It’s Ground Hog Day… Again!

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1. It’s starting to look like this team is going to be dismantled after all. Too many players not performing. I stated a few days ago that Bellinger said in an interview that after the team no-hitter, walking in the tunnel there was a player who didn’t even know a no hitter had been thrown. Inexcusable! It looks like CT3 is a one year wonder. Kike is simply a platoon player who can’t hit. Farmer and Muncy AAA depth and Puig is snake bit. You could trade all of them and I don’t think you would get much.

   1. I wouldn’t go so far as to say “dismantled” but it’s starting to look like this is not our year. /hottake

2. The fact that ALL of these guys are ineffective speaks to leadership in my opinion. Does this fall on Turner Ward?
   –
   Something ain’t right!!!!

   1. It very well could.

   2. when in doubt, fire the hitting coach

3. I agree Mark, something is missing. JT said the other day that he is not the savior, and I get that. It was just rotten timing for him to get hurt when he did, I think it didn’t give us a good start out of the gate, and now guys are just going down the rabbit hole mentally. This is when Doc and Turner earn their money. The first 3 inning last night was just so painful to watch, we should have put up at least five on the Reds. Even Joe Davis and Orel, who is always supportive, are starting to be a little critical of the lack of situational hitting.

   1. What situational hitting?

4. Thank for this post Mark, brought some numerical clarity to what I have been seeing night after night on the field.

   The axe has to fall somewhere or has FAZ and this coaching. staff built up enough equity to get a pass, I say no. I would say TW takes the fall not that he is necessarily the problem.

   Roberts frustration last night was welcomed and hopefully we will see more of that. I presume he is not a lame duck manager but with no extension in hand I would say he at best will have his 2019 option picked up by FAZ??
   I did like his quote about this is not being a “trying sport but rather a results one.”

   Sidebar why aren’t we bringing up Solano and giving him a shot, and get rid of fodder like Farmer or Muncy? Don’t see the downside.

   And why not shake up the pen at this point, send Fields and Baez out or designate Hudson and bring up PV, Sborz, or Hernadez Again what is the downside?

   1. Hey, that’s my name!

5. Watching these guys last year kinda felt uneasy to me. Sure, they were amazing throughout most of the season but in Sept., they absolutely fell apart (as we all painfully remember). Even in the post season they seemed to limp along on guts and potential glory (Although I LOVED it when they swept the DBags. Seemed they were back big!). Everything had to go right so many times in the season. Everyone had to step up and play the proverbial 110%. More than once, it seemed to me that this team was not as good as they played the season (does that make sense?). It looked as if Cody was carrying the team if not with his performance then as motivation for the rest. So, 2018 rolls around and the FO does nothing other than blow up the bullpen with non proven talent (at least as Dodgers… we all miss Morrow (he would have been a better re-signing than Forsythe)). Worse, Cody is not who he was last year (yet?). In a baseball utopia, we would’ve gotten a starter and a bat but, again, nothing. They rested on their laurels and hoped that this team made up of possible one-year wonders would perform at 110% again. My question is, what happens next year if our boys in blue continue this embarrassing play? Is the FO going to change? Will Doc and his numerous mistakes go away (since his contract is up)? How ’bout the huge offseason question… will Harper make an appearance? Mark, what are your thoughts if the doom and gloom continue?
   PS… thank the baseball Gods it is a long season and hopefully they will figure it out but if not???

6. Something is wrong. Bellinger is missing fastballs right down the middle. Taylor’s contact is all weak contact. But they do not do the little things to win. That is on Doc. They just do not play good fundamental baseball. Verdugo over threw the cut off man twice in a row in one game. They will not move a runner over to third from second. Why a pitcher cannot bunt is beyond me. Make them play “pepper” ball. They did not do these fundamental baseball things last year. They were hitting the ball so well, it did not matter. This year it is showing up. If I had to put the blame somewheres, I would put it on Doc. There should be one line up and only one line up. These great utility players are just that, utility players. Find some starting pitchers who can go 6-7 or more innings in a game. Then maybe our bull pen would not be over worked. Doc did not do Jansen any good in ST. Stop protecting the starting pitchers arms. Was Bob Feller protected when he was 18 years old. I have never like all this information the ball players have now. Sometimes you get so much information in your head, you are on overload and cannot play freely. I am 78 years old. What on the hell do I know. Something is wrong.

   1. Idahoal

      You haven’t got this far, because you are not smart, you know when something is wrong.

      And I always like, when you speak your mind!

