Now – Let’s Roll!

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1. I can never get enough Georgia Voter Bill talk. May I request more please? It’s fascinating content.

   1. I won’t’ beat it to death, but neither will I ignore it, since it is now part of the fabric of baseball.

      1. As Ray Charles would say “Mark, you got Georgia on your mind”

         1. That’s good!
            😉

2. Not sure if any of you watch High Heat on MLB.Network or not but today they had a 10 minute segment where the Dodgers players had a video tribute to Alanna Rizzo (who is now on High Heat with Chris Russo) congratulating her on her receiving a 2020 World Series Ring. Pretty cool and classy. You can tell all the players respected her and miss her doing the sideline reporting.

   1. I have listened to her with Mad Dog. She deserves her own show. She is really good!

3. Man, Kershaw is still the best.

   But the Dodgers still have a problem. Here’s Houston Mitchell of The Times this morning:

   “But the big problem is the bullpen. Hitting will come around, especially once everyone gets healthy and Mookie Betts breaks out of his slump. But the bullpen inspires no confidence at all. They usually have a couple of shutdown guys they can rely on. Right now, you can’t rely on anyone. You just pick a guy and hope he has it that day. And that’s a really, really tough way to consistently win games.”

4. Every time they talk to Ned Colletti, he always says the same thing. Building a bullpen is the hardest and most volital part of a team, a guy can be lights out one year, and trash the next. That seems to be what we have this year, but if you look around the league, a lot of teams have great shutdown bullpens for about two weeks, then it turns into a dumpster fire.

5. Really? You just had to go all political. Could not just leave it alone could you. Fun fact – Your traitorous hero Trump lost bigly. If we are going to count pinnochios then lets count the 30,000+ LIES Trump told while in office. And maybe you can explain why the repubs decided to enact this lame voter law anyway when there was zero rigging and in fact one of the most fair and honest elections in years? All because Trump LIED! Now Mark you can go down the flat earther path of debate and just claim that it is not true but please provide proof that the election was rigged and not fair. I guess you also think Trump did not incite the violence on January 6th either. You suffer from cognitive dissonance and have succumbed to the cult Trump personality where he can do no wrong and does not lie.

   But how about you do all of us a favor and knock off the politics. By not doing so just proves the points I have made.

   1. He lost bigly? You don’t pay very close attention.

      Arizona Less than 1% 11
      Georgia Less than 1% 16
      Wisconsin Less than 1% 10
      Pennsylvania 1.2% 20

      All of those states were counting votes for days after the election. All of them had suspicious activity.

      Dems incited violence, encouraged riots, changed voting procedures, bailed out rioters all year and you’re complaining about Trump’s speech on Jan 6? You are very unabashed and biased.

      You didn’t prove any point you made and Mark certainly isn’t by calling Abrams and Biden liars.

      1. I’m pretty sure the “bigly” was in relation to electoral vote #s.

         Well, by “pretty sure” I’m basically saying “I hope what he/she is saying” OR “what I really hope she/he is saying”

         The Electoral Vote margin was the same as Trump’s over HIlary, which he has yet to call anything but “a landslide”.

         If good for goose, is good for gander. No?

         1. Bluto it’s really something how many votes you can get when you are willing to blatantly lie about a candidate and a party. Four plus years of Democrat lies about Russian collusion, race, economic issues, etc. surely turned the tide in this election. But you know that as you are probably the most dishonest commenter at this site, based on your past deceptions.

            1. Do I get an award for that?

               A free lunch?

               Please?

            2. And don’t call me Shirley!

      2. Care to look up 2016 and the %’s of his win in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin? Way less. And Hillary won the popular vote by 3 million. This time around Biden won the EC and the PV by 8 million. As for counting votes for days it always has been this way ad the usually dont get state certified for weeks.

      3. states were counting votes after election, because Republican legislatures prevented them from counting early. Here in FL count was done by 10PM, because ballots were allowed to be processed.

   2. Roger that
      You are F…ing delusional. You must have TDS.
      ANYONE who paid attention could see the many irregularities on election night.

      And who are the Traitors?
      Just look at what Biden is doing to our country. If we could impeach all the politicians who took the oath to support the Constitution and then ignored it, there would be few democrats left in the government..

