Blue Review: Dodgers drop Game 1 of potential World Series Preview vs. Orioles, Flaherty Takes Loss

oh I actually really I really like it actually it's just just a nice way to come into these it is i' say make it I'd say i' make it my ring tone but nobody uses ring tones like I never have my ring tone on so it' be sort of useless remember that when people you like make their own ringtones and that would be you put a different one for different people I think you can still do those things but I know not going through that I mean people used to pay actual American money to download ringtones you know it would be songs like songs that you wanted to hear would be ring like boots with the fur would be people's ring to oh man ah so what's going on Marcus you look at you you in a new room at NFL Network I am background I'm in our our fabulous podcast Studio which is really really large um and honestly it's very comfortable in here this you know you as long as nobody's actually recording in here during the morning this actually might be my new home for for the remainder of the baseball season I I like it it's a nice it's a nice little space I like you can tell you're in a studio I like it yeah keep it up uh by the way the blue review as always brought to you by LAX and we love LAX at Los Angeles International Airport changes are arriving daily to reduce traffic save guest time and transform the travel experience if you want some information go to fly lax.com transforming LAX all right Marcus we got to get into it it's a that was a frustrating game for me last night uh I thought they had plenty of chances to win the game um I I can't go without saying that that was a awful awful Strike Zone by by the Umpire back there I didn't look at who it was but he was just allowing every single wide strike against the Dodgers I didn't really see it too much against uh the Orioles but maybe wasn't paying enough attention but that I don't think that's the reason that they lost but either way it was a frustra loss and uh you know it was flarity we let's you want to start with flarity or just want to talk about the loss well let's let's let's start with flarity right because I think all things considered it was a good start for him he gets you through six he gives up only three runs I mean he certainly put them in position to win and that's really all you want out of your starting pitching right now you know try to give you a little bit of length um and just you know when they leave when they turn the baseball over make sure that you were in a spot to win and flarity did all of those things last night so I think in that respect it's hard to really be uh disappointed in his performance it was just frustrating as you mentioned that the offense could not find a way to generate anything um you know and and even though as you mentioned they had chances especially at the end eighth inning ninth inning they had guys on base just couldn't quite get it done the Will Smith at bat was I think supremely frustrating oh so frustrating he gets called he gets rung up on three pitches that were off the plate away and you know Smith is not a guy who's very demonstrative at home plate but his reaction after he got called out on strike three sort of said it all last night yeah I mean he every single pitch that was thrown to him was off the plate it was it was just so hard to watch but either way yes so but with flarity though I did think he he pitched well he was for the most part it was a quality start and that's all you can really ask for is a quality start three runs they had all those opportunities to win the game but there were things that are starting to you know we were talking about yesterday coming into this to his start that are concerning um he gave up two home runs again uh he walked two guys again so those are things that he did get through six Innings I it was very very scary when he got hit on the wrist because dude every single Dodger has to get hit on the wrist apparently and that's what that is just going to be the thing that goes on now but that was something that was just a little bit concerning they still should have won the game but and flare did what he's supposed at least he got got through six three runs quality start all of that I I don't like the home runs I don't like the walks but that's something that you can hopefully tighten up just a little bit the problem with that I have with it is that I really really wanted them to win this game the first game start the G the series off with the Orioles on the right foot because having Walker beer tonight is a whole uh it's a tough situation to be in especially against Corbin Burns who is one of the better pitchers in the game period not just the American League he is one of the best pitchers in the game so I'm I'm just a little bit worried about losing this series now no I'm I'm 100% with you like this felt like the one that they sort of needed to get because as you mentioned we don't know what we're going to see out of berer the you know recent recent uh returns have not been positive about about Walker buer so defitely a little bit concerned and then I think tomorrow is still TBD uh for the Dodgers so um I I don't know tomor tomorrow it's supposed to be I would assume it's Stone pitched Stone pitched on Friday so his regular turn would be Thursday but also they could give him