What About the Platoons?

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1. Joc shouldn’t start against LHP regardless of how good he has done in 4 games. Its crazy to think people are even suggesting it. He can not hit LHP no matter how good you think he is doing, If Joc actually played full time his numbers would be garbage, so lucky for him he only plays against RHP. Verdugo on the other hand can hit LHP, he can put on a professional at bat against LHP, if Muncy doesn’t turn it around I can see Belly to 1st and Verdugo to Right in the very near future. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with Verdugo but I already knew he was going to prove the early nay sayers wrong, it is early but i like what I’m seeing from him, alot.

   1. Joc’s history against LHP indeed is atrocious. He will get a hit on occasion, though. Does this mean he will never be able to hit LHP? Is the Van Scoyoc tutorial inclusive of teaching hitting LHP? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but if Joc is never exposed to LHP, then he surely won’t be hitting LHP in the future. Interesting problem.

      I don’t think the Dodgers have Verdugo in mind to platoon with Joc. So far, he is a PH and a replacement for one of the OF when they need a break. Taylor is the one that the Dodgers want to platoon with Joc. Whether that works out or not remains to be seen. Taylor will have show that he can hit once again and SO much less frequently. His SO’s are down, so far, but his hitting has been absent. Everyone remember Taylor’s 2017 contribution. Farhad gets the credit for picking him up along with Muncy. This season should tell the tale of the Taylor. Verdugo will probably be the odd Of out, getting much less frequent work.

      I do like the idea of Belli returning to 1B if Muncy doesn’t pull through his current malaise at the plate. Verdugo could then get his shot at being a starter. I don’t care for Muncy at 3B, though. That’s asking for trouble. He’s done quite well defensively at 1B but 3B is a different horse to tame.

      Mark, I am much in favor of giving Kelly some rest at the moment. We’ve got enough power to close ranks until he gets his stuff together. Who really knew he would fall apart like this?

2. Well, you don’t win too many games with 2 runs scored, that is true. But, I think I’ve heard this song before. 5 innings and 77 pitches, shutout going, just 3 base-runners in five innings. Time to pull him! That was the first mistake.

   I feel bad for Kelly. He gave up that leadoff HR, fine. Then he proceeded to retire the next 3 guys, progress! Let’s build his confidence and send him out for a second inning. That was the second mistake. Really playing with fire here. Gotta make sure to use the least effective reliever the most. After a single and 2 outs with a runner at third, the fat guy gets lucky singles off a pitch at his ankles. That probably would be a good time to call it a night, but no…a double to put runners at second and third. Now, it’s way too tempting to put in a lefty to face a lefty and make that mid-inning pitching change, third mistake and two more runs come home. Thanks Doc. And while you’re at it, please bore me with another mid-inning pitching change. Floro mercifully ends the inning with a fly ball.

   Roberts needs to stop putting himself and the team into these situations. Urias should have pitched the 6th, then this would have been a normal game. One inning each for Kelly and Baez then hand it off to Jansen. Instead, two innings each for Kelly and Baez and one batter each for Floro and Alexander. Alexander should not be limited to lefties only and maybe, just maybe, we should refrain from using Kelly for multiple innings until he finds his rhythm and has a couple of solid outings.

   With a good manager and a normal spring training workload, we would be 6-0 right now. We can NOT go through April with false limits on the starting pitchers. If they look tired, pull them. If they’re cruising along, let them pitch. We are screwing up our pen by putting an unnecessary workload on them.

   It was good to see Taylor go yard and have another hit. He gets on the board. He’s a good player and will have big moments all season. It was great seeing Verdugo leave the yard, but calm down Mark, fools day was yesterday and 30 homers is a big number. Hopefully he’ll ultimately be somewhere between Tony Gwynn and James Loney.

   I hope we can get a little more length out of our starters especially when they have shutouts going in the near future. Let that sink in a little. Both losses came in games where the starting pitcher had shutouts going though 75 pitches. Geez.

   I’m just a little concerned about facing left handed pitching right now. I guess we’ll know if that’s our Kryptonite again after the next two games.

   1. 30.

      Write it down and remember who predicted it when it happened.

