Bad Night in SF

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1. I would not worry about SF or SD, this was just a bad game and nothing more, there will be more games that will be lost like tonight or worse, the bullpen had to fail sometime, and I can bet it will fail again like tonight or worse, it is very annoying to lose, and more when there have been games that could or should have been won, but we must see the positive side, that until last night there has not been a single team or a single game in which they have been humiliated when they lose a game (at least I can’t remember) and that there is no pitcher or team that can be trusted against Dodgers, this team never gives up, and I believe that this game (which is something like the second part of the season) will serve to to make some changes and adjustments to the roster, I think it will serve to adjust and define the rotation of openers once and for all, I think that was enough with Urias, Santana & Kike…

2. Missed some RISP opportunities, but we scored enough runs to win. I’m just going off memory, but I believe the Giants got a man on base in every inning. Normally, we can count on the defense and pitching, but rough night there. Kenley’s been better this year, but been apprehending that 9th inning home run for awhile. Maybe it’s out of this system now. Lot of balls got out for both sides. Good to know Seager still has 435ft pop in his bat. Turner was incredible and player of the game had we won. You’d have thought it was game 7 the way he was throwing his body around.

   I suspect the team looks at May as their 3rd starter and he’d get the call in the playoffs, unless they go Stripling for experience. Of the three young arms, he’s the only one that’s had an important/higher pressure start – San Diego game when they held first place and had just beaten Buehler the night before. May excelled and looked up to the part.

   I’m not sure what to make of Urias, other than his pitches seem and are very hittable right now. The FS1 announcers were flaying him practically from the start, and while painful to listen to, they weren’t wrong and brought up several issues written repeatedly on this blog. I guess we should be fortunate that we can be patient with him, but it seems we’ve been patient for 4 years now. Not all his fault, of course, but there’s always something holding him back – injuries, pitch count, suspensions, getting in shape, bullpen work. It’d be nice to have one dominating performance from him to restore some optimism.

3. We didn’t deserve that one, but still had opportunity to win it. That was some butt ugly baseball all night.

   We were 3 for 17 WRISP but the Giants were 3 for 22. We gave up 2 more unearned runs, should have won it by 1 in the 9th even with Belt’s home run.

   Bad game all around. Put it in the rear view and move on.

4. Urias has earned himself a spot in the bullpen, and perhaps a trade chip for the right return.

   1. Totally agree

5. Read that JT said Seager couldn’t make the throw to third due to the route The runner took. Didn’t see the game so I can’t say whether JT was right or covering for Seager.

   1. Sounds like an excuse. Turner needs to present a target. That’s a gift out of a runner in scoring position and you just must take advantage.

      I know much was made early of our team’s defensive runs saved, but I watch this team play defense and I’m not that impressed.

6. Why no Gtraderol last night? Urias is not a great SP as has been touted by some….at least not yet. Control is spotty, throws way too many pitches and can’t put away hitters when he gets two strikes. Completely unreliable as a SP and his short stints creates too much stress on the BP.

   AF needs to get Hader, Bauer or Clevinger. Probably won’t happen, but we also have to be concerned about KJ. Never got above 91 MPH last night and only hit that speed once. Best team in baseball……….absolutely, but we still have some warts and we all know who and where they are.

   1. Hader is not a starter. I don’t think we need more relievers.
      Kenley cut his dreads.

7. Bad game all around and those games happen, but Urias so far is blowing his chance to be a starter and his chances are starting to run out.

8. Another disappointing outing for Urias. I know MT and a few others believe he can be a future ace for the Dodgers, but I just don’t see it. He has a very good fastball, but his secondary pitches don’t scream out “ace” to me. At best I feel he’s a #3, but right now no better than a 4 or 5. He proved two starts ago that he can be very effective when he attacks the hitter. I don’t know if he is trying to be too fine with his pitches or just can’t control them. He needs to get that first pitch for a strike and get ahead of the hitter. Orel, nicely, came down on him for the same reason. Either challenge the hitters early or expect the same results. Too much wasted effort trying to come back from falling behind in the count. These short outings by the starters are going eventually catch up with the bullpen. If it was a normal season with a regular roster the Dodgers might be in a rough spot.

   Right now I feel more confident in Gonsolin and May in the rotation. Why? They throw strikes and get ahead of the hitters with outstanding stuff. Some have mentioned they might not be experienced enough to pitch in the playoffs. That may be true, but how do we know? Some thrive on pressure and I feel both May and Gonsolin are more than capable of starting in the playoffs for the Dodgers. Right now there is no way Urias, Stripling, or Wood see the mound starting a playoff game. Maybe, a trade is in the works.

