The silence on the broadcast was deafening.
In a campaign already full of frustration and inconsistency, Kike Hernandez suffered another exasperating casualty on Friday night.
During a shaky in-game interview between Hernández and Apple TV broadcast duo Wayne Randazzo and Dontrelle Willis on Friday — a second-inning chat in which the microphone Hernández struggled to hear the broadcasters through a headset heard on the field – a ball was hit to the third baseman just as Willis asked him a question.
“You are a very united club,” said Willis, as Gleyber Torres sent Hernández flying. “Where did that come from?”
Hernández did not have time to respond.
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The ball took a big bounce, hit him in the middle and resulted in his second error of the year. When Torres came in first, neither Hernández nor the broadcasters said anything.
The awkward silence lasted almost 30 seconds.
“What was the previous question, before making that mistake?” Hernández finally said, after broadcasters analyzed the grounder — which Hernández said had a “funky” sideways bounce — in his ear.
“I don’t want to ask you again, because I don’t want you to kick the ball again,” Willis joked, trying to infuse some humor into the moment. “I’ll take that E for you, big dog.”
In a split-screen camera filmed on the broadcast, the stoic Hernández simply stared straight ahead, focused on the next play.
The entire retrospective scene was a reflection of Hernández’s season thus far in which the 11-year veteran and Dodger fan favorite tried to find the light amid much consternation on the field.
In 50 games so far, the super utilityman is batting just .207, second worst in the league. Dodger‘ active lineup ahead of only Chris Taylor.
He also has 31 strikeouts. His OPS is below .600. And he spent considerable time trying to refine his once-productive swing, recording almost daily observations in a notebook in his locker through a tedious process of trial and error.
“I feel like I’m making progress little by little,” Hernández said. “But you don’t get rid of bad habits overnight.”
Mainly bad habits, believes Hernández, which took several years to create.
After the end of his initial six-season stint with the Dodgers, after the 2020 World Series championshipHernández spent three years with the Boston Red Sox, where he signed as a free agent.
The first went well, when he hit 20 home runs to help Boston reach the American League Championship Series. The last two, however, were problems, caused in part by a pair of sports hernia injuries that hampered his swing.
“I was injured for two years,” Hernández said. “And when you’re hurt, you compensate in a lot of ways.”
Hernández finished last season in decent form, batting .262 after being traded back to the Dodgers at the midseason deadline. Before re-signing in LA in a one-year contract this offseasonHernández also underwent surgery to repair his hernias, allowing him to return this season in full health.
“He looks great,” manager David Roberts said in spring training. “He’s moving like Kiké used to.”
Swinging like the Kiké of old, however, proved to be a more difficult task in the first few months.
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Mental cues and mechanical thoughts that Hernández previously relied on had little effect (an issue Taylor also cited after a couple of injury-plagued seasons). And although Hernández’s body is no longer sick, he said, the bad habits he developed were slow to completely dissipate.
“It’s hard to get rid of bad habits for a few weeks. For a few months, it was even more difficult,” said Hernández. “[For me], it was years. This is too much. So just trying to work and understand, maybe there are things that click here or there, but for it to become consistent is going to take some time.”
Taking a deep breath, he added, “I’ve been giving myself grace every now and then… It’s a matter of riding the roller coaster and figuring out a way to stay level, to be present in the moment.”
Friday’s mid-broadcast error presented its latest test.
Although Hernández did not blame the error in his in-game interview – “I think that ball would have hit my [midsection] regardless of whether I’m wearing a microphone or not,” he joked — the veteran acknowledged the awkward nature of the moment.
“You get exposed and everyone says, ‘You made a mistake because you had your microphone on,’” he said, later adding, “You can say it’s embarrassing because you’re in the spotlight. You’re talking while the play is happening.”
Hernández also clarified a pithy quote he gave to the Associated Press in the clubhouse postgame that night when he was asked if he would reconsider doing future in-game interviews — for which players are paid $10,000 for their participation.
“No, because we are getting paid,” he told the AP. “I like money.”
Two days later, he said the comment was meant to be sarcastic.
“I gave a very ‘me’ answer,” said Hernández, who has long been the Dodgers’ equivalent of a class clown in the clubhouse. “[The AP story] I took it literally.”
Roberts initially didn’t realize that Hernández was being interviewed at the time of his mistake, but put the entire situation aside with reporters on Saturday.
While Roberts noted that he probably wouldn’t have done in-game interviews in his playing days, he understands why some current players like Hernández (who has done in-game interviews “four or five” times in his MLB career, he said) agree to them regularly.
“It’s part of the sport now,” Roberts said. “Unfortunately, Kiké made a mistake. It wasn’t the only mistake he made.”
Asked if he later spoke to Hernández about the play, Roberts said there was no need.
“He prepares,” Roberts said. “I know he likes the spotlight. He likes social media. He still plays a lot, practices a lot, but he still likes to build his brand. Then I understood. I’m fine with that. He plays a lot.
For all that Hernández’s season has gone wrong so far, Roberts seemed determined to make this final message clear.
After all, the Dodgers still rely on Hernández for regular playing time, especially recently with Max Muncy sidelined by an oblique injury.
They touted his defensive improvements from last year, when his 18 errors were fifth-most in the majors.
And they remain optimistic about his potential at the plate, hopeful that Hernández hit steak in four games to close out last week’s trip to Pittsburgh and New York (including a tie-breaking home run Saturday night at Yankee Stadium) can help erase the frustration that accompanied your slow start.
“He wants to perform well, like all players do, but sometimes he tries to get four hits in one at-bat,” Roberts said, preaching patience amid Hernández’s early-season struggles. “[Lately], he’s not hitting balls off the plate as much. And he’s using the whole field. So for me, the quality of the shot is better. That’s what I’m looking for from him, regardless of the results at the moment.”
Clayton Kershaw may be close to a minor league rehab assignment after pitching two simulated innings with the Dodgers’ Rancho Cucamonga affiliate on Friday.
According to Roberts, Kershaw reached 90 mph with his fastball during the session – a mark he struggled to reach late last season when he was dogged by a shoulder injury that eventually off-season surgery required.
Kershaw, who hopes to return to the big leagues in July or August, will throw three simulated innings next week. After that, the team will decide if he’s ready for a rehabilitation mission (the ultimate precursor to his long-awaited return).
Right-handed starting pitcher Bobby Miller will likely make at least one more outing on his current rehab assignment, Roberts said, as the 25-year-old continues to recover from a shoulder injury.
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While Roberts was initially hopeful of bringing Miller back this week – the club’s 2023 rookie star hasn’t played since early April – he said on Sunday that the team is now inclined to continue the task of rehabilitating Miller for another week. .
Miller has made three rehab appearances with Rancho Cucamonga and Triple A Oklahoma City, working a one-run, two-hit fifth inning last Friday.
Short heels
Miguel Rojas has been battling “general soreness” in his leg in recent weeks, Roberts said, leading the coach to “pick my spots” with Rojas’ playing time “to try to keep him as fresh as possible.” Despite his .283 batting average this season, Rojas started back-to-back games just once last month. … Injured pitchers Dustin May (elbow surgery) and Brusdar Graterol (shoulder) have been throwing bullpen sessions at the club’s Arizona complex recently, Robert said. May reportedly eclipsed the 90 mph mark… Muncy has been swinging dry the last few days, but is still on a “slow program,” Roberts said, with his timeline for returning still uncertain.
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