      1. Irregularities? Really? Says who? Fox spews is the only ones along with qanon garbage people. Just because you want to grovel at Trumps putrid feet does not mean the rest of the country wanted to. Trump lied and hundred of thousands died (COVID-19).

      2. Oh.

         Back to the “irregularities” and the “ignoring the Constitution”.

         I’d love it if you could fit the Masons, the Jews, the Gypsies, Epstein and maybe Uranium 1 and Seth Rich into your delusions.

   3. Oh boo hoo!!!! I don’t wanna hear any politics!!! Lol. Your problem is with ANY opposing opinions ANYWHERE.

   4. Roger that,

      You obviously know nothing about me.

      I did not make it political. MLB did by moving the All-Star Game based upon what is demonstrably false! There is no debate on that.

      On proving voter fraud, how can you do that without an I.D.?

      ANSWER: You can’t!

      No ID required to vote at the ballot box: California, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C., and North Carolina. Do your research!

      I know it can’t be proven, but I can believe it if I want and only an ignoramus would think there was no voter fraud. The only question is how much? We don’t know…. but you brought all that up. BTW – I am and never have been a Trump Fan.

      You need to find a better place for your head!
      

      1. thanks for that. i also try to avoid politics in my “sports world”, hence mlb is the only sport i am interested in these days. born in east LA, grandpa was first mayor of pico rivera, but i am now in CO. mlbtv is GREAT. most affordable streaming service for what you get EVER. thankfully, at this time my only issues stem from the woketard commish. i like you never really “cared” for trump & WAS a never trumper until it was him and billary. but i can truthfully say he is the ONLY elected candidate i have seen in my life try to do every single thing he promised. which for me, counts for WAY MORE than his weird, narcissistic, #tweetsgonemad personality.
         cheers dude

      2. Could you please tell me the state or states that dont require multiple forms of ID to REGISTER to vote? Oh wait, there are none. My state has mail in voting so a ballot gets sent to your registered address. You also sign the ballot and must match your signature that you did when registering. As for going to a place to vote your name is put on a list after you register and you do not need to provide more ID at this point. They cross your name off the list after you voted. If you think that one person or even hundreds could or would be voting multiple times using different names then you are delusional.

         And as far as voter fraud is concerned there has been some of that. Funny thing is that so far it has been Trump voters who tried to do it and were caught.

         Maybe you should actually research and educate yourself on the voting process from start to finish. You claim to not be a trump fan yet you sure believe all his lies. Why is that?

      3. Perhaps the reason you can’t prove voter fraud is because it doesn’t exist.

         Perhaps the reason we know it doesn’t exist is because we looked for it.

         Go cite your overwhelming evidence of the dead voting again Mark. That was good for a laugh then, it’ll be good for a laugh now.

         You can believe there was voter fraud, you can believe the Dodgers lost last night, you can believe that Biden won’t make it to 2024.

         Beliefs are free. They are also only beliefs.

         The fact is they looked for voter fraud and found it, while existing, statistically insignificant. Just like the need for Voter ID.

         But if you believe it, perhaps it will happen!

         1. My first sentence is a mess!

            Apologies. It shouldn’t be absolute. Of course some voting fraud exists, just not much of it.

   5. “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

      The modern and opposing corollary: The test of a second-rate intelligence is the inability to understand the validity of an opposing viewpoint, and in order to retain the ability to function, instead demonize and repeat talking points

      I suppose, Roger, that you could have just let Mark’s comment go without getting triggered, but I guess you just couldn’t leave it alone.

      Reasonable people can understand that two contradictory things can be true at the same time. For instance, a reasonable intelligent person can believe that Trump was irresponsible in overstating the extent of voter fraud AND that there were mass irregularities that warrant attention. A reasonable, intelligent person can accept that there were numerous violations of voter laws and widespread irregularities AND still believe they don’t account for the margin of victory by Biden. A reasonable, intelligent person can still believe that every voter can and should have a Constitutionally guaranteed right to easy access to a polling station to vote AND that there should be reasonable safeguards against voter fraud, such as means to verify a person’s identity.

      Your arguments are really not even worth addressing. They are both demonstrably false and easily verified as false, laughably absurd, or make baseless accusations or just lob stupid insults. What I would point out is just the sheer amount of hostility to any difference of opinion on your part. You’re irrationally angry in the same way I see many who agree with you. I really do think TDS is a thing, and that Trump’s election really did psychological break many people like you, and no, I don’t think I’m gaslighting here, but I really do think this obsession with Trump is unhealthy. I’m pretty sure Mark does not consider Trump his hero.

