True or False?

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1. I’d swap out Ferguson/Hill for Sadler on your list.

   I’d go with “In memory of Elizabeth Reed” Live at Filmore version for best song.

2. Bullpen games suck, are way too long and annoying…
   True: Both games this series were entirely too long.

   The Dodgers played these games to win…
   False: With and day off before and after the series, they used this as an opportunity to use all their relievers in a bullpen tryout. If you were wondering about the odd timing of some of these pitching changes, this is why.

   Why the heck was Sborz pitching in that situation? Because they used everyone else during open tryouts.

   Will Smith is in a slump. But, he had a sac fly, caught steeling, and didn’t miss any balls that were thrown to him. And that makes him better that what we got from Grandal and Barnes the last two years in the post season.

   I hope they play out their remaining schedule to win and keep these bullpen games at a minimum. I think it’s pretty lame if they already decided that Gonsolin/May/Urias aren’t going to start a game 4.

   Does it make sense to have Hill on the roster if he can only pitch a few inning during each game 4? Or, do they think he’ll be able to go 4 by the first series and 5 for the next two series?

3. I agree with your comments on Kenley Jansen. He has meant a lot to the Dodgers for many years, but his days as a shutdown closer are over. If he continues to be “the closer”, there will be no world championship this year – and the Dodgers realistically may not even win the first round Division Series. We can’t continue to have the same strategy and expect a different result. The time to act is now!

4. I’ll get it off my chest… Kenley has gone to the well one too many times…Going forward, I am fine with a ‘committee’…
   Last night hurt… I don’t hit the sack mumbling about my Blue, but mumble I did…
   Yesterday is history and tomorrows a mystery…
   Lets get this series against Co.
   I’m a usual AFL fan and pick up a few games yearly… With my surgery still in my rear view mirror I’ll have to pass… Good bang for your buck and get to see some great youngsters..

5. First of all, there is no greatest song of all time. Just a lot of opinions based on personal taste and often tied to an era and the fond memories for those times. You’re no doubt correct about Rolling Stone’s reason for loving that particular song.

   Yah, Kenley Jansen is not fixed. I’m still hopeful, but I really believe a lot of his problems are mental.

   Should fans be worried? If the Dodgers are going to win a World Series this year it will be because they get hot or lucky. All the depth works over 162 games, but it won’t help them much in October. Somebody (probably multiple players) has to step up and produce in critical situations. The Dodgers should have won in 2017, but Jansen blew a save and Kershaw couldn’t hold two leads in the game in Houston.

   As to Chris Archer, he’s one those wow what a game types, followed by he’s really bad today. So, No.

   At some point they need to give Joc a shot at lefties. He’s really improved so he’s making adjustments and if he doesn’t get the opportunity, how do we know he can’t do it? That opportunity should come next spring, not this fall.

   I think it’s obvious that Will Smith is tired. Never played in September before and he has to be wearing down. I expect him to be a really good catcher with power. Friedman is really high on him. Keeping the switch hitting Keibert Ruiz may work out well for the Dodgers since Smith can also play third base.

   As for Urias closing? Yah that might work. Using Kenley differently may be the best thing moving forward. Which Kenley shows up is obviously up in the air and the Dodgers can’t afford to blow October games . Urias might be a difference maker this fall.

   Maeda, Baez are sometimes on and other times not so much.

   These so-called bullpen games were annoying, even the Dodger TV guys were making comments about it and not in a good way. If this is the future of baseball, I may switch to soccer.

6. Mark, I agree with you on 1 thru 6, the Chris Archer and Felipe Vasquez comment, very much you. As for the Dodgers in the playoffs, let´s see what happens. I always enjoy seeing what the Dodger players do in the Arizona Fall League.

7. Right, there is no GREATEST song ever. But if you look at the Youtube version of Joe Cockers ‘Cry Me a River’ from 1971, you will not be disappointed. Make sure you watch that version, not later versions.

8. Dogs and cats get fixed, pitchers just make adjustments that may or not work. They want him to throw his other pitches, but he is just as ineffective with them as the cutter when he is ‘off’

9. You mentioned Kendall went 1-4, but didn’t mention the one was a homer. Still strikes out way too much. He needs to make contact and use his speed.

10. I agree with your assessment of Kenley Jansen. He has meant a lot to the Dodgers, but unfortunately his days as a shutdown closer are over. We can’t keep the same strategy and expect to have different results. If Kenley remains as “the closer”, we will be fortunate to get through the Division Series – and a world championship this year seems a very remote possibility. The time to act is now!

