Michael Duarte | NBC LA Reporter

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That's BetterHelpHELP.com slash positive. The PBP, Voices of Baseball, is a podcast about the art and craft of play-by-play, and we're in the middle of an amazing season. Catch up on episodes with Joe Buck, Joe Davis, Pat Hughes, and more, and learn along with me, Matt Spiegel, how the job is done. It's not just home run Bryce Harper and the Phillies lead.

To really do it justice, you gotta widen the lens. What does this home run mean? The PBP, Voices of Baseball, I bring you the people who bring you the game. Listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Michael Duarte from NBC LA who joins us here on the show. Michael, it's always good to hear your voice. How are you?

It's always good to hear you too, Amy. Us night owls, you know, when we have to wake up early, like you said, those first world problems. It's like when I have to cover a 9 a.m. day game on the road or something covering the Dodgers. I get that feeling.

I get your pain on that. Why do you sound like you're in the next room? I'm not sure. I plugged in a microphone to try to call to do this over a microphone, so hopefully I would sound better than when we do this over the telephone. It sounds like you're in the next studio. Oh, interesting. Yeah, so when your listener's listening live or tomorrow, maybe I'll come in more clearly than normal.

Oh, you definitely do. That's impressive. Are you at home? Yeah, I'm at home and I get no cell phone service here, so I got to do this over wi-fi, so I'm calling the studio over wi-fi and I was like, hey, I have this brand new microphone. Let's plug it in and test it out.

Oh, you need to send me the specs of that microphone because I've been needing to buy one myself to plug into my laptop and yours is giving us the type of quality sound that sounds as though you're in the studio. It's awesome. Done. I will send it to you. Thank you. I got it on Amazon.

So you'll love it. Nice. Michael Duarte is an NBC Sports LA insider and also an LA native, and he is our go-to for all things Los Angeles sports. Right now, the Dodgers, yet again, are lighting it up. Nine consecutive wins. When did they hit this group? How did they start to surge, Mike? Yeah, I'm glad you phrased that question exactly as you did.

So a couple things. First, the last time I came on the show, I think it was like right around the all-star break, right before the all-star break. I told you of any team in the NOS that you'd want to be coming out of that all-star break, it would be the Dodgers. It was the strength of schedule that was a little bit lighter for them. They were getting healthy again. And I just felt like some teams like the Diamondbacks and Giants, they just wouldn't be able to keep up the pace.

And obviously they're kind of dropping like flies here. But the moment that you speak of July 21st, it was an off day for the Dodgers. They were in Dallas, Texas. They were going to play the Rangers the following day. And Max Muncy decided to have a two-year-old birthday party for his two-year-old daughter, Sophia. And he wanted his whole team in attendance. Even Corey Seeger, former Dodgers now on the Rangers, showed up for this party. And it was a two-year-old birthday party complete with cupcakes and princesses and everything you could imagine.

But every single player on the Dodgers showed up. They bonded over this moment. Many players have told me privately that was just a very connecting moment because it wasn't just for them as players, like when they're on the bus or when they're on the planes and the flights and the road trips. It was their whole families together for this. They pointed to that that day as just a kind of changing thing where they all kind of came together and had that camaraderie. And then also, I can tell you, that was the moment the Freddie dance celebration was born. They were all laughing at Freddie Freeman's dance from the Dodgers gala that Usher performed at a little bit recently.

And they were making fun of his dance there at the little girl's birthday party, the two-year-old birthday party. And they decided that if Freddie was to hit a double or whatever, he would do the dance. And sure enough, the next day he had the first extra base hit. He had a double.

He did the dance. And the rest is history. So that was a moment where they kind of came together. But now they've won 13 to 14, nine straight, like you said. Clayton Kershaw is back.

That was a guy we talked about last time about when he would come back. That would help bolster the starting rotation. This bullpen and starting pitching staff had one of the worst stretches in July that we've ever seen. But they've just completely turned it around in August.

You look at some of these trade deadline moves that Andrew Freeman made addressing the holes. Lance Lin addressed the fact that they only had, you know, last time we talked, we were talking about they had no starting pitching. Nobody from the original opening day starting rotation had not been hurt throughout the season.

So Lance Lin is a guy that can come out there, go deep in games. He's been pitching well. He's 3-0 since he came to the Dodgers. They addressed another weakness, and that was their ability to hit against left-handed pitching. They had an old friend in Kike Hernandez, who's just completely turned his season around.

He told me also privately, Amy, he didn't know how badly he needed to hear the roar of the Dodgers stadium crowd again to get him going. He's a guy that needs the juices flowing to be able to perform and play high at a high level, and he's getting that. And then Ahmed Rosario, another guy that just mashes against left-handed pitching.

