Freak Show!

Posted By on June 29, 2019

Move On, There’s Nothing to See Here!

Hyun-jin Ryu gave us 7 runs, EARNED RUNS! …in 4 innings pitched. That’s all you need to know. When the best pitcher in baseball gives up runs like Donald Trump gives up insults, you know that something is amiss. The thing that is amiss is that batter enhancing, pitcher killing Coors Field.

That’s why I say to never sign a player who has played most of his career at Coors. Their stats will be greatly inflated. Of course, there are exceptions. DJLM comes to mind, but Yankee Stadium is also a hitters park. The Dodgers pitching staff which had the best ERA in baseball at a little over 3.20 a game has averaged giving up 11 a game at Coors! That’s what Coors does. It destroys a pitchers stuff… and confidence and makes every hitter think they are Babe Ruth.

I am convinced that the Rockies have the biggest home field advantage of any team in baseball because their hitters have figured out how to maximize the altitude. The fielders have discovered how to best play the outfield to their advantage and the pitchers who pitch half their games their have discovered the Holy Grail of “survival.”

It’s a freak show. It’s not a baseball stadium – it’s a launching pad! It’s a freaking joke, is what it is! The best pitcher in baseball who has a career ERA of 2.42 , has a career 4.57 ERA at Coors Field and he goes today. He has a 10-4 record there so, he’s probably the Dodgers best hope for a series split.

What I worry about it the “Coors Factor” getting into a players head and the “carryover effect” to their next game(s). It’s a good thing cannabis is legal there because the team needs to go out and smoke ’em if they got ’em! To blazes with that Drug Policy. If it’s legal, why not? “You can’t suspend me. I only smoke in Colorado, California and Illinois, Mr. Commissioner – it’s legal there!” Yeah, that will work!

Rants and Raves

  • Joc is an inch better at 1B. You have to look close to see the improvement… very close! He ain’t going back to LF… at least right now.
  • Floro, Kelly and Ryu were all beat like Rented Mules but Buttercup and Shaggy looked like studs – Go Figure!
  • After two game is AAA, Gavin Lux is OPS’ing 1.524 – I think he’s adapting! This Farm System is chock full of players! Will Smith has shown he is a worthy choice as are Garlick and Beaty.
  • Stick a fork in Brock Stewart – he’s done! Well done… as in toast! 7 more ER last night!
  • There is no way AF will trade Kaybear for Vasquez! The Pirates will have to take a different package.

Water for Cannabis from US Water Systems on Vimeo.

MT’s Minor League Lowdown

This is going to be quick:

  • DSL Dodgers Bautista lost 5-3 and Luis Yan went 2-4, which was exactly half their hits.
  • DSL Dodger Shoemaker won 9-8 as Hector Martinez, Luis Izturis and Julio Enrique all had 2 hits. Izturis hit his 3rd HR.
  • AZL Dodgers Mota lost 10-3, but Romer Cuadrado and Alex DeJesus both had two hits. Cartaya too the collar.
  • The Ogden Raptors won 8-4 as Andy Pages hit his 3rd HR. Yurchak, Littell, and Vranesh all had 2 hits. Alfredo Tavarez went 4.1 innings and allowed 1 earned run. Melvin Jiminez pitched 2.2 innings and allowed ZERO hits and 3 runs while striking out 7 and walking 2. He included a wild pitch, but to allow 3 runs on no hits is quite the accomplishment.
  • The Great Lakes Loons lost 8-7, as Feduccia and McClain had 2 hits and Matt Cogen had 3. Most of the Loons pitchers were roughed up, including Ortiz, Willeman, and Zuniga.
  • Rancho Cucamonga won 5-2 as Andre Jackson pitched 5.1 sting innings (3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K’s). Jeter Downs drove in his 50th run with his 13th Big Fly. Deacon Liput finally hist his first home run.
  • The Tulsa Drillers won 2-1 as Ruiz was 1-2 with 2 BB and an RBI. Edwin Uceta went six terrific innings and gave up 3 hits and 1 ER as he struck out 8. Sheffield struck out the side in the 9th for his 4th save. His ERA sits at 0.61. I’m thinking that he might just bypass AAA. The PCL is dangerous for some pitchers.
  • OKC lost 9-7 (what else is new?). What is old is Brock getting beat like a rented mule. What is new is Gavin Lux hitting leadoff (1-2 with 2 runs scored and 2 BB) and DJ Peters hitting cleanup (3-5 with 3 RBI). Joe hit a 2-run HR.