11. Kenley’s reaction to his poor outings is just unbelievable. After the game when asked about the booing he says that the fans have high standards for him as does he. But, the fans will have his back no matter what. WHAT? The fans booed you Kenley. They don’t have your back. They expect better. He , also, states that you can’t control the outcome of the game. WHAT? That’s kind of your job as a closer. Maybe, that’s his problem He doesn’t even know what his job is as a closer. After each failure or shaky performance he says all will be good for the playoffs. He’s rounding into form. His mechanics are just so inconsistent. He has no idea where the ball is going and it’s been that way all season. Enough of the delusional talk it’s time to walk the walk. Hopefully, he believes his own BS and decides to opt out after the season. And, Roberts doesn’t seemed to be concerned by saying that Kenley is in a good place right now because of his recent outings. I thought so too. But, after last night it’s back to square one with him. At this point in the season he should be clear on what can expect from Kenley. And it’s clear that he is unreliable at best. The solution? Who knows.
    I haven’t been much of a Joc Pederson fan because I thought he was such a goof ball and really didn’t take his career seriously. A lot of wasted talent. I was all for trading him. Maybe, he realized that with all the talent on the team he better be more productive than just hitting home runs. And, if he wanted to remain with the Dodgers he better start hitting left handed pitching. I say mission accomplished. He has been one of the few players successfully beating the shift. It’s exciting to watch him bear down later in the count and forgo swinging for fences and just trying to make contact and going with the pitch. Good for Joc.
    With the inconsistent bullpen and our failure to hit in the playoffs has me concerned. I said that this team is one of the best LA Dodger team ever (if not the best). But, I just have a bad feeling that something is going to go wrong in the playoffs. Many talk of winning the World Series like it’s a given that we will be there. If we face Washington and their starting pitching it could be a big problem. With Chicago or Milwaukee not so much. In the next round Atlanta is a real threat if they can defeat St Louis. But, I think we can overcome either team. If we should be fortunate to make it to the world series both NY and especially Houston would be difficult. NY’s starting pitching sucks but they just hit their way to victory after victory. With the incredible amount of injuries they have had this year and terrible starting pitching they still have the best record in baseball. And, with Houston’s big three starters it could be a real problem for our hitters considering our past hitting history in the playoffs. But, I’m hoping for everything will come together and the Dodgers overcome these potential issues and finally get a World Series victory.
    If not now, when?

    1. I had a real problem with the booing last night. Booing a guy who went out and threw 3 consecutive innings during the playoffs in a contract year. Something A LOT of professional players wouldn’t have done. Booing a guy who put off a necessary heart procedure to try to help his team win the World Series. Not a fan of that last night. And this comes from a guy who had no problem with Andrew Luck getting booed. It’s up to Doc to earn his money and decide if it’s closer by committee, but Kenley is out there trying to figure it out and giving his best.

       1. My thoughts exactly

          1. Yeah concur

             Short memories

12. Sorry we lost last night but there were some good things to mention. Dustin May, Cody Bellinger, Julio Urias had good nights even Joc and Rios and others. I am impressed by how smoothly Gavin Lux handles 2nd base, throws, tags and coverage. Please keep him there. Walks hurt. We will do better next game. This auditioning process is only temporary.

    1. Dustin May’s stuff was filthy last night.

       1. And he got squeezed by the home plate umpire several times.

13. Kenley pitched on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Is 3 out of 4 days too much? Are back to back days too much, especially since the night before was a 4-out save?

    I don’t have the answers, but bullpen by committee should be considered.

14. It is a shame that we are in the position of not having a legitimate closer, as obviously almost all of the other contending teams do. It will take a lot of hitting, and top efforts from starting pitching, to get around the fact that we do not have anyone whom we can count on to pitch the ninth with a one- or even two-run lead. But that’s where we are, so we have to just work with it. Yesterday was the first time Jansen had pitched back to back games (with no off day) in two months. Th at does not fit the definition of a closer. I have no idea what Roberts will try, but it will likely be based on metrics, this particular reliever on that day, in that spot. The obvious problem is that the more relievers you need to rely on, the more chance that one of them will be ineffective, thus canceling out the work of the other ones. But there we are.

    I am disappointed that Smith has tailed off, but I can’t see him not making the roster. Barnes can’t hit, either, and Martin is not close to what he was in Toronto and Pittsburgh. Smith just missed a three-run homer the other day, so he does bring some potential of power. And he is a good catcher. I wouldn’t feel better with Martin or Barnes in the starting lineup. Actually, the Dodgers very much needed a catcher to start the season, but did not do anything but bring back Martin, who is a .200 hitter at this stage of his career. I realize that catchers are hard to get, and I did not like Grandal. But the Dodgers are always somewhat cavalier about leaving various spots questionable. Jansen was an issue before the season, too, , but nothing was done except picking up Kelly, who now seems to be used for an inning every four days, and may have some injury concerns, because otherwise I do not understand his relatively infrequent use.

    The Dodgers have fortunately almost clinched home field in the NL. But they will not have home field against Houston or New York, which is not a positive thing, given how much better we play at home. Imagine Jansen or whoever trying to close out a game against one of those two teams in their own ballpark. Really, despite how many wins we have, and vary strong season, there is not much to indicate that we can win four out of seven against either of those teams, not with the extra game on the road. It would have been nice if we had not used the last few weeks as an apparent tryout, since we had the whole season for that. But hopefully some of the players are more rested.