   Naturally, I hope Urias can get his pitching together to help the Dodgers. He has the talent. It would be helpful if he would be more aggressive with his initial pitches.

   1. I don’t think they are going to give up on Urias. That would be foolish. He’s got talent and he was very good in the BP. He doesn’t seem fit to be a starter on a team like the Dodgers but I still like him. That’s what a weird season like this should be for, to test out potential starters and stretch them out. AF usually has problems with bringing in new pitchers. Look at all the pitchers that didn’t make it in the last few years. Only the farm boys make it in this rotation, so far. Why he gave Wood a 2nd go round is beyond me. He knew we needed another starter. Even Price has bailed and he hasn’t thrown a pitch yet. AF has little luck with outside help in pitching. Yu is doing great this year but he couldn’t find himself with LA. Hill was a part timer due to injuries. There’s always something to his pitching acquisitions in the rotation. Obviously, May & Gonsolin are the future but we need help right now.

9. I do not like losing. Especially to the dreaded Giants. I could almost hear the chant
   “Beat LA” coming from the paper dolls in the stands. It was a tough, and somewhat frustrating game.

   A couple of times I felt confident we would win in the extra innings when we got the lead, only to lose it. A couple of times I felt we would lose only to hang in there until we finally did lose. It went back and forth for a while.

   However, I would like to comment on Justin Turner’s performance. Along with his 3 hits, he made a fantastic stop of a ball drilled down the third base side of the infield that he, unfortunately and understandingly, could not get a throw off. And then there was a hurdle-like leap over the Giant player’s arm. Good on you JT.

   Also, Caleb, you were awesome.

   1. Turner had 4 hits last night DBM. His only out was a long fly to left field.

      1. Oh ok thank you Bear. My bad. Even better.

      2. I think JT is under appreciated by some Dodger faithful. They keep exploring his replacement and move him to DH. In the meantime he’ll continue to hit .295 year in and year out. He has had a couple throwing errors but he’s made some outstanding defensive stops saving hits. He needs to be given a couple more years and retire a Dodger. He’s a big part of the heart of this team.

         1. I think that is exactly what AF will do this winter. Give JT a contract for 2 years. I do believe he will not be at third all of the time. I have seen no slowdown in his bat speed. I do think that he will not play more than say 125 games at third. If the DH is adopted, and I think that is more certain than ever, he will get some time there too. I also think that after his playing days are over, the Dodgers will find a job for him somewhere in the organization if he wants it. That is one reason I was really disappointed they did not offer AJ Ellis a position in the organization. I think he would be an excellent manager or coach. He works for the Padres now as a special assistant to the general manager.

            1. I felt the same way about Andre Ethier, one of my favorite Dodgers.

10. As usual, it seems, I agree with Badger. Ugly game, but we all know that will happen at times. Whatever. Just don’t do like 2017 and lost 17 of 18, and we’ll be fine.

    Kersh can step up today and put things back in order. Give us 7, and save the pen again after last night. Waker Buehler tomorrow. We have our Games 1 and 2 starters going today and tomorrow. Do your job, and we take a road series.

    Agree with DBM and others. Caleb Ferguson looks so much better this year! I’m ready to give him more 7th and 8th inning chances now. He’s ready for it.

    Also, props to the Giants for piping in “Beat LA” chants. It made the game feel more normal, and gave me a laugh.

11. I mentioned before about how Urias for years was raved about by Dodgers officials. This began when he was 15. I read that he had the poise of a 30-year old pitcher. I had not seen him in the minors, but he was absolutely untouchable;; every time a potential big trade was mentioned, it was said by Dodger Talk people or journalists that “they wanted Urias, and the Dodgers were simply not going to let him go..” Now, i of course realize that he had serious arm surgery. But so did Buehler. Now it Is seven or eight years since we first learned about Urias, and what has he done to validate that “we can’t trade him at any price'” position we have had?