7. Roberts is showing some stubbornness in running the same guys out there again and again. Is he trying to send a message to the front office?

8. Freidman said the other day the problem is the Dodgers are not hitting enough home runs. I think it’s the opposite, they are trying to hit HR’s in every situation. Whatever launch angles they are teaching are resulting in lots of pop ups and fly balls that don’t reach the warning track.
   –
   Cody has a basic problem: he is not using his front hand enough and when you drop your back shoulder your head pulls off the ball-can’t hit what you can’t see. It also changes the swing plane and he is swinging under the ball resulting in misses and pop ups. When he does hit a fly ball it’s too high, not line drives. Swinging harder only makes it worse, it’s poor fundamentals.
   –
   CT3 swings too hard too but he also takes too many pitches right down broadway. Are they guessing? Seems to me you should always be ready for a fastball down the middle with 2 strikes.
   –
   I like the recent call ups, and they need more. Several 4A guys have had their shots, send them back down to apply what they learned and give someone else a shot. Solano would be a good start and some bullpen help.
   –
   What is going on with Toles? I saw rumors of a bad attitude with Hassleman and being unhappy he was sent down. That’s all we need at this point and unacceptable for Toles, especially coming off a serious injury. We not me right?

   1. Toles has a setback in his injury rehab, Roberts did not seem optimistic about a return anytime soon.

      Did not know the bad attitude story, makes sense though with what I have heard about his loner mentality and him being sent down after winning the ST competition.

      I wonder if all this and minor league fields played into his hamstring issues. As we know if you are not 100 percent mentally focused in this game these things tend to happen.

      1. Adam

         Hamstring pulls have nothing to do with anyone’s attitude, and Toles
         doesn’t have a bad attitude.

         I don’t know where Vegas got that from, because I have read just the opposite!

         Check out his numbers, before he got hurt, his numbers doesn’t show anything, except a player that is playing hard to get better, and to be ready, if he is called up.

   2. Vegas

      I don’t know where you read that, but all of have read, says just the opposite about Toles.

      I read they sent Toles down, because they thought he could handle it better then Joc, because Toles wouldn’t let this set back, get in his head.

      And Joc was the one who had the attitude last year, after he was sent down.

      I also read that Toles said he was just going to go with the flow, and play hard to be ready, if the team called him up.

      And the numbers he had before he got hurt, showed that Toles was doing just that.

      Toles is a very quiet guy, but he has never had an attitude.

      Where are you getting your info from?

      1. That should say, all of what I have read, says just the opposite about Toles.

9. Vegas,
   “Freidman said the other day the problem is the Dodgers are not hitting enough home runs.”

   If Freidman said the problem with the Dodgers is they are not hitting enough home runs then I think that might just be the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard from leadership in a long time. It’s like saying the problem is that we aren’t winning. Forget about the black whole the bullpen is right now, forget about the iffy starting pitching. What is most discouraging is that it seems like they have no idea about or frame of reference for situational hitting, laying a bunt down, moving a runner over, hitting a sac fly.

   1. I saw this the following day too:
      Zaidi on what’s wrong with the Dodgers’ offense (from Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times):
      –
      “We just haven’t hit homers,” Zaidi said. “When you look at our overarching team performance, I think we still have a positive run differential. There are some positive indicators. But we have been out homered. We’re a team that’s played a lot of close games. When you’re playing close games and you’re getting out homered, it’s really tough to win those games.”
      –
      If that’s their attitude why not sign Mark Reynolds or Chris Carter? They strike out a ton but get some bombs.

10. Our players are playing poorly.

11. I wonder if the extra muscle that Cody put on in the off season, has effected his swing, as well, as his bat speed.

    Because Monday said in spring training, that Cody has to have a lot of flexibility, to swing like he does.

    And we know when someone puts on more muscle, that does affect a person’s flexibility, to an extent.

    1. Do these look like numbers from a player that is pouting, because he was sent down?

       462/500/731/1231

       Toles only said he was bored, because he wasn’t able to do to much, because of his hammy.

       And every player feels this way, when they are down, because of an injury.

       Because they want to get back on the field, and nothing more, then that.

       1. MJ,
          .
          Vegas and the others are just stating what is being reported. I have read the rumors of Toles having an attitude problem from being sent down, and that he and Hasselman have issues. I do not buy into them and have dismissed them. I do not bookmark any articles like that, so I cannot get you an article, but they are out there.

          1. AC

             I have not heard anything like that about Toles, and I have tried to follow up on him, so I was surprised, when Vegas said that.