This article has 89 Comments

  2. It can’t be that bad for the Dodgers at Coors, because before last night I think I heard that we’d won 13 straight v Colorado.

    I would certainly trade KBear for Vasquez, who is lights out, proven, and under team control for a while.

    1. Watford my Man – Enjoy the the BoSox – Jankee series… Will it be on television???
      Warning: USA Womens Soccer Coming to get you!!!

    2. Not sure who kbear is, but if it’s Keibert Ruiz….that’s crazy talk.

  3. Coors field is the devil’s spawn. I can’t stand the place. It’s no place for baseball. Put a dome on it with humidifiers going full blast. Do something! Between all the injuries there and killing pitchers I just hope to come out fairly healthy.

    Floro sucks! DL or option, he needs to go work on things.

    C’mon Kelly, you can’t be that bad at fielding!

    Smith should be on the big club right now and Barnes should join Floro in AAA. Smith should be spending the rest of the season getting used to the pitching staff.

    You don’t need K Bear AND Smith.

    I hate to trade K Bear for a freaking reliever who pitches 1 freaking innning every other day. But, sometimes you have to over pay. K Bear for Vazquez and Liriano!

    If the only solution to get Joc’s bat in the lineup is at first base, trade him!!! It isn’t working.

    There’s a ton of dead weight on the 40 man. Can we package some of these guys in trades? There’s a ton of 40 man cleanup to do…

    Alexander – Might be able to fix him? So far, not so good.
    Alvarez – Useless
    Chargois – Useless as Floro
    Floro – Useless as Chargois
    McCreery – Nothing is more upsetting that a 6′ 9″ soft tosser
    Rosscup – belongs on the Mariners or Marlins
    Santana – becoming Floro and Chargois, get rid of him before others notice
    Sborz – generic bullpen arm
    Schultz – just another Floro or Chargois
    Stewart – How is he still using a spot of the 40 man?
    Gale – 5 freaking catchers on the 40 man?

    Maybe we can package 5 or 6 of them and send them to Farhan for Smith. They’re all his guys anyways.

    1. I pretty much agree, 59, even though you tend to overAMPLIFY their negative characteristics. I’ve got to think that the FO is thinking pretty much the same way, except maybe for Joc. The only way I see Joc going anywhere is if another team specifically asks for him and is willing to give us something of value.

      Watford: I think it was 14 straight wins against the Rockies. Which tells me that the bellyachers here forgot that the Dodgers have the same chance of batting their way to victory that the Rockies have. No use complaining about any park as being the cause of either poor pitching, fielding, or hitting. Wind is another matter. No one can control wind except with a dome.

      Bums: I agree about the Taylor/Joc error. Both are playing out of position and that is the long and short of it. I won’t complain much about Taylor because we have no one else for SS and his offensive light bulb is shining brightly. Even Joc is getting some singles but he’ll never hit for average.

      1. Joc’s average and power seemed to come to an end when he went back to covering the nub of the bat with his fingers instead of either choking up a half inch or just keeping his fingers off the nub. Why a hitting coach can’t see that is notable. If Joc won’t follow instruction then that is on Doc.

        Joc settles for going the other way when he has two strikes but because he seems to want to power the ball as his first choice, he lets pitches go that he probably could have whacked to the opposite field for a mere base hit.

        Pollock will probably be eased back into the lineup but if he does well when he comes back, Joc had better get his mojo back now. If he is traded I would hope it is in the off season. Use prospects that haven’t been integral parts of the Dodgers success to get a reliever.

    2. Sarcasm aside, there’s not much I can disagree with .

      In spite of MT’s optimism with Joc learning the 1B job at the big league level, it is indeed useless at this point. If you move Joc to LF, put Muncy at 1B and bring in Keekay as late-inning defensive swaps why isn’t the same logic used early in a game.? Basically, Doc is substituting Beaty for Keekay to start a game, but forfeiting poor defense early. Odd indeed!

