Theory Verses Practice

In theory, the Ten-Day Disabled List should be a wonderful thing for pitchers, but initial results are not so good.  It appears that after being off for ten days a starter just is not quite in-sync. Ryu was obviously out of sorts (maybe he is injured) and McCarthy also looked like he needed another start before coming off the DL.  So, in reality, while it might be a tool to keep the bullpen fresh, it hasn’t worked well for starters.  Ryu and McCarthy both looked like they needed a rehab start to get back in sync… maybe two.  So, in reality the 15 day DL might be just what was needed.  I don;t blame FAZ for trying it but after giving two games away, I have seen enough.

Alex Wood has earned a spot in the rotation and frankly, who is looking for another Number Two?  Wood looks a lot like that guy.  Hill could be that guy.  I think his blister issues will go away.  The big mistake was to rest it all winter. His finger was smoother than a baby’s butt due to rest when in reality he should have been tending to that callous.  It looks like they are on top of it now with a plan.  I think that plan includes no more than 5 or 6 innings for a while (maybe a pitch count of about 70).  The there is Julio Urias who had a 1.06 ERA before Coors,  This guy is too good to not pitch.  Finally, there are McCarthy, Ryu and Maeda.  Brock Stewart will be back in the mix after the All-Star Break and Trevor Oaks, Jair Jurrjens and Justin Masterson are at AAA.

It looks to me that someone is going to be the odd man out.  Kershaw, Hill, Wood and Urias are locks, but Ryu and McCarthy are both tradable if they are healthy and to prove they are healthy, they have to pitch!  Lots of teams need starters.  Even Maeda could be dealt.  If he pitches well in his next start, he could be in demand.  Due to Maeda’s “Team Friendly Contract,” it’s hard to put him in the pen.  A couple of those starters could be parlayed into some bullpen arms.  Dayton and Romo are struggling to some degree, and there are too many other options.

Sooner or later something has to give.  I loved Wood in the pen, but he has shown he belongs in the rotation, so there is that.  I’m also tired of the dumb lineups.  Cut the crap!  It’s not smart to put Grandal at #3, OK?  It’s another lefty tonight and here is all I want to see:

  1. Taylor 2B
  2. Seager  SS
  3. Turner  3B
  4. Bellinger  1B
  5. Gutierrez  LF
  6. Barnes C
  7. Puig  RF
  8. Pederson  CF (leave him alone)

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This article has 49 Comments

  1. Mark

    I don’t get what you mean about Joc, but both Joc and Puig, don’t hit lefties well.

    I am ok with everyone else, and I want to say that Gutierrez has
    delivered, when he has been up to bat in clutch situations, considering he had to go out on the DL, and come back, already this season.

    The problem with giving starters ten days off, is that it is only the begining of the season!

    How tired can the pitchers be?

    They are still trying to build off there starts, and that is why Ryu didn’t look good.

    But not to many pitchers that depend on curves and off speed stuff, would pitch well in Colorado, including Hill!

    Maeda is the only pitcher that uses off speed stuff, that I have seen pitch well, in Colorado.

    It seems like Dayton hasn’t pitched that well this year, but I am not informed on his stats, so I don’t know that for sure.

    It also seems like our players are trying to do to much when they are up, against Cain this year, because other teams, have hit him hard.

    And when we have to many strike outs, it is hard to have a productive offense, and that is exposed even more, when Turner isn’t in the line up.

    The difference in this game is, that the Giants delivered, when they had runners, in scoring position.

    They don’t try to hit a ball out all the time, like we seem to do, to much.

    They just try to get any hit, to get the runners in, and keep their offense, moving.

    And I think it is to early to make a decision, concerning our pitchers.

    We need to see more of their starts, and see who can pitch well in the rotation,for more then just a couple of games.

  2. Wouldn’t it would have been better on defense, to have Kike in left, and Utley at second, and Taylor at third, and Bellinger at first?

    Chase missed that pop fly in Colorado, and many think that Bellinger would have caught Crawford’s double, last night.

  3. How long before Stripling gets into the starting rotation? McCarthy, Ryu, Maeda should all be on thin ice. I can’t see going through the season with those three guys in the rotation. Maeda is the strangest case. I think he got into too good shape in the off season. Too much muscle. It might look good at the beach, but not in a baseball uniform. The weight training conundrum. Urias is being gifted his spot right now. If he were thirty, not 20, he would be gone. We ARE letting the giants get back into this. That S U C K S.

  4. M.T. – Great takes, but I do have a request/question!!! What happened to the music to get the post rolling???
    Why move Stripling???
    Hill will answer who is #2 tonight, callous permitting…
    The Urias questions are still there, albeit a few out there… Strange!!!
    One of my favs, Thompson is starting to show a pulse…

  5. Good post Mark. Pitchers are creatures of habit. They need to be on a routine.

    When we play the Giants in SF, they always play well. We need the next two.