He's been very successful. And then another under-the-radar kind of move. Obviously, they got Joe Kelly, another former Dodger, but they got Ryan Yarbrough. That was a guy that they played against when he was on the raise in the World Series in 2020, but he's been quietly unhittable out of the bullpen, and he pitched a three-inning save today, the first of his career. So these are the reasons, but that July 21st birthday party for Max Muncy's two-year-old daughter is when they told me.

Everything kind of changed from there. Interesting what can make a difference, especially for a veteran group of guys who certainly have all the experience and the ability. It just wasn't clicking and then getting healthy, critical too.

Bobby Miller has another win for the Dodgers tonight. How would you describe his contribution to this rotation when they desperately needed it? Yeah, obviously he was part of that group of rookies that we had talked about last time, him and Emmett Sheehan. Michael Grove is another guy that they needed to go call upon that depth in the minor leagues because guys in the opening day rotation went down and they needed them to step up.

But the difference here is you don't hear the name Michael Grove and Emmett Sheehan anymore. Those guys are back in AAA Oklahoma City. The one guy that has proven that he has the staying power and maybe that big league stuff is Bobby Miller. One thing that impressed me about his start today, obviously a one-hitter over six innings really just got jumped on the first pitch of the game seeking a fastball, but he was still touching 100-100-1 in that sixth inning.

That's stuff that like Justin Verlander used to do. You start pumping in triple digits to start the game, that kind of heat, but then he could come back and do it in the seventh inning and to see Bobby Miller still touch triple digits late in that game in the sixth inning, that was really impressive to see. He's had a little bit of a roller coaster debut here in his rookie season. Obviously he came out of the gates facing the Yankees and the Braves and the Giants, you know, big games for the Dodgers and he performed well at that level. But then he kind of started to get beat up a little bit. He proved he could be rocky. He proved he could kind of be unraveled if you got him nervous or if you got him upset a little bit.

He seemed to calm down. He told me tonight after the game that the key to his success is getting the first batter of every inning out. And in order to do that, he needs to throw first pitch strikes.

And he says, when I can get the first batter of the inning out, it kind of calms me down and I'm able to get through it. So this is a guy that I think the Dodgers are going to rely upon heavily here. And I also think, as we talked about the last time on your show, Walker Bueller, who just faced hitters for the first time last week, he's getting closer and closer to a return. I would say by the end of this month, you might see him out on a rehab assignment of his choosing.

And then he could join the team sometime first week, middle of September. That's going to be a guy that's not going to be all the way ramped up to like five, six innings. But if he can give you three, four innings on top of a three, four or five innings from Bobby Miller, that's a game right there. That's 27 outs. And those are two guys who are very similar in their approach, very similar in high speed velocity fastballs.

So that could be a piggyback situation that we could look for once Walker Bueller gets healthy. Michael Duarte from NBC LA. After the Dodgers win their ninth straight and now are running away with the NOS, as he points out, the rest of the division has really taken a step back, if not flat out collapsed.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. The Dodgers have these two incredible athletes and incredible MVPs, both of them at the top of their lineup with Mookie and with Freddie Freeman. If you had to make a case for Freddie as MVP right now, how would you do it, Mike?

Yeah, that's a really tough question. And you know, it's interesting because we thought Ronald Acuna Jr. was going to run away with this MVP race on the Braves. And now it seems Matt Olsen has kind of said something about that, leading the entire league in home runs. So you have two potential MVP candidates on the Braves and you have two on the Dodgers and Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. But I think what I would say with Freddie Freeman is I think he's going to end up leading the league in doubles and end up breaking the Dodgers franchise record in doubles this season. His batting average is another claim that you could say could put him in the MVP category, but his defense as well also. Now, I know Acuna's got the stolen bases. Freddie is not as fleet as foot as Ronald Acuna Jr. is, but he's got some stolen bases this year as well.

So to me, it's just kind of impact on the team. And when the entire team celebrates big hits, RBIs, extra base hits, home runs by doing the Freddie dance, I think that just tells you how valuable he is to this team and how consistent he has been and how he's been able to take some of the younger guys like James Altman, who's also maybe making a case for Rookie of the Year in the National League, how he's taken those guys under their wing and made them better major league players. Mookie is such a great personality. He's had some pretty impressive moments.

The long ball especially has been an advantage and a weapon for him this year, but that's not why I'm bringing him up. Did you hear him tell the story of a fan who named his daughter partly after Mookie and keeping your promise? Yes, yes. If you didn't bring it up, I would have brought it up on the show.