    Of course, he is still young, and he might become really good, but very possibly he will never be a star. Anyway, here he is now, in this season, and he has not impressed. Last night, 4+ innings four runs, six hits, and about 80 pitches. He had a three run lead, and gave that up immediately. He had another three-run lead, and gave up another run, and put a man on second with nobody out, and the reliever got out of that. I am probably being hard on him, simply because there was that time when the Dodgers would not make a big trade at the deadline or the offseason, and the major reason given was, that “they want Urias, and that’s not happening.” Why not? Gonsolin has looked better than Urias has ever looked, and no one wanted him. BTW, the other player whom the Dodgers simply would not consider trading a few years ago, was Pedersen. Most franchises and fan bases tend to overrate their young players, but the Dodgers seem to do so more than most. When your team has not won a title in 31 years, one tends to ask if they could have won a couple by being willing to give up their touted prospects for veteran pitching help down the stretch. Verlander? Lester? Lackey?

12. That was a tough loss and to the Giants no less! These type of games expose weaknesses that if addressed can be a positive. We aren’t going to win every game. Figure out how to get more innings out of starting pitchers would be a good beginning. Advancing runners is something that needs to happen to score more runs. Unfortunately we aren’t going to see teams with good records like Twins, Tampa, Cubs or Braves. So we won’t see how we stand going into the
    playoffs.

13. It would appear Urias has lost a tick on his fastball. He was above 95 last year, he’s below it now. His BABIP is up over .300. His K% is down. His barrel % is up. His hard hit % is up. Across the board his numbers are off.

    Obviously something isn’t right. What’s the difference this year?

    Last year he was a bullpen pitcher. This year as a starter his ERA in the first inning is 10.5. It’s just a guess but I wonder if he doesn’t warm up properly. Maybe he’s warming up to go 6 instead of warming up to go 2-3.

    1. I think I’ve seen him smile once. He seems to be someone that is very internal with not my joy. I don’t know anything about his history, family, but he comes from Cartel country Central. That is a place with some very scary vibes.

    2. His FB velo is down a tick, but the velo on his secondary pitches is up. I would almost guess that he just didn’t do the work in the off season and now is overthrowing to compensate for the drop in velo.

14. Until last night, Julio Urias was in the Top 15 starting pitchers in ERA. He is now up to 3.67, which is not horrid… but it is for him. Kyle Hendricks has 3.55 ERA. Patrick Corbin is at 3.99; Max Scherzer is at 4.31; Johnny Cueto is at 5.40… and so forth.

    Belts HR in the first inning and Longoria and Belt’s hits in the 5th were all hit on first pitchs. The first two were fastballs, the last was a slider. It’s not like Urias is throwing the ball over the backstop. He’s close, but he needs to get closer. Maybe try a 2-seamer rather than a 4-seamer? Maybe he needs to change hs approach and not worry about how many innings he goes – JUST FOCUS ON THIS INNING.

    His walk rate is substantially the same as in the past. His K’s are down. He’s not missing as many bats, but his stuff is filthy. I am certain it is just a few tweaks away. Now is not the time to give up on him as a starter… maybe in two weeks.

    Maybe it’s lack of focus – I am sure the Dodgers are trying to figure out what the problem is. The fact that he seems to thrive in relief tells me that it might be a mindset issue…

