COVID-19, Balls & Strikes

Since I had COVID in October, my doctor advised me to wait until May to get it due to the fact it can have a deleterious effect if you get the shot when you still have a high amount of antibodies in your system. So, I waited until Tuesday to get my first shot (Moderna). It was almost 7 months and we felt that it should be fine. In fact, it was 7 months prior to October that I had COVID the first time. Well, evidently, I did not wait long enough. I felt a little “out of it” Wednesday Morning but we have our Leadership Meeting at 10:00 AM every Wednesday. My son, who is VP of Sales was sitting next to me and about 15 minutes in, I asked him to get me the thermometer that we use to scan the temperature of people.

When I took my temperature, it was 103.5! I waited about 30 seconds and took it again and it was 101.1, and over the next few hours it was bouncing around like a ping-pong ball. I got home with chills, sweats, body aches, and all of the flu-type symptoms. I went to bed at about 10:30 AM and slept until 5:30. By then, I did not have a fever, but I felt like I had been to a Giants-Dodgers game in SF and beaten up by 20 Giant fans. I went back to bed at 7:00 PM and slept until 7:30 AM. I went to work for about a half-hour at 3:00 PM and came home. As I write this (7:00 AM EDT) I am about back to normal, but it was a rough two days. Most people have the reaction after the second shot. I hope this was the bad reaction…not the second shot!

I now see that the CDC says you do not have to wear masks outside. Hummm…In the past, the scientific community has repeatedly “debunked” the theory that the COVID-19 virus started in a lab. Now, prominent scientists are calling for a deeper investigation into the origin of Covid-19, including the possibility that a laboratory accident released the new coronavirus that caused the pandemic.

In a letter published Thursday in the journal Science, an international group of 18 biologists, immunologists, and other scientists criticized the findings of a report released in March by a World Health Organization-led team into the pandemic’s origin and called for a more extensive evaluation of the two leading hypotheses: that the pandemic virus entered the human population and began spreading after escaping from a lab or after jumping to humans from infected animals. There is a whole lot more to learn about this, but now it’s about science. Then, it was only about politics!

Balls and Strikes

I think some of you misunderstood yesterday when I suggested each team gets 10 ball and strike challenges a game. Here’s how it would work. The electronic devices the TV networks utilize would be in tandem with MLB and MLBPA. It would have to be agreed upon, but the decision would not go back to NY to decide. Maybe it would involve an additional umpire (maybe retired) who sets in the press box and instantly sees the evidence. It does not have to go to New York if MLB and the MLBPA agree to the electronic results. Thus, there is no delay… may 5 seconds.

Honestly, you probably don’t need another umpire. The electronics are as such that every pitch could be called electronically and the umpire could instantly be overridden, but I say to limit it to a specific number so as not to take out the human element completely. It doesn’t need to go to New York to do so. We have the technology now. I can’t think of any reason not to, especially if there is no delay. This would make it easier to grade umpires too. What percentage of their balls and strikes did they get right?

Dodgers Minor League Report

  • The OKC Dodgers are now 1-6 after losing 5-2 to the Sactown River Cats. They managed 5 hits, but only one for extra bases – a double by The Kaybear (.333). They struck out 14 times! Logan Salow pitched a clean inning and struck out two. Mike Kickham was kicked again. His ERA is 7.771.
  • The Tulsa Drillers improved to 3-6 with a 9-3 win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Mike Busch hit his 4th HR and both Feduccia and Mann hit their first. Donovan Casey was a perfect 3-3 with a double. John Rooney gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in 3 IP. Justin Bruihl pitched two scoreless innings and Nate Robertson finished it out with 3.1 scoreless innings. He has yet to be scored upon in his 3 games.
  • Great Lakes improved to 3-6 with a 4-1 win over the West Michigan Whitecaps. Ryan Ward drove in two runs with their only extra-base hit (a double). Zac Ching stole 2 bases, as did James Outman, and Joe Vranesh. Alex Gamboa pitched 3 scoreless innings as did Austin Drury, who also struck out 6.
  • Rancho dropped to 4-4 with a 9-8 loss to the Nuts. The Quakes had 11 hits, outhitting the Nuts who had 7. Both teams had 17 strikeouts! Jake Vogel had 2 hits as did Jonny Deluca. One of Deluca’s hits was a HR. Jorbit Vivas also had a HR. Jimmy Lewis gave up 5 runs in 2 IP while Aldry Acosta pitched 2 scoreless innings.

