00:00:00
Speaker 1: Well, what better way to celebrate Sinko de Mayo and show hey Otani being on the mound than checking in with the Dodgers pitching coach Mark Pryor, Mark, I hope you got some Tex Mex ready to go after the game tonight.
00:00:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, I gotta be honest, not eating a whole lot after these games. We've got a quick turnaround tomorrow, so we'll just spend the night.
00:00:22
Speaker 1: The life of a pitching coach. And before we get to Otani and what's going on with him tonight, how impressed are you, being a former pitcher, knowing what it takes to get outs at this level, to watch the way Justin Robleski is attacking the strike zone and getting out without even striking out a batter in his last start.
00:00:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty impressive what he's doing right now, and it's fun to watch. It's been fun, I think for the staff and an organization in general, just to kind of see the maturation process of Justin over the years, especially LUs you know, two three, two and a half years at the big league level, and you know, we talk about it, you know clearly, you know, strikeouts are very nice and we all love them because it's a controllable outcome, and you know when you have myths that that obviously helps, you know, take away anything that might happen. But the you know, we talk about this a lot. We talked about with Gavin Stone as well. It's like outs ultimately or what you're trying to get. So however you get them, whether they're strikeouts or their ground balls or fly balls, like outs matter. And you know what he's he's been showing up lineups and that was the challenge to him. And I think that's you know, again a lot of the credit goes to him and just his ability to you know, his confidence hasn't waivered as much as you know, I know, there's we've talked about it, what happened at the end of or the beginning of last year in Washington and what he was able to do to remake himself in Oklahoma City and they come up and be a huge role for us, you know, in the bullpen, and I think they just gave him the confidence of doing it, not just believing it, but actually doing it, having the experience in high leverage situations, and he's just kind of taking it again to this role where he knew he was coming in in an undefined role this year, and he's just kind of taken the opportunity and kicked the door down. And but he's been doing it by challenging, like you know, trying not to nibble around. He got a little you know, on the edges, a little bit more than he probably would have liked to in the Chicago game in the first couple of innings. But at the heart of it is he's going to attack, and he's going to force action and makes force that team to make some swing decisions, you know, and then hopefully the strikeouts will come. But I think teams know that he's going to be on attack, so they don't have a whole lot of time to wait and see what he's going to do. What's working. He knows he's going to throw strikes, and so he's been the beneficiarya of a lot of efficient outings and been able to go deep for us when when we needed him to go deep given some short starts or our bullpen was you know, taxed various times. So it's it's been remarkable. He's been an unbelievable competitor and it's been a lot of fun to watch on the sidelines.
00:03:06
Speaker 1: Is that the biggest thing as far as what you saw at the beginning of the year last season when he came back after making adjustments, the confidence that he exudes not only on the mound, but as he's stalking the dugout while the team is is scoring runs for him.
00:03:23
Speaker 2: Absolutely. I mean, I don't think anybody who's been around justin you know, thinks that he lacks his confidence and his abilities to get good guys out. And that's just an it thing that you know, kind of guys have. But I do think at the transition from where he was at the beginning of last year to where he came into the relievers and then now, is really understanding his foundation and what he is as a pitcher. And you know, it's it's clearly it's a four team. It's fastball, slider, heavy mix, and then you use some complimentary pieces at times. I think, you know, at various times he thought, you know, and we thought, okay, well maybe he's got all these weapons. Let's see if we can use them all and he hadn't quite mastered all of them, and it takes time to be able to master. But you know, we try to really hone in on master. These two, you know, really use these as as kind of you know, bread and butter, and then let's as we you know, as his career continues to grow and develop, you know, those other pitches will be refined to where they you know, they might get to that level. So, but it was really understanding his foundation of what that is, and it's really a big being on the offensive as the pitcher and not trying to sugarcoat anything and just really try to bully guys as best he can.