             And I know people talk about every player, so it is hard to believe everything, you hear.

             But you know I respect you a lot, and I do appreciate your honesty, so thank you!

12. ” The problem is ” pretty much everything. There isn’t one facet of the game that the Dodgers are playing fundamental sound, with emphasis on the mental part.
    On a sports talk show yesterday KJ was commenting on his performance against the DBacks, he said he needs to go there and just have fun. Well how about going out with a mindset of going to work, doing the job, being mentally sharp.
    This team is proving Yogi Berra right correct; ” baseball is 90 % mental…”. I would think FAZ, Doc, Ward and everyone else could figure that out. Take care of the mental and the other 50% will get fixed. IMO.

13. maybe the rest of the league getting an extended look at us during our prolonged postseason appearance resulted in our being scouted more effectively and our first-time performers getting out-adjusted.

14. I’v thrown a lot of things against the wall to humor myself at many of your peril. But, when being serious, this is my take:
    .
    1. I did not want to sign Hill but I was happy with the trade that got him in the first place.
    2. I will never understand why Brett Anderson was offered a Qualifying offer.
    3. I wanted the Dodgers to buy Scherzer like the Yankees bought CC Sabathia. Schezer wanted to stay on the East coast and Sabathia wanted to stay on the west coast. Money talks.
    4. I wanted to sign Morrell and trade for Britton.
    5. I did not want the Dodgers to take Forsythe’s option year this year.
    .
    Not too many disagreements with FAZ.
    .
    Stripling looks gooder and gooder. I want to see Stewart start 3 games and then if Stripling and Stewart lack success, then trade for Archer.
    .
    Trade for Machado. Verdugo and Hill.

15. There were some bad decisions made in ST.
    –
    1. They did not let Jansen pitch competitively. When the season started, Jansen was not ready. He was in ST mode the month of April.

    2, when Toles clearly beat out Joc for an outfield position, and he is sent down, it sends a bad message.

    3. None of the starters except Clayton was ready to pitch 6-7-8 innings when the season started.

    4. Our bull pen has not been good. However, they again sent some bull pen pitchers down that had a good ST. Vinditte was one example. I know he pitches with both arms, but he looked good. Again, this sends a bad message. Why even compete for a job, if FAZ and Doc have their minds made up before ST even starts.

    When you have competition for jobs, you better take the best person. Doing otherwise sends a very bad message to all players.

    1. 1. – Do you really think FAZ held Jansen back for no reason? I doubt that vbery much. Most likely he had some kind of issue… maybe he still does… maybe he doesn’t, but I don’t think we have information.
       –
       2. – They have coddled Joc too much – send him down and if it breaks his spirit – TOUGH!
       3. – Clayton WAS ready and look what happened. Lots of teams start building their pitchers up slowly.
       4. – Vindette absolutely needs to be called up!

    2. I think #2 is a fair point.

    3. #3 – Alex Wood pitched 8 innings his 1st game out. He got food poisoning just before his 3rd game and was not allowed to go past 75 – 80 pitches the next game. He went 6 the next two games, one a win (Nats) and one a bad loss to the Giants. Maybe he can go longer if the team makes plays behind him so he doesn’t have to waste pitches. The last two games he grinded it out and kept us in a position to win 2 games against the DBacks.

16. Here’s another wild swing. Image how bad we’d be doing without Matt Kemp.

17. I think this malaise and lack of direction comes from the top down. My feeling is that this is somewhat of an absentee ownership group. For example… I grew up in New York in the 70’s and 80’s… if Pedro Baez had been on one of George Streinbrenner’s Yankee teams during that time and he had one of his bad pitching stretches… like this year, last year, or the year before that… where it was costing the team games… he would have had the guy shipped out by the end of the week.
    .
    The comment by Farhan is absolutely mind blowing! Mind blowing that he truly believes that despite all of the real reasons on the field… right in front of him.
    Does he even watch the games!? Or is he just looking at Data on the screen like the computer tech in The Matrix… trying to mine for the latest inefficiencies.
    .
    It’s also mind blowing that he’s dumb enough to say something like that out loud and not realize how that makes him look.
    .
    Nomar has been saying it for a while and he was most emphatic about it last night during the pre & post game analysis. These analytics nerd are killing the team and the sport in general… small ball wins games (choking up, making contact, getting runners over, bunting, sac flies, hit & runs, steals, etc.)
    .
    Dave Roberts obviously cares about his players and his team… but he’s the damn manager… the captain of the ship… he needs to do something / say something to make more of an impact on these guys. Too many of them just look like they’re sleep walking out there… it’s frustrating to watch.
    .
    As for Cody… he’s very young and impressionable… where’s the guidance. Where the hell is Turner Ward in all of this!? Has Turner become too friendly with the guys? Cody is trying to murder the ball with the bases loaded… with no strikes, one strike, two strikes… it doesn’t matter… his approach is exactly the same.
    I don’t even mind if you give yourself one swing to knock the cover off the ball… but if you miss it… you HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR APPROACH!!! You have to choke up, protect the plate and make contact… especially when a bloop hit can bring in two runners.
    .
    I’m not opposed to sitting Cody for a game right now. And when he is in the lineup… I think Dave really has to move him down to the 6 or 7 spot until he starts to change his approach at the plate. And please, please, please get Joc and Muncy out of the starting lineups… enough is enough already.
    .
    This is little league stuff… I was taught these things when I was 8 years old… it’s just absolutely maddening to watch such talented professionals keep defining the definition of insanity every night on live tv.

