Dodgers Deadline Reality Check, Friedman Comments, Rotation Questions & Red Sox Preview | Ep. 13

The Dodgers are days away from the trade deadline, and the questions are getting louder.

On this episode of Blue Dynasty Unplugged, we break down Andrew Friedman’s latest comments, the latest Tarik Skubal rumors, and whether the Dodgers need a fresh ace for October.

We also take a deeper look at what the postseason rotation could realistically look like with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Justin Wrobleski, and Eric Lauer all part of the conversation.

Plus, we discuss Will Smith’s surprising recovery, whether the Dodgers still need to pursue a catcher, preview Dodgers vs. Red Sox Game 1, and make our Call Your Shot picks.

We also officially welcome Sam Baez as the newest member of the Blue Dynasty team!

In this episode, we discuss:

-Dodgers deadline reality check
-Andrew Friedman’s latest comments
-Tarik Skubal rumors
-What the October rotation could look like
-Will Smith’s recovery
-Whether the Dodgers still need catcher help
-Eric Lauer forcing a real conversation
-Dodgers vs. Red Sox preview
-Call Your Shot for Game 1
-Sam Baez joining Blue Dynasty

Hosted by:
Robert Medina: @robert.medinuh
Bobby Hainline: @DodgermanGames
George Contoyannis: @theaussie.dodger
Priscilla Perez: @bleedbluebae
Sam Baez: IG @sammybee_23 | TikTok @thedodger.buzz

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#Dodgers #BlueDynasty #BlueDynastyUnplugged #LosAngelesDodgers #ShoheiOhtani #WillSmith #AndrewFriedman #TarikSkubal #RedSox #MLB

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Scooby rumors getting louder. Do the Dodgers need a fresh ace? We'll break down Andrew Friedman's latest comments and whether Will Smith's surprising recovery changes the trade deadline conversation. We'll also preview Game 1 of the Dodgers vs. Red Sox series, plus we'll introduce the newest member of the Blue Dynasty team. All that and more on today's episode, this is Blue Dynasty Unplugged. And welcome back to another episode of Blue Dynasty Unplugged. I am your host, Robert Medina, and today I'm joined by George Cantianis, Bobby Hainlein, Priscilla Perez, and if you guys notice there's actually an extra person in here today. We're joined by the newest member or contributor of the Blue Dynasty team, Sam Baez. Samantha Baez, right?

SPEAKER_07 1:22

Yes, either or works good for me. I like Sam. That's my preferred, but if you want to call me Samantha, you're more than welcome to.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Sounds good. So, Sam, um, we're all super excited to have you to uh join the team. Um, for those of our you know, listeners that or you know, viewers even that don't know you, uh, tell us a little bit about yourself and um how maybe how you got into um you know the covering the Dodgers specifically.

SPEAKER_07 1:52

Yeah, yeah. So uh born and raised in the Inland Empire, right next door to LA. So I grew up a Dodger girl. Um my dad made sure that I was definitely a Dodger girl, played baseball my whole life, just fell in love with the whole thing. I love strategy, I love uh, you know, different plays, I love watching, and so that's just kind of where my passion came from. I started covering the Dodgers just because I love to talk about baseball, and I just could not find anyone else who wanted to talk about baseball as much as I did, honestly. So, yeah, that was my journey into uh Dodgers content creation, and so far it's led me to some pretty great people. So I'm very excited to be uh part of your guys' uh team here and uh see what I can contribute.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Yeah, absolutely. You and you go to a lot of Tower Buzzers um games, right? You cover them as well.

SPEAKER_07 2:49

I do, yes. I am uh, like I said, I'm an IE girl, so Ontario is in my backyard. Uh love watching the prospect games, I love seeing the different levels of playing. Um, you see the different levels of hunger, the transactions as well, up and down the system. So, yes, I am a big Ontario Tower Buzzers girl, but I love to keep up with the minor league aspect of the Dodgers system as well.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yeah, awesome. And I know that there's kind of a fun fact that you had mentioned to me on uh kind of centered around who your favorite players have been throughout Dodgers. Uh I don't want to say history, but yeah. Um, can you tell us a little bit more about that?

SPEAKER_07 3:29

Yes, so all of my favorite Dodger players have won the worn the number five. So uh growing up, Nomar Garcia Parra was my favorite Dodger player, mainly because we shared the same birthday, but also loved number five. Uh, then right after that, Corey Seeger went into number five, loved Corey Seager as a Dodger, and now my number one current active Dodger, Freddie Freeman, wears number five. So there's something about me, the Dodgers, and the number five. And we'll see who takes over after Freddie retires.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

That's right. Yeah. Hopefully. They might just retire the number five after Freddie. So that's what I was gonna say. You're right.