    1. Idahoal

      I think I heard that from you, not to long ago, about pitchers needing a schedule, or a regiment, to stay sharp throughout, the season.

      And that regiment is more important at the begining of the season, so pitchers can make the adjustments, they need to make, from start to start, to get sharp, as the season goes along.

  6. Mitchell White update via BP:
    White’s been on a hard pitch count so far, so he hadn’t so much as seen the sixth inning, let alone the seventh. He did last night on account of supreme efficiency, as he recorded 21 outs on just 67 pitches. Visalia has a poor lineup, but White was on point from the jump, surrendering just one hit through six. When that cutter’s cutting he’s as tough as you’ll see at High A, and he’s now given up just seven earned runs in six non-at-Lancaster starts.

    1. By the end of this season, both Mitchell White and Walker Buehler could be Top 25 MLB prospects… maybe Top 10. They are both THAT good.

      1. White isn’t even top 100 right now, so let’s temper our expectations about meaningless rankings.

        1. If a prospect is ranked in the Top 25, it means that they are pretty dang good and in fact, probably have a good shot at becoming a star.

          In 2015, Seager, Urias, Swanson and Trea Turner were in the Top 11.

          In 2016, BA rated Seager #1, Urias #4 and Trea Turner #9. They turned out to be pretty good. Top be a TOP 10 Talent is Pretty Amazing

          In 2017, BA Ranked Bellinger #7 and Benintendi #1 — both are early favorites for Rookie of the Year.

          I like to make predictions, especially when neither player in close to the Top 10. By year end, you can say “Timmons is a dumbass, or “he’s not one.” What wrong with stepping out like that?

  7. Did everyone see that when Wood was being interviewed for player of the week yesterday, that Bumgarner purposely walked by Wood, and disconnected Wood’s mike, during the interview?

    1. It’s good to see he at least has a sense of humor. However…I’d like to see Puig pull that same prank on him.

      1. Rudy

        I wouldn’t call that a sense of humor, I would call it a cry, for attention.

        Maybe Puig and him, have that, in common.

  8. Nice to hear. Our farm system is strong. We have a good team at LA. I just do not know if is strong enough to take us all the way. I just expect more from Puig and Pederson. I am afraid what we are seeing in those two are what we are going to see. I thought they both would hit around 290 with 20-30 home runs. I think Agon is going to be fine when he comes back. He is a pro. He will want to leave a winner. Our pen has not been as strong as I thought. Dayton is not doing as well as I thought . Of course we have Romo and Hatcher. Right now that is 3 out of 7 not performing . Not god.
    Again, I think FAZ does a good job. However, they do not have the ability to cut ties with players they signed or traded for. That is why I think Hatcher and Romo will be with us.

      1. Dayton hasn’t looked right to me. His release point is all over the place and his control isn’t any good. He doesn’t looked like the guy who pitched for the Dodgers last year. The team is now 1 reliever short however. It doesn’t work having 6 starters on the active roster.

        1. I’m sure another RP is on the way. Dayton pitched last night, so he wouldn’t be available tonight even if he were on the gameday.

  9. Not to belabor the point but the revolving dl probably would work help us more in august than now. Our starting pitching will be fine barring injury. I think the bullpen is a little suspect but doing well right now. My biggest concern is offensively. Losing toles and ethier are tough losses as both hit righties hard. Turner has been good, grandal is having a good run, and Taylor is hitting above expectations but will come down to earth. Otherwise , I don’t think bellinger will hit for average and he brings a lot of strikeouts with him, seager disappointing currently with lots of strikeouts, Pederson strikeout machine, Paige lots of k s. utley can’t hit and is getting too many at bats, Hernandez terrible, grandal will go into long droughts just not currently. If Barnes continues hitting I would start playing him at second or wherever else he can play. We need a healthy Gonzalez and faz needs to concentrate on the offense.

  10. Anyone ask what the hell SVS was doing swinging 3-1 with the tying run on deck last night? Orel did a good job biting his tongue right after saying SVS would be taking the next two pitches when the count was 3-0.

  11. Talk about too many SP’s on the roster or not enough room for them – release Van Slyke, send Kiki to OKC, dfa Utley when Forsyth returns, Romo & Hatcher – Arggggg!
    If this organization has so much DEPTH why are these five guys on the roster. Bring the youth up and give them exposure – they could do no worse than the aforementioned five.
    And Agon on his return, he might be better than before his DL, but his skills are trending down – he will not fix any hitting problem, and please don’t bat him fourth, opposing teams love that strategy.