15. In retrospect, it is easy to sit here after it is all over and critique the game and performances. That is what we do as fans. I did something I rarely have done last night, as soon as the game was over, and I shut the TV off, I put the game in the rear view mirror and looked forward to tonight’s game. I myself would have given Belt nothing in the strike zone. He squared up everything he hit last night. Not one single cheapo in the bunch. Longoria has come to life and he was just going with the pitch, something I would love to see Dodger hitters do, and his single that tied the game in the 11th proved that. They were sloppy in the field. Even the supposedly steady Hernandez miffed an easy grounder. I do not care what was said by Seager or Turner afterwards, to the naked eye it looked like he would have been out by plenty. But that is all water under the bridge now. Urias, a very talented and young guy, has yet, this season at least, to show the kind of stuff that made him a prime prospect. His control is suspect, he gets to way too many high pitch counts. He has not shown the ability to put hitters away when he does get two strikes, or he starts to nibble and walks them. To me, and this is my personal opinion only, Joc and Kike have worn out their welcome. They are both nice young men. They are both platoon players. And neither of them are performing up to talent they have shown in the past, and both are in the walk year of their contracts. If I cannot find a trade partner for them, I for sure let both walk this winter. But at this point in time, I would prefer a full time second baseman instead of Kike one night, then Taylor, and then no, that won’t work, lets stick Muncy there. At least they have not revisited the Joc at first debacle. Santana should be sent down. He looks more like a AAAA pitcher to me than a piece of the bullpen. Poor Sborz has been here a week, and has not left the bullpen bench. I do not think I have even heard of him warming up except once on his last call up. I trust Gonsolin and May as 3-4’s. 5 is going to mean nothing come playoff time. But I still would prefer some experience at the 3 in the first playoff series at Dodger Stadium, especially if it is tied 1-1. That is why I would not start either Buehler or Kersh in game 1. Had Price not opted out, or if Urias had performed the way they thought he would, we would not be discussing the starters much. With 29 games left on the schedule, and most of them, 18 against their own division, you can bet Urias will get more starts. They have pretty much committed to getting this guy to be a starter. And playing the way they are, with no prolonged losing, they seem to have time to do so. The did blow a golden opportunity to put some more space between them and the Padres, who lost to Seattle last night. Paddack lost again and has an ERA over 5. I think Urias at this point in his career is better out of the pen. And Ross Stripling has shown he is better out there too. So trade for a veteran arm, they do not have to keep him after the season is over, or get the two kids in the rotation, May and Gonsolin, leave them there to gain experience, and use that 5th spot as Johnny Allstaff. Or let a couple of kids like White and Gray make a spot start here and there. Couldn’t hurt, and I doubt they are any worse than Urias or Strip have been lately. White did a great job against the Angels is the warm up games. Oh, and find a RH stick who can actually hit lefty’s so they quit looking so inept against them. They only play the Padres 3 more games, and are done with the Giants after this series,

16. As far as Urias is concerned, he threw nothing but high fastballs and breaking balls out of the zone last night. He got really predictable. This is a pitch-calling issue for one thing, and he has to be able to throw his breaking stuff for strikes, which he didn’t. The stuff is there but he’s pitching like he’s not ready for prime time. His WHIP is 1.41 which isn’t good. Period.

    I have the same concern about May. Look at his K rates – he’s struck out 20 in 27 innings which isn’t great for a guy who has stuff and velocity like he has. Like Urias, his pitch counts get high pretty fast. He doesn’t put people away so he throws a lot of pitches.

    May has thrown 29 innings in 6 starts, (just under 5 IP/start). Urias has 27 innings in 6 starts (about 4.5 ip/start).

    May, Urias and Gonsolin don’t have the experience that justifies confidence in the post-season. I think that they need a 3rd starter.

    The Dodgers have gotten 152 ip out of their starters and 130 out of their bullpen. This is not good. Eventually, the ‘pen will break down throwing this number of innings per game. But it’s what happens when none of your starters other than Kershaw average more than 5 ip per start.

    As far as Dennis Santana is concerned, remember that Dodger relievers have allowed 9 HR this year – Santana has 4 of them. His WHIP is high (1.50 – only Wild Man Joe Kelly’s is higher) and his ERA is 6.43. His WAR is -.4. He should be sent down and they should try someone else. By the way, his minor league ERA is 4.28 and WHIP is 1.428 so it’s not like his numbers were great in the minors anyway.

17. Santana’s fastball doesn’t play. His only out pitch is his change up. He won’t be on the playoff roster. And I’m sticking with Urias. He’s the future #2 behind Buehler. He’s got to use his change up more and throw his curveball for strikes. He just seems to lose his release point at times. When it becomes more consistent he will be dominant

18. Three starters will get us out of the first round of playoffs but if we are going to go beyond that to the next rounds we will need 4 starters . Kershaw with not enough rest between starts is not good. May and Gonsolin I hope will be starters 3 and 4. Would like to see more starts from the Cat Man.