    1. It didn’t even hit the ground as it went past Joc. Any competent First baseman catches the ball. Joc has to learn quickly that you can’t stand there and expect every throw to be perfect. I’ve spent a lot of time working with my kids playing 1st Base and one of the things I teach them is be in an athletic position and expect a bad throw not a good throw. I would expect every other 1st baseman on the team makes that catch. Joc wasn’t ready for the velocity of that throw coming from that distance. Fortunately, for the Dodgers the Rockies had a butcher of their own playing 1st base last night.

      1. spot on Hawkeyedodger about playing first. The big mistake with footwork is not reading the throw and stepping toward it. Not stepping to the throw and than reaching doesn’t work. Footwork is everything. A skilled first baseman might even have tried to go to the foul side of first, touching the bag with the right foot, to save that throw way up the line. That would have been a long shot but something that is so far out of Joc’s skill set it wasn’t worth mentioning.

      2. Did you teach your kids to step into the path of the runner to make a catch? Probably not and that is the only way Joc could have caught the ball, with or without his foot on the bag.

        1. I’m not talking about the throw from Kelly, but his footwork could have been better there too. The throw from Taylor should have been caught. You shouldn’t commit which corner of the bag your working from until the ball is thrown. You shouldn’t stretch until the ball is thrown either. The throw from Kelly would have been a tough catch from an experienced 1st baseman. The throw from Taylor not so much.

  6. Totally agree, Mark, it is a joke and I really try not to watch games in Colorado. The Denver area probably shouldn’t be home to an MLB team, but they draw a lot of fans. Maybe MLB should create a “dead” ball to use at Coors. The recent San Diego series in Colorado was a prime example of the need for major change. Now this series. They have the technology to change the ball for use at Coors, then they can move the fences in (way too much outfield to cover) and create a more normal baseball experience. What’s really amazing is that Hideo Nomo threw a no-hitter at Coors.

  7. 59 I totally agree with you there is a lot of dead weight on this team we need to weed them out ASAP. Barns to the minors or trade him.

    1. Define “deadweight” – A few weeks ago, it included CT3. That was wrong. What else is?

      1. To me, it never included CT3 or Kike. At a minimum, they are very good defensive utility guys. But, I was an advocate to sending them to the minors to figure things out when there are other viable options to win games. As was the case when CT3 was struggling and Seager was healthy and playing.

        Dead weight is having 10 mediocre pitchers cluttering the roster and Rocky Gale – a fifth catcher that has little chance of contributing to the major league roster. Perhaps Alexander isn’t one of them as it has come to the surface that he’s dealing with injury. But, even having a handful of pitchers that don’t help the club taking up roster spots is discouraging.

        32 days to trade, let’s get this ball rolling!

  8. Left-handed pitcher Chris Nunn assigned to Oklahoma City from Tulsa
    Catcher Josh Thole assigned to Oklahoma City from Tulsa
    Catcher Jordan Procyshen assigned to Tulsa from Rancho Cucamonga
    Left-handed pitcher Logan Salow assigned to Tulsa from Rancho Cucamonga
    Right-handed pitcher Brett de Geus assigned to Rancho Cucamonga from Great Lakes
    Left-handed pitcher Darien Nunez assigned to Rancho Cucamonga from Ogden
    Catcher Ramon Rodriguez assigned to Rancho Cucamonga from Ogden
    Right-handed pitcher Markus Solbach assigned to AZL Dodgers Mota from AZL Dodgers Lasorda
    Shortstop Miguel Droz assigned to DSL Dodgers Shoemaker

    1. Thanks. I just finished mine. 10 games is a lot to cover, and it took a long time. I am going to have to figure out a way to cut it down and still give everyone their props.

  10. Joc is not a first baseman. Put Bellinger, Verdugo, and Pollock on the outfield. Put Muncy, Taylor, Seager and Turner in the infield. Bring up Smith and let him play. Two guys need to go. They are Joc and Barnes. If you trade for a reliever, put those two in the trade. You will not get much but they are not worth much. I would rather have Garlick, Beaty, Kike and Martin on the bench. That would be my team after the All Star game. Joc and Barnes have been given all these opportunities to prove they belong and they do not belong. Time to weed out the pretenders. Make a trade like they did with Cincinnati. That trade is starting to look very good for the Dodgers.