18. Bellinger isn’t playing like last year.
    Forsythe is playing like last year.
    Seager is out for the year.
    Taylor in CF or SS is nothing like last year.
    Turner has not played a game yet. Muncy and Farmer are doing nothing at 3B.
    Ryu is out until at least August.
    Kershaw, third straight year on the DL.
    Koehler has not pitched this year.
    Puig had his best year last year and so far this year is a very big disappointment.
    Pederson should be traded, no sense in him taking playing time from anyone at OKC.
    FAZ had a goal to get under the luxury tax, mission accomplished and I go along with their strategy, now they need to make some huge decisions concerning next year.
    I have no idea what Honeycutt is or isn’t doing.
    Roberts is managing this year just like the last 2 seasons and I don’t think he is or can change. I think Roberts is not a good game manager and so far this season I think he is as bad as the players. As with some of the players that won’t return next year Roberts should be held accountable.
    My comments about Roberts is not brought on by frustration for this season but rather seeing how some teams ( giants and Arizona ) seem to try and bully the Dodgers and watching Roberts do nothing in return. I think the Dodgers have taken the personality of Roberts and play a nice easy going game, win or lose. I want to see some fire in the team, I want the pitchers to protect the hitters, I want the Dodgers to bring the infield ( that game against the giants still aggravates me ) in and play to win.
    Time to stop.

19. Baseball 1439. I agree with you. There is no fire in the belly of the players because there is no fire in the belly of the manager.

20. I WANT TO SEE SOME OF THIS STUFF:
    

21. Enough with just giving up and walking away. GET MAD!

22. Last night when Roberts was asked if he was going to talk to the team he shook his head and said no as if that was unreasonable. Say what!
    I guess he’s trying to send messages to the team telepathically, it ain’t working.
    If Doc is such a great communicator he ought to get communicating that this crap needs to stop. Today.

23. Players and management seem in disagreement about something. If they’re on the same page then I’d rather see them start something and come to blows with each other purely for the value of simple entertainment. Next time we have a key player hit by a pitch revenge better be served! Let our players feel again what has always been an unwritten rule so they know who their team really is. We need a reincarnation of a Don Drysdale in our rotation and lineup and that’s the page players and management should get on board with.