19. It does not look like Kelly will be back anytime soon, nor Wood. So, they have some decisions to make come deadline time. Do they entertain searching for another arm for the starting rotation? I say they have to. Simply because they have no idea what to expect out of any of the starters right now. Oh, Kersh is going to be Kersh, and Buehler certainly looked like the Buehler of last year his last start. He should be scary tomorrow with a 4 PM start and all those shadows. But I am not really sure of what they can expect of May, Gonsolin, Urias and Strip. I honestly believe that Strip is one bad outing away from a demotion to the pen. As for Urias, I understand Mark liking the guy, and taking any positives he can from his numbers. But to tell the truth, those numbers, and especially the last 2 games, do not show the strain put on the pen by his inefficiency. Under 5 innings a start just is not going to help get this team to the big prize. His ERA is 3.67, but think of what it would be if he was efficient in the first inning. His first inning ERA is totally out of whack. I think they said it was close to 10. Even if it was only 7, that is abysmal. How you START a game is equally important as how you finish. As for Kenley last night, to me, the only mistake he made was throwing Belt something he could hit. I mean you sit there and watch this guy hit bullet after bullet, and you throw a cookie in the middle of the plate? Come on, that is terrible. All that aside. I think they NEED another experienced arm. If they are going to become champions, right now in the starting rotation, they are not showing that caliber of talent. They are clearly the class of the division, but the Cubs have a better rotation if Quintana comes back to form. Lester, Quintana, Darvish, and Kendricks. A playoff tested bunch. On a different subject, Vin Scully is offering his private collection of memorabilia at auction. It will be an online auction. It includes scorebooks, his golf clubs, a scrapbook his mom put together, baseball cards. And one item I thought was totally cool, a book autographed by Theodore Roosevelt. It was given to Vinny’s dad by Teddy. He once worked in Roosevelt’s law office in New York.

    1. Why is Scully doing that?

       “They” said Urias’ first inning ERA is over 10? It’s 10.5 and I just said it. In the second inning this year his ERA is 0.00. Why is that? First time through the lineup BA of .313, second time .195. I think Urias needs to get lathered up before the first inning, then he needs to attack the strike zone. I also ask – why has fastball dropped under 95? In fact, all of his velocities are down. Why? Go to fangraphs and read the advanced stats numbers and tell me what you think. I think they are trying to ease him back into 90+ pitches and 6+ innings before the playoffs. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t, but the deadline is on us. What’s the plan Andrew?

       We need a long man. It was Urias last year. Stripling? Ferguson?

       1. Urias has pitched well in relief, which leads me to believe its a “head” thing.

          1. So, opportunity for 5 more starts. Do you keep him on that schedule?

       2. Vin said he wanted to help his family. He wanted to treasure the memories. His golf clubs he knew he could no longer use since he fell and injured himself back in January. He said he holds on to his walker now. There will be bats, and balls, plaques and even his World Series rings. Another reason he is selling that stuff is he wants no infighting in the family over who gets what. A lot of the stuff is very personal, but he feels it is time to let go and let others treasure them. He told a story about George Bush Sr, since there are items related to the presidents he has met. He said you can talk about your baseball career all you want while you are in the White House, but remember, we both were 0-3. What does not go to the family will be donated to UCLA for neuromuscular research since his wife suffers from a form of ALS>

20. * Last night’s game never felt comfortable from the get-go. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was scoring 3 in the 1st and giving up 3 in the bottom.
    * Urias has been covered extensively here today and very accurately. I have little to add to what others have said especially William, who covered exactly what I was thinking. Urias is better out of the pen at this point. Damn the Dodgers got the kid 6 runs and he couldn’t get an out in the 5th. Brutal.
    * 8 pitchers and 3 blown saves by the Dodgers in one game. Pretty weird.
    * Doc’s 3rd inning dugout interview was one of his more pronounced “piss in my ear and tell me it’s raining” moments. Doc said Urias “has been good” except for his mistake to Belt. That’s not what I was seeing.
    * I think it’s time to bag the platooning in left with Pollock and Joc. Joc losses the job. The splits just aren’t there to support sharing time. Joc is hitting .191 vs righties and Pollock .246. As we know Joc hits .143 vs lefties and Pollock .300. The numbers don’t support Joc starting against right handed pitching. Joc is not an upgrade defensively either.
    * I was looking forward to seeing the Bart kid catch as he will be the new Buster Posey. Wow, he takes the “catch” out of “catcher”. He got crossed up some but he just whiffed on some pitches. He a a poor framer as well but that skill will become less important with the ABS system.
    * Alanna’s interview with Graterol between inning was great. Hat’s off to this kid for doing his best to do the interview in English. That was so cool. And Alanna’s bilingual skills, kindness and compassion put the kid at ease enough to give it his best shot. If the effort of both didn’t tug at your heart string even a little, you need to check your pulse.
    Turn the page and play better tonight.

    1. Totally agree about the Graterol interview. He seems like a fun dude and teammate. He said he prefers the nickname Bazooka, so we shall oblige and call him Bazooka!

    2. I was going to include a mention about Bart in my column, but it just got too late for me to go back and place a comment. I was tired. But you are right on. Bart cannot catch. How many pitches did he just flat out drop. Being crossed is one thing, but the ball landing in the heart of the glove and not being able to hold onto it is another. Even Krukow and Kuiper were talking about how ragged he looked.

