I was doing some research for a post I was trying to put together when I encountered one of my All-Time favorite Dodger pitchers, Burt “Happy” Hooten. I have no idea why, but I seem to favor pitchers from University of Texas, and pitchers from Texas in general. Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Ross Stripling, Howie Reed, Huston Street, Brooks Kieschnick, Ryan Pressly, Greg Swindell, Shawn Tolleson, Kerry Wood, Calvin Schiraldi, Josh Beckett…Maybe it is because when I was following NCAA baseball, my USC Trojans and University of Texas were the two elite programs. Rod Dedeaux and Cliff Gustafson are arguably the two best college coaches of all time. Maybe on one hand, with Mike Martin, Augie Garrido, and Skip Bertman. But I digress. I could write a long time on my love for NCAA Baseball. So when the Dodgers traded for Burt Hooten, I was already a fan from his U of T days, so I was ecstatic.
Burt Hooten was a three year All-American at U of T (1969-1971). He was 35-3 in his career, and still owns individually or shares 10 records at the University. Happy was the 2nd overall pick in the June 8, 1971 draft by the Chicago Cubs, and made his MLB debut on June 17, 1971 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched 3.1 innings and got a no decision, while the Cubs won.
Perhaps Burt Hooten is best known by general baseball fans because of his “knuckle-curve”. Chicago Cub Coach Pete Reiser once observed about this “trick-pitch”; “They’ve got a lot of names for these pitches now, but there are only so many ways you can throw a baseball.” And yet Reiser would exclude from his generalization the “knuckle curve” thrown by young Burt Hooton of his own pitching staff. “I imagine somebody must have had a pitch like this sometime, somewhere,” says Reiser, searching back over more than 30 years of baseball memories, “but I can’t think of anybody.” Hooton’s pitching colleague Steve Hamilton is even more emphatic: “If anyone says he knows of somebody who throws one, he’s full of bull.” Cub Manager Leo Durocher, who is nearing his 50th year in the game, says, “I have never known of anyone who has thrown a knuckle curve like this.”
When asked what his memory of his MLB debut was, Hooten stated, “The memory that sticks out for me was just my first day at Wrigley Field. Coming off the University of Texas campus and into that Cubs clubhouse, straight to the Major Leagues… I was just a 21-year-old-kid. I was watching Ernie Banks and Billy Williams and Ron Santo and Don Kessinger and Glenn Beckert and Randy Hundley and Fergie Jenkins. These were guys I had been watching on TV the previous eight or nine years. Then all of a sudden, here I am wearing the same uniform and I am one of their teammates. I will always remember just the way they accepted me and how nice and professional they all were.”
After his initial start, Hooten was optioned to AAA (Tacoma) where he went 7-4 with 102 IP. He compiled a 1.68 ERA and a 0.902 WHIP. In other words, he dominated AAA. Hooten started and pitched two additional games in MLB in1971. On September 15, 1971 he pitched a complete game allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and got the win. His next game on September 21, 1971 he pitched a complete game 2 hit shutout, and the win. In his first year, Hooten pitched 21.1 MLB innings and was 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA.
In 1972, Hooten started Game 2 (April 16, 1972) in the strike delayed season and promptly no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies. He was never really able to sustain that start and on May 2, 1975 he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Geoff Zahn and Eddie Solomon. He stayed with the Dodgers through the 1984 season. He spent 1985 with the Texas Rangers and retired in the state where it all began. His final game was September 6,1985 against the Chicago White Sox. He came on in relief with 2 runners on and 2 out in the 4th and promptly surrendered a 3-run HR to Carlton Fisk. He then proceeded to shut down the next 7 batters he faced. His last batter was Tim Hulett who grounded out 5-3.
As a Dodger, Burt was 112-84 with a 3.14 ERA. His one big problem was his walks. He had 540 walks to go with his 1,042 strikeouts as a Dodger.
The Dodgers could use a little Happy Magic to rub off on Clayton Kershaw. Without question the biggest complaint about Kersh is his inability to put the team on his shoulders and carry them in the post-season. Well that is exactly what Burt Hooten did in 1981. On October 9, 1981, down 2 games to 0 in the 1981 NLDS against the Houston Astros, Hooten took the mound against Bob Knepper. Hooten went 7.0 innings, allowed 1 run on a Art Howe HR and 3 hits, and got the 6-1 victory to start the Dodgers march to beat the Astros in the NLDS.
Hooten started Game 1 of the NLCS against the Montreal Expos and Bill Gullickson. He went 7.1 shutout innings allowing 6 hits, and was the 5-1 victor. Down 2 games to 1, the Dodgers found themselves on the brink of elimination, and for the second time turned to Burt Hooten in Game 4. He drew Bill Gullickson again, and this time allowed an unearned run on 5 hits and a 7-1 victory. For the NLCS, Hooten pitched 14.2 innings, and gave up 1 unearned run, and was rewarded with the NLCS MVP Award.
But Hooten’s 1981 post season heroics were not yet complete. For Game 2 of the WS he went up against Tommy John and gave up an unearned run in his 6 innings, but came out behind 1-0, and NYY scored a couple more in the 8th and took the 3-0 victory. After being down 0 games to 2 early on, the Dodgers roared back with 3 consecutive victories and sent Burt Hooten to the mound to once again face Tommy John and to bring home the Trophy. And that is exactly what he did with the BIG help from Steve Howe. In the 3rd inning, Hooten surrendered a HR to Willie Randolph, but the Dodgers scored 8 unanswered runs to take an 8-1 lead into the bottom of the 6th. With one out, Hooten allowed a single and two walks, and it was Steve Howe time. Howe gave up a run scoring single, but retired the next two batters and the Dodgers were up 8-2 after 6. Howe went on to finish 3.2 innings and to seal the 9-2 victory with a Bob Watson fly ball to Kenny Landreaux (another of my favorites) to win the 1981 World Series Championship.
