Checkups on Dodgers & Mariners: Katie Woo talks Ohtani & Sasaki status + Brady Farkas on Raleigh’s slow start

00:00:05
Speaker 1: It's called Refuse Lose Territory. I love the logo. Here is Brady Farcus joining us right now, star of the show and joining the FT Network. Brady, great to have you on here. Congrats on joining the FT Network officially. We've been asked for a while to get ourselves together with the Mariners show, and this is the perfect marriage. So how you doing and why don't you introduce yourself to Ajan Kratz a little bit too on the backstory of the show and what you've been talking about with the Mariners.

00:00:34
Speaker 2: Well, I appreciate you guys having me, appreciate you having me on the network. I've been a big fan of the network from afar. I'm honored to be a part of it. I've been hosting to Refuse to Lose podcast independently for the last two seasons now, and this was the time to kind of take it to the next level. And I know this network is going to help the show get there. But look, I've been a diehard Mariners fan my entire life. To Refuse to Lose Territory name comes from the nineteen ninety five Mariners that I grew up on that save baseball Seattle to Griffy Edgar A rod Well Young a rod but bewn R Randy Johnson led Mariners. So it's kind of honoring the history of the organization with kind of what has been an exciting last five year build for this team to get where it's gotten to now. And though it's been a disappointing start here through the first forty two games, at twenty and twenty two, it is still a team with a lot of potential and lofty goals and big expectations, and it's a starving fan base that is well aware that is the only fan base that has never even been to a World Series. So there's a lot on the line for the Mariners here in twenty twenty six, and I'm excited to continue to chronicle the journey of this team, how the fans feel about it, and mix it with on site reporting as well as a expert guest analysis.

00:01:43
Speaker 3: Hey, Brady, is there more pressure on the Mirrors because the Seahawks won have won a couple times recently, Is there more pressure on the Mirrors to finally get to the World Series? Because you can where you're in your background, although there's no fans, you can see the Seahawks Stadium, So everyone that sits at home plate and see what was it called quest field can see that from home play. So is there more pressure now on the Mariners.

00:02:06
Speaker 2: I think there's pressure on the Mariners every year aj because they have been This is a tortured fan base when it comes to baseball, right, never have been to the World Series, a team that largely was irrelevant for a twenty year period, and then when they weren't irrelevant, it was always Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football. Right, Lucy pulls the football away as Charlie thinks he's finally gonna get a chance to kick it. So the Mariners have been bad, or they've been close, but no Cigar. So much the pressure exists now in the fact that you have a core, you have a core that they've built that is young veterans that are in their prime. You know about the depending labor issues, and you wonder if that's gonna impact kind of shrink the window even further. They've been to the playoffs multiple times now in the last five years. They got to Game seven of the ALCS last year. So I think there's pressure on the Mariners because of that. Solely, but I do think there's pressure in market to kind of keep up with what the Seahawks have done. Right, if you had asked me last October who runs Seattle, I would have said it was the Mariners. That the Mariners re energized the city in a way that they hadn't had since two thousand and one. But then the Seahawks come out and win the Super Bowl three years later or three months later and remind everybody that maybe, in fact, we run the town and we've been the organization that is more successful. So I hope that ownership in the front office takes that pressure as a challenge. That's how you saw the off season. Would they be kind of moved to do things to get the organization over the hump. They didn't do it in terms of financial spending, but they did invest in the on field product, going out to get Brendan Donovan and well it hasn't worked out the way they wanted to. Yet they did spend on Rob Refsneider. So I do think that the organization is aware of the pressure in market and the pressure from the fan base. And I think you're right. I think there is a Seahawks element to that.

00:03:58
Speaker 3: By the way, if you haven't seen one of these, but this is the This is like the City Connect helmet that they wore, the one we can beat the ram two point conversion, that's right, so I am. And by the way, twelve is one. It's pretty awesome. So I'm secretly a Seahawks fan. I'm not allowed to tell my kids that. Can they make fun of me, But I am secretly a Seahawks fan. So I can't be mad at the Seahawks for winning, but I wish the Mariners at some point could get it done.

00:04:27
Speaker 2: I was secretly at game one of the five World Series that you played in because my my dad is a diehard White Sox fan, so it is one of my best baseball memories, certainly my best non Mariners memory. But I was there in the ballpark when you guys beat Houston. So you give me a secret Seahawks fan, and I was secretly.

