For as long as Julio Urias has been in the Dodger system, there seem to have been rumors of trading him away. I railed against it! I was OK with losing De Leon, Oakes, Sborz, Montas, Holmes, and Cotton, but I felt that Julio Urias had something special. After all, he had at least four pitches and could control them very well. His curve was knee-buckling and his upper 90’s fastball just made his other pitches more devastating. It was a long journey derailed by a freak injury and surgery, but here we are…. finally!
I do not actually believe that Julio Urias will win the NL Cy Young Award in 2021… but I do think he will be in the conversation. Yesterday, was his “coming out” day and he came out as an Ace in waiting. The Dodgers only got two hits and won the game 1-0, but Julio Urias only gave up one hit in his 7 innings pitched. He struck out 11 batters while allowing ZERO runs. He is now 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. That will put you in the Cy Young conversation. It is hard to believe that this is his sixth MLB season. Simply put, he is becoming a stud!
Remember when (some of you) used to ridicule me for saying that the Dodgers should not trade Julio because he was a potential Number One? I took a lot of grief over that, but I believed that Julio had the ability to be at least a Number 2… maybe a Number 1. I have always thought that Julio was special. Now we all see it! Part of the evolution has been the change in his curveball. He seems to have abandoned the 12-6 breaking curve in favor of a “slurve” which breaks more from 9-3.
While we are at it, Victor Gonzalez did his job in the 8th inning, and then in the 9th inning, it was Kenley Jansen Time. Some fans were in cardiac arrest but Kenley proceeded to put on his cape and act like Superman in the ninth inning to save the game. Kenley Jansen threw pitches at 97 MPH! OMG! The ninth inning last night was one of the most devastating I have ever seen. Kenley Jansen still has it. He may not be as good as he once was, but he is as good once as he ever was.
Kenley says he is “pitching angry” and if that is what it takes for him to succeed, then so be it. Don’t pitch him on back-to-back days, Doc! He’s as good once as he ever was! I think we will see V-Gon close a game or two soon. Add Knebel, Price, Bazooka, and Jimmy Nelson to the mix and closing games in no problem.
The Dodgers now have a 2.66 team ERA – #2 in MLB behind the Padres who are at 2.50. It should not be lost on anyone that the Padres are 10-9 while the Dodgers are 14-4. The Boys in Blue have a day off and then have four games with the Padres. I hope the Padres exit the series with a sub .500 record. However, the Dodgers are now on track to win ONLY 126 games based upon their .778 winning percentage.
Now, if we talk about the hitters, it is another story. They cannot jump out of a boat and hit water. That phrase takes me back to Tommy’s Famous Rant:
Today is an off day. Hopefully, the team watches some film and takes some BP so they can get their batting eye back. They will need it this weekend! One final shot: I know that AJ Pollock had a good season last year, but I was never a fan of that signing, and right about now, he looks a step slow in the field and a minute late at-bat. Is this just a slump or “decline?” AJ will be 34 this year. It hits some players earlier than others. Fortunately, the Dodgers have options: McKinstry, Raley, Reks, Beaty, Peters, Rios, and Lux… to name but a few. Stay tuned!
Indiana’s Own – The Why Store
One Final Thing
I know there are thousands of Dodger fans who read hear daily. I’d like to hear from some new people… if only to say “Hi!”
Photo Credit: Julio Urias complements of the LA Dodgers
Hi! I really enjoy the daily content from Portland, Oregon. I grew up in LA and miss being able to go to Dodger Stadium regularly. Loved every second (well not game 4) of the run last year and I am hoping for more of the same out of this years group!
I’ll be the first reader who reads here daily but doesn’t post much. Yesterday’s game was a good pitchers duel and a quick game at that coming in at 2 hours and 28 minutes. Seems like we are having some troubles early on with LH Pitchers but it’s so early in the season to make much of it.
Some early observations from my point of view:
Bad
Pollock – Seems to be in decline but hopeful he can turn it around.
Injuries – They happen to all teams so not much you can do – next man up.
Gonsolin – Worried his shoulder issue could be the sign of losing him for a good chunk of this year and next.
I’m sure there are other bad points but can’t think of them.
Good
Urias – Stud coming into his own.
Starting pitching – Shouldn’t have too much of any kind of losing streak with these starters.
Mckinstry – Looks like a keeper, grind it out for a young player.
Many other good takes but these are just a few.
I don’t post much as I don’t like all the drama of arguing and stuff can easily get taken out of context on message boards. I don’t even have a Facebook account for the same reason.
I like reading and laughing at all the other’s posts and arguing though.