Hooten was MadBum before MadBum was born. For the 1981 playoffs, Hooten was 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA, and staved off two elimination games.
Since his playing days after the 1985 season, Burt returned to University of Texas to get his degree in journalism and to begin his long coaching career. Burt coached in the Dodgers organization from 1988 to 1996. He returned to U of T in 1997-1999. In 2000, he returned to professional baseball as the pitching coach for Round Rock, the AA affiliate of the Houston Astros. In mid-season he was promoted to the ML coaching staff where he remained until 2004. In 2005 he returned to Round Rock and stayed with them through 2010 and followed them to OKC when the team left Round Rock. In 2013, Hooten was named the pitching coach for the Fort Wayne TinCaps. At 69, he was named the TinCaps pitching coach yet again for the 7th consecutive year in 2019. Unfortunately, Hooten was not able to take the field with the team this year as he is recovering from off season knee surgery.
1981 will always be known as the year of Fernando. But for me I will always remember Burt Hooten’s magical 1981 playoff performance.
AC’S MINOR LEAGUE RECAP
Friday’s Scores
OKC Dodgers 9 – Tacoma Rainiers 2 (Seattle)
Tulsa Drillers 3 – NW Arkansas Naturals 1 (Royals) – Completion of August 8, 2019 game
Tulsa Drillers 3 – NW Arkansas Naturals 4 (Royals) – 7 inning game
RC Quakes 6 – Stockton Ports 4 (A’s)
Great Lakes Loons 6 – Laker County Captains 5 (Cleveland)
Ogden Raptors 8 – Idaho Falls Chukars 3 (Royals)
Ogden Raptors 4 – Idaho Falls Chukars 2 (Royals)
AZL Dodgers Lasorda 2 – AZL Chicago Cubs (1) 4
AZL Dodgers Mota 3 – AZL DBacks 8
DSL Dodgers Bautista 5 – DSL Marlins 6 (10 innings)
DSL Dodgers Shoemakers 6 – DSL Red Sox (2) 11
OKC Dodgers:
Gavin Lux appears to be in a slump as he only went 1-4, but he did score twice. But Zach McKinstry is the new player that is jumping up and down screaming look at me…I can play too. Zach went 4-4 with 2 HR’s and 6 RBI’s. Zach now has 12 hits in his first 20 AAA AB, including 3 doubles, 3 home runs, and 11 RBI’s. Logan Bawcom went the first five to get the win. Dylan Floro allowed a run on a hit and a walk in a rehab assignment.
Tulsa Drillers:
Game 1 was a completion of the game the night before. The Drillers scored a run on a HR (Chris Parmalee #11), an RBI single (Omar Estevez), and a steal of home (Jared Walker). Ryan Moseley and Nolan Long finished up for Parker Curry after his 4 shutout innings.
Jo Jo Gray did not have one of his better outings in Game 2. He went 3.0 innings allowing 5 hits and 2 runs. With the score tied at 3-3, Jordan Sheffield got the first batter out, but then allowed a walk, a single, a walk, and the game winning single. Drew Avans, Carlos Rincon, and Errol Robinson each had 2 hits.
RC Quakes:
Jacob Amaya’s first hit as a RC Quake was a HR. Jeter Downs hit his 19th. Dillon Paulson, Jordan Procyshen, and Deacon Liput each had a pair of hits. Andre Jackson started and went 3.0 innings. He was followed by four Quakes pitchers, with Austin Drury throwing 3.0 shutout innings for the win and Brett de Geus pitching a clean 9th for his third save. de Geus is becoming a weapon for the Quakes in the late innings. I am hoping that the 21-year-old RHRP gets two weeks in Tulsa to wrap up his 2019 season. Maybe an AFL invite????
Great Lakes Loons:
Romer Cuadrado was the hitting star last night with 3 hits including his 5th HR. Sam McWilliams is showing that he is getting more comfortable at the plate with a 2-2 night. James Outman also had two hits. Ryan Pepiot went the first two innings, and was followed by three relievers, none of who distinguished themselves last night.
Ogden Raptors:
Zac Ching went 3-3 in Game 1, with a pair of All Stars, Andy Pages and Brandon Lewis, getting 2 apiece. Pages hit his 11th HR. Andrew Shaps also had a 2 hit night while Sauryn Lao hit his 3rd HR. Elio Serrano started and pitched 5.0 innings for the win with two of the 6 dozen or so 2019 relief pitcher draft picks, Jeff Belge and Nick Robertson, finished it off.
In Game 2, four pitchers combined to pitch a one-hitter. Mitchell Tyranski pitched in his 4th Ogden game and has not yielded a run. In 13.2 IP including AZL, Tyranski has allowed 1 run on 6 hits, 1 walk, and 22 strikeouts. Yes, another of the 6 dozen or so relief pitchers drafted in 2019, who is going to get a good look next year. Recently promoted Jorbit Vivas and Aldrich De Jongh both made their debuts yesterday going 1-3, with Ryan Ward hitting his 3rd HR.5)
AZL League:
Jaime Perez (Lasorda) had a double (5) and HR (3), while Yhostin Chirinos (Lasorda) and Imanol Vargas (Mota) had 2 hits. Vargas hit his 6th HR. Marshall Kasowski (1st) and Joe Broussard (3rd) both made perfect rehab assignments. Both had 3 strikeouts, with Kasowski going 1.0 inning and Broussard going 2.0.