24. No one was complaining about a lack of fire last year with the same players and manager and coaches. Besides, “fire” doesn’t improve someone’s skills or performance. The real issues are:
    1 – The Braintrust did little to improve the team this year. The goal for the past offseason was to reset the luxury tax and they did pull off the miraculous trade and dumped all of that salary. Additionally, Kemp has played well surprisingly, while none of the players they traded are doing much of anything.
    2 – The Braintrust did something that the numbers should have told them not to – they relied on career years from Wood, Jansen, Taylor, Puig (or close to it), Morrow (who’s gone anyway), and maybe Turner, and didn’t consider the risk of a sophomore slump from Bellinger. Not everyone can have a career year and you can’t have one every year.
    3 – They didn’t upgrade the bullpen enough. The ‘pen’s collapse has been one of the main culprits in the team’s collapse this year. There isn’t a single guy I trust to give the ball to as the “bridge” to Jansen.
    4 – Too many utility players.
    5 – The inability to play small ball to get a needed run, or situational hitting is a SABR problem. All of the acolytes of Billy Beane believe in the 3 run HR – don’t steal bases, hit and run, bunt, or make productive outs to move runners over. This is a philosophical issue and as long as the Braintrust is running things it will continue to be an issue. Think about it – the manager is a guy who’s primary value as a player was as a base stealer, bunter and small ball guy. Don’t you think that if the Dodgers had the players who could do it Roberts would, if he is allowed to?
    6 – Not enough starters pitching enough innings. This means a 9 man pen and a 4 man bench. Even so, they run out of relievers too often and out of bench players regularly. They have to get innings out of starters.
    –
    The Dodgers may need to hit the reset button this year. Of the current roster, Ryu’s contract is up at the end of the season as is Forsythe’s. Puig has one more year. Forsythe has been a disaster in Dodger Blue and I won’t miss him. Who will play 2B next year? Don’t necessarily say Taylor. He’s been awful this year. Anyone in the minors? Do they make a trade? And what about Grandal? Barnes and Farmer aren’t showing anything this year. Did Barnes have a career year last year too? Are the Dodgers’ many catching prospects ready for next year?
    –
    Same with the rotation. I wonder if Kershaw opts out. If he keeps having physical problems then probably not. He’s not exactly lighting it up out there this year either. You can’t count on Hill at 39 next year – heck you can’t really count on him anyway. So you will have Maeda, Buehler and ?
    –
    Please rebuild the ‘pen. No more El Gasolino please.
    –
    I don’t have a reason to be optimistic about the rest of the season. If they can’t beat the likes of Cincinnati or San Diego, then who can they beat? The have only won 2 series all year after 6 weeks. Gads!

    1. Good takes. Maybe Kershaw not opting out could be a blessing. Extend our window another couple years with him. I’d love to see the geniuses in the front office surprise us with a trade. Maybe for a true set-up man. I’m willing to be patient for some talent to return but guys like Puig, belli and Taylor need to get right fast. No job should be secure right now. Go blue

    2. Rick

       This sounds about right to me, especially four and five, and five not only doesn’t help much on offense, it just makes the game really boring.

25. Wow, I can’t believe how much I’ve heard and read today on other feeds how many people want to run Doc and Turner out of town. Damn, pump the breaks people. Two years ago he was manager of the year, last year he won 104 games and went to the World Series. Turner Ward is one of the most sought after guys in the game. Trust me, we cut him loose he will have a job in about 48 hours. Nomar had a great point in discussing Turner Ward. He said just because Ward is giving pointers and advice to some of these guys, doesn’t mean they are taking it to heart. He said it is up to every guy instead of blaming this or blaming that, look in the mirror and see what it is that I am doing wrong with my swing or my approach. We can blame Doc and Ward all we want, but the bottom line is that they can’t swing the bat or adjust the approach of their players, that is an individual thing.

    Yeah, I know everybody including myself is frustrated and pissed off right now, but one of the main reasons most of us are on this site is so that we can have intelligent conversation and hear great information from guys like Mark, AC, and DC, among others. Let’s not be like all the other knuckleheads that I heard call in on Rogan and Rodney today, they are totally clueless, bandwagon fans.

    Alana Rizzo had an interesting interview the other day when she said from her observation there was no friction whatsoever in the clubhouse, guys still trying, still working hard. She did touch on the fact that last years run was possible by alot of guys having career years, and how difficult it is match last year for some of them, they might have peaked. Interesting comment..

    Last thing, the division is going to be a mudbath this year.Nobody is going to run away and hide. Don’t forget guys, we are a total dumpster fire, still no JT, Seager, Kershaw, Ryu, Forsythe, Toles, Urias, yet we are ONLY 8 games out in May. That’s almost a quarter of the damn team on the DL, yet the D-Bags can’t put us away yet. This is not permanent, and through my frustration I totally believe in FAZ, Doc, and Ward. THIS WILL TURN, just not as fast as we would like. We are still too talented to go down without a fight.

    LOSING LIKE THIS IS WHEN THE TRUE DODGER FAN”S GET SEPARATED FROM THE BANDWAGON POSERS. Don’t throw dirt on us just yet. We still got a heartbeat. Now let’s get a damn win tonight!!

26. Doc shakes up lineup. Mark gets through to him?!
    .
    Take a look at the lineup on preview, click on statcast, and see stats like ave. exit velocity.

