Yamamoto Returns, Ohtani Closing In On 50/50 - Dodgers Talk #25

yoshinobu Yamamoto is back and boy is he back uh Bobby Miller is bad and boy is he bad we're going to dive into the pitching situation The Good the Bad and the Ugly of what we've seen from the Dodgers especially this last week also sh Otani closing in on history and uh unfortunately there's a new idiot on the Dodgers roster all that and more my name's Ryan bersinger she is Monty Banos this is the sick podcast the Dodger Zone let's get into it turn up your volume volum because you're about to listen to the sick podcast the Dodgers Zone strike Dodgers have won it all in 2020 Fernando Valenzuela has pitched a no hitter at 107 in the evening of June the 29th 1990 if you have a somero throw it to the sky the sickest LA Dodgers podcast it's going to be sick well Monty you're here you made it out of Otani bobblehead night last week and you made it out of Oakland for this one so no no things are looking up for me that's for sure defitely things are not looking up for certain people on the Dodgers roster but we'll get into that you know yeah yeah we are going to talk about your your quick trip to Oakland and back to see the A's in person uh in during their final couple weeks at the O.co um but that's that's that's for the end of the show because right now we're gonna talk to Dodgers um so first let's see the big the big story of this past week obviously yes otani's continued pursuit of 50-50 uh has been phenomenal and his numbers continue to rise but I first want to start off with pitching because we had the big return of yoshinobu Yamamoto comes out against the Cubs who are playing rather well took two of three from the Dodgers unless you ask whoever runs MLB's Twitter then the Dodgers swept that Series so congratulations we gained another three games there hell yeah awesome um Yamamoto looked Fantastic Four Innings one run on four hits striking out eight it felt like he struck out 88 like he was he was dealing uh nobody could really hit anything against him um Monty what what your thoughts and feelings about yamamoto's return so I don't know if I'm just being a little pessimistic as a fan because you know like we see The Good the Bad and the Ugly like you said so I was super happy with what I saw with Yamamoto but there's always that like feeling it's like it was his first outing I would like to see another one then it would really make me feel comfortable because I was afraid that they rushed him back because of all the injuries especially Gavin Stone's latest injury I I just was afraid that maybe he wasn't not that he was like in a bad position or in bad shape but that maybe we just rushed it a tiny little bit because of all of the other injuries uh but he was out there and he looked super comfortable it looked like he had control it looked like he was ready but there is like a pessimistic side of me that I'm just like okay one outing I would really like to see another one and I don't know if it's because we've had so many pitchers return and then they come back for their first outing back and it's like okay and then the next one is absolutely nothing like their first outing so maybe that's why I'm a little bit pessimistic about it but no he looked he looked great he he really really did and we need him because I we're getting close to the end Ryan and like this is where I'm optimistic see this is where I am optimistic about turn it I'm gonna turn it we may not know what the the starters are going to look like we may not know one two three four but I feel like this is a good thing that the Dodgers are in an uncomfortable position because they're not used to being uncomfortable this late in the season they are used to cruising through the end of September and waiting for October and so maybe this is the good side of things that they do have to really take every single game seriously because everyone is on each other's asses like there's you know like in the National League everyone's on each other's asses even the Cubs five games out of the final wild card spot they don't care they think they they think they're gonna get in there 100% they think they're gonna get in there and so it's it's a good thing that that we are uncomfortable right now just with these questions I don't think it's a bad thing yeah yeah I think that that brings up a good point where I think that the Dodgers are really at The Sweet Spot in terms of like their division lead right now you've got the five game lead so they're there is the cushion where they can still you know kind of let up on the gas of it but not too much um so I think that that puts them in a good spot and yeah when when we're looking at the rotation of course the latest injury to Gavin Stone which I believe officially makes it every single starting pitcher for the Dodgers this season has been hurt he was like the last hold out he was the last one who was holding strong um that one is scary um because he really does add a nice amount of length to that starting rotation when you get into the postseason because thankfully having Yamamoto back and looking as sharp as he did um it feels it makes you feel very confident that he could even go in a game one in a series like like because we'll have to see what glass now looks like in terms of rushing people back I feel like with Yamamoto he did have a good amount of rehab starts he was out for practically three months um so I I think and this is something that the Dodgers like to do and they've done in the past especially late in the seas season with large leads um is they'll kind of use they'll give them in essence rehab starts at the major league level so like we saw Yamamoto on a tight four Innings he was at 59 pitches um and the next his next outing he'll probably be pushed up to like 75 um it sounds like the last I had seen was that glass now might not even do a rehab start there thereby making him uh you know do his rehab starts at the major league level and we'll kind of see that same Sid of pitch count with him and if glass now looks good that's the only one where