Usually at the trade deadline, every team looks to get better so that they can make that special run and maybe, just maybe, catch lightening in a bottle. Me? I am becoming to develop a realization that the Dodgers problems are too complex and deep to solve with more deadline trades. Let’s consider what the Dodger’s problems might be:
- Kenley Jansen – His velocity is down… way down. If you will remember, I was against re-signing Kenley, especially to a 5-year deal, but obviously his first year under his new deal was a resounding success. This year, he is showing the usual signs of someone who is headed to surgery. Yep, there I said it! I would not be nearly as concerned with Kenley, if his velocity was not down so much. That’s the concern.
- Clayton Kershaw – It’s no secret his velocity is down. His back and hip are also a problem. What we are seeing here is what you would expect from someone who has 11 years and 2,000 innings on his arm. One would believe that surgery is also in the cards.
- Alex Wood – His velocity is also down, WAY DOWN from early last season. I don’t know if he is injured or just unable to sustain higher velocity.
- Chris Taylor strikes out way too much. He struck out 25% of the time last year and now is at 32% for 2018. That is unacceptable.
- Corey Seager is gone for the year… he’ll not be back until 2019.
- Justin Turner is not right and may not be right the rest of the year. His wrist is getting better, but he may not bee 100% until next year.
- The Dodgers can’t hit with RISP. Now, to put this into perspective, the Dodgers are 17th in MLB in hitting with RISP, but they are 7th in OB% with RISP. They are 9th in runs scored with RISP. A healthy Turner and Puig along with a big bat (Machado) could change that greatly, but it’s not a given the Puig will be back and if he is, it may be like starting over in Spring Training. He was just starting to put it all together when he went down.
I acknowledge that things can change rather quickly, but Clayton and Kenley are the most concerning. I am a “Glass Half-Full” person, but I cannot ignore all of the above problems, coupled with the bullpen issues, which could be cured rather easily with another arm (pick one of the arms we know are available). Hyun Jin Ryu threw a successful 25 pitch bullpen station on Friday and may be back by the the end of July. Julio Urias is also progressing, having thrown two simulated games in Arizona and having hit 93 MPH on the gun. He may be back in early August.
But I still am beginning to feel that it may be time to stand down! On the other hand, I also believe in miracles….
Other Dodger News
- Shea Spitzbarth was promoted to AAA and after 1.1 IP sports a 20.25 ERA – It’s bound to get better…
- Will Smith hit another Jack last night, his 17th and he sports .985 OPS. He really needs to be in AAA… or higher.
- There has been a Yadier Alvarez sighting: He pitched 0.2 innings in relief and got smoked, allowing 3 runs on 3 walks and 1 hit.
CT3, Cody and Enrique Hernandez K way too much and the hitting w/ RISP is what seems like a five-year problem. The glut of starting pitching bodes well for the Dodgers but they need some offensive explosion and that will most likely come from someone acquired at the trade deadline. To make it happen fans should be prepared to see some existing players on the 25 or 40 man roster get jettisoned. I would not at all be surprised to see one or more of Joc, Puig, CT3, Toles, Barnes, Verdugo, Grandal, Ryu, or Wood packaged in a deal to get offense.
Let’s just hope that offense isn’t Granderson or Reddick, they were horrendous acquisitions and added almost no value in the post season.
Makes sense to me. Rebuild it piece by piece. No rash decisions. If a deal presents itself, take it. Dont force the issue.
The Dodgers have played 95 games with 67 left to play so we are close to 2/3 of the way through the season. While they have made a very nice turnaround from 10 games under .500, there are certain things about the team that just are what they are:
1 – The Dodgers’ bullpen is a weakness. Not only has the well-publicized “bridge to Jansen” been a bust this year(the Dodgers are 22nd in bullpen WAR), The Athletic ran an article on bullpens on 7/13 which had a chart comparing all closers’ K rate and velocity. Jansen’s K rate is down to 9.4/9 Ip (the lowest of his career) and his velocity is down to 92.3 MPH. While Jansen doesn’t need elite velocity to be effective if his cutter is moving, it manifestly doesn’t have the same movement as it has in the past. Will he return to the Jansen of old?