Tonight, Clayton takes the mound against Sandy Alcantara, who is pretty dang good!

This article has 47 Comments

  1. Covid 19 is a hoax and everyone who still beliesve it is a killer virus is lost. And twice as lost if he or she or it (gender correct) believes in those vaccines which have never been tested in due time (shortes vaccine to hit the market was after 5 years prior to this Covid hystieria). Good to see more and more states coming to their senses and banning vacccine passports.
    Sorry , but that is how I see it after putting hours and hours, days and days into this topic.

    As for baseball: Dodgers will win the West despite going threw a cold spell. Too much talent .

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!

    1. Wow! My brother was killed by a hoax. He was cremated when they could of simply just let him wake up. and tell him “just kidding”! Can I sue?

      1. sorry for your loss. seriously. but whatever comorbidity he had is what killed him. unless he was one of the VERY UNLUCKY 6% who died of covid alone.

    2. Dodgerram, What are your qualifications for making that claim? Are you an epidemiologist? An infectious disease specialist? Covid is a disease that has killed millions of people, and continues to kill millions (see India). You can read the research yourself, if you’re so inclined. Look up the studies. Go to Google Scholar. Read about the molecular structure of the virus. Read the research about how the virus is transmitted. Have you done that? Or do you deny the validity of the scientific method? And on what basis? Some conspiracy mongering websites? To deny the reality of this modern plague is inconceivable to me. And yes, vaccines can provoke a powerful immune response, which can protect you from getting the virus. The fact that Mark had such a strong reaction shows that he still has lots of antibodies floating around from his two bouts of Covid. How does your conspiracy theory account for the antibodies in his system? Is that part of the conspiracy, too, putting antibodies in people’s blood?

      1. 6% killed by ONLY covid dude. the rest were existing comorbidities. does that matter? i dunno, you tell me. since EVERY other disease EVER, when a person who has a comorbidity catches something & they die, the “catches something” is listed as the comorbidity and what they already had is listed cause of death. if it was the other way around we would be forced to wear masks every single flu season.

        1. Explain this line of thinking to me.

          If I had a kind of heart disease (I believe this qualifies as a comorbidity) condition, that could have been managed through medicine to enable me to live for a decade.

          But Covid killed me, you’re saying that it’s the comorbidity that should be blamed for sapping me and my loved ones of 10 years together?

          1. dude, don’t point the finger at me. i was just stating FACTS on how it WAS DONE and is done for covid. it is a NASTY virus ( which frankly, i believe is NOT naturally occurring ) that seems to prey on the weak in more ways than we would ever have imagined. it seems to prey on every weakness people might have. and btw, there are docs who have said that they have treated patients with 100% success with combos of hcq & ivermectin & one other CHEAP drug on newly infected people b4 things get bad. so yeah, don’t take me as one who is a “phony pandemic” dude. but I AM skeptical of EVERYTHING the govt has said and done to protect its citizens. as in MASKS DO NOT WORK the way people wear them. they take them on and off all day long. if they are infected the shit is being collected in the mask, they take it off because someone cannot hear them clearly, thus resulting in them blowing out a huge viral load instead of what would have happen with the amount of load in a breath or too. i may not be an expert, but i have more than half a brain & have studied all arguments and sides of this. bottom line for me is we have a bunch of incompetents running “the show” who literally have no idea what they are doing. and fauxci? don’t get me started. HIGHEST paid fed employee there is, makes DOUBLE what the prez makes. for what?
            what are we going to do if we change how we report illness deaths and all of a sudden we hear a million a year killed by flu or cold? saran wrap ourselves?