    If anyone is interested, I might pick “All the Things You Are,” played by Artie Show and sung by Helen Forrest, as the best song of the Big Band era. “Desolation Row” and “California Dreaming” as the best songs of the ’60’s. It almost impossible to compare songs from different musical eras, of course. I have never shared the tastes of “Rolling Stone” magazine, which has an affinity for blues and country themed rock which I do not have. Certainly their choice for top song is a solid one, though.

15. I won’t say “we told you so.”

    I think the whole concept of closer is obsolete anyway. You use your best relief pitcher in the highest leverage situation. If that’s the 6th inning, that’s where you’d use 2017 Kenley. If it’s a one run game and the heart of the opposing team’s order is due up in the 7th, and the bottom of the order is due up in the 9th, why are you saving your “closer” for the 9th?

    My theory with Kenley is that, as he continues to lose the velocity on his cutter, he tries to throw harder and his command goes. As I mentioned before, you don’t fix Old. Most of the time when a pitcher is on the wrong side of 30, they lose velocity. That’s just the way it is. There are exceptions like Scherzer or Verlander, and I don’t really even fault AF for signing Kenley. It was a calculated gamble. They thought that, because he doesn’t rely on pure heat like a Kimbrel or Chapman, and relies more on the movement and location of his cutter, he had the potential to be a Mariano Rivera Lite. That guy pitched well to the end of his career, which was pushing 40.

    So, closer by committee it is. I’m just not sure what you do with Kenley at this point, and I don’t know that Urias has the mindset to close. Kelly has been great the second half, but is he injured? Where’s he been? Kenta was great as a quasi set up guy in the playoffs a couple of years ago, but he’s had some spotty games in relief so far. Sadler has a nice ERA thus far, but his FIP tells another story and he doesn’t have a great track record.

    The Astros are surging both offensively and with regard to pitching. The Dodgers are faltering in both categories since the beginning of August. When the Dodgers plate a run with Joc Pederson going the opposite way with a single, then you know it’s a different offensive team. No more Bellinger led juggernaut. Maybe that’s for the best. You win in the playoffs by being scrappy in the clutch.

16. #2 Mark,

    Urias is a closer.

    NO. Urias is not a closer. He has never been groomed for that and, imo, is the only realistic #4 starter if Hill doesn’t come back. Gonzo and May are really very raw for the playoffs. Why put them through the pressure? They are not sure enough to go with them, yet.

    This is the shakiest BP I can remember in a long time. It’s a good thing we don’t have a problem with it.

    Let me say a few words about Maeda. CLOSER?! He is at best, a mediocre pitcher who is not particularly good at striking out batters or attacking them. To think of him as our closer for the playoffs is one of the more foolish things I think I’ve ever heard you say.

    I was pushing for another starter before the trade deadline. The situation with Hill, Stripling, Urias and the uncertainty of May & Gonzo had me pacing the kitchen at late hours of the night. With the upcoming playoffs at hand, the rise in the 2nd half of the season by Atlanta, Washington, and the Cardinals, and the carefree auditioning of our players in the face of all this, smug if you ask me, shows me a team where the uncertainty of winning it all in the NLDS, and then the greater challenge of facing two monster teams in the Yanks and Houston, have left me with less confidence in our very good, but not great team, winning it all. I can’t imagine the Dodgers winning the WS this year. There, I’ve said it. They will have to play their A game and then, they will need an awful lot of luck to get that ring.

17. So Mark you have said that you were against signing Kenley then what was your solution AT THAT TIME for the Dodger closer?

    1. By committee.

18. IF we get to the WS, I keep hearing we won’t have home field advantage because of the records of Astros & NYY. Does no one think some one else could win the AL?

    1. I do! Everyone has a chance except the other NL teams. On top of that, I think we have an advantage in NY without home field with their short porch in right and our lefty heavy lineup. I also thing we have an advantage against Houston with their all right handed staff.

19. The sky is always falling around here after a loss. I liked Mom’s comment which points out the positive things from last night’s game which was clearly managed like a Spring Training game. This Dodgers team has thrown away handfuls of games all year between playing games like last night, which make no sense at all. To pulling pitchers during shutouts and low pitch counts early in the season. To going to the Alexander well, over and over gain. If they had played every game to win, we would be on pace for 110 and have the best record by far.

    To me, the strategy right now is to get the players with lingering injuries rested, while trying to get others going. With a day off before and after the Rays series, they chose this time to get the pen some work and resting the starters so they can align them with the remaining schedule. They’re also having an open tryout for the fringes of the roster.

    When Kenley’s mechanics are straight, he’s shown that he can still be Kenley. I actually like Kenley’s attitude. He’s shaking off the negativity and is trying to keep his head and mechanics straight. This isn’t going to click overnight, and if it doesn’t completely click, we still have options. Baez, Kelly, Urias and Maeda are all capable of getting saves. This is where Doc is going to have to earn his money and I expect him to not rely on Kenley as his only option as he has in years past.