2 – The Dodgers are 16th in fielding percentage and their defensive WAR continues to be below average. This is a team problem.
3 – Here’s how the Dodgers rank in WAR by position:
SP – 7th
RP – 22nd
C – 8th
1B – 5th
2B – 24th
3B – 12th
SS – 12th
LF – 6th
CF – 6th
RF – 11th
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There is no position where you can say that the Dodgers are simply outstanding They are good at some and awful at a couple (RP and 2B) but mostly mediocre, which is what you expect from a team hovering around .500 most of the season.
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There are many obvious issue that we as fans tend to be blind to. It’s hard to be objective if you have a rooting interest. Mark has listed several (hitting with RISP, pitchers like Jansen and Kershaw perhaps being on the downsides of their careers), but the problems right now are broader still. This is a substandard defensive team that does not hit well with RISP and doesn’t do situational hitting. Too much 3 true outcomes (HR, K, BB). (This is a Braintrust design flaw, by the way. )
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I expect the Dodgers to compete in the West but don’t expect another Series appearance this year.
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As i have opined previously, this next offseason will be very interesting. Not only will they have a cap reset, some players will come off of the roster (Ryu and Grandal unless they are resigned; Kershaw depending on the opt-out), but they will find out if Seager can still play SS and which minor leaguers are ready for prime time and will decide whether to make a splash in the big free agent market (unlikely, but I guess you never know).
The season is now 0.586 done. Less than 3/5th and way less than 2/3rd. Just saying.
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Defensive WAR is misleading and it subtracts from overall WAR but I agree, the Dodgers rank too low in WAR for too many positions. Interestingly though is the desire expressed by many in here to move the low WAR at shortstop to CF if Machado is obtained. The outfield platoon in LF and CF between Joc, Matt, and Kike’ is working. It’s time to think of Taylor as a trade piece.
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I don’t think Kemp will be back next year unless it is as a DH. I don’t think Puig will be here next year and maybe as soon as this month.
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I would trade one of Taylor or Hernandez if the Dodgers trade for Machado. I would keep Lux and May. Maybe Santana and Taylor for Machado. Or, Santana, Alvarez, Rios/Wong and Hernandez for Machado and Brittin.
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I would bring up Will Smith and start his clock.
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I would use Verdugo to get another relief pitcher to accompany Brittin.
The WAR numbers above are total WAR and not defensive WAR. This includes the offensive and baserunning contributions too.
I assumed that your WAR numbers were total WAR Rick but I can see where i didn’t make that clear.
Agree with your concerns. Interestingly, Jon Weisman has a somewhat alternative look at the Dodgers as compared to the rest of the NL.
It ends with this:
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“But I don’t think many people realize that despite these and other issues, the Dodgers have the NL’s No. 2 pitching staff in wins above replacement and No. 1 in ERA and fielding-independent pitching. I saw one person Friday on Twitter call Dodger pitching “shaky,” and all I can say is — even conceding that’s true — that only means that every other team’s pitching as shakier.
An interesting article by George Will about baseball (he’s a huge fan) and the calls to change the game as it’s played now (he’s against new rules but in favor of changes happening). Here are a few excerpts:
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Today’s all-or-nothing baseball is too one-dimensional. There are too many strikeouts — for the first time in history, more than hits, a lot more. And the number is increasing for the 13th consecutive season.
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In about one-third of today’s at-bats, the ball is not put in play (home-run balls are put in the seats). Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci notes that by the end of June there were “more strikeouts in half a season than there were in the entire 1980 season.” And “on average, you have to wait [3 minutes and 45 seconds] between balls put in play — 41 seconds longer between movement than 20 years ago.”
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Incessant radical shifting will persist until it is moderated by demand summoning a supply of some Rod Carew-like hitters.
