It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

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1. Fun outfielder stats department:
   https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/outs_above_average?type=player&year=2019&min=50

   Pederson, Verdugo, Bellinger, and Taylor have better stats than Pollock.
   Dodgers team is ranked 10th.

2. Seager, Pederson, Stripling are the only Dodgers left that once shared a house. Others included Thompson and Wood. Reminds me of when Piazza and Karros shared a house. I tend to want to keep Seager, Pederson, and Stripling Dodgers.

   I think the Dodgers will need Stripling in the rotation if Maeda is traded. There is still a needed pitch count on Urias. Maybe Maeda should be moved to the bullpen now instead of later.

   If there is hope for Kelly, there is a team that would trade for him. Can’t have it both ways–hope and untradeable. Yes, the Dodgers would have to eat some salary or take back salary in the trade.

   Reports are good on Fergusson so maybe he is back soon.

   1. I never thought I would say this but for the first time I could get behind trading Urias if it would help get Diaz in return.

      1. Bad Trade. Urias is still a Baby and greatness is coming. Why trade that away for Diaz? NOPE!

3. Oh man, what a shit show! To say something is wrong with Kelly is an understatement. I think he’ll turn it around, but it’s gonna take some time. I agree that it looks like the problem is between his ears.

   Yeah, Stripling sucks against Trout. I guess everyone knew this before the inning started, so why have him start that inning when Trout is due up 4th? Why not walk him? Why not bring in Baez?

   I guess these things happen when you don’t trust anyone in the pen. Kelly needs to cut himself making a sammich, and Ferguson needs to be called up ASAP.

   After Kelly’s outing last night, they should just play circus music when he comes in from the pen.

   1. Agree, he has a 10 day injury.

4. I know I’m not alone. Mike Trout , steps up to the plate with a runner on and two outs, and there’s that muffled voice of reason in my head, strongly suggesting we should intentionally walk him. Sure, it potentially puts the go ahead man on base, but there’s two outs and the alternative is…well… what we unsurprisingly got. Our worst fear realized and my gut knew it was coming.

   It’s frustrating wasting another fine effort from our starter, but I’m still hold course kind of fan. For a few reasons:
   *The bullpen wasn’t the only thing that let us down to close the game. Didn’t we put two on with no outs in each of the last 3 innings, and couldn’t even produce a single run? And that’s not the first time, and it’s not the first time a debatable managerial decision possibly cost a game.
   *I’m not sure what our success rate is trading or picking up relievers, but it’s spotty at best in the Friedman era and any sort of move is far from a guarantee in shoring up the pen. A lot of our young arms seem close, too. I’m just not a fan of the potential cost
   *Despite the disappointing results, I think our relievers are trending up. Floro, did battle Trout fairly well considering, and showed good location at times. The last few outings, Kelly seems to be getting much better movement on his breaking balls than earlier in the season. I’m still buying in on Kelly and still tantalized by his potential as an automatic setup man for Jensen at some point.
   *We’re getting outstanding production from our starters that wasn’t consistently there to start the season, and maybe we should exploit it. Maybe we should consider a 6 man rotation for a month or so and consistently push these guys into the 7th and 8th innings. Ideally, it would be Urias and either Kenta or Stripling, but I do worry about Urias’ work load just two years removed from his surgery. I think I’d rather he remain exclusively in the pen, be more aggressive with his innings next year.
   *The bullpen picks up 1 or 2 regular starters for the playoffs and essentially acts as a new injection for the unit. If it were a closer race in the West, I’d be more aggressive, but I think this group can weather us thru the regular season.

   1. Floro and Alexander have options. I have no problem sending them to the minors to make room for a couple of guys who can get outs. They can try again when injury occurs or next season. I think there’s value in keeping Stripling as a long man / swing man. But, if he can return a reliever, I would make that deal. I would like to see Urias back in the rotation and give Maeda another shot in the pen. But, it’s too early right now for his innings limit. I think you make that move at the all star break.

5. Minor League Report Update Added Above

6. Cartaya is not disappointing.

7. Interesting viewpoint about the Pitching:

   https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/06/the-dodgers-bullpen-probably-looks-worse-than-it-is.html

   1. Trot out 4-5 arms you can trust… we are a very long way from that. Right now Jansen and then huh…. nobody. Baez has been better than the rest which is no endorsement. A different take is we lost the game last night in the sixth inning. We had first and third with nobody out and seager strikes out and we do not score. The Angels had a vulnerable third time through starter that we let off the hook. I turned it off then surmising what was to come. We are just wasting stripling he needs to be used as a starter but no room. Subpar as a reliever. The Angels are like the giants continue to underperform but we can’t beat them with any consistency. A few questions why do we seem to end up with Kelly, floro, Garcia with the game on the line? Do you have to use up Baez and urias on the same day? Where is Ferguson? Why not walk trout everybody knew late in the game you don’t get beat with the best player in mlb. AF is a smart man does he really believe we will have 4-5 arms we can trust out of this bunch? Doc can only pitch who he has which is on AF but there is room for improvement with his management of the pen. Finally, this team is going nowhere in the playoffs with this pen. The offense will not rake against playoff pitching. Close games no pen AF get busy.

8. Hi AC,

   Really appreciated you response yesterday. You know a lot more about this than I do.

   Couple of questions:
   How hard is it to make a trade?
   I mean, why do you need preliminary trade talks? To my simple mind, the process is:
   Team A wants a player.
   Team B says if the player is available.
   Team A responds with a list of players they’d be willing to part with
   team B begins to haggle.

   Obviously some steps are repeated, some players are made available or unavailable.

   Is this right? Which parts are preliminary?

   1. You left out money and contracts.

      1. Intentionally. Because that’s subsumed or encompassed by one of the above steps because it’s an internal matter to Team A or Team B.

   2. It is hard to make a significant trade during the season. During the season, you need to find teams that are sellers to match up with teams that are buyers. Sometimes those teams are evident and sometimes they are not. And then you have to find players that fit both teams’ profiles. For instance, Cleveland is way back of the Twins in the AL Central but only a couple back in the Wild Card. Kluber and Clevinger will be back to really help that rotation, and maybe they get to the WC. But they may still believe that they are not really a contender for the WS and might be willing to sacrifice a WC chance in 2019 to increase their chances in 2020. So they need to at least explore trade possibilities for when they do make a decision as to whether they are buyers or sellers. Does moving Bauer and Hand make their 2020 chances better?