Lots of good commenters on here. Jorge has to be one of my favorites due to his dislike of the Friars.
I’m gearing up for this weekend against the SD assholes, stay tuned!
Just watched the Padres not score a run with bases loaded, no outs, bottom of the 8th. Brewers take a two run lead into the 9th.
I think we would have seen this Julio a lot earlier had the Dodgers not fixed what wasn’t broken. When he first came up, his curve was similar to what it is now. It had a lot of horizontal movement, but then the Dodgers fixed it to be more traditional with vertical movement.
I also don’t like the fact that they constantly limited his innings, had him take breaks during the season and had him slow start in Spring, just to thrust him into the rotation covering for injury to other starters. What might have been if they did things differently.
Yesterday was fun to watch, I hope we see more of this Julio. He’s absolutely one of my favorites on this team. I’ve always supported him as a starter even though he was so good in the pen. I would much rather see 7 innings like that every 5-6 days than his 2-3 inning bursts out of the pen.
It’s going to be very hard for this team to go on any kind of losing streak with stoppers throughout the rotation. Any of these five can take control of a game and the bullpen is certainly capable of picking up the starters. The offense will come alive soon enough, but it’s great to see they can still when during offensive slumps.
With a day off today, the Dodgers will take their 14-4, a whopping 10 games over 500 and at least a 4 game lead over the Padres to face off with them in a 4 game series starting tomorrow.
Julio is still only 24. We’ve been talking about him for 6 years as this mythical phenom who was discovered by accident in Mexico when one of the Dodger scouts when to go check out some young catching prospect (reminds me of that Albert Brooks movie ( https://youtu.be/C-5zRAhVLGo ) He’s already had major shoulder surgery that put him on the shelf for a year and half. A lot of pitchers never come back from shoulder surgery.
So, looking into the future 2-3 years and after Kershaw has had his farewell final season and maybe Bauer moves on, the Dodgers could have a rotation of pitchers who are in their primes and still under 30 in Buehtane, Urias, Dustin May, Josiah Gray and Tony Gonsolin. Beuhtane and Urias will need to get paid about then, but having a bunch of homegrown talent under contract would possibly allow the Dodgers to sign a stud free agent – maybe Bauer if he wants to do those short term deals and he’s still at the top of his game.
Don’t look now but the Red Sox are very good. It was that Kike signing. They’re 4th in Fielding Independent Pitching and have overtaken the Dodgers as the team with the best offense and they are second in run differential. Kike actually leads the team in plate appearances and has three dingers. He’s doing ok. Former Dodger prospect Nathan Eovaldi is their best SP.
Baseball is the hardest sport to predict. Everyone thought the Yankees were the 3rd best team in baseball in the preseason. They’re in last place. I thought the Braves would be much better than they are. Where did Cincinnati come from? The Cubs won the WS with a core of young controllable talent. You woulda thought they’d be a dynasty.
EAR MUFFS!!! but Tommy was awesome and didn’t parse his comments (or apologize for them either, how refreshing in this WOKE BS time). I see some parallels in Tommy’s comments on Bawhatka and my feelings about the current leadership in our country and in much of the world at this present date, except I would probably use a couple of hundred more swear words in my response.
Mark, I’m glad you had Urias’ back all along otherwise I’m sure the Dodgers would have dumped him, lol. My point, I think a few people may have noticed something special about Julio besides you, but good job anyway.
Kenley is good but Roberts MUST realize that Jansen can only go about every three to four days. Jansen Good goes to Jansen Bad very quickly. Hey Mark would you please communicate this message to the Dodgers, they listen to you, lol.
The offense still is barely breathing, yes the injuries don’t help, but they were showing signs of inconsistency before these injuries started to pile up. Too many holes in this batting order, Pollock needs to go down and open up his roster spot (he’s been very inconsistent in his time in LA, I think Mark and I were the only ones to not like his signing, lol), Lux just seems to be sort of landing in a AAA+ spot, just can’t really seem to play consistently at The Show level, he is going to be nicknamed as Tain’t, Tain’t the one and Tain’t the other.
Who’s Tommy and who’s Bawhatka?
Am I missing something?
Isn’t Lux on the injured list?
Anyway, major props to Urias for his recovery from the shoulder capsule and for not burning out! Feels like he’s been forever in the spotlight and he’s not even 25. Crazy.
That would be Lasorda and his rant about Kurt Bevaqua. Lux is on the IL,
Love that rant!
Thanks Bear.
Good Job Mark! love the back and forth when it pertains to purely the Dodgers and baseball, NOT politics. This is my escape from everyday BS concerning politics on TV. Love and have followed the Dodgers since 1951 and the excellent writers on this site with very informative everyday and history of the present and past Dodgers. When I see something of interest, I post it. Keep it going.