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Before restricting managers’ and players’ interesting choices by limiting shifts (and certainly before softening the ball; or moving the pitcher more than 60 feet, 6 inches from the plate), give the market — freedom for fan-pleasing ingenuity and adaptation — a chance.
Rick: Funny you should mention Rod Carew. Just reading bout him in today paper under the heading “This date in Baseball”. In 19 69 he stole home which was the 7th(SEVENTH) time he stole home that year which tied Pete Reiser’s 1946 ML record. He only had 19 SB that year. He was an AS from the 1st to the next to last year of his career.
The fan fallout clock is ticking too fast to let implementation of Will’s thoughts make baseball more exciting. Always good to have people that have a stage to love baseball.
Rick
Some of the saber metric formulas and how they value certain stats, don’t reward hitters that can put the ball in play, or use small ball, to get runners in scoring position, and get runs in.
In other words, they don’t reward a player, that is a team player, that does everything in their at bats, to get runners over, and get runs in, to help their team win.
Three outcome hitters, are rewarded for walks, much like hits, so they are probably better off waiting for a walk, once they get deep in a count, and they are down on the count, to a pitcher.
Because walks are still beneficial to a player’s OPS, because like I already said above, walks are valued the same as a single, even though they don’t often, get the same results.
And once a hitter is down on a count to a pitcher, especially with two strikes, they are more likely to strike out, then get a hit, or even a walk.
But even if a hitter does strike out with a runner, or when runners are on base, they are not penalized, anymore then a hitter that moves a runner over into scoring position in their at bat, by hitting to the right side.
These basic tenets in saber metrics, doesn’t value team play on offense, and doesn’t really reward players for being able, to put the ball in play.
And today in baseball, as everyone knows here, player’s numbers are more inspected, and more analyzed, then they ever were.
And because of that, pitchers are dominating, and there is not a lot of action, in most games, except walks, strike outs, and the occasional, HR, unless the pitching is subpar.
I agree this is a pretty frustrating team. We’re not close to what we all saw from the team 1 year ago. Yet somehow we’re half a game out with all these injuries and problems.
I think a good back end of the bullpen will solve a lot of these issues. The smart thing to is to 1) get relief help for innings 7 and 8, and 2) start playing smarter offensive baseball when runners are on. Tell Chris Taylor that a dead cow could’ve gone up there and struck out with the winning run on 2nd and nobody out. Put the damn bat on the ball and stop trying to be a hero.
I agree with everyone on this board about our issues. Yet in about 6 hours we have a chance to be in first place going into the all star break.
Bobby, you are right that the Dodgers could be in 1st place at the AS game. As it now stands they are 3.5 games out of the best record in the NL (Cubs). But that is because the NL is not very good. There are multiple teams that can get to the playoffs, and many of those teams (including the Dodgers) could be left out. But none of the NL teams are as good as the BoSox, NYY, or Houston. If the Indians go out and get a reliever (or two), they are in the middle of it all as well. All it takes is to get to the WS to be able to win it. Get hot for 7 games (or 4 of them anyway). Right now, you would be hard pressed to convince baseball people that the Dodgers are better than the DBacks, Rox, Giants, Cubs, Brewers, Phillies, and Braves. As good as, yes, but not better than. Would a bat like Machado in the middle of the order and a top reliever like Barraclough (and throw in Steckenrider) put them over the top. It would certainly push them past most if not all in the NL.
I look forward to having a Machado / Muncey double play combination.
Given Jansens issues if the Dodgers traded for Barraclough (or someone similar) would he be the bridge to Jansen or take over the closets job?