SPEAKER_07 4:07

And I I would I would love for that to happen, honestly. You're you're totally right on that one.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Yeah, I wonder what the over-under is on that one. Um, or him wearing a Dodger hat, right? Into Cooperstown. We'll see.

SPEAKER_07 4:18

We'll see how yes, yes, that would be amazing. Well, after having his kids, you know, he's he's kind of been hinting at things changing for him as far as family goes. So I wouldn't be surprised if he called it a day after his contract's up, but we'll see.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Yeah, absolutely. Well, we're very happy that you're uh here with us today. Uh and guys, if you guys uh you we will be seeing a little bit more of Sam on uh Blue Dynasty, the podcast, and on socials. So keep an eye out for her. You can follow her on IG at SammyB underscore 23 and on TikTok at the Dodger Buzz or the Dodger dot buzz. Uh, but yeah, welcome Sam. Uh so guys, we have a lot to talk about, right? There's been no breaking news really, but there has been, in my opinion. There's been Andrew Friedman kind of giving us little Easter eggs, right? Um, there's been uh Will Smith has come back, kind of. He's say he seems to be progressing or moving in the right direction. Um, lots of things to get into, but before we get into that, let's hear a quick word from our sponsor, Malachite Media.

SPEAKER_03 5:37

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SPEAKER_01 6:04

All right, so trade deadline's almost here. Uh August 3rd, uh, I believe is the the day, right? I think it's uh that evening. Um so things are starting to heat up as far as trade rumors. Now, you know, I think everybody has Tariq Scoobyl on their wish list, right? Um, especially with the state of the rotation. And, you know, some have made the argument that the Dodgers actually do need a Scuble, right? Some have said, you know what, I think it's gonna be, you know, it's unnecessary. The Dodgers have enough aces on their on their staff, right? But um let's let's start with George. I want to hear what you think about this because I think that fans are really torn on this. Um I honestly feel that the Dodgers should, if he's available, they should go after a school. Your thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

Yeah, I think I didn't really buy a lot into this uh in the last few months up until about this week. So, and I think that just the emotions around his start yesterday he had with the Tigers. I think that just says or it confirms that he is out the door. They're gonna trade him now to get something for him because they know the chances of keeping him are pretty much none. And I just I can see it happening now. I think like Friedman and the guys will do anything they can to get us at three feet. Now we know that getting him long term is not gonna be possible, especially with these, you know, the pays up in the air next year, the agreements are up in the air. I don't know what's gonna happen, but there's likely well, there's guaranteed that there's gonna be changes. So I can see it happening now, and I think it's the right goal. Just go all in, get this three paid. Like we've said, it's not gonna happen again in our lifetime. So do everything we can to get it.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Yeah, no, I agree 100%. Um, you know, there's the we may never get another opportunity like this again, right? And Andrew Freeman was uh he spoke to the media yesterday and he he said a few things that were you know were interesting to me. Um one of those things was he said that whenever there's a you know big star on the market that the Dodgers will always be involved in those conversations, right? But he actually took that a little bit further when he was asked the I believe it was a follow-up question, and they asked him, you know, was there concern of you know potentially a scoobo going to another team to another contending team? And uh Friedman said something along the lines of, and I'm paraphrasing here, but he said if there were concerns, we would absolutely go out and get him, and we would get him, essentially. He that they would uh just go out and get that player and keep him away from any other contending team. Now we know that the Brewers are gonna be in the mix, the Rays are gonna be in the mix, the Braves are gonna be in the mix, um, you know, among others. But Sam, what are your thoughts on Andrew Friedman's comments yesterday? And does this really solidify the fact that the Dodgers will be pursuing Scooba?

SPEAKER_07 9:22

100%. I think that's been the number one uh place that people are suspecting he's gonna land, just because, like you mentioned, one, we're the biggest name in baseball, two, we want that 3P, and three, we have the reputation um, I think that Scooba's looking for. So I think we are definitely going to be going after him. Um with Otani's new injury, I'm sure it's gonna be a tiny bit more aggressively, but I don't expect Andrew Friedman to be bending over backwards to get him. If anything, like you were mentioning, I believe that would it would be more of a defensive uh trade for us, uh, because I don't think any of the Dodgers want to see him come time for the NLC as where we're you know going up against a good team like the Brewers, or if he goes to the rays and we end up facing them, it's just it's a it's more of a matter of we don't want him to face us. So we can secure that three key and also why why not add the arm to the uh to the caliber, especially with uh looming lockout that's gonna be uh coming up this next year. So I think uh I think Scoobyl is my prediction. I'm like 75%, he's coming to the Dodgers.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Yeah. Um there is a little bit of uh some news that just broke not too long ago uh regarding Scoobyl, and this was actually from Bob Nightingale. Um, and I'll give this to Priscilla. I want to hear your thoughts because before hearing this, you know, I want you to just keep in mind what you think the odds of us landing or the Dodgers us landing to uh Scoobyl um are, right? Um so here's here's what what Bob Nangel had to say, and this is just a part of what he put out. Dodgers Dodgers could grab Scoobyl, knowing that they are considered his first preference. Now, that is the first time I've ever heard anything like that. Now, whether Bob is getting that, you know, you know, I can only assume that he has some sort of a source uh that would make him say that. But your thoughts on this comment from Bob Nightingale. Shout out Bob Nightingale, by the way.

