Yeah, it’s less than a month, but I have seen enough. Right field belongs to Alex Verdugo. Book ’em, Dano! Now, I know that Cody Bellinger is a pretty dang good right-fielder too, but Cody is also a good CF and a Gold Glove 1st Baseman. It’s pretty apparent why Andrew Friedman was loathe to trade Verdugo . The kid will be a star. I said it, I meant it and I’m here to represent it!
Cody should start every game at 1B… except when he plays CF against tough RH pitchers. I know he wanted to win a Gold Glove in RF, but he likes 1B better… so let him win one there. So, it is established (at least by me) that Bellinger is the First Baseman and Alex Verdugo is the Right-Fielder, but where does everyone else play?
The Lineup
- 1B – Bellinger
- 2B – Hernandez/Muncy
- SS – Seager
- 3B – Turner
- LF – Pederson/Taylor
- CF – Pollock
- RF – Verdugo
- C – Barnes/Martin
I read a lot of really crazy things but here’s one of the more fictitious statements I have ever seen: ” If you’ve noticed, the FO is loyal to a fault when it comes to ‘their’ acquisitions. We saw it with Forsythe, Reddick, & Dozier, and we are seeing it with Joc, Taylor, and now with Barnes. “
WHAT? See, if you say false stuff here, I will call BS on you. Forsythe, Reddick and Dozier are no longer with the team. How is that “loyal to a fault?” Dozier was platooned because he couldn’t hit in 143 AB‘s with the Dodgers. Josh Reddick only had 155 AB‘s with the Dodgers and hit .258 – not great, but not horrible. Logan Forsythe was a failure as a Dodger, I get that, but what are you supposed to do? Some players just wilt in LA. Joc Pederson was not acquired by the current FO, so that is also plain wrong and why would you not play Taylor and Barnes? Hitters don’t get out of slumps just sitting. They generally have to play. Why don’t you mention Barnes and Taylor’s good years? Oh wait, you want to twist the facts to prove a point that is in your head. Sorry, I can’t allow it. I can point you to a blog who loves that kind of made up crap!
Taylor and Barnes are struggling right about now, but in case you don’t know much about baseball, things change. Last year, in 100 AB’s in May, Cody Bellinger hit .180 and people were losing their minds and of course we all know Cody Bellinger can’t hit a lick! Will CT3 and Barney re-gain their strokes? I think so, but Dave Roberts is paid to lose games, so he is playing them in hope that he will lose more games. Of course, that’s right!
He doesn’t want them to get any better, so he keeps rolling them out there. Yep, that’s why he does it. The hitting coaches say “Nope, CT3 and Barnes are horrible and will never hit,” but Dave Roberts keeps rolling them out so that the Dodgers can lose. Year, that’s the ticket. Maybe you believe that… in fact, I bet some of you do. Let me tell you about some little green men…
Chris Taylor is not the second coming, but many of you have no clue as to his value. In his best year, he had a 4.8 WAR (#33 in all of baseball). Last year, he fell off and only hit .254 while striking out a ton, but he still put up a 3.1 WAR. To put that in perspective, that was better than these players: Conforto, Rizzo, Bradley, Jr., Wong, McCutchen, Andujar, Ozuna, Cervelli, Khris Davis, Molina and a bunch of other players. Guys like that don’t grow on trees. So, stop with the silliness of getting rid of him now. That is just absurd.
For once, the Dodgers used four different bullpen pitchers to pitch at least an inning and they closed out a game. That might be a first. Of course Kenley gave up another Big Fly… but he just did that to get a save. Ha! He’s still a concern. Joe Kelly needs about 10 more outings like yesterday… the same with Baez.
Minor League Report by DC
It was not a great day on the farm as the Dodger affiliates lost five out of six games and almost blew the sixth.
Great Lakes Loons 3 – Dayton Dragons 8 (Reds)
The Loons grabbed a 3-1 lead by the top of the third inning on a Luke Heyer ground out and an error in the second inning scoring Leonel Valera and Dillon Paulson. In the third inning Miguel Vargas scored on a Valera single. That was all the run production for the game for the Loons who had only four hits, two of them by Hunter Feduccia who now has an OBP of over .500.
