Late Bloomers

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1. I have been a fan of Reks from the time he was selected by the Dodgers in the entry draft, and I read about his perseverance to be a college baseball player. Although he is not as versatile defensively as Beaty or Rios, I am hopeful that he has a terrific season for OKC and wins a regular spot in the Dodgers OF in 2021. Max Muncy is on the path to being the next late blooming star with a total of 70 home runs, 176 runs scored, 177 RBI, and 145 OPS+ in his age 27 and 28 seasons.

2. I’m often suspicious of players whose numbers jump up like some of these. It’s not the norm. Yes some players accomplish this by swing changes or a new approach, but we all know some do it with PED’s.

   1. Had the same thought. Particularly for players whose career was in the 90’s timeframe. It’s unfortunate that the use of PED’s by a few raise question of the many.

   2. It’s almost impossible to not get caught using PED’s. What most of the players get caught with today are banned substances which are not necessarily PED’s. Anyone who uses PED’s today is a moron…. and there are a few.

3. I am not so suspicious today as I believe if they were prone to using PED’s they would do so sooner in their careers. Also I expect if PED’s were used in that specific year they would have to be used to continue on successfully. Certainly in the current environment the likelihood of being caught is rather significant. I more so suspect the suddenly big chested guys in the past as the cheaters, not the little guys whose body make up doesn’t change all that much.

   I see guys like Zack Reks as a credit to the game and their families. His story and that of others is one of perseverance, beating the odds, Quite often it is just a matter of getting an opportunity. Examples would be Justin Turner and Max Muncy. Hopefully Zack will make it to MLB even as a fourth outfielder somewhere. He has only played three years so is not yet eligible for minor league free agency. He is a career .300 hitter in the minors.

   1. Steep pyramid where these guys sit. Especially on a team expected to win over 101 games. Even a .160 hitting Pollock will be given latitude for a month. , Peters and Thomas need to maintain focus in Oklahoma, which shouldn’t be hard. It’s Oklahoma. Not a lot of distractions there. Continue to pound AAA pitchers and their time will come.

      I figure all the pitchers will all be used over the course of the season. We no longer have the 10 Day Jacuzzi List so free substitution is a bit more complicated but there are still ways. Recovery is dernier cri in the modern game (for those of you going to Oklahoma that means “the in thing”) so using everybody over 162 should happen. I figure high and low leveraged innings are more 2020 denominate so the back of the pen should see lots of action in the many mercy rule games we will be playing early and often. I see 2 of our first 3 games being 10 run rule affairs.

      Confidence is very sexy – don’t you think?

      This year should be fun.

      1. Uh, have you ever been to OKC? Lots to do there. It is not just some hick town. Lots of country bars, the Cowboy Hall of Fame. It is a pretty decent sized city. Only pitchers will be subject to the 15 day rule, and you can only carry 13 on the roster. That being said, I expect Joc and Pollock to play a lot. Especially if Pollock can stay healthy. For different reasons obviously, the Dodgers had some late bloomers. Jackie Robinson was 28 when he broke in in 1947. Maury Wills was 26 and a 9 year minor league vet. I think McKinstry could easily become a left handed version of Chris Taylor. Thomas and Peters need to work on cutting down the strikeouts. Since this is most likely Joc’s swan song, they will get longer looks next spring. My hope is that they get Betts to sign a long term deal, and with him and Belli as anchors, who plays left is pretty much a toss up. I was in OKC the day that the bomb was set off at the federal building. Was in my rig parked about 2 miles away. Shook the cab and startled the hell out of me.

         1. Yeah, I’ve been to OKC.

            You know, I hadn’t considered sh*t kicking and boot scootin as distractions. I’m sure May and Gonsolin will love it and never want to leave.

            Ok, put Oklahoma on the bucket list.

            Good to see you Bear. I agree with most of what you said there. I visited the Memorial. They did a good job with it.