      There is no need to make a trade right now. Teams are still looking for the best deal, and the closer to the trade deadline the bidding can increase. Sometimes a player (like MadBum) will become available and teams will make their best proposal early to get the deal done so that the bidding does not escalate. I do not think that will happen with SF as Zaidi is going to want to get his best deal for MadBum because he is the one player that can get 2-3 top prospects even as a rental. MadBum’s intrigue is his post season success, and teams will be willing to pay. Plus MadBum has an 8-team no-trade clause, and all of his 8 teams are contenders. That no-trade is going to need to be negotiated along with the players included and that will take time to finalize. But Zaidi is going to burn the phones to see who the teams are. I am sure he was on the phone right after Sunday’s game with all the known contenders to remind those teams how good MadBum is against the Dodgers. Let the bidding begin.

      While everybody knew last year that Machado was #1 on the Dodgers wish list, Baltimore was still going to hold out as long as they could to build the Dodgers prospect list up. The White Sox and the Phillies were in it to the end and that probably required Yusniel Diaz to be included. Diaz may not have been included early on, but as the interest in Machado increased Diaz may have needed to be added.

      Sometimes teams will believe they are in contention but only to learn by the ASG that they are not buyers but sellers. But they still need to do their due diligence before that is known.

      Names and teams change as the trade deadline approaches, but those talks need to start early on to gauge interest.

      1. I still don’t understand why the process to gauge interest need to start now.

         1. That explains why the demand side may be there this early, but not the sell side.

            In fact, it should present pressures AGAINST gauging interest this early.

      2. Teams also make big profits in the playoffs. So there’s a lot of financial incentive to do so.

         Pretty much all playoff games are sold out and tickets are much more expensive than in season games. You’re talking about making multi-million dollars just on the fans in the seats. I’m being very conservative to say that 35,000 seats at $200 per person (Ticket, Parking, Concessions, Food, Beer, Souvenirs) yields a cool $7 million a game. If you adjust that to $400 per person and it’s $14 million per game. Of course you have to split that up a little and there’s also TV revenue in there as well. The point is the icing on the cake financially is “extra” playoff games at the fraction of player salaries.

9. Nomar said maybe Stripling is due against Trout. Yes, Trout was 5 for 5, including a HR. Nomar had a gut feeling, but Doc does not manage with his gut. Doc manages by the book. There were other options. You cannot let Trout beat you. I would rather pitch to anyone on the Angles than Trout in that situation. Walk him Doc. I said that to myself before they pitched to him. Stupid.

10. After all the crapola about DR, the pen and Kelly… The thing that sticks in my craw is the quote by Jansen… Goes something like this “Jansen has already gone on record saying he is the closer. Anyone coming to this team has to accept that.”
    16 freaking million a year and he spews that s___!!! I saw first hand his sorry ass impersonating a catcher in A ball as a Dodger… We reinvented his arse and threats is what we get…
    I’m 72 y.o. and I want another Ring before I leave this rock!!! Selfish??? You bet your sweet ass…
    P.S and I would take Bum in a New York minute if he helped accomplish the above…

    1. Awesome take Peterj! I hope you get that ring while you’re still on this rock. But, F*** Mad Bum. I will NOT sell my soul to the devil for a ring. It will most likely backfire anyways. See The Beard, Romo and Schmidt.

       Let me just send this out there. In the playoffs we will have a 4 man rotation. Period, end of story. Kershaw will be one of those 4 and rightfully so. He is our 1st ballot HOFer. As much as I hate his post season meltdowns, he is welcome on my version of the Dodgers until he hangs ’em up. I’m just hoping Doc can have the balls to NOT use him as our number 1. With that said. The rest of the rotation will be Bueller, Urias and Ryu. Which one of these guys are you gonna replace to bring in Mad Bum with the hope he can still do what he did in the past (5 years later)?

    2. Bravo Peterj. I love this take. I agree on Jansen. Who the hell does he think he is anyway? Over-rated fat ass. The team wasted their money when they resigned him to that contract. They could have gone out and obtained a much better closer. Plus one that doesn’t have to sit home when the team travels to Colorado.

11. Hindsight is certainly 20-20 or maybe 20-10. Ross Stripling needs to pitch to stay remotely effective. He came on in the 7th as he should. Unfortunately he gave up a single with his 2 strikeouts. Shame on him for not being perfect. But it was the right move to take him out against Mike Trout. Trout is 2-2 with a HR and walk in 3 PA against Strip. Again unfortunately, the best the Dodgers can trot out is Dylan Floro who is quickly reminding some of us of Chris Hatcher. For all those who were so quick to give the heave-ho to Josh Fields, I am guessing that his 0.951 WHIP in 41.0 innings last year, while stranding all 9 runners inherited might look pretty good to Floro’s 1.130 WHIP in 23 innings, while 8 of his 22 inherited have scored. Of course, Fields’ $2.2MM contract last year compared to Floro’s $565K this year had nothing to do with the decision, right???

    The Dodgers have the luxury of a big lead so they can keep trying Joe Kelly. But at some point he is going to need to be diagnosed with that mysterious arm injury so that they can fix his head. I do not believe he is wilting under the LA lights. LA is heaven compared to Boston, and he excelled on the WS big stage. Maybe the “fixing” of Joe Kelly will happen, but I would have liked to see him with his upper 90’s fastball up in the zone with the curve and change sprinkled in as opposed to the opposite. I do not see the reasoning of paying a relief pitcher $25MM for 3 years to “fix” him. Either he is effective the way he is/was or is isn’t/wasn’t, and you pass. Maybe it is time to let him go back to what is comfortable and then work with the re-design next winter.

    I am pleased to see that some are agreeing with me that you cannot always take a starting pitcher, stick him in the pen and find success. Of course some starters have gone grudgingly screaming to the pen, only to find success…Andrew Miller, Brad Hand, Brandon Morrow, and of course Dennis Eckersly. But not all are that successful. Most are not. 2 different game/warm up approaches and mental makeup. Hopefully Caleb Ferguson’s transformation will take. Brock Stewart will always be a AAAA pitcher as long as he believes he must be a MLB starter. He now needs to move on so that his professional career can continue to move forward. Dennis Santana may be that same pitcher. Jordan Sheffield is making that transition and willingly. It will be to his benefit as he will make the ML roster as a reliever far quicker than he would have had he remained a starter (if he would have at all).
    I do think Tony Gonsolin can move to the 25 man and become a reliever for this year if he can get healthy and get his innings up, because he has been a closer. But he is a starter now, and that is going to be his future with the Dodgers. But for 2019, give him a shot. But not before getting that bridge to Kenley via trade.