          2. I don’t mean to jump in an answer a question that wasn’t directed at me, but a thought occurred to me.

            If you had a kind of chronic heart disease and you got a bad case of the flu before 2020 and died, what would be on the death certificate? I’m not necessarily posing an argument, but it is a genuine question. I don’t know.

            Another open question: Although it’s hard to get numbers for just 2020, I recall reading someplace (take that for what it is) that flu deaths for 2020 were non-existent, which would be unprecedented. What would account for that? If someone had both flu and COVID – and yes, that is possible – do you just naturally assume it was COVID that killed him/her?

            I get that you need to make a somewhat arbitrary distinction for the sake of classification, but it does create some gray areas, especially if there are other incentives to report case fatalities as COVID.

    3. One of the more interesting phenomena from this whole pandemic is how the right and the left have interpreted it. I’ll freely admit my thinking is more conservative and skeptical by nature, so when the pandemic first hit, my first inclination was to react negatively against what I saw as an initial hysteria, where people I know on the left were predicting millions of American deaths on a scale similar or worse than the Spanish Flu. I don’t think I ever equated it to just a bad case of the flu, but I tended to interpret things I’d read about it’s death rate along these lines.

      There is also many people who interpret it as part of a larger Great Reset, where globalists are using it as a pretense to create a New World Order … yada yada. Bill Gates gets mentioned a lot.

      In every conspiracy theory there is a kernel of truth. I think, at some level, many on the left do hate the concept of the United States, the pandemic has brought out the authoritarianism impulse and group think in a lot of people, and we do need to be vigilant and safeguard against intrusions against our individual and civil liberties – as we always do.

      In many ways, a COVID passport would make a lot of sense logistically, but so would wearing armbands – but that’s creepy, hints at Orwellian totalitarianism and is un American.

      Reality is complicated. Two opposing ideas can be true at the same time. So, Dodgerram guy. No. COVID itself is not a hoax. It is a very serious health crisis.

  2. You’re right Mark much of this has been about politics. Never wore a mask outside. Johns Hopkins experts said it was highly unlikely for anyone to catch it outdoors, as long as you avoided being in large crowds. Basically avoid large gatherings like outdoor barbecues and protest marches. Both drove the surge in California, according to both state and county health officials.

    I never caught Covid. My 92 year old aunt in Knoxville did. She survived. They vaccinated her a month later. She had no problems. Probably has to do with the individual. I had the vaccine, Moderna, no real issues, other than a lump on my arm after the second shot. Went away after a week. No real side effects. Some people had issues after the second shot, some didn’t.

    Interesting what Clayton Kershaw said about the new ball, bigger seams, but it hasn’t worked like MLB thought. The idea balls would fall for doubles and triples, but it would limit homeruns. More action. But strikeouts are slowing offense. The just over the wall homeruns of 2020 are now outs on the warning track.

    Just seems like ending the shift would produce more offensive activity. Two fielders on the infield dirt between first and second, the other two between second and third. Pull hitters would make a comeback. Definitely lead to more hits. I have no idea what could be done about the high number of hitters striking out.

    I thought Dodger TV announcer Joe Davis made an interesting point about the shift. If players were going to make adjustments they would have already done it. He believes MLB needs to end shifts for the good of the game. Seems like an easy fix. Moving the mound back seems like something to walk away from, dumb idea and pitchers are totally opposed to it.

    I’ve always been opposed to an electronic strike zone, but then I see all the bad calls. The one pitch with the bases loaded on Mookie Betts was potentially game changing. Clearly inside, should have been ball four. Instead strike three. Fortunately Corey Seager singled in two and then Gavin Lux hit a game winning homer an inning later. Just seems the umps are consistently bad on balls and strikes.

    But Kershaw did say that what you see on TV strike zones are not always accurate.