I'm like they might be quote unquote rushing him back because they kind of need to he needs to get ramped up and ready for the postseason soon enough um but I think honestly I when I look at this rotation I can't help but keep thinking about the state of the rotation last season going into the postseason where um you got you know the longest start with like two innings in the postseason um so I think because of that maybe I feel too comfortable with the starting rotation um because this this injury to Gavin Stone does add this sort of wrinkle to it um but you know Jason Smith on Fox Sports Radio was talking about and he said it to me before he went on air with this take and I thought it was a joke when he was saying it to me um but he was like you know hey I don't know that Dodgers rotation like the the Mets rotation could uh could handle it pretty easily because you figure you can go Shawn manah in game one and Luis seino in game two and and now suddenly you're you're you're backed up to the back parts of that Dodger rotation and I'm thinking are you do you actually think that Shawn manah and yoshinobu Yamamoto are on the same the same I thought he was kidding when he send that take to me and then he went on air with it and I'm like oh well no no I get that manah yes has had a solid season um he's rebounded from being like one of the worst pitchers in baseball in the year before that um but I mean I can't imagine if we had Shawn manah as our number one going into the postseason I'd be freaking out it's like Jack flarity is better than he is so like that's that's our third um so yeah I I still think that the the we'll have to see what glass now looks like because if he's at 100% going in we have a very strong one two three and then you're kind of determining what we do at four there yeah I I I'm fine with glass now just coming straight back to the majors and giving it a go how long has he been out a hot second so I don't feel like he's been rushed back you know what I mean I feel like they really were extra cautious with him because we talked about this weeks ago months ago maybe at this point that he was reaching his his max Innings that he has ever had in a season so we knew that they were just going to be extra cautious with him and in reality to me it's just like minor league and Major League don't compare like you having a good outing in minor minor league to me means really little it's more like okay you're doing it just to get in a in a rhythm of a game is is the only reason you would really do it but I I'm saying yeah put him out there now let's see how he feels because that would answer a couple of the questions and it would alleviate uh feeling of like okay all of these injuries but we're headed into the postseason and it seems like you know they're coming back all the at the right time so I hear you I again I I don't know if I'm just being pessimistic just because we're fans and we and and like we can't be like everything's great you know because we've felt that before many times and then it all just went crashing down so I I understand you even though I am a little bit a tiny bit pessimistic of the pitching staff going into the last but in reality it's like everything you said is is is true we are in what seems to be a good position yeah yeah I would I would say so the the new in the new wrinkle that we're facing with the pitching staff as I mentioned is Gavin Stone's injury which is super unfortunate because he's had such a great season he has been an incredibly Dependable arm and a very necessary one given how rocky of a season it has been for Walker buer how it's been even more Rocky for Bobby Miller um how River Ryan got a cup of coffee and then disappeared how uh Dustin may has not existed Tony gonin apparently is going to exist again that should be interesting yeah I was not expecting that one but he's out there okay okay yeah um emiten did not exist this season Landon Knack has been up and down and and he's been given some good good outings uh when he's been given the chance um and of course Clayton Kershaw having the sort of abbreviated season Gavin Stone has been a stalwart in this rotation and to lose him at this point to injury it's pretty heartbreaking because you obviously you don't want to see that happen to anyone but he was the one guy where you're like you could see him finishing this season strong and being an important piece in the rotation and an important piece in this rotation moving forward for years to come uh it's been an incredible season for him I this sounds like a eulogy I hope to God it's not uh but it doesn't seem very positive in terms of uh the new there if it's his shoulder then that is definitely reason to be concerned um but if he is able to give it a go in the postseason he should be penciled in as the number four starter uh because quite frankly he's he's the best that we have um trustworthy trustworthy All Season like yeah and and to to to lose him at this point really really sucks um BEC it sucks especially because Bobby Miller has been so so bad um and so bad and I I don't know like do I don't even know like do do we keep him around and move him to the pen or like when when if we do use him let's just hypothetically say we need him because Stone doesn't come back and you make him like one of the starters in whatever game five or six with the expectation that he's only gonna pitch two three Innings Max but what did what did it take him 32 pitches in the last game against the Cubs the first inning 32 pitch to get out of it but then the second inning 10 pitches so it's like it's hard to make a decision on Bobby Miller like like like whether he should be on the roster or not like I don't because it's like you have these moments you have these Innings where like it seems like it's there but then you lose control and like it doesn't seem like he knows how to take the control back when he's down yeah yeah it's hard to say what to do with him because as you mentioned for example in his most recent outing he really labored in the first inning so typically that's