With the NL Championship Series on the horizon, MLB.com Dodgers beat reporter Sonja Chen took questions from fans in an r/Dodgers AMA on Saturday. The full conversation can be viewed here, but below is a sampling of the best questions and answers.
Is Kim going to be a part of the NLCS roster? Any insights on who is in/out?
Heading into a best-of-seven series with two off-days, rather than the three the Dodgers had in the NLDS, they’re anticipating adding at least one more pitcher for the NLCS. I would see Justin Dean, Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing as the position players on the bubble for the final spot(s) on the bench, depending on whether the team carries the maximum 13 pitchers (not counting Shohei Ohtani).
Who do you anticipate to pitch game 1 of the NLCS?
Dave Roberts said the team is still thinking this over, but I would expect Blake Snell to start Game 1, followed by Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in that order.
Ohtani would’ve started Game 5 of the NLDS, but I don’t think that automatically makes him the Game 1 starter in the NLCS. The Dodgers have preferred to pitch him in front of an off-day when possible, and given how he scuffled at the plate against the Phillies, I think they’ll make every effort to put him in a position to succeed on both sides of his two-way role.
It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers handle the schedule. The Snell-Ohtani-Yamamoto-Glasnow rotation would work great for Games 1-5, but it gets a little foggier for potential Games 6-7. Ohtani would be lined up for Game 6 on five days’ rest, which he’s done only twice this season. Yamamoto would have four days’ rest for Game 7, which he has never done.
Roberts said he thinks the Dodgers can find a way to line everyone up so that they only need to use four starting pitchers, and no bullpen game, this series, so perhaps the rotation order will end up being shuffled.
You previously mentioned that you keep track of player walk up songs, what is your insight of Roki Sasaki’s warmup song [“Bailalo Rocky”]? Was Kiké Hernández or Miguel Rojas involved?
If I recall correctly from when he first used it in late April, Sasaki said a group of his teammates chose it for him (and yes, I think Kiké and Rojas were front and center). At the time, I remember thinking it was great to see Sasaki having a little more fun on his start days. And now that he’s looked as confident as he has lately, I think the song really suits him. His growth has been amazing to watch this year.
Any rumors of moving Josue DePaula (No. 1 prospect) to 1B other than the ones that I started on Reddit? Eleven of our Top 30 prospects are OFs. Freddie Freeman has two more years on his contract.
Since the Dodgers prioritize keeping their prospects at premium defensive positions for as long as it makes sense, I would think moving De Paula to first would not be something they would do proactively — maybe in a world where they’re looking to find a fit for him on the MLB roster. But to your point, they may eventually have to reckon with an outfield logjam in the farm system.
What’s a typical work day like for you? When did your love for baseball start? So psyched to see another woman in the organization.
Every day is a little different, but for night games at home, I’m usually at the ballpark from about 2:30-11:30. In those first couple of hours, there’s player/manager/coach availability in the clubhouse and on the field. Once we get back up to the press box, I write up any pregame news and find some time to eat dinner. Sometimes there’s something worth writing during the game; if not, I have to have a short first story ready by final out. Then we go back to the clubhouse for postgame availability, and I wrap up writing afterward (our deadline is 90 minutes after end of game). Then I do it all again the next day!
If I had to pick a moment when I really started loving baseball, it was probably in 2012, when the A’s won the division in Game 162. I had a phone back then, but for whatever reason I don’t think I was monitoring the game at all — I remember getting home from school and running to turn on the TV and see what was happening. That was a great time to be a baseball fan in the Bay Area. Even before then, I was really into baseball, but I think that moment solidified it.
