Yes, I am thrilled that we have baseball again. And I am just as sure that the Dodgers are going to win this year. I am not much of a gambler, but I dropped a few dollars on the Dodgers winning the 2020 WS. But I have a tough time getting excited about beating a team like the Giants who have very little, if any, chance of making the playoffs. I think the Dodgers 30 member team remaining at the Alternate Site at THE University of Southern California could win a majority of games played against the ML SF Giants.
I recognize that AF and Doc are data driven, but they have a loooong way to go to match the apparent unquestioned reliance that Farhan and Gabe Kapler possess. It’s Game 1 and Kapler takes out Brandon Crawford because he cannot hit LHP? The team is already without Posey, Longoria, and Belt, and Brandon Crawford is not good enough to play nine? An OF consisting of Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson, Joe McCarthy, and Jaylin Davis? Outside of Yaz, I think the label of AAAA may be generous. Something tells me the Dodgers are far better off with AF and Doc than they would have been with Farhan and Gabe.
Dustin May had a memorable opening day start (maybe not his last), with the bullpen dominating in Game 1. No walks were allowed by Dodger pitchers. That was followed by a masterful professional start by Ross Stripling in Game 2. Strip went a strong 7 innings while allowing one run on a solo HR by rookie Jaylin Davis, four hits, seven K’s, and an impressive ZERO walks. His change is absolutely an out pitch, and has made Strip a legit SP. The string of zero walks was broken by newcomer Jake McGee, but he got out of the 8th unscathed. Dylan Floro closed out the ninth.
Offensively, Kike’ was electric on Thursday, while Max Muncy was the big hitter with two HRs on Friday. Friday also featured Seager with a 3-4 night with a double and walk. They have done most of the damage without the big bats of Mookie and Belli. For the Dodgers, even the outs were hard hit. 16 runs on 25 hits in the two games against the midgets. Gosh, they are a bad team.
I want to be clear, that I am ecstatic that the Dodgers extended Mookie Betts. 12 years $365MM, so be it. That is the going rate for a five – tool superstar potential HOF OF who also is a model citizen that fits like a glove the culture the Dodgers are encapsulating. I enjoy reading BoSox fans who were all giddy believing that they fleeced AF and got Verdugo, Downs, and Wong, and would undoubtedly re-sign Mookie for 2021-???, and now are saying how ripped off AF and the Dodgers got with overpaying for Mookie. Perhaps they did. How much? Something tells me Mark Walter and Co. can afford it. I was 100% for the trade, and I believed from the outset that AF was not going to trade for Mookie without having a legit plan of re-signing him. He knew what it was going to take, and he would not have traded Verdugo and Downs if he believed that they would be outbid for Mookie. No guarantees, but AF is good at playing the odds.
At his press conference, Mookie was asked what it is like to be the new face of the Dodgers. He smiled and said that he is not the face of the Dodgers, but if it is required of him, he would gladly accept the responsibility. Fortunately for the Dodgers and Mookie, the team has a plethora of faces, which brings us to a potential problem coming down the line. Mookie was going to be a FA after this year, but so are JT, Joc, Kike’, Baez, Treinen, and Wood. JT, Joc, Kike’, and Baez are longtime Dodgers and part of the corps. Wood was part of the 2017/2018 WS teams. FA following the 2021 season; Kershaw, KJ, CT3, and Corey. Belli and Urias become FA after 2023, and Buehler becomes a FA after 2024.
What impact will the Mookie contract have on these future FA? Of the 2020 group, I think the Dodgers offer JT because he is the heart and sole of the team. He is the new Chase Utley and should sign for two years for his age 36 and 37. He is no longer a plus defender. JT took less to stay with the Dodgers three years ago, and he knows this is his home. I think he will re-sign with LAD for a reasonable (fair) deal. Joc, Kike’, Baez, Wood, and Treinen will undoubtedly move on. The deep pitching and utility players in the system at a far less cost is where the Dodgers will land, IMO. Joc will move on because he does not want to platoon, and he does not think he needs to. The same with Kike’. With the universal DH, both Joc and Kike’ should get offers from AF, but no promises other than a continuous platoon.
Of the 2021 group, Corey Seager and Clayton Kershaw will very much be offered. Kershaw will no longer be earning $31MM per year, but what will it take to keep him for age 34-35-36. No matter how Mookie plays, Clayton Kershaw will still be the face of the Dodgers, but CK wants to retire a Dodger as much as LAD wants him to retire as a Dodger. Both parties will be reasonable.
The future will be decided by what happens with Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, and possibly Julio Urias, the other faces of LAD. The five faces of LAD. What makes this a problem is that Corey, Belli, and Urias are all represented by Scott Boras. Buehler is not currently represented by an agent, but I am also positive that Boras is lurking. Belli and Urias become FAs for 2024, while Buehler follows a year later. Corey becomes an immediate concern as he is under team control for one more year. Seager becomes a FA the same year as Frankie Lindor and Carlos Correa, so he will have some competition for SS FA.