00:04:44
Speaker 3: There also, you end the pope.

00:04:47
Speaker 2: That's right, we were both there. I was in the upper deck. You probably have better seats.

00:04:53
Speaker 3: That's fair. But I mean, next, we have like thirty shows on this network, so whatever show comes on whatever city, that's what AJ's. Well, I'm secretly this team's fan, and I'm secret I have lots of Seahawks I have lot I mean lots of Seahawks stuff. Choose one. Just because you get free gear from them doesn't mean that you're a Seattle Seahawks fan. That's my kids. My kids kill me about it all the time because I root for the Bears openly, because I do like the Bears with my kids. But my kids kill me because there was a chance the Bears could have played the Seahawks in the playoffs, and they were like, Dad, who are you going to root for?

00:05:27
Speaker 1: Who are you going to root for?

00:05:29
Speaker 3: I don't I didn't have to answer the question. I said, I haven't decided. I would have rooted for the Bears, obviously, just because then I had to deal with my son. If they had Bears make the Super Bowl, we go. If they ever make the Super Bowl, which who knows. They're like the Mariners in the World Series. They never can make it, so I don't know. But once the Bears lost, obviously, my allegiance went to the Seahawks.

00:05:48
Speaker 1: It's nice to have two teams to root for, Brady, It's good to have a backup.

00:05:51
Speaker 2: Playing always good like the al and the NL team people out. Although ag has got two NFC teams when it comes to comes to that, so he's got to look two good teams too. By the way, as we're switching sports here, two good teams on upward trajectory. So he's a good problem to have.

00:06:09
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00:06:14
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00:06:31
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00:07:10
Speaker 3: Something that needs to be locked in is you're following the Mariners. You mentioned all the moves that they made, the massive you know, Rob Refsneider signing and the fact that they traded for Brandon Donovan and they signed that Josh Naylor back. Did they do enough to get past where they were last year? In the postseason? Base on the team they have now, not how they've done. I think they're twenty and twenty two, second place behind the AA seems seems not insurmountable. But did they do enough? Is this team improved from last year barring injuries? We have to always say that, but to be able to push it forward knowing that cal Rally is not going to hit sixty home runs because that's just a historic, one once in a lifetime season.

00:07:56
Speaker 2: I think they did enough to be a very good team that could win the AL West, and therefore they did enough to compete to go deep in the playoffs. That said, I think that to your point, it was never likely that cal Raley was gonna hit sixty home runs again. Then you lose Auenio Suarez his home runs, then you lose Joorge Polanco's home runs.

00:08:16
Speaker 3: I mean, you're.

00:08:17
Speaker 2: Talking about probably somewhere in the neighborhood of forty to sixty home runs less right off the bat from a year ago. And so I think this was a team that last year became very power dependent, that lost a lot of power in the offseason. And if you're going to play that way, if you're going to change the profile a bit, well, you're still gonna need cal Raley and Julio Rodriguez to provide the power in addition to a full season of Naylor. But you're also going to need the Cole Youngs of the world to step up like he has to his credit. But you needed Victor Roblest to stay healthy and be productive. So far, he's been injured for much of the season. That has been a problem. You needed Luke Rayley to be consistent. He's been powerful, but he hasn't been truly consistent, yet dom can zone the same. So if you were going to lose those home runs, you needed other guys to step up and fill those voids, which to their credits, some of them have, some of them have not, And you needed a lot of the other things to go right for you that went right a year ago. And so far the Mariners have been more injured than they were a year ago. That has been a problem, and there has been obviously regression from cal Raley so far through forty two games.

00:09:23
Speaker 3: Who's the most underrated player on this team? Underappreciated in the city of Seattle, not in not in the national baseball scene because it's tougher West Coast teams to play their games late. Everybody knows cal But who's the most underappreciated in the city that you feel like, if they have the season that they need to have, they need to like take their play to the next level.

