ESPN reporter Alden Gonzalez joining us right now in foul territory. Alden, great to see you. I always look forward to your informative tweets and coverage at night on the West Coast, mostly in Insomniac.
So this is.
Prime time for you right now. You've got the Dodgers fallen, You've got the Padres rising, and these two teams are meeting up this weekend. Yeah, exactly, exactly. If people can see what AJ's doing right now for the podcast listeners later on, there's a little bit of a choke symbol, Alden. What are you seeing on the day to day right now? And let's start with the Dodgers, right you'd like to start with the panic mode and how they've really fallen apart to let the Padres jump back into this spot.
What do you think I mean, it's a prolonged stretch of bad for them. I mean you look at July third, they had a nine game lead in the NL West. Since then, they are twelve and twenty two. Do you know who has a twelve and twenty two records since July fourth? Along with the Dodgers, It's the Colorado Rockies. That's how the Dodgers been playing, and I think the biggest thing right now, and it stood out in this series,
especially the last two nights. On any given night, Dave Roberts doesn't really have a high leverage reliever to turn to to hold leads. Blake China hasn't looked right since coming back off the IL, and there are six high leverage guys on the injured list right now, and the last one was Brought Stewart, the one guy that they got for their bullpen. He's out now with shoulder inflammation. And obviously the natural question is why didn't the Dodgers
go do more. They were in on another high leverage guys. They weren't willing to give up their best prospects to get them, and that was with the thought that they were going to get a bunch of guys back, and they are Kirby Yates, Michael Kopek, Tanner Scott. Those guys
should be back before the end of the month. The problem is that there's urgency right now and over these next few weeks, nobody has any idea who's going to be closing games for the Dodgers, let alone bridging the gap to the ninth inning in the seventh and eighth.
And when you couple that with an offense that has been better lately but still not as good as it should be, what you get is this and it's a club that hasn't really spiled like this in years, and it's it's it's pretty insane to watch on a nightly basis.
I'll be honest, they don't have a closer, like you said, but there was a ton of closers available at the trade deadline.
Have you heard anything that the.
Dodgers were getting asked higher prices because everybody sees the Dodgers as well, we want to win the World Series. If they're calling about our closer, we're gonna ask more. We're gonna do that. Like, is there is there any of that? Or was it the Dodgers lack of willingness to say, well, we need help when reality was they've been drowning and they needed help at the trade deadline?
I think I think it's more of the latter. I think when you're a team that's trading away these these big time relievers, like your focus is just to get the best return as pops And I think the interesting thing about the Dodgers basically, every trade deadline is when you match up their farm system and the guys that they can give up. Because of the talent they have on the major league level compared to all the other teams, they could beat out practically anybody at the trade deadline.
The question always comes down to their willingness. And you know, their front office is constant. They talk about this a lot. They're constantly and they're no different, but they're constantly weighing the now versus the latter, and it's a calibration that they have yet to fully figure out. And so you saw what they did this offseason. They were as aggressive as anybody that was largely and they said this often because they didn't want to have to go out and
buy at the trade deadline. But the other part of it, too, is what they did this offseason to spend money. They have money, they'll spend money. What they're not willing to do as much is give up young players for players that they feel are only going to give them maybe like a very minuscule advantage for the stretch run of the season. Now, you could definitely argue that and it
will be very valid. I'm just telling you that that's kind of their calculus this time of year, and so when they looked ahead, their thought was, Okay, it looks bleak now, but look at who we have coming back. We're gonna have Kopek and Yates and Tenor Scott and you know, and we'll just get brock Stewart. He's been great against right handed posing right handed hitters. He could
fit in nicely, and that's great in theory. But I think when you look at it now, it's not only about how are they covering these next few weeks, but it's also a lot is going to have to go right for all these relievers coming back in order for them to show up as the strength that the front office thinks they will be. Yeates and Scott haven't been good all year. Michael Kopek has made eight appearances this season. I'm not saying those guys aren't going to be good.
I'm just saying they can't afford any more hiccups. So the margin for error on this season is it feels incredibly small. Right now.