The Dodgers have plenty of depth in MiLB, but they do not have anyone who can replace Seager, Belli, Buehler, or probably Urias. So extending those four will go a long way to determine how long this dominant play will continue. Getting JT and CK to continue to sign with LA will become a priority, but will not be nearly as critical as getting the other four faces of LAD.
Miscellaneous items –
The White Sox have DFAd former 1st round pick and former Walker Buehler Vanderbilt teammate, Carson Fulmer. Any team can claim Fulmer, but if he goes unclaimed until LAD can decide, is this something that AF might entertain? Even if he is claimed and the White Sox pull him back, I am guessing that the Dodgers could offer a lottery pick. Fullmer was considered the Ace of that Vandy team. Fullmer, who is still 26, was selected 16 spots ahead of Buehler. Fullmer has never been healthy and has zero chance of succeeding with the ChiSox. He intrigues me. The problem I have is I have no idea who AF would have to designate to acquire a very high risk and potentially high reward pitcher.
The ban on high fives??? There sure seems to be a lot of high fives in the LAD dugout. Catchers also seem to forget about not throwing the ball around after a K.
I hate the new 16 game playoff format. Anything can happen in a short three game series. Even with the top seeds having all three games at home, is there really a home field advantage without fans? This is a recipe for a disaster for a number eight seed knocking a number one seed by getting hot at the right time for three games.
I’m sure that AF has a plan for the future. He is as systematic and disciplined as can be. He was out to create a dynasty. He’s planning several steps ahead. Even though it’s this diminished version of the Giants, it’s still satisfying to see the Dodgers beating up on them. Old rivalries are particularly satisfying ones. Dustin and Strip were both impressive. Dustin’s poise to come in at the last moment and pitch opening day like he did speaks to his make-up, talent, and incredible stuff. And Strip pitched like someone who won’t waste this opportunity. And I agree that the new playoff format is ridiculous. Anything can happen in a 3-game series. But, hey, enjoy the moment! One game at a time.
I can’t help but ponder from time to time, how they’re going to keep the core. Certainly, best prescription is to just enjoy the now, but for the sake of academic exercise and without going into specific dollars…
Assuming, all goes as planned, and the five faces realize their projections over the next few years. Since everyone would be getting obscene money and likely tail end albatross money, I think Friedman would prioritize the best players vs keeping two over the cost of the best one. He just did with Betts, knowing his deal would complicate and possibly nix one or more of the impending deals, but committing anyway because Betts is the best or near best talent. Realizing their projections, the order would probably be Bellinger/Buehler/Seager/Urias. I think for Bellinger and Buehler that might mean money and length within shouting distance of what Betts just got, unless they’re concerned about Buehler long range durability. Can the Dodgers afford three near max deal contracts? I say, yes, given the farm system and older deals falling off (Kershaw/JT/Pollock). Plus we have to have an ace for playoff success, and the Bellinger/Betts juggernaut gives us a deciding edge.
I suppose Urias might command Ryu type money if he becomes a consistent 2nd/3rd starter and eats a lot of innings, which imo is his new adjusted projection. Hopefully, I’m underselling his projection, but for Ryu money for a 2nd playoff caliber starter is worth it and I’d lean toward doing it for post season purposes. So, I think Seager’s the real wildcard, and maybe for that reason alone they might cut bait. If he becomes a top 3 shortstop, that’s Machado type demands and we’d have to break bank. That would be four near max level contracts. Would the Yankees even do that? If he basically stays where he’s at, the contract demands might be more palatable, but then we’re likely still dealing with stretches of injuries and more stretches of hot/cold hitting. Friedman might find that wavering replaceable, plus maybe he sees Lux as his future SS and not the future 2nd baseman, or maybe he sees a guy like Hoese or Ruiz as a suitable replacement in the batting order 3-4 years from now.
I don’t like thinking about it. I mean, that’s just the four remaining faces. I’m not so confident JT and Kershaw are re-signed, unless they’re agreeable to 1-2 year deals. I’m going to really miss guys like Joc, Kike, CT3. Seems they’ve been Dodgers forever at this point. Who knows? I wouldn’t put it past Friedman to retain most everyone, the guy’s a 5-D chess wizard after all.
Great start to the season. One game at a time. Can only beat what’s put before you.
Will the Mookie deal affect other deals going forward?
Read this the other day.
https://dodgersway.com/2020/07/22/dodgers-mookie-betts-extension-cody-bellinger-walker-buehler/
A couple of things:
1. If the Dodgers keep averaging 8 runs a game and only allow 1, they will finish 60-0. Well, duuhhhh!
2. Was Betts an overpay? Probably, but that is what it took to keep him from seeking free agency, where anything can happen. Boston and San Francisco both will have money to burn. So AF did what was needed.
3. The narrative never was “The Dodgers won’t spend big on free agents.” It was simply that no free agent was worth what Betts is. They will give Bellinger, Seager, Buehler and others fair market value.
