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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CUBS VS DODGERS

October 15, 2017

Dave Roberts

Los Angeles, California - pregame 2

Q. You talked several times during the postseason about how well Kenta has taken to the bullpen role, but how much has that solidified your postseason bullpen plans, him being able to take to that role so well?
DAVE ROBERTS: Each guy has a specific role or part of the lineup that we target, and the confidence that we have in Kenta, obviously, that's validated some things, the move, and kind of heightened his confidence.

But to have him in a certain three-hitter spot, and even also to give us length also is a luxury that we have, yeah, it's good.

Q. Sort of wanted to follow up on that. What are some of the considerations that you're looking at that you're considering when you put together a bullpen for a series?
DAVE ROBERTS: Well, part of it is how they're throwing. The other variable is the opponent and their use of how they construct the lineup, potentially, and their bench. Just to essentially have whatever matchup that we might want, we have it covered on our side, on the pitching side.

Q. Just talking about your bullpen, so many times you hear about roles, but it seems like your guys seem to be comfortable doing a lot of different things. How do you get to that point with these guys? Because it seems like it shows up in the effectiveness that they've had up there.
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I think that's probably the most important barrier in the sense of having the players buy into what we're doing as a team and understanding that their role is a pitcher on the ballclub, and whenever they're asked to take the baseball, they take it and perform.

So I think at times that you could argue the comfort of knowing a specific role or situation that you're going to be placed in. But we've challenged our guys for the last couple years to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and they've adjusted and they've thrived in whatever situation that we've put them in.

Q. When you're selecting a starting catcher, how much do you value how in sync a pitcher and catcher are compared to offensive variables?
DAVE ROBERTS: That's very important. The most important player in a particular organization or team that day is the starting pitcher. So that catcher and the pitcher have to be in sync and on the same page.

So for us, we're lucky because we have two guys that I feel comfortable with any pitcher. Then now you kind of bring in the offensive pitcher-hitter thing into the equation, and you make a decision.

But I think for us, we've got two very good catchers.

Q. I'm not sure how much you saw of Yu Darvish in Texas, but do you feel he's gotten himself back to the level that he was when he was there? What has been the key to him getting there?
DAVE ROBERTS: I didn't see a whole lot of him in Texas. I can -- I know he was an elite pitcher in the other league. I do know he had a surgery a couple years ago.

And talking to Yu, I think that he feels that he's back to where he was prior to his surgery. I know that over the course of the last four starts he's thrown the baseball really well, and I know he's comfortable with the information, with his mechanics, with Rick as a pitching coach. So with both catchers that have caught him, I know he's comfortable.

So all I can speak to is right now, in this moment, he's in as good of a place as I think he's ever been in.

Q. Are there times that you kind of sit back and marvel at the depth of this organization? You guys can lose a Seager and still be okay?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I think that this is something that I think started last year with Clayton and losing him for a couple months, having the guys and the pitching staff pick him up and pick us up.

A lot of what we've talked about is depth, and it's all rhetoric until it plays out. But I think internally for us we believed that was a huge asset.

So it's certainly played out that way. When you do lose a guy like Corey -- I think the thing is and the one factor is we do have somebody we feel very confident in replacing Corey, which is very difficult to do. But the other part is that the guys in the clubhouse just aren't wavering and really aren't affected by the loss of any one player. And I think that speaks to the toughness of those guys in there.

Q. Is there an update on Corey Seager's condition?
DAVE ROBERTS: Well, Corey, in talking to him, he says he feels considerably better. He says he feels "normalish." That's, I think, a good thing to hear.

Q. Normalish?
DAVE ROBERTS: Normalish, i-s-h.

Q. What about Adrian?
DAVE ROBERTS: Adrian is just resting. He's with his family, and he's preparing for next Spring Training.