The lead soon evaporated. Starter Jeronimo Castro had four difficult innings giving up five hits, four runs with three walks and only two strikeouts. He was followed by Alfredo Tavarez who probably enjoyed his three innings even less. He too gave up four runs on six hits and the Dragons hit for the cycle against him in the bottom of the sixth inning. To add the Loons woes, Dayton stole three bases and seemed to run rampant on balls hit to the outfield. The game was called after seven innings due to rain.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 3 – Inland Empire 66ers 4 (LAA)
The Quakes got off to a good start with a Jeter Downs single, a stolen base and run scored on a Donovan Casey single. Following that run, seven Quakes in a row went down on strikes at the hands of right-hander Oliver Ortega. The streak was broken by a Jeter Downs walk and a second stolen base in the top of the third inning. Donovan Casey walked and he and Downs moved up on a double steal. Downs scored a second run on a Connor Wong sacrifice fly. Through four innings the Quakes were struck out nine times. A third and final run scored on a Donovan Casey sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
The Quakes were held to four hits.
Starter Victor Gonzalez went four innings for the Quakes giving up two hits and one run while striking out seven. Left-hander Leo Crawford followed Gonzalez and in two innings of work gave up five hits and two runs allowing the 66ers to tie the game at three. Logan Salow with one inning and Connor Mitchell with two innings kept the game tied. In the bottom of the tenth inning Inland Empire scored the winning run off Austin Hamilton with the runner starting at second scoring on a wild pitch and and a single.
The Drillers played a double header including a make-up game as a result of Wednesday’s rain out.
Tulsa Drillers 10 – Midland RockHounds 8 (Oakland) Game 1
They started quickly with a four-spot in the top of the first inning with a bit of help from the RockHounds. Omar Estevez scored following an errant pick off attempt and Zach Reks came home on a Keibert Ruiz ground out. Christian Santana plated two more on an opposite field home run to right field. Santana who had four hits scored in both the fourth and sixth innings, first on a Cody Thomas double and then on a Gavin Lux sacrifice fly. In the eighth inning Santana came through again driving in Zach McKinstry who had started the frame on second base. Santana scored his fourth run on a Jared Walker single putting the Drillers up 8-6. Walked scored another insurance run on an Omar Estevez single and a DJ Peters walk brought in a 10th run. Walker had three hits while Omar Estevez had two. Every Driller had a hit as the team punched out 15.
Mitchell White started for the Drillers and allowed two runs over four innings on five hits and had three strikeouts. Adam McCreery followed White and gave up one run in 1.1 innings pitched. Louis Head brought the RockHounds to within one run of the Drillers by allowing two more runs in the sixth inning. He was bailed out on a bit of an unusual double play on a sacrifice fly. Marshall Kasowski was called to close things out but gave up the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning. With a four-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning Kasowski was replaced by Michael Boyle with the tying runs on base. One more run scored on a sacrifice fly but Boyle was able to preserve a 10-8 win
Tulsa Drillers 2 – Midland RockHounds 5 (Oakland) Game 2
Parker Curry made his first start of the season for the Drillers. Following a clean first inning he gave up three runs to the RockHounds in the second inning on a HBP, a single, a double and a triple in that order. One more unearned run scored in the third inning. Nolan Long replaced Curry and escaped three walks over two innings while giving up no runs. Luis Vasquez pitched the sixth inning giving up one run to give the Missions a 5-2 lead.
The Drillers started well with a Zach Reks home run in the top of the first inning. They loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning only to score just one run on a force out. Reks was the only Dodger to have two hits.
The Dodgers also played a double header as a result of their rainout on Wednesday.
OKC Dodgers 3 – San Antonio Missions 8 (Milwaukee) Game 1
Dennis Santana started for the Dodgers and cruised through four innings but ran into a solo long ball both in the fifth and sixth innings. He departed after 5.1 innings on six hits, two runs and six strikeouts.
Santana was replaced by Josh Sborz who quickly gave up the tying run with a double and single. Following a walk he gave up two more runs on a double and giving the Missions a two-run lead. By the time he was replaced by Josh Smoker, Sborz had given up six runs on five hits and a walk.
Offensively the Dodgers started quickly with a three-run Drew Jackson home run in the top of the second inning but that was all the scoring the Dodgers could muster. The were held to three hits by the Missions.
OKC Dodgers 0 – San Antonio Missions 3 (Milwaukee) Game 2
Ben Holmes started for the Dodgers and struck out five in the first two innings. The only glitch was a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning by Missions first baseman Jake Hager who had homered in the first end of the double header. Holmes continued his strikeout binge by striking out the side in the bottom of the third inning. Things felt apart in the fourth inning as the Missions scored twice on a walk, two errors and a single. Homes struck out two more Missions making it 10 in four innings. Removed for a pinch hitter, Holmes was followed by Stetson Allie who pitched a clean inning as did Justin Grimm in the sixth inning.
