Just Rants… and Raves

  • If Alex Verdugo can throw a 98.4 MPH seed from LF to Home Plate to gun down a poor defenseless runner, he can probably throw 103 MPH off a mound. The Dodgers should immediately convert him back to a pitcher.
  • Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com anointed Dennis Santana as the Dodgers future closer. However, AC and I did that a year ago. He’s the Dodgers future closer unless Yadiar Alvarez gets his head out of his… you know where!
  • Boy, it’s been a long time without any news from Andrew Toles. The Dodgers and people close to the team know what’s up, including reporters, but that ain’t saying! I hope it’s all good.
  • Kaybear Ruiz got off to a slow start this season, but appears to be turning it around. The 20-year-old is still seeking his first homer after hitting 12, a career best, last season, but has strung together a trio of two-hit games. After hitting .148 through the first seven games of the year, Ruiz is 6-for-13 (.462) over his last three games . – MLB.com
  • The Athletics’ Pedro Moura wrote a great piece today about Joc Pederson, who for the foreseeable future will not start against ANY LHP (which I agree with). In part, Joc Says:


“My time will come when it’s right,” Joc Pederson says of the possibility of returning to an everyday role. “I don’t get to choose when it’s right. I show up with a positive mind ready to show what I can do.”


“Last year I had the best year that I’ve had,” he said, “and I had some pretty gnarly situations.”

He recalled opposing players approaching him with a perplexed look during batting practice. He’d just homered the night before, they would say. Why wasn’t he in today’s lineup?

“That’s how they see it,” he said. “I don’t see it like that. I see it like this: My time will come when it’s right. I don’t get to choose when it’s right. I show up with a positive mind ready to show what I can do. That’s my game.”

Joc will someday get the opportunity to bat against LHP, but he has just conquered RHP and needs to enjoy that success. If you read the article, you will see that the battle was mental – he changed his thinking and it changed his life.

  • It turns out Hyun-jin Ryu’s groin was just a tweak. His injury last year was severe and when you feel pain in the same area, it’s wise to stop. He wills start again on Saturday and hopefully can go 6. Like any team, the bullpen is dramatically better when not overly exposed.
  • It’s a shame Julio Urias has to go back to the bullpen, but maybe he stays there all season. He can be Andrew Miller… only better. Or, maybe he goes back to the rotation later in the season. His long-term health is paramount. But, he will be a big shot-in-the-arm to the pen.
  • The Dodgers are now up to 11th in ERA – 4.05 as a team. Starters are down to 3.66 while the pen is dropping too, down to 4.71.
  • The Dodgers continue to lead MLB in hitting.
  • Five straight quality starts…
  • Just keep it up!

Minor League Report by DC

Not a great night down on the farm. Just when you think all is right, things happen.

Great Lakes Loons 5 – Bowling Green Hot Rods 8 (Tampa Bay)

The Loons lost a 13-inning encounter at home. They had fallen behind 3-0 only to tie the game with two runs in the eighth inning on a Jacob Amaya sacrifice fly and a Niko Hulsizer ground out and another in the bottom of the ninth on a Dillon Paulson double. There was no more scoring until the top of the twelfth inning when Kaleo Johnson hit a two-run monster blast for the Hot Rods. The Loons responded in the bottom of the frame with two runs when Amaya scored on another Hulsizer ground out and Dan Robinson singled home Hunter Feduccia. In the top of the 13th inning Kaleo Johnson struck again with a two-run double. The Loons did not respond in the bottom of the inning. Miguel Vargas, Dan Robinson and Luke Heyer all had two hits while Hunter Feduccia had a hit and four walks.

On the mound Guillermo Zuniga went 2.1 innings giving up one run. He was followed by Jose Chacin who tossed four linings of shutout ball and striking out three. Austin Drury allowed two runs in two innings while Bret de Geus contributed two scoreless innings. Justin Hagenman had his first poor showing of the year giving up four runs in 2.1 innings pitched and taking the loss.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 7 – San Jose Giants 3

The Quakes struck early in the second inning on a Jeter Downs grand slam, his first home run of the season. They struck again in the bottom of the eighth innings scoring three more on a wild pitch following a Starling Heredia double, a triple by Brayan Morales and a sac fly by Downs. Donovan Casey, with two hits, had the only multi-hit game.

Michael Grove started for the Quakes and through 2.1 innings he gave up three hits and two runs while striking out four. Wills Montgomerie earned the win with 4.2 strong innings on three hits and one run and striking out seven. Reza Aleaziz, Connor Mitchell and Max Gamboa finished up with three innings of one hit ball.