SPEAKER_06 11:42

I'm gonna be honest with you, that makes my thought process go 180. I am on team. We don't really need fool. Um what I want to have him, yes. But from the beginning, I don't like the word need. Um, but hearing this, it's like, oh, we're getting fooled. Without a doubt, we're getting fool. Um, because yeah, we don't want to face him. The only thing that I can agree with on Sam is that no, they're not gonna bend over backwards for him either. They're not gonna go out of their way and give up all these players depending on what contract he wants or the um if it's gonna be a rental or who they're asking in in you know, in exchange for. Um, I can see them kind of putting their their foot down because people say the Dodgers don't play sugar, they play chess. You know, so it's one of those things that we we kind of look more in the long run than in the right now. What's gonna happen in the long run and what's gonna be the overall best decision for the Dodgers to make so we don't end up like other teams that I'm not gonna mention who've made those mistakes of giving up one or two players, and then now they're facing those players and they don't know what to do when they face the very players that they decided to trade. So I I think that if that's the case, Stuble might might be in Dodger Blue.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

And I think you're referring to Dodger Stadium South, right?

SPEAKER_05 13:11

Um, yeah, there you go. We don't have to say an official name, but the one that I drove by the other day that I was like, what's going on here?

SPEAKER_01 13:18

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_05 13:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Um, yeah, and to your point, Andrew Friedman did say something about um the Dodgers' future, right? And making sure that they're looking five years ahead because uh even though fans don't care about that today, uh, we will care about that five years from now, right? So um definitely something to think about there. But here's another point, and um, this is actually something that ties in well with what you said, Priscilla, because um you said you were mentioning that we we may not need them, right? Um, or meet need Scooba. Um, Bobby considering this, right, let let's let's take a step back and look at what the state of this rotation is and has been, right? You have uh Yoshinobu Yamamoto, right, who has been amazing since joining the Dodgers, but he also has been a workhorse. He has pitched so many innings, not just last year, and that got us, you know, through that World Series run, but even this year, he's been reliable. He's made every start. So you gotta think that the Dodgers are gonna have to start being careful with him, right? Uh, I mean, look, Yamamoto is just out of this world, his his his preparation, everything. But still, you have to keep that, you have to consider that. Then you have Tyler Glass now and Blake Snell, who are just now coming back from the I. Or expected to, right? And even if we do get them back, how is your confidence gonna be in uh Tyler Glass now, right? Coming back from the I. Or even Blake Snell that he's gonna go the distance, right? I mean, pitchers break, and you don't know what's gonna happen with someone who just came back, right? Now you have Roki Susaki and Justin Robleski. Susaki's been up and down all year, and Robleski has been awesome. But would you trust Robleski in a game, I don't know, game three of the World Series?

SPEAKER_00 15:39

Uh well, I don't think I can trust Justin. Just like uh I believe it was Clint that brought up this fact last week, uh, this has been the most innings Justin has pitched in his career. And judging from his last outing where he gave up five home runs to the Mariners, I I I I I I just think we need to start maybe uh giving him some extra rest. I I I don't know if if he just had a bad game the other day, or uh maybe he is starting to feel a little wear and tear on that arm. Uh we need to take it easy on him. Uh I and I don't trust uh Tyler Glasnow either, uh, because he's been very injury prone. I have more trust in Blake Snell, uh, even though he has had his past uh injury trouble. But uh I uh I know Blake's heart. I know Blake is a fighter, he's a gamer. Uh he he's he's gonna do everything he can to get back out there on the mound, and when he does, he's gonna he's gonna be excellent. Uh I was fortunate to be at two games where he pitched uh one against the Dodgers and one with the Dodgers. Uh and uh yeah, he he's he's just so uh tough to hit. If I was a batter, I wouldn't look forward to facing uh Blake Snell. But yeah, yeah, got it, we got it, we yeah, I would not trust uh Justin Robleski in the postseason, absolutely not. Um it's unfortunate, but I I think that uh he's kind of uh he he's kind of reached his limit, I guess, uh for this season. Um hopefully I'm wrong. I could be wrong. I'm not an expert. I just like to like to pretend I'm one.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