not somebody you look at and say like well let's just move him straight to the bullpen because if he's coming out for one inning that was kind of the one ining example I understand that um warm-ups are different for relievers the whole process is different for relievers and maybe that's something that could work for him in the future but unfortunately we're so late in the season that if we're going to take Bobby Miller and turn him into a reliever that kind of needs to be done over the off season and then into spring training and that's that's a gigantic conversation that the entire staff will have in terms of evaluating like what really is his problem because he's obviously talented like we we've seen it his rookie season he had starts where he was phenomenal he was a very highly touted Prospect coming up um so it's hard to really say like what to do with him at this point he obviously like he shouldn't even be on the playoff roster uh unless you throw him into the bullpen in the last week or two and he he shows you something out of the pen where maybe as a one- ining guy it might be interesting to add him to the pen because as of right now I think there is kind of a spot open in the pen where they could bring in somebody who could be of interest like that um I think that I there's a very real possibility that person ends up being Tony gonin which I find to be fascinating um and gin's another guy too where I think that a transition to being a reliever would make sense for him because he always struggled with stamina but he was very effective at getting outs um he's not an overpowering pitcher by any means but he has great control and when his breaking stuff is on he's very hard to hit and he could be somebody who's very interesting to add to the playoff Rost to maybe eat up two innings in a playoff game when that's necessary um he could also be a guy who can get outs when called upon because I think the we're very fortunate the bullpen is rather loaded right now um we saw last night against in the series finale with the Cubs um when the bullpen was called upon after Bobby Miller they were all fantastic until you got to copc who was just kind of missing up a bit um but out outside of that cop has been excellent of course since he's joined the Dodgers so um really it luckily like Blake Tran has has has been a pretty locked down since he came back from injury uh Daniel Hudson is starting to look better Evan Evan Phillips has been more dependable uh Ryan brazer has been more dependable so and now we're adding bruar graterol to the bunch which is very exciting uh he finally finished an inning so congratulations brw star you have completed an inning in 2024 we made it there was a time we thought it wouldn't happen literally after accident like it was just like bro are you kidding me so yeah you're right the the pen is looking really good and if we were to add Tony gonul into that I I would be a huge fan I'm a huge fan of Tony gonsolin like you said it's not that he has the nastiest stuff but for some reason his stuff is very effective when he's on and I could use that an inning or two like I you know obviously I would take six Innings but maybe that's for next year maybe just to get him back up we take it easy with him uh I I I just having all of these options is that also a bit of a problem because it's how are you gonna make the decisions yeah yeah it's a little bit of if you have two quarterbacks you have none right like it's littleit yes like a little a little bit of that yeah and so I guess I'm I'm just I'm glad I'm not making decisions because I really I don't know how what you value at this point because they all give you something else and like yeah Michael copc like I'm not even judging that outing right it was it was a rough outing from the beginning any pitcher having to come in after Bobby Miller had such a rough couple of innings like that's a lot of pressure on you yeah and so not even looking at it but yeah like how how do you decide you know at this point uh so that's another another reason I'm a little pessimistic on the situation I'm just glad I'm not making the the decisions because I really don't know what you value over what when it comes to the postseason because you know everything changes in the postseason every mentality changes in the postseason teams change their approach in the postseason like I don't yeah I think as for right now if Gavin stone is unavailable in the postseason I think you have to go with Walker buer as the fourth starter and he has he has had a couple starts recently that were better he's had a couple starts that weren't that great he's bu's having a season where he'll go out one day and it looks like he's taking a step in the right direction and then he'll immediately take a step back the next start and it goes back and forth he's not it's not been a roller coaster season it's more like the like the chaa slide season for for Walker bu he's just taking a step forward and a step back constantly it's all he's really doing um yeah but if we want to get sort of you know what's the word I'm looking for what what I want to say is that Walker buer in the postseason is the man with the mentality for that job like he he kind of he can he does rise to that occa he does rise to the occasion mentally um he's a guy who is very much Guided by emotion can get fired up and I think that maybe that extra Edge is what will help him lock down in the postseason and I'm not talking about like seeing you know another seven eight Innings of of you know one run on with 10 strikeouts that that Walker beer is not around right now um I don't know if he'll ever be around again but I could very much see ber being able to be a guy who goes five or six innings in a game four with only you know two runs given up strikes out six or seven and is able to pass the Baton and keep the keep the Dodgers in contention in that game to win um again like he is is a guy with that with that bit of bulldog mentality where and we've seen his velocity on occasion tick up here and there maybe the bright lights of