00:09:49
Speaker 2: And I it's hard to call him underrated because he was an All Star a year ago, but I think Brendan orbrian Wu rather does not get still the proper credit that he deserves. I think people look at him national and say, you know, they don't necessarily think of him as an ace. He did get knocked around two starts in a row before rebounding the other day and pitching excellently. But I mean, Brian wu if this team is gonna be really really good, they're gonna need Brian Wu again to be really really good. Logan Gilbert is the longest ten yared homegrown member of the rotation, so I think he has the clout that comes with that. Luis Castillo has the bigger long term resume and the bigger paycheck, so I think he has kind of a clout that comes with that. And Brian wu I think, continues to fly under the radar and it's amazing what he's able to do, largely with you know, a fastball and variations of his fastball. He's been fastball dominant for his entire career. He started to implement some of the off speed stuff more. But I think Brian wu Is is really kind of the leader of this rotation right now, at least from a performance standpoint. They're gonna need him to continue to be the ace of their staff, even if he doesn't get the ace recognition I think nationally or even local, given Gilbert's reputation in history.

00:11:02
Speaker 3: All right, Hojlio's twenty five years old. Does Julio win an MVP in the next three years, because I think in the last three years everybody said, well, this is the year Julio has MVP type of stuff, MVP type of numbers that he can put up. He had like a seven something war last year, but he starts out slow. Does he win the MVP in the next three years and lead this team to the World Series.

00:11:31
Speaker 2: I think he absolutely can and will win an MVP. He's not to the best start of his career. I mean, he's got the best WRC plus the best OPS that he's had through May eleventh at any point of his career. He is striking out less. He is hitting the ball in the air more, which has been in an early season problem for him, too many ground balls. So yes, I think he can win the MVP. As far as winning the World Series, I think that this year has to be the year. I'm not saying they couldn't do it subsequently, but when you look at the pitchers and the aging that they're going to go through over the next few years, you look at the contract issues that they're going to go through in the next few years. I mean, there's going to be a turnover on this staff, and the staff they've built around the last several years is not going to be there or is going to age into a point where you are then concerned about regression and injury. So I think there's a lot of pressure on this year as a result of labor issues and those impending contract issues. So are they going to win it? I'm not going to be naive enough to predict that they're going to win the World Series this year from twenty to twenty two, but they are all in on this year, and I think there's real pressure to make this year the.

00:12:40
Speaker 3: Year Brady got. We got two things I want to hit on it, and it well. First one pains me a lot. Cal Rawley, what is the O for thirty six in May? Yes, which is unbelievable. And then Luis Castillo La Piedro, the rock has been getting rocked. What's tapping in with these two? And these guys are considered like cornerstones and the Marriners.

00:13:04
Speaker 2: I mean, I still think Cal is a cornerstone, and I do think he's going to be okay. I don't want to excuse make for him, but I think it's pretty clear to see first ten games of the season he hit one forty or something like that. I think you can correlate that to the World Baseball Classic, right, He's not. He's a creature of habit. He likes to play every day. He hits from both sides of the plate. He played four of seven games in the WBC. I don't believe he took an that bat right handed in the WBC, so certainly he started very slow. I think as a result of that, as we saw several players around.

00:13:36
Speaker 3: The league do.

00:13:38
Speaker 2: Next twenty games, he hit two forty one with seven home runs in thirteen RBIs So the good cal Raley is in there, and the good cal Raley has been there this season. Now you can factor in over his last thirty six very clearly the right side discomfort that kept him out of the lineup for three games and then kind of relegated him to the DH spot for another two. I think that played.

00:14:00
Speaker 3: You know, played with.