      1. I hope you’re right. He looks good right now.

3. Kudos to you M.T. on the Verdugo comments… Let me preface this with I’m a big fan of Verdugo… He’s a AAAA player who ain’t going back to OKC and I wish they would give him the RF post and tell him it’s yours to lose… WE might be surprised…

4. Bellinger is hitting much better than he did last year and although his hitting stance and swing look a lot like it did last year, RVS has done something to make Bellinger better. There were reports that Belli started early with RVS this winter. There was little written about Joc working with RVS though but I think Joc has made the most out of RVS’ tutelage.

   Joc is clearly keeping his bat a lot longer in the hitting zone than he did last year and is now more consistently getting the barrel where it is supposed to be. He looks like he is thinking up the middle and then reacting to the pitch and either pulling or going with the pitch. Several of his home runs are to center and left field.

   Joc has a different swing against lefties. He is keeping his front shoulder in more and looks like he wants to hit line drives up the middle against lefties. If he keeps that philosophy he could do much better against lefties this year. Joc might be giving Doc reason to not pinch hit for him if a lefty reliever comes in before the 6th inning, maybe the 7th inning. That would help the Dodgers by not pairing the righty/lefty match up too early and then have righty on righty in the last three or 4 innings.

   There are a couple of locations pitchers can’t put the ball against Taylor or he will drill it. He seems to still have too many locations pitchers can put the ball though where he will struggle. It looks like the same is true for Muncy. Verdugo however is looking better and better. Freese didn’t look good to me in Spring Training and he still doesn’t. I think Beatty will take his spot next year.

   I like Urias and Stripling in the rotation and this year it might be appropriate to go with a 6 man rotation. If the bullpen is a weakness it won’t be when someone in the rotation joins it and that will happen when Kershaw and Hill return.

   I’m kidding Mark but maybe Baez has again moved ahead of Stewart on the bullpen ladder but has Kelly now dropped under Stewart? Is Kelly the new 25th man?

   1. Kelly is the 41st man right about now.

      1. And the 40th spot isn’t even filled.

5. Having too many position players is rarely a problem. That said, Muncy would be a near-perfect DH.

   I think we can make this work but, yeah, I’d really like to see Verdugo get some regular AB’s without just waiting for an injury or for someone to play himself out of the lineup.

   I’m guessing the F.O. has a timeline for how they’d like this to play out. Assuming we make the playoffs, the only thing that matters is who’s playing come October.

6. Mark, there is an older gentleman that sits almost directly in back of the catcher at Dodger Stadium He is always there, well dressed, dark rimmed glasses, and dark dyed hair with a deep tan. He is visible every pitch. Do you know who this person is?

   1. Dennis Gilbert

      1. Thanks.

   2. His name is Dennis Gilbert and we watch his reactions every game he is at. We call him “Mr. Suit”

      1. I tend to watch Mary Hart and her entourage. She was great during the WS imitating Kimbrel.

         1. I enjoy watching the crowds at the college basketball tournament. There was an Auburn supporter who reminded me of my second wife.

            1. I once told an attractive lady years before the Me Too movement taught me better that she reminded me of my second wife. She asked me how many times I had been married and upon hearing my answer of just once, she realized she had become my straight man.

7. Tweet last night from Alex Pavlovic:

   “Julio Urias is making his first start in nearly two years and he’s still three years younger than anyone on the Giants roster”

   1. hell, i was at Game 4 of the 2016 NLCS where Urias started . That seems like sooooo long ago!

8. Checked in on the Madre this week and youngster P Lauer and Tatis Jr. They are a team to be reckoned in the future.
   But we will overcome..

9. It’s far too early to look at stats; let’s look at some stats.

   Four batters are currently getting it done in a big way:

   Joc–1.063 SLG%
   Barnes–1.000 SLG%
   Bellinger–.958 SLG%
   Verdugo–1.000 SLG%

   Before you shout SSS at me for Verdugo, he has only two fewer AB’s than Barnes. And here’s a bonus fact: While Barnes has a neat 2/0 BB/K, Verdugo has an even cleaner 0/0 one. These boys make contact.

   Four batters are currently struggling: Seager, Muncy, Turner, & Taylor. At the request of the survivors, the numbers have been omitted. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.

