're talking bats, and I'm a nerd about this stuff. Maple ash is there a huge difference?
No, I don't know. I don't think we had maple
No?
when we were playing. We used the white ash bats, you know from the Adirondack Hills there and back in New York. That's where they make them, and they seem pretty good for us back then. Sure, the wide are the grain, the dens are the bat. So you wanted to make sure that game time bats were hading like six or seven grains, you know that you could see in the in the end there. If you had a lot of grain, that's what you use for a batting practice.
So when they send you a box of bats, you're going through them or did you have to tell make sure there's six or seven grains before it even gets into my hands?
Oh, you want those? Everybody knows you want those. And so I would go through and I would search in there, and I would separate the ones that I knew were gamers and then the ones that weren't. I would use them for batting practice. But there's there's dozens of bats. I want our fans to know. You go back, there's actually a bathroom. You go back there, there's dozens of your bats back there. So there's there's plenty to be had.
Interesting Well, about the wristband, I just was looking at a picture this morning and there's a picture of U Steve Sachs and are on your left forearm towards your wrist. You were righting a wristband and I loved in the eighties the sort of bring him back now as throwbacks, but the old your picture on a wristband. Yeah, you know Dusty Baker, you know warm when he was managing with the Giants. Do you still have those wristbands?
I don't know if I do, but I remember those wristbands remained by a man named James Mims. Who got a letter from James not too long ago, and he said that he's actually in the Hall of Fame for something. Really, I think it was the wristbands had a lot to do with it. His father is still a worker on one of the escalators at Dodger Stadium. Nice dad still works there. So I go back there, I see mister Mims. It's great, one of the guys I like to see when I come back to Dodger Stadium.
Yeah, still there, celebrating our fourth decade in MLB. The original Mims Brands wristbands very cool. You can team out on Instagram, social media. They got a website there. It looks like they are still making them for people to order.
Very cool.
All right, let's go back down to the phone. I'm a geek about this of set see, and I hope everybody else loves hearing about it as well. John and Beverly Hills joints us here on Saxon CA. How you doing, John, wonderful?
I think all Dodger fans can exhale and just you know, plan their schedule for the World Series, especially when this game tonight, When when you have a team that can play small ball, and I've been screaming for small ball for the last three years. This is the one component that Dodgers have been missing. We can't underestimate the ability to lay down the bun. How many times do we turn on the TV and seeing a big leaguer not
being able to lay down a bun. To have a guy like Tommy Edmunds, and by the way, they should be talking to his agent yesterday, we better lock this guy up long Trump. I want to see this guy in a Dodger uniform for the next decade. He's amazing. He's a baseball player. He can play center field, he can play short stop, he can lay down a bun. He can hit to the opposite field. I mean, oh my god, this guy is truly amazing. And bringing back Key K Hernandez another big time playoff culture center keeps
the locker room loose. These guys like each other. I mean, look at the culture that Dave Roberts and Andrew Freeman as the build his team is amazing. I mean, we are so fortunate to have a group of guys like this. I mean, please, let's just win it all. Let's lock these guys up long term and Tommy Edmonds and Pastor Hernandez and let's get kick K a few more years and let's enjoy his Dodger team as Los Angeles, because this says a wonderful time to be a Dodger fan.
All right, appreciate call. He's right too, John's right. You know what I like about what he said, Tim, is these guys really like each other. And that goes such a long way. You talk about guys spending time together, you know, off the field, and we know that that's been happening with this team. The culture on the team is paramount. It's the whole starter of everything. Having culture on your club, it's absolutely you can't underscore the importance of it.
Tommy Edmond, by the way, is under contract for twenty twenty five. He signed a two year deal with the Cardinals before the season to avoid his final two years of arbitration, So he'll be with the Dodgers in theory because he's under contract and with the team through next season, and then at the age of thirty one and twenty twenty six, becomes an unrestricted free agent. As far as ti Oscar Hernandez is concerned, we mentioned it last week.