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Wait, hold up, Alden, I gotta know this. They were supposed to go one hundred and sixty two and oh they were supposed to be the greatest team ever assembled. And now you're saying they have a tiny margin for error. What changed? Because remember this offseason everyone was saying, oh, the Dodgers are unbeatable, they'll never lose, They're gonna win everything. They're gonna do this, They're gonna do that, Like just be are the injuries that bad that they can't cover them?
Because people said, oh, they have ten starting pitchers and they have twenty five relievers? What happened to all that? Yes, I know, injuries, but the narrative has changed so quickly from the greatest team ever assembled to holy crap, this team's not in first place.
AJ. That's the beauty of baseball, isn't it that? You know?
I thought every expert said, oh, it's so bad for baseball. Every fan that Dodgers are like, see, you just never know?
And ah, I think, and you could definitely speak to this, But I also think outside of just what baseball is, there's a reason why there hasn't been a repeat champion in Major League Baseball in twenty five years. And it's not just the randomization of adding extra playoff rounds, which might be real too, but it's not. When you're playing deep into October and sometimes November, there's a price to be paid. There's a price to be paid, especially with
your pitching. And when you look at just when you take a step back from this season, look at the injuries that they've suffered in their bullpen, a bullpen that they rode really hard last October to win a championship. I think a lot of that has shown up. It's not the only reason why they are where they are right now. I mean, you look at Freddie Freeman slump for a while, Mookie Betts is not having the year that you would expect to Oscar Hernandez, Tommy Edmund. They
just haven't been right. That's certainly part of it. The rotation early on was very injured. It is now healthy, but it was very injured early on in the year. That taxed the bullpen even more so. But I mean, talk to the members of the twenty twenty three Rangers and how winning the World Series spilled over into twenty twenty four. Talk to members of the current Dodgers about just the toll on the body, not just playing deep into October last year but then opening up remember mid
March in Japan. I think that has a lot to do with it as well. And it's just it's hard, and I will I didn't think they were gonna go one hundred and sixty two and oh obviously, and I didn't I didn't even think that they might. I thought, maybe they'll have a chance at setting the regular season wins record, but I knew that was unlikely. I thought they were as well set up to be a repeat champion as maybe anybody this century because of how they
fortified that roster in the offseason. But it just goes to show how difficult winning back to back champions is championships mean.
To follow up on this, we talk about this with the Mets a lot. Their starters don't go deep, and the Dodgers for years have not allowed their starters to go deep into games, especially in the postseason. And then the bullpen just slowly but surely gets worn down, worn down, worn down, And that's kind of what you're talking about, a lot of starting injuries, so they don't trust guys to go as deep, right, then the bullpen gets used,
then you get the bullpen injuries. Is this just a combination of the philosophy of what the Dodgers have been for years and years and now it's this is the year it's finally really kind of catching them.
I think that's certainly a valid point, Aja, and I would say that that is an industry wide issue where starters are not going deep. Bullpens are being taxed, and I'm sure the Dodgers are guilty of that as well. What they will tell you as a counter is that they feel like every year they're going to be writing their starters in October and they got to save them for that. I mean, look, yoshinob Yamamoto, I think is
a good example. He's made every turn through the rotation, but his innings are very manageable, partly because he's part of a six man rotation most of the time. Partly because to your point, AJ, he doesn't go super deep in the games because they want him healthy for the stretch run. I think that's part of it. But I'll go back to what I said before. I think the bigger part of why that bullpen was taxed is because
they were just really hurt. I mean, the Dodgers got to a point early in the year up until like July, they were staging bullpen games twice a week and they were also suffering injuries to their bullpen, a bullpen that, as I said, had been taxed on October. It's just not sustainable and Dodgers I haven't checked recently, but I'm almost certain I'm correct that Dodgers' relievers lead the major leagues and innings. They've led the major leagues in innings
basically all year. And yes, that could be a function of where the game is going with the usage of starting pitching. But I think it's more pronounced for them that they've just had a lot of pitching injuries. And by the way, it's a second consecutive year in which they've had a lot of pitching injurers.