00:14:00
Speaker 2: His mechanics and his timing as well. His timing is off, therefore his pitch recognition is off. He has swung at far too many fastballs above the zone and far too many changeups and breaking balls. Below the zone. He has gotten himself out far too often. He's seemingly behind in the count O two or one two every at bat. I do think as he plays more and gets back into that rhythm like he had in that twenty game sample size that I reference, I do think that he will be okay. Is he gonna hit two forty five like he did a year ago. I don't know. Maybe he'll hit two twenty four, But if he hits thirty six home runs and brings in one hundred, this team will be just fine with what he's given them. As for Castillo, he is just he's giving up home runs at an alarming rate. He's getting really hit hard the second second time through the order. Specifically, Look, the fastball has been good. It's not a velocity thing, right. This is not just oh, he's getting older. He throws three miles an hour less than he used to. The fastball velocity he's been ninety six ninety seven, so the velocity is still there. They're trying clearly to finagle his way through outings. We've seen more right on right changeups. We've seen more early count sliders, We've seen more fastballs at the top of his own. They are trying as a catching staff to get him through these outings, and so far they just haven't found something consistent that works. I look at Luis Castillo kind of like I look at Walker Bueller, who the Mariners faced a couple of weeks ago in San Diego, a guy who is a one time ace who clearly has gone through some stuff and is no longer the pitcher that he was. Walker Bueller now has like eight pitches on his resume. I think Luis Castillo needs to start tinkering with some things and add more stuff to his arsenal because the fastball, change up slider only that he has lived on and thrived on it just doesn't seem to be enough anymore. And the Mariners have taken this step now with Bryce Miller coming back tomorrow, that they're going to go to the six man rotation one time through then they're going to go to a piggyback between Castillo and and Miller. There are difficult conversations to be had at a few different spots on this roster, and Luis Castillo is at the center of one of them.

00:16:10
Speaker 3: For sure.

00:16:11
Speaker 1: Great analysis, and now we have a show to follow it. I mean it's been there, but for our group that doesn't know about it, they should refuse to lose territory. Brady, great stuff. Man, really really enjoy listening to you anyway, but now that you're part of the Ft family, tweeted this even better. So congrats again and welcome dude. Great to talk to you. We'll talk soon, okay.

00:16:35
Speaker 2: Thank you very much, all of you appreciate you.

00:16:37
Speaker 1: Thank you you too, Brady Farcas And there it is first promo board, Refuse to Lose territory, part of the FT network. There's a QR code on your screen. YouTube, subscribe online, a little social media action there to follow Brady and the podcasts, Apple, Spotify, wherever you get it, go for it. If you're a Mariners fan, this is the.

00:16:57
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00:17:16
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00:17:29
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00:18:00
Speaker 1: Hey, let's talk Rodgers. There's a lot of happenings. Katie Wu is back. Yeah, she's back. There's too many things happening. We had we had to hit the batphone, the blue phone and talk to one of the stars of Dodgers Territory. We'll see what kind of questions AJ has. But Katie, it is always pleasure to catch up with you. And also, Katie ripping up some really good articles in The Athletic too for everyone to check out. I have to start here. What's up with sho heo Tani? Katie? We haven't seen this kind of bat production from him in years?

00:18:30
Speaker 3: Is he fault?

00:18:31
Speaker 1: Little? Yeah, Katie's fault? Is he showing that like St.

00:18:34
Speaker 3: Louis like a good little bit human?

00:18:37
Speaker 1: Right now?

00:18:38
Speaker 3: She goes, are gonna have a can't hit?

00:18:41
Speaker 5: Are we gonna have one of these shows? Aj? I'm more than happy to bring it on.

00:18:45
Speaker 3: Why am I getting yelled at because you're there?

00:18:50
Speaker 1: Yeah? Exactly.

00:18:52
Speaker 5: Let's talk about some show tony guys, because at this point it is a problem, and I'm gonna sit here in preface with no one is actually concerned about the long term longevity and production of show Heotani, But right now it has not been good. Dodgers overall not been good, especially their offense that starts at the top with their leadoff hitter going into play. Monday, the Dodgers kicked off a four game set against the Giants at Dodger Stadium. Here's Shootani's line over the last twenty five games. He's hitting two twelve, three point thirty seven on base percentage, a three eighteen slug just one homer, and that was before he went over five with two punchouts against the Giants. So yeah, it has not been good. And there's a lot that goes into this with Otani, whether it's the slump to start the season that's carried over. We know he's balancing two way responsibilities for the first time since signing that mega contract with the Dodgers. The Dodgers have tried to work in some rest days for him, because let's be honest, it is very taxing doing two way things. But when you look at these numbers, this just is not who Shoeotani is as a pitcher or as a hitter, excuse me. And we kind of saw for yesterday he came out. We know Otani doesn't really like to take batting practice on the field, but he he did so for the third time already this for the Dodgers, and it didn't even look good then. So clearly this is a guy who does not feel comfortable at the plate right now. The numbers reflect that. We talked to manager Dave Roberts after the game on Monday and he said, to paraphrase, it just looks like Otani is trying to swing out of it. Guys. Usually when players do that, it sets them back. So Dodgers need him to produce. But Otani, I think needs to take a step back and try to find some sort of production that will allow him to find better numbers at the top of the order, because right now it's just not working.