DSL League:
The two DSL teams lost a pair. A trio of Dodgers batters had a pair of hits; Kiumel Bastardo, Yohandry Sequera, and Rushenten Tomsjansen, and 18-year-old SS, Hector Martinez, hit a Grand Slam HR. It was his second HR on the season.
A great walk down memory lane. I remember Happy well. He was also a favorite of mine.
Wonder if the hierarchy regret letting D’arnaud walk?
Bradley gotta be one of the biggest pricks in Baseball.
I don’t think so, because he is not a great defensive and framing catcher. They wanted him for his bat. he has played about 25% of his games at TB at 1B.
Yes i think he forgot when KEMP destroyed him in 2 consecutive games last September and he blew both games !!! What a moron.
Kenley is the next guy that needs to go on the DL to “work on things”.
He seemed to settle right in after giving up the homer to tie things up.
What a headcase!
He has problems. Cannot shut the door at all. Why did Roberts did not left Kelly in the game after like 2 pitches ??? Why does Jansen always has to get the ball in the 9th. You could see he could not dominate that hitter only throwing up and gives yet another home run. You said it . what a headcase !!! He just does not have it anymore and is not trusted and does not have other pitches to get hitters out !/. Enough is enough how many blown saves are there going to be ??? Why does not Roberts go with the feeling and let Kelly finish the game as he just made 2 pitches. It is incredible the stupidity he has and how he always has to put Jansen every time and he can handle the pressure anymore in short leads. Has been a great pitcher for years but he is prone to the long ball and just is not dominant or intimidates hitters anymore .
You did see Kelly get bailed out by Cody’s throw, right? Kenley gave up a bloop and a blast. There have been too many blasts but when Kenley throws infrequently his cutter doesn’t cut. He will be given more time to work out his problems. They’re teaching him to pitch. Not just adding a slider which we’ve seen for a couple of years now but also a two-seamer. What’s the difference if he gives up the bloop and blast in the 8th or 9th? He’s going to be a big part of the pen going forward. For better or worse they didn’t acquire Vasquez so Kenley will be given enough slack to work his way out of it until management decides they’ve seen enough.
2nd in the NL In saves!
You must be blacked out on seeing Dodger games.
Because Kanley has built a story and earned respect, that’s why patience with Kenley is longer. You are saying that you send Kenley 9 years to the trash and replace him with Kelly who has two months throwing well with the team, so things are not in baseball.
Is the elephant in the room our closing staff? I know we can’t win them all but I have 0 confidence in Kenley Jansen right now. I was at the game last night and the fireworks before the Friday night fireworks was interesting. Bradley is a prick as Watson points out. A J never even paid any attention to him is the funny thing.
Everybody liked Hooten. He was very accessible as the pitching coach for the low level minor league team in Salem, OR that played at Chemekata Community College. Koufax as a roving coach was seen there many times as well.
Jansen and Garcia might have a career pitching in home run derbies. Where is the good old circle change when we need it?
Pederson would have fit in very well last night against the AZ lefties.
In case you haven’t noticed, baseball is changing and closers are having difficulty all over the game. The outliers are Kirby Yates and Will Smith, but Josh Hader has given up 12 HR (almost half of his hits are HR) and Aroldis Chapman has blown 5 saves. Osuna has blown 4 saves for the Astros.
Among starters, Justin Verlander has given up 29 HR (Clayton has given up 15).
Kenley has given up 7 HR – I could lay some of that on “low usage” and bad luck. He is not “otherworldly” but he is still very good with 60 K’s in 44 IP and a 1.07 WHIP.
The fact is: You rarely win when you get 2-hit.
Despite the fact that we were two hit, we were leading 2-0 going into the 9th inning.
Baseball is not changing. Just pitchers are not as good anymore. Just throwers and most do not have the mentality for the job. They just have 2 pitches and that is it and maybe just fastball. Now they put anyone as a closer . Home runs could be the ball is adulterated. But lets not make excuses for Jansen poor showing and performance. He has been one of the worst closers this year !!!
Now I know for sure that you are blacked out if Dodger games!
Baseball isn’t changing? What planet are you on?
So you are saying that all closers are just bad now all of a sudden ?? What is changing is that relief pitchers now are just throwers . The game is not changing is all the people that are changing the game with shifts and pitching changes and new roles and this commissioner changing everything. Baseball is baseball period
Dude, a closer should be able to protect a two-run lead.
The thing that’s concerning is that he looks horrible almost every time he pitches.
But, he looked really good after he gave up the home run.
Yesterday, Jeff wrote this:
Anyone else notice how nervous Doc is? He sits at the entrance to the dugout and has brief exchanges with the players. He hardly looks at them when he’s talking and shows no attentiveness to what they are saying. I would summarize his exchanges as abrupt without any feeling. I’ve noticed this for quite some time. He’s like a machine, impersonal with a rat-a-tat response. Even when he smiles, there is no feeling there. He seems somewhere else all the time. Even when he goes to the mound to pull a pitcher, it is abrupt, with no words of wisdom or comfort. Hardly any eye contact with them. The players themselves seem to have a lot of camaraderie with each other, high fiving, joking, chatting with each other. Doc is always in his own world.
I am compelled to respond because that is exactly 180 degrees from true. I have no clue what you base that on, but Doc has a very close relationaship with all his players. He makes it a point to talk to each and everyone each day. The players love him. This is 100% made-up Fiction! I call BS!
To Jeff – This is just another example of someone who “sees” something on TV and then assumes that is who that person is. Have you sat down and talked with Doc at all to know that his smiles have no feeling? Making statements like that says to me that you have absolutely no idea what goes on in the clubhouse. You have no idea, what the manager does outside of the stadium during the season and in the off-season. Doc Roberts may not be the most gifted baseball strategist, but to even suggest that he does not care for his players is…as Mark said just 100% made-up BS. You do not like Doc, fine. But complain about his game strategy, his crazy lineups, his 3 or 4 pitchers per inning (a 59 favorite), his incessant right-lefty matchups, But walk away from criticism that he doesn’t care for his players.