an extra day and bring up somebody like reesy um Landon Knack is pitching a piggy back with Yamamoto tonight so he won't be that uh so I don't know if if if he is this ber I I see Bobby Miller yeah I think it's I think it's Miller I know right now I'm just I'm just checking you I was checking dodgers.com a couple other places it still has TBD so maybe it's Miller maybe it's Stone I'm not sure it looks like Miller yeah Stone would actually be further done so in that in that case it it it did feel a little bit more imperative that they win last night because you know you can't have a a lot of confidence in walking buler with what we've seen recently Bobby Miller's last start was very good but it was one out of you know a string of really bad starts so you know how how confident can you feel about that um you know so you now the goal is to somehow try and win these next two games make sure you get a win in the series you know it it did feel a little bit like a missed opportunity last night Greg with the the Diamondbacks losing getting thumped by the Mets uh the Padres were able to kind of hang on and and beat the Cardinals a little bit but it just felt like a really big Mis chance all the way around yesterday yeah it really did it would have been nice to get that win especially with the Diamondbacks finally losing a game um but they're gonna have they're gonna have a tough time these they're G to start getting into a tough part of the schedule as you're talking about before the show started we can get into that in just a second but we could be it it's this is now a moment when we were talked about all this yesterday too is that you have this next these seven games including yesterday could very well flip the entire NL West it's a it's a situation where like losing that first one if you lose tonight if Bobby Miller is not the same Bobby Miller he was in his last start there's a lot of things that can go on uh like this actually feels playoff atmosphere like to me and seeing it every pitch every at bat was very very intense and I actually really liked how the bullpen looked against a tough team in the Orioles um I don't understand why they brought copc in and for 8 n and one in the ninth inning down three to2 that's I felt like you wasted him in that situation but he still he got through it it's just I I don't understand what's happening and and Al it's just I don't get it some of the things that they're doing it just doesn't make sense to me yeah I was sort of trying to manage along in my head right like okay you bring in Copeg here obviously you're hoping that you win it in the bottom of the ninth but in case they tie then what do you do like who's next up is it do you go back to vesia do you go back to Phillips like who is the next person up in the event that you go to the 10th inning I was also thinking that you know look they they brought in Kier Meer uh as a pinch hit or pinch Runner rather for for Miguel roas I'm thinking okay well you can take Edmund at that point move him from center field to short put Kier Meer in at center field so I was just sort of trying to get into Dave Robert's head a little bit and figure out how things were going to go in the end I guess it didn't really matter because they they couldn't score that tying run um but yeah I just you know at this point I think we're all sort of trying to kind of play three-dimensional chess with this thing yeah but it's at the same time they're having issues with copc because on back-to-back nights he's starting to lose a little bit of velocity so they're they gave him the entire series off last week and they don't want to use him three out of four days they they want to they want to like cut down on him so why use him in a space where you're losing the game I understand wanting to keep it close that totally makes sense to me but these are situations that you can save him for a game that or or maybe you do come back in the bottom of the nth and he pitches in the 10th or something along those lines I just felt like he should be if you're it's always GNA bring me back to is he the closer is he not is he a situational guy is is he just there for the the right batters because it was 891 again it wasn't 34 five again this is the second time in a row that he's pitched that it wasn't against the top the big parts of the lineup so I'm just I I it's hard for me marus I don't know how it is for you but it's just hard for me I want roles I feel like pitchers need roles no I mean that's how that's how I feel I know we're we're sort of in agreement there I mean I will say and obviously just based on the quotes that that we are privy to that we're able to read it seems like Roberts has gotten everybody to buy into this you know be ready at all times right if if you stay ready you don't have to get ready sort of mentality right um you know I know copc has said look I'm I'm here to do whatever you know he's like I've pitched every single role you can imagine I'm just here to help out and like it's a great attitude to have but I do think there's something to knowing like hey look I'm the seventh inning guy or I'm the eighth inning guy or hey look as you mentioned the fireman role right like we gotta stop this Rally from happening so I know I got to be ready as opposed to just hey it's the sixth we might need you now or it's the bottom of the eighth or the top of the