    The Dodgers are now recognizing and acknowledging that difference in their draft. A good number of the pitchers drafted (if not most), are drafted as relievers.

    I agree with Mark that either Maeda or Strip could be moved for that big time reliever. I actually can see a match with Cleveland and Brad Hand. Last winter, I thought that Strip might like a move to his home state of Texas in a Jose Leclerc trade. Of course, AF is probably thinking about 2020 and knowing that Hill and Ryu are FA and Urias cannot fill both spots. So Strip will be needed as a starter. Or maybe before now and the ASG, Tony Gonsolin will show that he is ready for that #5 spot in the rotation making Strip/Maeda available. There are so many scenarios that none of us have the knowledge of to make any intelligent proposal. But they are fun to speculate, and we Dodger fans have the luxury of a big 10.0 game lead to not panic.

    1. Joe Kelly is broken and needs extensive time with a sports shrink.

    2. Problems with the BP and the lack of AF doing anything to improve is far from Hindsight. We all knew this last off season and begged him to do something about it. Kelly is what his answer was and so many were just fine with that, when other teams locked up better players.
       Now the team is hurting because of AF and his lack of spending a buck. The Dodgers are making bucca bucks off the fan, but want to spend money on dregs.

    3. Problems with the BP and the lack of AF doing anything to improve is far from Hindsight. We all knew this last off season and begged him to do something about it. Kelly is what his answer was and so many were just fine with that, when other teams locked up better players.
       Now the team is hurting because of AF and his lack of spending a buck. The Dodgers are making bucca bucks off the fan, but want to spend money on dregs.

12. Doc’s an idiot because 5 out of his 8 bullpen pieces can’t be trusted in a close game. And the other three haven’t exactly been lights out. What’s he to do?

    1. Let the Starting Pitcher finish the game like in the OLDEN DAYS OF YORE

13. I don’t question taking Stripling out against Trout. I question why he was put in in the first place and not used after Trout hit. I also blame Trout’s HR on Russell Martin as much as anyone. Calling for a pitch in the zone was dumb. Especially a pitch he just saw.
    ~
    This bullpen is horrid. Friedman better be very active this year in fixing the problem and not bring in the hot garbage that Zaidi did last year or this team will not make it to the World Series. This team has two quality relief pitchers. Kenley and Baez. They’ve got two starters working out of the pen in Urias and Stripling. Then rest are terrible right now.
    ~
    By the time they stop babying Urias he will be a free-agent. I agree that Stripling or Maeda should be dealt if it improves the pen dramatically. Maeda should probably be in the pen anyways. I look at the AAA roster and don’t see much help there.

    1. You do not see much help on the AAA roster, because there isn’t any. The closest Dodger affiliate relievers to an ML roster are Marshall Kasowski, Jordan Sheffield, and Andre Scrubb who are all in AA and are not remotely ready for LA. If the Dodgers are going to improve their bullpen, it is going to be via a trade(s), and it is going to cost. But my mind still harkens back to what therealten postulated…the Dodgers may indeed be looking at a Detroit pitcher but it will not be Shane Greene, but more likely Matt Moore, a questionable lefty starter coming back from injury and a small affordable contract. I would not at all be surprised to learn that AF believes that Matt Moore can be Joe Blanton, Brandon Morrow, or Tom Koehler.

       1. We don’t need Mad Bum. Kershaw, Bueller, Ryu, Urias is the playoff rotation. Hill can pitch in relief, giving you another lefty on lefty. Maeda or Hill need to go to the pen in July and Urias back into the rotation.

          I don’t agree with AC on getting Matt Moore. At least I’m hoping he’s wrong. We need Brad Hand and Shane Green if Friedman wants to be the boss man. That would be a legitimate three headed monster!

          Don’t shoot me down, I know that’s unlikely.

14. Maeda being traded? lol. Maeda being sent to the BP? lol. He’s not going anywhere except to start another game.

    Stripling really is the odd man out. Not a sustainable starter and not a sustainable reliever. I never really cared for him and called for his head 3 years ago.

    Rumor has it that Joe Kelly is considering giving the money back to the Dodgers as he is not living up to their expectations.

    1. Will the Dodges give him (or any other player) more if they exceed expectations before a new contract?

15. Urias for Diaz. Others from both teams as needed to make the deal.
    Alexander, Santana, Kelly, $$ for LeClerc.
    Move Maeda to the pen.
    2020 rotation: Kershaw, Buehler, May, White, Gonsolin. Stripling
    2019 rotation: Kershaw, Buehler, Ryu, Stripling, Hill
    2019 Pen: Jansen, Diaz, Baez, Fergusson, Maeda, Hatcher, LeClerc

    1. Urias for Diaz?

       You caused me to go into convulsive laughter!

       1. Everybody keeps saying Diaz is unavailable so I am just upping the ante. So, it appears Diaz is available for the right package!!

          1. There is a joke about someone offering someone a million dollars to sleep with them and after the offer was accepted found themselves being asked if $100,000 would be enough. The person receiving the offer then asks, “just what do you think I am” to which the person making the offer says, “we have already established that, we are now just quibbling over the price.”

             So Mark, now that you have accepted that Diaz is buyable, what’s your offer?

    2. Joc for Diaz.

       1. MJ for rudybyrd

          1. When are you moving to the Pacific Northwest?

             1. Will probably list my home in NH this week and let happen from there.

    3. Again with the Diaz deal. How about Kenley for Diaz and throw in Kelly for FREE

16. Kelly was signed to be the set up guy and last night he made a mess, 3 BB’s, 2 WP (should have been 3 but one bounced right back to Martin off the backstop) plus an error on a pick off throw. What else is Doc supposed to do? He has to find out what he has. After Honeycutt when out and Kelly stayed in Doc stood on the top step and stared at Kelly as if to say ‘I’m not coming to get you, pitch the hell out of this’ and he did. It was a bad case of the yips yet he still made some pitches. It’s not physical, he can still dial it up, the talent is in there. He is signed for 3 years, the team has to use him, but can’t put him in high leverage right now. The team has a stretch of 18 games in a row coming up, 11 at home and the rotation will be tested. There will be a bullpen game in there somewhere. The stretch ends with 4 in Coors which wears out staffs. It might get worse before it gets better. Decision time for Doc and the brain trust.