    The NL teams don’t worry me much. Of course, the Nats have a great 1-3, but so do we. We also hit and play defense better than they do. The Braves are getting better it seems, but their staff and pen is weaker than ours and their lineup isn’t quite as good. Matchup wise, the Cards seem to give us the most trouble. I think home field is much more important for the NL games.

    Houston looks like the most complete team in the AL. Unfortunately for them, they only have 1 left handed pitcher. I think we match up better with them this year than we did in 2017. They Yankees starting pitching is bad and their pen is good, just over used. I would love to see all our left handed bats going short porch for 4 games in their park.

    As far as if not now, when? The team is loaded with money, with more money coming from the All-Star game next year. All the contracts for players that don’t play for us are finally falling off. We have a very young core of starting pitchers with huge upside and our best position players aren’t even arbitration eligible yet. On top of that, our farm system is ranked top 3!!! The window is wide open. On top of that, I think Kershaw will be better in the last two years of his contract than he was this year. He’s like fine wine and is learning to pitch with finesse.

    Mark’s been telling us all year that relievers are volatile. Why can’t Kenley have a bad year and then be good again? He’s definitely not opting out with his performance this year. He didn’t have a normal off-season last year, neither did Seager as they were both recovering from surgeries. I’ll bet both of them are much better next year than they were this year.

    We don’t need to worry about Joc hitting left-handers anymore. This ship has sailed and barring a MVP-type post season, he will be traded in the off-season. Perfect timing coming off what will turn out to be his best year. As Branch Rickey, would say, “It is better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late.”

    This is my list of pitchers that I made about a week ago (before Hill came back, if you can call it that), but I admit it’s going to be tough to predict who will be in the pen once the bell rings and the last spot will probably be determined once we find out who we’re playing…

    (I might have already changed my mind about Yimi)

    Relievers
    Pedro Baez R
    Kenley Jansen R
    Joe Kelly R
    Kenta Maeda R
    Julio Urias L

    Adam Kolarek L
    Ross Stripling R
    Yimi Garcia R
    Tony Gonsolin R

    Just missed
    Rich Hill L
    Caleb Ferguson L
    Dylan Floro R
    Dustin May R
    Casey Sadler R

20. Two interesting factoids:
    1 – Per Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com, “Jansen was pitching on back-to-back nights for the first time since Aug. 9-10…”. The Dodgers have avoided using Jansen the way that he would ordinarily be used in the post-season to have him rested for October, but I have no faith that Jansen is up to pitching back-to-back at this point. I can see him being used every other game and maybe for more than 3 outs, but I don’t think that he can go back-to-back and be the “old Jansen” right now. They better have a plan B for the game after Jansen has pitched.
    2 – Richard Justice of MLB.com reported: “The offense has led the NL in runs, home runs and OPS this season, but the unit has slipped a bit this month (.232 average, .749 OPS). The club is still averaging 5.3 runs per game in September…”. Our eyes are not deceiving us. The Dodgers aren’t hitting much any more. Part of this is Turner’s injury (and Freese’s), part is Bellinger’s new pop-up swing, part is the adjustment to Smith and his failure to adjust to the league, and part is the end-of-season blahs that the Dodgers went through in 2017 and seem to be going through again. This offense won’t get it done in the post-season, so the questions are:
    a. Can Turner and Freese get healthy?
    b. Can they fix Bellinger in time?
    c. What will they do at catcher? I doubt seriously that Barnes becomes the regular catcher in October after essentially not playing since August. Maybe catcher becomes the 2nd automatic out position after pitcher.

21. Going by committee may be the answer. Or not allowing Kenley to go two days in a row or at least 3 of 4. However, Floro is not an option. He is absolutely the worst on the team at letting inherited runners score. He and Maeda are basically ROOGY’s out of the pen.
    ~
    Smith just needs a flare or two to drop. Frankly, he’s had some bad luck. Multiple balls caught at the warning track. Multiple HR’s gone foul. Multiple balls down the 3rd base line just in foul territory. He needs a little luck to go his way.
    ~
    1. Kershaw
    2. Ryu
    3. Buehler
    4. Madea
    5 .Kenley
    6. Baez
    7. Kelly
    8. Urias
    9. Kolarek
    10. Stripling
    11. Goose
    12. Hill, Ferguson, May
    ~
    I think the first 10 are locks. They may choose between Goose and May and only go with one of the rookies but May’s stuff has been filthy out of the pen lately. It really depends on match ups. How badly do the Dodgers want a 3rd lefty out of the pen in the NLDS. Sadler, Floro, Yimi and the two others at stay warm camp or for those two most likely traveling with the team. Hill is going to do everything he can to force his way onto the roster. He may be someone who is on the NLCS roster if they make it there but not the NLDS.