When you put Negron on the 5th spot that will not help you win a ballgame. I think he has never batted 5th in his life. Talk about crazy lineups
I agree. Bat him third.
Jeff doesn’t have an agenda. He wasn’t trying to smear Roberts or besmirch his character. He was making an observation about his managerial style. He cited examples.
Personally, I think his conclusion is wrong. I just think Roberts is all business when on the field during games. From everything I’ve read it seems Roberts has a pretty good relationship with his players. I disagree with Jeff. I disagree with him on a lot of things.
I don’t get personally offended because he says some things I think are a little kooky. I’ll challenge him on the facts sometimes if I feel like sparring, but I’m not going upbraid him with some diatribe.
People here are free to criticize players or managers. That’s fair game, I think, though I don’t run the sight. Opinions should be allowed unless they are particularly nasty, repetitive or just dumb to where it detracts from the otherwise smart commentary here. I will say, though, that I’m not a big fan of using a blog article to call out individual people here who contribute to this site. I’m not ok with that.
No one was disrespecting Austin Barnes – at least what I read. No one is creating made up BS to smear Roberts because they don’t like him.
BTW – maybe Jeff is on to something. Maybe Roberts could be a little more demonstrative, a little more passionate, a little less Company Man. He’s not Tommy, but no one is.
Reminds me of a book I read a long time ago. https://tinyurl.com/y4bncloq
…how Johnstone would drive Tommy crazy because (among other things) he’d disappear during games and be unavailable when needed to pinch hit. “Where the fuck is Johnstone!!!” I think Roberts should have had a Kurt Bevacqua moment last night after that relief pitcher for the Dbags starting jawing at the Dodgers. I’d like Roberts ten time more if he would go off script every once in a while and do something like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzjWQF1oP2M
I agree that I would like to see Doc go bat shit crazy occasionally!
lol. I didn’t say he doesn’t care about his players. I never said I was privy to what goes on in the clubhouse. I just use my two eyes to observe the interactions, the body language, between him and the players. Why do you feel compelled to defend him? Seems very personal to you. Do you actually like him as a personality?
I am asking the same question. Why so much defense on DOC and FO. Is like they know them personally !!! I do seem similar things on body language and interaction. They say Roberts is an excellent communicator i am not sure of that he does not seem to talk much on dugout or even move around or say anything he is all game with Geren .
I agree with that guy. Doc has no charisma it seems, maybe more than Mattingly but team needs a Lasorda Type not these robots and computers that manage now . I miss the days of Pinella, Lasorda, etc. Now all this managers are just extensions of the front offices and yes men. Now the players like in the dodgers if Kenley says something or Kershaw they call the shots.
Seriously! Doc has no charisma? Where do you guys get this stuff? That’s primarily why he was hired. He is a very charismatic individual who connects with his players as well as anyone on the managing landscape. I join Mark and AC in calling BS on this narrative.
He does not have compared to Tom Lasorda . He seems like a Robot. He was not able to handle and motivate Puig and shows a enormous preference to Jansen , Turner ( Utley when he was on the team even if he was a mediocre player ) and other guys on the team and is a yes man to the front office and continuous to do his dumb pitching moves all the time. He got Ellis , Gonzalez off the team. Maybe the guy exagerates but dont say Doc has great Charisma . Does he go coach 3b and gets fired up or celebrates or is shouting all the time. He just stand up there and never argues anything or stand up for the players. Let the other teams throw it at players all the time and is arrogant in interviews. He is basically a Don Mattingly type maybe a little better. He is so politically correct in interviews and such a deceiver. He is an OBAMA type.
There will never be another Lasorda in the game of baseball ever! I love Tommy but first off MLB would never put up with Tommy’s classic but profanity laden post-game interviews. Second, Tommy’s way of running a bullpen was riding the hot hand until you ran him into the ground. Third, he wouldn’t be allowed to send a pitcher out there for the amount of complete games that he did with Fernando and others and lastly for better or worse the days of a single manager being with an organization for 25+ years is most likely over.
As much as I liked Puig it isn’t up to Doc to motivate him. They sent his ass down to AAA because the front office and his teammates had enough. Mattingly begged for him to come up and save the 2013 season. There was fallout from an immature kid being rushed up. Uribe, Gonzalez, Jansen, JT and others mentored him.
~
From all accounts the demotion worked and the majority of the crap they dealt with stopped. And from most accounts Puig respected Doc and Ward in a way he didn’t respect Mattingly.
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Puig ran into walls, hustled down the line and despite his silly comments played hard. I for one would have preferred an extension over AJ Pollock but I’m not in the locker room. Puig loved his teammates, respected Doc, and was absolutely adored in Cincy by his teammates and the city. Is he a knucklehead still at times? yes! But he grew into someone who did a shit ton of charity work in LA and Cincy rather than the immature kid getting picked up on the interstate speeding
constantly. I would say Doc did just fine motivating him but it’s truly up to a grown man getting paid millions per year to motivate themselves if they want to stay in the game.
Count me in with Mark, AC and 2D2, I have watched Doc almost every game hugging his players, winning or losing. To say he has no charisma is just totally inaccurate. He is not a robot. He is a motivator.
For sure, blacked out!
Okay i admit i had not seen the 11th inning were Doc showed some fire and signs of life !! Need more of that. I am not blocked out have DIRECTV
All you have to do is watch Backstage Dodgers to see how close Doc is with his guys. He is always talking to them, encouraging them, talking to them about their day. Are we watching the same manager? This guy is totally invested in his players, almost to a fault.