the postseason is what fully brings that back for him I don't know again again that feels a little uh just kind of Vibes I guess I don't really know what the word I'm looking for this is a fully Vibes take but berer is kind of a Vibes guy so uh maybe that's something that could happen I I don't disagree with you and I think experience goes a long way under the big lights and I I do think like he is one of those that would rise to the occasion when needed and like you said he hasn't been terrible the entire time that's not it it's just it's he's not the exact same guy we we saw you know at one point last year before or two years ago before he got hurt it's been so long that it's like I don't remember yeah yeah it's been a while it's been a while um and but I I do agree with you I I feel like I would trust him and I think that's that's where it comes down to like these decisions it's like who do you trust when it comes to the postseason and experience has to be valued and like I I don't know if I'm jumping the gun here but like Anthony B like bro BR we have 76 people on the injured list and you get mad and you punch something yeah when we have used like you have been also an important to the Dodgers in this pitching staff that really like upset me so much because it's like I it is unfair when you are not a shotani when you are not a Kershaw when you are not a buer who maybe you have already delivered and you've already proven yourself it's not fair to you because you Anthony more pressure was on you to not do that I know it's not fair but it's true you you doing that like really screwed I think a lot of a lot of what the the the decisions that the Dodgers were having to make going into the post seeds like why did you do that why did you you're a pitcher and you punch something like couldn't you have thrown something couldn't you you couldn't you have thrown a glass a plate you but you punch something like it it really it really bothered me when I heard that story yeah I don't blame you especially like use his left hand like like if you're going to punch something at the very least use your non-throwing hand like what are you doing you have access to so many bats that you could have hit something with a bat you like legit I understand being frustrated and wanting to release it like get the bat and hit the door that yesel P hit on the way out years ago get the bat and hit the thing that Chris Taylor hit not too long ago where they hold the bats and they hold the helmets there was just so many other ways to release the stress that because nobody would have blamed you nobody would have blamed you if you would have broken something but not your damn hand not the hell I'm sorry I'm sorry it very it very obsess it's I fully understand like I kind of on one hand like poor choice of words um on one hand I do feel I feel bad for him because he's also harming like the peak of his career yes he's been a journeyman left-hander he's bounced around from Team to team and the Dodgers took him and like turned him into a very valuable middle reliever and we're getting towards the postseason where he's he should have you know should be a lock to be on the roster if he's healthy um and then he kind of screws that up because of a a a moment of weakness is what I'll call a moment of weakness and like yeah it's like I understand like it's unfair that you had so much pressure but you you do like everybody had to step up throughout the season the pressure has been spread everywhere and at the worst time you let the pressure get to you in the worst possible way yeah yeah like yeah it sucks it does suck and I I I feel bad for him but it's like man you're really you're really annoying you're really yeah yeah well it's just the Dodgers have found every way possible to have an injury to their pitching sta this season so we can check off a new one there it's unreal it is unreal yeah yeah yeah if you wrote this for like as a Hollywood script of a of a baseball team the Hollywood would be like no nobody would believe that you had 77 pitchers injured in one season but we did like it's ridiculous uh well yeah to to wrap up uh the the point of the the pitching conversation here um I know I we haven't really even talked about like I mean we talked about Kershaw's injury last time um but in terms of kind of where he's at um with Stone's injury it does open things up more to the possibility of Kershaw being a starter in the postseason um and be again like last time talked about like I would be good with leaving Kershaw off the roster assuming that the rotation was fully healthy but if Gavin stone is not there now and you're looking at that fourth starter it will be between ber and Kershaw then um and if it's between those two guys I am comfortable with with Kershaw being opted to get that spot because it's entirely possible then that ber also is on the roster as that last pitcher in as a bulk Innings reliever potential spot starter kind of used creatively maybe it's a Kershaw buer piggyback uh for six or seven Innings um and that would be and that would be fine I do think that right now um I I I would opt for ber as the starter in game four um but that will also depend on when we get there and and let's you know I mean if it goes the same way the last couple postseasons we're not even having a game four anyway so this is all pointless but but um let's say like if the Dodgers were like up to0 or even split um we we'll get there when we get there I think that there might be reasons to kind of be a little bit creative with the rotation and maybe have like a Kershaw buer in game three and have flarity in game four depending on the positions of you know where they're at in the series at the time um but also like shout out Jack FL for for being excellent and I I would really be happy if they extended him in the offseason or reigned rather thank goodness yeah we have Jack on the roster because it did alleviate really a big a big hole who again it just we weren't expecting Gavin Stone to go down and so it's now it's even more we're even more grateful for