  11. When I die and go to Hell my punishment will be chaining me to my recliner, forcing my eyes open with toothpicks in front of my big screen and forcing me to watch an endless cycle of games from Coors Field.

    CT3 had a tough night but I disagree with the contention that he is out of position. He was a shortstop by trade coming up and was the M’s everyday SS until he lost the job because he didn’t hit. The Dodgers fixed that. He did make a couple of off target throws, both rushed and NOT routine. But it might be nice if a teammate could bail him out once in awhile. A real second basemen and a real first basemen often make those plays saving an error. Joc just doesn’t know how to move his feet in ways to catch throws and we haven’t seen balls in the dirt yet. Can’t wait for that. If I’m an infielder, I’m a little pissed that my first baseman can’t bail me out when my throw isn’t perfect. This whole experiment is unnecessary……….

    1. phil, Taylor was never a starting SS that played a complete year at the position. He has always been a utility guy and SS happens to be his worst defensive position. Just take a look at his stats and you’ll see the reality of his play.
      2018-10 E’s in 81 games
      2019-6 E’s in 26 games

      He has been a terrible infielder and his worst position has been SS!

  12. MT Minor Lg. Update
    He wasn’t kidding when he said it would be quick…
    “which was exactly ha;lf their tits.”
    Say what???
    Maybe it’s code…

  13. Peterj, You gave me the laugh of the day and I needed it. Thank you. I read the report and never noticed the hilarious typo. Sorry Mark, but it was funny.

    1. Actually, there were about 6 typos in the update, but if you are going to make ’em, make ’em funny! 😉

  14. It is certainly easy to pick on Joc, but the Dodgers are trying to find another spot for a bat that has 20 HRs and is slashing .244/.340/.584/.924 against RHP. Neither Beaty or Rios are good defensive 1B.

    I like Matt Beaty, and he is having a great start. But so have a lot of hitters before the pitchers get the book on them, and they need to adjust. What batter has not had to adjust, and Beaty will be no different.

    Against RHP, Beaty has a better BA but not as good of an OBP, SLG, and OPS. He is slashing .311/.329/.459/.788.

    With RISP, Beaty has been brilliant, batting .391/.417/.565/.982, but still does not have a better OPS than does Joc .998.

    With RISP and 2 outs, right now there is no comparison. Joc in 34 PA – .290/.353/.742/1.095, 1 double, 2 triples, 3 HRs, and 13 RBI. Matt in 14 PA, .231/.286/.462/.747 with 1 HR and 4 RBI.

    Fans seem to forget how good of a start both Joc and Barnes had. That did not continue, and neither will Beaty continue as well as he has started. It is the evolution of a hitter. Joc is a platoon LF trying to learn 1B. AF and Doc want to find a spot for Joc against RHP. And while he looked poorly defending 1B, it did not cost the Dodgers the game. That game was lost because Ryu, Kelly, and Floro were inept at keeping batters off the bases. Call it the Coors effect if it makes it more palatable, but the pitching was poor. Joc did not give up the 2 run jack to Valaika. Joc did not give up 3 doubles and 3 HRs in 4+ IP. I am not trying to denigrate Ryu. He has never pitched even remotely acceptable at Coors. He should never pitch there.

    I absolutely agree that Joc is a poor 1B, and it does him no favors when his supporters ignore that a better and more experienced 1B would have saved his infielder. The Dodgers still have the best record in baseball on pace for a 108 win season, a 12.0 game lead in NL West, a 6.5 game lead over Atlanta and 11.0 game lead over Chicago for NL home field. Joc is not the problem. He is a platoon LF learning a new position. If the Dodgers can continue to give chances to Kelly, Floro, Alexander, Shaggy, and Rosscup (some who have absolutely cost the Dodgers games), then they can certainly continue to try and find a place for a guy with 20 HRs and a .863 OPS.

    1. I’m not a guy that obsesses about defense, I’d rather give up some defense for more offense so I don’t have a problem with Joc playing 1B. The problem I have is with A.J. Pollock. Earlier in the season he was hitting 178/244/288/532 against right handers. So if Dave Roberts is hell bent on playing Pollock it makes perfect sense to platoon Pollock and Joc in LF.