Another note on Doc, great to see him fired up last night at the end of the game. I think in the back of his mind he wanted to fire his guys up a little bit, get past some of the dog days of August. Good to see Pollock show some emotion too, it’s gonna be a fun series this weekend.
I loved Burt Hooten. Thanks AC for a nice piece on him. I vaguely remember in a book written by Jay Johnstone (one of my favorites along with Mickey Hatcher), that for Hooten’s birthday, they tied an elephant to the posts on his front porch.
The Dodgers have a very fine team, they are tied with NYY and Houston for the best record in baseball, though it is more likely than not that they will not have the home field advantage in the World Series. They have one major problem, and it is the bullpen. This was obvious all season, and it is why most baseball people, including Dodgers fans, very much expected that they would go all-out for a top relief pitcher, maybe even add two or three, at the trade deadline. But they did not. They got one guy who sometimes can get one lefthanded hitter out a game. I thought it was a big mistake not to get a closer, because it is obvious that Jansen is not near to what he was in his prime. The Dodgers ownership and front office, for whatever pecuniary or strategy reasons, chose not to do it.
Now, we have heard “rumors” about what Pittsburgh wanted from us for Vazquez. I am suspicious of such rumors. Doesn’t it seem as if, when we eschew a trade, we hear things about how the other club wanted all of our best prospects, so of course we couldn’t make the deal? Someone here wrote about Yelich, how the Marlins were said to have wanted too much from us, and yet took less from Milwaukee? Other teams seem to make deals at the deadline and not give up too many great prospects. But all we hear from Dodgers’ “insiders” like Vasseigh, is that “the price was too high.” For Vazquez, a couple of years ago for Zach Britton, etc. My guess is that these stories are spun to protect the Dodgers’ image. Anyway, whatever the truth is about the cost, Vazquez is one of the top three closers in baseball, and to have a piece like that, is to make yourselves a World Series favorite this year and the next couple. And yes we didn’t want to give up May, because he might be a really good pitcher, and you hate to lose one of those. But the Dodgers have had really good pitchers for much of the last 30 years, including an all-time great in Kershaw, and they have no championships for any of it. And maybe we could have come up with a package which did not include May or Lux, though there are a bunch of other prospects which we seem to want to hold onto, as well. But if you want to win a title, you are probably going to have to make a risky or controversial move to get it, like when the Astros picked up Verlanders’s $27 million deal, or maybe this year by getting Greinke, or when the Cubs traded Gleyber Torres to rent Chapman. Remember that Stan Kasten’s Braves won 14 straight divisions, but never won a title until finally, under much fan pressure, he relented, and let the GM go after Maddux. To win a title in baseball, you have to be the best team that year, not be very good team in many years, but always with a team or two which is either better, or which makes a big deadline move to become so. Always sitting at the table without being willing to throw a lot of chips into the pot, likely means that you will not win any big hands, even if you never go broke.
Putting aside any argument as to what we should have given up for Vazquez, and how great our various prospects could be, the fact is that we do not have a top closer. I thought that we needed to do something in the offseason about that, but we are fond of Jansen. So we went a half-season where Jansen struggled, and we still did nothing. So here he still is, the closer. Even Roberts seemed upset, saying that “he had nothing” last night. Oh, he might come back next time and do better, but does anyone have confidence that Jansen is going to close the key games against a team like the Astros or Yankees? We all know that in the playoffs, the need to have a top bullpen is accentuated. And we do not have one. Last night, Baez pitched a clean inning, to his credit, but the last time, he loaded the bases. Kelly came in and immediately gave up what should have been a double, but Bellinger made an incredible throw. Jansen came in, and gave up a single and home run to the first two batters. Urias got through one inning, then gave up the winning home run in the next one. Has he given up nine runs in his last eleven innings, or something like that?
And this bullpen is going to be enough to get the Dodgers to a title? We have no other recourse, we cannot fix the bullpen now with outside pieces. We can maneuver around, and hope that somehow Roberts is going to suddenly have a magic Bochy touch, and keep putting the right people in the right situations. And if we somehow do win the title, then we did make the right decision to not trade away any of our upper prospects. If we don’t, well, that’s 31 seasons, and then we can talk about how great all of our prospects are going to be for the future, and how Dodger Stadium’s renovation is going to be thrilling. One of these days, we are going to need a great closer, because Jansen is not it. And we are going to have to give up something valuable to get it. Or we can just go along the way we have been, where a pretty good case can be made that most of the playoff failures have been due to the bullpen, but we didn’t want to spend the money or prospects to sufficiently fix it, thus letting down most of the 4 million fans who think that the goal of a major market franchise is to win titles, not just make the playoffs and stay under the luxury tax threshold.
Perhaps Jansen ain’t quite what he once was but I remember several closers right before he was put in that role. And he’s still better than any of those that come to mind. He’s been a major factor of getting the Dodgers to so many post seasons that we’ve grown to expect perfection. I’m not as happy with him as I’d be with an empty bladder (talking about taking things for granted) but he’s still a stud. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I’m gonna go overdose on some flo-max.
Good to see you Quas! At $16M per year Jansen is not going anywhere and is not going to opt out. I agree he may not be what he once was but who is? He still gets the job done most of the time but is no longer automatic. I think they should give him more regular work not just wait for save situations. He also needs to improve on holding runners and knowing the signs when a runner gets to 2B. No more balking a guy to 3rd, I have never seen that before.
Minor League Update above
We love it when the Dodgers win those seems like a loss game and go crazy when they lose a game like last night, it´s baseball and that happens.