       1. Bad footwork; bad receiving the ball. He’s big and maybe he can hit – but I think that they are committed to him being their catcher of the future so I guess they will keep working with him.

          Also couldn’t call the game. Cueto and several of his relievers shook him off over and over again. I know that the pitchers and catchers meet before the game to talk about how they are going to pitch to all of the hitters. He is supposed to know what to call. I’ve never seen a catcher get shaken off so many times in one game.

          1. It looked like he was breaking in a new glove. He might be better served with the more flixible catchers mitt. Like the ones used in fast pitch softball. They are more like first baseman gloves. Especially when he’s catching Cueto.

             Bart’s listed at 6’2” 238. He looked bigger. He’s been a Major League catcher for 5 games. I got a feeling he’s going to a problem for LA fans for a long time.

21. Well Santana shouldn’t be at MLB league yet, Let him stay at the minors for a while till he’s ready. He’s really not ready yet.

22. Vin Scully’s memorabilia to be auctioned
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/a-baseball-life-scully-auctions-items-from-67-year-career/ar-BB18owQB?ocid=spartan-dhp-feeds

    1. I posted about that on my last comment. Vinny said he wanted to cherish the memories and also help with the education of his grandkids.

23. Rosenthal reporting that playoffs may be in controlled sites, like basketball. Right now, and this is not final yet, AL would be in So Cal, and NL in Texas, with the World Series being played at Texas’ new park. All of this up to the approval of the owners, and I would think the union. If that happens, the playoffs would be even more of a crapshoot with teams who have never played much at certain venues forced to learn the way the ball park plays very fast, and no home field advantage.

    1. good point

24. There once was a young pitcher who showed a lot of promise, like Urias.

    At 21 he had his first MLB “cup of coffee” and started 2 games and had a 1.93 ERA.

    At 22, he started 18 games and had a 3.92 ERa and averaged 4.8 BB per 9 innings.

    At 23, he started 13 games and had 10.64 ERA with 5.6 BB per 9 innings.

    At 24, it started to click – he started 17 games and put up a 3.16 ERA and dropped his BB per 9 inning rate to 2.1.

    At 25 and 26, he became an All-Star, got a Cy Young and won 41 games!

    He had a 16-year big league career after and auspicious start, but he averaged 1.9 BB per 9 innings for his career.

    By any metric you use Julio Urias at 23 is head and shoulders better than Doc Halladay at the same age.

    Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater! Development is not linear, but someday, it just clicks… you can’t say it never will because he has been excellent at times.

    Some of you are just two damn old to remember what kids are like! 😉

    1. I don’t advocate for giving up on Urias. I simply question whether he is ready to be a #3 starter on a team with World Series aspirations. Big difference.

       1. I don’t think he’s our #3 starter. Depending on where you look he’s listed as low as #5. And don’t forget, the rotation this year was set up with Price and Wood in it.

          To the point of “yeah but what about the playoffs THIS YEAR” all I can say now is we will know soon if Friedman shares your fears. Personally I have no problem throwing May or Gonsolin out there. The playoffs are a different atmosphere, that’s true, but they too will be played in empty stadiums.

          Bauer or Clevinger is gonna cost. You guys ready to pay?

          1. My accountant says ‘go for it’!

25. Mark, I admire your optimism. The Dodgers seem committed to make Urias a starter but so far he has been better as a reliever. You’re right that he’s young with potential and he will likely develop into what’s expected.
    But I’m not seeing many “throwing out the baby with the bathwater”. What I’m seeing is people like me who are concerned about THIS YEAR. I care about the next 29 games and getting prepared for the post season (better than we have the last few years). My focus is not on Urias’ long term development. It’s on winning the WS this year with the players who can produce right now. I’ll worry about next year during my winter in AZ with a championship.

    1. I think you have to balance winning with long-term development. He has done it – he just has to get consistent!

       1. And therein lies the problem Mr Timmons. That is the one thing he has not conquered yet. Consistency. But I remember another pitcher, This guy was a lefty, who was wilder than a March hare. Could not find the strike zone, but when he did, he was electric. It took him about 6 years to develop into the pitcher they thought they signed. He found himself while pitching in a B game during spring training when his bullpen catcher suggested that he just throw to the mitt, and quit trying to strike every one out. After that, he had 6 years of success that are unmatched, even by Kershaw in Dodger history. Koufax. Urias is not Koufax, but you would think that with all the assets available to him, and the coaching and support he gets from the manager and his pitching coach, he would at least look like he is learning something. He does things the same way game after game, and gets the same results. In a result driven game, in his case at least, this is not a good thing. Do I think they should give up on him? No, but I also do not think he is READY to be a front line MLB starter no matter how much talent he has.