eighth we might need you then too like I just feel like those situations are all vastly different from one another I think they all take a different mindset I think it's just hard to sort of switch from one to the other on a daily basis yeah I mean they're going to do what they're going to do and we're going to have to live with it because that's what it is but you know as we're sitting here talking about it every single day we have to you know have bring up what we think is concerning or how we actually truly feel but either way so what tonight it's going to be ber um we've talked a ton about bu and now he's facing a a Orioles lineup that is really really good all the way top to bottom R hit hit the home run in the bottom the winning home run he was the ninth hitter last night they can hit home runs from one to nine so it's going to be a very very tough outing for him what are you kind of expecting from him and do you have faith that he can be good today um I I I want to like my heart I I want to have faith right my head uh is in a different place right now because I mean we just we've just seen I think the thing with ber lately has been when one bad thing happens it just seems to tend to spiral out of control right I mean it was the last start he got the first two outs on three pitches yeah 27 pitches later he's out of the inning you know whatever it is right and so I think it's it's it's one yes if you can keep down the walks and and you know minimize the mistakes but when they happen and they are going to happen uh trying to not compound that a little bit you know I I on some levels wonder if you know the pressure is a little much because you know like I credit ber with sort of understanding his situation and his place uh in the universe right now and he understands that you know free agency is coming and he really is pitching certainly for a a short-term contract but maybe for his baseball life at this point and so I I wonder how much of that is sort of in his head when he goes out there and suddenly you know you get a couple of guys on base and then that turns into a two-run double and what have you uh hopefully he could sort of put that aside and and maybe the maybe rise to the moment a little bit but uh you know I'm I'm hoping for the best but I'm kind of in my head expecting the worst yeah I you know how I feel about it but overall it does seem like it's completely mental like you're saying it see it sounds like this is something that's just a lot of it is in his head because I mean the stuff was kind of there his velocity was up he was throwing certain pitches he wasn't a there was some pitches he just weren't wasn't able to really get off like that the curve was just completely all over the place uh so but for the most part the stuff was pretty much there he just doesn't have that out pitch anymore he doesn't have that he would get to two strikes on guys and he just doesn't have he get hit and then that's when it all starts to go to hell like it just is a situation where there's something going on with him that he doesn't know what he wants to throw to get guys out he doesn't know he doesn't have the swing and Miss stuff as much as he used to there's he's just not the same guy and it might be a mental thing and it could be from what you're talking about he knows that he has to pitch well to stay on this team to get a contract whether from the Dodgers or somebody else in the off season I this one feels like a really really big start because I mean we've been call you and I or at least me I've been calling for him to to no longer be starting for this team it is out of necessity but um this could be the last start he makes this year it very well could be because Yamamoto is having his rehab assignment and I think I don't know if we talked about it or not yesterday but this if he may only need one Rehab start just because you typically for the most of the season have two three rehab starts you you're in September now when he comes back he's it is going to be September and he needs to see if you can get Major League hitters out not minor league hitters out so One Rehab assign if he looks good today and go and throws you know 75 80 pitches he could come back up much sooner yeah I mean I think I think the Dodgers are sort of hoping that and like I we know sort of how they operate right they have been very cautious with him from the beginning although again this was another file this under doc Roberts right I mean it was like hey this is not gonna be a big deal we hope he's just going to be a minimum stay on the on the I and here we are you what two three months later and we're hoping that he's back and ready to go so uh it does seem like they really want to get him back in as quickly as possible I mean I think I think for for the team for the pitchers involved you want to start solidifying that rotation right and so that means getting Yamamoto back as quickly as possible getting him Major League starts it's getting glass now back whenever he's ready getting him back in that number one spot in the rotation and maybe maybe that takes some pressure off of a guy like flarity maybe it allows Gavin Stone to get a little bit more comfortable knowing that you don't have that burden on your shoulders of being the stopper maybe maybe it allows these guys to be a little bit more free on the mount I I don't know