I got one more Dodgers que for you. Is there a team that needs to have the wild card by like miss the wildcard round more than the Dodgers, a team that they've been mitigating injuries. You've even talked about Yamamoto like a you know, another extra round does not set the Dodgers up very well, so they almost have to win the division.
No, I think I think you're right about that, Eric, And I think the thing about the Dodgers that we've seen this in recent years as and maybe that's not the case this year because they might be a little bit more flawed, But the Dodgers annually are deeper than any team in baseball, right, Like from a when you look at the totality of like a forty man roster a twenty six men roster. They have the most depth.
And so the thought with the Dodgers has been, if you're going to beat them, you got to beat them in smaller sample sizes. Right, look at what the Diamondbacks and the Padres did in back to back years in the division series. If it's in the wildcard round, probably even better. When you stretch to a seven game series against them, usually their depth can really show up and
they can get the better of you. I mean, we saw that during the twenty twenty COVID playoffs, right when there were no days off, like that was an advantage for them because they were deeper than the teams that they faced. And there was a huge narrative about the Dodgers when they lost those back to back division series and Diningbacks and Padres that like, maybe they just need to play the wildcard round. And the thought with them was always no, no, no, we'd rather have the days off.
We would rather set our pitching staff. I know it hasn't gone well, but we would much rather prefer to get to buy And that's why, honestly, that's why I like this playoff format, like, there's a real incentive to get one of those top two seeds in each league because team see it as an advantage, and I think the Dodgers are foremost among them.
And then we have the Padres. We only got a minute left here, but take everything that you just said and then reverse it, right, Hey, the Dodgers need a closer. The Padres have five of them.
Yeah, yeah, it's it's funny because the Dodger strength is in their rotation. I think it's a legitimate strength too. I mean, when you go into a playoff series and you could run out Yamamodal smell Glass now and Otani with Kershaw also there, that's huge. And the Padres strength is in their bullpen's it's five guys maybe six that could they could cut games in half in the playoffs. And that's been their formula the last two years with
aj Preller right. Last year he went out and got Teter Scott and Jason Adam to a bullpen that did need reinforcing, and he sees that as a clear pathway to win a World Series. But so when you look at last year with the Padres, they didn't really round into form until the last two months of the season, and it was right after the trade deadline. Aj Preller sort of completed that roster and they became one of the deepest, most menacing teams in the sport. And that's
what they are right now. U Darbage coming back and being effective is huge for them. Michael King rejoining their rotation, even though his return was spotty, huge for them right Like the fact that they could run. They have four guys that to go run in the playoffs. But you couple it with that bullpen and a lineup that now, at least in my view, looks as deep as it did last year with ready for Me and Ramon Loreano and Ryan O'Hearn. Like that's that team is as good
as last year's team. And I thought last year's team was the best team in baseball going in the playoffs.
Yeah, hey, they finished basically one win short. They would have dusted the Yankees in the World Series. Almost everybody thinks that Alden, you're the man. Thank you for joining. He's got to go, He's got another show.
Did the Dodgers or Padres win the West? One word answer, Dodgers or Padres win the West?
At this point, I'm going Padres.
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in Sacramento. In twenty twenty six, they had a record number of night games on their schedule for this year. That's to avoid the heatly any games in the three months where it's supposed to be the hottest right June, July, and August taking place during the day. Manager Mark Kotze was outspoken about this and how it definitely affects rest, recovery, family time, et cetera, which is precious in the sport. And it has been much cooler this summer than last
year Sacramento. Last year was blazing and everyone was concerned about how that would play out, including the league and the team. Now, temperatures have not been as crazy as anticipated, and that has led to them thinking, you know what, maybe we can sneak in some more day games next year. Good idea, aj or bad idea.