17. Maybe a few days playing first base would break up the bad mojo Bellinger is going through right now. I know he loves playing right field but he plays the best first base on the team.
    Dave Roberts shore looked frustrated during the Joe Kelly meltdown. A little better defense and some timely hitting with RISP and we have a much better outcome. Go Dodgers!

18. Belli needs to adjust. H needs to reread Ted Williams book. Swing at pitches you can do damage with. Take the walks. Verdugo needs to do the same. Both are pressing and swinging at pitches the pitcher wants them to. The ball isn’t jumping off Seager’s bat the way it used to either. Worry. Just a game, right. Yeah right. Baseball is ruthless. One night you hit a homerun and you’re the hero. The next night you make a bad throw and you’re the not a hero.

19. The only minor leaguer to make sense is gonsolin since he has relieved apparently. But he has to get here quick to acclimate. Ferguson will be up soon. Santana, chargois etc. been there done that. Urias for Diaz convulsive laughter 2. Stewart and joc for hand. I would hate to lose joc but you have to give up something to get something. Not going to happen but a thought.verdugo not going anywhere too cheap plus solid. I got a feeling we will be stuck with what we have, get a retread, while we watch the cubs win it.

20. Well, Trout owns everyone pretty much. Best in the game, now and maybe ever? Maybe not. Is he better than Willy? Maybe not.

    1. Time will tell.

    2. Really? What about that Babe Ruth guy?

    3. I like trout with wild rice, but really, is it better than a baby ruth?
       Different meal … err … era

       1. Well – Ruth hit more HRs than most teams when he started playing regularly as a position player. Oh – and he wasn’t just a HR hitter. Lifetime BA .343. Look at career EBH.

          Oh – and was Trout also ever one of the best pitchers in MLB?

          Career OPS+ is .206. 1st all time. Career OPS is 1.164. 1st all time. Career SLG is .690. 1st all time. Career WAR 182.4. 1st all time.

          In 1921 he had 119 EBH, OPS 1.359, 17 SB and 16 3B (pretty good for a fat guy).

          In 1916, he was 23 – 12, 1.75, 23 CG, 9 SHO, 323 IP, and lead the league with 158 ERA +.

          Let’s talk about his 15 post-season HR (without multiple layers of playoffs – just World Series) and Series OPS of 1.214. Or his Series pitching stats of 3 – 0 , 0.87 ERA with what was a career record for consecutive shut out WS innings.

          Nothing else compares.

          1. Let’s talk about how The Babe would do with his 300 pound body in this era.

21. I don’t get the whole “fix Kelly” thing. Kelly’s mix of pitches in the World Series was apparently enough to stop the Dodgers last year. It was enough to convince the Braintrust to spend $25 MM. But now, they mess with him and have him throw a different pitch mix.

    I’m no fan of Kelly’s. He has never been consistent in his entire career. His control is spotty at best. But if you’re going to give a guy $25 MM you’d think that they would let him pitch and not “fix” him. Ask yourself – was he better last year or this year?

    Why would Roberts ever bring him in under the circumstances that the team was in last night? OK – So you’ve use Stripling and Floro – are there no other relievers available that you would be more confident in for a high leverage situation?

    The ‘pen – it’s a mess. Can you imagine going into the postseason with this mix of relievers to face the Yankees, Astros, Cubs, Brewers, etc? It’s not right – Ryu manages 7 innings allowing 1 run and the ‘pen can’t finish the job – as usual.

    1. Are the Dodgers having him throw a different pitch mix? I recall the Red Sox having battled with him to drop pitches from his repertoire and finally got through to him in the post-season. I tend to believe it is Joe Kelly and his brain that are the problem not the Dodgers messing with him.
       ~
       Last year’s version of Caleb Ferguson would help a lot.

       1. They are having him throw his change up more

          See below
          https://www.dodgersnation.com/dodgers-a-closer-look-at-joe-kelly/2019/05/06/

          1. Thanks Rick. I knew the Red Sox had got him to ditch a pitch or two for the playoffs. You would think the Dodgers would know better than anyone what was effective against them.

22. Funny how some won’t take Bumgarner on this team because he’s a jackass, even if it cost a ring.

    Yet the same people rave about 1988 Champion Dodgers, who were led by a jackass left fielder…

23. The Cubs traded for that Jackass Aroldis. We didn’t.
    Look how that ended.

    1. Let’s admire that move.

24. I suggested awhile back that since Rich Hill is on the final year of his contract that the Dodgers might want to use him in a trade. I don’t know what kind of value he has. I also suggested awhile back that Floro is expendable as he is only effective against right handed hitters, again I don’t know what kind of value Floro has in a trade.

    All I know is that I only trust Baez and somewhat Jansen in the bullpen.

    I’d only want the Dodgers to trade for relievers that have a good OPS against in 2019 and for their career. That would clearly be an upgrade. None of this 650 or above OPS career or 2019 because the Dodgers already have several relievers with those stats. If they can’t get anybody 600ish or below OPS then nevermind, it’s not worth it.

    1. in theory, you’re right. But who with those amazing stats will be available this year?

       1. Giles and Holland.

          1. Giles 2019 OPS 567 career 609.
             Holland 2019 OPS 572 career 597.

             1. interesting. Good ideas then. Now, can they handle October pressure? Who knows!

             2. Simply a question. Not a criticism. I assume that you are not concerned that Giles had a meltdown while pitching in Houston? He was outstanding for the last place Phillies and is outstanding with the last place Blue Jays. Not so much with the Astros including a disastrous 2017 post season, especially WS. That great OPS did not help while in Houston?

                I think there will be chemistry concerns with Holland and Jansen. We can all say that they should all just shut up and do their job, but that is not always realistic in the real world.

                Brandon Morrow’s OPS was well north of .700 when the Dodgers signed him for 2017.