00:20:32
Speaker 3: We heard a little snippets from Dave Roberts, but you're there daily is there? Did he expand on any of the what he's talking about? Show hay the one day he said, I just didn't like the body language, or I didn't like the swings. They didn't look good. Has he said like show Hayes saying his legs are tired or it looks like his legs are tired. Is there anything that gives you a idea of what Dave Roberts is seeing.

00:20:58
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a good question, and Dave Roberts hasn't really expanded on any fatigue. Otani, when we're able to talk to him, also has said the same to me, it just looks like a guy who is trying to swing out of it. And in the beginning in April, although the production wasn't really backed up from the slucking percentage standpoint, he was reaching base, he was drawing a lot of walks, He had some productive outs, So you can, when you're a hitter, kind of take some silver lining in that. But as Dave Roberts pointed out yesterday, Otani has stopped doing that. He hasn't been walking the walk rates down. He's pulling a lot of balls, weak ground balls to the pull side. Just the quality of a bats are indicative of someone who just does not feel right in the box. And he's gonna have a day off from hitting, either Wednesday or Thursday. Dave Roberts said, Otani will start Wednesday against the Giants on the mound, but just try to incorporate some rest days and really get Otani right, because as we've seen throughout the Dodgers collectively one through nine, that entire top of the order is really scuffling, and that starts with him. The good news is for the Dodgers is that it's not fatigue. It doesn't seem to be fatigue at least, it's just more of a mechanics not feeling right, probably an adjustment to going back to two way duties. But it certainly doesn't make it any easier. Otani is the catalyst at the top of this lineup. They could really use him, especially with guys like Kyle Tucker not really hitting in the way that they thought Ferdy Freeman starting to come out of it a little bit. They've been without Mookie Betts for a month. He just now came back. That whole top of the order is being paid hundreds of millions of dollars to produce, starting with Otani, and that just has not been the case over the last three weeks.

00:22:22
Speaker 3: Offensively, thank god for Andy pae His and Dalton Rushing.

00:22:27
Speaker 5: And Max Munsey, three guys carrying that to.

00:22:30
Speaker 3: Get robbed kid rob the other day and then he like was like, oh and the guy jumped.

00:22:34
Speaker 1: Into the fence, Yeah, who is that in?

00:22:38
Speaker 3: Eli White elimost lost his face.

00:22:44
Speaker 1: That's true, you got a concussion, yeah, eleven Homers.

00:22:47
Speaker 3: Though for Max, Max is doing it's them goggles got him right from them rexpects he's got got him right. Katie, Uh, what about another guy? I don't read your article, so I don't know what you wrote, but you wrote I did read one year article. We'll get into that later. But Roki Sazaki, the Dodgers are focusing not on his president but on his future. But the Dodgers are probably the only team that could do this. What's going on with Roki? He's looked better, right, he has looked a little bit better.

