I wanted to wait and post this after a Dodger loss, for obvious reasons. So, today seemed as good a time as any. Let’s go back to when Kemp, Puig, Wood and Farmer were traded to the Reds, and many garden-variety Dodger fans were aghast. Listen to what they said:
- Judging The Dodgers Puig, Kemp Trade to The Reds, Possibly One of The Worst in Dodgers History
- Friedman better go out and sign someone like a Harper, Machado or acquire a JT Realmuto. Because while I do think the Dodgers can survive without Puig and Kemp, a large market behemoth like the Dodgers salary dumping like this for no reason not only sends a really bad message to the fan base but it makes them look awful in the eyes of the sports world. The way to make up for this stupidity is to fork out the cash and sign Harper. Otherwise the Friedman fans get to cheer again about how much money he saved. His wallet never looked thinner.
- Dumbest trade ever? I think it will definitely rank up there in the top.
- The Dodgers gave away 4 major league players for nothing. The two prospects may or may not ever make a major league club but you can bet Freidman has no idea if they will or not. Bailey has never been any good and will probably be released and very possibly never play MLB baseball again. Friedman banks on convincing fans that saving money and getting below the luxury tax is just as important as winning. Some fans cheer when he does this. Where is the team success figured in and I mean winning a WS? Friedman does this crap all the time and it is really past old. Some say Kemp should have been traded because of the 2nd half of the season, when in reality the reason he did not play well was because he was put on the bench by Dummy and left there to rot except for a little platooning which is very unentertaining. Again we will be made to wait and wait and wait for something good to happen. The ownership should be ashamed of themselves for putting that kind of an asshole in charge. We now get to see if the great Joc, Cody, Chris, Kike, Muncy and the rest can win without those they let go.
- The offense lost 3 key contributors (Puig, Kemp and Grandal). They’ve replaced Grandal with a 36 year old who hit .190 last year. They’ve replaced Puig with Verdugo (I assume) and Kemp with Pollock. They should have better bat to ball skills assuming that Pollock can stay on the field (which he hasn’t 6 out of 7 seasons). I know – the new hitting coach is more magician than coach and will fix everything by waving a magic wand (or bat).
- The Farmer trade was a salary dump/player dump. It cost the Dodgers 5 or 6 WAR and they took back negative WAR in Bailey. They signed Pollock (about 2.5 WAR), but lost Grandal (about a 4 WAR player last year). But they’re better!
- The real issue this off-season is that the Dodgers have largely tread water. They have lost Grandal and replaced him with Russell Martin. They have lost Puig and Kemp and replaced them with – well, probably Alex Verdugo and AJ Pollock. They have lost Machado and Dozier and replaced them with the still-rehabbing Cory Seager. They have lost Alex Wood and replaced him with Wild Man Kelly. The guys they lost produced 10 bWAR. (This only includes Machado’s production with the Dodgers and not his entire season of work.) That’s if you believe in WAR. Really, will the players who will get the playing time equal or surpass the production of last year’s lost players? You can make a case that they will except for catcher – this is the obvious place where the Dodgers will not be as good this year.
- But by trading Wood, Kemp and Puig, if they do nothing else, they are worse than they were before they traded them. The trade only makes sense if they use the additional money under the “tax cap” to acquire major league talent. I’m just not sure that there’s anyone that they can obtain that will make the Dodgers better in 2019 without giving away the store in prospects (Realmuto or Kluber) or in $$ (Harper). If they don’t, then it’s a salary dump.
And on and on it went. I was criticized for criticizing “the great Dustin Nosler” who hated the Farmer Trade and I was routinely mocked by someone who took umbrage because he was continually wrong (repeatedly, year-over-year, deal-over-deal) in his analysis of the Dodgers. He repeatedly mocked my takes and finally, I called him delusional or moronic on it. “If you dish it, you have to take it.”
He was all over me, saying I should rename the team the “Los Angeles Friedmans,” and on and on, Well, I guess he didn’t like the heat, so he got out of the kitchen. I actually liked the guy, but EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING he wrote was negative… why? I have no clue. Come back and take your medicine! It won’t hurt. Get on the Andrew Friedman Train because This train is headed for a third straight World Series.