Offensively both teams had just three hits but the Missions managed three runs aided by two Dodger errors.
Taylor is a versatile and very good defensive player with good speed trying to hit 20+ home runs. He is over swinging his way into a high K rate and not having a starters position on the team. Kike’ is struggling as a regular and his hold on second base is getting tenuous. Muncy lacks the defensive skill of either Taylor or Hernandez and his bat no longer makes up for that difference.
Verdugo is about to claim RF and if it is unwise to make a judgement on a player until 25 games have been played, well, we are getting real close to having played 25 games. Belli could wind up at first base full time very soon. And, second base may soon be up for grabs again. If Taylor gets it he will probably have figured out he is not a 20+ home run hitter and instead is a contact hitter with speed and defense.
If Taylor, Muncy, and Hernandez continue on their current path, there will be a spot for Lux next year if not sooner. Martin’s back could have a say in who is on the 25 within the next 2 weeks. Smith could be brought up and the Dodgers could go with 3 catchers. Gale would be sent down when Martin is activated but space would have to be made for 3 catchers.
I prefer Muncy to spell Turner at third and of course he can play first so if Martin becomes that righty bat off the bench would Freese be the odd man out or Taylor? If it is Taylor, he would probably spend a few weeks playing full time in OK and then return and that question can be asked again.
I like most of this. You got to go with the hot hand and right now that’s Muncy at 2B, Verdugo in RF, Belli at 1B. I don’t have a problem with sending Taylor to AAA to straighten it out. Streaky Kike could use some platoon time to keep him honest. Lux is tearing up AA already, he should go to AAA immediately to send a message to Kike and CT3. Hopefully Barnes will be better when Martin returns.
It is often said and documented that businesses don’t invest for tomorrow because of the pressure to show profits today. It has also been determined that employees thrive when they believe management has their backs, are allowed to make learning mistakes that don’t sink the ship, and aren’t always looking over their backs for threats that could cost them their jobs.
Yes, Roberts and Friedman are loyal and can be stubborn with their loyalty but that is a good thing. All players have ups and downs and fast and slow starts. Friedman and Roberts should not be judged in April but if tweaks are needed in May they should be ready and willing to make those tweaks wisely and with the long term in mind.
Well said
Well Mark, you really know how to twist a guy’s post! What I meant was the FO gave the same kind of unreasonable amount of time to players like Forsythe, Reddick & Dozier when all of them showed next to nothing for almost as long as they were with the team. Most of us fans were calling for their heads months before the final axe fell. It’s the same thing with Taylor and it will probably be the same for Barnes.
Joc is a different case and I think I made my point about Joc’s power as that is the key to his life on the team. As long as he brings that, he’s safe. Joc’s always brought the power, just not a complete game.
We also decided a couple of weeks ago that RF was Verdugo’s. Your a bit late to the party. Maybe I should write with larger type and in bold?
Your post is a bit offensive not only to me but probably most of the fans who think Doc is a 2nd rate manager. But, I can live with him, I just don’t believe him. Why do you continue to psychologically berate posters who don’t see it the same way you do? Something in your makeup, probably acquired at a young age. It’s a type of bullying. Macho bullshit, actually.
There’s a reason I don’t post any more…
Rick, I always liked your posts. I didn’t always agree, but it’s fun to read other perspectives.
Your right, Roberts is a second rate manager. Two years in a row the Dodgers have been the second best team in all of baseball.
That is not because only of his managing. He has been terrible managing in 2 straight World Series making bad decisions. Not much difference with Mattingly.
When a manager puts Cody Bellinger batting 6th 2 straight games when he was been the best hitter in baseball makes him terrible manager. That is just plain dumb managing.
Hey Jeff,
What is, in your estimation, an unreasonable amount of time?
I also am not sure what it matters if people on this silly board decided RF was anyone’s after < 30 games. I'd be willing to venture that any significant decision made after say 25 games is a poorly decided one.
Bluto,
We’ve had how many seasons of Joc not able to hit lefties?
We’ve had a complete season of Barnes and Taylor falling through the floor and a continuation of it this season. Taylor leading the league in SO’s and slumping mightily. Barnes, too.
