NL DIVISION SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS DODGERS

October 7, 2023

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. I know we've talked a lot about Clayton Kershaw of late and what his time out on the mound has looked like. Does he have somewhat of a plan for today, or is everything changed now that it is the postseason?

DAVE ROBERTS: I don't know if it's changed as far as how I'm going to use him. I think that obviously how he's throwing the baseball certainly matters most.

It's been kind of right around the 70- to 80-pitch mark the last, call it, six outings. I think he's been in the sixth inning once, that last outing in San Francisco.

But I'll watch the game. I'll talk to Mark, see how Clayton's feeling throwing the baseball, and go from there, appreciating the fact that we've got a stable full of rested arms that we can deploy at any point in time.

Q. What went into the decision of Wong over Rosario?

DAVE ROBERTS: It was a tough one. It was more driven by the fact that we have Kike and CT that are versatile players from the right side and having Amed, without a left-handed starter going for them, little redundant.

And so to have a left-handed bat in Kolten, who you could have come out of some hitting situations, to come out of it with him on the bench we felt was a lot of value.

Q. I imagine some of the bulk guys, Lance and Ryan thrown the last couple of days, what about Emmet? Is he available these first couple of games, and how do you plan on using him --

DAVE ROBERTS: He's available the next couple of games. I see him as a neutral guy. Yeah, he's available just like everyone else.

Obviously Pepiot threw yesterday. Lance threw the day before. So they won't pitch in Game 1 or Game 2. But, yeah, to your question, Emmet is available.

Q. With Clayton, when you talk about sort of watching how he pitches, how the baseball's coming out, are there keys that you look for him, whether it's command, the depth of slider, what are you looking for?

DAVE ROBERTS: The latter first. The depth of slider. I think that's been his money maker throughout his great career. He just has a pitch that it looks the same. It looks like a fastball. And when his slider is late and depthy it's hard to barrel it.

When that's going well that bodes well for us and Clayton.

The other part is the fastball command. He doesn't walk many guys. When he's commanding the baseball, then we're in a good spot.

I think for me it's not about the velocity. I think that if his ball's doing what it's supposed to do, a couple miles an hour doesn't really matter. So to your question, it's the slider and the fastball command.

Q. How did you feel about his ability to produce that in his last few starts?

DAVE ROBERTS: Really good, really good. I would say that this is as good as he's felt physically in the last couple of months. I think that there's maybe five starts ago, four starts ago, it was a little rocky as far as the command. But we weathered that, and I think right now he's in a good spot.

Q. In September, Mookie kind of had a cooler month than he did in August. And it seemed like the last week or so of the season he was kind of searching for that feel again. Have you seen any signs of him regaining that feel during these five days?

DAVE ROBERTS: He's got it back. Over the simulated games, I thought he swung the bat much better. And I think it's a classic case of you're not as far off as you think you are.

And in August he was unbelievable and there were a couple of games there in September that he just didn't feel locked in. And then you start trying to go down this rabbit hole a little bit.

And talking to our hitting guys and hitting department and kind of doing a little minimal soul searching realized that he's not that far off. And that mindset kind of helped him and went into this past week.

He's in a really good place. I think we should expect good things from Mookie this series.

Q. You have five rookies on the roster, Outman and the four pitchers. Emmet Sheehan was out there on the mound today when almost no one was out there, just sort of visualizing. What have you talked with those rookies about, about how they experience their first playoff experience?

DAVE ROBERTS: Well, he took a page out of Clayton's book. That's a good one. Good mentor.

So I think for me, which I've told the entire team, is that the butterflies that I'm starting to get right now, that I'm sure everyone's going to get is a good thing.

So there's no Rockne speech or anything like that that I'm going to give these guys. I just want them to enjoy the moment.

These guys are ready. Just watching baseball today there's young guys out there. So I think it is helpful that you look around the clubhouse and there's a lot of guys that have the same service time.

And you also have veterans like Jason and Peralta and Rojas that are kind of just as encouraging as you can get. So I don't expect that to kind of affect performance.

Q. With the Diamondbacks potentially starting all right-handers the whole series, do you have to kind of mix in those other righties, Kike, Taylor, those kind of guys throughout the series?

DAVE ROBERTS: I'm not going to force it. I think that they have got their at-bats versus lefties this week. And if they deploy those guys, those lefties, then if the situation calls for me hitting for Peralta or Heyward, I'll do that. If it doesn't, I won't.