                Ryan Pressly’s current career OPS is .664 with a .604 last year and .429 this year. So he was north of .675 when traded to Houston last year.

                I would not be against Giles or Holland, but there are concerns with both that need to be considered, and if you only look at one metric, you may miss out on a Brandon Morrow or Ryan Pressly. And I am sure there are other examples.

             3. Giles would scare the crap out of me.

    2. Rich Hill would be a rental. That would likely only be attractive to a contending team. Contending teams are unlikely to trade a competent reliever.

       If Rich Hill is to help our bullpen I only see it happening in two ways.
       1. He pitches 7 innings in his starts leaving with a lead
       or
       2. He switches to the bullpen and becomes that reliever.

       1. Rich Hill be allowed to pitch 7ip in a playoff game???? I could only hope (we might have 2 rings if that were allowed)

       2. I didn’t explain that I was talking about a 3 way deal.
          Hill and Floro for prospects from a contending team, then prospects to a selling team for a reliever.
          I just thought it was obvious that was what I was talking about.

    3. Hill’s problem is that he can’t go deep into the game because he throws so many dang pitches every inning. If he could get out of the inning faster and go deeper, why trade him? Why give up one very good pitcher in the arsenal for someone less or in this case a BP 3 batter an outing guy??? Nope on the Hill Trade. Bring up a rookie. Sometimes they can dazzle for a month.

25. According to Jim Callis, the Dodgers have signed Kody Hoese for the slot value assigned to the 25th pick of the draft. Take a little time off Kody, and then go rake at Ogden or Great Lakes. Perhaps you’ll be ready to take over for Turner in a few years!

    1. We are cornering (pun!) the market on Kodys, Cody, and Corys.

       1. next up, a Kory?

          1. Mathematically speaking, yes.

26. There was something mentioned about why Floro threw so many sliders in a row, the last one resulting in the homer that tied the game? Was that pitch called by the catcher, the bench or the pitcher? I guess we will not ever know. Oh well new game tonight. Go Dodgers.

27. I know it’s a long way off, but every loss, in games we probably should have won, Will matter if we don’t secure a Home Field advantage through out the Playoffs.
    Might be better to call for the Cavalry sooner rather than later.

    We are very good at Dodger Stadium.

    1. Exactly!

28. Trust me, Freidman knows what a special team he has right now. While they are not going to give up on Kelly just yet, you know he is already lining up possible trades for some legit arms. I think he knows he can’t go bargain basement shopping like he did last year with the ‘pen, he needs some tried and true guys. It just a matter of how much he has to give up in major league players and minor league guys to get a deal done. It might sting us fans a bit with the guys he will trade, but you have to give to get, and this team has a totally legitimate chance to win it all this year.

29. DODGERS RECALL LHP CALEB FERGUSON
    LHP SCOTT ALEXANDER PLACED ON IL

    LOS ANGELES –The Los Angeles Dodgers today recalled left-handed pitcher Caleb Ferguson and placed left-handed pitcher Scott Alexander on the 10-day injured list, retroactive June 8, with left forearm inflammation.
    Ferguson, 22, returns for his second stint with the team after making his first career Opening Day roster. In 17 games (one start) for the Dodgers, he is 0-1 with 5.94 ERA (11 ER/16.2 IP) and 16 strikeouts. The Columbus, Ohio native was optioned on May 27 and appeared in six games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, posting a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/6.0 IP) with 11 strikeouts. In his two seasons with the Dodgers, he is a combined 7-3 with two saves and a 4.11 ERA (30 ER/65.2 IP).

    Alexander, 29, will make his first trip to the injured list this season after appearing in 28 games for the Dodgers. The southpaw is 3-2 with a 3.63 ERA (7 ER/17.1 IP) and nine strikeouts for the Dodgers this year. Since joining Los Angeles in 2018, he has posted a 5-3 mark with a 3.67 ERA (34 ER/83.1 IP) and 65 strikeouts. He is in his fifth Major League season and has a 10-7 overall record with a 3.20 ERA (63 ER/177.1 IP).

    1. Tomorrow Joe Kelly goes on the IL with a severely bruised psyche.

30. From The Athletic

    House of Cards in St. Louis

    It’s difficult to say which is more of a disappointment – the Cardinals’ rotation, which ranks 11th in the NL with a 4.35 ERA, or their offense, which was supposed to evolve into more of a force with the addition of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

    The Cardinals are actually worse with Goldschmidt than they were without him, averaging 4.64 runs per game, down from 4.69 last season. Their month-by-month averages highlight their decline since the season started – the Cardinals were at 5.45 in March/April, second only to the Cubs in the NL, and have since dropped to 4.30 in May (13th) and 2.88 in June (14th).

    Other aspects of the Cardinals’ game are strong – they rank third in the majors in FanGraphs’ baserunning metric, and eighth in defensive runs saved. But they’ve scored two or fewer runs in 15 of their last 34 games, going (12-22) in that time.

    A year ago, while with the Diamondbacks, Goldschmidt had a .719 OPS before popping a 1.199 in June. He has not struggled as badly with the Cardinals, producing a .799 OPS, but he has not gotten as hot, either. Even Marcell Ozuna’s team-high .872 OPS ranks just 47th in the majors.

    As one Cardinals official puts it, “Every lineup needs anchors.” To this point, the Cardinals’ anchors have not been good enough.
    ————-
    What would it take to get Goldschmidt?

31. We don’t need Mad Bum. Kershaw, Bueller, Ryu, Urias is the playoff rotation. Hill can pitch in relief, giving you another lefty on lefty. Maeda or Hill need to go to the pen in July and Urias back into the rotation.

    I don’t agree with AC on getting Matt Moore. At least I’m hoping he’s wrong. We need Brad Hand and Shane Green if Friedman wants to be the boss man. That would be a legitimate three headed monster!

    Don’t shoot me down, I know that’s unlikely.

    Trading Joc is not an option. It just creates another hole. They can probably afford to trade Maeda or Stripling. I wouldn’t trade Maeda when Hill and Ryu might be gone next year. Off the current 25 man roster, I would only be willing to trade Yimi (because he’s out of option), Stripling (because he’s never gonna be more than a swingman for us) and one of CT3 or Kike (because they’re essentially the same player) and none of our top 5 prospects for any reliever.