He signed a one year, basically arbitration eligible deal for about twenty million dollars in the off season, betting on himself and didn't get the kind of contract he thought he would get in free agency because he had a down year in Seattle. But certainly he is Oh my gosh, he has put up the numbers and we get to this offseason here after a Dodger series run, he'll be one of the most sought after. I imagine free agents out there for guys to get with power.
A team leader.
Look what he means to this team with here throwing the sunflower seeds into their guys' faces when they come off the field of a home run. David Vesta talked about the emotional spark he gave him in game number three and four down in San Diego. Taoscar Hernandez means a lot to the team. He can you go back
to spring training, Saxon. It was him with the video camera and somebody gave him the phone for like a behind the scenes on media day a camelback ranch in Arizona, and he was having fun with shoe Heyotani and we saw Shoyotani for the first time, like laughing and being a kid and a different side of Shoeyotani, and it was tay Oscar hernandezho got it out of him.
If you had Taoscar on your team as the big stalwart, the guy that was going to lead you to the Promised Land, you know, you'd get a lot of nods that's saying, yeah, yeah, we'll take that guy as the main guy. Well he's really not the main guy on this team, as shoe Heyo Tani is. But you've got all kinds of different guys that do different things. But this is this guy is a beast in the middle of that lineup. I mean, what a great addition to this team. I hope the Dodgers can keep this guy
because he is one unbelievable player. He's great out in left field. You see the balls that he's taken out of the stands over there. Uh, and you know he's a hard worker. But man, he's got some thump. And I'm telling you what, I really like his game. He's he's not a good play. He's a great player, overshadowed a little bit by all the different talents on this team, but nonetheless he's not He doesn't go unnoticed.
Eight sixty six nine seven two five seventy is the number again. Wrongo Casino Dodgers on deck starts at noon today first pitch, Game two of the NLCS is at oneh eight Don in the city of Industry with the deepest pipes in sports talk radio. Go ahead, don, how you doing.
Jim Kate, Steve Sex, Man, I mean baseball heaven, guys are better than thunderburn and night train. Got a load.
How you doing?
Man? You know?
Oh man, great, Now it's actually talking to you guys. You know it's this is you know, this is what Dodger baseball used to be, guys, right, you know it was you know, timely hitting, running the bases. It wasn't you know when they even when they were way back in New York, or I should say New York, it was, Uh, the Yankees were the big power smashers that dog you know, small ball guys. I call that real baseball. And they're finally getting no more the lounjangle in the zone and
all this nonsense. They get rid of that, speeding up the game. That's great for us. And I'm just in I'm in Dodger hog Heaven. I'm just loving it, no doubt.
Don appreciate the phone call, Don, Yeah, it's it's been fun to see them win in different ways. The way they won last night, certainly it's got people fired up. For this Dodgers team to put a nine runs on the board and not hit a home run is certainly impressive. But today I wouldn't be surprised that Dodgers go out there hit a couple of home runs. They revert back to this team that slugs and hits for power. Right now, it's still overcast here. Instead think California Saxy, especially here
in the burbank San Fernando Valley. That'll certainly clear off later today. At what point, I don't know, but maybe the warms up and the balls flying out of Dodger Stadium like it does on day games. But certainly we'll we'll find out how the ball is flying later on.
Jim, are you are you worried about launch angle?
If I worried about it, I'll be honest a little bit, A little bit. I mean, I think a team can fall in love with it too much, and I don't like seeing that. So when when everybody gets fired up this morning about the small ball, I'm right there with them.
I'll look, let me ask you this, when Shohei Otani hits the ball out of the ballpark, or when we see the Dodgers do that Will Smith's home run, for instance, to dead center field, do you think that their launch angle was correct? I would say probably so.
Yeah.
I think that kind of takes care of itself. Yeah, you know, Tommy Edmund and Enrique Hernandez soft perfect, nice beautiful line drives. They hit it just like he threw it. It was a change up and they hit a nice change up to right field. Do you think that anybody was worried about their so called exit velocity?
No, of course not. It's ridiculous. It's stupid.
Okay, hit the ball hard. Who cares if it's one a weight or ninety nine? Does it really matter? Get a base head hit it the other way? But how about Tommy Edmonds bunt? How was that exit velocity? Probably not a lot. Did it make a difference in the game.