Because of all that you listed, the window seems to be closing somewhat on the Dodgers. Both the Braves and Phillies have arrived early, and I expect next year the Padres to be legitimate. The Cubs are very young and will have all the money they need to add to their team in 2019, and have shown an aptitude for doing so. The Cardinals have the young pitching that they can add positional pieces to become a legit threat to the Cubs. I am not as impressed with the Brewers as some are, because I do not think they have the pitching depth. Jimmy Nelson will be back at some point, and if you are bullish on Julio Urias’ return, then you need to be just as bullish on Jimmy Nelson’s. They have other holes as well. IMO, they are this year’s version of the 2017 Twins, playing above their heads. On the plus side, the Giants, DBacks, and Rox, should also begin to decline somewhat. The Giants will have a lot of freed up money with the loss of Hunter Pence and Andrew McCutcheon to build on (nearly $33M AAV), and their Ace will only cost $14M. Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez will only get better. The Giants will also not be shy about going over the luxury tax threshold if it helps. They will do whatever it takes to ride MadBum one last time in 2019.
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The Dodgers have no sure fire stars in the minors. We need to ask ourselves, why is Alex Verdugo still in the minor leagues? What else does he need to do to show that he belongs in MLB? What is there that we do not know? Yusniel Diaz is another good hitting corner OF with limited power who is not getting moved up. Why? DJ Peters has the power, but he also strikes out at the pace of Chris Davis. And then there are a glut of #4 and #5 OFs in the system. Jeren Kendall’s highest value might be to trade him now. Or do they go opposite of their developmental strategy and go away from power to contact for Kendall? Starling Heredia? He is not even playing right now. Why?
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What middle infielder is ready to make the jump to LA. The best one in the system is Gavin Lux, and Mark is not sold on him at all. Mark is certainly not alone in that assessment. Rylan Bannon is a 3B learning how to play 2B, and he probably should go back to 3B so he would be in a position to replace JT in 2021 (if not 2020). So do the Dodgers have to wait until Ronny Brito or Jacob Amaya are ready?
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Tim Locastro, Angelo Mora, Breyvic Valera, Donovan Solano, Jake Peter, Drew Jackson, and Errol Robinson…How many more utility players do the Dodgers need to groom to match, Kike’, CT3, and Max Muncy. That does not include Kyle Farmer who is a utility player who can catch. If that is not the case then why is he still in OKC when he has had more clutch hits than Austin Barnes? Farmer is 3-7 with 3 doubles with RISP and 2 outs, with 5 RBIs. He also has 2 walks, so he is 5-9 getting on base with RISP and 2 outs.
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What is to become of good hitters without a position? Edwin Rios and Matt Beaty?
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How many strong catchers do the Dodgers need? 3 of their top 14 are catchers, and they just signed a 16 year old who could be better than all three of them.
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The Dodgers are drafting more and developing more relief pitchers than starting pitchers. Where do you think FAZ believes the future for pitching is in? It can be argued that it is a result of where they do draft and all of the college starting pitching is gone. Might be true.
Not signing their #1 in 2018 does not bode well since none of those level of pitchers will be available at #31 next year. But it does not dismiss the fact that after Buehler the Dodgers do not have a legit #1 or #2 in the system. It is possible that Mitchell White may be able to develop, but realistically he is a #3. Santana and Ferguson are certainly back end rotation types, but may be more valuable in the pen in the long run. Dustin May is projected with a ceiling of #3, and he looks good in A+ ball. This is why, I wanted Gerrit Cole last winter. Jordan Sheffield? Reliever. Morgan Cooper? Who knows? He needs to pitch before he can be assessed. Tony Gonsolin and Dean Kremer? Relievers. This does not include the batch of quality relievers that are in AA and A+. Patrick Corbin has to be on the Dodgers FA list next year.
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RISP – It is hard to score with RISP when your team strategy is HR and not contact. No ML pitcher is going to miss that often when they know how the Dodgers will approach the AB with RISP. Right or wrong, that is how the team is built, and that is how they are being developed. The Giants lost yesterday, but Steven Duggar is an outstanding CF who can fly, and he hit two doubles and came around to score twice on ground ball singles. Giants games are the only games you get in wine country in restaurants.