Tell us the story. Yeah, so I was unaware of it in real time, even though I was there, but it wasn't until Mookie brought it up on his social media, and I'm glad that he did, that we got to hear this story. So I'm trying to remember the date, but a couple of weeks back, Mookie was in the on deck circle and he was talking to a fan and the fan said, you know, you're my favorite player and my wife is pregnant. And if you hit a home run right now, I'm going to name my daughter after you. And Mookie was saying, even if I do hit a home run, don't do that.

Don't do that. And he's like, why? And he's like, trust me, I'm married. You happy wife, happy life.

You don't want to name it. You don't want to have your wife be upset with you by naming your daughter after me. And he's like, hold on, let me get her on the phone.

So he gets her on the phone and selling her on the phone. I'm making a bet with Mookie that if he hits a home run here, then we're going to name the middle name of the daughter after after Mookie bets. And so Mookie goes up in the batter's box and he hits the longest home run as a Dodger, just crushes.

It was like 480 feet or something like that. Unbelievable shot. And then he is around the bases. He points to the fan.

He goes and gives them a fist bump. And I don't think he ever thought it was going to happen. But sure enough, the fans name Giuseppe Mancuso, he he posted on his social media and tagged Mookie and said a bet is a bet. And he posted the birth certificate in which his daughter's name is now Francesca Francesca Mookie Mancuso.

Oh, my God. And so Betts made sure on his social media today to shout that guy out. And he said, that's going to be my girl, Francesca, because she's got the middle name of Mookie. So that's pretty cool that Mookie does that. And I don't know the fan. Obviously, he had great seats to be able to make this bet.

But it's pretty interesting what they do. You know, there's another famous bet that happened in the exact same place at Dodger Stadium. And that was the bet with Manny Machado and his entire 300 million contract that the Padres would win the World Series before the Dodgers.

I don't think he's paid that up. Michael Duarte is with us from L.A. here on CBS Sports Radio. And the Dodgers are a lot of fun right now. We'll see how it works the rest of the way. But be careful thinking back to the beginning of the season. Those of you who are so quick to bury them because they have staying power for a lot of reasons, the wisdom, the experience, but also the talent. I mean, they may not have spent a ton of money in the offseason, but they certainly have spent money on the lineup and they are no slouches. Mike, we're asking our listeners on this edition of the show to fill in the blank about the upcoming NFL season. The season will be a success if what? How would you fill in the blank for the Rams? So we're just talking about the Rams here? Well, you can talk about any team, but since you cover the Rams, I'm asking you about the Rams right now. Yeah, so to fill in the blank as if we were the Rams, for the season to be a success for the Rams, I think they just get into the postseason.

I know internally talking with Lesney, Sean McVay, that's not necessarily the goal. They're looking at potentially next season, 2024, with a younger talented roster they can build around and potentially more flexibility and cap space depending on what the Matthew Stafford situation is. But I think this team, if they can stay healthy, as we've said, if the offensive line can stay healthy, has a fringe chance at a wildcard spot. And if they can get there, I think that's a very successful season for them after the horrific season they had last season after winning the Super Bowl. I believe it was the worst follow-up season for a Super Bowl champion in NFL history. So to follow that up with a better than 500 season and a potential NFC wildcard, I think that's a success for the Rams this year. Is there another team that you would like to highlight? Would you like to fill in the blank about the Chargers?

Yeah, that was the next one I was going to go for. For the Chargers now, a successful season is not just going to the playoffs. It's actually winning a playoff game. And I think for them, if they could reach the AFC championship game, that would be a success for them, not necessarily to win the Super Bowl. But this team needs to show that they can make that next step.

Obviously they extended Justin Herbert, so he's the quarterback of the future and they're building around him. And now they need to prove that they can not only get to the playoffs and not have the biggest collapse in playoff history, but they can win those games and make a run. And that's what the Chargers need to prove here.

And after they just played the Rams in that first preseason game, even though it's meaningless and the Rams and Sean McVay, they never play the starters. The Chargers did make a little bit of a statement there with that 34-17 victory. What tells you now about the Chargers that, other than extending Justin Herbert, that they can put it together and change the culture, change the narrative around this team the way it's been for so many years? Regardless of quarterback, regardless of coach, they seem to find new ways to lose in the worst possible scenarios and they did it again in the playoffs. So what might convince you that they have or can turn a corner?

Yeah, you're not wrong. I think one of the biggest things was Austin Eckler was unhappy there and they did everything they could to hold on to him. I think that was a very, very important move.