      I have a lot of acquaintances who have gone full TDS, and have just become really angry and spend an inordinate amount of energy denouncing former friends who don’t agree with them. What I would like to say to them is this: being an angry, intolerant bully about politics does not make you more noble, or more moral, have more virtue, and certainly not make you a better person. It just makes you an asshole.

      1. Very well written as usual Dodgerpatch. I agree with every sentence but the last one……………it was too restrained.

      2. For the last friggin time, there were no mass irregularities or fraud. Prove it or shut up. Trump filed over 60 court cases and failed to provide one single scrap of evidence other than saying he “believed”. Well Homer, lots of little kids “believe Santa and the Easter bunny real. Does not mean they are. You are quick to talk about TDS when all people like me are saying is the facts and truth. It is you who suffers from cognitive dissonance. Jim Jones had a lot of followers and they also suffered cognitive dissonance and bought into the trumpy cult personality complex. All I know is Trump is one and done and will take years to recover from and hundreds of thousands never will because he lied about COVID. Some hero you got there bucko.

         1. I will let your words speak for you and the readers can decide who is delusional. I have found that the more hollow the drum, the louder the sound. Why are you so angry.

            The people who get mad when you say something they are opposed to are those living a lie.

            1. EXACTLY Mark. Well said.

         2. https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/ag-paxton-san-antonio-election-fraudster-arrested-widespread-vote-harvesting-and-fraud

   6. I thought all the liberals were Giants Fans.

      1. I’m pretty sure the majority of Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Marlins, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Mariners and As fans are going to trend to the “left.”

         Whether that qualifies them as Liberal, is beyond me these days. The rural vs. urban divide does seem to have some validity to it.

6. Clayton Kershaw = Regular season Ace
   Walker Bueller = Post Season Ace

   This place is really quiet today. Did everyone get so worked up that they all tuckered themselves out?

   I still think that Lux will come around. Someone on another site posted his stats this year, it basically went something like this…

   Spring Training – Awesome
   First Week – Awesome
   Second Week – Crappy
   DL
   Return from DL so far – Crappy

   It sure looks like the wrist injury pushed him off track. He needs to learn to deal with adversity better.

   I’m a huge Edwin Rios fan. At the same time, I’m a huge fan of sending guys with options down in order to get right. They did it with Beaty and it’s time they do it with Rios. Give him a week or 10 days to get right and bring him back up.

   A lot has been said about the bullpen and many think we should be trading for an arm. I would love to get a high end arm back there, but not at the price of one of our top prospects just yet. Certainly not for guys that have Ace ceiling like Pepiot or Miller. Certainly not for a guy that’s so close to the Bigs like Gray or Ruiz. These are guys you want to use to get you a difference maker like Mookie.

   Back to the pen and injuries. Doing a little research on recovery times, here’s a quote from MLB.com regarding lat injuries.

   “Recovery time varies depending on the strain, with Grade 1 strains typically requiring 2-3 weeks and Grade 2 strains usually taking at least a month. Grade 3 strains often require surgery, however, and can come with considerably longer recovery periods.”

   It could be that 2 months might be on the high side of recovery time. So, can we keep the wheels from falling off until then? Unexpected news is that Morrow has been pitching at the alternate site. Kelly and Gonsolin might be closer than we think. Could it be that AF isn’t panicking and rushing guys back because he knows his team is better than everyone else? Sure we lost 3 of 4 to the Pads, but what did they do after that? They split the D-Backs series and now they have to play the Giants. Not exactly building momentum.

   Could we be close to a Bellinger return? Did anyone expect a hairline fracture from being cleated on the calf? That was a freak injury if I ever saw one. Hairline fractures can take as little as 3 weeks to heal. The fibula is not a weight bearing bone, so that makes it a little less serious than the same injury to the tibia. Hopefully, it was slight fracture and will heal quickly. We’ll be at 4 weeks this Monday.

   I think the late outburst last night is a sign of a turnaround about to happen. It sure seems like Murphy’s law hit the Dodgers after winning the first two games of the Padres series. Seager and Smith hit a funk, Mookie and Pollock were banged up. Belli and Lux were already on the IL. All the Covid shots could have made the players feel a little flat, a couple even went on the Covid IL because of it.