Q. We've talked about how this year's different for your players. How is it different for you, this situation, this postseason, after doing it one year as a postseason manager?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think that it's -- I'm learning something every day, I think. It's different in the sense of having home-field advantage, because I think that the travel last year can be grueling, and just the East to West Coast and all that kind of stuff. Where this year we've had the off-days and kind of been very normalish for us being at home. So that's been good.

But just really being familiar with -- more familiar with the front office, the players, the coaches. I think that all of that has kind of helped me be more comfortable in any situation.

Q. Kenley talked the other day about wanting to arrange a meeting with Mariano Rivera in the off-season to learn from him. What do you think it says after all the success he's had he's still looking to improve? Do you know anything about that meeting?
DAVE ROBERTS: I heard about that meeting, and I think that Kenley wanting to do that, I think that's fantastic. It's a credit to him that he's a superstar player and just wants to get better. And Mariano, you know, obviously probably the best of all time.

So for him to want to get information from a great person and player in Mariano, that says a lot for Kenley and how great he wants to be.

It's unique when you have a great player who understands that there is room to grow and get better, and Kenley has that.

Q. On the topic of Kenley, I haven't hammered the numbers, but it certainly seems like anecdotally he's throwing a lot more sliders percentage-wise than he did in the regular season. Do you think that pitch has traveled a distance for him, that he's more comfortable with it, or is it more a familiarity and strategic thing that he's throwing it now?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's a combo. Kenley is intelligent. He understands what he wants to do on the mound. So when you have a chance, potentially, to see a team four, five times in a series, there is a little cat and mouse.

So to show your whole hand consistently all the time, I think that he understands that it gives a hitter an advantage, so to mix in a few wrinkles, to throw a breaking ball at 70-something and to throw a slider at 86 and to throw a two-seamer to Willson Contreras, I think those are things that Kenley's very aware of.

Q. It's obviously Cody Bellinger's rookie year, but he kind of carries himself as a veteran out there. What have you seen from him in terms of how he's navigating his first postseason emotionally and kind of how the veterans on the team have helped him with that?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think the veterans on the team have helped him immensely, and how to go about preparing and how to handle success, struggles, how to handle this market, how to handle being a Major League player.

Cody himself is really in his make-up, his DNA, just is really even keeled, and he knows he belongs here, and knew that early on. He has the talent.

Defensively he will win a Gold Glove at some point. Offensively in the postseason I think that there has been some success, there have been some struggles. Got a big hit against Greinke. But he's still trying to work through some things. But I think the thing with him is that his confidence really never wavers.

Q. As I'm sure you saw last round, Lester picked off a guy for the first time in probably a while. I'm just curious if that changes the calculus at all in what you want to do in the running game.
DAVE ROBERTS: I did see that.

Q. That's good to hear.
DAVE ROBERTS: Threw over twice and got Zimmerman in the leg. Is that going to change what we do? You know what? Jon's a great competitor, and the number one thing is we've got to get base runners and swing at strikes, take balls, and if we get the right runner at first base or second base, you know, we're not going to concede anything. But he's done a much better job of holding runners.

Q. You talked about the depth. How much of it, when you talk about that and the competition -- you have Barnes kind of earning his way and playing time, you had two months ago everybody would have assumed Baez would be on the roster and other guys would have come on. How much do you think that motivates the guys in there knowing that they can't really -- you know, they can't let up or they might lose some time?
DAVE ROBERTS: Competition is always a good way to get the best out of any individual, I believe. There's always competition. There should be. So guys that are on our roster have earned it. But even the guys that are not on our active roster have had huge contributions to getting to where we are. So we definitely don't ignore that at all.

So Pedro, you know, you brought up Pedro, had a great year for us. But I think with the matchups and us going with seven guys in the pen versus eight, that led into that decision as well.

But, yeah, I mean, Austin has earned his way to get at-bats throughout the season, and he's shown to prove huge for us. But to have Yasmani as well with him, they've kind of fed off each other and they're better for it. Ultimately the Dodgers are better for it.

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