All the above comments were DEAD WRONG! Most were from another website, but some were from here. They all were moronic and/or delusional as the Dodgers are currently one of the best offensive teams in baseball and have the most wins in the NL after what I would characterize as a “slow start.” The bullpen has been a big problem… which is working it’s way out. The fact of the matter is that the Dodgers have not missed Puig, Kemp, Wood or Farmer and are in fact, simply a better team without them… and they received two outstanding prospects.
You are free to make little jabs at me… or even big jabs. Just know that if it turns out I was right, you probably have a Big One coming. I have taken a lot of heat in my support of Cody Bellinger, Kike Hernandez, Austin Barnes and Alex Verdugo, but I think some of you are beginning to see that was coming from a point of vision. Some people just see and others have vision. That’s all I have on that subject. Peace out.
- You aren’t going to win may games with just two hits.
- Ryu pitched well enough to win in his return.
- Chase Anderson is a Dodger killer.
- Move on – Live to fight another day.
- I’ll miss today’s game because I’ll be at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse, seeing the Pacers get swept!
Minor League Report
- The Iowa Cubs slaughtered the OKC Dodgers 11-1 as the Dodgers only had 4 hits and it’s not worth recapping.
- Tulsa lost 6-4 to Arkansas. Estevez is smoking hot going 3-4 and Ruiz was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI. Estevez is hitting and insane .443 and Ruiz is up to .265 after a horrid start.
- RC won 11-4 as Sheffield closed out the game and kept his ERA at 0.00.
- Great Lakes won 8-3 over the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Outman, Amaya and Heyer were the hitting stars. Sorry for the brief coverage, but I’m outta’ time. Bye.
OKC Dodgers 1 – Iowa Cubs 11
Rob Zastryzny started and went 5.1 IP allowing 8 runs (5 earned), 6 hits and 4 walks, while registering 3 strikeouts. Joe Broussard relieved Z and allowed both inherited runners to score and allowed 1 run of his own in his 1.2 IP. Stetson Allie started the 8th and after a single and two walks surrendered by the only three batters he faced, he was relieved by JT Chargois. Shaggy allowed 2 of the 3 inherited runners to score on a single and wild pitch. Shaggy did pitch a scoreless 9th.
In the last two nights, Allie has faced 7 batters and all 7 reached base (2 hits and 5 walks). Five of those batters did score. In 5 games, Allie has pitched a total of 3 innings and his ERA has jumped to 18.00.
Unfortunately for OKC, the offense was just as absent as the pitching. OKC had a total of 4 hits to generate their 1 run.
Tulsa Drillers 4 – Arkansas Travelers 6 (Mariners)
Tonight it was the Drillers turn to jump out to a 3-0 lead only for the Travelers to come back to take a 4-3 lead. The initial 3-0 lead was thanks to a 3 run HR by Keibert Ruiz who is continuing his strong offense of late. The Drillers tied the score only for the Travelers to score 2 unanswered runs and come out with the victory.
In addition to the 3 run HR, Ruiz also had a single for another multi hit night. Once again the Drillers offense was amply supplied by 2B Omar Estevez who had a 3-4 night including his league leading 8th double.
Unfortunately for the Drillers, the four pitchers did not fare well at all. We can certainly leave it at that.
RC Quakes 11 – San Jose Giants 4
Edwin Uceta started for the Quakes and lasted 3.2 innings. He gave up 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks, while striking out 2. Wes Helsabeck relieved Uceta and pitched into the 6th before he gave up a run on a one out double, force out, and balk. Max Gamboa finished the 6th with a strikeout to end the threat. Gamboa finished 1.1 scoreless and hitless innings with 2 K’s. Connor Mitchell relieved Gamboa and pitched a scoreless 8th. Jordan Sheffield came on in the 9th in a non-save situation and ended the game with a scoreless but inefficient inning.
Down 1-0, Brayan Morales singles and came around to score on a Donovan Casey double (2). Casey then scored on a Devin Mann double (4). After the Giants scored two in the 4th to take a 3-2, the Quakes struck back with three of their own on 3 singles, 2 walks and a throwing error to take a 5-3 lead. After the Giants scored in the 6th, the Quakes got the run back due to a pair of triples; one by Brandon Montgomery and one by Brayan Morales.