26. Urias has had most of his troubles in the first inning. Of his 3.47 ERA, the vast majority of his runs allowed come in the 1st. So why in the world do we want put that in the bullpen?? If he sucks in his first inning, he’ll only get 1 inning as a reliever! He’s better off as a starter. No matter how frustrating he is, he’s much better than Wood or Stripling.

    I would not start him in a Game3, AT THIS TIME. But let’s see 1) if we make a trade for a game 3 starter, and 2) how he does in his remaining 5-6 starts.

    1. Bobby I think it may be his approach to the assignment. As a reliever you know you only have to get between 3-6 outs, 30-40 pitches, so you warm up to be ready to lay it all out immediately. As a starter you warm up knowing you are preparing to throw at least 90 pitches. Maybe he’s not ready for the first inning.

       I don’t know that’s true, but it makes sense to me. But so does the point about maybe Urias didn’t take this year’s preparation seriously because perhaps he wasn’t expecting a season to be played.

       I read this on another site this morning – Urias and Bellinger for Trout, then make the trade for Bauer. There. Your Urias problem goes away, you’ve added RH power to destroy all the LH pitching you’re going to see the rest of the way and you’ve got your third starter.

27. Having just won the WS, if I were the Nats, I would reload and trade whoever I could, except for Robles, Turner, Soto, Kaboom, and Company. I would trade Scherzer for a few top prospects.

    1. My god, Juan Soto is even better this year! Thank god we won’t see him in Oct (hopefully)

28. The Dodgers have babied Urias so long that it’s time to let him work through this and grow. It’s not like the Dodgers aren’t going to be the #1 seed in the NL. Right now their top pitchers are Kershaw, Buehler, May, Urias, and Gonsolin. Label them 1 through 5 the way you see fit. Gonsolin should be in the rotation. Stripling in the pen and Santana in the minor league camp. There is a 28 man roster. Urias’ development isn’t going to kill this season or the bullpen. BTW, Brandon Belt is hot too.

29. Mark, I totally love and appreciate this post, once again your street smarts shine tru and tru. I too remember Hallady strugglng in the beginning . Later in his career how much I wished he was a Dodger.

30. If this was a normal schedule and the team was only 30 games into a 162 game season, there would be time to wait for Urias (or Strip) to get “right”. But there is now less than 30 games before the end of the regular season. I am far less patient than any of the Dodger field and executive management. I do not think anyone is saying (or thinking) that Urias will not be a good pitcher…but maybe not this year. It is time to see what Gonsolin can do in a regular starters role. Let him build up and go 6-7 innings. Same for May. Let them work out of trouble. There is no reason why Dodger pitchers cannot pitch 100+ pitches. Lucas Giolito can throw 102 pitches of no-hit ball.

    Dodger starters:
    Gonsolin – 14.2 IP – 3 starts – 4.7 innings per start
    Kershaw – 24.0 IP – 4 starts – 6.0 innings per start
    May – 29.0 IP – 6 starts – 4.8 innings per start
    Urias – 27.0 IP – 6 starts – 4.5 innings per start
    Buehler – 25.0 IP – 5 starts – 5.0 innings per start
    Strip – 29.2 IP – 6 starts – 4.9 innings per start
    Wood – 3.0 IP – 1 start – 3.0 innings per start

    Overall that is less than 5.0 innings per start. The bullpen has been good but becuase of the lack of any kind of length in the starters, the bullpen has been severly taxed. Maybe last night was a fluke or maybe not. The starters need to start to get deeper into the games so that the bullpen does not get worn out by the playoffs. It is time to see if May or Gonsolin can take the next step. However, what happens if only one or both prove they cannot go longer than 5.0 IP. If the team goes out and gets a pitcher capable of going deeper into games as a #3, then May and Gonsolin can compete for the #4 spot in the rotation for the playoffs, and the other can go to the bullpen making a good bullpen even better. How good can the bullpen be with the addition of Urias, Strip, and either May or Gonsolin?