You know, I I think that um, you know, I I agree with you in the sense that I don't know if Robleski has enough in the tank, you know, I guess enough enough left. Um yeah, he's just pitched a lot this year. Um so I don't know. And then not to mention Otani is still dealing with his knee. Um so at this point, who do we have, right? Who but bringing in a uh Scoobyl that just got is got back, also got back from his own injury, you know, may not be the answer, right? Don't forget Eric Lauer.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Yeah, yeah. Eric Lauer has been pitching uh uh great. I mean, uh the the Dodgers have won every game he's he's pitched for them. He had a great game last night. Uh the uh the uh Mariners only got one hit off of him until uh the bullpen came in and uh almost uh almost cost them the game. Well, I think it's uh some of that you have to put on uh uh Kyle Tucker too for that uh whatever that was last night. Um and by the way, I thank God I'm not having to listen to the Mariner uh play-by-play group or whatever. It was like, I swear to God, in that double in the ninth inning, the the broadcast team was, and then there's a double down the left field line. Uh uh they're gonna get it back in here. I'm I'm like, God, can I falling asleep here, guys? I mean, there was no excitement, you know. Even when uh the the uh the mariners had a chance to possibly uh uh tie the game, uh there was no excitement whatever. And when Freddie got the line drive to end the game, they were like, and Freddie gets the ball, line drive, uh game's over. Uh Mariners lose 42. And I'm like, come on, guys. I mean, that I'm I'm just I cannot wait until I hear Joe Joe Davis again. Uh thank God for our broadcasting team.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

So you learn a new different level of appreciation for our uh for our broadcasters. Shout out Tim Nick.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Um absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

Um with that guys, I got I gotta get going to work. I'll uh have a great uh rest of the uh podcast, everyone. We'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Okay, buddy. Getting back to the SCOBL talk, um I don't I don't know. I you know, I'm not entirely look, I'm I'm not saying that I have that I doubt, you know, Yamamoto or what he's capable of. I'm just saying that you know he's he's he's been he's been a workhorse. So who in reality do we have that would be reliable you know during this postseason run? I'll put that out there for anybody.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Well Yamamoto's gonna be his answer, but yeah.

SPEAKER_06 20:51

Sam was gonna say something. Go ahead, Sam.

SPEAKER_07 20:53

I think we're all on the same page of I think no matter what, uh Yamamoto being a workhorse, I think that's his that's just how he is, you know. I think that no matter what, his if his back is up against the wall, specifically what we saw last season with the the World Series, he's gonna get it done. Um but you are right. I mean, we don't have the two aces that we thought we were gonna have with nail and glass now. Um I know that you guys are just talking about Justin Robleski maybe not being as reliable, but I could see Justin Robleski being a reliable guy. He's been really solid this season considering how young he is and it being like his first full season actually pitching as a starting pitcher. So my vote would be Justin Robleski, just because he's impressed me this season. Um I would love to see a Roblesky and Sasaki combination game, honestly. That would be a great that would be a great lineup to me, I think, too.

SPEAKER_01 21:47

That's actually not a bad idea because I think for for me personally, the the biggest concern with with Robo is the his innings pitched this year. And so, you know, I would hate for him to be put in a situation where he's gassed and um he just can't perform you know like he like he wants to um but i would like i would like to see a piggyback like that uh do a robo uh sasaki piggyback uh and i'm sure that look we've pieced things together in the past 2024 um you know we did that we did exactly that with the bullpen right the dogs of the bullpen in 2024 won us the world series right and then we yeah wrote on the back of Yamamoto last year so who is gonna be the one that steps up or what is gonna be the group right that steps up to this occasion because like we all know this is a this isn't this may not happen ever again at least not within our lifetime for a three peat so let's see yeah I no go ahead no go ahead no I was just gonna say how much of this are is getting past what we can see you know there's there's more than meets the eye how many how much of this is taxed for the end of the year and into postseason glass now uh Snell and Shoheil Tommy being on the injured list possibly having injuries but also coming back and being the aces that we need um I think that we need to have a little more faith in that it's it's in our faith what we see now but at the end of the day we do know that we have some good arms um that are ready to roll you know um so that's I think one I keep in mind like do we absolutely need Scooby?

SPEAKER_06 23:39

I don't think so can we use him?