I am not basing my posts on 25 game samples. Wouldn’t you agree?
No, I would not.
I like CT3 and want him to succeed but I can’t continue to watch his ABs through rose colored glasses.
His re-worked swing from two years ago is not doing so well and his poor contact rate is tough to watch. Right now his wrist flip load looks slow to the ball and he cannot catch up to the high FB with any consistency. ABs and scoring opportunities are tough to come by. Can the Dodgers afford to see him try to and find his way in big league games?
Jeff and Dodgerrick. Both of you have strong feelings and are both very passionate and articulate. Many of those moron quips Mark makes are pointed at me, and I am fine with it. Mark is very passionate and extremely strong willed in his opinions. It does not make him anymore prescient than you two or me or any of the other dozens and dozens and dozens of regular posters. All of our skins are thinner than we outwardly acknowledge which is why I stayed away from posting for nearly 13 years. In 2016, when I did I got caught up in the negativity and stepped way out of bounds, I went back into self exile until Mark opened this site up.
Rick, you and I have had our differences (I would like to think cordial), but I respect you and your knowledge as well as anyone on any site. We agree on more than we do not. Mark is a big boy and can defend himself, and he is a good man who means well. Just do not let him get to you. Remind him of his 40 HR prediction for Grandal, or his Kike’ the next JDM, or CT3 returning to his 2017 year and having a MVP type season, or Russell Martin winning the comeback player of the year (I guess he still can). Before Barnes became a staple on the 25 man team, Mark would always go on and on about him as if he was the next Craig Biggio which I often made in my responses to him on the subject. But he never took it personally (at least in print).
When I first became a writer with LADT, I would think it was my “job” to make sure that I combated everyone who disagreed with me with why “I was right”. I do not remember the issue, but there was one point that I would not let go and I would continue to comment to those who disagreed with me. Vegas made it clear in a point to me me that I was tearing down arguments just because they disagreed with me. That was not my intent, but in the written word, tone doesn’t always come through. Just ask anyone who wrote an email to a boss that took it completely out of context. I will always be grateful to Vegas for his comment. Just because someone disagrees with me, does not make them wrong. I remember that and I now I write to give my thoughts on subjects, and if fans agree…great. If they do not…great. As long as we have a forum to voice our opinions.
Rick, come back and post as you always have, and Jeff keep posting. You are both very good for this site.
Thanks for the shout out, I do remember that exchange but not the topic. You are usually a voice of reason and I usually agree with your takes. I will defend myself if needed but tend to just stay away for awhile when it gets too negative. The common thing is we are all Dodger fans and differing viewpoints are what makes this place special. I don’t think calling out posters and making it personal have a place in a (hopefully) constructive forum.
It started out rough, but alas, a cumbaya moment!!!
I don’t really take alot said as being too important… I find alot of humor in M.T.’s posts… A.C. is the calming force in LADT and not with alot of statistical stuff…
I know we can all get along if we just take ourselves to serious… That being said:
Doc proclaimed as a bad mgr. isn’t worth the key strokes…
Verdugo as I’ve said since ST, should be given a day in, day out chance in RF to prove his worth..
Belli s/b at 1B everyday…
Bring Smith up and check him out at 2B & C… Can’t hurt!?
CT3 is a bonafide mess…
Someone out there was going to see Queen?? Was it good??
After watching the Cubs series, I have to question whether it should be Madea that goes to the pen and not Stripling. Ross seems to pitch better as a starter to me. The bullpen sucks right now. I hated seeing Urias’ innings wasted in a 6-1 game while watching Alexander get lit up in a close game. Verdugo has won a starting job in my opinion. Kike, Muncy, Joc, Taylor they can all play a little bit less so Verdugo is in the lineup.
Good takes, have to agree with all of it. Strip is 1st in ERA among starters, Kersh 2nd and Ryu 3rd. Maeda is over 5.00 but so is Beuhler. I do expect big things from Dick Mountain on his return but feel they are sending the wrong guy to the bullpen. Verdugo has to play more and Muncy will get going but it’s important to play the hot hands. If I was an opposing Mgr I would stack lefties too until the Dodgers prove they can hit them. It usually puts Joc, Alex and Max on the bench and 2 of them have hit lefties.
I thought the Pen looked very good last night, with the exception of Kenley who has become very vulnerable to the long ball, and needs a cushion to work with.