      Truthfully I’d rather have Pollock ride the bench as a pinch hitter.

      Beaty and Freese look fine to me at 1B. split the time between those 2 at 1B not a strict platoon because Freese can hit both righties and lefties but apparently can’t play everyday.

      1. Plus Pollock is more injury prone than any position player on the dodger team that I can think of. So maybe he shouldn’t be playing everyday.

        Dave Roberts a former CF that couldn’t hit worth a crap, maybe that has something to do with it.

    2. So AC you think Joc is fine at first until he starts costing games? And of course the big lead, yeah, yeah, yeah. What about errors to teammates, increased pitch counts, longer innings, pitching from the stretch……………………the list goes on. Bad defense causes problems other than losses. Chances to staff pitchers is different, too. The pitchers are not a fish out of water. They’re just crappy. This move is unnecessary.

      1. philjones,

        Please continue that list. Seriously, what’s the worst that can happen with the Dodgers seeing if Pederson can play first?

        WORST CASE:
        How big of an effect would Pederson’s internship at 1B cause? 1 inning of pitches? Who cares if it’s from the stretch or windup? That’s not an adverse impact?

        To me, here are the other cases:
        BEST CASE:
        He turns into a gold glove 1B and helps the Dodgers to back-back-back WS wins.

        MEDIUM CASE:
        He turns into an adequate 1B and the team has a solid bat to destroy RHP with.

  15. Mom, we must laugh occasionally at MT’s expense… For instance Joc P. is his cuddly bear like Rudolf Nereyev Grandal… By August JP will be in the top 3 defensive 1B and by 2020 possibly a 5th. face at Mt. Rushmore…

    1. Pete – I cant believe it!

      Just tried to watch via MLB.com as I normally do, and guess what?
      For the 1st time ever, I’m blacked out lol. Know how you guys feel.

      USA women are good – watched last night v France.

      You guys need to start saving for the Dodgers/Giants 2020….

      Can all stay at mine

    2. peterj you are not paying attention–MT has never been more than luke warm about Joc.

  16. AC….you are correct as usual. Blaming the park for the loss and runs made it more palatible for me. Just an emotional response although I still do not like the park and hope we do not have to play there for a while. As far as the infielders and Joc in particular goes, I was in my demented state, blaming the balls they give us to play with, not the players. Oh well, today is a new day.
    Go Blue. DBM

  17. How about this, boys and girls:

    Edwin Rios, Mitch White, Scott Alexander, JT Chargois, Gerardo Carrillo, and Joc Pederson to the White Sox for Jose Abreu, Aaron Bummer and Alex Colome.

    Colome and Bummer add depth and strength to the pen.

    Lineup:
    1. Verdugo CF
    2. Seager SS
    3. Turner 3B
    4. Bellinger RF
    5. Abreu 1B
    6. Muncy 2B
    7. Pollock LF
    8. Whoever (it doesn’t matter) C

    2. I think that’s an over pay. Colome and Jansen are the same pitcher. It will make both of them worse seeing nothing but cutters in the 8th and 9th innings. I’d rather have a reliever with a different look.

      If we’re getting rid of Joc, I would rather have Muncy play 1B and get Merrifield.

      Everyone complaining about Pollock is nuts. He’s played less than 30 games as a Dodger and some of that was injured. He’ll be as productive as Verdugo, a tad better defensively in center, add some pop from the right hand side of the plate and he crushes the top pitchers in the league. And he’ll break up all those left handed bats in the middle of the order.

      We can always go back to Joc and Kike in LF. Muncy at 2B and Belli at 1B. Or, CT3 at 2B Muncy at 1B and get rid of Joc. And not get a bat.

        1. Bellinger is a very good Right Fielder and a very good First Baseman. But, I’m not buying his SSS DRS in RF that’s overly inflated because he gunned down a few runners that were testing him. That is what’s called an “outlier” in statistics. If the best team is with Bellinger at 1B, you do it!