00:04:36
Speaker 1: Mark Pryor, Dodgers Pitching coach is our guest show. Hey Otani is on the mound for you tonight. Mark and Dave Roberts said after the game that he decided somewhere towards his third or fourth at bat that he was not going to have him lead off in DH. Were you part of those conversations to make that decision in the dugout? What goes into deciding, you know, what it may be best for him just to pitch tonight?
00:05:03
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, ultimately that's that's Doc's call. And he's got a really good feel for what he's seen in the moment, you know, and we're all seeing it kind of in the dugout. I mean he you know, he was running the bases, he got on base, he beat out that double play to get that one run, and then he's you know, first to third, first to home. You know, you can just see, you know, the amount of exertion that he was putting in, as well as what he had done in the day already, you know, took IVP or not LIVP, he took batting practice on the field early, been through a small bullpen to prepare for today, and then obviously what he did in the game. And so again I don't think you know, there's a it's not a yes, no or a black and white situation. I think you're just kind of reading like what's you know, what's the workload that he's been putting in. And I think last night and given everything that you bake in from yesterday's pregame and during the game, it just seems to make sense like, you know, let's let's focus on the pitching, because that's a tax I mean, that's obviously very taxing as it is. So I think it's more about just starts, you know, going to start to start what has been going on leading up to that that start and what maybe happened, you know, within the forty eight hours of that start. But again, I think Doc's got a really good feel and a good pulse of where show is physically, and then obviously watching what's going on in the field. I think if you know, he walks four times and he never leaves first base, you know, maybe there's a different decision and he didn't hit yesterday and stuff like that. So I think it's just trying to understand where he's at going into it, and where he's at, you know, right before it, and making sure we're in the best position possible May fifth, as well as October fifth, And I think ultimately that's you know, you're trying to have the short short term goal or the short term view and the long term view.
00:06:47
Speaker 1: Here's the one part that I can't wrap my head around. Thirty one years old, he's the greatest player on the planet, trying to be the best at pitching and hitting like he has been his entire career. But as you know, Mark, as you get over thirty, the recovery time takes a little bit longer and a lot more maintenance. How is he able to do the recovery of making a start going six seven innings and then you know, having to DH the next day or maybe even two days later. Is that something we fail to appreciate.
00:07:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean there's always like a recovery aspect that As much as we've advanced in that, I don't know if there's a true appreciation for each individual. Some thirty one year olds I feel like they're twenty five, and some feel like they're forty five. You know. I think one thing he's really a master at is, you know, what everybody's always given advice about is you know, get a lot of sleep, you know, and so I do know he values that and that's where you do recover. It's not always just like what you do. It's about allowing your body to actually recover, and that's that's probably sleeping, and so you know, I think that's where he does. He's very disciplined on that aspect of it. But as far as everything else, again, I think it's just you know, he's he's done it before, and I think he's learning how to do it at a thirty one year olds, which again it is different than being in the mid twenties. But he does take care of himself extremely well. And you know, again, we do our best to have an understanding of where he's at physically, and I think that's why you're seeing days like this where he's taking, you know, half the game off and to let him do what he's been doing on the mound, which is has been pretty remarkable on its own, and that gets kind of lost in it because everybody wants to see the offensive side. But you know, obviously pitching, he's been a huge part of what we've done so far this year.
00:08:39
Speaker 1: Mark, Before I let you go, one last question show Hail has been so good as a starting pitcher this year. Is there one pitch that impresses you the most out of his entire repertoire. Is it the sweeper? Is it the way he's adjusted his split fingered fastball? What's impressed you the most as far as one singular pitch that he's thrown.