Baez, Ferguson and Kelly all looked good, and Urias should definitely help.
Baez and Kelly were throwing hard. If those two can carry that on, we will be ok.
We will soon have an unbelievable Rotation. Hill, Beuhler, Ryu, Kershaw plus Stripling or Maeda, with Urias in the Pen.
If Turner and Pollock begin to hit, we are gonna be very hard to beat.
Although I am and never will be as knowledgeable as Mark, AC, DC and all of you, I appreciate reading everyone’s posts whether I agree with them or not. I have been a long time Dodger fan since age 12 . I am no ball player’s mother but I would adopt a few of you if I could. Please keep posting your comments. I love reading them.
I would say CF belongs to Verdugo. Pollock ha snot been impressive at all. Not worth the money on a big contract for him at this point and Dodgers are stuck with him for 4 more years. He was not needed if team had Verdugo. Muncy deserves to play 1B as he had a great season last year, Bellinger at RF and Verdugo CF
Both major signings by Dodgers are looking bad. Specially Joe Kelly has been awful. Pollock at least has not been injured and shown some but Kelly has been terrible even worst than Yimmi Garcia and company. Bad signings
The two players I wanted the Dodgers to trade for in the off season were Hanigar and Realmuto. I mixed and matched Verdugo, Ruiz, Maeda, White, Muncy to name a few to make those trades. Those righty bats would have been nice but that ship has sailed and the ship the Dodgers will be cruising on this year, while very good, will again be weaker against lefties than they will be against righties. Play on.
Both deals fell through because you wouldn’t include Joc.
I really think the season is still too much in its infancy (about 16% done) to draw any major conclusions as to the type of year any particular player will wind up having, but for those who like to do those kind of exercises and who were furious with the “Kyle Farmer trade”, here’s a progress report on the guys we sent out, plus a couple of others we traded to them previously.
Bat avg/OPS
Puig: .190/.205
Kemp: .200/.210
Farmer: .167/.250
Wood: Injured List
Schebler: .145/.254
Peraza: .157/.181
The two guys who are playing a lot of outfield for us and probably wouldn’t be here if not for the Farmer trade:
Verdugo: .345/.367
Pollock: .240/.299 (not very good but better than any of the above listed Reds players)
And for those who were upset that we didn’t sign Harper (which almost definitely would have left Verdugo out in the cold):
Harper 112 plate appearances: 5HR/15RBI .253/.393/.495 0.2 WAR
Verdugo 60 plate appearances: 4HR/16RBI .345/.367/.690 1.1 WAR
And with regard to the hit each team takes to its luxury tax numbers, Harper is about 50 times Verdugo’s salary.
As I mentioned above, the season is still very young. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
Bryce Harper’s peers voted him the “Most Overrated Player in Baseball.”
I feel that way, but when your fellow players feel that way… that speaks volumes!
The jury is still out on Kike. I do think he still can have a breakthrough year.
I felt that Yasmani was a 30+ HR guy, but while his highs were high, his lows were lower. He never realized his potential.
Last year, towards the end of the season, many Dodger fans were down on Cody. I said that he would be a superstar.
I am not sure that CT3 will be what he was in 2017, but the 2018 version wasn’t bad. I’ll take that. Paul Goldschmidt hit .144 in over 100 AB’s last May. No one lost their minds. CT3 is hitting .189 in about 50 AB and fans want to lynch him and burn his body. I sometimes wonder if some have ever really watched baseball or does baseball just fill an inner need they have to feel that they are intellectually superior to the player or the manager or the front office.
Pollock, Turner, Muncy, Barnes, Freese, Hernandez and Turner are all struggling. The bullpen is struggling and yet the Dodgers have the second most wins in baseball… 1 behind Seattle, and we know that Seattle won’t stay there.
I think some of you just like to bitch and that drives me crazy, because it’s such a long season and baseball requires so much patience. There a lot of good stuff happening.
This time last year, the Dodgers were 11-13 and never went over .500 until June 10th. Maybe some people don’t post here because there’s nothing rational they can say to contravene the facts I have presented. .. and the facts are: Like every team, this team is flawed, but they are damn good and have the resources to get better.
Of course, their manager sucks, even though he has the best winning percentage of any Dodger Manager over the past 60 years. Just proof that blind squirrels find nuts. Yeah right!