22. Who thought at the end of last season that Pearce and Kelly would be the stars of the WS? You just never know! Tho we’re not playing great baseball right now the important thing is we’re in the post season and you just never know! Freese, JOC, Taylor, Kike could be our Pearce this year! We’ve given ourselves a chance

    1. This. We can stink it up and play eh baseball thru next weekend.

       2 weeks from today, if Kike hits a big 3 run hr off of Strasburg or Lester, and we win 5-1, things will look perfect and we’ll all scream “10 wins to go!!”

       Oct 3 can’t come fast enough

    2. THIS.

       The year before last the Astros were using Charlie Morton and McCullers (spelling?) out of the ‘pen.

23. What is best in a 7 game series?

    1. Have home-field advantage; or
    2. Have Freese or Turner DH 4 games instead of 3?

    1. Not having Alvarez dh!

    2. I hate to do this, but I think it’s a wash. We’re really good at home, but as you pointed out, we have a legitimate DH in Freese. I can see Turner getting a game at DH against a RH pitcher, but I also think this ankle thing is being overstated and he’ll be ready to go.

       1. If it’s a wash, then it makes no difference. I think that’s how they feel.

24. I use to play a lot of racketball and one of the things that game taught me was, “don’t take your foot off of the pedal.” If I got a rather big lead and tried to coast for a while, the momentum often took a turn and my opponent would start to score. Then it was difficult to get going again and every once in a while my lead would evaporate and I loose the match that I should have won easily. You can never let up until the last point is in hand.

    I fear that same situation may happen to the Dodgers. I certainly hope not and am not predicting that it will, but I know that inertia is hard to overcome. Resting players is good, it’s a long season, and letting players heal after being injured is necessary, but all the experimenting can have both good and bad effects.

    Pedal to the metal seems to me to be the best way to approach the post season. Leave the experimenting to the minor leagues and spring training, this is the real thing…..

    1. Did you play 162 games of high-pressure racquetball?

       It’s very hard to keep focused 100% through all those games… especially when you are so far ahead you can’t see second place.

       1. “Did you play 162 games of high-pressure racquetball?” Stupid (moronic) question. The concern is not with the second place team in our division but with the other teams we will face in the post season. They will be close to/as good as we are. It is the loss of momentum and the difficulty in getting it going again when we really need it. This is not the time of the year to be taking it easy. The other teams that are fighting to get into the post season are not taking it easy. My concern is that you can’t just turn it on anytime you want to.

25. In 17 we coasted and lost. Last year it was pedal to the metal and lost. It’s all about who steps up in crunch time. We’ll soon see!

26. Thx Dodgerrick as usual some great facts and thoughts. I don’t feel I am any less of a fan because I am critical more then I am complimentary. I do appreciate the winner our front office has put out year after year. They definitely have put their massive resources to good use, though I don’t prescribe to the notion that the playoffs are an absolute crap shoot, Atlanta teams of the 90s would have won more titles if that was truly the case. Maybe I am in the minority but I would take SF 3 titles anyday over Atlanta’s 15 straight division titles; even if it meant being not good for a lot of the other 12 years. Just like players play for championships , some fans do also.

    The bullpen choices for the playoffs are extremely tough, so though I don’t agree with the open tryout, I understand why they have felt the need to do it. Not only are many spots still open for the taking, roles in the postseason are as well. I understand matchups and metrics will play a big part in determining who comes in, but sometimes your eyes have too be used especially in a long series. Does Roberts have that ability or does all his decisions come literally out of his book?

    I do think Kelly, Turner and Freese are more hurt then we know, how hurt I think will go a long way to determining our success. Those three have had far more individual postseason success then anyone else and the importance of that cannot be understated. Muncy’s health will also be a huge factor.

    As Bobby said October cannot come soon enough, I know we are a really good team but the last few months we have had entirely too much time as a fan base to pick this team apart and no way to truly know if the negative assessments are accurate. Meaningful games will change that, games 1 and 2 of the NLDS will answer a lot of burning questions.

27. DODGERS NAME INF GAVIN LUX BRANCH RICKEY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
    RHP JOSIAH GRAY NAMED BRANCH RICKEY MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE YEAR

    LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they have named infielder Gavin Lux as the Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year and right-handed pitcher Josiah Gray as the Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

    Lux, 21, started the 2019 season with Double-A Tulsa batting .313 (81-for-259) with 13 home runs and 37 RBI in 64 games. He was selected to the Texas League All-Star Game and appeared in the 2019 Sirius XM MLB Futures Game. Lux was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City on June 27 and went on to hit .392 (78-for-232) with 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 49 games. Among Pacific Coast League batters with at least 200 plate appearances, Lux ranked second in average (.392), first in OBP (.478), fourth in SLG (.719) and third in OPS (1.197). The Kenosha, Wisconsin native was named the 2019 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year after hitting a combined .347 (159-for-458) with 26 homers and 76 RBI in 113 combined games between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was the third Dodger to win the award since its inception in 1981, joining Mike Marshall in 1981 and Paul Konerko in 1997. In four minor league seasons, Lux has amassed 79 doubles, 29 triples, 48 homers and driven in 193 runs while slashing .305/.383/.483 in 396 games.