In the 7th, after 3 walks, new Quake Drew Avans doubled in a pair. Avans was assigned/promoted to RC on Friday. Morales then got his 4th hit on the night to score a 3rd run. Jeter Downs followed with another single for the 4th run and a 10-4 lead. The Quakes scored their 11th run in the 8th on a sac fly by catcher Tre Todd after the bases were filled with 3 walks. In all the Quakes scored 11 runs on 12 hits and 10 walks. To counter some of that. 16 Quakes went down on strikes in 8 innings. But the Quakes will take the win against the hated Giants.
Great Lakes Loons 8 – Bowling Green Hot Rods 3 (Rays)
The Dodgers made the most of their 7 hits and 6 walks to scratch out 8 runs. The Loons were facing young LHP Shane McClanahan. As many of you may recall, McClanahan was the pitcher the Dodgers passed over when they selected JT Ginn as their 1st round pick (#30 overall). The Rays said thank you and selected him #31.
The Loons scored 4 in the 2nd after the first two batters got out. Miguel Vargas and Dillon Paulson drew 2 out walks and scored on a double by Luke Heyer (2). Chris Roller followed with a walk, and both Heyer and Roller came home on the two triple by Jacob Amaya. Amaya was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch the triple into an inside the park HR. The Loons scored 4 more in the 7th inning thanks in large part to another two-out two-run triple, this one from James Outman. Outman was the only Loon to have a multi-hit game with 2.
The Loons used only two pitchers to score the victory. Stephen Kolek started and went the first five allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Kevin Malisheski made his 2019 debut to pitch the final 4 innings. Kevin allowed one hit and registered 2 strikeouts to get his first save.
I’m pretty sure Verdugo has already accumulated a 1 WAR, which if you recall projections had him at about a 1.7 WAR for the season, I say he’s doing extremely well
If you look at the trade logically and without emotion, it was a good trade. Puig was not happy. When I read he tore up the defensive cards in front of the coaches, he needed to go. Kemp’ s salary and age were factors. Wood I liked, but then I read he was not happy and complaining, then he needed to go. Besides, we had a lot of starting pitchers. Farmer is a nice guy, but he was not going to play for the Dodgers. This would give him a chance to play. Good trade for farmer. Verdugo needed an opportunity. The two prospects are just that. However, the Dodgers have good scouting, They knew who they wanted. It is starting to look like they both may have a chance to make it. If neither prospect makes it, it was a good trade. If one makes it, it will be a great trade. If both make it, the Dodgers stole Cincinnati ‘s jock strap. The outfield needed to be cleaned out to give Verdugo a chance. You cannot make everyone happy.
Esteves:
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45
His hit score might have been underestimated.
Is there a site that shows original scouting reports for MLB players? I’m curious to see how accurate those scouting reports wound up being.
I’m a little concerned about our minor league outfield depth. Wonder if we’ll consider converting an IF or two.
Extend Joc a couple of years through 2022 and along with Pollock and Verdugo the Dodgers have an outfield for the next 3+ years. Gives them time to find or cultivate more outfielders. If Muncy can claim first base, Bellinger becomes an outfielder.
Not a bad idea. I always had Yusniel Diaz pencilled in as our LF of the future. Peters is still a longshot at this point and Rios/Beaty/et al are fringy.
If Smith is for real maybe Ruiz could learn some LF. Or Downs to CF. Connor Joe plays LF right now so maybe there’s still hope there.
Joc performing well does change things though.
Things I might do:
1. Extend Pederson’s contract through 2022 or 2023.
2. Call up Smith and make Martin a pinch hitter, utility player, and 3rd catcher.
…………Reduce the bullpen and go with 5 bench players.
…………Jansen, Kelly, Floro, Alexander, Baez, Urias, Maeda
………….Kershaw, Buehler, Hill, Stripling, Ryu
………….Allow Fergusson to develop into a starter in OK
………….Or, package Garcia with either Taylor or Muncy and see what the return might be.