    1. I agree. Doc should have Kershaw, Buehler, Gonsolin, May in the starting rotation from here on out. Give Urias the 5th spot and see what he can do. We already have tried Stripling.

       The thing with both Urias and Stripling is that they both have reverse splits and you know Doc will use them against the same side of the plate initially if they were in the bullpen. That’s why if neither becomes a bonafide starter then they become trade chips to me. Stripling is already there (a trade chip) to me.

    2. They have the pitcher he just opted out. Price should have been the guy. We been talking about length for the starters forever. The Dodgers refuse to let starters go deep. Pitchers all over the league can get the pitch count up but the Dodgers appear to have the philosophy that says no. This year I don’t know if they won’t let them go deeper or they just can’t. Urias has had one excuse after another. Youth, injury, umpires, suspensions, pitch count. Right or wrong on how he has been handled he has never had good command at the mlb . Not just in terms of walks but just command. He doesn’t seem to be able to put hitters away with 2 strikes. He is still developing but we are going to need a dependable, consistent starter come playoff time and he certainly isn’t the one now. Hopefully, he steps up this year or in the future but for me the future is now.

       Gonsolin is not as highly touted but nobody has outperformed him to this point. He seems to be ultra competitive and has an idea how to pitch. May has been solid and May be able to take the next step if no trade. I doubt AF would have let Ryu, Hill, etc to get away or would have gotten someone else if he had known price wasn’t pitching.

       Our bullpen needs Kelly and Baez back. Santana has no place and I don’t trust Alexander either. Sborz no. Santana kind of reminds me of the year we had the bust of a starting pitcher in the bullpen vs. Houston. We always ended up with him in there with the game on the line but no mistakes were made.

31. Just in case you guys haven’t read this or already know about this. Here is an article on the Dodgers bullpen guys and what they have changed to make them better.

    https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/dodgers-bullpen-impressive-start-to-2020-season

32. Merrill Kelly of the D-Backs expected to miss the rest of the year with a nerve impingement in his shoulder. Strasburg underwent Carpel Tunnel surgery. Giants traded Rob Brantly to the Yankees. Kelvin Herrera released by the Cubs, Clevinger recalled by the Indians. Reds DFA’d Strop, Phils traded Austin Davis to the Pirates. Ian Anderson, the Braves rookie, held the Yanks hit less through 5. Now 4-1 Braves in the 6th. White Sox pounded the Pirates. 10-3 hitting 4 dingers in the process. For the Yasmani marching and chowder society he went 1-3 with a K and a walk, and is now hitting .231 with a .739 OPS,

33. The Brewers have also said they’re not playing tonight. Don’t know if it’ll trickle down to other teams yet.

34. Dodgers Giants game tonight about to be postponed/cancelled.

    1. The Athletic has removed the game from its nightly scoreboard

35. According to ESPN< which has the broadcast tonight, the game has been postponed. It does not show as such on MLB.com. Nor does it show that on the Dodger site. And it is less than 40 minutes until first pitch.

36. Tonight’s game has been cancelled, and it most likely won’t be made up by a doubleheader tomorrow or on the next off day for both teams.

    We’ll have to settle for 44-15, and not 45-15

37. This is bound to get ugly and it will stop now. This site has done very well staying away from politics. But as long as I am moderating this site, this will end, NOW. I know who started it and it will not be tolerated. And if he thinks I am kidding just try me. Some people like to start things and others do not know how to stay away from the comments. For any of you who disagree with how I choose to run this site, you can always go to another site. Go to Fred’s site, I am sure he would love to talk politics with you. But politics will have no place on LA Dodger Talk as long as I am involved.

    Thank you for your cooperation.

38. I am sad the game was cancelled as I was looking forward to seeing Kersh pitch. They cannot play a double header tomorrow because after the game, the Dodgers have to fly to Texas. To play they would most likely have to start the first game before noon. So, we will see them on Thursday with Kersh being pushed back. I wish all here a pleasant good evening.

    1. Latest word is that there will be a double header tomorrow starting at 1:00. Two 7-inning games. As with all other news in the past 24 hours, the above is subject to correction.

39. I have taken down 30+ posts on the subject. I mean no disrespect to anyone as I am not going to take sides on this issue at LA Dodger Talk. I am closing comments for the night. There will be another article written by Harold that will be published in the AM. Please respect my wish to keep this site about the Dodgers and Baseball.

    Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I hope everyone comes back to participate in LA Dodger Talk.

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