Yasmani Grandal and Clayton Kershaw CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 16: Yasmani Grandal #9 and Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers meet on the pitcher’s mound in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs during game two of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on October 16, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal knows stealing signs is a part of the game. During Game 1 of the NLCS against the Cubs, Grandal seemed pretty confident that the Cubs were stealing signs.

He said just as much when talking to the LA Times about Game 1’s pivotal bottom of the eighth inning.

“All the sudden, Russell is not taking good swings at sliders, looking like he’s looking for a fastball and in a certain location,” Grandal said. “Did we know Zobrist had the signs and was doing something for it? Yeah, we did. That’s why we do it.”

Grandal also said the Dodgers were “literally paranoid” when it came to sign stealing.

“We are literally paranoid when it comes to men on second and they are trying to get signs,” Grandal said. “We know who is getting the signs. We know what they’re doing. We know what they do to get it. In the playoffs, one relayed sign could mean the difference between winning the World Series and not getting there.

That is why Grandal made a number of trips to the pitcher’s mound to discuss things over with Clayton Kershaw in the NLDS against the Washington Nationals. To some, it looked as though this was a catcher and pitcher just not getting in sync. Grandal rejected that and suggested he was taking every possible precaution to mix the signs up in an effort to make sure the Nationals didn’t gain an edge on the base paths.

Having a catcher who can do this is important, and the Dodgers are fortunate to have Grandal and Carlos Ruiz to do this when needed. This ability to manage the game comes in handy, especially considering that neither is thought of as an elite offensive catcher.

“There’s a couple things I do,” Grandal said. “I slug, I walk, and I catch. In the playoffs, catching is No. 1, getting on base is No. 2, and slugging is No. 3. I’m hitting seventh, and there’s a reason why they have me hitting seventh. They want me to make sure I run the pitching staff like it’s supposed to be ran. That’s basically it: I’m gonna run my pitching staff, I’m gonna call a good game and we’re gonna pitch good games, I’m gonna walk, and I’m gonna hit homers.”

Grandal didn’t have to make a trip out to the mound in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs. Kershaw was electric through seven innings, only allowing one base runner to reach second base in the game. That’s what Grandal would prefer be the case every game he is behind the plate, but he knows what to do when he does have to trot to talk things over with his pitcher.

[Los Angeles Times]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.