yeah yeah it's it's will be very nice to have him back in the rotation because it and that's also glas now you know we don't even know what's going on with glas now he's going very very slow then doc said yesterday that he's goingon to be having he has to have a rehab start so if that's the case and he's not even really throwing right now it's it's kind of a worry that he might not even be back I I I feel like he will be but that again these things all change things and where you're with no glass now bu's gonna have to get more starts or Miller's gonna have to get more starts it's it's a very precarious time right now and like we said before this these next few games just really feel very very big now lucky you were you were looking down schedules before the before the episode started yeah I feel like once you get past Arizona the D the Dodgers start to kind of slow down and having a little bit of an easier schedule whereas the dimeback and Padres kind of lift their schedule and they're starting to have a harder schedule is that right yeah especially the uh the the Diamond Backs for sure I mean they've got three more uh or two more I should say against the the Mets which uh look the Mets have a lot to fight for right they're three games out of the final wild card spot so they're certainly very competitive they certainly have a reason to really go hard uh it was nice you know for our purposes to see them get a win last night uh then they've got obviously the four against the Dodgers three against the Giants I mean for what it's worth the Giants will put up a fight uh you know especially in the division three uh on the road in Houston against the the Asos tough couple tough couple against the Rangers which you know who knows um but then three well those Ranger ones are they in they're in Arizona they're in Arizona uh and then three at home against the Brewers but again the Brewers division leader uh very much a playoff team as well uh you know the fact they've got four against uh they've got four in Milwaukee coming up in midep and then they finish out at home against the Giants and the Padres so uh you know there are some there are some speed bumps in the road for the uh for the Diamondbacks coming up over the next month which is nice because they've been as hot as and they the hottest team in baseball since I saw it I think June 26th the it's the Diamondbacks are the hottest team in baseball the Padres are the second hottest team in baseball and you said you had the Padres too the Padre's have a tough schedule also don't they they've got some interesting ones I mean they finish up against the uh the Cardinals two more games they're at Tampa we'll see um they tough well they Tampa swept the D backs before we took 203 from the so that's true uh so then there you know they're home against Detroit home against the Giants uh then they go on the road to Seattle and San Francisco uh they've got the the Astros coming to San Diego in midt I think get the white socks which you know okay sure yeah well that's they then they finish on the road three nla against the Dodgers three in Arizona against the Diamondbacks that last weekend I think can be critical though because the Dodgers have the Rockies uh in La while the Padres are in Arizona and ideally those two teams beat up on each other while the Dodgers can hopefully sweep that series and and kind of you know get ready for the playoffs yeah so we're making a big deal about what's going on and it is a big deal these next seven games and before you get to the two games against the Angels but that it could come down to that last weekend of the Ser of the Season where it's you know the Diamondbacks and the Padre's beating up each other and the Dodgers winning and that could change everything I mean it's this is going to be a very very exciting September and with that they have to really they have to play at the top of their game and I it's hopefully is going to be something that helps them moving into the postseason that they're playing at the at the best of their abilities moving into it now I don't know how much that means Marcus because it's we've seen it both ways in September we have seen the Dodgers go like it was something like two and was it was like 2017 they won like one or two games in all of September and they went World Series yeah and then they would just skate through all of September and they lose in the first round so history is not a predictor of the future in this case right it is not um I will say that one thing about this team that has been fairly consistent especially when healthy is that they show up in the big Series in in the you know against the good teams obviously they lost last night but um they were in it the whole way they had opportunities the whole way they just couldn't quite get it done it has been the head scratchers against the the teams that you just don't expect uh that have been really really frustrating so hopefully uh that Trend continues hopefully we see the best of Walker bu tonight hopefully the offense comes to life a little bit more uh one thing I did look up uh Corbin Burns in his career against the Dodgers not great two and two an ER over six so so you know hopefully that Trend continues again tonight yeah and I would love to see that yeah he is a great pitcher and if they can hit him that will make a very big difference give