SPEAKER_07 23:41

Yes absolutely get the guy like bring him in it's just one of those things where last man hasn't pitched and yes he's injury prone however would he be one of the fresher starters or smill being that he hasn't pitched as much as Robleski or the next person do they are they much more fresh because of that coming back from even the injury list so those are the things that I like to look at because you you you said it yourself the Dodgers look into the future they don't look right now they look in they're already playing October so I I just want us to keep up all that in mind because we're we're gonna see it we're gonna be like where did this come from we we've done it the last two years where did this come from and then boom another ring agreed and you know you bring up a good point because we have to remember that Snell and Glasnow were both World Series pitchers in 2020 obviously didn't go their way and we only played half a season but when we were up against them as the Dodgers up against the Rays in 2020 we were scared when Snell and Glasnow both took the mound so you are really right Priscilla I I wouldn't doubt that that environment that playoff environment no matter how long it's been since they've pitched those guys it's like uh it's like a second nature for them. Once it's on it's on and you you might be right in that they just turn it around and they're maybe one of them ends up becoming you know the World Series ace this year. Who knows?

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Yep. Yeah those are all really good points uh you know there's one uh I guess pitcher that's currently in the Dodgers rotation that is you know making a lot of uh news regarding his possible trade and that's Eric Lauer I mean this this guy has been great for this team since joining us right um he's been lights out we've won every game that he's pitched uh obviously we've given him that run support that uh we should also be giving Gamamoto um but nevertheless he's he's been he's pitched very well um and I think he's unlocked something that uh he wasn't able to unlock during his time with the Blue Jays um but if we were to trade Eric Lauer who who would you who would any of you be okay with trading Lauer for? Would it be including him in a I just don't see him being included in a scuba trade. Would it be potentially looking are are the Dodgers still looking for a catcher considering the update that we got on Will Smith because Will Smith must have seen some kind of chiropractor or took some shots or jump with over the fire to get rid of the bad juju but he's finally making progress so does this change you know what we're what the Dodgers uh were planning to do at the trade deadline um and how does Eric Lauer fit into any of it yeah it's it's it's hard to know like I personally hope he doesn't get traded but I can I can very much see it happening.

SPEAKER_02 26:55

In terms of which package you put it with yeah like I know Smith is starting to recover but how I think an extra catcher doesn't hurt. We've seen our catching depth look below rushing it's not you know our catching depth is not the best um so I think it wouldn't hurt to get some sort of catcher in there even if he is at rental I'm not sure it's a hard one to know obviously they'll know more about Will Smith than what we know so and how confident they'll be in him coming back because if he comes back yeah they won't there won't be a need for another catcher.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

But if it's still gonna be a while or if he gets another setback then yeah they desperately need that extra catcher I think so yeah it's a really hard it's up in the air it's a hard one to know well we've got less than uh five days to for them to figure that out I'm sure that they're gonna do everything they can to get that figured out but um I mean yeah it it's just a in my opinion there's a lot of questions as far as you know current injuries specifically around Will Smith and Shohei Otani right the the the team's been saying that they're confident that Otani will pitch again this year but things change right Will Smith was only supposed to be out six days and here we are right um it's just some things are it's they're hard to predict and it's you know it's no no fault of you know the organization it's just you know players break pitchers break um but what are your uh Sam what's your thoughts on uh Will Smith and this recover this road to recovery that he's had and do you think it would be a good idea for the Dodgers to go out and still get a third catcher potentially that could maybe you know we can have in the in the farm system someone like uh I mean I don't know Ben Roth might be someone that they might consider bringing back or someone along of of that like right um your thoughts on that I think that um yes I think that Will Smith coming back is great.

SPEAKER_07 29:10

I do anticipate that he will come back to be the starting everyday catcher uh probably within the next I don't know few weeks or so but I believe that if the Dodgers are going to be going after a catcher it is who you say it's probably not going to be um the veteran catcher with playoff experience because we already have Dalton Rushing who has taken initiative to be the catcher for the best team in baseball he has been thrown into the water and told not to sink you know and he's done a really good job. So if God forbid we needed him to continue to be the starting catcher. I know that even Will Smith if he needed to go into a more backup role due to his injury if it's prolonged a little bit longer throughout the season um I think that we should they get more catching depth probably um but I would I would think that we would with the team that we have I think that we could win the series with Will Smith being either a backup or just with Will Smith and Dalton rushing being the two catchers we have in the clubhouse. Now that is depending on how fast he comes back. The Dodgers like you said have been very wishy-washy with the injuries first it's not that big of a deal and next it's they're gonna be out for six weeks. But yeah I would I would see that I would rather them take the time to go after somebody like Scooby who again we don't need I see that this team that we currently have right now can win a third world series in a row I believe that but it would be nice to have that extra caliber just in case we can um over trying to get another catcher who I think we might be okay better off without if if we can depending on Will Smith again like I said yeah agreed Priscilla your thoughts oh man you guys know how I feel about Will Smith Will Smith Will Smith is my uh Freddy Freeman to um to Sam also a number of things um again they tell us one thing and I think that I don't think that Will Smith made a miracle recovery.