    The Dodgers first round selection (20th overall) in the 2016 First Year Player Draft out of Indian Trail High School (Wi.) joins Billy Ashley (1993-94), Paul Konerko (1996-97), Chad Billingsley (2004-2005), Joe Thurston (2000, 2002), James McDonald (2007-08), Zach Lee (2013, 2015) and Joc Pederson (2010, 2012) as two-time Branch Rickey Award recipients. He made his Major League debut on September 2, going 2-for-5 with three runs, becoming the first Dodger in franchise history to score three runs in his Major League debut.

    In 26 games (25 starts) combined this season between Single-A Great Lakes, Single-A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa, Gray finished with an 11-2 record and a 2.70 ERA (33 ER/130.0 IP) and 147 strikeouts against just 31 walks. The 21-year-old started his season in the Midwest League, posting a 1.93 ERA (5 ER/23.1 IP) in five starts before being promoted to Rancho Cucamonga. In 12 California League starts, he went a perfect 7-0 with a 2.14 ERA (16 ER/67.1 IP) with a 0.97 WHIP and a .209 opponents’ batting average. After earning a promotion to Double-A Tulsa on July 17, Gray pitched to a 2.75 ERA (12 ER/39.1 IP) across nine games (eight starts) for the Drillers.

    The New Rochelle, New York native was selected in the second round of the 2018 First Year Player Draft by the Cincinnati Reds from Le Moyne College. He was acquired along with infielder Jeter Downs in a trade from the Reds on December 21, 2018. In 38 career minor league games (37 starts) over two seasons, the right-handed pitcher is 26-7 with a 2.37 ERA (48 ER/182.1 IP) and has struck out 206 batters against 48 walks.

    Lux and Gray will both be presented with their respective awards and honored in a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21 prior to the Dodgers’ game vs. Colorado.

    Branch Rickey Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year: 1989-2019

    Year Player of the Year Pitcher of the Year
    1989 Mike Huff, Albuquerque (OF) Jim Poole, Vero Beach (LHP)
    1990 Henry Rodriguez, San Antonio (OF) Jamie McAndrew, Bakersfield/San Antonio (RHP)
    1991 Eric Karros, Albuquerque (IB) Pedro Martinez, San Antonio/Albuquerque (RHP)
    1992 Mike Piazza, San Antonio/Albuquerque (C) Todd Williams, Bakersfield/San Antonio (RHP)
    1993 Billy Ashley, Albuquerque (OF) Kip Gross, Albuquerque (RHP)
    1994 Billy Ashley, Albuquerque (OF) Greg Hansell, Albuquerque (RHP)
    1995 Adam Riggs, San Bernardino (IF) Gary Rath, San Antonio/Albuquerque (LHP)
    1996 Paul Konerko, San Antonio/Albuquerque (IF) Billy Neal, Vero Beach (RHP)
    1997 Paul Konerko, Albuquerque (IF) Dennys Reyes, San Antonio/Albuquerque (LHP)
    1998 Angel Peña, San Antonio (C) Luke Prokopec, San Bernardino/San Antonio (RHP)
    1999 Chin-Feng Chen, San Bernardino (OF) Eric Gagné, San Antonio (RHP)
    2000 Joe Thurston, San Bernardino (IF) Carlos Garcia, San Bernardino (RHP)
    2001 Phil Hiatt, Las Vegas (IF) Ricardo Rodriguez, Vero Beach (LHP)
    2002 Joe Thurston, Las Vegas (IF) Edwin Jackson, South Georgia (RHP)
    2003 Franklin Gutierrez, VB/Jacksonville (OF) Greg Miller, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (LHP)
    2004 Joel Guzman, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (OF) Chad Billingsley, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (RHP)
    2005 Andy LaRoche, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (IF) Chad Billingsley, Jacksonville (RHP)
    2006 James Loney, Las Vegas (1B) Mark Alexander, Jacksonville/Las Vegas (RHP)
    2007 Chin-lung Hu, Jacksonville/Las Vegas (IF) James McDonald, Inland Empire/Jacksonville (RHP)
    2008 Ivan De Jesus, Jr., Jacksonville (IF) James McDonald, Jacksonville/Los Angeles (RHP)
    2009 Dee Gordon, Great Lakes (IF) Scott Elbert, Chattanooga/Albuquerque/Los Angeles (LHP)
    2010 Jerry Sands, Great Lakes/Chattanooga (IF/OF) Rubby De La Rosa, Great Lakes/Chattanooga (RHP)
    2011 Scott Van Slyke, Chattanooga (IF/OF) Shawn Tolleson, Great Lakes/Rancho/Chattanooga (RHP)
    2012 Joc Pederson, Rancho Cucamonga (OF) John Ely, Albuquerque (RHP)
    2013 Scott Schebler, Rancho Cucamonga (OF) Zach Lee, Chattanooga (RHP)
    2014 Joc Pederson, Albuquerque (OF), Julio Urias, Rancho Cucamonga (LHP)
    Corey Seager, Rancho Cucamonga/Chattanooga (IF)
    2015 Alex Verdugo, Great Lakes/Rancho Cucamonga (OF) Zach Lee, Oklahoma City (RHP)
    2016 Edwin Rios, Great Lakes/Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa (IF) Brock Stewart, Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa/Oklahoma City (RHP)
    2017 Keibert Ruiz, Great Lakes/Rancho Cucamonga (C) Walker Buehler, Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa/Oklahoma City (RHP)
    2018 Gavin Lux, Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa (INF) Tony Gonsolin, Rancho Cucamonga/Tulsa (RHP)
    2019 Gavin Lux, Tulsa/Oklahoma City (INF) Josiah Gray, Great Lakes/Rancho Cucamunga/Tulsa (RHP)