The FO is building to win now and in the future. We shall see how it all plays out – if I’m wrong, you will be calling me a moron, but if the shoe is on the other foot… 😉
Most of the players that are struggling will pull out of it and some in a mighty way and I will be back on you with both feet – understand that!
Per that well-known source, Wikipedia:
“Moron” was coined in 1910 by psychologist Henry H. Goddard[3] from the Ancient Greek word μωρός (moros), which meant “dull”[4] and used to describe a person with a mental age in adulthood of between 8 and 12 on the Binet scale.[5] It was once applied to people with an IQ of 51–70, being superior in one degree to “imbecile” (IQ of 26–50) and superior in two degrees to “idiot” (IQ of 0–25).”
I would never call anyone a moron unless he qualified for the term. Otherwise it’s just name-calling – an attempt to belittle.
There’s this guy named Mark who once wrote that “you can disagree without being disagreeable”.
Whatever happened to that Mark?
I call myself a moron. I am not being disagreeable when I do that either….
I get called plenty of stuff too… including not being too smart… I resemble that!
Some days, my IQ is single digits, but I press on. I do not take myself seriously on this board.
Your takes are usually very good, but when they all delve to the negative, well that simply is not true.
If only that were true, Mark, you would never have the timbre to post the shyte that you do. Are you getting paid to be a cheerleader?
Thanks Carlos, you’re a great example of having different opinions. This is going to be an ongoing discussion all year on this team because half of our guys don’t look like starters to most of us, yet those same guys would be welcome on half the teams in the league.
Seager – No one is complaining, and he’s just starting to look like himself. The problem with him is that Doc and the FO is giving him too much rest and in my opinion, he needs to gain some weight to get that power back.
Muncy – Some are complaining about him in the lineup, while others wan’t him at second base Doc wants to platoon him with Freese and his OPS is about the same as Seager. Like Seager, lost weight and power, IMO.
Belli – No one can complain about him. Some want him at 1B and other want him in RF. With Verdugo’s emergence, who can argue that Belli should be at 1B, unless you think he or Verdugo should be in CF with Mucny at 1B and Pollock on the bench?
Pollock – On the bench? Come on now. Add his RBI and Runs scored together and he’s 4th on the team. He’s playing very good defense and he seems to get the sac fly when needed. Plus, as a free agent acquisition you have to give him some time otherwise other free agents won’t come. Have you noticed he’s right handed?
Turner – Speaking of right handed, have you noticed that he’s worse than Pollock? No one is calling for him to sit.
Verdugo – Doc should be fired for not playing him more. I was a doubter, but I did a total U-turn. Yes, you can be proved wrong. Everyone here is wrong about something.
Joc – The second best hitter on the team should be playing full time. I’m scratching my head as I write this. He hasn’t shown he can handle lefties, but he never sees them either. I want him to get a chance because his replacement can’t hit at all.
CT3 – Like I said, can’t hit at all. Who the hell is gonna trade for him right now? Not and option. Like Mark said, you will be hard pressed to find someone with those WAR numbers the last 2 years to replace him. Doc wants to give him “runway”? Another weird Doc quote. He needs to figure it out from the bench or AAA IMO.
Kike – Like CT3 can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat right now. Before you start, DJLM has cooled off quite a bit as well, another lefty bat so he’s not the answer. Now people want Muncy to play 2B? Guess what, their numbers are very close, are you gonna give up Kike’s defense?
Marnes – Half of him is on the DL right now, and the other half is hitting like he should be. When they were together, they both OPS’d over 1.000. They’re both just holding the spot warm for Smith and Ruiz. Or maybe, they are the wonder twins and only work together.
Can’t hit lefties? All of our right handed hitters suck right now and Doc’s stupid, so he bats Bellinger 6th.
See, everyone has different opinions. Don’t let Mark get you down, he isn’t as smart as AC.
I have never claimed to be smart, but I do have exceptional vision.
By the way, I agree with about 95% of what you said, so if I’m not that smart, you should be worried that I agree! 😉
lol – For someone with exceptional vision, you sure don’t have good reading comprehension. I didn’t say you weren’t that smart, I just said you weren’t as smart as AC. 95%, that’s everything except for Doc’s an idiot. But, even Nomar and J-Hair are calling him out almost daily on their own channel! Doc’s an idiot, win-loss be dammed.
I really appreciate you, AC and DC for providing this forum and for all the great articles. Keep up the good work and don’t change a thing! If you dish it out, you better be able to take it.
I can take not being as smart as AC – that’s a compliment, in fact!