4. I have predicted big things for Kike the past couple of years and it hasn’t happened. Progression is not linear and sometimes players never fulfill their potential, but Kike looks more disciplined this year. It’s early, but maybe this is the year he becomes JD Martinez. He will be 29 next month and maybe he is acquiring maturity and wisdom with that. I am watching him closely.
My $.02. The Giants are so awful that Faidi’s strategy is to tank the 2020 season, and there is no better manager to achieve that goal than Kapler. The Dodgers priority for contract extensions should be: (1) Bellinger; (2) Seager; (3) Buehler; (4) Urias; yes, Seager is that good. Betts trade was terrific at the time, and an AAV of ~$30M is a good deal for the team. Pass on Fulmer, especially if it takes putting him on 40-man roster. 16 teams in post season? Continuing to water-down the World Series in return for $$$$$$$$.
Wow. Are the Giants bad or what? I’m guessing most Giants fans are probably calling it a day and just checking out. So glad the Dodgers chose Dave Roberts and not Gabe Kapler.
Good column, Jeff. The most interesting question is how the Dodgers keep their team together moving forward. That, of course, may depend on the new contract between the union and owners. If I’m looking at it from a player perspective, I want the spending limit penalties gone so the big market and some of the mid-level teams can fuel the market.
Depending on how that goes, the Dodgers are obviously going to re-sign Cody Bellinger, even Scott Boras has admitted that. But, I’m definitely keeping Cory Seager. Hey, now that he’s healthy, Seager looks great. We shouldn’t forget just how good he is and what a clutch player he was in the first three years. Plus he plays a premium position and came up in the system.
Walker Buehler will no doubt be one of the best pitchers in baseball moving forward and I’m guessing the Dodgers will ink long term. Urias will probably be a wait and see approach.
The Dodgers can certainly afford to sign any and all. This has a chance to be a special era for the Dodgers, who are loaded with good young players. None of these players falls into the older Albert Pujols type signings, the best years in front and not behind.
Thought the game was far more enjoyable last night, thanks to the local broadcast team of Joe and Orel, not the dreaded ESPN types from a studio far, far away.
I concur 100% that the elephant in the room is the upcoming CBA. What will the luxury tax look like? Will the have nots have enough votes to push for a salary cap and create a strike/lockout situation in 2022? I think it is time for the majority of the owners to force the have nots to either pay the going rate or sell the team. If that means contraction, oh well.
In Northern California, we did not get to enjoy the SNLA broadcast. My MLB.tv was blacked out. If we wanted to watch the game, we had to endure the Krukow and Kuiper show. They try to put a positive spin on this Giants team, but they know it is just a bad team. How much better can they be with an aging Evan Longoria and seemingly always injured Brandon Belt? At least when Belt gets back, Pablo Sandoval will not be at 1B.
Dodgers are blacked out here when they play the Rockies. And I am over 100 miles away! So when that happens I have to go to Root Sports and listen to the Rocks announcers, which is terrible. As much of a homer as Brenley was in Az, Drew Goodman is worse. His broadcasting buddies are Jeff Huson, and Ryan Spillbourghs. It cannot get much worse. Listening to Goodman is like listening to a teacher scraping thier fingernails on a black board. Excruciating. Game is on Fox today,, and ESPN tomorrow. So no Joe and Orel until Tuesday in Houston. That will be this teams first test. Houston, even with the loss of Cole, is a very good team. They need to at least win 1 of those 2 games. Good news, Kersh’s MRI was clean and he actually did some throwing yesterday. It was as he reported, just some stiffness in his back.
Brenly is the worst in baseball. Colorado’s announcers do a lot of crying
In NorCal also and blacked out. Listened to Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiger do the game last night. I will say they tried to be positive about the Dodger players. They used to be worse. They were ok but much prefer a Joe and Orel.
I still have a hard time understanding why MLB-tv would black out a game for me in Northern California when it is being played more than 800 miles to the south. It is not that I am going to drive down and go to the game.
Loved Chicken Strips performance. Good hitting, defense and base running. Joc another hit off a left hander eh? My heart almost stopped at the collision at first base between Taylor and Sandoval. Hope both of them are ok today.
I get the idea that CT3 is not going to hurt Panda. I think Pablo is actually larger than an actual Panda right now.
Depends how close you are to SF. I get blacked out from games in Denver and I am 123 miles away. Bad baserunning today…Wood, not so good.
It’s pretty pitiful blacking out MLB games this season anywhere! But the fans ain’t represented by anyone. Especially then cardboard fans, Poor bastards.
AF operates with two different budgets.
The question “Can the Dodgers afford to keep ‘Seager, Bellinger, Buehler, Urías etc’?” The answer to that is an easy “Yes”. They have plenty of money and deal with figures of a magnitude. Most of us can’t imagine.
The real question is “Can the Dodgers keep all their young stars while remaining within the confines of the artificial budget created by the CBT?”