Now next year we'll go back to the way it was the year before, right, because just seems like they're with the A's, that's what happens. They make these moves and then whatever can go wrong has gone wrong, which sucks, But I mean, I was a big I mean there's a day game, night game, if it's a day game and you can fly somewhere and get they're quicker, I'm
all for it. If it's a night game, I'd rather just play the night game because your body gets used to the night games and during the season, so just stick with the night games. But if it helps them travel wise, I'm all for it. But the weather, you can't control. The weather, you can't control. I thought global warming and everything was it was supposed to be one hundred and seventy two degrees every day in Sacramento. But I
don't know. Man, it's that was a joke, by the way, so everyone, uh but yeah, I mean, I don't know. You can't control the weather. You never know. It could be whatever. I don't know, just do what everything is best. I'm scratching my head because I'm confused by this. But whatever, I don't know about this.
I've never I've never heard anybody go, man, we want more day games. Yeah, it's nice to have a meal with your family at night, but it's something that during the season you enjoy. For me, I enjoyed having breakfast in lunch with my family during spring training. I enjoyed having dinners with my family, And you never get breakfast.
So it's like one of those things just to have like a night out, to have a day game and a chance of one hundred and ten degree heat, No thanks, I'd rather have a night game unless it's getaway day. Getaway day is nice, but no, I don't.
I don't.
I don't want to have to play in one hundred and ten because you know it's gonna be there.
Yeah but wait, Kratz, let me throw that back at you. This is the main concern. They want this for getaway days because I guess they're playing later on getaway days.
Okay, well that's.
The main concern here, is that they don't want to play at night for getaway day.
And you can survive one day. I mean, let's come on, you can survive it one day at homestand one day home if.
It's one to twelve, if it's one hundred and twelve degrees, it's okay.
Done. It played in Tucson. I played one hundred and forty and Tucson we played every day. Dude, you ever been to Tucson in august Son.
The only place that sucks that sucks more is White Sox spring training because it's much hotter than when you play at a Dodger spring training. Now in Arizona, it's always hotter when you play the White Sox because nobody in the stands and the yellow seats are like its own sun. But seriously, you one hundred percent agree with AJ. You can play in one hundred and ten degrees for one day, especially since then you have the recovery of essentially a day and a half to your next game,
and you're flying, so you have to. It is tough getting into a city, especially going from the West coast to the East coast. It's tough getting into a city at seven in the morning. You can go through a game and get into the city at one in the morning. That's way better.
Okay, so this is a good idea for getaway day to get games.
I never had to play getaway days most of the time unless I really begged.
But not because but not because of the weather, like the weather. It was brought up. It was brought up because of the weather. They're like, oh, well, because it's been cooler, we can play more day games. No, you play more day games to get out of the city sooner. In my opinion, not because we.
Had a whole conversation krats about this with the with the Angels. Remember the Angels were playing all these night games and having to travel east to play right, and the players are like, we want day games on getaway days. Well, maybe the athletics, the West Sacramento Athletics had the same thing. We're like, hey, we have to go east some days. Guys like, we need to have different times for these getaway days because let's say, okay, let's say they're going
even to Texas, it's two hour time. You lose. They have a seven o'clock game. You're not taking off till midnight, which is two am. That's a three to four hour flight. You're getting in at six, seven in the morning. Even with an off day, that off day is a waste because you're so tired, right, and then then you have to catch up for that whole off day. You don't
get to enjoy the off day. Whereas if you get in at like two in the morning, Okay, you can live with two in the morning versus six or seven in the morning.
And it'll be year two. They're used to Sacramento. I don't think they're doing great on the attendance front right now. I mean, the team's not playing well. They certainly have.
Nine thousand, isn't it nine thousand city? What the attendance, Yeah, it's the lowest one. It's like nine thousand.
Isn't right because it's a small park.
But it doesn't pretty well with pre sale.
But yeah, it's supposed to hold. I think in that range pre sale did well. But again, this is the whole paid versus who's actually going right if you're a locat.
The Rays though, have a bigger attendance with a smaller park. They have more people at the raise games per game in the in the Sacramento is bigger than Steinbrenner. Oh yeah, I think that's Remember they were like, oh, we're gonna sell out every single game in Sacramento. The fans are so excited and for about a week, and the Cubs came there in the first week and yeah, it's cool. And then all of a sudden it's.