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My point is that this may be the best chance for the Dodgers for the next few years. The Dodgers farm is good not great, so some can be packaged for the two – three pieces needed for this year, because next year it gets harder in the NL while the AL will still be loaded. Maybe they can flip Alex Wood for some developmental needs. NYY gave up a ton to get Sonny Gray. What will they give up for Alex Wood? Would the Indians consider making Wood into another Andrew Miller? Their bullpen is horrid right now, Miller is hurt, and is a FA next year. What would Seattle give up of Wood? Is there anyone out there who would give up a haul like the Cubs gave up for Quintana? If FAZ is going to give Verdugo a shot, then either Puig or Joc need to be moved. Will they? I have not seen any evidence that this is a strategy that they utilize. Maybe Donnie Baseball hates Puig, but he loves Joc. Seattle could use a CF like Joc, and so could Baltimore (who needs LH hitters).
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Finally, maybe the reluctance to pull the trigger on top players like Machado is because Andrew and Farhan may not be able to truly determine their value. They are great at building a 40 man, but when they trade for or sign a top baseball FA talent (outside of LAD), it will be their first one. You cannot get Manny Machado or Gerrit Coles when your strengths are uncovering the likes of CT3, Andrew Toles, Brandon Morrow, and Max Muncy. It is hard to dismiss these thoughts when the deadline trading for positional players bring you Josh Reddick and Curtis Granderson as the centerpieces. It is hard to imagine them going for a quality reliever when they look at Tom Koehler, Dylan Floro, Zach Neal, and Zac Rosscup as the upgrades.
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FAZ will always put up a team that can contend, but can they put together a team that can win? They haven’t yet. Maybe 2018 is the year.
AC
I totally agree with you, about all the teams in the National League this year, because non of these teams, are dominating in this league.
I think the National League teams that get hot toward the end of the season, will survive, and will go to the post season.
And the team in the National League that pitches the best in the post season, will face one, of the Yankees, the Red Sox, or the Astros.
And your right, it is hard to believe this front office will make a bold trade, at the trade deadline, because of their past trade deadline deals, and because they seem better equipped, to construct a team, for the long baseball season, then they have proved, when it comes to the trade deadline.
AC this was beautifully put this is a great rundown of how us fans can look at our farm system and see the decisions that FAZ makes.
Unless the price for Machado comes down, I too think the Dodgers need to stand pat or look at a solid offensive contributor instead of the splashy one. If the price for Machado is Lux and May I do that deal. The Dodgers usually don’t sell high on their players when they have good years and the organizations projections come back to bite them. (See Ethier, Kemp and Puig)
For those that say that some playera K too much, it’s a baseball problem, not just with the Dodgers. Last year the overall K ratio was 21.6 and this year it is 22.6.
I think JT will pop close to playoff time and lead the way. Seager needs to realize that his future is 3B and once JT’s contract is up he should be ok to slide over.
If I’m FAZ, I focus on bullpen help. A guy is kick the tires on for the 8th inning would be Jerry’s Familia. He’s a FA after this year and he could pull a Morrow and get that next contract. What the Mets would want or his availability is something I don’t know.
Sorry for the typos. Damn autocorrect
Probably a good call. Not easy fixes. Taylor not what we thought. Wood still ugly. If Jansen’s velocity doesn’t come back that is a tough replacement. Still think Kershaw could change his approach and be very good using that awesome curve. The best offensive players on the team were not even Dodgers last year. In chess the best players are many moves ahead. Hope FAZ is really good at chessball and is working on next season….and the next, and the next.
AC finished his post with this: FAZ will always put up a team that can contend, but can they put together a team that can win? They haven’t yet. Maybe 2018 is the year.
100% disagree. The Dodgers have put together a team that can win. Just because it didn’t win, doesn’t mean it couldn’t win. Most teams who win the title have their stars step up when it matters most, because that’s what stars do. Teams get you to the playoffs, and stars close it out and bring you the title. Teams whose stars do not perform in the playoffs do not win. The Dodger brass put together a team that got to the playoffs, for 5 straight years! And what happened? Our biggest star could never take us over the top. The Dodgers built this team to get to October with the belief that the best pitcher in the game could take it over from there and be the best pitcher in the game. But he could never do it.