In the CBT, AAV is king. I’ve seen predictions that with the deferred money in Mookie’s contract the AAV from a CBT perspective is in the mid $20M’s. This is an area AF excels in. I would not be surprised to see all of the ‘S,B,B,U’ signed if they are willing to sign at fair value.
Two other points. What the CBT looks like in 2 years is unknown. It will likely be a effectively a larger number than it is now. Secondly, AF can sell the intangible ‘team chemistry’ that has been created in LA. I think that is one of the reasons Mookie signed here.
Sorry of any misspelling etc as proofreading is essentially impossible on my phone
Last night’s Angels-A’s game was the first to go into extra innings, so I got to see the let’s start the inning with a man on second rule up close. Angel’s runner was Ohtani. First hitter up hit a bullet to first, he did not even show bunt on any of the pitches, Chapman fired the ball to third, they got Ohtani is a rundown and boom 1 out, runner on 1st. Angels managed to load the bases with 2 out, ( Trout was walked intentionally), and the A’s got the final hitter. A’s half of the inning, runner on 2nd. Then a walk, K wild pitch runners to second and third. Maddon brings in an outfielder so there are 5 infielders, int walk, pitching change, Chapman hits a grand salami, game over. This rule definitely favors the home team. As for the Dodger game, it was 9-1. Not many negatives, BUT, It should have been a lot worse. They hit in some bad luck A lot of at em balls. Scary moment was Taylor’s close encounter with the humongous derriere of Sandoval. Thing must be hard as a rock, it flattened poor Chris. It was noted today that the Dodgers will be paying Mookie until he is 52 years olld.
I lived in Northern California for 30 years. I thought Kruk and Kuip are an excellent team. We should be so lucky to have people that entertaining. Yeah, listening to them when the giants played the Dodgers was sometimes difficult. Everybody in the division hates the Dodgers. But Bob Brenly in Arizona was worse. Much worse. He didn’t even try to hide it.
The giants are currently awful. We will know more about our team after the road trip. We are good, but are not 7.5 runs better good.
You guys are right about the AAV trick. To make that work it’s important to have team controlled stars and bench players that contribute. AF appears to have a talent for doing just that. And it’s not only him. The organization has depth in scouting, coaching, and analytics. We are lucky to have this wealth of talent. Now finish the job dammit.
Couldn’t agree more about disliking the 16 team playoffs. Why bother to have a regular season if the best teams in the leagues can lose two games and be done.
I also agree with that. Throwing the accomplishments of the regular season out the window for a 3 game crapshoot is just wrong. The winners need some sort of plus out of winning. Getting all 3 games at home is ok. But like many have said, anything can happen in a 3 game set. The thing is, baseball is changing. And it is more about money than who wins. Those extra games mean extra income. The players are getting 50 million from it this year. So we either roll with it, or quit watching. I have many friends who dislike the new rules, and this format in particular.
The Dodgers will be facing 23 year old RHP, Logan Webb today. Webb is from Dodgerrick’s backyard of Rocklin (Rocklin, HS). I do not follow HS baseball in Northern Cal nearly like I did when I was in Southern Cal, so I do not remember Webb at all. Webb was a hot and cold pitcher for SFG in his 8 starts in 2019. He did pitch against the Dodgers in SF on Game 161. He was beat 2-0 in a shutout tossed by Ryu/Maeda/KJ. He allowed 6 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, and 5 Ks in his 6.0 IP. He did allow a Max Muncy HR.
Rocklin was the long time Summer home of the 49ers. I don’t know if it still is.
Yeah, I really like Kruk and Kuip (however their names are spelled). I’ve also always liked Jon Morgan.
Looking forward to see what Wood and Urias have in these final 2 exhibition games (that count) until the real test begins Tuesday.
I think you mean Jon Miller there Bobby. Longtime TV and radio voice of the Gnats. I agree the real test is the 9 game road trip. Padres got an excellent outing from Paddack yesterday, so they will not be pushovers, especially on their home turf. Ryu off to a good start. Will be interesting to see the Jay’s play in a minor league park. Not the first time it will happen in the majors. Dodgers played in Jersey a few games at the end of 1957. Angels played at Wrigley Field when they first got to LA, and the Giants as Seals Stadium while they were waiting for Candlestick. Arizona lost their first game. Mad Bum got beat. Works for me, not too fond of that big donkey. At least if Max takes him deep he can yell ” Go get it out of the pool! ” and we have a whole new T shirt campaign.
Hi Bear. I believe the Dodgers played 6 games in Jersey in ’56 and 6 in ’57. All those games were played at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City.
yes, sorry, Jon Miller
I could not remember the name of the park. But you are right. I remember the ones in 57 because they were the most talked about in the history of the team.
I was kind of hesitant about the Dodgers giving Mookie the 12 year contract that he received. I was mainly concerned about how it would affect re-signing players in the future (some who will demand big and maybe long term contracts). After reading most of your comments it seems like the feeling is that the Dodgers will definitely spend what is necessary to keep the players that they want. I hope this is true. I just can’t relate to the amount of money they will be spending . I feel that Corey Seager is going to have a great year and I hope he remains a Dodger for a long time. Go Dodgers.