him right uh I I will say I might disagree with you that I would start Vier over Kershaw but it really depends on the situation it it really does and it is it's not that it's a it's a coin flip even though you could I bet you that's probably what they're gonna do coin flip like if Kershaw's foot is good if his toe is good whatever injury he's got you know he's been pitching with his foot on a chair like he's still out there his I don't know if you saw that maybe I saw that in first that up I 100% saw that he's in the bullpen and he has a chair and so he's kind of like leaning on the chair with one leg up kind of like a flamingo but the bad the bad leg so he's not stepping but he's throwing and he's throwing hard not like he is he is out there still trying to keep the arm going so I think like if the foot's good if the toe's good and he can actually push off whatever it is I I do think I would give the edge to Kershaw over ber but I don't know if that's just me being a little bit of a of a homer in the sense that it's KW like I don't you know what I'm saying like I don't know uh but I do think that the situ that the situ sitation will determine the decisions that the pitching staff makes yeah uh but obviously Yamamoto one right and and glass now two and then from there it's like okay H how do we approach it and it depends I think like you hit it on the right on the money what is the record are we up 20 are we split I think all of that's going to matter yeah absolutely yeah um one last point about pitching we've we've spent all the this time on the pitching side but I think that that's where the more interesting stuff is happening even though yes Otani is chasing history but then outside of that it's not much um um James Paxton announced that he's retiring at the end of this season um and yeah isn't it weird to he was on the team this season by the way I think it's it is oddly it's not been that long but it feels like a really long time ago that James Pax was on this team um I I think we do need to address that the James Paxton move was a mistake I do not think because of the amount of injuries that we had in this rotation not because Paxton's been great or whatever he's been healthy and that that would if he was still on this Dodgers team and was still healthy right now that would make him the only starting pitcher who stayed healthy all season um because of the fact that like we especially have had a lot of outings recently where um guys weren't able to go deep into game so it was really taxing the bullpen and we saw that in like the Diamondback Series where we still able to take three or four and that was super important the one game they kind of just had to punt because pitchers were being used so heavily in all the different games that uh you kind of you had to tell who was it um Justin reesy to just go out there and throw till your arm falls off and it doesn't matter sorry dude we just need to save some pictures um so I think that looking at those situations I think we can say now like hey that we I don't know why they did that and they really never should have I understand that they wanted to free up innings for some of the younger guys and that they were able to bring reesi up at the time and Knack has been up and down here and there but we've also still had to roll out Bullpen games and we've also still had starters go like two or three Innings um and everybody has been hurt so um yeah I I I think it's very fair to point out the James Paxton trade was a mistake it would have been cool if he retired as a Dodger because he stayed healthy and would have at least given some Innings so that way we wouldn't have to beat Justin robles's arm off of him then have things like that happen so uh but shout out to James Paxton for a good career yeah I mean how were how how were they gonna know all of this was gonna go down the way it did right that's really hard but you're right yeah it probably probably regretting it now you know yeah well um as we pay homage to James Paxton and his career uh we do want to mention that the sick podcast the Dodger zone is brought to you by homage uh homage has some homage specializes in Ultra comfy highquality looks repping Sports pop culture and more Legendary Moments learn more about homage with the link in the description it'll take you to the website they have tons of great clothes they have tons of great apparel uh it's a really and they just always have new stuff like I already I'm gonna buy another one I can't help it Ryan I can't they have they have a new Caitlyn Clark one and I'm like I can't how am I not gonna get this Caitlyn Clark shirt everybody I can't so I'm gonna give them more of my money because those are the softest shirts I own which is ridiculous I love I'm very very excited to wear my sweatshirt finally because it is not 100 degrees anymore yes yes me too me too for sure for sure yeah we're finally we're finally going to make it that'll be that'll be great during the postseason assuming that it's not like 90 degrees and on fire in the postseason again but will some reason October nowadays it's hot as yeah October so God we get some we get some Solace coming soon it's okay um but then we'll we'll probably be on fire again um so let's let's talk about the offense a little bit here before we wrap up uh as we mentioned show Otani uh he's at what 47 and 48 now um so he's he's going to get 5050 like like he's following the trajectory pretty well he's probably gonna go like 52 52 or something like that yeah um yeah I mean what more can you say it's really it's really been incredibly impressive to watch um a amazingly fun to be a part of and MLB Network um you guys can stop showing the graphic of the Triple Crown watch for Marcel Ozuna because he's he's not gonna get it I don't I don't know sorry at to break it to you he's had a good season too but they're still showing at the bottom of their screen they're showing like uh the Otani 5050 watch and then it will be Aaron judge Triple Crown watch who of course is gonna lead in homers and RB's but I think it's I either