Thanks for the write up on “Happy” Hooten! He was also one of my favorites. I learned how to throw a knuckle curve by watching him and that became my go to pitch in HS. Nobody could touch it. Of course it didn’t help that I had zero command over where it went. Batters don’t generally swing if you pitch over the backstop.
Rick Monday and Charlie Steiner were talking about Hooten on the radio yesterday. Monday shared that he got the nickname “Happy” because he was so even keeled(boringly so) and that he may have been the inspiration for the Robert Keen song “Paint the Town Beige.” (not really – he did refer to Hooten as painting the town beige, I made up the song part).
McKinstry is Rule 5 eligible, which is a shame. Do we really think he’ll be protected? He’s also 24.
I can’t see it. The Dodgers could lose several players this winter on Rule 5.
I know that we have all been concerned about KJ, but Urias is also a concern to me. He has been scored on his last four relief efforts and he doesn’t seem to be comfortable in that role. I wonder if this starter/reliever role isn’t messing with his head. I don’t believe he is going to be the BP savior than many have predicted.
You are spot on!
Maybe he can wrap his head around it… maybe he can’t.
Maybe he becomes the 4th starter in the playoffs.
4th starter, sooner than later please.
I just got on this site today, and because I have other business to take care of I cannot read through all the comments now. However, I feel compelled to comment, if only briefly, on the inane comments made about Doc. Put me in the camp of Mark and AC, and others. Those remarks were absolute and complete BS, and that’s being nice. If I said what I really think, Mark would ban me from this site. 🙂 .
Make that ABSOLUTE, UNADULTERATED BS.
In their latest issue, I see that Baseball American named Dave Roberts “BEST MANAGER.”
Clayton Kershaw #2 Best Curveball
Cody Bellinger #1 Most Exciting Player
Cody Bellinger #2 Best Hitter
Cody Bellinger #2 Best Power
Striker Buehler #2 Best Fastball
Hyun-jin Ryu #1 Best Control
Yasmani Grandal #3 Best Defensive Catcher
Cody Bellinger #2 Best Defensive OF
Cody Bellinger #1 Best OF Arm
The Dodgers didn’t get the deal for Vasquez done. From most accounts they offered Ruiz plus two more. We don’t know who they were. Could have been Gray or Gonsolin plus another. What we do know is that the Pirates wanted Lux or May and may have wanted Smith. AF made it clear Pittsburgh is delusional about contending next year. So we have what we have. If Kenley isn’t the guy to close who do you want?
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Kelly? He looks great know but was a guy most wouldn’t trust near a high leverage situation the first half the year. He has also thrown more balls to the backstop than any pitcher I’ve ever seen.
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Baez? Seems like yesterday he was the board’s designated whipping boy. He trusts his off-speed stuff now but are his numbers really any better than Kenley’s?
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Urias? Seems like with each hiccup people are losing confidence in that option.
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Maeda? Honestly, he’s a Roogy. Same for Floro
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The Rookies? May is in the rotation for the foreseeable future with Hill and Stripling out. Goose Gonsolin? Intriguing idea. His fastball/splitter combo could be real effective out of the pen but that’s a lot to ask of Togo.
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I think for now Vegas has it correct. Rather than running Yimi out to throw the 9th in mop up duty get Kenley enough work to get sharp. He needs a little more rope for now. It’s whats best long term.
As relievers for the year so far:
Baez 520 OPS against
Urias 574 OPS against
Gonsolin 467 OPS against, small sample
Sadler 542 OPS against, small sample
Jansen 674 OPS against
Maybe it’s time to slide a guy or 2 into close games late and not rely on Jansen as much.
I said it before the trade deadline and I’ll say it again the Dodgers don’t and didn’t need to trade for any position players because we have guys in the minors to step in when injuries occur. Kristopher Negron will settle back down to his pre Dodger form and yesterday might be the start of that. Tyler White has done nothing since becoming a Dodger. Jedd Gyorko unnecessary.
Anyone who knows the impacts of roster moves and starting a prospect’s clock and all that stuff, can you tell me what are the cons of bringing up Lux right now? I know the pros about bringing up Lux right now, but I don’t know the cons of bringing up Lux right now. Same question about DJ Peters?
If you saw last night’s lineup vs a tough lefty that’s why a Gyroko was brought in for insurance until CT3 and Kike are ready. Ray has owned the Dodgers lefties. We had a lineup with Negron batting 5th and a near useless White playing first. As much as I like Will Smith I have no desire to see him batting 3rd. I expect Gyroko’s timeline to be sped up a bit. I bet he heads out with the team on the next road trip.
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After looking at last night’s lineup I was glad Pollock wasn’t hurt more than I was upset about the blown call and Bradley’s douchebaggery.
Pros-There appears to be an obvious place for him in the lineup. He appears ready and could be an impact player added to the roster. His ability to play SS could give Seager a blow. Slides Muncy to 1st. Gets him possible postseason experience
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Cons-starts his service time. May take away regular AB’s from Lux. May take away AB’s from players coming off of injury who need AB’s. Makes the team more left-handed heavy. Risk of adding a rookie not ready for postseason.
Have to remove someone from the 40-man roster
Today’s lineup:
Pollock
JT
Negron (LF)
Belly
Muncy
White
Seager
Martin
Maeda
Batting Negron 3rd now. This is complaint worthy. Lovello must be laughing.
Can someone explain who in the world who bat Negron 3rd. This is ridicoulous !!! Like Batting Kike 4th in the WS Last year. What is wrong with Roberts ??? Why dont he give Rios a start . Enough of White already this guy cant hit or field !!!
Unimpressed with White. I would rather see Negron at 2b, Muncy at 1b, and Beaty in LF
Me too. Do you think AZ’s pitcher would rather face Negron in the 3 hole or Seager or Beaty.