The contract is spread out until Mookie reach’s 52 years old. Not sure how that affects the AAV, but they will not be putting out as much in one season as someone might think. About 115 Million of that deal is either in deferred money or the form of a bonus.
Further to Bear’s comment, is someone here knowledgeable about how deferred payments and signing bonuses affect the AAV of a contract. Is everything just lumped together and then divided over the length of the contract (in Mookie’s case 12 or 13 years, depending on how you figure it)?
Or is just the amount of money actually paid in the 12 years counted and the deferred payments counted in the year they are paid? And what about signing bonus money?
AAV works by dividing the entire contract amount, including signing bonuses and deferred payments, by the number of years of the contract. For Mookie $365MM divided by 12 years or $30.41667 AAV for those 12 years.
Thanks Jeff. That’s what I figured.
Is there any provision given for the net present value of the deferred payments?
I thought I read somewhere that by using the NPV of the deferred payments the “real” contract value was much less than if all the payments were made during the 12 year term. And that the “real” contract value was used to determine the AAV so it would then be comparable to other contracts without deferred payments. If so, that would put Mookie’s AAV somewhere in the $25MM range which would be great for the cap. I could be totally wrong about that whole concept but to me at least it makes sense from a time/money standpoint.
Some thoughts on last night. Ross Chicken Strips intrigues me with the new way to pitch popular these days. Maybe Mark Prior has something to do with this approach. I coached forever and never once did I teach throwing breaking balls high in the zone. Hangers were supposed to be meat and avoided at all cost. At first last night I though Strips hangers were mistakes but eventually if became apparent that he was living there and it was working. He also showed a high change up which I’m still not convinced works against better hitters but he threw some. Maybe mistakes? I love the swings and misses he got on high fastballs which I have always loved. Back in the day, scouts looked for hitters who could hit a letter high fastball. That separated the prospects in those days. Than the strike zone moved down so a belt high fastball was considered the top of the zone and hitters like Big Mac and Sosa, who were low ball hitters, feasted. Now, which I love, the zone has moved up again by rule and more umpires have decided to call the high strike. Last nights rookie ump was inconstant on the corners but mostly gave the high strike even a whole ball up in the zone. And that’s where Strip was effective. I’m telling ya, getting on top of a firm fastball with nice spin rate, is difficult. (The rookie ump, Edwin Moscoso, was an advertisement for pitch trax. Maybe he’ll get better)
Our 6-8 hitters went 6 for 11 and I was chuckling as it seemed like every time Will Smith came to the plate, the bases were chucked. It was rush hour traffic for every at bat.
Somebody mentioned Gabe Kapler as a potential Dodger Skipper once upon a time. He would have long since been fired. I’m glad he is reinventing baseball in SF. It also looks like he and Brandon Crawford won’t be exchanging Christmas cards. I hope he doesn’t break out against us but Crawford is a shell of his former self. Kinda hard to watch.
Crawford looks like he’s mailing it in.
I have a different take on Kepler and Zaidi together. I think it spells future success The giants have money. Zaidi knows exactly how we did it (as does Kapler) and will convince the organization to invest in development upstream. They’ll get some high picks for a few years and eventually contend. Of course I hope I’m wrong about that.
STB, I have the same question and am having trouble getting a straight answer. A google search tells me “signing bonuses count against the cap but teams can spread the bonuses over several years to reduce the effect on their payroll”. This must be why we are hearing Betts gets paid until he’s bouncing grandkids on his knee. Creative financing like this will allow the Dodgers to keep the stars they want to keep. Those contracts might be easier to trade down the road too, but I’m not certain of that. This stuff is above my pay grade but I know there are people here who can explain it.
And after I posted this I see AC has already done so.
Think of Scott Kazmir (as much as it pains most of you). He signed a three year $48MM contract with $24MM being deferred in equal $8MM increments for 2018/2019/2020. Even though Kazmir was being paid $8MM annually for those 6 years, the AAV was $16MM ($48MM / 3 years).
And yes, the Dodgers are still paying Kazmir $8MM this year (final year), Hector Olivera $4.67MM (final year), and Yaisel Sierra $6.5MM this year and $8.5MM in 2021. Yaisel Sierra has to be considered by far the worst deal AF ever negotiated. None of those amounts are calculated in AAV.
IIRC, Friedman 86’d that entire International Scouting department soon after that Sierra (et al.) binge.
IIRC, the deferred money helps lower the AAV calculation in the CBT in that the money is not counted $1 for $1 because of the lower present value of the deferred money. I’m sure there is an accounting term for this ( ( ? present value ? ) as well as an agreed upon formula for its calculation.
Good stuff Phil. Thank you.
Today’s lineup vs. whoever:
Muncy
Betts
Belly
JT
Seager
CT3 (DH)
Joc
Kike
Barnes
Pitcher: Wood
Random thoughts today.