   (Hernandez & Pollock have also been more than fine: .375/.450/.750 & .333/.417/.571 respectively

   Pitching is even harder to do, as the starters have only gone once through in the rotation and, in relief, one bad outing can spoil an entire line. Obviously, the standout poor performers are Kelly & Stewart [the latter will be shipped out as soon as Kershaw’s ready] and Yimi & Baez [although Baez did two toss 2 scoreless IP last night].

   The only starter who performed poorly is Buehler, who will hereby receive an official LADT Mulligan and be allowed to start his next game with a 0.00 ERA. Just waiting on the league to approve this. Mark, you might want to send Manfred a case of whiskey to grease the wheels if you can.

   Management: Subjective, but Roberts appears to be up to his old tricks and the F.O. gave him the roster it gave him: no Harper, Ottovino, etc.

   1. BlackMirror99

      Once again, your right on with your perspective.

      Buehler definitely should get a muligan, and it is definitely it is to soon, with Corey and Turner at the top of the strike out list.

      I also agree with 59 about only having Kelly pitch that one inning, and then get him out of that game, so he would feel a little better, and have more confidence after that.

      And this all starts with having our starters pitch deeper into a games, like 59 also suggested.

      Like I already pointed out, our starters are our strength, and Buehler is the only one of our starters that has got in trouble, so why is Roberts taking so many chances with the different guys in our bullpen?

      Because he is bound to find one reliever in our bullpen, that is not going to have a good night.

      Let’s keep it simple, and use as few pitchers from our bullpen
      to get the win, and instead, lean on our starters, who are our strength.

10. And Urias has been through a lot in those two years while he has been recovering.

    Many thought maybe his major league career was over, after hearing about his injury.

    All of this, has not only made him mature even more, it has made him the pitcher he is right now.

11. Did everyone hear the Giants just traded for Kevin Pillar?

    1. Yep.

       1. haha that about covers it doesn’t it 😉

12. For the record, holding Urias to a limited pitch count is not on Doc – it’s an organizational mandate. They want to build him up slowly and not stress his arm. The strings will come off next year. I’m 100% behind it. They will try and limit him to 150 innings in the regular season, in my opinion.

    Buehler is behind because he was not feeling good early in the Spring. The Dodgers know this is a marathon and have planned accordingly. Bullpens are so unpredictable as to how you set them up. Last years flavor-of-the-week is on this years’ junk pile. Usually, you can’t buy a bullpen.

    1. Mark

       I understand with both, and I agree with you about Urias.

       But I just hope Roberts can learn to leave best alone at times, because our strength is our starters.

       And it has to effect our starters mentally after pitching five or 6 good innings, only to have it go to waste.

       Roberts just needs to slo his roll, at times.

       1. Bullpens sometimes take time to develop.

          The Dodgers bullpen ERA is 6.27.

          The Nats who added a lot of pieces is double…. YES DOUBLE, that!

          It’s early and it’s a small sample.

          I prefer the 30,000 foot view, not the microscope.

    2. Is Urias on an innings limit or a pitch limit or both? If he’s on an innings limit, he should have pitched one more inning yesterday. Get 6 from the starters and not kill the pen. If he’s on a pitch limit, Doc needs to let everyone else pick up the slack on not take Stripling out after 76 pitches. Either way Doc is an idiot and a bad driver and a bad interview.

13. Did you hear about the three-legged cat who walked into a bar and said “I’m looking for the man who shot my paw?”

    1. Mark

       I am not worried about our bullpen, because I know we can get a decent reliever at the trade deadline, if we need one.

       And I understand about the small sample size.

       All I am saying, I wish Roberts would take it a little slower with his moves sometimes.

    2. There are three kinds of people in this world: those who can count and those who can’t.

       1. 5 out of 4 people struggle with math.

          1. 67% of all stats are made up.

    3. Never Joke about Cat’s with 3 Legs.
       Bad Luck for one.
       For two, my Cat, Sam I Am does not understand why Jokes about cats are always involve guns, paws, walking into pubs & bars, dogs, milk, animal control, being angry at people or being angry at people.
       For three, I love Cats.