Absolutely?
Who gives a damn about exit velocity or launch angle. I'll tell you what, hit it out of the park? Launch angle's good hit a base hit to right field? Who cares about exit ve loo.
Last night in the second inning, the Dodgers tacked on a run thanks to a show Hey o Tani Harbi single to right field and watching in the game on TV last night in the camera angle behind center field when Otani hit that cutter from Singa and it was a one hopper towards the right hand side of the field,
I thought, oh, no ground out here. And when they show the different shot, it's a base hit between the three four and he hit it so hard that neither the diving first basement or the second baseman could even get close to it. If it's anybody else, one of those guys is probably getting to it. But the exit velo not to go exit velo on you here, but show hal Tony hits the ball so hard even on ground.
Balls called top spin because he keeps his hands inside the ball, which creates great top spin when the ball hits the ground. When you hit the ball in the air, it creates what's called back spin, and that creates a lot of distance for the ball to carry. Listen, if I was in charge of teams, and I'm gonna get in trouble for saying this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. If I was in charge of teams, I'd get the hell rid of letting. Everybody knows what the velo is
and the launching all it does is confused guys. I mean you watch guys in batting practice. Okay, every ball is hit in the air. You see I call the games here on the TV games at Sacramento. I go down there and spring down there in the batting practice and before the game, every ball is hit in the air. It comes off the bat and then whoop, there goes straight up in the air. How about hit the line drive with some topspin once in a while, you know, hit a line bullet one hopper on the back of
the infield. Yeah, those things count.
They do they do take advantage of it. Dodgers eight sixty six ninety seven two five say we'll come back, boy, of your phone calls. We may even check in with one of your former teammates from the nineteen eighty eight World Series team. That's all coming up as we lead you up to Game two of the NLCS Dodgers and Mets by here at NFI seventy LA Sports, Sax and
Kates and AMMI seventy LA Sports. We got Game two of the NLCS coming up at one o'clock this afternoon, Dodgers up one to nothing to as best as seven National League Championship Series. In saxy, we went back down memory late last hour of the nineteen eighty eight NLCS Dodgers and Mets, and one of your teammates, one of the stunt men, one of the good guys, and a World Series champ, Mickey Hatcher now joins us here on a five to seventy LA sports hatch. Good morning, How you doing?
I don't good. They just walked me up at the home, so I'm waiting for that right now.
Well, glad you're up and here we are at LCS, just like nineteen eighty eight when you see Dodgers met here in twenty twenty four, how many good memories does it bring back of that eighty eight and LCS.
Well, it's great mettory because they were such a powerhouse and we couldn't beat them all year, but we beat them when it counted, and it's a great series. I was at the game last night and it was a good game to watch and just see how the Dodgers are playing right now, and I think the big factor is just how that bullpen is pitching right now.
Yeah, Mickey, good to be with you this morning. And I think it was pretty much the same sentiment that we had in eighty eight, is we had to let our arms carry us through. We didn't have the firepower the Mets had, but we had that phenomenal pitching staff and oral was fifty nine to two thirds of scoreless inning. So I mean, was it a blur or what?
To me?
It's just, of course we were riding the arms of the pitchers. But what a blur we're able to piece together and beat that big team in eighty eight.
We did. We played baseball. We did it, playing hit and running and button and doing anything we can to try to score runs. The Dodgers are kind of playing like that right now. They're doing a good job of You see Lookie getting a little bit more base hits to the opposite way, and you see some of the guys bunning. You see him playing baseball, and I just think there's just so much confidence going on right now.
And it has to do with the pitching staff. We knew all we had to do was manufacture a couple runs and our pitching was going to bring it home. And just to see the way this bullpen's going right now, and again it's the key to keep them starters in there, but to know that you can close games now, it's just making it so much easier for Roberts.
You said to b word Mickey, and it's almost taboo nowadays bunting in baseball, hitting and running, moving guys over sacrificing yourself to move a guy into scoring position. The Dodgers were a team that didn't do it last couple of postseasons and it backfire. They got bounced in the NLDS and back to back years. And I don't think
it's a coincidence here they are having success. Certainly the pitching's there, but moving guys over, getting guys on second and third for show, hal Tani and Mookie Betch there's something to this whole bunting and moving guys around.