They addressed some other issues. Obviously, they have a new offensive coordinator in place. Kellen Moore, I think they believe, is a guy that can help them not have the kind of collapse that you saw in that wildcard game to the Jaguars. Credit to the Jaguars, though, that was a great comeback and what they did. But I think they're hoping Kellen Moore can do wonders for Justin Herbert, the same as he did for Dak Prescott in Dallas. And so for them, I think that is the big move.

It wasn't even necessarily people on the field. I think it's getting the right coaches and pieces around Justin Herbert to make him as successful as he possibly can be. And I think they really believe Kellen Moore is that guy. But if they had lost Austin Eckler, if he was unhappy and they traded him or got rid of him, I think that would be terrible for this Chargers team. So to keep them, keep kind of the core intact and get Justin Herbert some help, both on the offensive line and also in the coaching booth, I think is what's going to pay dividends for this Chargers team. Unfortunately, they just happen to be in a division with the Kansas City Chiefs.

That's the tough thing for them is they got to have to beat that team. I'm just throwing this at you before I let you go. What's your reaction to what's happening with the Pac-12, considering that you're in LA? We know UCLA and USC are leaving, but now it seems like the whole entire conference may break up.

I mean, do you have a reaction to that? We were talking about how the NFC West just completely dropped off here after the All-Star break. That Pac-12 dissolved faster than that. And so, you know, my initial reaction was there needed to be something happening once USC and UCLA left. The Pac-12 did everything they can, including suing UCLA to try to, and the boosters and other people were suing UCLA to try to get them to stay. Once that was resolved in the courts and UCLA was free to join the Big Ten with USC, I think that the Pac-12 dragged their feet. Obviously, they brought in a new commissioner. He was trying to negotiate this TV deal, but to not have that in stone, to not have a backup plan, I know they tried to add San Diego State and then that fell apart at the last second.

Now that looks like a bad move. I mean, I'm not surprised now knowing what happened, but I think the Pac-12 and the new Pac-12 commissioner completely bungled this because once UCLA and USC left and you had plenty of time to go get their replacements and then go get a TV deal and keep everybody else intact. There were rumors that some of these teams like Oregon and Washington would be interested in leaving, but they didn't entertain it until way after the season until it just, this TV deal was what, everything fell apart.

My sources told me they went into the meeting trying to talk about streaming and how Apple could come into play and it was all based on subscriptions and people buying this Pac-12 package. It wasn't like what the other conferences were offering, which is, you know, here's our own network or here's ESPN and Fox Sports coming and here's all the money on the table. It was a lot of what ifs and hypotheticals and based on subscription models and things for what those schools were going to get paid and once they saw that, they all bolted as fast as they could and I just feel bad for the remaining four or five teams that are that are still there because I don't know what happens now moving forward with this division. Either they get up to eight teams and they stick with eight for 2024 and beyond or they just completely dissolve and the other local conferences absorb them. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it too, but the days of the Pac-10, Pac-12, whatever you want to call it, it might be gone forever now. Right, although I do think that there are some mid-major conferences that would be interested in joining the Pac-12. It may seem awkward, an awkward union at first, but still there could be some kind of emergency measures that are taken to try to spare the conference.

I agree with you about them screwing up the TV deal, especially when you look around. It's just crazy how the rich have gotten richer and even with the expanded college football playoffs supposed to be including more conferences and opening it up for more teams, especially west of the Mississippi, what it feels like is the richer getting richer and college football is actually shrinking in terms of the contenders not expanding. Yeah absolutely and I think I saw this online at one point saying that eventually they could see something similar to the NFL model where there's an AFC and an NFC where it's SEC and Big Ten or it's a southern and northern kind of hemisphere thing for the conferences that eventually it just becomes maybe two big super conferences down the road to try to make it a little bit easier for exactly what you're talking about because they expanded the college football playoffs to have a champion from each conference represented in the playoffs and now all the big teams are going to be in two or three conferences. So it's going to be interesting to see how this shakes out but I could see five, six, seven years down the road just having two or three conferences and that's it. I very much value your wisdom and your insight but let's hope that you are dead wrong about that. I hope that you are but you're right there anything's possible with college football especially considering the money that's involved. Okay you can find Michael on Twitter at MichaelJDuarte from NBC LA but we really invite him in as a friend.

We let him take off his shoes, put his feet up, raid the fridge, whatever he wants to do. It's good to talk to you and we will talk again soon. Don't forget to send me the specs on the microphone. I will and speaking of like being friends and family, I saw you paid your car off. Congratulations. That is a huge success.

I remember when I first did that and I got that pink slip in the mail. It was an unbelievable feeling so good accomplishment for you. Congratulations. Thank you. All right, Mike. We'll talk again soon. Bye.