But, yeah, getting them involved at some point, I expect they're going to be in there anyway.

Q. Clayton this week talked about even him not knowing when he came back from the IL if he was going to be able to make it at this point. How much of uncertainty was his status at times these last couple of months? And how much (indiscernible) at this state right now?

DAVE ROBERTS: I feel as good, I think, speaking for Clayton as well, we feel as good as we felt in the last couple of months. There was a point where I didn't think that we would be in this situation, this position. And so a lot of people get a lot of credit.

But I think mostly Clayton because to be able to kind of take a step back and let the process happen, I think he bought into that and allowed for that to happen to put him in this position.

So I'm very fortunate. I think he feels very good about it. And it's also a good feeling that he's healthy. And so it's not like we are just kind of limping to this position where I can honestly say, this is as good as he's felt in the last couple of months.

Q. Seeing that you've done this every year now for eight straight years, has your approach to the postseason changed at all in that time?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think so. I think I've been guilty of not appreciating the rhythm of the game in the postseason and trying to essentially err a little bit on being proactive instead of being reactive, which I don't apologize for that.

But I think that getting to know your players more and just -- not saying you don't trust the player but trusting certain players, and also you can speak to trust who you have coming into games and more specifically to the pitching side.

So I think I'm more, maybe a little bit less proactive maybe than I have been in the past. But, again, all the decisions that I've made, some have gone well. Some haven't, the results. And I've got to live with that. But I still believe that I'm trying to get better every year and put our players in the best spots to perform.

Q. Will Smith banging the 3 hole. He's going to catching a handful of rookies. They're a very aggressive base-running team, had a lot of success against Kelly and Gallen. How important is he to your team's success this series?

DAVE ROBERTS: Will is an important piece. He's a catcher. He's the quarterback. He's hitting third. He'll be in the middle of things with the lineup.

I see him trending in a really good way in the batter's box. I love the way he's swinging the bat right now.

I think Will, one of his super powers is a calming presence. And I think that he's done a much better job the last couple of years taking initiative of the pitchers, young or old. So I feel good about him kind of navigating those guys.

And I just trust him. So August or September -- August and September wasn't ideal in the box, but he's been a stalwart behind the base and he's a big reason why we've prevented runs this year.

Q. Based on what he finished the season, how much do you think he's just looking forward to starting the postseason, fresh start, getting back to where he was before that injury?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think everyone is. I don't think that it's specific to Will Smith who struggled late. I think that everyone's kind of just looking forward to starting anew and where you're just playing to win a baseball game for your team where the stats don't matter.

Whether you're Mookie or Freddie, who has had arguably tremendous years and MVP seasons, to guys that haven't, to Miguel Rojas, who didn't have a great offensive season. They're just ready to kind of help us win baseball games.

Q. Kersh questions. Do you have a pitch count on him, even though he's basically built himself up a little bit here?

DAVE ROBERTS: I mean, yeah, I mean I can't see him going more than 85 pitches. But I think that playoff pitches, the stress, what his stuff is doing, I think that matters more than a hard pitch count.

So I don't really have a hard pitch count, but I think that 75 to 85, I think that is fair for me kind of as a guideline.

Q. Going back to, I think, now the 2018 World Series against Boston, seems like we keep talking about this could be Clayton's last game at Dodger Stadium. It's happened so many times already. Has it gotten a little comical, or is it something that you look at and you appreciate every time he's on the mound?

DAVE ROBERTS: I appreciate every time he's on the mound. I think that it's a real struggle for him to decide if he feels physically enough to perform the way of his own expectations.

I think that family, certainly where he's at, matters more than anything. And so it's a real struggle for him every, call it, December when he signs that contract. So I think him and Ellen are going to hunker down and try to figure it out again.

So for me, I do think that I understand that it could be his last start here, given how the playoffs could go, and so I don't take it for granted. I'm just very grateful to wear the same uniform with him and I don't ever take that for granted.

Q. I think it's 43 strikeouts away from 3,000 and obviously his position on the Dodger all-time win list, do you think that will be an added incentive for him to come back?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's part of the math, if I'm being honest. But I think it's a small part of it. I think it would have been perfect if we would have checked that box, but we didn't right now. So but I don't think that will tip the scale in my opinion.