Just a great clip of Tommy. He starts out so controlled and serious and then f……ing Tommy comes roaring out! Kind of like a 747 revving up for takeoff and then the throttle gets pushed forward and off he goes! Classic! Oh and Eric my bullpen is kicking your offenses’ butt right now! Ha ha!
Another favorite was when he went off about Dave Kingman’s 3 HR’s, and when he was removing Doug Rau from a game.
I listen to that clip about once a year or so. Love it.
Cassidy
The bullpen has been good lately.
The whole pitching staff has been dominant. Dodger team pitching OPS is at .584. Anything under .600 is dominant.
Eric,
Time to get your bats going for the big series this weekend!
Yep I’m high on our offense but I don’t know what’s happened to them recently.
Gotta kick the Padres ass because they are the only threat in the division.
I personally would take today entirely off. No BP, no nothing. Sometimes less is more for a team slumping at the plate.
I have always thought Urias had the look of an ace. But his early usage in his career showed he was always more effective out of the pen than he was as a starter, Even earlier this season he reverted to nibbling instead of attacking the hitters. He has now set out to be the starter everyone thought he would be from the beginning. Most wanted him to be the closer after what he did in the series.
The Kurt Bevacqua clip should be enshrined in the Smithsonian.
Another favorite of mine was from the 88 season, when they won the WS.
Classic Tommy … and I doubt he was kidding around or in on the gag. It’s good to hear Don Drysdale in the booth as well. Loved him as an announcer.
https://youtu.be/vX4L2LHGs98
That just jogged my memory of Don Drysdale as a Dodgers announcer. I actually really liked him in the booth. Complete homer, but that was ok. You got a sense listening to him just how much he, not only loved the Dodgers, but loved the game, too. I miss him.
Everybody has heard Vin’s call of Gibson’s homer, and I watched that live, but Don’s call on AM 790 at the time was really good, too.
https://www.mlb.com/video/drysdale-calls-gibson-s-home-run-c2516137583
Yes, Drysdale call was awesome !
Loved hearing Double D again. What a call, perfection, call the immediate action then shut your mouth and let the moment explode with just the fans going nuts. That my friends was perfection from the booth. BTW I used to love to eat at the little sandwich shops called Drysdale’s in Kona back in the 80s. The food was okay but eating in a place called Drysdale’s was perfect. I think Don lost them in the divorce and his ex took over the restaurants, they didn’t last too long after the Double D exited stage left.
Best line yet in this blog ever: Bluto – “Who’s Tommy?” that my friends is perfection. Thanks Bluto, made me laugh extremely hard.
I don’t think I have ever heard that call.
Lots of great Dodger stuff out there on Internet:
From Ben Clemens’ chat:
Ben Clemens: Will Smith is underrated in my opinion. I got some flack for putting him in a tier with Realmuto, and I’m feeling VERY self-satisfied about it
Adam H: Brusdar Graterol was back last night with 101mph bullets, but was as hittable as ever. Why exactly is he so bad at getting whiffs and K’s, and is he doomed for huge regression from his sub-2.00 ERA last year?
Ben Clemens: It’s just the shape of the fastball, basically- I don’t think he’s bad or anything. I think he’s a nice reliever, though I share the Dodgers’ skepticism about him as a starter
Homer: Acuna, any Dodger or the rest of the field for NL MVP? (I know, April)
Ben Clemens: Any Dodger seems like the smart bet here
From Kevin Goldstein chat:
Dante Bichette: Sell Justin Turner while he’s healthy and at his peak? Looking at a return like Kyle Tucker.
Kevin Goldstein: I don’t understand this thinking . . . why the hell would the Dodgers want to jettison Turner?
James: The Padres have had 16 players in the IL (most in MLB) and at times have been without or playing an injured Tatis, Grisham, Lamet, Nola, Johnson, Adams. They still clawed their way to the league’s 5th best record but are they still too deep down the hole to overtake the Dodgers?
Kevin Goldstein: Healthy they still weren’t going to catch the Dodgers. They’re still VERY good.
Jay Jaffe on the team’s hot start:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/injuries-havent-derailed-the-dodgers-hot-start/
Ben Clemens on Urias’ changing curve ball:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/julio-urias-breaking-ball-fusion-scientist/
BP’s Forest Stulting on Bobby Miller:
Dodgers prospect Bobby Miller throwing in the high-A game today at Camelback. Wow. Fastball sitting 96-97 with tons of life. Super impressive. Easy whiffs on the fastball, commands it well too. also getting lots of ground balls because of downhill plane. Dominating.