SPEAKER_06 31:30

I think that they didn't want to get the fans excited I think that they didn't want to jump the gun. I think that if they're saying Will Smith is feeling better it's because he's actually feeling better. And I think that they're gonna put him on the front lines. Do I agree that they need to be careful with him? Absolutely especially with the um games that rushing has had but he is still making minor mistakes that are costing us and those are not mistakes that I believe Will Smith would make in his exact position his speed, him throwing to second base trying to get another runner out Will Smith is just on it Will Smith's move. So I think that those are like the key points of when Smith comes in or when Dalton Rushing would be out and vice versa. So um I don't foresee them going after a catcher. I I honestly just think that if they're saying Will Smith is healthy or getting healthier and pretty much ready to go, it's because that's the case. So I think that if anything a trade or a uh you know like a scuba package is going to be strictly pitching I I don't think it's gonna have anything to do with our catchers.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

Yeah. Well the deadline conversation is definitely going to dominate uh for the next you know four or five days um and by the time we come back and do our next show uh I think we'll have a lot of clarity on a lot of these uh questions that we currently have um but today we have Rokisaki on the mound with his giant glove um hopefully that keeps doing wonders for him and that everything goes well um but looking ahead at tomorrow uh assuming that the Dodgers will continue their series win streak which I'm pretty confident they will um tomorrow the Dodgers will be uh starting a new series uh against the Boston Red Sox uh it's a three-game series and it is a home game so they'll be at Uniqlo Field. Um Dodgers are currently as of now 68 and 40 um and the Red Sox have been what seven and three over the last 10 games so uh not a team that you know the Dodgers would take lightly I know that these uh are you know the Dodgers don't um I want I don't want to say that they that they take any team lightly because any MLB team uh is you know you never know what's gonna happen in baseball but um I think that this is uh this is gonna be a good series um let's see what the probable pitchers are I don't think they've had does anybody know if there's been pitchers announced yet I don't think so but I think it'll be Yamamoto on the mound tomorrow um probably I wouldn't foresee him going against what Grey What's that I said I would would we foresee him going against who like gray sonny gray uh Suarez it says Suarez I think oh it says Suarez okay yeah and then yeah Yamamoto is scheduled for Saturday right now and they're currently to to be determined for tomorrow's game so it could be a bullpen game which makes it makes it interesting that that is gonna make it interesting that it does make it interesting uh real quick before we against the red so get into this uh Red Sox preview uh thoughts on uh Edwin Diaz's first outing back it was a nerve wracking it was uh those loud outs I'm like oh man some one's coming out of the park here um and it was up against you know some pretty good offensive players in Cal Raleigh and um Seattle's got a good offensive team so I look Tucker needs to make that play to be honest I thought that was a pretty lazy effort um the like I wouldn't say it's an easy play but it's definitely a play a good outfit needs to make um but look he got the save that's what matters and he brought the energy back which was great yeah energy was definitely there uh Priscilla oh I loved it I think that I think that he did great yeah a little rusty for sure I'm not I'm not gonna sit here and say that he didn't scare me a couple of times um I think that you know when when we have outfielders you know like Teo who stepped up yesterday that was amazing um but we all know that he does have that record of kind of slacking it a little and then with Kyle Tucker kind of doing the same as of lately it's like we have to support our pitchers more because they're not going to be perfect but plays like that help them get the outs that we want.

SPEAKER_06 36:34

So can we put it all on Edwin Diaz? I don't think so I think that um again he came back a little rusty but I think there were plays that could have been made that would have helped us uh secure the game a little more or a little quicker. So um I I and I like the energy I love the energy that he brings like I said I was there ring ceremony I posted that video with you guys yesterday amazing so I think it's something that they pick up on and um yeah I I think he did great.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

Nice.

SPEAKER_07 37:01

Sam yeah I think uh it's what's to be expected he put on a great performance for coming back to his first game um you know he has pitched in triple A and single A here uh with the Tower buzzers which was really cool to see but I mean he he's he you gotta like warm up to it you know no matter how many rehab assignments these guys play it's nothing compared to what it's like under the lights in Dodger Stadium you know so um for considering what it was I think that he did a really good job um and Priscilla like you said I think we can kind of put it a little more on Tucker for the run scored um just with a lack of uh attempt to try to catch the ball but I think that uh it looked good for Diaz and I see very promising stuff from him coming soon just he needs a little bit more time to warm up back to being on the big league roster.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