            1. Good to be seen. Been fighting a nasty cold. Took some cold medicine, and put on heaps of vicks. Crawled under the covers and sweated it out. Hey shit kicking and boot scooting are western past times. And when the ladies are all dressed up, it can definitely be distracting. The Cowboy Hall of Fame is pretty cool. The Rodeo Hall of Fame is in Colorado Springs. Cowboy Hall is for guys like Tom Mix, and Gene Autry. I just do not see May and Gonsolin, aka The Cat Man, as shit kickers. More of the pop kind of guys. They might like some of the newer country artist’s. Personally, I prefer the dead guys…Merle, Waylon, Johnny Cash. Kids today are just too much like pop music. Oh yeah, Alabama.

4. I really like Reks, Raley, and Beaty.

   I believe that moving forward, players like Reks will play a bigger part in the team.

   Friedman is not going to make a trade, just to make a trade and he obviously doesn’t have to get under the Luxury Tax this year. However, where a trade could occur is if a contender needs a player due to injury and is willing to overpay for a Joc Pederson, Kike Hernandez or the like. Then, Reks, Raley & Beaty (sounds like Dewey, Cheatem & Howe) could get their chance… for the Dodgers.

   1. Mark, while those 3 ya mentioned could see opportunities they are all LHB, Ya I know that shouldn’t matter but on this team Roberts and Co. will platoon them and others if in fact they feel they may not be able to hang in with LHP as they may with RHP this year’s team appears at the outset to have balance, but how long that lasts remain to be seen.

5. Remember the Alamo and remember sweet Lou Johnson.

   1. Just a question, but what do the Alamo, and Sweet Lou have in common?? Sweet Lou came up when T. Davis suffered a severely broken ankle in 65. Pretty much changed his style of play forever. About the same as when Kemp ran into the outfield wall at Coors in 2012. He never was really Beast Mode after that injury.

6. Article in the LA Times about Ferguson talking with Kersh over the off season about developing a slider as a young Kersh did and we all know where his career went from there. Keep an eye on Ferguson this year. He could make a big jump if his slider develops.

   1. So far, the pitch has been working very well. I think he will just throw his curve for “effect” and his “cutter” will be his out pitch.

7. Nice post AC. Have you ever met Millar in person? I assume he’s exactly the way he comes off on IT. A total goofball but probably a great friend.

   1. I have met Millar and he is as he comes across. While at Fort Myers (Boston Spring Training) and Boston I also met Papi, Johnny Damon, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Tito Francona, and Jason Varitek. Johnny Damon and Papi tried to get me and my wife to go into the clubhouse, but we were always mindful of our son who told us that the clubhouse is the players’ sanctuary. That 2004 Boston team was very special.

8. The grinders! My favorite type of baseball players. On team like the Dodgers, though, they mostly serve as an insurance policy for injuries. I do hope Reks makes it to the majors and that he enjoys some success. His story and journey are very admirable and inspirational.

9. Like the Girlfriend who gets back with you for Christmas, Badger has just turned up in time to celebrate his Birthday with us all.

   Happy Birthday Badger

   1. Thanks W. And Happy Birthday to your son.

      I just bought myself the MLB package and a VPN service. I think. I’ll know if it worked when I try to watch the game later.

10. I am not sure why there is such skepticism about players whose numbers jump up. Players develop differently just like all of us. The difference between players like Whit Merrifield and others is that Whit got a chance with a team in a rebuild. KC could afford to play certain players while he may not have had the chance with LAD.

    If anyone spent time with MiLB players you would learn that many MiLB players languish in the minors and never get The Call, but might have flourished if given a chance with another team. I am not sure my son would have made it with Philadelphia, but he got his chance with Boston and he did get The Call. Unfortunately he got hurt and was never able to get back to the elite level. He did not do it with PEDs…he just got a chance.

    How many realize that players who are drafted late and do not get bonus dollars are not given the same chance as are high draft picks? If Zach Reks hit like Jeren Kendall, does anyone really believe that Reks would still be in baseball?

    Are there the same suspicions about Maury Wills who did not get to LAD until he was 26?

    1. Or Davey Lopes who broke in at 27 and flourished at 28.

       1. Wasn’t Maury Wills a late arrival to the MLB?

          1. Wills was 26 when he came up in 1959. He had played close to 9 years in the minors. Jackie Robinson was 28 when he came up in 1947. More to do with segregation than ability.

