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NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 3, 2018

Dave Roberts

Los Angeles, California - Workout Day

Q. What was behind the decision for Ryu for Game 1 and Kershaw for Game 2?
DAVE ROBERTS: It was more of just trying to appreciate that both games have equal importance, and what we can do to put both pitchers in the best position to succeed. And so when you look at it and giving each guy one extra day of rest as opposed to Hyun-Jin, and Clayton on regular rest. And then you look at Game 3, Walker, on an extra day, made more sense to us.

Q. Typically Game 1 is a statement game when you name a starter. Was that a difficult conversation to have with Clayton that he wasn't the Game 1 starter?
DAVE ROBERTS: It was just trying to have a conversation and tell him our thoughts. Obviously Game 1 is important, but so is Game 2. So I think it just boils down to we felt giving each guy the extra day kind of was the most important thing.

Q. Hyun-Jin is slightly better with two extra days of rest. So was it more thinking that Clayton would benefit from getting the extra day than keeping Hyun-Jin?
DAVE ROBERTS: It's both because you're talking about slightly better, two extra days. I think we feel comfortable with the one extra day for both players.

Q. How did Kershaw take the news?
DAVE ROBERTS: Clayton's been very good with accepting whatever we ask of him, and so, you know, whether it's -- you know, whatever situation. So he -- obviously he wanted to pitch Game 1 and expected to, but after talking to him and explaining our thoughts, he accepted it and he just said he'll be ready to go for the second game.

Q. I've read somewhere that part of your thinking was that he would also be available --
DAVE ROBERTS: Sure.

Q. -- in Game 5.
DAVE ROBERTS: Absolutely.

Q. How committed -- if this does go Game 5, how locked in are you guys with Kershaw in that 5th game, or is it still kind of an open question who pitches that game?
DAVE ROBERTS: Well, everything is going to be on the table at that point in time, but the only thing that's guaranteed is the first three games. So if we get to that point, then we'll have a discussion. But I think that, like I said, what gives us the best chance in these first three games that are guaranteed, that's our decision.

Q. You've been playing with 40 guys for a couple of weeks. How difficult will it be to pare it back down to 25 and how close are you to making that decision?
DAVE ROBERTS: Very difficult. It's kind of coming to a head now where you have a lot of good players that you can kind of match up and now when you gotta pare it down to 25, this is where the conversations are really debated, and there's going to be some difficult conversations. So to your question, we're pretty close. I would say that 22, 23 guys are pretty much locked in, and there's a couple -- two or three guys that we gotta kind of figure out.

Q. Dave, you had mentioned that you wanted to have a chat with Kenley before the playoffs started. Also where is the confidence level about Kenley being the guy that you know going into these playoffs?
DAVE ROBERTS: My confidence level is high, and my expectation for him to pitch well in this big series is the same, as it has been the last three years. He's shown to perform on this stage, in this environment. And that's what I'm going to pull from, his teammates are going to pull from, and I'm going to encourage him to pull from. So I know that Kenley is a very confident player, so I don't think that it's a concern of his, and it's not mine either. But I think to your question, yeah, I'm going to talk to him and just confirm that he's in a good head space, which I expect he is.

Q. And also, I know the games will dictate this, but in terms of workload, are you comfortable with him handling a sort of similar workload to last October if you need him to?
DAVE ROBERTS: I would say that was pretty intense last year. I would take the under on the workload compared to last year. But like you said, every game is going to dictate. But I do like the guys that we have around him in the pen. But to see him try to do what he did last year, unlikely.

Q. I know Game 1, Game 2, right, I mean it's mostly cosmetic in some ways?
DAVE ROBERTS: That's right.

Q. Both at home.
DAVE ROBERTS: Agreed.

Q. Now, that said, the title, Game 1 starter, does have some kind of symbolic meaning, I think. Kershaw is obviously a very proud guy who's accomplished a lot over the past decade. Was there any reluctance on your part about maybe going through with this just because it might cause some type of disruption?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think the thing is it's always easy to have Clayton on regular or have Clayton go 120 pitches or 125 pitches, because he's Clayton Kershaw. And he's earned it. And he's the best pitcher we have, and he's shown it throughout his entire career.

The more responsible thing to the team and the organization is to do what's right for the player and the team. And so it's not always popular, but it's something that we thought through a lot, and the decisions that I made throughout the year and the decisions we make on the roster reflect that. So regardless of how it plays out, we feel that this gives us the best chance to win in the first two games.

Q. You have Hyun-Jin pitching for Game 1, what makes him difference for him this year as opposed to last year?
DAVE ROBERTS: Well, Hyun-Jin is healthy right now. He started out this year very well. We've talked about Hyun-Jin's ability to have many weapons, to get left-handed hitters out, right-handed hitters out. He's been very consistent this year. Had a hiccup with the groin injury, but came back and has really thrown the ball well. So that all goes to him and his hard work. He's in as good of shape as I've ever seen him, and so this is just the next progression, and he's ready for this moment.

Q. What do you think has allowed Pedro Baez to be so effective over the last six or seven weeks?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, it's been quite some time. I think there's a continued desire to work on some things mechanically. I think that he and Mark Prior, he and Honey have a great relationship and those guys have instilled a lot of confidence in Pedro, his teammates have. We've given him some opportunities and he's performed. So I think that it hasn't been an easy road for him; you look at the last calendar year. But where he was at last year and where he's at now, on a playoff roster, that's exciting for him and all the credit goes to him. So confidence. There's an execution component, and just a desire to continue to perform.

Q. Typically when you're talking about an eight-man bullpen, but potentially you could be carrying several multi-inning relievers who end the year as a starting pitcher as opposed to specialist. Does that change the mindset^ as you go through this process in choosing a 25-man roster?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, because you're being -- looking at a short series. You're looking at two games and an off day, then two games, another off day. So they have a certain tendency on who -- guys they hit for, they don't hit for. So we've kind of dug into potential matchups and what plays for our guys and what are favorable matchups. So we haven't decided on seven or eight guys in the pen. But there's a lot of difficult decisions. So that's what's kind of taking so long. But we have guys that can get lefties out, righties out, guys that can get some length. So we have a lot of different options, but J.P. and I haven't figured out exactly which direction we want to kind of settle on.

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