The Athletic article on Luke Raley and his life-long desire to be a professional Dodger:
https://theathletic.com/2528126/2021/04/20/i-wanted-to-be-a-dodger-luke-raleys-tearful-departure-and-his-surprise-return/
Thanks, Bluto. Good info!
Bobby Miller is going to be Dodger prospect #1 really really soon.
I don’t know how they can keep him down in 2022.
Great stuff Bluto.
Could we get you to do this on a regular basis?
Maybe you could collect it and throw it into a comment once a week.
Sounds like Bobby Miller is going to be really something and we won’t have to wait too long to see it at DS.
While I’m still in Az, I have the MLB Extra Innings Package to get my baseball fix. They only carry the home teams broadcast. I actually like to hear the Dodger’s opponent broadcasts and their takes on the Dodgers. Some do their homework and some don’t. Some are homers and most are not. I thought Don Orcillo and Mark Grant were very respectful of the Dodgers, unlike their hot-dogging showboat team. The Mariner guys, Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers were very good. They were amazed that Urias is the Dodgers 5th starter (4th actually). They can’t belief the depth of the starting rotation.
Yesterday’s KJ was as good as it gets. We’re not going to see that every outing but it’s apparent that he is so much better when rested and restricted from pitching more than 1, 3 out, inning and not throwing on back to back days. I like the way Doc is handling this. And KJ.
I misspoke last week and Bear was quick to set me straight. I said I would like to see K-Bear get some at bats to see if he could add some pop to this sleepy offense. This would be as a pinch hitter and not behind the dish. I said he could replace Raley for some at bats. Well I meant Rios. With McKinstry and Neuse capable of filling in for JT, Rios looks more and more expendable. As Mark wrote yesterday “Rios continues to look lost. With just four hits in twenty-nine (29) at-bats, Rios is in danger of being optioned.” He’s now 4 for 31. Please don’t point out that it’s been only 18 games and 31 at bats. This team has been at it for 8 weeks almost and you’d hope that even slow starters would start coming around. And I see no sign of that from Rios. Patience can be a virtue but this is a production business and we could use some production from Rios. This is a career opportunity to help a team that could use a new hot bat right now. When Mookie, Muncy, Seager, Turner and McKinstry have an oh-fer or a day off, this team can struggle. Marco Gonzales is a nice pitcher but we made him look like Randy Johnson. Rios and DJ Peters have the same problem; they swing and miss at hittable pitchers. I’d like to see Ruiz get Rio’s at bats especially since AAA isn’t playing for a couple of weeks. He can’t be worse that 4 for 31 with 8 K’s, I bet.
Hey Mark – I still read daily (including the comments) but don’t comment as often as I used to.
Several observations:
1 – The offense has cooled substantially. They have gotten shut outs in 5 of their last 11 games but can’t count on that forever. Cody’s return should help. They need Corey and Mookie to heat back up. 2B and LF have produced little. I am amazed at McKinstry – boy has he been a breath of fresh air. They have the pieces – they just need to start hitting again.
2 – Will Lux ever be the guy that the Dodgers need him to be? He hasn’t established himself yet in my view. Will McKinstry become the regular 2B?
3 – Rios has a slow bat. When he catches one he crushes it but I have doubts that he will ever be able to hit consistently.
4 – Bravo to the starting pitchers. This may be the best group 1 – 5 that they have ever had. (They may have had better 4 man rotations.)
5 – The bullpen makes me nervous. There isn’t a single guy there who I feel confident will pitch a clean inning. Jansen is good every other day, but not clean like he was 5 years ago. Treinen lets a lot of baserunners on. Knebel still worries me. Santana is a mop up guy – Alexander can’t throw strikes consistently. Bazooka isn’t ready yet and was oddly hittable for a guy who throws 100+. Price and Nelson are still learning to be relief pitchers. I still think that the bullpen is the weak link here.
They are still 14 -4! The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
“The bullpen makes me nervous. I still think that the bullpen is the weak link here.”
dodgerrick agrees with me about the bullpen.
Dodgers offense 3rd in baseball.
Starting pitching 3rd in baseball.
Bullpen 8th in baseball.
Not since Mile high are they the 8th best bullpen. Let’s see which group is the MVP this weekend
Just want to say hello. I haven’t commented since last year’s playoffs. It was very helpful for me to write and rant and celebrate our wonderful WS run. I have been a fan since they moved to LA and, even though I live in NorCal I (and my son in Reno) are diehard Dodger fans. It bonds us together in the best father-son way.