   I think we’re about to turn the corner.

7. I finally got a good night’s sleep last night and didn’t toss and turn until 3:00am worrying about the Dodgers and the fixes needed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, okay, that’s a lie but it certainly is good to win one. This was a really competitive game u til the 8th.
   Wow, we finally got a quality balls and strikes game behind the dish. Lance Barksdale was very good. I have complained about the umpiring ad nauseam. It seems like Smith and Mookie were especially victims of a wide strike zone. I have half jokingly suggested that until the ABS system is employed, that they just eliminate the K-Zone box superimposed on the TV screen as it just irritatingly provides more proof of how bad the home plate umpiring has been. Make it like the old days when we had to guess along with the umpire.
   Yesterday dodgerpatch offered the perfect solution instead of the ABS system. Promote and reward the better umpires and demote the lousy ones. That’s a great idea. But it will never happen. The Umpire’s Union and their good ole boy network would never allow it. The good youngsters are stuck behind these old hacks like CD Bucknor, Angel Hernandez, Las Diaz and Joe West who aren’t about to give up their jobs without a fight. There’s supposed to be performance evaluations and ratings. If that were the case, how would these hacks keep their jobs. It’s a smoke screen and there is zero transparency in this process. Therefore, the ABS system has to be the solution if we want better umpiring. The technology is there so use it. Or is it? Again, lack of transparency by MLB provides little data on how it’s worked on their experimental basis. I’ve watched it in Fall Ball and didn’t even notice it. My fear is that it’s implementation will be used as a bargaining chip somehow in the upcoming CBA, making it political like the DH.
   Chris Taylor really tried to infuse some aggressive base running yesterday to get us going. I love his hustle.
   I too was hoping to see CK pitch one more inning when it was 2-0 and he was at 90 pitches. I know it worked out for the best. Without getting into an area I will leave for another time, the expectation that the starter is done at 85-90 pitches and 6 innings is more and more accepted. I know it’s a long season but how we arrived at those numbers intrigues me. One less inning to cover by a struggling bullpen would be nice once in awhile. But the “100 pitch threshold” is a conversation for later.

   1. The 90 pitches in reality is actually a lot more when you factor in before game pitches and between inning pitches. Sure they are not the same but those add up too. The days of some guys throwing 150 pitches are over and teams have too much invested in these guys to take chances for one game. And the hitters are much better today than they were 30 to 40 years ago.

      1. Roger that, most teams track bullpen pitches as well and yes, they add up. But this is all based on the assumption that more pitches over a season is bad and damaging to an adult pitcher. Are we sure that’s true?
         I can’t find any clear scientific evidence to support this contention. It might surprise you to know that pitch counts (that didn’t start until 1988) are derived only from a collection of opinions and have no basis in valid science. Technically, the idea behind pitch counts is a theory and not a fact. 100 pitches was where it’s landed because it’s a nice round number. The days of 150 are gone but there is some room there that might not be detrimental between 100 and 150. It is so dependent on the individual and circumstances. But 100 is a nice number and everyone can err on the safe side. My contention is that the greatest risk factor is not pitch count but poor mechanics.
         This has been an interest of mine for a long time so I’m certainly interested in hearing about any solid scientific data by reputable sources that correlates pitch counts with are injuries. Jeff Passan in his book “The Arm” stated that accumulation of solid data is difficult to put together. People and places trying to gather data over time never get finished. Individual teams snap them up to use for their own organizations and stop sharing any data. It’s spy versus spy rather than an MLB wide effort to draw conclusions. MLB has funded grants to study pitch counts and injuries but exclusively for youth. If you haven’t visited their “Pitch Smart” website it’s worth a visit. Great stuff for parents, coaches and kids. But that’s not adult professional pitchers. Maybe the less is more theory isn’t actually true with certain pitchers with clean mechanics. Maybe 110 pitches is NOT more damaging than 85 or 100? Is that really overuse?

         1. You may be right about mechanics as that makes logical sense. Type of pitch is also a consideration. They wont let kids throw curve balls in most little leagues. Genetics also play a role. How could Nolan Ryan last so many years throwing like he did? Amazing.