  12. Today’s lineup is out. Doc must’ve smoked a couple of good ones before he came up with this:

    Taylor
    Guiterrez
    JT
    Kike
    Barnes
    Puig
    Joc
    SVS

    1. Back to spring training

      Not confident with Kike batting clean up. Understand this comes from resting both Seager and Bellinger, but maybe would be better to rest them on different days. If Bellinger is resting would prefer to see JT or Guiterrez in 4 spot.

      Now prove me wrong, Kike! Wouldn’t be the first or last time

    2. Put the crack pipe down, Doc. Almost like a throw-away Sunday game Mattingly was known for. Glad it’s not being televised up here in Oregon (or I’d be forced to watch the damn thing). Already looking forward to tomorrow’s game.

      1. The Lakers had really better keep their pick at 5pm today, so I can tolerate this lineup with a good mood!

      2. It was a throw-away game pretty much by design and oddly makes sense. For reason the Giants play against Dodgers like a championship game it makes perfect sense resting Turner and then bringing him in to take their wind while their fuel take isn’t as full. There’s bigger worries than the Giants in the mix at this point and I’d rather have all cylinders firing facing the bigger threats. I’m certain the Rockies enjoy Giants wasting their wad on us rather than them. We might need the Giants to play better against the Rockies so let them get cocksure so they spend their energy on other teams as well.

        It’s my guess the 10 day DL will have different results on all pitchers involved. It’s good to take into consideration that using it as a new tool might get negative results. Without checking specs I’ve come to believe that resting Kershaw a single extra day harms his performance while an extra day’s rest helps the majority.

        Dodgers win tonight. CHEERS!

    1. Idahoal

      I certainly agree with you, about that!

      He did walk three hitters in his last game, and he only pitched, five innings.

      1. MJ, you need to read what Drew Saylor had to say about Hill’s walks. He said that the umpires at that level have not seen a curve ball move as much as Hill’s and they were not used to it. As the game went on they got a little more comfortable with the pitch.
        .
        Remember these umpires at A level are learning just like the players.

      2. You have been exposed to people at another site who are as sharp as a marble.

  13. Tonight’s lineup is total dog poop! Sit Seager AND Bellinger? Kike at cleanup? SVS and Gutierrez? Blister Boy takes the mound and here in Vegas the Dodgers are HUGE favorites on the road! I will watch the game and hope for the best but obviously did not bet it. Tomorrow Kershaw will clean up tonight’s probable mess. I really hope Hill has figured it out but unless they are chasing pitches out of the zone walks will hurt him.

    McCarthy’s pair of brain farts last night still have me shaking my head. Even Bochy was laughing on the bench and he does not laugh much. The Giants get sky high for these games and Roberts is resting his best players and trotting out guys from the DL hoping for the best. Not the players fault and I hope they all go Magnum Dong tonight!

    1. I’m countin’ on dog poop lineup to leave too big a mess for the Giants to clean up.

  14. Lakers brightened my night by getting the #2 Pick! Fultz or Ball headed to Staples! Lakers keep their 2019 #1 pick as well. Ball makes so much sense as a local product, but have to listen to his dad more than I care to.

  15. I generally like Roberts, and he is a big improvement over DM, but this lineup and others like it make me (no baseball expert) shake my head. What am I missing here? In addition, the 25 man roster protects and keeps players who do not perform, and some for multiple seasons. FAZ has made some dramatic roster moves in the past: Crawford, Wilson, and others, but it’s time for more.

  16. Kike shouldn’t hit cleanup EVER. Absolutely the dumbest lineup I’ve seen even counting some of Mattingly’s.

  17. Why is it that the Dodgers look like little leaguers against the Giants?
    1 – Hill’s balk
    2 – Turner’s TOOTBLAN (why did he run, and why didn’t he run on contact if he was going to go?)
    3 – Van Slyke’s horrible miss down the 1B line
    4 – They can ‘t hit a guy with an ERA of almost 5 this year – probably 6 against the rest of the league

    1. 1. – Rusty
      2. – No Clue
      3. – He should not have been there. Bellinger would have caught that with his tongue.
      4. – Savages!

      Chris Taylor is not going away!

  18. Bellinger makes the play that VS could not and the game is still tied. Job still swinging for the fences like Ruth – oh without the HR’s, all we need now is a banana with Hernandez.

  19. We need some offense. Very curious that he would choose to sit turner seager and bellinger in this series. Trade puig and Pederson for someone who can hit.

  20. I am not going to complain about one game. I thought Hill was ok. Not great. Giving up one run in 5 innings is something for him to build on. Taylor struggled a little lately, but last night he looked liked he has adjusted.
    Pederson at .216 and Puig at .241 is not going to cut it. Losing Toles right now is really hurting us.
    I guess I am going have to get used to these line ups. I really do not like them. We faced two pitchers in SF that looked very hitable to me. We kinda stunk the place up.

  21. “We kinda stunk the place up”….some might say, that’s what you get with a dog poop lineup.

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