00:09:01
Speaker 2: I don't think it's an actual pitch because I think at various times they're all you know plus plus and you know it, you know, and he has a pretty good feel of what he wants to use. I think what's been really impressive is when he's gotten into somebody's given him a you know, a pretty good battle and his ability to adjust kind of his delivery. He you know, he messes with their timing and does a little hesitation in the middle of the delivery, or he does some quick steps. It's you know, it's kind of that second third layer of the game that you know sometimes and for the majority of guys don't need or don't use. I shouldn't say they don't need it, they just don't use. But his ability to kind of tinker a little bit of just kind of pause a little bit mid delivery, mess up the hitters timing and here comes ninety you know, upper nineties, one hundred mine hour fastball, or here comes you know, a sixty nine mini hour curveball. You know. So I think that's been a pretty impressive. Thing is just playing the game as it's as it's unfolding, and we try to talk about don't go in there with such predetermined you know, concepts like listen to like watch the game, read the games. What the game is telling you is what the game needs. And I think that he's really good at that, you know, right now on the mound, is being able to make those adjustments. Those have been pretty impressive, if not comical at times, just because you don't see it very you know, very often. And when he busted it out the other day, I think those two starts ago, you're just like wow, Like it's just kind of like another It's a high level, high IQ move by him, and you know, you gets some punch outs doing it or some ground balls and gets out of situations.
00:10:36
Speaker 1: So you're saying he reads swings as the game is going on. I always heard Krushaw say that all the time, that he's reading the swings and that will tell you what direction to go in.
00:10:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he's reading swings, the dirrection direction of pitches. But I think when he gets in these battles, it's and he understands the timing as a hitter more so than any other pitcher you know who's playing right now for obvious reasons. He understands the timing component of it and if he can mess, if he can gain that edge, he's going to do it. And again, I think it's just it's a high IQ mute move and it's fun to see and we talk about it with other guys and you see other guys do it, but to be able to do it as well as pitch and hit and do all those things. You know, it's it's pretty impressive.
00:11:22
Speaker 1: Well show Heyo Tani's workload is definitely the biggest of any player. But I don't know any other coach that has more on his plate than Connor McGuinness and Mark Pryor, with all these great pitchers that they have on their staff, trying to help them maximize the best they can be. So Mark, thank you so much for the time. I know your day is very limited, so we appreciate you joining us well.
00:11:46
Speaker 2: I appreciate it. Thanks David.
00:11:48
Speaker 1: There he goes. Mark Pryor, Dodger's pitching coach, has been
Speaker 1: Well, what better way to celebrate Sinko de Mayo and show hey Otani being on the mound than checking in with the Dodgers pitching coach Mark Pryor, Mark, I hope you got some Tex Mex ready to go after the game tonight.
00:00:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, I gotta be honest, not eating a whole lot after these games. We've got a quick turnaround tomorrow, so we'll just spend the night.
00:00:22
Speaker 1: The life of a pitching coach. And before we get to Otani and what's going on with him tonight, how impressed are you, being a former pitcher, knowing what it takes to get outs at this level, to watch the way Justin Robleski is attacking the strike zone and getting out without even striking out a batter in his last start.
00:00:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty impressive what he's doing right now, and it's fun to watch. It's been fun, I think for the staff and an organization in general, just to kind of see the maturation process of Justin over the years, especially LUs you know, two three, two and a half years at the big league level, and you know, we talk about it, you know clearly, you know, strikeouts are very nice and we all love them because it's a controllable outcome, and you know when you have myths that that obviously helps, you know, take away anything that might happen. But the you know, we talk about this a lot. We talked about with Gavin Stone as well. It's like outs ultimately or what you're trying to get. So however you get them, whether they're strikeouts or their ground balls or fly balls, like outs matter. And you know what he's he's been showing up lineups and that was the challenge to him. And I think that's you know, again a lot of the credit goes to him and just his ability to you know, his confidence hasn't waivered as much as you know, I know, there's we've talked about it, what happened at the end of or the beginning of last year in Washington and what he was able to do to remake himself in Oklahoma City and they come up and be a huge role for us, you know, in the bullpen, and I think they just gave him the confidence of doing it, not just believing it, but actually doing it, having the experience in high leverage situations, and he's just kind of taking it again to this role where he knew he was coming in in an undefined role this year, and he's just kind of taken the opportunity and kicked the door down. And but he's been doing it by challenging, like you know, trying not to nibble around. He got a little you know, on the edges, a little bit more than he probably would have liked to in the Chicago game in the first couple of innings. But at the heart of it is he's going to attack, and he's going to force action and makes force that team to make some swing decisions, you know, and then hopefully the strikeouts will come. But I think teams know that he's going to be on attack, so they don't have a whole lot of time to wait and see what he's going to do. What's working. He knows he's going to throw strikes, and so he's been the beneficiarya of a lot of efficient outings and been able to go deep for us when when we needed him to go deep given some short starts or our bullpen was you know, taxed various times. So it's it's been remarkable. He's been an unbelievable competitor and it's been a lot of fun to watch on the sidelines.