            One other thing to consider today is how many times through the order. Today batters have access to video of every pitch and arm angle etc. Third time through and you can lock on with a lot of pitchers. Analytics plays a huge role in match ups and managers are using more no matter the pitch count.

            1. To my point, pitchers are pulled based on the assumption that they will struggle the 2nd time through to base or previous numbers not what’s happening in the present. You used to know when to take a guy out because the hitters told you, not the anticipated outcome.
               Plenty of variables are at work here, including bad luck. The popular Roger Craig splitter had it’s hay day and now is thought to cause forearm tightness and arm issues. While I would never encourage a teen-age curveball, if the pitch is taught correctly it does not stress the elbow. It’s only when you try to “yak it” with a wrist snap that causes elbow issues. But youth coaches and players who don’t do it right and it’s too risky. So, just don’t throw it. Stick with a good old fastball with some commend and a change up. That’s enough.

   2. I think management will be especially careful with starters going deep into games this year considering the lack of innings everyone had last year.

      They want to be sure these guys are fresh for the playoffs. An extra inning here and an extra inning there will add up by October. So when you are dealing with decision makers who are conservative to begin with, this year will be even more so. Actually I’ve been surprised the starters have been allowed to go as deep into games as they have, although one look at our bullpen probably answers that question.

      Speaking of starters and bullpens, can someone tell me why they’ve decided to use tomorrow as a bp game? It would normally by May’s day to pitch, so instead of that they decide to throw our vaunted bullpen against the Brewers? What have I missed here?

      1. The Brewers are 26th in the league in OPS?

         1. Nothing like giving them a jump start.

   3. I was thinking about the umpire union yesterday as an impediment to my master plan to bring competence and order to the umpire ranks in baseball. Let’s just pretend for the sake of the exercise that Manfred wasn’t completely worthless. Here’s what I would do if I were him:

      1. Hire stat nerds, whose only job is to evaluate and scout umpires. He would compile a list of umps who were good and could replace the current MLB umps instantly. This could take a while, but he’d have his ducks in a row.

      2. Announce in the offseason that MLB will be implementing sweeping changes to the umpire system and will be taking over the MiLB umpires, will increase their salaries, with bonuses to those who have exemplary metrics.

      3. MLB umps will have a choice to either: retire and keep their current salary as a pension in perpetuity, or, enter into the MLB umpire salary and performance structure.

      4. There should be a mandatory retirement age of 55 where umps still get benefits. There will be performance reviews. The least competent matriculate down to the lower minors, the best of the best make it the MLB, and the best of those get to ump the WS, which earns a bonus. All base salary is the same, but high performers get bonuses. Consistently bad umps with bad performance reviews might be washed out, but at the same time there ought to be some job security.

      5. Not sure if there is an ump academy for new hires, but there should be. The excellent umps past mandatory retirement could be instructors.

      1. I love the ideas to have better umpires. It’s all correct. But it ain’t gonna happen. The most expedient way to fix the poor balls and strikes problem is the ABS. The technology is there so use it.
         This is a post I made some time ago in response to a question on how to be an umpire by DBMom (I miss her)
         It’s a five step program on becoming an umpire:
         1. Enroll in one of two umpiring schools approved by MLB. The best known school for many fans is the Harry Wendelstedt School for Umpires. The courses run for five weeks, usually in January and February.
         2. Get noticed: Instructors look for many characteristics other than knowledge of baseball rules when evaluating potential umpires. MLB Director of Umpire Administration Tom Lepperd states
         “Confidence, a strong presence on the field, knowledge of the mechanics — where to go when the ball is hit, forceful calls, good use of voice, hustle and ability to handle situations on the field (are all important).” 
         Former PBUC Director Mike Fitzpatrick adds that good judgment and character are things instructors look for as well.
         3. Finish top of the class.
         4. Begin assignment in lower leagues
         5. Wait for ‘The Call.
         Baseball America estimated that 17.2 percent of drafted players — about one in six — will make it to the Major League level. For umpires, it’s only a three percent chance.
         They too have to move from level to level and are employed for only three to five months during the season meaning most have an off-season jobs.
         While this should now change, the 2019 regular season salary range for each classification was as follows:
         Class AAA: $2,900 – 3,900 per month
         Class AA: $2,500 – 3,100 per month
         Class A – Full Season: $2,100 – 2,600 per month
         Class A – Short Season & Rookie: $2,000 – 2,300 per month
         Hard road to make the show.
         By the way one of the winter Umpire school’s instructors is Cory Blaser. I think he’s one of the poorest umpires.