Organizations’ jobs are to put teams in position to be the best after 162 games, and to get to the tournament. But after that, the stars need to step up and do their jobs. The main reason, the #1 reason that we haven’t won a title or 2 the last 5 years is because Clayton Kershaw is great from April to September, and just an average pitcher in October. If Kershaw performs like a star should, like he’s paid to do, like his reputation as one of the best ever (in his prime I might add) says he should do, then we have a few rings and this group is on the verge of a dynasty.
Now this year, with all the injuries and super slow start (and obviously a letdown after a game 7 loss) we’re still back in the thick of things. Unlike last year, we’re not better than anyone in the NL. But we’re also not much worse. It’ll go to the very end of September. It’s the organization’s job to get us some help to be able to get to October. But after that, can the players step up? The main difference in my mind is that we don’t have that “star” anymore starting game 1. Kersh now is basically October Kersh, not regular season Kersh from the past 8 seasons. Hence why I keep arguing for a trade for DeGrom.
I don’t know if we’re good enough to get to the World Series, but we have a solid shot. Can the organization make the move(s) to make us formidable in October? That’s all the team and fans ask for.
On MLB Radio, Steve Phillips said that if deGrom is traded he will bring the biggest return of any player in baseball history… may up to 5 TOP 10 prospects.
You are not wrong that the Dodgers have been in the playoffs 5 straight years. And yet they have only been to the WS once. You are right that the Dodgers stars did not come through last year. Kershaw has not been the “Guy” to carry the team in the post season. So why not get a Justin Verlander who has done well in the post season. I agree that the stars need to step up, but when they continually do not, how do you correct it? For five years they have not been able to get to a parade in downtown LA. Hope they change this time? Because without Seager they have one less star they can count on. The Dodgers stars are not as good as the Astros stars. They are not as good as the Boston Stars or the NYY stars. But they only have to beat one of them. If the FO wants to go with a starting rotation that has a problem going more than 6.0 innings, then they better get a couple of bullpen studs to close it out. Do you feel good about Zac Rosscup? And it sure would be good to have someone in the middle of the lineup who will not strike out more than 30% of the time. Machado has 51 Ks in 411 PA. Would you rather have Machado or Bellinger who is sub-Mendoza with RISP or Chris Taylor in the box?
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The Cubs were in the post season twice, winning the WS the 2nd time. The Royals were in the post season twice, winning the WS th 2nd time. The Giants were in the post season 4 times and won the WS on three of them. Boston has won the WS 3 times since 2004, with very poor teams in between. They are not afraid to gamble. Even the Marlins have won twice after the last Dodgers WS win. The Rays have been in as many WS as the Dodgers since 1988.
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Do you really think Braves fans were content with all of their consecutive division championships and ONE WS? They had 3 HOF pitchers and a HOF 3B, and got 1 WS? That is not what I want. I want to experience the euphoria that encapsulated the City of LA in 1988. What I would have given if the Dodgers had won 3 WS the Giants did in a 5 year span, in the last 5 years.
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The Dodgers have a chance this year and Dylan Floro and Zac Rosscup is not going to get it done. I do not want another year of Clayton not coming through again, or Jansen serving up another game tieing WS HR.
I think we’re both overall on the same page.
Are people giving up after one close loss to the angels?
I never give up!
Was it over when the Germans….
But I’m Irish – Norwegian.
I don’t think anyone is giving up. Just different opinions as to how to go forward.
1. I have warmed on Lux a bit. He is starting to show he could be a lot more than what I thought. I would be a moron to ignore what he is doing this year. I’d like to see him at the next level.
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2. Still very down on Kendall.
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3. Is is possible that we have so much outfield depth that a logjam is being created? Is there such a thing as “too much depth?”
….and AC’s assessment that the minor league talent in the Dodgers system is good but not great underscores the utter ignorance in not getting your first round pick signed. Gotta keep the minor league pipeline full of prospects that either graduates to the BIG’s or can be used as trade chips. I really think Gasparino and his team failed in that regard.