Rhetorical question, but pretty sure Negrón in the 3 spot puts a smile on the Dbacks pitching staff.
I’d bat Pollock 3rd and Negron 1st before I’d put this out there.
that would work for now. I am looking forward to getting Kiké and Chris Taylor back
To borrow one of your most famous words, SoCalBum…..SPOT ON!!
NICE DBM! Love your handle!
I think this is White’s final audition for the RH 1st base spot as a RHP tomorrow and then an off day. Gyorko could be activated and White DFA’d before Tuesday’s game. It could be Maeda’s last chance to stay in the rotation too as Ryu is set to return and then Stripling. I think the rotation is better with May and the bullpen better with Maeda and Stripling. Gonsolin is the wild card as a swing man type and we may yet see Gonzales as LHP in the pen.
Doc’s lineups are a crapshoot sometimes but I agree with most on here that his players respect him and he communicates well and he is doing what management wants him to do. Hard to argue with the results other than the WS losses. How many other teams and their fans wish they were playing in Oct?
Players win in spite of managers like Doc. The Dodgers have a deep team and would win with many other managers at the helm. The FO is much more responsible for the success of this team than Doc.
BB, you were asking about the pros and cons of bringing up Lux and Peters right now.
Peters is 3 for his last 29 with no homers. He isn’t ready and probably won’t be this year.
As to the cons that Hawkeye listed for bringing Lux, I think the biggest one is if AF feels he doesn’t want to count on a rookie, even a very good one, to contribute in the playoffs, since roster spots are at a premium. Cutting someone from the 40-man roster won’t be a problem. If Lux is worth adding, he’ll certainly be better than the guy who gets cut. It would be interesting to know what the F.O. is thinking. Basically three choices: bring him up now, bring him up in September, don’t bring him up until next year. As usual, they aren’t sharing any information in that regard.
Not sure if Lux being a playoff rookie would be the issue. We’re already going to be counting on rookies Verdugo, Smith, and likely May and/or Gonsolin in October. Perhaps even the old rookie, Matt Beaty.
But yes, it would be weird to have a potential back to back to back World Series participant, with perhaps the best record in their team’s history, with 5-6 rookies contributing!!
The difference between Lux and the other guys is:
Verdugo has been here all year
Smith probably wouldn’t be here except that Barnes abdicated his position
May and/or Gonsolin might be here for the playoffs but that might depend upon how healthy/effective Hill and Urias are
Beaty may not be on the playoff roster, although he has also been here for awhile.
If we get most of CT3/Kike/Freese/Gyorko back, AF might not feel the need for Lux is at emergency levels and might not want to trust a rookie to have to contribute when he has other veterans who have been through the wars. Not saying I necessarily agree with that logic but it might be what AF is thinking.
Kershaw & Kenley, two equal cases, both have had a decline in their abilities, Kershaw in 2018 had an attitude that “nothing happens here” and game after game he threw the ball as if he were still shooting 93-95mph, it was very predictable , but Kershaw in an act of humility accepted that he was no longer the same and began to work, to modify his way of throwing, to make adjustments, today we see a Kershaw, in his body language, very calm, satisfied, and accepting reality , is still aggressive in his game but smarter.
Kenley, he is not doing it, he thinks it is the same of 2017, his attitude is superb, he does not accept that he is no longer the same, he has an attitude that nothing happens here, I am Kenley Jansen. He has his example in his own teammates the example of how to face the problem, Kershaw, one of the biggest, accepted that he was no longer the same and has turned the corner, Pedro Baéz accepted that he had to look other things and now he has developed another release and has become a very good reliever.
Kenley needs a ton of humility and accept that he is no longer the same and start trying new things, but he will be degraded and people already start talking, it would be sad for everyone that Kenley ends that way, all because of his superb attitude.
Kershaw & Kenley, two equal cases, both have had a decline in their abilities, Kershaw in 2018 had an attitude that “nothing happens here” and game after game he threw the ball as if he were still shooting 93-95mph, it was very predictable , but Kershaw in an act of humility accepted that he was no longer the same and began to work, to modify his way of throwing, to make adjustments, today we see a Kershaw, in his body language, very calm, satisfied, and accepting reality , is still aggressive in his game but smarter.
Kenley, he is not doing it, he thinks it is the same of 2017, his attitude is superb, he does not accept that he is no longer the same, he has an attitude that nothing happens here, I am Kenley Jansen. He has his example in his own teammates the example of how to face the problem, Kershaw, one of the biggest, accepted that he was no longer the same and has turned the corner, Pedro Baéz accepted that he had to look other things and now he has developed another release and has become a very good reliever.
Kenley needs a ton of humility and accept that he is no longer the same and start trying new things, but he will be degraded and people will start talking, it would be sad for everyone that Kenley ends that way, all because of his attitude and arrogance.
I could be very wrong here but I don’t think Kenley’s refusal to admit anything is wrong is because he’s afraid of how other people will react to him but rather that if he admits it to himself what little confidence he has left will go out the window. Definitely not the right way to go about it, but that’s what he’s doing. I wonder if Kershaw has had a chat with him since, as you said, they’ve somewhat gone through the same thing.
Kanley was in the past 1 or 2 of the relievers, he was elite, today Kenley is very good, possibly a top 6, the fan makes the mistake of comparing Kenley with the KJ of the past and that is to speak of a very level tall, one of the best in history, but if we compare Kenley with current relievers he is quite good.
I did not say that KJ should make a change because I am afraid of what people say, what I say is that people are already starting to murmur about Kanley, I also said that it would be very sad for KJ to be degraded, because if he did not He accepts that he is no longer the same and does not try new things, in the future he will lose his position.