      2. Could he do that?

         Isn’t there a union and a collective bargaining agreement therewith?

         It’s like Teachers and their incorrigible union. Impossible to introduce efficiencies.

8. It is not total panic time for the bullpen yet, but it is close. They need someone down there who can A. pitch on back to back days, B. Be effective when doing so, C. Throw some serious heat. Cleavinger has some impressive stuff, but not the poise yet. He is lucky he did not get his coconut crushed by that line drive back to the box. Bauer, who is extremely entertaining when he pitches, and manages to piss MLB off at the same time goes tonight. Last game I will get to see until next Wednesday. Tomorrow night I will be on a choo choo.

9. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball (tied)

   The Dodgers have the biggest run differential in baseball.

   The Dodgers have the best starting staff in baseball.

   All of this mitigates the impact of the bullpen.

   Bullpens take time to sort out, but I believe AF will do it!

   1. No one has contradicted me yet – is there anyone in the Dodgers’ pen that you have confidence in to shut the opposition down? Treinen, Gonzalez, Graterol – essentially everyone has been bad. Jansen is good but with 2 days of rest. If Scott Alexander is your 2nd best reliever, you have a problem.

      Do you have confidence in any given reliever any given day?

      1. ERA’s

         Gonzalez – 2.57
         Treinen – 2.70

         …. and Graterol has only pitched 1.1 innings.

         So, I would say I do have confidence!

         1. C’mon Mark. You can have your position that the bullpen isn’t as bad as perceived and that it will straighten itself out or AF will do so, but PLEASE, do not use ERA as a measuring stick for relievers.

            A guy comes in from the bullpen with the bases loaded, walks the next three guys and then gets the last out. 0.00 ERA. Is that guy a good reliever?

            1. ERA is but one piece of the puzzle. However, if a bullpen pitcher generally has a good ERA, they generally do well in other instances…. and if they don’t it’s pretty easy to see (Pedro Baez).

            2. I would think WHIP a better stat to use.

10. I was one of those who wants to anoint Buehler as ace. Buehler is not in total synch yet. His velocity was down early. I just know that playoff time they start him first.

    However, I think kershaw may have exorcised some of his demons. I am a lot more confident of him in the playoffs now that he has a World Series in the bank and he has a lot more help in the starting rotation.

    It is not going to matter if we go into the playoffs with this bullpen. This is a terrible pen right now. Offense and bench are bad also. U can say look at team averages blah blah blah. We have 4 outs in our lineup any given day.

    As of now we have an elite starting rotation and not much else. The names will have to change in the bullpen to improve. I expect there will be a lot of name changes but it is going to cost us a lot of games before it happens. Offense has to get an mlb lineup in the game to improve.

11. Treinen is the best BP piece we have.

12. I’ll jump into the bullpen conversation. I look at career stats (all of them), the specific stat that I pay the closest attention to is OPS.

    Gonzalez and Gonsolin are our 2 best relievers career wise (I don’t include Jansen because he is in decline). But Gonsolin is on the IL.

    An OPS under .600 is dominant.

    Gonzalez:
    Career OPS overall .472
    Against RHB .569
    Against LHB .368

    Gonsolin:
    Career OPS overall .547
    Against RHB .542
    Against LHB .552

    As you can see both are dominant. The others in the pen have flaws. Some are dominant against one side of the plate and bad against the other side (Graterol and Treinen come to mind). Some are good not dominant against one side and average against the other (Price and Alexander come to mind). Some are average against one side and bad against the other (Nelson comes to mind). Some are just bad against both sides (Santana comes to mind).

    To sum it up, it will be good to get Gonsolin back, but Freidman needs to get at least one reliever that can consistently get outs against both sides of the plate.

13. Remember when Kenley was awesome? He could go 4 games in a row. He could go multiple innings. He was a excellent closer. The biggest problem with the pen is not having a great closer.

    Treinen and Knebel have had some of the best years ever by a closer. Same with Kenley. Liam Hendricks sucks this year, after dominating the last couple. Kimbrel is perfect this year after sucking the last couple. What to do?