Watching the Dodgers on the big screen and the Futures Game on the computer while monitoring the Loons Gameday on the other screen…
Whatsya drinkin?
Ohhhh I forgot about the futures game. Who do we have in it?
AZ lost so we have first place at the break just waiting for us. Let’s go get it
Diaz and Ruiz!
I got you beat Mark. Dodgers on tv. Futures game on laptop. And Lakers summer league (with Lebron in attendance) on the ipad
Another solo HR!
88 of the Dodgers 127 HR on the season are solo HR.
Bo Bichette looks like he is 12 years old.
… but he can hit!
Toles flashes his speed.
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He has it!
And cleverly gets his hand under the pitcher’s foot to convince the replay team he was safe.
Lots of machado chatter. One mentioned verdugo & alvarez but dodgers holding out keibert. I wouldnt trade that guy. Sources maybe getting restless want to stoke the fires. Or it could be nothing. Seems harder and harder for him but allstar game first. Maybe agreed to before then.
Believe nothing of what you hear and 5% of what you see…
I remember being surprised by how perfectly the mondesi/green trade was predicted by the newspapers. We fleeced them.
Here’s my official machado trade prediction, announced after the allstar game: machado for verdugo, white, and kremer.
OK, but give us Britton too…
Wow, just watched Yusniel Diaz crush a 2 run hr ! Good for him (and us)
And is it me, but does Yusniel look a lot like Yasiel??
In the recent photo with Ruiz he looks thin. Ruiz has some beef. They both look like future major leaguers.
Saw that as well. Maybe that will get him a ticket to OKC instead of Tulsa.
But they said he (Diaz) doesn’t have power!
Squirrel, blindness, nut.
He will hit 25 HR in MLB.
2 Bombs by Diaz!
Just saw the highlights. Quick bat. Real quick bat.
FYI: The power comes later!
True
Kay Bear Ruiz was hit on the hand and removed from the game.
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Dang!
good. maybe he won’t be part of any trade then! (get well soon, but maybe soon can be August 1)
Please, dont trade Ruiz, smith, diaz, lux, or Peters. Or furgeson or may. Jiminez I could live with. And kendall, wong, Bannon, heredia. Other names I’m sure are in limbo and therefore in play.
haha well we just saw our 7th or 8th inning guy for the playoffs. Nice job Maeda!
… and down the stretch. Put Maeda and Wood in the pen and … the Dodgers need nothing!
Another SOLO HR!
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I”ll guess that within the next week or so, we should expect Diaz to move to AAA and Lux/Bannon to move to AA? Lux has certainly put it together this year, and Bannon looks really good as well.
ok, either that strike zone box is off, or this umpire missed 3-4 pitches in this first at bat of the 8th!
Ump called two pitches in the box balls, and called a pitch up and out of the box strike three.
Bring on the electronic strike zone.
Look at the Dodgers getting 3, 2 out singles in a row!! RISP batting avg just went up baby!!
Who is this club!!
This win was sweet, not because now we’re in 1st place at the AS break but because when out top 3rd of the batting order went 0-10, out 4-5-6 hitters went 7-11 and even our bottom third went 3-8.
I am going to start talking bad about them.
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They always do good when I bad mouth them.
Nice play by Muncy to end the game. In fact he made several nice defensive plays today.
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This is still not the dominant Kenley we’ve grown used to.
Alexander finally turning out to be what we thought he would be and he’s been doing it for awhile now.
We saw last year 100 wins dont mean shit. As long as we win the division I’m good.
As long as we win the World Series I’m good.