I was tempted to stick up for Doc but decided it takes more than two naysayers before I get exercised.
Dan kids… Just got home from working with my guys and was ready to criticize Jeff and you guys beat me to the punch… Oh well, he really doesn’t know baseball and he just went off…
Great Burt Hooton memories laid out by yo A.C. It always keeps me in balance, especially when Blue might be struggling to look back at Hooton, Mickey Hatcher and especially Fernando… The stadium Rocked (literally) when he toed the rubber…
One more idea for Jeff… Please concentrate on dosage instructions…
That was Damn Kids to open..
lol.
Doc having someone, anyone loosening up behind his closer is absolutely crazy…
Sometimes I wish it, but it wont happen until maybe playing NYY for the ring…
Maybe Doc should have Kenley loosening up behind the closer. 🙂
Thank you all for answering my question about the cons of bringing up Lux.
The only thing I think is an issue is starting his service time. As for AF and I would say also Roberts, I think you guys are right that they don’t think there is an emergency to bring up Lux. When the team is healthy I agree there is not an emergency to bring up Lux. But there are some key position players missing right now leaving us with White and Negron.
If anything, when we play against a left handed pitcher bring up Garlick temporarily. But I still say give Beaty a chance against left handed pitching. Or better yet use both guys in the lineup instead of White and Negron.
I see the comments about Kenley having an attitude problem as being just as inane as the criticisms of Doc. Which one of us has sufficient inside info. to think that they can judge any players character? Have all the opinions you want, but don’t judge a player on facts that you know nothing of. None of us know these players personally, nor do any of us have an inside track to knowing their soul.
Soul? You must mean mind. Judging is all that goes on on this board.
“Judging?”
I left out the arrogance comment that accompanied the questioning of Kenley’s attitude. Along with everything else I said, let me add that it is the height of “arrogance” to characterize Kenley in that way.
You didn’t understand anything, the thing is that you can’t do the same things and expect different results, watch Kershaw try other things and go around the corner.
When Kenley accepts that he is no longer the same as in 2017, then he will have to try other things and he will evolve as Kershaw did.
We are in the last third of the season and already have 5 BS, with how many will end. 8,9,10?, That is unacceptable.
I never played any sport at a high level. High school star and weekend hack was me. However, even into my late 40’s, I always believed I could do it as well as I always did. That’s part of what makes a player great: CONFIDENCE in themselves.
If you have never played at that level, you simply have no clue and BTW, Kenley is one of the most humble guys you will ever meet.
I remain unfazed!
He is not understanding, when I say that he is arrogant and lacks humility, it is because he does not listen to people, the Dodgers know that he is not the same, so they have asked him to launch the slider more and experiment more with his change, but he does not obey He doesn’t listen to the advice. He is saying that his cutter took him to where he is and that he will continue to throw him, there is a very fine line in having self-confidence and self-deceiving, the evidence is that his things have come to less, if he does not see it that way, He is cheating himself. It would be better if that confidence was used in trying other things.
By the way I have also played my whole life baseball, and on my level, it was fast, I had many SB, now I feel very confident that I can steal a base, but know why my manager does not send me ?, because I no longer run as before, but the confidence does not take away, but I know what my reality is, I know that I can no longer and I have to change my style of play.
Whatever change Kershaw has or hasn’t made isn’t an overnight process. He has been a three pitch pitcher for years. Fastball, slider/cutter, and curve ball. He still is. He has learned to change speeds on the slider, he’s throwing the curve ball more and throwing the fastball a bit less. And he’s healthier. His ERA and WHIP are almost identical to last season. I’m not sure i would say he was being stubborn. He showed up to ST last year and lost 3 mph off his fastball. You can’t just snap your fingers and be a different pitcher. It takes times. With the drop in velocity and juiced baseballs, CK is going to give up more dingers so he either has to be more perfect with his fastball or be willing to accept a few more BB’s by using his fastball less and also make sure his misses weren’t over the plate. Maybe there was some stubbornness but it definitely takes some time for a pitcher to learn to use his arsenal differently.
It didn’t seem that long ago we were all wondering if Bellinger was gonna ht .400. Now we’re hoping he can hang on and hit .300. Is he a superstar or just a good player who had an insane couple of months?
He is tied with Mike Trout for best WAR (7.4).
Trout is hitting .299 and Bellinger is at .319.
Using your rationale Mike Trout is not the best player in baseball. Why do you ask the question about Bellinger, but not Trout?
BTW, No one will ever hit .400 agains, except in AAA.
Because Trout has done it for six years and Bellinger had an insane couple of months and then….. It’s a valid question. The last 2 and a half months have been pretty good but a long way from great!
If a Seager and Bellinger don’t pick it up and hit like stars in October we won’t make it!
KJ just can’t seem to get a clean inning. Hope he gets the last two outs here.
Maeda evened his record at 8-8 and looked like he wanted to keep his spot in the rotation. The offense did enough and no fireworks tonight. A bit of redemption for Jansen. Ryu comes back tomorrow, another off day then May? Good times!
Roberts has said Lux has earned the right to be with the team in some form in September either as a player or in a ride along capacity like Smith did last season.
That’s the problem. It seems that the Dodgers will not go the extra mile with Lux, and give him a chance to earn a regular starting job at 2B. Instead the Dodgers are probably convinced that they have to go with the veterans Taylor and Kike’. And when it comes to those two, I’m not convinced that they’re going to hit after long layoffs.
And besides, there are times I prefer to go with talent over experience, and this is one of them. Also, if Lux lays an egg in August-September, there is nothing to stop the Dodgers from keeping him off the playoff roster.
Brooklyn – if they’re good enough, they’re old enough.