00:23:16
Speaker 5: Yes, thank you for humbling me aj I appreciate that. It's one of your most consistent traits. If you've read the article, though, you would know what the Dodgers are looking at with Roki Sasaki in his long term development. They've preached this patience every fan's favorite word, and continued progress with Rochi and there has been no plan to move him from the starting rotation, although over the last three starts they have been incrementally better and we've been starting to see tangible evidence of Roki trying to come into form. So what exactly are the Dodgers looking for? I talk to President at Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman about the importance of making sure Roki is adjusting to the quality and caliber of major league hitters. They don't believe that he can learn anything about his arsenal and his pitchmicks in triple A because, frankly put it, there's such a wide gap talent from TRIPA to the majors. Now that gap in talent is bigger than ever, and if Roki Sasaki is going to figure out what it takes to succeed at the big league level, he has to figure out what works and what doesn't here in the majors, even if it comes at the cost of maybe not putting the best, most effective six starters in your rotation. When Tyler glassnow comes back from the IL, Now, what are the Dodgers looking at for Roki in terms of change, Well, what made him so successful in Japan was the fastball forkball combo. Now that fastball sat one hundred and that forkball was it was not even close to the kind of forurthball that we're seeing from him now. Those pitches don't play as effectively in the majors, and to combat that, there's a couple of things. Is the adjustment to the major leagues. It also could be the adjustment to the ball. The ball is smaller, easier to grip, easier, command, easier to spot in Japan, which makes dotting the fastball and the fourth ball much easier. In theory, Roki Sasaki has not been able to show that both the fastball and the forkball can play in the majors as they did in Japan. That fastball is now sitting ninety seven, and we know that he's had to incorporate two variations of the forkball, the new one being more of a traditional splitter. He's also added in a slider in an attempt to kind of mix up his arsenal, because if he can't use the fastball forkball speed combinations to keep opposing hitters off, he needs to be able to kind of throw essentially the kitchen sink at hitters and vary speeds that way, So adding an arsenals aja. You both know this as catchers like it's difficult to find out the best pitch mix without a little bit of trial and error, and as Roby continues to add pitches into his arsenal throughout the early part of the season, figuring out when to use them and where to use them to different hitters is part of the learning process. So it's all a matter to say that there are several factors going into Susaki's development. The Dodgers are okay having him develop at the major league level for now because they believe the long term payoff is going to be worth the short term struggle that we're seeing, although in fairness of Susaki, it has been much better over his last three starts.

00:25:55
Speaker 3: They also face the Giants who stink at hitting, So there's that. But but that helps he's rehabbing against the giants. I get that. But didn't we hear this story in spring training? Hey, he's got to add that cutter slider thing. Had they completely disbanded that, because now all of a sudden, you know, he changed his fork ball which he was holding. More like this to more of an orientation of a splitter, is this, are they throwing stuff up against the wall because they have the they have the ability to have an extra picture. They have the ability to say, you know what, we're gonna win a lot of games. And you said that they don't want him to go to Triple A to work things out. At some point, people are going to be healthy at some point. He's clearly the worst starter in their rotation. Is the move then back to the bullpen where he had success in the postseason, But he also kind of hamstrung them a little bit, and they got they got. They got relieved by starting pitchers who stepped in because he couldn't throw on back to back nights like other relievers could.

00:27:01
Speaker 5: It's not right now, and the reason for that is because the injury ramp up. If you are all of a sudden built out to start and you go back to the bullpen, the injury risk it's exponentially higher if they need him to bulk back up. Starting pitching is the number one thing in demand for teams across the league. It's why the Dodgers are one of the reasons why the Dodgers are so good, because it seems like they have an abundance of starting pitching in their minor league system. You look at some guys like she and Justin Robleski fighting for their spot on the rotation. Will they be most teams number three starters if that but for Rokie. Again, the Dodgers could change their mind when we get closer to the postseason, because as we saw, you really only need four starters tops in those postseasons, three in the early rounds, and that's where Sasaki could really shine and help them come September. But this is may guys, and the Dodgers believe that this is the best course of action again for the long term of Sasaki's career. Finding and developing starting pitching continues to be one of the hardest things you can do in the game. So the Dodgers aren't simply going to punt on who they believe could be a superstar on the rotation, even if Sasaki isn't showing that right now. And it's a difficult thing for fans specifically to understand because Dodgers fans have been conditioned to expect a third straight World Series title. The Los Angeles Dodgers are not a team that goes out and says, hey, we're gonna maybe not put our best starter on the mound tonight because we want to win games in the future. That's not what the Dodgers do. But it's a special case here because of who Susaki could be in this high ceiling. I mean, he had one of the highest pedigrees coming over from Japan, So special case, special circumstances. I think what the Dodgers are asking their fans to do is to it's difficult because it goes against almost everything else that they have been preaching for the last several years, but to give Sasaki a little bit of patience because the last thing Andrew Friedman wants is for this dynastic run to end, and in order for large market teams to continue to find success like the Dodgers have been, you have to be able to supplement your core with your spending and going out there and being able to build up and grow. Sasaki as a starter is going to help them in the long run. So again it comes down to sh short term sacrifices. They're not going to send them to the bullpen. They're not going to send him to Triple A. They don't think that they can find anything there for him to grow and develop on. Maybe come September, we're talking about Sasaki as a reliever because that's where he's best suited. But right now, the Dodgers are playing the long game. We talk about load management that doesn't just refer to injuries. They certainly are looking at the big picture for Susaki, even if it makes the short term understanding a little bit frustrating.