I don’t deserve to be in that conversation.
59 —————–
Seager: I agree. with the back, sitting too much is a mistake. And he looks like a Famine kid. Way too skinny.
Muncy: Too early to say. Famine kid on California wild berry diet and sprout diet. Eat some meat.
Cody: Ted Williams Reincarnated but nicer right now. If he ever gets a Killer Instinct, Look Out.
Pollack: Overrated Hitter. Underrated Defense. Bench Player 4th Outfielder. Pinch-Hitter.
Turner: Bones are getting Fragile. Needs to start cussing out some children and the Homeless. Maybe an eye test to see if he still has it all there.
Verdugo: Should be playing Everyday for crying out loud. Batting second in the order
CT3: Benched.
Kiki: Go back to his original role for now. See how he responds.
Barnes: Was he ever a great player? Good and versatile? Yes.
My 2 cents.
Doc and Friedman are loyal to a fault. They have stuck with ball players much longer than I ever would have done. In a way what they do is good. They give every ball player a chance to fix their problem. When Doc and Freidman finally cut the apron strings, the player knows they were given probably more time than they deserved. Usually two months (April and May). I think we see this play out for another month. I think Verdugo should play more and after May he will be a full time player some where. Verdugo is playing himself onto a starter and somebody is going to play themselves out.
I would just say to you guys to not take it personal. If you post , somebody is not going to agree with you. Mark is who Mark is. He is a very positive Dodger fan., and he lets you know it. I am a retired coach. If you coach, you better have a tough hide.
It seems like most of us suffer from a bad case of recency bias. If someone has a bad game or even a bad week or two then we want to push them out or claim that Doc or the FO blew it. How foolish would it have been to trade Kobe early in his career because he missed a bunch of 3 pointers over the course of a month or two. I think it’s safe to say that both the FO and Doc are making decisions with a lot more information than we have and with the long-term view in mind.
I remember when everybody (except Bums) wanted to trade Joc. His poor spring training performance made us all think he should go. Now who would want to trade him? Maybe he has a June swoon and we all jump on the trade band wagon again. The point being that over the course of the season Joc will win games for us and he will also have some bad games. We have to take the good with the bad and understand that over 162 games Joc will have more good games than bad. That’s really all we can hope for.
For me – I always have the short-term view. I live and die with each game. My favorite part of the day is when I hear “It’s Time for Dodger Baseball”!
John,
Trading Pederson because he is Pederson is not going to happen. Trading Pederson because someone is offering us a very good deal, a player or players that will make us more complete is more likely to happen. Pederson is not a star and probably never will be. He is a HR hitter. That’s not a bad thing to have, a guy that gives you at least 25 a year. Other than that, I can’t think of a single reason to keep him.
Houston Mitchell:
“Taylor is hitting .164/.250/.246 this season, usually starting against lefties. His average soars to .217/.280/.391 against lefties.
Pederson is hitting .091 (1 for 11) against lefties this season and is hitting .178/.260/.309 in his career against them. We know that Pederson can’t hit lefties and even in this slump, Taylor still hits lefties better than Pederson. The intriguing person here is Verdugo. He is 4 for 9 against lefties this season, with a double, two triples and a homer. He is hitting .267 against them lifetime in the majors, but in only 30 at-bats, an extremely small sample size. In the minors in 2018, he hit .368 in 123 plate appearances against left-handers. In 2017, he hit .280 in 124 plate appearances. So, he has shown the ability to hit lefties.
This leads us to the old problem: When do you give up on a player who has been productive in the past? The Dodgers are very slow to give up on players.
Just look at Pederson. Many were calling on them to get rid of him at the beginning of last season. They didn’t and he has been one of their most productive players (as long as he isn’t hitting against lefties). Taylor was an above average hitter the last two seasons, with an OPS+ of 123 in 2017 and 110 in 2018. He hit .345 in the final month of 2018. He hit .282 in the playoffs.
I think he has earned a bit more time to get on track. We’ll check back in a couple of weeks and see if things have changed.”
Houston also discusses the bullpen, Kenley and Cody:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-dugout-chris-taylor-20190426-story.html
Vegas Dodger, Are you familiar with Mesquite and St George? I have questions.
I really am not, been to Mesquite once for a bowling tournament, small town with a few Hotel/Casinos but growing and never been but lots of Vegas locals go to St George for a getaway but I usually head to Cali.