I think you're saying it happen in baseball now a lot you see happening, and especially playoff games and stuff. They know how important runs are and and and it's great. I mean, you're you're getting into series where you're playing with against the best pitchers in baseball. It's not You're not It's not going to be a home run game that's going to win it anymore. I think guys are starting to change a little bit of what the offensive needs to do during the season to get here.
Mickey. The one thing I think is very apparent on this team is what we had on our team as well in eighty eight. You can't see it, you can't point to it, but you can certainly feel it. And that's that unity and togetherness that you have. The culture on the team. I mean speak a little bit to how far that can go for a club.
Oh, there's a lot. I mean, their lineup, their chemistry, the type of players I have, you're seeing some of the not so what do you call it? Famous players like Key Keith coming through with some clutch hits. Some of the other guys just getting some clutch hits here and there, Hernandez just having an amazing year. There's just a lot of spark on that club that's coming from a lot of different players right now, Mickey.
I want you to back me up on this thing. How About when Oral comes out and this is just kind of reflecting back to what we talked about earlier today. Oral comes out in the twelfth inning to save the game in New York. I mean he ran down there. From all things, I understand, without even Tommy Noen. Oral runs down there and tells Paranowski, Hey, I'm ready to go to shut down the twelfth inning and take this
thing back to La. How about that when Orl was walking through the gates in the twelfth inning.
Oh my god, I think all of us were in shock too, because we really didn't know what was going on. We were playing the game, and I guess Cres was a shock as anybody had. Calls the dougouts and says, hey, Orl's ready if you need them, and they're like, what are you talking about. He goes, Oh, the Oral said you sent me down here to get ready for the Night of the Twelfth Inning or whatever it was. We were in it and then all of a sudden, the
gates open. We all turned and here comes our main man walking through the gates to come and save us and get us to the next series. And that was just an amazing moment.
Micky, you mentioned you guys lost ten of eleven to this Mets team in nineteen eighty eight. During the regular season. They were dominant, They were the favorites going into the NLCS. Maybe they overlooked you guys initially, But the fact that you guys had the confidence to go in and get those wins in New York, win the series as you did to go to the World Series, what does it say.
What kind of confidence did you guys have initially into that series and did it grow as the wind started to come for you guys in eighty eight.
No, we just we just had the players. You know, you had Steve Saxey, you had you know, the Gibsons. We had guys like Mike Soci had guys that we didn't give up. We kept playing hard and we kept going after them hard, whether we had to go in to break up a double playing second base, or we hustled our butts off. We wanted to keep playing and
play hard because that was how we did it. And you know, Gibby brought that on in spring training and we carried it on during the season, and I think after a while, you know, they might have took granted for granted for us for a couple of games, but we just were going away and we just came back and went It was a glorious victory.
Yeah, no doubt about it. Mickey. Great to hear from you this morning. The Dodgers and Mets brings back all these memories from nineteen eighty eight in the series you guys had and beating them like you did back in eighty eight. We appreciate you jumping on this morning.
Yeah, thanks, Mickey.
That's a long time ago. Now gotta go back and they got to wheel me back in my room. Mickey.
What's what's for dinner tonight? It's the soft jellow and oatmeal tonight. What is it?
Oh?
Yeah, thanks Mick.
The only thing I could digest.
Now, there he goes the great Mickey Hatcher saxy real quick. It's an easy key to game too, tonight, Ryan, easy.
Key easy key is just keep what you're doing. Hey, if you can ride this pony, about hitting the ball the other way, button and doing some small ball. We know the home runs are coming. Brother, Just keep doing what you're doing right now.
Simple key, Just keep doing what you're doing. I love it. He is Steve Sas. Thanks to Katie, thanks to Michelle, Thanks to all of you for being a part of the show. Don't Forget Morogo Casino. Dodgers on Deck begins at noon today. First pitch is at one o eight Dodgers Matt's Game two of the National League Championship Series. We'll talk to you tomorrow at six am.