Bobby wit or um Bobby is it Bobby Whit who leads last it was Bobby I checked he's up by a lot too so it's it's like it's not really even close there uh and then they show Marcel Ozuna Triple Crown watch where he is not leading in any of the Triple Crown categories he's in the top three in all of them but of course he's second to Otani in home runs and he's he's like eight behind or something like it's not it's not particularly close um and he's a couple RBI up on Otani which is hilarious because otani's batted lead off for half of the season and is now eclipsed 100 RB um really just just immensely impressive to watch um I do want to bring up this point and I don't we we have we have uh talked in way too much detail about the idea of Francisco Lindor being being the National League MVP um but I have to bring it up because uh last week John hayon uh known Baseball Insider writes for the New York Post um he claimed that West Coast bias is going to lead to Francisco Lindor not winning the Triple Crown um which is just such a wildly stupid thing to say and the thing is is that this is not the first time that John Haymon has brought up this idea of West Coast bias for those of you who don't follow Sports media too closely East Coast bias comes from the idea of time zones okay it's all it's all because of time zones when the Dodgers have their first pitch at 710 here that's 1010 on the East Coast so a lot of people don't watch West Coast Sports because uh they're going to bed like this goes back to way back when in terms of like newspapers and deadlines and everything like uh East Coast biases because of like national uh uh newspapers and sporting Publications would have to say like oh we don't know how this game ended because the game ended after our deadline um so because of that East Coast teams would have uh greater uh greater coverage and that's fine it's totally understandable if we lived on the East Coast we would not watch that much West Coast Sports it's just how it is um of course like ESPN was established in Hartford Connecticut and was there until like the mid-2000s when they finally put an LA campus so like East Coast bias is a thing that is baked into sports coverage and it's just I'm not complaining about it that's just reality that's just what it is um John Haymon claims that West Coast bias uh is happen specifically in MVP voting in baseball and that's because and I'm not kidding the the last time he brought this up was two years ago when Aaron judge was pursuing 61 home runs and people were still bringing that Otani was worthy of of MVP discussion because of how amazing and historic of a season he's having and how it's unlike anybody else um his argument against Otani and and he kept saying like well people are bringing up Otani because of West Coast bias and West Coast bias exists because um the Angels have won four MVPs in the last decade and uh the Dodgers had that Rookie of the Year run in the 90s that's it that was his proof that's that's all um where he he he said that there's a gigantic West Coast bias because Mike Trout and showy Otani were good like that's that's insane that's these are two of the best players in baseball at the time two of the best players in the history of baseball and God forbid they win MVPs uh I don't I don't I didn't go back to the uh the Rookie of the Year voting in the mid 90s and saw if there were any like you know East Coast teams that Were Somehow more deserving but that's the thing John you have to argue that the team or the player is more deserving and not getting the recognition in order to argue that there's a bias there and you argued I thought pretty well last week that people are going to point out that Francisco Lindor is having a season that is worthy of looking at for MVP discussion but that doesn't mean that he should win it that's that's not what you were saying not at all not even a little bit and I enjoy the conversation I'm happy to talk about it yes but Otani is going to win it he's G he's doing something nobody has ever done and what was it only six players have done 4040 and he's going to go over he's gonna go over 50 unless something terrible happens that we're obviously knock on all the wood uh he's going to go over 5050 and it's funny because I actually think that there may be people out there who have an unbiased or maybe that's not the word who are going to not want to vote for Otani because he's a Dodger instead of saying that they're gonna vote for him because of West Coast bias actually I think it's the other way around I think there's gonna be people who don't vote for him because he's a Dodger and because they're tired of voting for him he has some some things that may go against him like in the NBA nicoa yic they didn't want to give him the MVP again because they were like we already voted for him like there may be fatigue when it comes to Otani but he is going to win so that whole thing is silly it's silly and like again I like the Francisco Lindor conversation because I think it's VA it's valid yes what he's doing is great and unfortunately for him he's doing it in a year where Otani is doing this and it sucks because I thought I really thought Pete Alonzo was a former MVP for the Mets the Mets have never had an MVP so like I get it you are you sad and like this is exciting I get it it's just unfortunate that it's happening at this time because I do think it's really cool what he's doing I do put value in the fact that he plays defense and offense and that he has played every single game and will play that's the plan all 100 and you know 62 games so it's like I get it I I understand the discussion but no he's not he's gonna get some votes and he's gonna be number two he's gonna be the second one right there like good for you dude you know but Otani is going to win it and I I that's such so funny because I I really do think there will be a little bit of fatigue with some of the voters because it's Otani and because he's a Dodger now so that's so silly it's is so silly this is that's it's literally East Coast bias the the reason why