    3. CF Verdugo
      3B Turner (OBP)
      RF Bellinger
      1B Muncy
      SS Seager
      2B CT3
      LF Joc
      C Smith

      Vs LHP
      CF Verdugo
      3B Turner
      RF Bellinger
      1B Muncy
      SS Seager
      LF Pollock
      2B Kike
      C Smith

  19. Watford – very generous of you to offer to put us all up in 2020. I took a quick count and so far there are 37 confirmed, 22 maybe, and of course that number will probably get larger by 2020.
    I assume your offer also includes a hearty English breakfast? 🙂

  20. I will take good old fashioned fish and chips with malt vinegar of course and lots of serviettes eh?

    1. All of the above for you guys

      Pete gets the En-suite

      MJ gets the Presidential Suite when she comes back.

      The rest are in the Marquee in the garden.

  22. As it stands right i now f we were lucky to make to the World Series against the Yankees, we are over matched with our lineup vs theirs, their bullpen vs ours,and the left hand pitching they have vs our lineup. As we all know Kershaw stinks in the World Series. Mr Friedman,acquire Wheeler from the Mets and Vasquez from the Pirates or we will go home empty handed in the Fall. You have the assets,players in the minors and the money to get it done. Don’t let us down.

    1. The Yankees are just 11-9 vs Left Handed pitching. I like our chances. They’re also 28th in the league in fielding.

  24. Pollock is no longer good at CF, his negative DWAR proves it, and he will never be good at CF, in no way can he play on Verdugo and in no way should he play on Pederson that possibly ends with 35 + HR, now as the it is already here, they will have to find a place for him and it is in LF in platoon with Joc. Maybe in October Pollock can be very useful, but it really is not necessary. Pollock is a good player, but the number of years of his contract is absurd.

    1. DWAR, while a stat, is still full of subjectivity. I too, like AJ in LF, but I will defer to the ones closest to the action armed with ALL the info.

      1. I have an idea after joc gets his 30 games let’s try pollock at first or maybe make Martin our closer in September. Hey somebody said Gonsolin was a good hitter after joc tries first move him to short and put Gonsolin at first.

  26. What are you doing Belli, why are you throwing the ball? Rios’ first hit and you do not want him to have his ball !!

      1. It should have been an Error!

        But, I am very encouraged by the way Kershaw is changing.

  28. Lest fans forget, it has been Joc in a LF platoon that has gotten us to the WS the past 2 years and will probably continue for a third season. No way are they going to trade a guy who will hit 30HR’s or sit him. Get used to it. Power is the Dodgers’ game. Joc is a Dodger. It is Pollock who needs to prove himself to this team, at this point. Verdugo and Belli are locks in the OF. Muncy back to 1B and either they find a full time 2Baseman, or it’s Kike and Taylor. Nothing else makes sense. Muncy plays an adequate 1B, better than anywhere else! The FO or Doc are weakening this team by trying to plug minor leaguers into the 1B position or someone like Joc who just doesn’t fit there. A much better solution to Corey’s absence would have been bringing up Lux or Castro to fill in while Corey heals. Taylor could have moved to 2B and Kike platooning with Joc and Taylor. Why shake up a perfectly good team with a major infield shift that has done nothing to shore up the defense. Very bad decision making on Doc and the FO.

    1. … and yet they continue as the best team in baseball with all those horrible decisions. Ha, Ha, ha!

      Castro? What? On what planet?

      What are you trying to say? That they would be even better if they hadn’t done that?

      ???

      I think you should reconsider what you just said….

  29. Now that RVS has solved the CT3 offensive funk can he work double time on Keekay and Barnes? Their AB’s are a blackhole in the line-up. I look forward to after the break seeing Seager at SS, CT3 at 2B, Muncy at 1B and AJ and Joc with the LF platoon.

    Would also like to see Smith as the everyday catcher.

    1. Rios, Garlick, Beaty, Smith, and Joc at 1B.

      I think the Showcase is happening!

      Smith is not trade bait, but all of the others are.

      Rios’ stocck just went up…

    1. It’s sooooooooooooooo silly!

      Bums has it right. I am not a big Joc fan… but he ain’t chopped liver!

  31. Why haven’t the Dodgers brought up Lux? Could it be that they know more than any of us? Maybe they would like him to get some experience at AAA before exposing him to big league pitching.