    1. 59inarow, I never said I was in favor of getting Matt Moore. What I said was that therealten mentioned that AF was more likely to trade for Matt Moore than he would Shane Greene, and that is what I agreed to. It may be obvious to many of us that the Dodgers lack that true lock down high leverage bridge to Jansen, but I will be very happy to eat crow if AF decides to go after a big name reliever. I just do not see it happening.

    2. Hill is not relief pitcher material due to his make-up. He throws too many pitches and is better when he has innings.

32. I keep hearing people say that Cody Bellinger needs to move back to 1B, because he is the best defensive 1B in baseball. I disagree that he needs to move, even though I agree he is the best defensive 1B in baseball. You see, he may be the best right fielder too… and there is this:

    The Athletic ranks the Dodgers infield as the best in baseball. So, if you move Cody to 1B, they will still have the best infield defense, but RF will not be elite anymore. How dumb would that be?

    Here’s what they wrote:

    Given how frequently the Dodgers use shifts (they rank fourth in MLB in batted balls defended with them) and how good they are at thwarting opponents when using one, they’re going to deny a lot of scoring chances.

    The Dodgers have also had a couple of defensive revelations this season.

    One is that Kiké Hernández has been pretty good at second base. His five runs saved there are considerably better than the minus-5 he totaled prior to this season. Corey Seager is right behind him with four. Seager is good — he ranks second among shortstops in success rate at making plays on his forehand and third on his backhand the last three seasons (among the 35 with the most opportunities).

    The other is that Max Muncy has handled a utility role with aplomb. He’s saved seven runs split between first base, second base, and third base. He fared better in his brief stint at the hot corner than usually stellar Justin Turner. But he’s useful wherever he is.

    1. Well, Joc is already in that outfield. As is Alex. Wouldn’t Alex make RF elite still? Pollock is the only one out of the 4 that actually has a GG.

       BTW – Ferguson up, Alexander to IL with forearm soreness. Maybe that’s why he can’t get lefties out.

       1. Alex isn’t close to Cody in speed. Maybe the arm, but not the speed. Cody will win the GG this year in RF.

          1. Fair enough, so how do you handle that dilemma? Are you suggesting that one of Joc, Pollock, Alex goes to the bench? Or are you suggesting that one of them plays first base?

             1. It will play out. There will be injuries and there could be a trade.

                Remember, depth is one of the Dodgers greatest strengths… and it will be taxed at some point.

33. Really, the Dodgers’ position players are getting it done most of the time as are the starting pitchers. The bullpen – that’s another matter.

    Leave Cody where he is. There will be playing time for Verdugo, Joc and AJ when Pollock returns.

    Get us some relievers. And no to Ken Giles. His numbers are fine this year but stunk in 2016 when he went to the Astros to close, and were bad last year too. Too inconsistent and hasn’t pitched well for playoff teams.

    1. Agreed about the Giles part. If we get another guy with warts, we not much better off than we are currently. They need to get as close to a sure thing as they can. Not another guy they can “fix”.

    2. Rick, there is no doubt that Ken Giles is a huge risk, but he could also be a huge reward if he continues to pitch as he is this year. No guarantees, but there was no guarantee that Manny Machado would bring a championship to LA and that also proved to be correct. Or Yu Darvish, or Rich Hill. If not Giles then who do you think the Dodgers should target?

       Prior to this season Shane Greene has not been anything special. His ERA in 2018 was 5.12 while his WHIP was 1.374. For his career his ERA is 4.62 and his career WHIP is 1.349. I still thought the Dodgers should have targeted him last winter. Since May 15, in 11 games and 8.2 IP, Sean Doolittle’s ERA has gone from 0.95 to 3.58. Greene is controlled thru 2020 (arbitration) and Doolittle has an affordable option for 2020 ($6.5MM). The prospect cost will be greater for either reliever than will a rental like Giles. I do not believe that Greg Holland or Will Smith are legit options. SF would gladly trade Melancon to LAD but not Smith. I assume that Zaidi would also be willing to trade Dyson to LAD.

       So you are a no on Giles, and I am certain you are not alone. Which potential high leverage late inning reliever do you think the Dodgers should target? We know that AF likes John Axford, Zac Rosscup, and Ryan Madson, or similar pitchers. Or are you going to live with the current makeup and hope that Joe Kelly comes around or that someone from AAA/AA can make the move to the ML roster? You know Maeda is going to the pen for the playoffs. Is that enough for you? As of now, the playoff bullpen would look like…
       Jansen/Baez/Strip/Maeda/Urias/Ferguson/Kelly/Floro or Garcia. I assume that Shaggy could replace Garcia or Floro or Kelly, and that Alexander could replace Ferguson. But are those really upgrades?

       You do not want Giles, and you think the bullpen is a mess. Make a suggestion. None of us know anymore than anyone else not in the Dodger FO. Me, I think Giles is worth the risk because his upside is pretty good, and his downside can’t be any worse than what the team has experienced.. But I also thought that Joe Kelly was worth the risk. He still may be.

       1. I don’t have the time to research it, but it would seem to me that “bonepile pickups” have as good… or maybe a better chance of succeeding than high-cost pickups.

          I would try Giles for the right price. You never know….

          1. AF agrees with you. We all know how Brandon Morrow turned out. But how did John Axford, Shaggy, Josh Fields, Wilmer Font, Erik Goeddel, Daniel Hudson, Ryan Madson, Zach Neal, Daniel Corcino, Brock Stewart, Edward Paredes, Zac Rosscup, and Pat Venditte do last year. That was quite a crew. So it looks like we have a long way to go before AF will land another Brandon Morrow. Or maybe he is due. As I said, Giles cannot do worse than last year’s group or this years group thus far, And he does have to potential to excel (or blow up).

       2. Giles is Arb Eligible: 2020 free agent 2021.

       3. Brandon Morrow is on the 60 day IL and Ryan Pressley is with the Astros who the Dodgers will probably face in the world series. Why would the Astros trade Ryan Pressley?

          1. The Astros are not going to trade Ryan Pressly. I never thought they would. I was pushing for the Dodgers to trade for Pressly last year when he was with the Twins. Mark still cannot understand why I tabbed Pressly then. I actually pushed for Pressly or Taylor Rogers (also with the Twins) or Jose Leclerc. Only Pressly was traded, and the other two are not likely to get traded this year.