14. Preliminary OKC Roster

    Starting Pitchers (4):
    Dennis Santana
    Tony Gonsolin
    Daniel Corcino
    Ben Holmes

    Relievers (9):
    Stetson Allie
    Joe Broussard
    J T Chargois
    Josh Sborz
    Justin Grimm
    Kevin Quackenbush
    Jaime Schultz
    Donnie Hart
    Josh Smoker

    Catchers (2):
    Rocky Gale
    Will D. Smith

    Infield (5):
    Edwin Rios
    Matt Beaty
    Angelo Mora
    Jake Peter
    Errol Robinson

    Outfielders (4):
    Kyle Garlick
    Ezequiel Carrera
    Paulo Orlando
    Cameron Perkins

    That is 24 named to the preliminary roster with 1 spot remaining. I would hazard a guess that the 25th spot is being held for the 5th starting pitcher, Brock Stewart. Depending as to what happens on Thursday with Clayton Kershaw’s rehab assignment start at OKC, Stewart could be optioned in time for a Monday (Game 5) start, and Kershaw could be in a position to start for LAD on Tuesday. Once Kershaw is added, Urias probably heads to the bullpen to continue with his innings control.

    Once Stewart is optioned, one of the OKC relievers will need to be moved or placed on the IL.

    One player not identified as on the preliminary roster is Daniel Castro (SS). I hope he remains in the organization. He has some skills for a part time role.

    1. Feels like if any of those relievers can get hot, they could earn a trip to our bullpen.

15. Mark, you might recall that I once noted that I thought Verdugo was capable of hitting 20-25 HRs, so I don’t think that 30 is out of the realm of possibility, especially if maturity kicks in for the soon to be 23 year old. That ball last night traveled 430 ft., at night in Dodger Stadium. In fact, I recall that Verduo’s first HR was to the opposite field, although it was at Coors.

    1. My math might be wrong but I see Verdugo with 2326 career plate appearances [both minors and majors] and 44 career home runs.

       That works out to one HR every 53 plate appearances.

       If we use 600 AB’s as a rough estimate for how many plate appearances he could see in a full regular season, that works out to 11 HR’s.

       Now I think he has the potential to add more power but so far it has not been a regular part of his game. I would personally take the “under” on his ever hitting 30 HR’s but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

       I’m guessing the Dodgers see him as a 20 HR-type player with great bat-to-ball skills and potential for a high O.B.P. Combine that with plus defense and you’re looking at a well-above average starter, especially when under team control for salary purposes.

       If Muncy struggles this year, plugging Verdugo into RF and moving Bellinger [back] to 1B is certainly an option. Muncy deserves a good amount of rope though.

       1. Here’s another player who had 1346 PA in the minors with 23 HR.

          That’s a HR every 58 PA’s.

          Using that same rationale, that guy should not have hit many on the MLB level.

          His name is Mike Trout and he turned out OK.

          So, now somebody is going to say I am comparing Verdugo to Mike Trout…

          1. Point Timmons. Mine was a weak argument. I think it comes down more to style of swing and raw power. I do see raw power in Verdugo’s swing. If he embraces the “elevate to celebrate” philosophy he could definitely change some of those doubles to HR’s. Isn’t that what they say about the minors: just count the extra base hits as one?

             I’ll meet you at 25 HR’s.

             1. What ever happened to the Tony Gwynn comparison? Dugo can be great with 15 home runs.

16. Trying to guess Doc’s line up tonight. I suspect it will be similar to last night’s due to the L/R thing but wonder if this might be the night that either Pederson or Verdugo gets a start against a LH pitcher. Taylor is only batting .071 against Bumgarner. With Taylor seeming to do better last night in hitting, usual Dodger practice would seem to be to sit him to cool him off a bit. Pederson is .222 (in 9 ABs with 1 HR).

    I think Freese may play again as he has hit Bumgarner well past though only 7 AB’s (BA.429). Martin will likely start as Doc seems to be every other day with his catchers. Verduago and Martin have not faced Bumgarner.