Yeah agreed um going back to this Red Sox series game one starting tomorrow Friday um no pitcher announced as of yet but I agree with uh George it'll likely be a bullpen game because it looks like they're giving uh Yamamoto and Shien an a little bit extra rest possibly or is that when isn't Otani would have been scheduled to pitch I want to say that would have been his his next time up possibly yeah um so but looking into that series keys to the game uh how important is it for the Dodgers to take two of three at least um you know as far as maybe even momentum and what do you guys feel is gonna be the key to really getting or winning two games out of three from the Red Sox yeah I think well offense will always help I think run support is always gonna help uh and in a game like tomorrow it's very hard for if it is a bullpen game it's very hard for nine pitches to come out and all be switched on and all be lights out we saw it once which was probably the most important time in 24 against the Padros you will rarely see that again where nine pitchers all are on their game.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

So I think offense needs to obviously provide the run support I think like with Hammond Shan for example recently I've been happy if he's going five innings and he has on a couple of occasions which has been a better sign and well that's if he actually makes the start let's see how the next few days pan out but um yeah Yamamoto we know can go six seven innings even if he does give up three runs.

SPEAKER_01 39:49

So yeah I think offense definitely and defense as well yeah uh but Priscilla how important is it for the Dodgers to win game one considering that you know they're uh known to win the first two and drop the last or win or lose the first and then win the last two does that make sense yes that makes sense um I think that it's important for them to win it so that they can get that game on mentality when it comes to the Red Sox.

SPEAKER_06 40:21

Let's be real the Red Sox is going to be a very competitive team to to play against and to beat it's not we're not going up against any uh just anybody you know they've got uh Duran on the team they've got Anthony they've got Bregman on there we don't want Bregman to be hitting home runs in Dodgers Stadium that is not okay. So I just think that like in their heads for them to win game one it kind of switches that on. If they do it might give them a little bit of a lax for the next game or the following but when you lose the first game it does something to you mentally about the team that you have to face for the next two days. So I think that game one winning it is really important.

SPEAKER_01 41:00

I agree.

SPEAKER_07 41:02

Sam, your thoughts yeah I agree I mean I it is interesting how the the cycle of Dave Roberts if we win the first two the third game is probably a throwaway game um which I kind of get but I also don't really like I love to be you know the dominant Dodgers if we can get that sweep we should get that sweep considering not only how good our players are but how high our payroll is um but yeah offense is going to be the key the key to this series because either way Yoshi nobuyamoto as good as he's pitched this year has had like the lowest run support out of all of the starting Dodgers pitchers. So we really need to get him you know supported at least so he can have some more confidence going into the postseason. And then on top of that if we do have a bullpen game that's gonna be the number one thing because the bullpen I mean with Eric Klein he um he's been kind of up and down lately you know he can turn it on but when he's off he's really off so um to combat that those bats need to wake up uh I think I was expecting a little more run support in this series from Seattle considering you know their standings and kind of uh their pitching stats so far this year but yes I I agree with George it's gonna be a run support type of situation for this entire series and I would love for the Dodgers to go for that sweep because it's been a while I think since we've had our last uh complete series sweep so it'd be cool to get it against the Red Sox too.

SPEAKER_01 42:25

Yeah yeah uh we'll see how Mookie performs against his old team uh obviously things have changed since he was uh with the Red Sox but um since we're previewing the Red Sox Dodgers series uh specifically looking into game one it's time and Priscilla knows what time it is it's time to call your shot it's time to call your shot all right let's go around the room and Sam this is your first call your shot in case you don't know um we go around and you just call what player could be position player could be offense could be defense uh which player is gonna make the biggest impact in game one against the Red Sox uh we'll give you some time to think about it we'll let's go George he looks like he's ready he has his ready to go I have mine written down I'm just saying you do I did I have mine written down but I want to hear what they have to say first go I think to this game I don't know I'm gonna go Freddie I think he's uh probably time for him to to go deep and he tends to I don't know we've seen what he can do in bigger series bigger games so yeah I'll stick with that. Braddy Freeman okay uh let's hear you let let's go with Priscilla. You have yours written down what do you got on that paper?

SPEAKER_06 44:01

I've got Mookie Betts. I've got Mookie Bet. I think that he's done good. His last 10 games, he's got eight hits, two home runs, and three RBI. So that's a pretty good performance. But more than anything, you're going against your former team. And it never matters how long it's been, you always want to make them regret letting you go. So I think that there's going to be something under his sleeve. I think Mookie Betts is going yard.

SPEAKER_01 44:24

Nice. Nice. Sam.