    Joc at 1B makes perfect sense to me. If he doesn’t begin to show progress, the Dodgers will end the experiment without hesitation. But it’s going to take a lot more reps at 1B before the Dodgers reach any definitive conclusions. Joc could turn out to be a bust at 1B, or the light could suddenly go on when we least expect it.

    As for the Dodgers looking horrible these last couple of games, I think it’s more than a bit early to start worrying. The Dodgers will not go undefeated the rest of the way, so we can expect an occasional bump in the road.

    1. It’s Coors. Nothing counts here.

      I wanted the Dodgers to call up Seager a season earlier than they did… but it worked out.

      I think a “planned progression” is very important to some players.

  32. There is plenty of blame to go around. The 18 straight game stretch is almost over, they went 9-2 on the home part but lost Hill and have been 2-4 on the road part since and have not played well. Call it what you want but they get through tomorrow’s game, get a needed day off, come home for 6 against the Snakes and Pads then the All Star break-when help will come from AJ, Freese, Cory and Alex. That’s what they are doing, taking a look at different guys, resting the weary and injured and seeing what the rotation will look like and also deadline deals. They are not concerned about a game here and there in June with a big lead and it shows sometimes.

  33. All I want is for the Dodgers to be at peak performance come playoff time.

    I don’t know whether or not the Dodgers should include Ruiz in a deal for Felipe Vasquez, but I tend to think they should if that’s what’s necessary. I’ve never seen Ruiz, but I have seen Vasquez. I also take into consideration that the Dodgers have a bunch of young promising catchers, and that Vasquez, although not a sure thing, is an extremely dominant lefthander, and the perfect complement to Kenley Jansen. And he has a friendly long term contract.

    1. There is no RIGHT answer here.

      If I knew that trading Kaybear Ruiz for Vasquez would bring a Championship, of course, I would do it in a NY minute.

      Ruiz is going to be very, very good… as in Bellinger, Seager, Verdugo, Buehler, Urias good. Much better than Will Smith… and Smith is GOOD!

      Can Vasquez pitch in LA? Who knows? He pitches for a crummy team. How will he reacts pitching for the best team in baseball? That’s the unknown!

  34. What’s not unknown is Floro, Alexander, Ferguson, Garcia, Kelly…… Sign Vazquez or wait till 2020!

    1. Well, it actually is unknown.

      In June and July of 2018, Joe Kelly put up ERA’s of over 8.00.

      In August, it was 1.42.

      In September, it was back to 8.00+.

      It was 4.50 in the playoffs, but when the Series was on the line, he was nails.

      You NEVER know.

  35. There is only one truth, which is that there is no such thing as a sure thing, and that everything is unknown. Including Ruiz in a Vasquez deal would be a calculated gamble. It could backfire, or it could bring a championship to LA.

  36. Catcher Bill Sudakis played third base a few times as has Russell Martin.

    Regie Smith and Pedro Guerrero played third base although they were right fielders.

    Bill Russell converted to short stop in the major leagues with prior experience only in the outfield.

    Davey Lopes converted to second base from the outfield.

    Barnes and Will Smith play infield and catcher.

    The Dodgers have a history of converting players to new positions. This is who the Dodgers are. Watching it is part of being a Dodger fan, like it or not.

    Pederson is doing better than anyone of us could have expected and we could agree that his play at first is a pleasant surprise or just concentrate on the plays his lack of experience have shown that he isn’t yet a good first baseman. He is better than Murphy and probably better than Cecil Fielder was.

  37. Watching Ruiz being an offensive force for 10 years for another team will be painful after enjoying Vasquez for the next 3+ years. The Pirates are weak throughout their system at the catcher position. It’s a win win trade but maybe it should be expanded to include other players.

    1. I am with Bum on the Ruiz though, Can’t see that trade going down or even thinking twice on the Ruiz name. The DODGERS should go with Julio urias. as the 8th inning setup man. This is the trade we don’t make.

  39. Call me crazy, but don’t call me late for dinner… I still think of a middle defense of Barnes, Dozier, Seager and AJ Pollock (now maybe Verdugo)… Oh well, ours is not to wonder why…
    This spin the wheel IF is driving me crazy…
    Although I now see glimpses of Eddie Murray in Joc… It could be my U.S. Water system used on my cannabis indica plants…
    P.S. 5 will get you 10 I get a comments closed..

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