27. 1) Utley…..2B
    2) Joc………CF
    3) Yas……….C
    4) Kemp….LF
    5) Cody…..1B
    6) CT3…….SS
    7) Muncy..3B
    8) Puig…….RF
    9) Maeda..P
    –
    Taylor dropped to 6 and Utley leads off-Like it, Chase has been playing well lately.
    Cody moved out of cleanup, Kemp moved in-Like it, Kemp deserves it and Cody does not.
    Puig hits 8th where he killed last year-Like it, except he should never be behind Muncy.
    Joc hits 2nd-Hate it but at this point he is walking and trying to make contact.
    Muncy hits 7th-Hate it but maybe like a blind squirrel he finds a nut tonight.
    –
    At least Doc is trying to shake things up. Harvey will probably get lit up tonight so I will not make too much out of it if the Dodgers win, but boy do they need not just a win but a win streak. Let’s go Blue!!

    1. Muncy with a 3 hr game tonight. You read it here first!

    2. Kemp is the only guy swinging a bat right now. He should be hitting 3rd. Nice start by Grandal but reality is setting in. He’s not a #3 hitter.

       I hate this lineup but can only hope the Reds pitching is even worse.

28. Well said dodgerrick! I love the three run home run but you still have to play the game of baseball. You still have to move runners up, you still have to go with the pitch, you still need to be able to bunt…especially the pitchers. I am having a serious problem with the make up of this team. The lack of fundamentals. We played better fundamentally sound baseball in high-school than the Dodgers. We could hit and run, steal a base and we were fined if we made a mental mistake like missing a cut-off man.

29. Gavin Lux hasn’t played in a couple days. Anyone know why? Perhaps he got promoted to Tulsa?

30. Taylor called out on strikes again. Harvey (ERA 7.00) pitching better than Maeda?

31. Harvey would not have pitched well for LA… because he couldn’t pitch against LA.
    –
    Actually, I heard that Harvey maxed out at 92 or 93, but I saw some at 96 tonight.
    –
    Is he that good or are the Dodgers that bad?

32. Justin De Fratus pitched a 9 inning , 4 Hit Shutout (2.76 ERA) for OKC.
    –
    Henry Ramos needs to be promoted.
    –
    Forsythe is on a rehab assignment at RC.

33. 28 wins 38 losses counting September 2017 and this year. Pathetic not only can’t beat the worst team in the majors but can’t even score on them. I have just never followed a team that strikes out more with a runner on third and less than 2 outs. Taylor needs to go back to the minors. If turner is healthy why rehab him they don’t rehab the pitchers and they get their 4 innings in. He can probably outhit most of these guys lefthanded. Surely he can bat .200. Btw put Maeda in the bullpen or trade him then you could probably solve one problem.

    1. After playing in Rancho this weekend, Turner will be flying with the team on their next road trip, after this weekend.

34. I guess this officially makes us the worst team in the NL. On the bright side, we should be able to get either a number one or number two draft pick!

    1. to quote the gorillaz, “white flag white flag!”

35. Last 15 games Grandal is batting .186 he does not belong in the 3 spot. Junior high coaches would know this. The front office is expecting way too much from this minor league team. Utley is over the hill he is not a regular, Pederson is not a 2 hitter and an average mlb player at that and if that., Grandal career .240 hitter, bellinger powerful but an average mlb hitter .270 range, kemp is a productive hitter with health issues, Taylor milb it appears, Muncy my word how in the…., Puig inconsistent slow bat great defender. Turner is the only really good average hitter on the team not counting seager. So, we are just a very weak offensive team. Starting pitching, Kershaw when healthy among the best, wood average stuff needs great command average no. 3-4, hill inconsistent injury risk a 3-4, maeda inconsistent ave. Stuff 4-5, Buehler great stuff probably can be a 2 but will need mlb seasoning. Bullpen we’ll do I really need to go there. Turner will make a huge difference in skill and leadership but doesn’t have enough help. Blow this team up ASAP

    1. You pretty much nailed it.

36. Mark:

    Love the blog, but is it now time for us to concede the FO has been a bit overrated? I guess it’s cathartic for me to visit the blog and lament about how bad we are and misery indeed loves company I guess. The FO has been so proactive ever since they were brought on board starting with the trade of Dee Gordon, but to see them do so little this off season to improve the team is a stunner.

    They used analytics and age performance projections to avoid a bad contract with Grienke but it seems their analytics were a bit off when they assumed a continued upward projection of CT3, Joc, Barnes, Puig and others. This team has no power, BP sucks and no clutch hitting.

    I think we’re destined for a 4th place NL West finish and a top ten draft pick next year.

37. If LA can’t beat the Reds or the Pads and they are 2 of the 3 worst teams in the NL, how do they hope to compete with real baseball teams?

38. Depth?
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardcole/2018/05/11/cole-dodgers-depth-is-grossly-overstated/#3b7327f47db0

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