Francisco Lindor is even being mentioned in the MVP discussion is the definition of East Coast bias where they are taking taking somebody who on their side of the country yet putting them into a discussion by saying that they should win it even though they're not the most deserving I I can prove to you that they're the most they're not the most deserving it's very obvious that they're not but if we want to go into the numbers let's do it when you compare Otani and lindor's numbers next to each other here are the categories that Francisco Lindor is leading in games played he has three more games on Otani played appearances he has nine more plate appearances probably from having three more games yeah that's it that's that's the only one that's there's every single offensive category Otani is leading in and it's not even close um and and to mention the 5050 Point again we've we've talked about the idea that yes stolen bases are easier to come by nowadays however if you look at the fact that Otani is also stealing at an over 90% success rate and The League average is in the it is very impressive what he's doing so I know I know we keep banging this drum but that's because Mets fans can't shut up about Lindor and the answer is simple and people keep insisting that it's not no it is Otani is the MVP in the National League I do not care that he's not a DH he still has a full win in war on Lindor and that takes defense into account in fact he gets a negative point because of the fact that he doesn't play defense and he's still got a full win on him it's not close sorry I so honestly like he would have to not reach 5050 he would have to I don't know in order for Francisco Lindor to win it but I mean I really love it because on uh well today it'll be on Wednesday you know Francisco Lindor literally broke up a no hitter for the Mets and then Otani starts the game for the Dodgers and hits a homer like I love it I love I love that this is happening though even though I agree with you Otani is GNA win it I love it I think it's so great if Francisco Lindor wants to keep stepping it up just in case guess what I hope Otani keeps stepping it up like it's it's so good I as a baseball fan I love it I love it but if you're telling me that he's gonna win that's where I laugh at you because he's not but I am I am enjoying the entire process happening right before our eyes because it's it's great I mean it's super great you know yeah yeah yeah all right well that's case is closed we're we're not we we we've we've talked about this so much we we don't we don't need to keep banging this drum we will get to celebrate otani's MVP and hopefully a World Series ring but that you know please God um let's let's let's wrap things up here before we hear about your trip to Oakland I we do want to uh shine a spot Spotlight on one uh new Dodger and that's Tommy Edmond this is what backtack multi-home Run games for Edmond um I was it back to back or like maybe or something like that yeah two of the games against Chicago it might have been broken up but yeah um he's been he's been tremendous uh and the power is really unexpected too like to to get this sort of power from Tommy eant is very exciting uh his defensive versatility we have praised unfortunately he did have like that errant throw in the the second game there bit that was that was bizarre because I think he didn't really know which person he was going to throw it to and then both roas and mzy didn't know which one of them it was supposed to go to and then it just kind of went between everyone um that that whole inning was just a complete defensive collapse but I I don't you know it was it's hard to really blame that on anyone I mean kik's play shouldn't okay that was pretty easy but in those situ it's like a bit of a ripple effect like there's one one little mistake that leads to like everyone else so I'm with you like yeah there was a glitch a glitch we'll call it a glitch in in that moment but Tommy Edmond man like what he's been doing I just didn't expect it so then I'm even more appreciative of it maybe that's my mistake because I didn't think that this was what I was going to see I thought I was going to see a great defensive player and occasionally he would get a hit to move things along not what he's doing right now like good for you dude good for you and I again we talk about we've said this with Bo last week that the Dodgers tend to be stoic so seeing Tommy edman just living this moment and like just get emotional about get so excited like it's nice to see it's nice to see it's nice that we have we're having other players step up Step Up offensively because I told you in the text like again the Cubs the Cubs scored minimum of six runs so like our offense had to really deliver to win that one game or even stay in the game because it wasn't like the Cubs won but that Rob that the the robbery the max M's Homer uh in that was can we blame the fan you know what blame the damn fan on that one I forgot about that Anthony Bunda you're no longer the most annoying of the week it is that fan that literally dropped the ball you he closed his eyes bro like you one job at that point and you that was insane insane if you're gonna interfere Go full Bartman just just get in the um but I mean also shout out to Pete Crow Armstrong for being apparently he's Prime keng griffy Jr I had no idea amazing amazing yeah also from Sherman Oaks by the way another Harvard wesle guy so there you go and also um did you know a former met actually a Mets farmand and he came to the Cubs for jav bayz stop stop wow well done proud of you um no yeah that dude that dude's ridiculous that that was it it was a punch line by that point it was every ball did not matter where it was you're like oh well P Armstrong's going to catch it and then he does and then like he like screwed up on that one and and like that one also that one looked like a glitch too like I've seen that in MLB the show where a Ball's hit to the Outfield and the outfielder is like 10 feet away and suddenly they zoom into the spot and they catch it and