NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 12, 2022

Will Smith

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 2 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Like to open it up for questions for Will Smith.

Q. Will, you guys have been using the PitchCom device all season long. I know some of your pitchers have voiced some concern that as you got into the postseason, it may be difficult to hear, especially in hostile environments. Was there any issues last night, or do you guys have a backup plan in case that becomes an issue?

WILL SMITH: Yeah, there were no issues last night. The pitchers could hear. I just adjust my volume based on the crowd noise.

So, yeah, it worked well last night.

Q. Do you have a backup plan in case the pitcher can't hear it?

WILL SMITH: Yeah, we do. We have one in place.

Q. Fingers?

WILL SMITH: Uh-huh.

Q. Will, you played a little more this year than last year, and I know DH starts were a part of that. Did that take any sort of physical toll on you, and did you do anything differently to sort of prepare for that or deal with that?

WILL SMITH: No. I think last year I found a really good routine that works for me. It keeps me as fresh as I can be. I stuck with that this year.

So right now my body feels good, feels strong, and ready for some more baseball here in the postseason.

Q. When you get rest in between, like, times catching, usually some teams give a full day off, but you're DH'ing a lot of those games. Do you still find you get the available sort of rest you need in those cases?

WILL SMITH: Yeah, for sure. I think more importantly, it just keeps my bat in the lineup and keeps my timing and all that in check. Gets me a few more at-bats throughout the year.

Q. Will, I know the Padres want to think that the lineup has changed a lot. There have been a lot of different faces and everything, but from a guy that's actually trying to work through that lineup over the last couple of years, how much of a difference do you see in the lineup now versus what Padres had earlier in the season and/or last year?

WILL SMITH: Definitely new faces, but it's a lot of the same guys. It's -- they're good hitters. They're a good lineup. They come with an approach every day.

So you have to kind of figure that out on the fly, but we come with a good plan. We attack their weaknesses with our strengths and go about it that way.

Q. Will, with the success that the bullpen is having, what's it been like behind the plate catching those guys, working with those guys?

WILL SMITH: You know, it's been awesome. Senior guys have really developed into elite arms. Overall, they do a really good job. They shut down innings. They get out of jams. They're special guys. It's fun to be a part of it and catch them.

Q. How much do some of the younger guys pick the brains of the Clayton Kershaws and that type of stuff? Does a lot of that go on? How much of it is just the game-planning that you guys do with your analytics department? What is sort of the balance between that?

WILL SMITH: Yeah, they definitely talk to older guys. There's always conversations going on with pitching, with hitting, with everything. You know, that's just our clubhouse.

I think we have a really good system in place that kind of fine-tunes and develops their pitches and makes them a little better. We find out what plays in a game. That just promotes confidence in them, and we set them up for success.

Q. Also, you have some great hitters in your clubhouse as well. How much interaction goes on in between your hitters and pitchers in terms of them learning from each other, what they're looking for in certain situations or how they might work each other? Is there much of that type of back-and-forth as well?

WILL SMITH: There's conversations that go on. You talk more like situational stuff and how the pitcher might attack a hitter or what a hitter's approach might be in a certain situation. There's definitely communication going on and just kind of picking each other's brains.