Walker beer a little bit of run support so that they can he can hopefully hold it but we have seen Walker berer get a 4 nothing lead and lose that lead immediately uh the thing that I'm also kind of concerned about not well yes concerned about is Freddy Freeman um he did not he did not play last night he was not in the starting lineup he was supposedly available before the game to pinch hit but then by the end of it doc said no he wasn't available because he would could have had a couple places where he could have pinched hits especially for Chris Taylor at the end of the game which we can get into that if you want to in a little bit but Freddy Freeman with that fractured index finger at the tip it's going to be something that doc said everything's fine Freddy's fine we're just giving the day off are you concern How concerned are you with Freddy Freeman mildly um you know obviously we've seen him play through it we've seen him go out and and hit the baseball and play good defense despite having that that finger fracture so obviously it's not a thing that is going to keep him out of the lineup long term it it sounds like it's a pain management thing and as long as he can sort of handle whatever pain tolerance there is uh then he can be on the field it you know it it's always comforting to see him over there at first base and to see him hitting in that you know third spot in the line up and so when you don't it it is a little bit concerning but at this point because we've seen him on the field I'm not as if it were another thing where Dave Roberts is like he's fine and then we don't see him for a week then I start to freak out but we got the he's okay he should be able to play and we've actually seen him play so I'm just sort of chalking last night up as hey they just wanted to get him out get him some rest maybe it was a little sore but I'm not I'm not freaked out yet so he was I think he was three for 23 something along those lines with the fractured finger so he was playing but I mean he played great defense he absolutely did and he he had to throw the ball to second base one one time in a pickle situation but for the most part that's where it's would it would hurt hurt him defensively where he has to throw actually throw a baseball um but it does it's a little concerning because yeah he didn't didn't play yesterday he wasn't available to pinch it today will be interesting too if he does not play it then we're starting to get into will this be a longer stretch for him that he is not playing until he's on the I which God I really hope that doesn't work um you you feel okay I just every time doc talks about injuries I just immediately go to the opposite at this point worst case scenario all the time every every single time so hopefully hopefully everything is okay with Freddy because that would make a that would be a big big loss for this team yeah um so I don't so moving forward I mean we we talk a little bit about oh yeah what what was it I just lost um I what you got I was I don't know other than that look look Cor Burns tonight versus Walker bu uh hoping for the best for berer hoping that the offense sort of comes to life curious to see if Freddy's in the lineup tonight because that you know I think even just his presence even if you know he's not hitting I just think his presence in the lineup you put him at three you move teoscar down to four uh it just sort of changes the entire makeup of the batting order no it really doesn't I remember what I was trying to get to it just blanked for a second is that Chris Taylor in that bottom of the lineup the very last Jo coming up he hits a he hit it heit hit hard hard just at somebody you know those things happen the what was your very first thought and I want to see if it as same as mine when I saw Chris Taylor or when he hit it I was like oh he got it off the bat I was like he got it you know and I thought okay well even even if he didn't leave the park maybe he finds a gap somewhere uh unfortunately it didn't um like I said I I can't really be upset he got a good pitch he put a good swing on it it just didn't go where we wanted it to go uh see mine was Jason Hayward would have hit a home run that's that's immediately where M mind my mind went to it's like ah see look we didn't wanted to get rid of ct3 and keep Jason Hayward Jason is going to be an astro Jason Hayward would have hit a home run last night no he probably wouldn't have but at the same time that was something that was my first thought what I'm hoping though is now that Hayward is with the Astros maybe he comes up big in the series that the Dodgers need him to that he's still sort of a double agent that he hits against the Diamond Backs and against the Padres in big situations that be fantastic let's do that help help the Dodgers out there wonderful uh but it is time to get going here Marcus thank you very much thank you very much to LAX thank you to producer Graham for helping us out on the blue review stream with Parker out for the next couple days but uh we will be back here 9:30 955 tomorrow just like we always are and thanks a lot let's go ber I'm hoping for a good start from him because I talk so much crap that hey he has to have a good start you know reverse Jinx in here be great uh but yeah watch it all we'll watch the game tonight and we'll be back here tomorrow thanks a lot guys [Music]