    Hernandez
    Turner
    Seager
    Freese
    Bellinger
    Pollock
    Pederson
    Martin
    Ryu

    1. It would shock me if Joc starts…

       1. Taylor homered last night too on a great looking swing.

       2. It would shock me as well but if he does, we could get double shocked if he leads off.

       3. would shock me as well, but it was worth a stir of the pot 😉

    2. Looks like it’s:

       Hernandez 2B
       Turner 3B
       Seager SS
       Pollock CF
       Bellinger RF
       Taylor LF
       Muncy 1B
       Martin C
       Ryu P

17. Two more extensions:

    Xander Bogaerts – 6 years $120MM (2020-2025); option 2026; opt out after 2022.

    Ronald Acuna – 8 years $100MM, plus two options

    It continues to look like both player and team are more comfortable with familiarity and certainty.

    1. I’d like to see the Dodgers do that with Cody and Corey, but there is one big problem.

       1. Initials SB, and I am not referring to Stolen Base.

          1. Everything bad comes out of Newport Beach

          2. O

       2. Isn’t Stolen Base Bogaerts agent? So there is hope?

          1. Yes. So is Jose Altuve and Stephen Strasburg. None of those guys signed a below market extension deal. It will be expensive, but it could (should) be done.

       3. AAV’s impact on luxury tax

          1. AAV should not be a consideration after this year. The Dodgers will lose approximately $69.5MM in AAV after 2019. Plus the CBT threshold is due to increase by $2MM in 2020.

             Boston – No impact this year. Contract starts 2020.

             Atlanta – Not even close to CBT threshold.

18. Dodgertown is no more:

    http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26425116/mlb-takes-dodgertown-gives-new-name

19. I think the odds of signing both Corey and Cody have gotten better, with the way the market is going.

    I would try to sign Corey as soon as it is possible, because he might be more inclined to sign sooner, with what he has dealt with his injury issues.

    I felt bad for Corey last night, because he looked a little frustrated.

20. Considering how long it’s been for Corey, I’d be happy to see him getting back to the Real Corey by beginning of June. That’s another two months of just getting back his muscle memory when it comes to hitting. In the meanwhile we just need to hope the rest of the lineup covers for him, not that he won’t have his good days also.

    1. I think he will be back much sooner than that. He’s just a tick off…

21. 1. Kike 2B
    2. JT 3B
    3. Corey SS
    4. AJ CF
    5. Cody RF
    6. CT3 – LF
    7. MadMax 1B
    8. Old Man Martin C

22. There’s 3 LH hitters in the lineup. Last year it would have been maybe 1, Zero after Seager went down.

    1. At the beginning of last year Seager and Bellinger would have been in the lineup.

23. A change in philosophy. AC cautioned about every batter looking the same…

24. Be nice to see Ryu go a full 7,
    and then not have Kelly come in. Sorry, but please not tonight.
    Nice play Ryu. Sweet
    Or heck, maybe 8 innings.

25. Does anyone else wonder what things would look like If Harper had accepted our offer and been thrown in the middle of this lineup?

    1. Yes. Or if the Dodgers offered a realistic offer. However if the Dodgers are winning we won’t hear much about it until things go wrong.
       ~
       Good to hear Kelly take responsibility for the Dodgers loses. Let’s remember that he was almost left off of the postseason roster entirely last year. The general consensus was that he figured it out by simplifying things and removing some pitches from his repuitore during the postseason. The Dodgers can’t afford to have him be a 4.50 ERA pitcher for them.
       ~
       The biggest thing that has scared teams away from Kimbrel is his asking price and losing a draft pick on top of it.
       ~
       I have zero faith in Stewart out of the pen. I was a Yimi fan prior to his surgery but have very little confidence in him too right now.

       1. Perhaps tonight is a good night to bring Kelly into the game. He needs to build up some confidence for the long run.
          Bellinger, who is my favorite player, has such a beautiful swing. Man when he is on it is something to watch.
          AJP has been quite the surprise to me. I am eating a bit of crow, I will admit. Hope he stays healthy.

          1. Alex V. can just plain hit. This kid needs more playing time somehow.

             1. I liked the Dr Love reference.

       2. and based upon Yimi’s pitching tonight I agree and likewise have little confidence in his pitching.