Looking forward to seeing the new and improved Wood.
Happy to have Betts sighing for 12 years. He does all the little things great.
I’d like to see Betts lead off every game. No sense having him think about that.
Looked like Dead Wood to me. Did not last past the 3rd.
Even though those last two days were obviously good wins, the lack of the big hits early in the games were concerning. They left a lot of guys on base until there were able to get deeper into that terrible bullpen.
Obviously, most teams are not going to be as terrible as the Giants are and will be for the foreseeable future.
Only two games in, but still, the lack of the “foot on the throat” hit to take a team out of the game has been a concern in the past, especially the playoffs, and the last couple of nights has given me horrifying flashbacks.
The real question is, will the Dodgers admin have the guts to pipe in the boooos when the Astros come to town.?
Call me petty, childish, immature or whatever, but if I am AF, I am doing that with the volume to 11 and gladly paying the fine.
I am also curious to see the body language of the LA guys against Houston when La travels there soon. Giggles and chatting at 1b, etc.
Nice start so far but like others have mentioned, this is really like playing a AAA team so you can’t really judge too much. Cant argue that the pitching has been amazing though.
On the blackout front, I use a $25 Firestick with the MLB app and I have an ExpressVPN account anyways for my computers for $12 per month. Install the ExpressVPN app on the Firestick, set it to Seattle and I have games that are not blacked out. There are other cities to set it to but that is the one that works best for me.
Good for getting local team NFL games as well.
Just Fyi. Hope that can help someone.
Betts is a bust! AF is an idiot! Can we get our money back? Just wanted to be the first with this idiot post
Same ole Wood
This is no where near the Alex Wood of 17 when his fastball was in the 92-94 range. He is not long for the starting rotation. Not gonna keep May out for very long
Obviously early, but it looks like the Dodgers found their second lefty to go with Ferguson. I know who I WOOD replace in the rotation when Kershaw returns.
Alex Wood lools awful so far. 2nd inning 2 walks and a wild pitch. Gave up a homer in the 3rd. Can’t establish with his fastball. 60 pitches after 3 innings. When are they going to take him out?
..and I don’t think his fastball topped 90 MH
Wow that was some horrible baserunning in that inning.
Well this is how you lose to a minor league team. Walk crappy hitters and run the bases like 8 year olds.
Gonna miss David Price.
Wood did not have a fast ball today. Not long for the starting rotation unless he finds his 92-94 MPH fastball. Terrible base running in the 4th.
we look like the overpaid minor league team today (so far )
K K Kelly. Get ready for a MONSTER comeback.
Several observations after 2 1/2 games:
1 – May has the stuff but not the refinement – 7 H in 4 innings shouldn’t happen with his stuff. Maybe not ready for prime time. Stripling looked great – Wood did not. Wood has no fast ball and his slider/change up combo didn’t fool the Giants’ AAAA hitters. When Kershaw comes back I’m not sure that Wood belongs in the rotation.
2 – Santana doesn’t have a clue where it’s going. Treinen – holy smokes! Great sinker. Kelly – nothing but curve balls? Baez, Kolaraek looked good.
3 – Why play Matt Barnes?
4 – The Dodgers’ strategy in game 3 – nothing but change ups and breaking balls – why?
5 – Turner, Seaager, Kike, Joc, Muncy putting good wood on the ball Some of the Dodgers’ hitters are just a little behind – but they’re almost there. It should be awesome.
6 – Remember – they’re playing the Giants – the OKC Dodgers might be better. I’m a bit nervous about the pitching but the offense should be there.
7 – Poor hitting RISP again. They left 24 on base in the first 2 games and would have left a lot of runners on base if they hadn’t been thrown out on the basepaths 4 times today.
I’d give Austin Barnes a couple of games and if he doesn’t get something going that would be it.
Matt Barnes is a pitcher with the Red Sox, and also the name of a former basketball player. Barnes is a part of the team, and a good defensive catcher. He has one hit more than Smith has so far this year.
Agree w/ most especially #1. Wood looked absolutely horrible. Never topped 90 MPH on a fastball and had little to no control. Won’t be long for the rotation once CK is back.
Mookie has had a rough start to his Dodger career, but he will come around. I think this team will also need Lux at some point this season. Base running was terrible today.
Give Barnes a couple games, too early to give up on him this season.
May gave up one of those hits because a double play ball hit the runner, for a hit/out. Another hit was a squib ground ball that Seager got to but couldn’t throw a guy out. To me May looked great.
What I have noticed about him is he can get 2 strikes quickly, but needs that out pitch with 2 strikes, whether by strikeout or not. His future is quite high.
Wood will likely bounce back next start in AZ. He had a pretty nice spring/summer training against our own hitters.
There was a bunt beating the shift too.
No it isn’t.
He had no business on that team coming in. Last year was plenty of time to give up on him.
I would rather see Martin back there.