SPEAKER_07 44:28

All right. Mine is Teoscar Hernandez. I think people have uh been blowing up the story about him possibly becoming a trade piece at the deadline. I pause, I personally do not see that happening. I think it was just kind of a story to get the people going. But since then, yesterday's game, I saw a little bit more energy out of him. So I think he has a point to prove coming out of this trade deadline. And I think Teoscar Hernandez is going to be a key piece to the Dodgers winning this series.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

I like that. I like that. Um I'm going to have to go with Mookie. Um, I have a feeling that he is going to perform well against his former team. Um, so yeah, I think Mookie's gonna be that difference uh for game one of the series against the Red Sox. But uh for those of you at home, don't forget you can call your shot before every Dodgers game by visiting Blue Dynasty on social media. Drop your prediction before the first pitch, and if you call it right, you could be highlighted the next day on Blue Dynasty. Um, any uh closing thoughts? I'll go around the room. Uh George.

SPEAKER_02 45:41

Oh, it's good to be back home. I think just seeing the energy of the crowd again, seeing Deo's come back, uh KK come back as well. I'm sure we'll see some energy from him tonight. He's my shot for tonight. He's back in the starting lineup, so I think he's gonna bring the excitement. I'm just happy that the boys are back home, to be honest, and it'll be fun this weekend against a team like the Red Sox who are in some good form. And I've said this before, we got Mookie for a pop top, so thank you again, Boston.

SPEAKER_01 46:09

Uh Sam.

SPEAKER_07 46:12

I agree. It's good to be back home and watching Dodger games at seven o'clock instead of watching them at three or four in the afternoon. So um, I'm very excited. I like I said, I don't care really if the Dodgers get Scoobyl, but it would be great and awesome and cool and would help us secure that three-peat if next week we could talk about Eric Scoobyl joining the Dodgers. Uh, but it has to be a good trade. I know it's not at the top of our list, but I'm putting the energy out there. You only three-peat once in a generation, why not try to secure it? You know what I mean? So I'm excited for this weekend series with the Red Sox. Uh, glad for the boys to be back home so I can watch my late Dodger games. And I'm calling and putting it out there that Terek Scoobyl will be in a Dodgers uniform come next week.

SPEAKER_01 46:59

So hot take right there. All right, uh Priscilla.

SPEAKER_06 47:04

Top that.

SPEAKER_01 47:04

No.

SPEAKER_06 47:05

I'm excited. I know, right? Come out. Um, I'm excited. Trade deadline is always an exciting time with uh baseball world, baseball news. I think there's gonna be a bomb to be dropped when it comes to all of this. Um, I don't know if it's gonna be with the Dodgers. Yes, I am with Sam. I hope so, but we'll see. In addition to that, we are going into August, which means that people are gonna go a little harder, but also a little lighter when it comes to their players, giving them their rest for that, you know, almost postseason time. So I'm really excited for that. August, September time is when those dynamics in baseball really, really get real. So this is my favorite time of the season, aside from back-to-back World Series championships.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

Yeah. And don't forget, September Collops is right around the corner. I love September Collops. Uh, we'll have to get Austin back on here uh to talk some prospects too. I think Sam would have a uh good time talking to him. Um for me, I really hope we do get Scoobyl just to kind of give everybody the bird. Um, you know, it's just one of those things where we get so much crap from other, you know, other fans, team uh fans from other teams that let's just do it. Let's just embrace it. We're the bad guys, you know, we ruined baseball. This let's just do it. Uh I I trust Andrew Friedman's gonna go out and uh make the moves needed. Uh, but I want to see Andrew Friedman in that uh I don't know if you guys ever saw him uh that picture wearing that robe where he just looks like he's just balling, right? Um, you know, he's he's chilling. But you know, yeah, I think uh I think that the Andrew's gonna do um you know what's needed to get what we need, and um I I have I have faith in that. So um, but that's all the time we have for you guys today. Thank you for joining us. Uh your support means everything. Uh every time you guys come on and listen to us or watch us on YouTube, really helps us. Uh what really helps us a lot is if you like and subscribe to this video if you're on YouTube or leave us a review on any of the podcast uh platforms. Uh big thank you to Sam Baez, our newest member of the Blue Dynasty team. Um, if you're watching on YouTube, like I said, don't forget to like this video, subscribe to the channel, and turn on your notifications so you don't miss the next episode because we'll talk about what happened in the trade deadline. Uh, you can also follow Blue Dynasty on all the social medias Facebook, Instagram, the works, uh, or listening to Blue Dynasty Unplugged on wherever you get your podcasts. We bring you an episode once a week. So follow, subscribe, and we will make sure to be here. Um, but don't forget to follow Priscilla, George, Bobby, Priscilla, Bleed Boobbait, Bobby at the Dodger, what is it, Dodger Man Games, and uh uh my my boy George, the Aussie Man, or uh the Aussie. Why do I always get these confused? The Aussie Dodger. Um anyway, I'm Robert Medina. I'm starting to lose my train of thought. I think it's time for dinner. Uh we'll see you next time, guys.