Gone exactly, Oh we have the John Fisher clip. Can we run that right now? John Fisher was at the game the If you don't know the backstory, you might feel bad, but you know he's sitting in first row and then he's walking through the crowd and nobody's stupid out there. They all know the situation. To me, that clip is the definition of why I get confused about
why it's worth it to own a team. I get that you're super rich and you're making a lot of money off of it, but like, but they're making a lot of money off other things, Like this is the only thing that he can do. There's other things that you can do where you don't have to just be like a public villain. Guy can't show face in public without getting a boot at.
It's an ego thing. By the way, that's the same reaction Tom Brady got today at Fox. I'm just kidding. There's a complete opposite reaction of what Tom Brady got. But yeah, the uh, it's an ego thing, Scott, don't you it's an asset, it's a check. Look, I'm one of thirty in the world that owns a baseball team. That's a big bragging right, Like, if I own a baseball team, I'd work this says I own a baseball team and you don't. It'd be pretty awesome because there's
thirty people that really own a baseball team. I know there's minority owners in this and net. But there's thirty heads of baseball teams out there in the world, and it's a pretty big flex if you have one.
A j let's just put you in his exact spot, though I'm putting you in his body. Would you enjoy that part of the job when you are in public at any point in time?
You're just getting But I wouldn't run it like that, But I wouldn't.
I know you wouldn't. I know you wouldn't. But I'm saying different.
I don't choose, of course.
Not if you choose to run it like a villain. Do you really enjoy walking around like you're getting?
No?
Probably just have guys that deal with this, right, it's nutting.
It's a full lad inside. He's got the middle finger up going, I'm making a billion dollars or whatever. I'm about to make two billion dollars. Boom me all you want? People? What was the who was the player not long ago? That's like, I don't care. I'm rich. I don't know whatever baseball player said. I don't care. I'm rich. I don't care what they people, boom you or not. I'm still richer than all these people. In John Fisher's mind, he's thinking, like, I'm richer than all y'all. I could
buy every one of y'all. Like, I don't care, boom me if that's a you think. But I'm trying to do what's best for me and my family and to make more money. Give me more money.
I think that was Jazz. By the way, when people were getting on him about the derby, right, yeah.
He said, I know it was somebody. I don't remember it was Jazz.
Anyway, Kratz, you got something before we head out here.
I know.
Maybe I'm just being a hopeless romantic, like why why do you enjoy this? My thing is, if you're him, I don't know, shouldn't you be in the suite or something.
He's a man of the people.
He's trying to be He's trying to be a man of the people. But uh, kind of like the kind of like the groundbreaking ceremony they had in Vegas, just it's fake. It's fake, and it's not if you are a genuine owner. You're going to have ups and downs. You're gonna get booed, you're gonna get cheered. At least you know at the end of the day, you gave it everything. You had when you own the team and it didn't work out. I don't think he can say that, and I'll be honest, I don't think he really cares.
But we would have to ask him. Ah, he doesn't talk, so we don't know.
Correct. Most walk around like, yeah, if you're John Middleton, you're a freaking rock star in Philly. You know, Steve Cohen, even though the team's not playing well, he's all over the place and people take pictures with him and it's cool. And there are many others, right, there's a lot of the five are good. Yeah, there are a lot that are great. But if you're one of the five villains, I'm always watching them in public when they walk around and these videos go viral and I'm like, does he know?
Does he know? Like does he read anything?
Hey?
I have a buddy that's a you know, he has a share in the Green Bay Packers because you can buy shares in the Green Bay Packers and he's a Packer fan. He walks around like that and he owns a share of the Packers. So, Jason, just because you own a share of the seven bazillion shares doesn't mean you can walk around like like John Fisher does.
But he's not a villain. That's the difference.
No, but he thinks walking around like a villain, nobody thinks, right.
Right, that's fine. You want to walk around huffing and puffing and proud that you own a team, that's great. But when you are one of the few villains in the sport, I just think it's a tough look. But hey, that's his life.