After 3 games? Ridiculous. He is not even the primary catcher. Way too early to give up on the guy. Big guns not even doing anything yet. Mookie and Belli off to bad starts. You can see the frustration on Mookie’s face. Belli is hitting a lot of lazy fly balls. Too little too late today. But they showed some moxie trying to come back. McGee and Floro looked pretty good again. Santana had no idea where his stuff was going. Kelly looked good, and he only threw a couple of fastballs. If you get rid of Barnes, who are you replacing him with? Gale? He is a worse hitter than Barnes ever was, and Ruiz is not ready yet. They would have to search free agents or the waiver wire. Roberts plans on playing Barnes like 2 of 5 games. Giants just signed one of the available catchers in Edward Herrmann. Martin has not even seen a bit of action since last year although he is still out there. Most of the catchers with any experience are already on rosters. Seager, Turner and Kike have looked good. Muncy did not follow up yesterday’s performance, but he will be a big factor. They probably get the Shark tomorrow, so they had better have their hitting shoes on. Tuesday starts the real test.
“ If you get rid of Barnes, who are you replacing him with?“
Ruiz
That sucked.
After 3 games:
1. Can’t win them all
2. We are 2-1 with Betts and Bellinger pretty much absent.
3. Barnes and Wood……. give it your own punchline…….
I love that at least they gave us a show at the end. Needed Kike to come thru in the bottom of the 8th. With the way he’s been swinging, I thought that he just might. Now, must win game tomorrow. I’m not sure how Bellinger is missing on some of these whiffs, but he looks close to me and swing looks good.
Didn’t show up ready to play today. I gave up on Barnes last year. Smith should play as much as possible. Bring Barnes in if we get a big lead.
Barnes and Wood wish they could but they just no good!
Somehow until the end of the game, the Dodgers just did not look energetic. Poor baserunning did not help and lack of hitting except for a few was not there either. And, what is it with so many players getting hit by pitchers? I, the optimist, say tomorrow is another day and Wood will do better next game. I hope so.
For all of you guys bitching about Barnes. He and Smith are both hitting .333. Bellinger and Betts are both under the Mendoza line. And between the 2 of them they have more RBI’s than those 2 combined, and only one less hit. And also the only HR. So cool your jets. Rios got his first AB today, and Beaty has not played yet. Wood took total responsibility for his bad outing.
I’m OK with Barnes getting about 40% of the playing time for the first 20 games or so. At that point, if one of the two is obviously outplaying the other, you have the guy who is producing do 80% of the catching for the rest of the year.
The guys just didn’t show up ready to play today. They got too impressed with themselves in the first two games and figured they just needed to be at the ballpark in order to win the game. Now they know that ain’t so and I would guess they will be more focused tomorrow.
Austin Barnes can’t hit MLB pitching:
2015:. 207/.361/.276/.637
2016: .156/.270/.188/.458
2017: .289/.408/.486/.895
2018: .205/.329/.290/.619
2019: .203/.293/.340/.633
Barnes is a guy who will hit .205 but catch a good game. He’s a plus framer but not a good thrower – he has a career caught stealing of 27%.
I gave up on him after last season. He’s fine as a backup but shouldn’t be starting 40% of the time – he’s started 2 of the 1st 3 games.
Not fair to count 2015/2016 – those were about 30 at bats each. So that leaves us with 3 seasons, 1 of which was very nice and 2 of which were very poor. Unfortunately the trajectory is moving downward, not upward.
Would you settle for 33% of the time Rick? I’m trying to broker a deal between you and Bear here. Surely we can compromise.
His projected composite slash is .227/.316/.360. .227 might be ok if he was a slugger. He is not. I believe Ruiz could slash that, and even if he couldn’t this year he would be better served playing. That said, I do not expect to see Barnes going anywhere. I think he must be well liked by the staff.
The most surprising thing about the Dodgers is the weakness, primarily offensive, of the catchers. After all the hoopla about the strength of the farm in this position, on one has come out to claim the starting job. Ruiz doesn’t seem to be that guy. Barnes? Doesn’t seem likely. Smith? Just a big ? Defensively, we are good there. Maybe that’s the most important thing they want from them. After all, we have a monster lineup.
I wasn’t able to see the game. 3 am start, my time. No way do I stay up except for a WS. Wood is my least favorite starter. I was not happy about him returning to the team, but it seems like every year, we have injuries and slow starts from the rotation. CK always reboots himself, but with Price gone, we’ve got another convoluted rotation going. Buehler certainly hasn’t helped the team with his unpreparedness. This is where the decisions of Doc might take its toll, but so far, the bull pen has looked good. McGee looks like he is certainly coming around.
Tomorrow, Urias! Let’s make it 3 out of 4!
I’d like to ask a question of the group here.
This is from MLB Pipeline in early February of of this year. It’s a ranking of the Top 100 prospects by team:
Dodgers (5)
2. Gavin Lux, SS/2B (ETA: 2020)
23. Dustin May, RHP (2020)
44. Jeter Downs, SS (2021)
67. Josiah Gray, RHP (2020)
73. Keibert Ruiz, C (2021)
No team combines winning in the Majors and developing impact talent in the Minors better than the Dodgers. Lux and May are their latest National League Rookie of the Year candidates and cracked last October’s playoff roster just three years after being drafted out of high school. Downs, Gray and Ruiz should contribute in Los Angeles in the near future as well.