Tulsa Drillers 2 – Arkansas Travelers 8 (Seattle)

The Drillers matched the Travelers in hits with nine, strikeouts with 10 and LOB with 13 but fell short in the runs column. The difference in the game was that the Travelers had three two-run home runs. DJ Peters, Omar Estevez and Keibert Ruiz each had two hits while Logan Landon and Estevez had an RBI. Ruiz is heating up with seven hits in his last four games.

J.D. Martin took one for the team going 6.2 innings and giving up eight runs. Nolan Long finished up with 2.1 innings of one-hit ball and four strikeouts.

OKC Dodgers 3 – Omaha Storm Chasers 5 (Kansas City)

Omaha scored early with two runs in each of the first two innings. The Dodgers battled back with a run in the fourth inning on an Edwin Rios single and two in the sixth inning on a Paulo Orlando single but that was it. Daniel Castro and Rios with two hits apiece had the only multiple-hit games for the Dodgers. They did steal four bases – Jackson, Rios, Robinson and Castro.

Those four Storm Chaser runs came at the expense of Dodger started Dennis Santana in 2.1 innings pitched. Josh Smoker and JT Chargois contributed 4.1 scoreless innings while Joe Broussard gave up an insurance run to the Travelers in the top of the ninth inning.

This article has 36 Comments

  1. Yesterday brought us another episode of “The inscrutable Mr.Kelly.

    “It was set up perfectly, said Kelly. Two on with Yellich coming to bat. The Dodgers were about to be Kelly’d Once again. Why did the third base coach send the runner home. And how does Verdugo have better control of the strike zone from 300 feet away then I have from 60 feet?”

    “Well at least Kenley is starting to get my mojo” said Kelly giving a wry smile as he walked. Into the clubhouse.

  2. I saw verdugo throw from rf to home in the stl series. The throw was an absolute blurr and he also caught ozuna rounding first. I was totally shocked by his velocity. I would put his arm against any I have seen. Maybe he should be otani 2. Urias only needs 2 things health and command. If and when he goes to the bullpen he needs to focus on command. If he can demonstrate consistent command the dodgers can put him into the rotation in time for him to become a playoff star. Btw this is random but quit automatically swinging on 3-0 pitches. There are times when it is warranted. I’m sure it is an analytical thing but it is not a surprise to other teams at this point. What a rally killer when it isn’t successful.

    1. Jose Chacin has been a shining light in the Loons staff. He has not started a game but is being used as a piggy-back starter with Guillermo Zuniga. That is, he gets the time to warm up as the one who starts the game would and he knows he will follow Guillermo Zuniga.

      In three appearances he has pitched 13.2 innings, been credited with two wins, struck out 13 and walked 2. The lone run he gave up was as a solo home run. Those happens. His ERA is 0.66 and his WHIP is 0.95.

      His destination at this point would be the Quakes before too long or to just move into the starting rotation with the Loons when Josiah Gray moves up to the Quakes.

  3. Urias showed why the team has waited for him and he seems to be taking the move to the pen in stride. Hill, Kersh and Ryu are brittle and Maeda and Strip wear down over the season, so saving his starts and innings for later are an ok strategy-for this year. I don’t have to agree with it but I understand it. Next year Hill and Ryu are likely gone and one of the kids, maybe more will hopefully be ready for promotion.

    Verdugo is keeping his head on straight so far and making the most of his opportunities. He could be in the ROY conversation if he gets enough playing time but uber prospects Victor Robles and Tatis Jr are playing every day right now and have the edge in hype. He brings a swagger and hustle the team needs and love his swing.

    Muncy is dealing with the league adjusting to him, facing a steady diet of breaking balls. He is starting to adjust himself, laying off breaking balls early in the count and taking more walks and when he gets a fast ball these days it’s outer half and he is driving that pitch the other way like the 2B and HR yesterday, both oppo.

    Kike is our new knucklehead, forgetting how many outs, getting doubled off, losing a pop up in the sun etc. I love his energy but geeze you are no rookie out there, get your head in the game.

    Roberts looks good when the pitching goes deep and the bullpen has to cover less. The lineups are all over the place but he is staying with guys longer than in the past and the team seems to be buying in. I think this team will flirt with 100 wins if they stay healthy. Speaking of 100 that seems to be the unofficial pitch limit and he wants at least 90 pitches from his starters, hence an extra rehab start for Hill against his wishes.