I'm like what the hell like that's not real but apparently it is real P Armstrong can do that um so uh but yes shout out to Tommy Edmond uh well done and and hopefully uh he's another guy who like he kind of fits the mold of somebody who could really step up in the postseason um he's a a scrappy player with like surprising pop and great defensive ability and really lengthens out the lineup nicely he's been hitting in the middle of the lineup and teoscar Hernandez's absence which we didn't even mention T Oscar's injury but he's kind of back now so it's fine but thank God that that wasn't bad so yeah we're all we're all good there okay um let's let's let's close things out because we had talked about this last week you got to do something pretty fascinating I find fascinating um uh you went up to Oakland for a day to watch the a Mariners uh please talk about this experience for 10 hours like not even a day it was a 10hour trip it cost me too much money but you know what are we going to do right for 10 hours uh yeah I I flew out with Bri who also works with us at Fox Sports Radio and uh we wanted just to watch an A's game before they wrap things up and I've never been to the Oakland Coliseum which is the sixth oldest stadium in baseball and honestly like everyone told me the area is trash it's trash yeah the area was trash but the stadium really like had like a homey feel to it I really liked it I'm so glad I went I wish there was have only been like seven people like the rumors were no one's at these games it's only no there was definitely a couple thousand people there but we had such a good time it was hot but not unbearable we were right there like we were talking it Bri was like man I've never seen the veins in their forearms like that like that's how close we were we bought those seats because we wanted to you know I wanted to see Julio Rodriguez up close and personal and so we we no regrets um a lot of fun it was warm so we actually like didn't even drink that much you know I like my cocktails Ryan yes it was so warm that we didn't even drink that much because it's kind of hard to like want to keep drinking when it's hot but that's a good thing you know expensive drinks at at a ballpark but we did have one or two but we definitely pounded water just to like maintain the hydration and the heat but everybody was very nice everyone was super cool even on the plane what was funny is uh on our flight there there was two women next to me full Dodgers get up headed to the game with their their MLB passports they showed me their stamps showed me all the places they've been the people in front of us started listening to us they turn around they're like we're going too here's our passport then two guys further down oh yeah we're going to the game on the flight 15 to 20 people were going to that game wow it was quite funny and like we saw them at the airport saw them at the game then on the way back there was you know they were there like it was it was crazy that we weren't the only ones like wanting to kind of check it off the list type of thing I anticipate them destroying it once they officially move out because again the surrounding area there's nothing there nothing no reason to to keep it alive in a sense but super homey super like you feel you know and there was only a few signs that said you know F what's his name John fiser yeah yeah only a few F John fer you know what I mean but super super fun they don't have bull pins which is weird to see up close and personal when the pitchers are warming up like right there as the game is going on because it's like bro one foul ball and you're not paying attention your pitch's out like it's so close to the game so it's really weird uh but I'm glad we went we had a really great experience and um check it off the list you know the Oakland Coliseum nice that's awesome that's really cool and and to hear that uh other people like this is not like a a super rare thing for like other people yeah not at all wild commutes to to baseball games that is uh that's interesting that's very yes yeah trust me we were like oh so we're not that stupid all right that's good that's good there's others that are gonna do it with us and and we cheered for both we it was a high scoring game the A's and Mariners both scored literally until the end and we cheered for both back and forth like it was it was a good time it was a good time that's awesome that's that's a lot of fun you see listen remember baseball can be fun we don't have to be stressed out about everything baseball can be fun however you know we're also kind of like a fans aren't exactly like having a good time right now but you know it's gonna be a while until they uh they find happiness in their team again and they would have to have to follow them to Vegas in order to do that or oh yeah or they could ra Manford said that they you know since they got a team in San Francisco they should stop whining and just uh just just watch them instead um so that guy such a treat's such a treat oh God yeah oh what a what a Charming Man his retirement in five years cannot come soon enough all right um this is the sick podcast the Dodger Zone my name is Ryan bersinger she is Monty balanos Monty where can they follow you at you can follow me across social media Mony balanos nice and easy follow me at Ryan bersinger Bo isbon not jaon now you get it right when he's not here you get it right when not maybe seeing it is what screws me up maybe I have to uh so this is the sick podcast the Dodger Zone be sure to uh like And subscribe follow us on YouTube follow us on your favorite podcasting platform Spotify Apple uh what have you um and and follow us on Twitter at sikp pod Dodgers so until next time let's uh let's have some fun for this next week shall we hopefully we're talking about Otani 5050 next time and not mentioning Francisco Lindor don't wor got everyone thank you very much have a good day bye and that's a wrap hope you don't miss us too much until next time follow the sick podcast the Dodger Zone on YouTube Google Play and apple podcasts