    Interesting piece on why the Dodgers are having issues, written by Ken Rosenthal. Not all of it on the freak injury to Cody Bellinger, but it has caused a major problem, mostly because the players filling in have done pretty much nothing. Missing Kiki? Probably. The injury to McKinstry adding more salt to the wound.

  3. WRONG. with your “taking out the human element” bullspit. umps ARE NOT supposed to be part of the outcome of any game. a catcher moving his glove to catch an obvious strike SHOULD NOT affect the call. a pitcher throwing hot stuff that moves across the plate with more movement than the ump seems to be able to follow & is a strike needs to be called a strike ( seen that happen to treinen more than anyone this year ). and WHAT? so you run out of your 10 challenges & it is the 9th and a ball 4″ out of the zone gets called a strike & you have no recourse & lose the game thanks to a bad call from an ump?!? ’cause that is EXACTLY what happened with betts the other night, but we happened to win anyway. called 3rd strike on obvious ball with bases loaded. cost us a run, but luckily we won anyway. and stop being so touchy dude, maybe it is your altered dna or something. you said i offered no logical explanation as to why you were wrong, when i CLEARLY said >>t is ridiculous that player and teams have to CATCH umps making mistakes when they SHOULD NOT be part of the outcome of a game.<<
    all due respect sir, but THAT is actually a "logical explanation" of why i am all for using any tech we can to ensure balls and strikes are called properly EVERY TIME & that the umps are reduced to being just that. the arbiters making sure the game is played exactly BY THE RULES.
    cheers dude

    1. It sounds like we are on the same side, but I am not sure after reading what you wrote. It is very disjointed, but regardless of what you meant, I can see you are at least trying to foment an argument, which is fine. When I hear “not well thought out” I know there is no argument. Still, after reading this is am no closer to understanding what you mean.

      There are a few things at work here:

      1. If what Clayton says is true (you can’t always trust the TV result), then that is a big issue.

      2. Just like in football, if you lose up all your challenges and get beat by it, that’s on you. It must mean that you were losing most of the challenges.

      3. When a pitch is coming in at 90-100 MPH with movement, most times you cannot detect slight movements by the catcher and some catchers are very good at concealing what they do.

      4. UMPS HAVE ALWAYS been part of the outcome of the games and this is one way to mitigate, but the calls of balls and strikes are part of the fabric of the game. It should not go away entirely but this would mitigate it. Perfect games and no-hitters have been lost due to umpires making the wrong call.

      Again, it sounds like you are for the Electronib Balls and Strikes… I think,.. maybe?

      1. I dunno dude, might be suffering from post “vax that’s not really a vax according to SCIENCE” still or something.
        So, YES ROBOUMPS all the time without the phony challenge limit or whatever, just let tech do what it can do better than a human.
        >>1. If what Clayton says is true (you can’t always trust the TV result), then that is a big issue.<>
        Kershaw is an MLB pitcher not at tech guru & the tech tv uses IS NOT the same tech MLB would use. TV tech is right on for side to side, but not 100% accurate on top and bottom as in IF they ever have roboumps, all player will have their strike zone pre-determined.
        >> 2. Just like in football, if you lose up all your challenges and get beat by it, that’s on you. It must mean that you were losing most of the challenges.
        Not a great analogy sir, excepting in/out of bounds calls and the like, most football challenges are now “judgement calls”, like was it interference or not and the like.
        MLB does not have that. Our rules are clearly defined & MAYBE except balks I would not call any of them “based on judgement”. A ball that lands outside the line is foul, a ball that goes over is a home run, Any pitch that lands inside the clearly defined 3D strike zone is a strike & outside is a ball.
        >>3. When a pitch is coming in at 90-100 MPH with movement, most times you cannot detect slight movements by the catcher and some catchers are very good at concealing what they do.
        A catcher moving their glove A LOT or slightly SHOULD NOT affect the call of a ball or a strike. Nor does your example take into account a pitch where the catcher sets up low and away, the pitcher throws a strike high and inside, the catcher has to move his glove across the plate so the ump calls a ball. And like I said earlier, I have seen that happen more to Treinen than anyone else this year. His stuff has this hard late movement when he is on & umps miss it all the time.
        >>4. UMPS HAVE ALWAYS been part of the outcome of the games and this is one way to mitigate, but the calls of balls and strikes are part of the fabric of the game. It should not go away entirely but this would mitigate it. Perfect games and no-hitters have been lost due to umpires making the wrong call.
        Umps have been part of the game, ONLY because we had no choice. Now we do & can relegate them to what their intended purpose is and that is to be arbiters of making sure the game is played by the rules. They should be removed from the determination of calling balls and strikes because TECHNOLOGY has proven they are woefully inadequate at that part of FOLLOWING THE RULES.
        clear enough now?
        Cheers Dude, glad I found this site because I LOVE talking about and arguing about baseball. IT IS “the best sport”