I read LADT almost every day and enjoy the back-and-forth banter but I never feel I have anything of value to contribute. I think that’s because in a 162 game season daily events, slumps, hot streaks, injuries are nice to talk about but really have little relevance in the big picture. As we really all know, there are two seasons and the one us spoiled Dodger fans care about is the post season. The Dodgers are almost a lock to make the post season and then we will all be concerned with the status of the players, who is hot, who is injured, who steps up in crunch time.
Not to say it isn’t fun to talk about all this stuff during the season–I really enjoy reading all your comments. Keep them coming. I just don’t have any intelligent comments to add to your thoughts. Players will have their ups and downs over a long season. We’ll see how it all shakes out in October.
I’m with you on Urias. For years I cringed every time his name would be thrown around in trade rumors. I first saw him pitch at 17 in Rancho Cucamonga. He was the youngest player on the field but he made opposing batters look like children. A man among boys. He made men who were 4-5 years older look like they’d never swung a bat before.
I can also say he is a genuinely nice guy. For Christmas a few years ago I gave my son an MLB authenticated ball that Julio pitched in his MLB debut. I picked it up cheap right after he injured his shoulder. People seemed to think his career was over. My son waiting patiently for Julio to recover because we knew he would likely do a rehab stint in Rancho at some point. He was determined to get that ball signed. That day finally arrived and we went to see him pitch in San Bernardino. Most MLB pitchers on rehab leave the stadium as soon as they are out of the game. So after Julio threw a couple innings my son camped out at the visiting club house door expecting him to leave at any time. He ended up waiting 2 hours. Not only did Julio not leave right away, he paid for a catering company to bring in dinner for the team and stayed for the whole game.
By the time he finally emerged from the clubhouse there was a large crowd of at least 75 fans waiting for him. He signed for every last one of them. Posed for countless pictures. My son got his debut ball signed.
This isn’t what most MLB players do on rehab assignments. It’s actually the only time I’ve ever seen a pitcher stick around to the end of the game. And most go to great lengths to avoid fans. Julio is a class act.
Nice to hear, especially after some bad press a few years ago.
Tommy, let me say hi, from Costa Rica, I read all the posts everyday, and love this blog with all my blue heart. If you ever come down here, please come visit.
Carlos Zamora
Lamet lasted 29 Pitches of his first start of the season before exiting with forearm tightness.
That does not sound good.
TJ
Wow that would be two of their young pitching stars. Brutal!
Lamet, Morejon AND Clevinger.
That would be something like our having Buehler, May and Urias all go down with TJ at the same time. I’d like to think that what we do to keep our pitchers in top physical condition has really helped here, but maybe it’s all luck.
First time poster but long time reader. Dodger fan since 1960. My first game was in the very top seat and I mean the very last few rows behind home plate. But as a kid I was hooked. Nothing like listening to Vin call the games.
I enjoy the information here but skip over the insults, attacks and name calling.
There is no other site even close to the ladodgertalk site for commentary on the boys in blue.
And who cares about Lamet or any other non-Dodgers pitcher? Each team has its own problems and injuries, each team prepared for this season the best they could or wanted, and if they or some other team did not prepare for something like that, it is their problem, not the Dodgers’ problem.
And it is not like they can say that they were taken by surprise or that they did not expect something like that, they already knew it from last season.
Would anyone be stupid enough to say that LA won the title again (for the ninth consecutive time) because some rival pitcher got injured?
I hope he has TJ surgery and loses all this season, and that they finish at least in third place, so they will learn to shut up the fucking big mouth and not speak before of time!
But… how do you really feel?
😉
I guess you don’t believe in karma Jorge. I would never wish an injury on another team’s player. The one exception might be if that player purposely hurt one of our guys and, as far as I can tell, that hasn’t happened with us and the Padres.
Enjoy the series this weekend. Try not to get too angry. It really plays havoc with the blood pressure.
I do not get angry, and less for a regular season game, it is not worth it.
And in other news, Puig will play for the Aguila de Veracruz team, in Mexico.
Hate or Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
It’s not a good way to live.
I don’t like the Giants… but I don’t hate him either.
If you hate anything… it controls you. I don’t like the Padres either, but I don’t hate them… because I will not give them control.
Pretty sad to want someone down and out because he plays on another team. Pretty self-centered attitude. Childish !
And you were saying Irvine!
I want to beat their brains out, but I never hope or want anyone to get injured.
My brother-in-law just brought it to my attention that the Padres had to use 7 relievers in today’s game. In the mean time our bullpen is well rested.
It always better to beat everyone else’s very best,no excuse! Don’t rush Kershaw into retirement,he might play til he’s 40,41 like other great pitchers!