             1. I was 11 when Wills came up.

                Just thought I’d mention that.

             2. So was I. Actually I was 8 days shy of my 11th birthday when Maury was called up on June 6th, 1959. Anniversary of D-Day. He was closer to 27 than 26. Turned 27 in October of that year. While they were playing the White Sox in the World Series. Koufax lost a 1-0 game in that series to Bob Shaw. The two losses were both shutouts….11-0 in game 1 and the game 5 loss. Larry Sherry won 2 and saved 2. Podres and Big D won the other 2. 3 years later, at age 29 going on 30, Maury won the NL MVP award. Not bad. Stole 104 bases that year which is still the Dodger record. He broke Ty Cobb’s MLB mark of 96. Oh yeah…Duke Snider hit his 11th World Series homer that year. His last. Still holds the team record and is still the only major leaguer to homer 4 times in a World Series twice.

    2. Spot on AC. There are really 3 ways it can go for a player. 1) They never get the call. As you mentioned, lower draft picks don’t get the advantages of high picks. More chances are given to kids who have money invested in them. Some organizations like the Dodgers are loaded and much harder to move in. This was way worse years ago before free agency. The Dodgers had a stockpile of talent that couldn’t move. And some don’t get the call because they reach a level where they just aren’t good enough. 2) The player does get the call but fails in the Big Leagues. Failure might be due to injury, most often. But MLB teams are smart and when the find a hole in a swing they will exploit that endlessly until the player adjusts or fails. This has happened for years. I remember a player named Winston Llenas years ago. Winston raked in the minors during his 14 year career but never hit in the Big Leagues. In 1964, an Angel named Jackie Warner hit 42 home runs in 160 games in the minors. In his one 42 game chance in the Bigs he hit .211 and never again reached the majors. That is very old history and we all know recent players who failed with their opportunities. 3) A play gets his opportunity and runs with it. They get their chance and take full advantage. This is especially sweet for the low draft picks who beat the odds.

    3. I understand there may be a longer rope with guys drafted high but if others are producing they should move up. And in an organization as loaded as ours I would think after some time, and not a lot of time, we might pick a keeper out of the superfluous and move the others to organizations bereft of that particular position at the upper levels. We could easily afford the move for high ceiling Low A players that we could nurse through team controlled years of the ones who win our lottery. Example: White Sox and Cleveland need outfielders. We decide to keep Reks and Peters at AAA. We send them Thomas for 19 year old 19th ranked Rookie Ball OF James Beard. By the time Beard actually grows one our keeper is a free agent and on his way to greener pastures.

       I just don’t believe egos should be part of the assessment. If we f’d up, Kendall, we make up, Beard. It should be noted at this time that, as with a lot of my musings only a limited amount of thought, and superficial thought at that, went into this postulation so I eagerly anticipate feedback. Be kind. I’m older now.

       1. I am not sure you said anything disagreeable. The Dodgers do move lower draft picks if they produce. Caleb Ferguson and Zach McKinstry immediately come to mind. I also agree that the Dodgers have multiple “MLB ready” OF that cannot possibly all make it to The Show with LAD. Your suggestion of James Beard is intriguing. I know that he was on the Dodgers draft board last year, but he is a track star looking to make it in MLB. He has a high ceiling but a very low floor. He would not be one of my preferences, but the Dodgers do have the patience to work with a player like that. Starling Heredia immediately comes to mind.

          The Dodgers probably need to be a little more patient with OF’s as nobody knows what will happen next year. Betts, Joc, and Kike’ are all scheduled to move into FA. However, besides OF’s how many utility players do the Dodgers need? Kike’, CT3, Beaty, McKinstry, Mann, Estevez, and to a lesser degree, Rios? And I am sure I am forgetting others. To me Rios is a great example of someone who might benefit by being traded. He is already 26 and is not favored to beat out Matt Beaty for the 26th man. So he will likely end up back in OKC, where he has been since 2017. He could remain with LAD as a valuable bench player and be team controlled through 2025 (age 31). He can become a FA for his age 32 season when his earning ability will be very much limited. Might he benefit more from a trade to say…Baltimore, or Detroit, or Miami, or Seattle? He would have a much better chance to compete within those organizations for a starting/regular role.