00:29:23
Speaker 3: So Katie, who says the Dodgers are in a rebuild, appreciate that. Katie, thank you for clarifying that that is. That's a nice But the one conspiracy theory that gets bantered about here in foul Territory is do you think also some of the decision is, you know what, we also want to make our organization look like an organization that continues to develop or bring over the best Japanese talent. Is there any whisperings of that in the clubhouse or whisperings of that in the front office where it's like, Hey, a Japanese star comes over. We want to make sure we treat that the way that we want. Hey, everybody else continue to come to the Dodgers' organization.

00:30:07
Speaker 5: You know, I can understand that sentiment, I really can, and I think there's maybe some some validity behind it. But I think what's more, if we're going to go into like the makeup of players, is the Dodgers have worked really hard to earn the trust of Roki Sasaki, and it's been a two way street. Last year he came over and he spent most of twenty twenty five on the injured list, and the Dodgers didn't really get a chance to communicate with Roki, and we saw that. It's not I wouldn't blame the organization. I wouldn't really blame the player. It's just two sides coming over from two completely different worlds. And trying to figure out the communication tactic. They have worked extensively to get Roki to trust them. It was Roki who approached pitching coach Mark Pryor and said, I want to change my forkball grip to a more traditional split a grip, and Mark Pryor said, that's great, let's work on it together. If you send a message to Roki and send him down to Triple A, does that I'm not saying it does, I'm speculating, are questioning he does that impact his trust in the organization. To be clear, I believe the Dodgers when they say that the best thing for Sasaki's development long term is at the big league level. Everything they have said makes sense from a logistics standspoint and the stats standpoint, But there is also something to be said about the makeup of a player. Can Sasaki handle a demotion? That's something worth questioning because we all know how much effort it took for the two sides to start talking and trusting each other. Roki's in a much better place now. He's worked hard to get there, so have the Dodgers. You risk burning that relationship or taking a step back if you demote him without without giving him every possible chance to succeed at the major league level. And I think that's part of the reason why the Dodgers are committed to doing so.

00:31:42
Speaker 3: They demoted him last year. He came back just fine. Katie, just saying you're on the Cardinals beat. They demoted them last year.

00:31:50
Speaker 6: Is a.

00:31:51
Speaker 3: He was hurt. He was he was hurt. He was hurt. Hurt for snow. It just happens to just happens to. By the way, that degree from where is that Southern Rhode Island University? Is that a fake degree?

00:32:09
Speaker 6: Over your shoulder, James, so kind of just kidding, Wow, kidding, She wasn't kidding a male.

00:32:20
Speaker 3: There's a mailing one.

00:32:21
Speaker 1: Crock school is good.

00:32:23
Speaker 3: Bigger than bigger thann AJ's college degree. You have the same one.

00:32:30
Speaker 5: We can fight. We gotta we got a game coming up together. I think after my wonderful spotlight on you, we're going to treat me this way on the show.

00:32:37
Speaker 3: And that's what my next question was going to be about. I don't even know Krowts read that article about Dalton Rushing and how Katie had to call me and she goes, she goes, does this this is one of the questions, does this reputation of Dalton Rushing that you had your whole career ever go away? And I go, well, I haven't played in ten years, and you're still freaking calling me Katie. So you answer the question for it ever goes away? And your fault, Ka, it's your fault. It's the writers. You guys write bad stuff about AJ. He is a good person. There is nothing that he ever did that made him be who he that you guys wrote about him. Stop doing that. I've never said that. I have never said that for the record, but I was saying that. Never said that. But I will say this, I didn't want to ask you about it. The teammates in the article that he wrote, and if you guys haven't seen, you wrote an article Aboutdlan Rushing about how he's kind of getting this reputation of not being the nicest guy, which some of us have had to live through. And I understand it and I'm fine with it. But his teammates really seem to have his back, and that was a big thing in that article. I mean, heck, you could ask Freddy Freddie dole me for two years, so he already knows how to deal with this problem, right, I mean Mooki. I played with Mooki for a while, so he knows how to deal with this problem. But they seem to really understand him and they've tried to help him. Has he gotten any better? And since your article came out, has your article changed his life?