    No one is going to trade a closer 24 – 25 games into the season. Morrow, Gonsolin, Knebel, Treinen, Jansen are all on the team. Santana, Graterol, Gonzalez, Cleavenger, White all have great stuff, closer stuff. Be patient, this too shall pass.

    1. My point exactly!

       1. No shit. Every person on this site would have loved it if the Dodgers signed Liam Hendricks and everyone would have hated it if they traded a 30th ranked prospect for Kimbrell. What would they be saying today if either happened?

          This bullpen is stacked with talent, but is under performing in small sample sizes. Let this shit ride a little bit. In a month or two, these guys will pitch like closers and soft tosser Mark Melancon will bow to father time.

          The problem with Kenley is that he’s a feelings kind of guy. I think it was a big ask just to share the closer role, imagine how he’ll respond if you take him out of that roll completely? If you want to acquire a closer, you have to be prepared to lose Kenley for pretty much nothing. He’ll blow games earlier in the game, still resulting in losses and then you’re going to have to cut him and eat his contract. It makes a hell of a lot of sense to keep working with him, especially when he’s shown he can still hit 97!!! It’s a bad position to be in, but here we are.

14. White coming.
    Raley going.

15. Yah, the bullpen has been a bit of a mess. Been there before. So none of this is terribly unusual. I’m sure it will work out, somebody will step up. The Dodgers will find ways to fix or address the problem. Not sure when Tony Gonsolin is due back, but he will help. July will offer trade opportunities.

    Without looking it up, who is the 30th ranked prospect?

    Not sure about Lux? He has skills and has hit some balls hard, but right at people. Roberts plans to stay with him so he just needs to stay healthy and find some holes. Once he does confidence will grow and I think he can be a special player. We’ll see. It will be nice when the minors get under way and you get to see what the prospects can do. Maybe somebody steps up and is a mid-season option.

    But one player who needs to step up is Max Muncy. He has to start putting the ball in play, especially when he’s hitting clean-up. He seems to waiting for the perfect pitch or is becoming walk happy. That’s a problem for a team looking to score runs and has Cody Bellinger on the injured list. One other thing, AJ Pollack has to play more, especially against righthanders.

    Another thing I don’t get is how did we end up with all of these old guys needing days off. When players are in their 20s do they really need that much rest. Have trouble scoring runs? Wonder why?

    Sorry, but I have nothing to say about politics other than shame on Rob Manfred for putting baseball in the middle of a firestorm. Only a total dumbass would do that. How did baseball benefit from that move? Oh yah, it didn’t.

    1. +1.

       Good post, IMO.

16. WHIP is a good metric, but some relievers have had a great season with a higher WHIP because no one could hit them, but they had poor control. Corey Knebel’s best season was like that.

    I think I am going to invent a new metric to rate relievers. I have some ideas…. stay tuned!

17. There are 80 pitchers in MLB who have a 0.00 ERA.

    Of course, that will not last. Thinking they will have a 0.00 ERA after less than 30 games is as silly as thinking the Dodgers bullpen is bad after 30 games. BANG!

    Graterol has “forearm tightness.” I suspect he will be facing TJ.

    That is what the Dodgers have been hiding!

    1. damn, that sucks

       1. Pencil him in for 2023!

    2. What’s the advantage to hiding it?
       If he gets TJ it will be his second one but they knew he was a risk when they traded for him.
       Andrew was willing to take that chance. The Red Sox weren’t.
       He’s still very young so even assuming he has TJ he could still have an excellent career.

18. Still snakebit…

    Seager smoked that ball: DP!

19. Come on Barney!

20. Well it’s good to see Barney step up.

21. Tommy,

    Talk to the baseball gods, NOW!

22. The Dodgers are certainly snakebit. And certainly Murphy is at work. But in a long season with its inevitable peaks and valleys, we are likely to see a prolonged period when bloopers begin to fall in, ground balls grow eyes, and long fly balls find their way past the warning track and over the fence. And Mookie Betts is not likely to keep taking fastballs down the middle for strikes, especially strike-three. And it won’t hurt when Bellinger gets back.

    1. If I remember right mookie was kind of flat for a bit when he first got with the dodgers. He’s just too good of a player not to break out of it.

    2. Good to hear from your Brooklyn. Hope you are safe snd sound.

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