Zobrist laughs off charge that he was stealing signs
LOS ANGELES— Ben Zobrist defended himself. But mostly he laughed.
“I think it’s hilarious,” he said about Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal’s assertion that Zobrist was stealing his signs from second base during the Cubs’ eighth- inning rally Saturday night.
“No, I was not stealing signs,” the Cubs veteran All-Star said. “But I appreciate him thinking my baseball IQ is that high.”
Grandal’s allegations were raised after the Dodgers’ 1- 0 victory in Game 2 on Sunday night, after he talked about reasons for extra visits to the mound and multiple sets of signs.
“Did we know Zobrist had the signs and was doing something for [ batter Addison Russell]? Yeah. We did,” Grandal said.
He added: “We are literally paranoid when it comes to men on second and they are trying to get signs. We know who is getting the signs. We know what they’re doing.”
Zobrist said, “I don’t know what he was looking at or what he thought he saw.” He said the lighting is not good enough atWrigley Field to see the signs well, even if he were trying.
“So I guess he probably used the right word,” Zobrist said. “Almost all catchers are a little bit paranoid about that. But I definitely was not [ laughing] — it’s funny.”
Has he ever done it?
“I’ve tried before,” he said, “but it’s never worked out.”
Javy Baez said he “heard something” about Grandal’s sign- stealing allegations.
“But I’m not really paying attention to it because we’re not doing it,” he said. “And I don’t think we need to.”
Teachable moment
Joe Maddon pulled Russell aside during Monday’s batting practice and spoke at length with the slumping shortstop about his swing. Not only is Russell 1- for- 22 in the postseason, but the power has been out for him at the plate since he netted four home runs in three days in August.
“He was just saying, ‘ Make sure you finish your swing,’ ” Russell said. “He doesn’t tell me how to swing a bat, per se, but he told me I’m strongest when I finish my swing strong.”
Dodgers’ rotation
Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that 20- year- old left- hander Julio Urias will start Game 4. He said Game 1 starter Kenta Maeda is lined up for Game 5, but that “you always have to be open to adjusting as the series moves on,” leaving the door open for Clayton Kershaw to pitch Game 5 on three days of rest.
Look for the Dodgers to definitely use Kershaw if they are down 3- 1, possibly if tied and save him for an ifnecessary Game 6 if leading 3- 1.
Political statement
The Dodgers stayed at Trump International Hotel and Tower when they played the Cubs in late May and early June, but did not during the first two games of the NLCS. Adrian Gonzalez, the home run hero in Game 2, didn’t stay there the first time, either.
“I had my reasons,” Gonzalez told the Southern California News Group.
Needless to say, the Dodgers first baseman, who spent much of his childhood in San Diego and Tijuana, is not a Trump supporter. He has declined to discuss the decision during the playoffs.