          1. Thanks Hawkeye

26. Bobby, I did not want Harper to begin with. Spend the money on locking up Seager and Bellinger. Also , Beuhler and Urias.

27. good grief. yaye, we won?

    1. Skin of our chinny, chin, chin. Bare butt Bobby.
       Hat’s off to our vaunted relief corps.

28. OMG – I Say go back to the old ways of letting the Starting Pitchers go all 9 Innings. These Relief Pitchers can’t even pitch 1 inning without giving up a run. And they get paid bucca bucks to pitch like crap.

29. Yimi and Kenley were getting squeezed by the ump, but my goodness, neither of them look the least bit confident!

    1. Bear Hug or Biden Hug? 🙂 Just a joke

       On the subject of Platoon. Should Corey be slowly back into the lineup or play everyday???

       1. Let Corey play. He’ll be fine. Maybe rest once a week. He’s not losing games.

30. Was that a save or a scare.? Dodgers BP sans Ferguson, Floro has been putrid. KJ doesn’t look dominant at all with his cutter not cutting so much.

    1. How was velocity?? Last year he seemed finished. Perhaps a vote on this blog should be put up on what we think about Kenley being the Closer. Yes or No?

       1. Kenley’s cutter was mostly 90-91. He threw one FB to Panik that touched 94. He’s still not dominant Kenley.

31. Hershiser hit it on the head with a post game comment about the bullpen the last week or so. He said the biggest problem is that most of our relievers are getting themselves into hitters counts instead of attacking the strike zone, which Honeycutt preaches. Great point

32. Bryce Harper got booed by National Fan. Then he hit a Home Run. I guess they are going to miss him in D.C.
    But we have a guy named “Cody Bellinger” who will hit 60 Home Runs this year.

33. Giants TV analysts are fixating on Connor Joe in the 3rd inning not being able to double up Ryu at 2nd after the shallow fly ball from Seagar. True, it might have been a missed opportunity and it would have prevented Bellie from coming up to the plate with the bases loaded. But they conveniently forget that Madbum made the error to allow Martin to get on to start the rally. Then when Ryu was trying to sacrifice, Madbum walked him on 4 pitches. So – there was plenty of blame to go around. It seems pretty harsh to come down so much on a kid who is trying to earn his way onto a major league roster. I only mention this because Connor Joe has been discussed at times on this site when he was playing in the Dodgers farm system. I feel for the kid because he has gone hitless so far this season and the Giants fans (and broadcasters) have lost patience with him.

    Dodger relief pitchers are just NOT sharp. This is the second spring training in a row where I’ve felt that the pitchers have NOT been built up for the start of the season and it seems somewhat intentional. It’s almost as if Doc et al are basically using Spring training to evaluate all the minor league prospects and then they use April to get the 25-man roster players built up for the season. This year the hitters seem ready and the starting pitchers seem sharp (although not built up to handle higher pitch counts). However, the relief pitchers have performed horribly. I’d like to believe they have the talent, but simply did not prepare enough during ST to be ready at the start of the season.

    The team is 4-2 and I feel like they will be in good shape if they can just stay above .500 while the bullpen gets in order. If they can get the relief pitching in order, they will get on a roll. I don’t see it happening for another month because Doc will continue to give the relievers ample opportunities to come in redeem themselves. Meanwhile, fans need to brace themselves for lots of stressful (and occasionally disappointing) endings to games.

    1. You are exactly right , but it’s not Doc who makes that decision. The Dodgers as an organization are deliberately starting pitchers slowly. They have did it the past two years in hopes of being fresher in October. I understand the plan… whether they can execute it or not is the question.

34. How are the Dodgers going to replace the 70 HR hit by Puig, Kemp and Grandal.

    Alas, how will they do it?

    … asked about the team who just tied the record for most HR in the first 6 games.

    Patience on the bullpen. Kenley will be fine. Yimi will figure it out or go. It will be OK.

35. The BP will certainly be better once Hill and CK return. Moving Stripling and Urias (although I’m not sure either belong in the BP) will make the BP dominant. Imagine turning to Urias in the 7th or 8th inning of a game as a bridge to KJ.

    KJ has me very concerned. Control, velocity and movement are all suboptimal right now.

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