00:03:06
Speaker 1: Is that the biggest thing as far as what you saw at the beginning of the year last season when he came back after making adjustments, the confidence that he exudes not only on the mound, but as he's stalking the dugout while the team is is scoring runs for him.
00:03:23
Speaker 2: Absolutely. I mean, I don't think anybody who's been around justin you know, thinks that he lacks his confidence and his abilities to get good guys out. And that's just an it thing that you know, kind of guys have. But I do think at the transition from where he was at the beginning of last year to where he came into the relievers and then now, is really understanding his foundation and what he is as a pitcher. And you know, it's it's clearly it's a four team. It's fastball, slider, heavy mix, and then you use some complimentary pieces at times. I think, you know, at various times he thought, you know, and we thought, okay, well maybe he's got all these weapons. Let's see if we can use them all and he hadn't quite mastered all of them, and it takes time to be able to master. But you know, we try to really hone in on master. These two, you know, really use these as as kind of you know, bread and butter, and then let's as we you know, as his career continues to grow and develop, you know, those other pitches will be refined to where they you know, they might get to that level. So, but it was really understanding his foundation of what that is, and it's really a big being on the offensive as the pitcher and not trying to sugarcoat anything and just really try to bully guys as best he can.
00:04:36
Speaker 1: Mark Pryor, Dodgers Pitching coach is our guest show. Hey Otani is on the mound for you tonight. Mark and Dave Roberts said after the game that he decided somewhere towards his third or fourth at bat that he was not going to have him lead off in DH. Were you part of those conversations to make that decision in the dugout? What goes into deciding, you know, what it may be best for him just to pitch tonight?
00:05:03
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, ultimately that's that's Doc's call. And he's got a really good feel for what he's seen in the moment, you know, and we're all seeing it kind of in the dugout. I mean he you know, he was running the bases, he got on base, he beat out that double play to get that one run, and then he's you know, first to third, first to home. You know, you can just see, you know, the amount of exertion that he was putting in, as well as what he had done in the day already, you know, took IVP or not LIVP, he took batting practice on the field early, been through a small bullpen to prepare for today, and then obviously what he did in the game. And so again I don't think you know, there's a it's not a yes, no or a black and white situation. I think you're just kind of reading like what's you know, what's the workload that he's been putting in. And I think last night and given everything that you bake in from yesterday's pregame and during the game, it just seems to make sense like, you know, let's let's focus on the pitching, because that's a tax I mean, that's obviously very taxing as it is. So I think it's more about just starts, you know, going to start to start what has been going on leading up to that that start and what maybe happened, you know, within the forty eight hours of that start. But again, I think Doc's got a really good feel and a good pulse of where show is physically, and then obviously watching what's going on in the field. I think if you know, he walks four times and he never leaves first base, you know, maybe there's a different decision and he didn't hit yesterday and stuff like that. So I think it's just trying to understand where he's at going into it, and where he's at, you know, right before it, and making sure we're in the best position possible May fifth, as well as October fifth, And I think ultimately that's you know, you're trying to have the short short term goal or the short term view and the long term view.
00:06:47
Speaker 1: Here's the one part that I can't wrap my head around. Thirty one years old, he's the greatest player on the planet, trying to be the best at pitching and hitting like he has been his entire career. But as you know, Mark, as you get over thirty, the recovery time takes a little bit longer and a lot more maintenance. How is he able to do the recovery of making a start going six seven innings and then you know, having to DH the next day or maybe even two days later. Is that something we fail to appreciate.