             I called for Brandon Morrow in the Spring of 2017 before most on this site knew who he was. He had to be recalled before June 1 or grant him free agency, and he was (May 29). He went back down briefly in early June but was up for good on June 21, and was fantastic for the year. But once he signed with the Cubs, I have not been an advocate for Morrow since.

    3. I still think trading away great potential talent for short term relief pitchers is a Huge Waste. These trades never work out the way people think they will and we end up losing anyway. Losing the WS, Talent and Patience with the Team. AF should have addressed this during the Off-Season, the bullpen I mean. He did not. Kelly was about as poor a choice as he could have made, but he was so impressed by the way he handled the Dodgers, in that short series, he expected Kelly would dominate National League hitters. Dumb. This makes me sick, because we always ask, “Why won’t AF pull the trigger on FA’s in the Off-Season”.

       1. Yes, because the team is in last place and playing for the first draft pick?

          Maybe Andrew should have paid Kimbrel the $100 million he wanted?

          What trigger should he have pulled?

          This should be interesting…

          1. Well Mr. T, if you ever bother reading my other posts, you will see that I blame him for not doing a damn thing during the off-season but sign the magnificent Joe Kelly. You I believe, endorsed that signing, like you do for most everything he does. Your lip imprints must be on his rear end the way you defend AF. But lets keep listening to your ideas, as they seem to be so brilliant.

34. Matt Moore is on the 60-day IL and will miss the rest of the season after knee surgery, but he is someone who Friedman might target next year.

    1. Maybe Tom Koehler is ready. No, he is right handed Brett Anderson looks like he is ready. A lefty probably fits better. Maybe the 30 million dollar Cuban wherever he is. How about therrian where is he? It’s a long season so Kelly could catch fire before it’s over. In the end if healthy Jansen, Baez, kelly, Ferguson may prove to be useful. The bullpen just needs to catch fire in September. If the bullpen keeps losing 50% of our games we will probably lose home field advantage.

    2. Well there goes AF’s #1 target. Next? But you are right, Matt Moore is exactly the type of low risk high reward pitcher AF looks for. I would not be at all surprised if he signed with LA next year. LH Tom Koehler?

       59, I am not advocating him. Just speculating as to who AF might target.

       1. I get it. And I don’t mind picking up “bonepile pickups” in the off-season when they have time to cut bait if they don’t work out. But, not at the trade deadline when you have a clear need. I’m suggesting what they should do to win a Championship this year. Hand and Greene, done! 😉

          1. Don’t just suggest it, Get it done!! I’ll back you. But then again, Jeff does not want to trade Maeda, Mark and others do not want to trade Verdugo, Bums does not want to trade Joc (or Smith), Hawkeye and others do not want to trade Muncy. and Hamchuck does not want to trade any prospect for a reliever. You have your work cut out for you.

             1. I said trade Kenley and Kelly and throw in perhaps Toles from the Farm system for a truly great pitcher. Not a fringe or old washed up player. Trade some of our older washed up guys, who are unreliable. Hell we have a ton of them.

35. Morons on other Dodger sites are saying to bring back Ned Colletti.

    The Dodgers are tied for the best record in baseball and the idiots are running rampant!

    It is comical… and sad that they have no modicum of intellect.

    1. They want Colletti so he can sign more of Brian Wilson, Brandon League, and Jason Schmidt? Or how about Chris Capuano, Matt Guerrier, Kevin Correia, Jamey Wright and Paul Maholm? I do not see any relief improvement from NC over AF.

       1. I detect a trend; Relief pitching is a crapshoot!

          1. It is a crapshoot. Kelly is the poster boy for crapshoot! I love Ned, the Big Chair was a great read. If I had to choose between the two, I would pick Friedman, mostly because of the draft and how well the minor league system is, but it’s close.

             What starting players has Friedman signed as free agents or traded for that are key members on the team right now? Rich Hill?

             Remember that Ned Drafted Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Joc Pederson, Alex Verdugo and Cody Bellinger and signed Justin Turner and Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Julio Urias. Pretty much ALL of our current BEST players are Ned’s.

             1. Let’s not forget Walker Buehler, Max Muncy, Austin Barnes/Russell Martin/Will Smith/Keibert Ruiz, CT3, Kike’, Kenta Maeda. Let’s also not forget that Joc, Corey, Cody, Urias, Verdugo could all have been traded by AF but were not. They all became stars after AF came. So Ned gets credit for drafting, and AF gets credit for developing and not trading.

                Ned also drafted Zach Lee, Chris Withrow, Ethan Martin, and Chris Anderson, all in the first round. Not to mention other first rounders and first picks…Bryan Morris, Preston Mattingly, James Adkins, and Aaron Miller.

                Both Ned and AF have had their hits and misses. But in today’s game, like you, I much prefer AF.

          2. A crapshoot not worth picking up the gun.

    2. Plenty of morons on this site, too. All the old ladies with their panties in a twist, panicking when patience is all they need. One bad game and all hell breaks loose. They want to trade and rearrange the best team in baseball! The only argument I have is why they don’t send Kelly down for re-assembly? Last night’s performance was eye-popping. That pitch that went over Martin’s head was the last straw for me. How many dirt balls did he throw before he let loose with that one? His control is gone. His confidence is gone. This is when you do something, FO!

       The one thing that was needed last night was a manager that should have told the pitcher to walk Trout, not pitch to him. Was that even an option in Doc’s mind?

       1. You keep saying send Kelly down. They can’t. He has no options. He either goes on the IL, stays on the 25 man, or gets DFA.

          I am not reading where wholesale changes are being advocated. The only change I continue to read about (and I agree with) is the makeup of the bullpen. You think the bullpen is fine while many of us do not. That does not make us morons. Also as I read the comments, I do not recall anyone saying that the change has to be made today. It is a deadline trade scenario. Most of the comments I have read seem to indicate that winning the NL West is not the goal All of us agree that this bullpen is good enough to win the NL West, but many of us do not believe the bullpen is good enough to shut down the offenses they are going to see in the playoffs. You disagree with us. Again that does not make us morons. Give me one Dodger reliever who has been dominant this year or even remotely dominant. Their collective record is 12-13 with 10 blown saves. That is a WS equivalent bullpen? Maybe you are right and we should just be patient. Who knows maybe if we are patient enough John Axford will become available again. Or maybe Tony Sipp this year.