    1. Good post Vegas. I said the same thing about Kike a few days ago. He missed the cut off man a lot or overthrew bases last year too.

  4. Where did everybody go? I guess they went back to LaDodgerReport.com, where logic and reason rule the day!

    1. Some of us read the post and responses daily but choose not to respond themselves to avoid the rejoinders to their responses.

      1. Rick

        Everyone here respects your respectful view on everything Dodgers.

        You are a great barometer of where we are at,

        Bite the bullet and get involved again please

      2. As an attorney do you litigate?

        Think of it as litigation. You need to defend your argument, and you do a good job presenting them even if I don’t necessarily agree. That’s half the fun of this site.

        Besides, there needs to be a foil to the inveterate homerism of Timmons. That guy’s as dumb as a bag of hammers.

    2. No one really comments there. The interest level is inversely proportional to the success of the Dodgers. When the team is doing well they have nothing to complain about, lose interest and drift away. As soon the team goes on some losing streak – or doesn’t win the WS in a sweep – they’ll pile back on and whine.

  5. I’m here. Reading all the posts. I had my micro disk surgery Wednesday so I’m sore as all hell!

    Hopefully everyone keeps posting today and the Dodgers win; helps pass the time

    1. I thought I was going to have to have back surgery, but a couple of months ago, I went off dairy… and I love cheese (Havarti, Feta, Brie, Gouda Ricotta, Goat, Gorgonzola, Edam, Muenster, Swiss, Fontina, et al) … I love Pizza, I love cream cheese and cottage cheese, but I gave it all up because after being off it for two weeks, my back and hips felt so much better. It has been amazing and while I am occasionally tempted, I know how good I feel and it’s not worth it to go back. CBD Oil helped too, but not as much as going non-dairy!

      1. I did acupuncture on my back, hip, and hamstring on Wednesday and feel a lot of progress.

  6. Bobby

    I was wondering where you were, but I was thinking maybe it was about your back.

    Did you have back spasms the night after your surgery?

    I hope your pain free soon, but if you take Marks advice you will feel a lot better in about 20 or 30 minutes.

      1. I don’t take two every day, sometimes I take four, but sometimes I take none for a few days just to keep myself in check from a habit. Though a habit is likely nothing to worry about at this stage.

  7. Stripling plays such a valuable role for Dodgers. Moving back and forth from pen to starting role not easy to do. And he does it with a great attitude. This is a guy who was an all star last year and a lot of guys would not be happy with this role and would let it be known! Great teammate

    1. Once Hill gets back and the Dodgers have a full rotation, which may not happen all the time, Chicken Strip and Julio will make that pen look Mah-val-ous!

  8. Bobby – Hope you get better soon. I had a laminectomy with fusion on my L4-L5 last Oct. It’s been a struggle, but the pain that drove me to the gurney has eased significantly. Being 72 adds to the recovery, but I’m hopefully a couple months away though… Oxy is a ball buster mentally, because it works so well… Easy does it…
    M.T. decreased attendance may be attributed to our winning ways…

  9. Like the lineup tonight, only surprise maybe Muncy at 2B for Kike. Last time Strip was great and Chacin got lit up but he usually pitches better than that game.

    1. Ya they got me taking Norco once every 4 hrs. Ive not double dosed on it…. yet.

      This Yelich dude is good

  10. IMO, they cannot implement the electronic strike zone soon enough. The discrepancy between what the ump is calling and what the EZ is showing on TV is pretty apparent. That pitch to Turner that struck him out with bases loaded was outside as many of the pitches that were called strikes have been outside. Human error really spoils the game, at times. This is across all sports.

    Bellinger up, bases loaded in the 7th, SO.

  11. Bet this ump doesn’t like that 3 run homer Kike just KOed. Who can say that it ain’t time for the robo ump?

  12. Let’s close this out for a split on the road with Ryu and Kershaw still to pitch.

  13. Sorry Mark, I must of wrote 3 comments yesterday, got sidetracked in the middle of them and then discarded before I posted. We have relatives over today so I had a bunch of honey dos. I had to get the backyard ready.

    We’re on another roll, I was stressed with the early hook on Stripling. Looks like Kelly settled into just one run per game. He’s improving. Awesome seeing Kike take Hader deep. Hader had some tough ABs to get through that possible wore him out a bit.

    That umpire was crap all night. I can’t wait until they get an electronic strike zone. I’m pretty old school with not wanting rule changes, bullpenning, shifts etc. But, home plate umpires suck. Their job is very hard, but they still suck.

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