00:07:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean there's always like a recovery aspect that As much as we've advanced in that, I don't know if there's a true appreciation for each individual. Some thirty one year olds I feel like they're twenty five, and some feel like they're forty five. You know. I think one thing he's really a master at is, you know, what everybody's always given advice about is you know, get a lot of sleep, you know, and so I do know he values that and that's where you do recover. It's not always just like what you do. It's about allowing your body to actually recover, and that's that's probably sleeping, and so you know, I think that's where he does. He's very disciplined on that aspect of it. But as far as everything else, again, I think it's just you know, he's he's done it before, and I think he's learning how to do it at a thirty one year olds, which again it is different than being in the mid twenties. But he does take care of himself extremely well. And you know, again, we do our best to have an understanding of where he's at physically, and I think that's why you're seeing days like this where he's taking, you know, half the game off and to let him do what he's been doing on the mound, which is has been pretty remarkable on its own, and that gets kind of lost in it because everybody wants to see the offensive side. But you know, obviously pitching, he's been a huge part of what we've done so far this year.
00:08:39
Speaker 1: Mark, Before I let you go, one last question show Hail has been so good as a starting pitcher this year. Is there one pitch that impresses you the most out of his entire repertoire. Is it the sweeper? Is it the way he's adjusted his split fingered fastball? What's impressed you the most as far as one singular pitch that he's thrown.
00:09:01
Speaker 2: I don't think it's an actual pitch because I think at various times they're all you know plus plus and you know it, you know, and he has a pretty good feel of what he wants to use. I think what's been really impressive is when he's gotten into somebody's given him a you know, a pretty good battle and his ability to adjust kind of his delivery. He you know, he messes with their timing and does a little hesitation in the middle of the delivery, or he does some quick steps. It's you know, it's kind of that second third layer of the game that you know sometimes and for the majority of guys don't need or don't use. I shouldn't say they don't need it, they just don't use. But his ability to kind of tinker a little bit of just kind of pause a little bit mid delivery, mess up the hitters timing and here comes ninety you know, upper nineties, one hundred mine hour fastball, or here comes you know, a sixty nine mini hour curveball. You know. So I think that's been a pretty impressive. Thing is just playing the game as it's as it's unfolding, and we try to talk about don't go in there with such predetermined you know, concepts like listen to like watch the game, read the games. What the game is telling you is what the game needs. And I think that he's really good at that, you know, right now on the mound, is being able to make those adjustments. Those have been pretty impressive, if not comical at times, just because you don't see it very you know, very often. And when he busted it out the other day, I think those two starts ago, you're just like wow, Like it's just kind of like another It's a high level, high IQ move by him, and you know, you gets some punch outs doing it or some ground balls and gets out of situations.
00:10:36
Speaker 1: So you're saying he reads swings as the game is going on. I always heard Krushaw say that all the time, that he's reading the swings and that will tell you what direction to go in.
00:10:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he's reading swings, the dirrection direction of pitches. But I think when he gets in these battles, it's and he understands the timing as a hitter more so than any other pitcher you know who's playing right now for obvious reasons. He understands the timing component of it and if he can mess, if he can gain that edge, he's going to do it. And again, I think it's just it's a high IQ mute move and it's fun to see and we talk about it with other guys and you see other guys do it, but to be able to do it as well as pitch and hit and do all those things. You know, it's it's pretty impressive.
00:11:22
Speaker 1: Well show Heyo Tani's workload is definitely the biggest of any player. But I don't know any other coach that has more on his plate than Connor McGuinness and Mark Pryor, with all these great pitchers that they have on their staff, trying to help them maximize the best they can be. So Mark, thank you so much for the time. I know your day is very limited, so we appreciate you joining us well.
00:11:46
Speaker 2: I appreciate it. Thanks David.
00:11:48
Speaker 1: There he goes. Mark Pryor, Dodger's pitching coach, has been