Interesting espn article regarding the discussion of shits on this board this week:
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24049347/mlb-hitters-explain-why-just-beat-shift
Freudian slip ????
haha, wow I just saw that! Love it
“discussion on SHIFTS on this board this week”
It’s hardly an original thought but could we pull off a true surprise move this deadline? Here are some candidates for what would qualify:
1. Any trade of a starting pitcher: wood is the only one who might make sense.
2. Upgrading catcher.
3. With Puig off the table, moving joc.
4. Adding another true closer.
5. Getting a 1b (abreu?) And moving bells to cf fulltime.
Tony Gonsolin got the promotion to AA. 24 year old 6′ 2″ 180 pound RHP has started for the first time in 2018, and has 17 starts thus far. In 83.2 IP, he has compiled a 4-2 record with a 2.69 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. He has 106 strikeouts and 26 walks. Not too shabby for a hitters league. He has a 4 pitch repertoire with 2 plus (fastball and splitter) and 2 above average (curve and slider). His fastball is in the mid 90’s range and touches 100. He was a two way player at St. Mary’s as an outfielder and reliever., and was the Dodgers 9th round draft choice in the 2016 draft. He signed for a whopping $2,500. A typical 9th round draft pick for LAD.
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Gonsolin has a tendency to lose focus which probably comes from the lengthy relief role he has had. But if he continues to improve his command, he could be a fast riser. This could be another Caleb Ferguson. If nothing else, his ceiling could be a late inning high leverage reliever. He needs to continue to start and see where that takes him. He is #21 Dodger prospect, and should rise to top 15 at the next publication.
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Another player I continue to talk about this year is 18 year old 3B/1B Miguel Vargas from La Habana, Cuba. He is currently in a Rookie League at Ogden and is putting up some pretty big numbers. In 46 ABs, Miguel is slashing .522/.569/.804/1.373. Combined with his AZL time this year, Miguel’s slash line is .444/.518/.653/1.171 in 72 ABs. What is remarkable is that he has 14 RBIs at Ogden and all of 2 Ks. His 4 walks indicate he is somewhat of a free swinger. Gee, go figure another free swinger from Cuba. Oh yeah, he also has 3 SB with no CS. Miguel Vargas is certainly someone to follow. I hope he gets to Great Lakes to see what he can do at that level.
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By the way, Great Lakes took a pair today and in shutout fashion. In his first start at Great Lakes, Gerardo Carrillo started game 1 and went 4.2 IP before he reached his 65 pitch limit. He gave way to Luis Pasan for 1.1 innings, and Jasiel Alvino wrapped it up with his 2nd save. The Loons won Game 1 – 1-0. The Loons were held to 3 hits, with Deacon Liput getting his 1st professional HR in the 6th inning for the game winner.
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In Game 2, Jeronimo Castro started and went 3.0 scoreless IP. A pair of 2018 draftees Justin Hagenman (23) and Steven Kolek (11) finished up, with Kolek getting his 2nd save. The Loons won Game 2 – 5-0. roman Cuadrado hit a HR (3) in Game 2, while Devin Mann and Luke Heyer each had a 2 hit game. But the offensive story today was 4 stolen bases for Brayan Morales who now has a league leading 45, with his closest pursuer at 33.
Might be a stretch but does Vargas make Christian santana expendable?
Vargas needs to prove himself beyond rookie ball before we make players like Cristian Santana expendable. We will learn more in a couple of years. Santana may not be having a great follow up season to last year, but he is still only 21 and he is tied for the league lead in RBIs with 61. He needs to learn a little more plate discipline (like a lot of Dominican players). He only has 14 walks with 106 Ks. I still like Santana quite a bit. With Bannon playing more 3B, Cristian is playing mostly 1B.
Gonsolin is on a fast track…
Alfonso soriano comp for diaz?
Not close…
What about lux and Alvarez for machado? Needs another piece
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If I were an opposing team looking to sell, I would not consider Alvarez. Waaaaaaaaay too much risk.
Kershaw, Turner and Jansen are still my heroes and they’re gonna win the World Series. I can go on, but why?
Luv that kind of talk Quas!!! Keep on keeping the faith!!!
Lets rest, eat well and get ready for the second half…
Was it really 60 years ago I was sneaking into my first Dodger games at the the Coliseum???