3. Don’t do anything for now and assume Garcia will be lost when Hill is activated.
Smith is off to a really good start in AAA and I think now he has to be considered as a possible 3b of the future too (although I have Seager moving there after Turner’s time is up). We haven’t extended anyone yet (except for one year deals for Kershaw & Ryu) so the next one will be the first. Hard to believe it’ll be Joc. I nominate Bellinger or Buehler.
Mark, if you disagree with Dustin Nosler, you’re probably making too much sense. I stopped going to his site because of his snarky, downer style and his “No way will Bellinger be brought up before September and he is no where near as good as Corey” prediction at the beginning of the 2017 season when Bellinger set the NL rookie HR record. Talk about egg on face.
You don’t win many games where you have 2 hits and 0 runs. But you also probably won’t win a ton of games when you intentionally walk guys in front of Yelich, or when you drop your best hitter to 5th. It was one of those days where the lineup looked like it was selected by putting names in a hat.
Seager
Turner
Bellinger
Pollock
Pederson
Verdugo
Hernandez
Barnes
A question. Have any of Boras’ clients received one of the extensions given out since the Harper and Trout contracts were finalized? I ask this because several of the young Dodger stars are represented by him if I remember right and I fear he could be a real ass if he is only agent with clients on the market.
i agree
Mark wrote: “Get on the Andrew Friedman Train because This train is headed for a third straight World Series.”
Get it right, pal; it’s called the Church of Andrew Friedman!
Maybe it’s all the meds I”m on, but for the life of me I cannot pronounce Rob Zastryzny ‘s name!
BlackMirror mentioned Yusnie Diaz; does anyone know how Diaz or any of the other guys we sent over for Machado are doing?
Going into this series, I would’ve been satisfied with splitting 4 at Milwaukee. That’s already done. Now I want Kersh to give us the series!
Mark, can’t disagree with anything you said, and for the most part I pretty much agree with your takes. And that’s coming from someone who NEVER agreed agreed with you about THE TRADE (and still doesn’t).
As last year played out, it became crystal clear to me that Matt Kemp (the Mike Trout in his heyday of 2011 and 2012—before he slammed into the wall in Colorado) was simply not capable anymore of holding down a regular outfield spot for a contender. As for Puig, I’ve always been a fan, but revelations since the trade make it reasonable to conclude that he had to go, especially given that the Dodgers had Verdugo waiting in the wings.
When Joc first came up, I liked him a lot (maybe even as much as Bums), but over time I’ve come to regard him as less than an everyday player who might be more valuable to a team looking for a left-handed power bat. Pederson is strictly a platoon player, and although adequate in LF, has defensive shortcomings.
Farmer, if anything, had little, if anything, to offer going forward, and the prospects they acquired show some promise, and also have the potential to provide value as part of a package to acquire talent.
And if Muncy remains at first base, then I see an outfield of Verdugo, Pollock and Bellinger as having the potential to be one of the best in baseball.
The Punto Trade discussion brought out the alpha male in quite a few people. The Farmer trade pales in comparison.
Damn. Happy bday Joc!
Sometimes ya have to buy your own presents.
Well in India, the bday boy/girl buys presents for everyone at their bday party. Perhaps Joc is going with that tradition
Joe just tied Cody for team lead in home runs.
*Joc
They are both now second behind Yelich for NL lead.
See Joc hit two dingers.
See Joc hit a single.
See Doc let Joc hit against a left handed relief pitcher.
See Joc get a base hit scored on a dribbler that got by two defenders.
Happy Birthday Joc.
For the risk of sounding too critical, and being considered a moron, somebody tell me again how good this bullpen is? I know I know, the help is in AA.
So what’s the solution?
Doesn’t look good to me , now.
What was the reason for taking Baez out? Just got a pop for the second out. Bring in cold Kenley in a pressure situation. Doc always has to do things a little different and it bites him in the ass. If we can’t trust someone to pitch the eighth with a three run lead, then we are in for some trouble.
Wow, Belli saves us for the time being.
Kenley blows the Save and gets the Win. Wow. Good Job.
Damn, those 90 Mph cutters looked a lot better when they were 95. I almost crapped my pants! 3-1 against the Brewers at home, great start for the road trip, with a well deserved off day in Chicago tomorrow!
Seager had 3 hits so I fully expect him to be “rested” on Tuesday.