          You complain about Doc, and I complain about the bullpen. That does not make either of us right, wrong, or morons.

          1. I complain about Doc and the bullpen, so I guess I’m the one who’s most right. 😉

             The bullpen makes Doc look bad and Doc makes the bullpen look bad. This is not a good formula for a World Series. Right now, it’s easier to change the bullpen because Doc has some good qualities. The pen does not.

             1. lol. Yep. No question DR is probably the worst manager in baseball at handling a pitching staff. He does have a really good, lets say great, stupid looking face when he blows a game 🙂

          2. AC,

             If he has no options, don’t play him! Would you rather lose games? At least, don’t put him in tight situations. Seems like simple logic to me that escapes Doc.

       2. I have advocated for bringing up rookies and give them a chance to shine. Much easier than making trades. You never know when a Bob Welch or Steve Howe will reveal themselves when given a chance. So I don’t think there are any morons on this site, just fans who have opinions.

          We tend to fight amongst ourselves about the team we love, when in fact, each one of us has their best interest at heart. I just don’t like it when you say something and then get called names. This isn’t grade school.

    3. Sign him as a Top Scout. Give him Joe Kelly’s money. He does have a value. Perhaps not as GM but in the system.

36. 1. Pederson LF
    2. Muncy 3B
    3. Turner DH
    4. Bellinger RF
    5. Seager SS
    6. Verdugo CF
    7. Taylor 2B
    8. Kike 1B
    9. Barnes C

37. Otani hit the HR and got in Maeda’s head. The Dude is toast!

    Maeda is not mentally tough.

    I would trade him… immediately if not sooner.

    I hate that stupid grin on his face.

    1. I hate that too. Every home run is that same face. I still think he’s better than Stripling though.

    2. Perhaps the Dodger pitching staff isn’t quite as good as we tend to make it out? If the BP sucks and only a handful of Starters are worth keeping, then how good is this staff????? AF Failed to strengthen it during the off-season. I keep saying it to myself apparently.

38. Do you mean he actually inhabited his body? Must be a very Zen thing they know in Japan.

    1. Pod people. It is Hollywood after all. How hot is it down there right now. It is 102 deg. in the bay area

39. Ok guys, as the Angels are taking our asses to the woodshed, I challenge everyone on this site. Bullpen is trash, we all want to cancel Joe Kelly bobblehead night and run his ass out of town, most of you guys on this site hate Roberts and think he sucks as a manager (Which by the way, both MLB and ESPSN sportswriters love the dude and how he keeps the team together, and do the research and check out his win percentage as a Dodger manager) and most of you want to ship Taylor, Kike, and Joc , and anybody else in a prolonged slump, to a team for a warm six pack, and all together now, “I can’t believe what an idiot Freidman is for assembling such a fractured team!”. Dave Vassegh and J-Hair took a bunch of butt hurt Dodger fans calls after last nights loss on the podcast, and one dude was saying how he paid good money to go to the game and didn’t want to see Kelly pitch like crap and our offense suck, and both Vasseghe and Hairston jumped him and said we should be celebrating the last 4 years of Dodger success. In all my my years dating back to the early 70’s, I have never seen a run like we have had the last 3 or 4 years, and once again, poised to win the NL pennant . Come on guys, celebrate the DAMN moment, this is something that most of us Dodger fans will never see in our lifetime, and so many of us are bitching because it’s just not enough. Hairston touched on something. He said that if you asked any baseball player in MLB if he had the chance to be on a team that lost two World Series in a row, they would take that chance any day versus being on a team that never made the play-offs. This is supposed to be a positive Dodger site, one in which we throw down for our boys in blue, but some of you guys act like friggin Giant fans. 162 games is a long season, so many things can happen. Buckle up, enjoy the ride, and everything will work out. Relax and eat a cheeseburger or a Dodger dog. Trust me, the September and October heroes have yet to be determined for this team. As for Kelly, I don’t care if he sucks all year, I just need him to be flat out filthy for two weeks in October.Gas like his play big time in the play-offs. He could be the second coming of El Gasolino.

    1. Read my post at 11:54pm eastern. It’s all fine.

    2. Roger, the Dodger team of the 70’s was great. We expected them to win the World Series each year and they took 1 only. There Is no doubt in my mind that we had the Best Team but even then, the Dodgers failed to win it all. It is almost a curse in a way. This franchise should have so many more World Series titles than we have, and that is a shame. But we carry on.

    3. I’m enjoying the ride. This is the best Dodger team in my opinion since the 80’s.
       I’m fine with the offense. I’m fine with the starting pitching altho I think the Dodgers will probably lose Rich Hill to free agency and we have extra starting pitching in Urias and Stripling and that’s why I would not be upset losing Hill in a trade IF NEEDED. The bullpen obviously is the weak link.
       I’m guilty when it comes to Kelly and I’m guilty when it comes to Roberts because some of his pitching decisions. I don’t care to get into any discussion about the previous front office vs the current front office, both have good and bad and both are more good than bad.
       I don’t want the Dodgers to trade ANY part of the offense. I would like to see Freese starting as much as possible at 1B vs both righties and lefties moving Muncy to 2B.
       Adding 2 proven relief pitchers, just my opinion would make the Dodgers pretty unstopable in the playoffs. I believe the team as it is will win the division easily therefore I’m not in a hurry for the Dodgers to make a trade or 2, but I believe eventually that is going to be the obvious thing to do. My hope at this point is Giles and Holland ONLY if the price is right and I don’t believe there will be any problems between any of the relievers other than maybe Jansen but he will just have to deal with it and focus on winning.

       In the meantime I hope Seager is not injured too bad. Again I’m enjoying the ride.

40. I love Caleb Ferguson. Now let us hope DR does not overuse him.

41. If only we had a smarter GM and a better manager we’d be up by 10 games by now!

42. Hard to win baseball games with 3 black holes in a row in your lineup! Even you Mark have to be getting tired of this!

43. Bad news – Corey out with grade 2 left Hamsring Strain.
    Gonna need our depth.

    1. It’s not the defense that will suffer, but the batting. Seager has been resurgent as of late. He will be missed. Hope he’s back before the All Star break. Would they dare call up Lux at this stage of his development?

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