What has happened to change Ruiz’ status as a Top Prospect? No games have been played so why is it he wouldn’t be considered to move in behind Smith? We’ve been developing him for 5 years. He’s moved up mid year a few times always playing younger than the league average. His numbers show he did fine last year.
Something has gone wrong as he has dropped from #36 in the Top 100 to #73. Can someone tell me what that something is?
Alex Wood will rebound and be ok. But why settle for that. Everyone can see how electric May’s stuff is. The Giants got 7 hits but they were flares, squibs and a bunt primarily.
~
There’s only 60 games and damn near the entire league gets into the playoffs. Let the kid pitch and develop. I feel that way about Gonsolin too. He’s better than Floro, Santana, Alexander, and McGee.
Yes, this is the season to get those kids prepared. They should be pitching all out with a 60 game season. No reason to baby any of the young guns.
Hawkeye, give McGee a chance. The guy has got some good stuff.
Well, so much for winning all 60! When Mookie and Belli get going, it will be a different story. I hope this was a wake up call for the team. It’s not going to be an easy ride, even against teams like the Giants. You need to show up.
1. Put mookie at leadoff and leave him there. That is where he is most comfortable. We are wasting muncy at leadoff.
2. Put may in the rotation and leave him there. He will struggle at times but no more than the rest.
3. Start will smith . He supposedly is your primary catcher then catch him!
4. Roberts the great motivator did not motivate Saturday. Did not come to play this was a mental breakdown as well as a fundamental breakdown.
5. In a 60 game season you don’t have the luxury of throwaway games
6. When Gonsolin is ready he has to pitch.
I agree with everything there, but cept maybe 4. Those base running gaffs are on the players. Those were mistakes you shouldn’t make in junior high ball.
Therealten, I agree with all six statements.
Let’s not lose our minds after one loss. Seager and Muncy both have their timing and confidence. JT is close. Cody and Mookie are struggling. However, after 3 games the Dodgers are hitting .318 as a team and OPS’ing .991. They lead the majors with 21 Runs and yet we want to switch up everything? Bench players? It’s 1 loss and there will be more. Alex Wood was clearly out of sync. Early this spring, he was hitting 93 or 94 with his fastball. He never hit 91 yesterday. His control was way off too, so he is either just out of sync (his delivery is prone to that) or he is canceling an injury (he is prone to that too). He needs a couple more starts to determine what is up. By then, Clayton will be back and maybe Dustin May takes Wood’s spot, but not yet!
Will Smith and Austin Barnes are both hitting .333. What’s the problem with playing either one? If the Dodgers win today, they will be on track to win 45 games. You are going to lose a third of your games. You just are! You can say the Giants are a minor league team but they would annihilate any AAA team. This is MLB and there is a big jump to this level. Yes, they are a bad MLB team and sometimes teams tend to play down to their competition. The Dodgers killed them the first two games. I hear that they missed some opportunities – YOU ALWAYS MISS OPPORTUNITIES! That’s why players can hit .300, but not .600.
Perspective! No matter how you slice it, this item is damn good! Patience Grasshoppers! Julio needs to show out tonight!
McGee’s 4-seamer was 94-96 consistently. He could end up being a big piece of the pen.
Treinen was also 94-96 with great movement.
Joe Kelly was throwing a lot of off-speed stuff, and only busted one fastball at 98 MPH. If he can pitch “backwards” like that he’s unhittable.
Arenado can also opt out after the 2021 season, at age 30. Would he walk away from $164M at that age to try to win, and would he interest LA?
Voldomer – that would be perfect, and he is a local lad – great player.
What a lineup that would be.
Still good to have Baseball back.
Badger,
Ruiz struggled most of last year at Tulsa as they re-tooled his swing. Since he has such elite bat-to-ball control and quick heads, I am not sure that re-tooling will work. He looked better at OKC at the end of the year, but it was a small sampling.
I am still high on him and what little I have seen of him this year, shows he has a very quick bat. I think he will get a shot this season if Barnes or Smith gets nicked up or falters.
I agree that 3 games is not a measuring stick. We know will smith is better at catcher so play him. It may be important for his confidence to know he is number 1. You cannot play a 60 game season the way you do a 162 season you need to get it right now. Mookie has said he wants to leadoff. We just signed him to an exorbitant contract only to say you are not good enough to leadoff. Wake up Roberts lead him off. Muncy is a great player hit him where he has runners on base. He is not a base stealer. Cmon this should not be this hard. I just think May should start. He has dominant stuff and I would start him over stripling or wood. Put your best team out there daily. As for the giants we gave them the game. If we are going to be a great team you don’t giveaway games. I agree our bullpen used correctly could be a strength.