Joc and Cody have been outstanding to say the least. Imagine if 2 of 3 (AJ, JT and Corey) were hitting with more consistency and/or more power we might be more like 20-4 or 18-6 but we’re damn good and only going to get better.
It’s funny, I don’t mind that they aren’t hitting so great right now. Bellinger and Joc will cool off and I’m expecting A.J., JT and Seager to be picking it up at that point. That way we’re not an all or nothing team like last year.
To AC’s question about the bullpen. I think Urias could be our 8th inning guy but I doubt they would want to use him on consecutive days. Kelly was supposed to be that guy but so far he’s not. When Hill comes back I’m expecting Ferguson to go down as he still has options and Garcia does not. In effect we will be trading Urias for Ferguson: almost a wash.
I don’t know why everyone thinks AJ is a great hitter. He is average at best. Don’t expect big things.
For me, the biggest change for Kenley, and it started last year, is the lack of the dominant control that he once had. With Kenley, in addition to the cutter, he always threw strike after strike, after strike. And he used to throw more high glove side cutters, and mixed in more sliders that he threw for strikes.
And credit for Joc’s big day goes to me. It was my earlier post that criticised his play that led to his outburst today.
For me, the biggest change for Kenley, and it started last year, is the lack of the dominant control that he once had. With Kenley, in addition to the cutter, he always threw strike after strike, after strike. And he used to throw more high glove side cutters, in addition to mixing in more sliders, which he also threw for strikes.
And credit for Joc’s big day goes to me. It was my earlier post that criticised his play that led to his outburst today.
And we don’t see this everyday. Kenley managed to be credited with both a blown save and a win in the same game.
The 24th, Wednesday, will be my sixty-fifth birthday and I promised my wife I wouldn’t buy a ticket to the game in Chicago. If anyone has an extra ticket and wanted to send it though, I guess I’d be forced to accept it and attend the game.
BTW, did the end of the game seem eerily close to the whole Easter story? Self determined demise and the the rising from the grave.
Glad everyone could see the positive today instead of just attacking when a good decision goes awry.
Bullpen still a problem. Better fix that.
I had a feeling that I posted the same thing twice. Posting from my iphone has drawbacks, even though I have the large screen Xs Max.
Bellinger is leading baseball in almost every offensive category. He’s playing like best-case scenario Bryce Harper.
Bellinger is looking Williamsesque. Forget Harper.
The title of this chapter is “Bellinger’s Third Season.”
Bobo and BlackMirror99
Belly actually looks like Williams, do you think he got William’s soul, because he is a spitting image of a young Williams.
Bellinger is going to cost the Dodgers a lot of money if they are willing to put it up. Hopefully they are willing.
He may be an image of the greatest hitter, but hopefully his soul is not so burdened.
It is going to be a joy to watch the career of Bellinger.
A thing of beauty.
Bobo
Williams was not as athletic as Cody is.
And because of that, he wouldn’t be able to hit a HR, and take away a HR like Cody did today.
Ted Williams was the greatest hitter because his focus was only on hitting. He mastered hitting, or tried to.
Cody is a complete player. Hitting , fielding , throwing, running. If he keeps on track he will be among the greatest.
I believe we are on the verge of witnessing baseball history in #35.
Cody will be great if he can become a member of the 40/40 club. Remember them? 40 HR’s/40 SB’s. That’s greatness.
Kemp almost made it with 39HR’s/40 SB’s. Mondesi was a 3 time member of the 30/30 club. I think those were the only 2 Dodgers to join that elite group. Do you think Cody’s got 30 SB’s in him? Seems like a stretch to me. I don’t think we have a natural base stealer on the team.
I remember Canseco’s year in 1988 when he made the 40/40.
Lets pump the brakes on these greatest hitter of all time with Belly. It’s been 3 weeks. Let’s see where things shake out after 3 months. Props to Kersh today. He battled without his best stuff and control today but still gave us a winning 6 innings. I disagree about Pollock. He’s way better than an average player. By the end of year he’ll give us a good defensive cf with an 850 OPS. MARK MY WORDS
Mark, I’m not rising to the bait. You can take all of the shots at me that you want to. I will read but not comment.