00:33:57
Speaker 5: Katie life champion journalists just really ahead of the industry here at the Athletic No. I think it's a good point. Let's talk a little bit about Dalton Rushing and the perception of him in April. He was a little bit of a viral moment all month long. But I think one when you play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, fans just are going to hate you. And it's hard to find guys that are hateable on the Dodgers because you have like Freddy Freeman, you have Otani, you have the Almamoto. These are all guys that play the game well, they play the game right and they're easy to root for, but they play for the Dodgers. So twenty nine other fan bases are like, why we want to hate someone? Dalton Rushing is the type of player where if he's on your team, you'll love him, and if he's not on your team. You hate his guts, and we're seeing that, especially over the last couple of months or the last couple weeks, with some again viral moments that picked up. Maybe they not most favorable things that he's ever said, but what is important is how he's perceived in the clubhouse, at least in Dodgerland. And I think the way that Miguel Rolas and Freddy Freeman in that story described why they like Dalton Rushing and why they want him to succeed so much goes to show so the way Dalton Rushing acts is only a problem if his own clubhouse sees it that way, and they don't. They want to make sure Dalton Rushing stays on the right path. I think Freddy Freeman, I'll quote him, he used a perfect analogy when he said it's like throwing up bumper lanes in a bowling alley. They just want to keep Dalton Rushing on track, but they don't want to take away that competitive edge that makes him the type of player that he is. Dalton Rushing at his core wants to win, and he's done an incredible job of accepting for the first time in his career that he's going to be a backup catcher. He's not going to get every day playing time, and he has to change his approach. Now he comes to the field every day and how he prepares, and he's done so, and his clubhouse has embraced him. There's going to be learning moments along the way. But you guys can attest to this. As long as your clubhouse has your back and isn't tired of your antics, you can act however you want. The Dodgers are committed to making sure that Dalton Rushing can play authentically because that's what makes him good, but also maybe tone down the viral moments because they don't always paint him in the best light. I certainly understand why fans from other teams might not like him, but at the end of the day, what matters is that he's liked in the club house. They actually I think I saw a clip on Twitter with showhy where they have a little handshake and it looks like at the end show Io Tani is like zipping his lips a little. I thought that was hilarious. I'm alluding to what that means. Another thing that I just goes to show about the clubhouses After a series in Saint Louis, Dalton Rushing punched out to end the game. He comes down the dugout and he like kicks the air out of frustration, and the next day the Dodgers launch a kicking celebration where Freddy Freeman said, they're just simply kicking out the bad energy. But I see a little bit more of a correlation there. So AJ, you know this. If the clubhouse has your back, that's what matters. And that seems to be the case for Dalton Rushing.

00:36:37
Speaker 3: Here true, great ad you wrote an article with AJ's help, come on case.

00:36:45
Speaker 5: Not only was AJ like his quote was so good, it was our lead.

00:36:50
Speaker 1: Oooh almost like he talks for a living.

00:36:54
Speaker 3: It's almost like I know what I'm doing.

00:36:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, Dalton Rushing, we're calling you in twenty thirty nine.

00:36:58
Speaker 3: Kadie back to the original point. By the way you leave Saint Louis, they're good, l a not so good. Can we get back to that? Yeah? You might. You know what, that used to be my nickname with the Giants. That's when Mark Gardner came up. He called me that. So it's not a bad thing.

00:37:15
Speaker 5: No, I don't want to be the cooler. It's fine, it's fine. Look, I love what the Cardinals are doing. It's great to see those those young guys just kind of click and have an opportunity to go out and play their game. But if there's anyone that deserves to want to write the Jordan Walker comeback story, it's me. So it's kind of eating me alive. But I I you guys know, I'm a Jordan Walker truther.

00:37:35
Speaker 3: On the show I'll About You, Katie Cat's going to write that story.

00:37:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, well yes, Boden news on this now again, the Athletic is like that too, all right. I'm being told over way, over time. So Katie, you're the best.

00:37:50
Speaker 3: Thank you.

00:37:50
Speaker 1: We'll talk to you soon and we'll see on Dodgers Territory.

00:37:53
Speaker 5: See you, guys,