    1. Ah yes! Chin -Feng Chen brings back such fond memories. What could have been… where have you gone Chin?

28. Jo Jo Gray

    He ain’t far away!

    I’m a poet laureate…

29. Last night Joe Davis mentioned Garcia auditioning (trying out) for a roster spot. One of 9 pitchers and 15 position players last night. For me there are way too many questions remaining with this team after 153 games. What was Yimi supposed to show the brass that hasn’t been shown in his other 61 appearances? For a number of reasons, I don’t like where this team is going into October.

    1. Every team is going through the same thing. It’s not just the Dodgers.

30. My concern with Kenley last night was his heart more than his stuff. Not physically, but mentally. The one non-call (which frankly could have gone either way) and he seemed rattled. That was not the first time I have seen that this year.

    1. That is true 2D2. Also he seems to get rattled when a runner is on 2nd base and has deliberately balked to put the player at 3rd. He did not used to be like that. Maybe after his surgery he worries and it makes him anxious, I do not know. I just hope he can work through it and come back strong.

31. I’d pick Floro over Garcia for the last spot right now. Can’t give up hr’s of n playoffs

32. So the conversation today is mainly about Jansen and the closer spot, plus the overall bullpen. First thing I would say is that in my opinion Friedman needs to blow up the bullpen in the off-season by subtracting several relievers via release/trade/sent to the minors, kinda like what he did with the Puig trade, addition by subtraction, and get 3-4 statistically good relievers via free agency/trade.

    So now back to this season and the post-season. If Jansen is not a guy to be trusted in the post-season (and I don’t disagree) then lets take a look at Jansen’s OPS stat. For the people that don’t care for pitchers OPS stat for whatever reason, any other stat will paint a similar picture, not the same picture, but a similar picture.

    Jansen’s 2019 OPS sits at 659 as of today. So which Dodger pitchers not name Buehler, Kershaw, Ryu have quite a bit better OPS this season as of today.

    Baez 543
    Kolarek 552
    Gonsolin 601
    Urias 614

    That’s it and Kolarek’s splits not only this season but also his career splits suggest he is a loogy. Urias this season as of today has reverse splits 571 vs RHB, 695 vs LHB and his career splits tell the same story. Baez this season as of today also has reverse splits but not as drastic 572 vs RHB, 509 vs LHB and his career splits also tell the same story. Gonsolin same as Baez, has reverse splits that are not drastic 623 vs RHB, 582 vs LHB and Gonsolin’s career splits are the same as his 2019 splits because this is his first year in the big leagues.

    So there you have it. Make what you will with that.

    In the post-season I believe in throwing your best at the opposing team. Unfortunately as of today the Dodgers best relievers consist of a loogy (Kolarek) a borderline roogy (Urias) and 2 solid relievers (Baez Gonsolin).

    For the record, when I say borderline roogy about Urias I’m only talking about his OPS stats so far in his so far short career. He can get better as time goes by and I’m predicting he will.

    1. Washington blew up their pen this year. Yeah, that worked out HORRIBLE!

       Everyone thinks you are getting the guy that he was in the past. “Trade the farm for Vasquez.” Yeah, that would have worked out. There are so many relievers that are good and then sign with a new team or get traded and stink it up.

       Jim Johnson comes to mind. Everyone wanted Blake Treinen who was 9-2 with an 0.78 ERA/0.834 WHIP last year. This year he’s got a 4.91 ERA and 1.619 WHIP. YIKES! What about Edwin Diaz? Yeah… How about Kimbrel, Morrow?

       Every stat is flawed – you seem to like OPS, but it is flawed. If you just had one stat to consider for a pitcher, I’d take WHIP. If a pitcher has a WHIP of below 1.00, I’ll take him.

       I’ll go a step further and suggest that trading for relievers or signing expensive relievers is really dumb! Friedman is smart and has a plethora of pitchers in the minors who are heading our way. When you trade for a reliever or sign a FA, they can get injured, decline, freak out or go to jail. Not a good idea.

       By the way, the bullpen is not nearly as bad as many think.