11. Blake Treinan will make his spring debut today. That will be nice to see!

12. 1. Lux DH
    2. Muncy 2B
    3. Bellinger CF
    4. Taylor SS
    5. Barnes C
    6. Beaty 3B
    7. Raley RF
    8. White 1B
    9. Reks LF

    Let’s hope the Price is Right!

13. A reliable 3rd pitch will put Fergusson and Stripling in the rotation. If there is a question it is when.

    They are 2 of my favorites.

14. I also like Raley, Reks, Beaty, Peters, and Ferguson. Wish all of them could make the OD roster. Very hard choices to make.

15. DodgerBlueMom – I’m with you on Rick Monday’s humorous nitroglycerin line from a couple days ago. I’m stealing that one. The best line I’ve heard this spring was at a ST game where a batter got some serious chin music and spun out of the way. A fan yelled “what are you doing? He’s not an Astro!”
    I think we are all enjoying the play this spring of Raley, Peters, Reks, McKinstry, Thomas and Rios as position players. Here’s their problem as I see it so far (barring injuries or transactions)
    1. Pollock
    2. Pederson (if he can answer the bell)
    3. Belli
    4. Betts
    5. CT3
    6. Kike
    7. Beaty
    8. Turner
    9. Seager
    10. Lux
    11. Muncy
    12. Smith
    13. Barnes
    There’s no room at the Inn right now. The youngsters need to play at OKC and wait for their opportunity. I bet the Orioles and the Mariners would love to have the players the Dodgers send down.

    1. Agree, philjones, unfortunately, about all the minor league players not getting to play right away. And on Rick Monday who I love for his very knowledgeable comments during the game. Question..Let us say that Pederson can not answer the bell at the start of the season. Who of all those great minor league prospects do you think has the best chance to replace him?

       1. Who is most like Pederson? I don’t think it’s Raley. Reks OPSd .939 vs RHP last year. Thomas wasn’t near that. Might be who lights it up the next three weeks.

          1. Thank you Badger.

          2. Agreed, preferably keep the hottest left handed bat at the end of ST until Joc is ready.

       2. Doesn’t someone have to have their bell rung before they should be expected to answer it?

          1. Huh?

             1. Over your head? Or too deep? It was a quote from Plato.

             2. That must be it Bum. My weak brain makes it tough for me to make the connection with a quote from a Greek philosopher as it pertains to Joc being ready for opening day. You have done this with me before. Please continue the clever and insightful posts in order to expand my shallow thinking.

             3. Not familiar with that one Bum.

             4. Maybe it was a quote from the Avon person.

             5. Not just a pretty face, hey Bum?

             6. Uh,…..Plato,…..Oh yeah! Mickey’s dog!

    2. It all comes down to the reality that Dodgers or no other team can keep all those players and as was said here many would benefit with being on another team that would be better able to afford them the opportunity to be part of their 26 man rosters.

16. Referring to your comment above AC, regarding the players you met when Andy was playing for Boston, what a group of diverse and very strong personalities that clubhouse had. Tito, who by most reports is one of the more beloved men in all of baseball, must have had his hands full keeping those guys on the same path. For the most part the 2020 Dodgers are much more vanilla, temperament wise. We still don’t seem to have that Papi or Varitek personality among position players to put the whole team on his shoulders when the need arises.

17. Watching the game. Dino Ebel is AMAZING!

    1. Wasn’t he Fred’s pet dinosaur?

18. Ubaldo Jimenez pitched one of the most uniquely efficient (on pitch count) innings I think I have ever witnessed. 10 batters, 2 strike outs, one walk, 2 HBP, 3 hits and 5 runs, all on 19 pitches. That’s not easy to do.