Hey dodger Rick nice to see you post again, your comments and insight have been missed.
And for us half empty people we still deserve a voice. We really just as diehard and passionate about our boys and blue and have earned the right to speak over the last 30 years of suffering. However despite the suffering they have brought me some of the greatest sports moments of my life in that time period.
On to more important matters, Verdugo seems to be a no brainer but I guess AF and Dr feel differently. However I had no idea CT3 had that kind of war, give him 50 more abs and if there is no improvement banish him to a utility role.
I don’t share the same confidence in Austin Barnes as our humble host does, he is who he is a light hitting catcher with no pop, decent framer and a below average arm. We are going to need a healthy Martin and maybe a July call up of Smith.
If we can stay healthy Doc finally has some arms in the pen that can give him some length and let him play his quick hook and micro managing style of play. I get Stripling to the pen over Maeda, he is more adept at going longer stretches out of the pen. They are sending him there because of DR not because the stats say so.
Jansen stuff and location has taken a step back so staying with Machine Gun kelly is a must. I think help down there for the playoffs is going to have to come from outside the organization. Not realistic to think May or Gonsolin can come in this year and dominate. Maybe help but not dominate, remember Kershaw in 2008 out of relief.
We are going to win the West easily in my mind, what we do beyond that will be dictated by moves we make. Again feel like we have to do something to make an historical third trip in a row to the classic.
Will Smith should definitely get a call… if Barnes and Martin can’t cut it, but make no mistake, the future Dodgers’ catcher (maybe as soon as next year) is KayBear. He is a generational talent… Think Kershaw, Seager, Bellinger, Verdugo, Ruiz!
It is looking like a catastrophic mistake at the catching position that AF made this winter. Put all his dingleberries in one basket and couldn’t make it happen. Then acted like Martin was a great signing. Nice to see him back, but he was not a savior. He F’d up big time, for sure and it may cost the team and pitching staff big time
For the record, I like this site better when DodgerRick is here. Some days I want to slap him and other days I want to hug him, but I like it when he is here and we can be morons together. 😉
Well, I don’t like tonight’s lineup, but I think the lineups play a very small part…
So, I live with it.
OTOH, if you want to blame someone, you can always blame DOC every time they lose. It’s the lineup. It’s called “circular thinking.”
One guy is sitting on the bench tonight and his name is Alex. Why is that? Pollack is starting in CF simply because he was the big name signing FA this winter. AV should be playing RF and Bellinger should be in CF at this juncture, especially with a RH pitcher on the mound. I keep saying Pollack is not that great of a hitter, yet he keeps getting the prime spot in the lineup. I see Belli got his 13th HR with one on, and AP came up and produced yet another out to end the inning .237
It seems obvious that AV, Belli, Turner make a better threesome.
thanks for the kind words yesterday re. my back, Ham. Appreciate it!
Hi Bobby? Exactly what happened? I know about the back and how difficult it can be. Let me know if I can be of any help or advice. It is terrible.
Somehow I herniated my L5/S1 last Oct. By Jan, it was better, and by Feb, even though i was limping due to right calf weakness , I was back to working out and doing body squats ,etc. The Jan MRI showed a 6mm herniation.
I somehow reaggravated it in late March, and the pain was excruciating. MRI 2 weeks ago showed a 10mm herniation, and I had the micro disk surgery last Wed. So now I’m on the road to recovery.
I do NOT wish nerve pain on anyone! It its excruciating, and there is no escaping it, no matter what you do. I know MJ has gone thru this as well.
Oi. I have had 6 surgeries on L5/S1 & L5/L4 since 1992 to date. No, they are not fun, and the nerves sometime never recover. Take it easy, but Walk, Walk and Walk even more. Best thing. This is why Kershaw needs to really look into getting his back fixed for good.
You, my friend are in a group of select people who understand a pain like no other.
Jeff seems to be negative and nasty. You do realize we’ve won 6 straight division titles and been to 2 sraight Wprld Series. All with a clueless president and an idiot manager. I don’t think so!
Me, negative and nasty?! I don’t think you know what negative and nasty really is, sir. But, you are entitled to think what you want. But thanks for the laugh.
Jeff, you are negative and nasty much of the time.
Threatening to get even more negative and nasty isn’t what is needed here
You are the most Negative and Nasty person I have ever heard. 🙂
According to the box score our relievers threw 14 pitches in the final two scoreless innings, 12 for strikes.