       1. I don’t think WHIP is that important for relievers. Some of those guys are effectively wild and walk guys, traffic on the bases, but don’t give up runs. The absolute best stat for a closer is blown save percentage. The only job for a closer is to not relinquish the lead.

          1. Blown save percentage is a very good stat to look at for a closer.

          2. Name the last reliever who had a high WHIP who was worth a damn.

       2. Mark

          WHIP is on base percentage which is part of OPS without consideration of extra base hits including homers/slugging. WHIP is flawed for that reason. Decent stat to start with, but OPS tells the whole story in that equation.

          Dodger relievers with under 1.00 WHIP this season:
          Garcia
          Kolarek
          Baez
          That’s it. Garcia has a terrible hr/9 of 2.2 and a terrible xbh% of 10.4
          I’ll pass on Garcia.

          Under 1.00 WHIP for a season is hard to find and for a career is even harder to find, but I’ve assembled a list of 6 relievers that any 3 or 4 of them I’d like to have on the Dodgers roster next year via free agency or trade and 3 of them have under 1.00 WHIP this season and the other 3 are slightly above 1.00

          1. I would love to make trades with you if we were GM’s.

          2. That last paragraph of mine should have said hard to find that are available.

       3. And look what Colorado did 2nyears ago. That was an epic failure! We need to develop some of these young arms for the bullpen. Too much of a gamble to spend big on the bullpen!

          1. Colorado? in that hell hole of a stadium with that thin air? I don’t bother looking at Colorado Rockies stats.

    2. I’m wondering what you consider a good OPS for a hitter vs what’s a good OPS for a pitcher. It seems like you’re saying that Jansen’s 659 isn’t very good. But, I would be screaming if any of our hitters had a 659 OPS and was still in the lineup. In fact, Kristopher Negron has a 690 OPS and I never want to see that guy at the plate.

       1. Good OPS for a hitter and pitcher depends on what the goal is for a team. Is the Dodgers goal to win the World Series this year? I would answer yes. Therefore the OPS bar should be set higher than other teams.

          It’s too late to make any trades, we have what we have and have to live with it until the off-season. So I gave the best options in the bullpen from who we have OPS wise in my first post.

          Again some don’t care for OPS stats and that fine but other stats will paint a similar picture.

          1. Okay, you didn’t really answer the question, so I’ll just point this out…

             Out of relievers that have pitched at least 40 innings this year, Jansen’s OPS ranks 55th. With 30 teams in the league, he is still WAY above average in the OPS department. As he would be one of the two best relief pitchers any team, on average. This certainly isn’t what we want for our team, but is he’s still a very good reliever, top 2 on average on any team.

             Kenley is not an elite closer, but he’s still a good reliever and probably still our best option.

             BTW – I’m not happy about this at all. Everyone in the world knew that the pen was a chink the armor at the trade deadline. Not getting a guy that can close games was a failure and I said it at the time.

             1. Your right overall Jansen is a good reliever but not closer material ANYMORE.

             2. I’m a little different than you about the trade deadline. The price for relievers was way inflated at the trade deadline. Fixing the bullpen should have been done in the off-season and should again be done this coming up off-season.

33. I know Kelly’s overall numbers aren’t good but he’s been much better in the 2nd half and if he’s healthy he can be a force in playoffs. It just comes down to stepping up in the big moments. Winners do and losers go home!

    1. For months I have said Joe Kelly is a key figure for the Dodgers this year. Nothing has changed my mind assuming he is not injured. He has not been a closer but he’d certainly be on my short list if KJ is moved out of that roll and we pitch Johnny Wholestaff, which seems prudent if you actually want to win. Maybe we could nicely ask MLB to change all the post season schedule so there are no back to back games so KJ could be effective?

       1. Do you really want to put the ball in Kelly’s hands this post-season judging by the way he’s played all year? Do you really have the confidence in him after what you’ve seen? I think that answer has to be a categorical NO. This is what is called logic. The only thing that can change logic to a different conclusion is a different set of memories about Kelly. At this point, we all have the real memories, and the hopes have really nothing to do with this at all.

          The team has been seriously weakened by the backend play of Kelly and Jansen. But it is not solely their fault. Many of the other relievers have not done a stellar job, too. Almost every baseball analyzer I’ve read has mentioned the BP weakness of the Dodgers. Mark said there is no problem with our BP. So, because he is always right, let’s not talk about or worry about this state of affairs. We are great and nothing can stop us. Except……………….

34. According to the LA TIMES, the Dodgers sold the team!

    1. Oh, they actually sold a share of the team to two investors. Who they are, we don’t know. What percentage they sold, we don’t know. How much money was involved, we don’t know.

       Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

    2. And I’m the one with poor reading comprehension?

35. The two new owners are two L.A. businessmen who are longtime Dodger fans. No other details but the blurb I saw made it seem as though they don’t have a large stake in the team.

    Kasten says he is “certain” that Friedman will be back next year. Again, no details.

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