    1. Only to be out done by David Price’s 3 innings, 1 walk, 7 ks on 27 pitches. Nice!

    2. That’s funny schtufff

19. Remind me again who was the other guy we got from Boston in the Price deal!

20. If they gave the Cy Young Award based on a 3-inning stint in a ST game, David Price would be a leading candidate. Great outing today.
    Wouldn’t it be ironic if he was our best starter this year after we did Boston the favor of taking him off their hands and Graterol turned out to be our closer after being rejected by the Sox.

    1. Stranger things have happened.

21. Welcome back Badger. I wasn’t on the board yesterday. I agree with you on defense. Every player has somewhere to be on every play.

    1. I am adamant about not giving away bases. At least I used to be. From coaching Little League to coaching JC softball, my teams were schooled in not giving away outs or bases. I’m curious, is there a defensive algorithm for giving up a base unnecessarily? One example I can think of – guy stealing second and the centerfielder never moves until the ball gets out of the infield on an overthrow. Runner gets up and easily gets to third. We see that crap every night somewhere in MLB. That’s often a throwing error on the catcher and it doesn’t need to be. I know from experience that if the centerfielder breaks as soon as the ball crosses the plate the runner at second will not get up and get to third base. Move dammit. There’s evidence of this kind of laziness in every ML game I’ve attended. Don’t back up a base, don’t even move when the balls in play. I don’t know if or how hustle minutiae is involved in calculating dWAR. Can someone here explain it to me? I know this, when I see a player standing around watching when the ball is in play I make note of it. Even if nothing results from it, it should count in determining dWAR. I don’t like lazy! Well, that’s not entirely true. Now that I am retired I actually love lazy. I’ve become quite proficient at it. But…. you know what mean.

       1. We saw one go to the backstop a couple of years ago that hopped past Grandal. Everyone got on Puig but the real problem was Kenley didn’t back up home.
          ~
          My team that I coached had a RF that busted his ass to back up every throw from LF to 2nd base.

          1. All 9 players have a defensive responsibility on every ball in play. Even a toss to first to hold a runner everyone should be moving. Every base covered, every base backed up. You take no plays off. You want to watch the game? Take a seat meat.

       2. Spot on Badger. It takes no talent to hustle an many teams seem to put up with laziness and poor fundos. My least favorite is pitchers too lazy to back up bases. If you wanted to get on my sh**list as a pitcher all you had to do is stand on the mound and pout instead of backing up. Getting lit happens but don’t make it worse. My next least favorite is a pitcher stationing his ass in from of home, competing with the real cut off man, on a throw from the outfield instead of backing up home. The ensuing mound visit was as unpleasant for the pitcher as getting lit. There is no excuse by any defender loafing. It may not always matter and some coaches let it go but when it does it is typically costly. Play the game the right way.

22. Can we replace Pollock and Hernandez with McKinstry and Reks. I’m starting to think that Taylor would be a better platoon partner with Joc instead of Pollock. For the most part the relievers that are a lock to make the team and the relievers that have a realistic shot at making the team are pitching pretty good so far.

    1. Might be a tad better than pretty good. I would be hard pressed to find another team with 11 relief pitchers who are pitching any better than the Dodgers. I recognize that it is Spring and not all against ML hitting, but they still have to get the outs.

       KJ – 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA
       Kelly – 3.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA
       Baez – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA
       Treinen – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA
       Ferguson – 4.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
       Alexander – 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, , 1 HR, 3.00 ERA
       Strip – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 1.50 ERA
       Graterol – 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
       Santana – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 0.00 ERA
       de Geus – 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1.59 ERA
       Kasowski – 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA

       1st 9 – 34 IP, 19 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 42 K, 0.53 ERA, 0.65 WHIP
       All 11 – 45 IP, 28 H, 3 R, 8 BB, 51 K, 0.60 ERA, 0.80 WHIP

    2. Problem is Eric., they are not going to just DFA Pollock, and with his contract he is not that easy to trade unless LA pays some of his salary. He is getting 15 million this year and will be given every opportunity to earn it.

23. Swing a deal. I’m in….

    1. Me too.

24. A Badger and a Bear are off tap water and back drinking filtered water. Welcome home!

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