      2. You are quite charitable in calling that post Disjointed.

        That usage of ALL CAPS was a doozy.

        1. get over yourself. and btw popeye kicked your ass EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.
          so there is that. i properly punctuate, but admit i typically do not use caps except for emphasis. would you be happier if i italicized, underlined …. you tell me.
          i do this while being paid, so i typically type train of thought & apologize if it confuses you. there were ALOT of different points & subjects to address.
          my 2nd post, i went point by point to avoid confusion. pretty sure, there is nothing confusing about it at all.
          cheers

  4. Got my second shot a week and half ago on Sunday. About Monday afternoon I started to feel off. That evening I started taking the Tylenol to control the fever symptoms – body aches, fatigue, that out-of-it feeling. By the next day I was better.

    I’m just sick of this whole thing – and sick of Fauci. I run a cycling team of about a hundred members. I lead group rides on weekends that average about 20-30 people. Early on in March of 2020 one of the docs on our club contacted me and voiced his concern about the pandemic, that he had been seeing the chatter in medical circles and that it was “very scary” and he suggested I shut down group rides. I contacted another doc on our team who is involved with Doctors Without Borders, and her opinion was, “if this was yesterday, I’d say it’s probably ok to ride, but I agree that the ride shut be shut down.” This was before we had lockdowns on a worldwide and national level, so I was a little ahead of the curve, and, at the time it was the right thing to do. So I shut everything down … for months.

    In August, when the infection/death rate was close to its nadir, and after consulting with docs, doing my own research, sending out a survey and getting feedback from our members, I opened things up again. Of course there were a few of the vocal minority who sent me impassioned emails, which influenced and delayed my decision to start up again. Even so, the vocal minority weren’t satisfied and quit. It seems the primary argument was that riding bikes in a group was an act of privilege and, because COVID disproportionately effects people of color, it was a luxury and a frivolity we had an obligation to do without. There were other clubs that were political echo chambers who would derisively call us the “COVID Death Ride.”

    But for the vast majority of our membership, they welcomed it. They missed the social contact and interaction with friends around an activity and a community we were all a part of. It seems humans need that kind of thing, which is why I tried to rely on the best available science at the time and open things up safely.

    I shut it down again when the infection rate spiked, and when I heard from a fellow cycling coach that one of his riders contracted it from group rides. That was all I had to go on, so, to be safe, rides were off. In the meantime, I would stories of fellow riders getting screamed at by passersby for not wearing a mask as they ride by at 20 MPH. I would get glares when I would stop on my bike and wouldn’t immediately don a mask. I spoke with an organizer of a bike race yesterday who was basically pleading with me on the phone to make sure my team was hypervigilant in social distancing and wearing masks because there were be three LA County health inspectors there looking for any reason to shut him down.

    I read the studies. I knew that outdoor transmission was very unlikely. None of that mattered.

    Finally, a couple of weeks ago, in an interview, Fauci mentions almost in passing that outdoor transmission is very unlikely. Now the CDC says no masks outside. We have gotten NO coherent guidance. But what we have a lot of are stories by people like Jayne Cobb (who I think is a great poster) here, who have petty authoritarians literally yelling at his kids because a mask slips below his nose, and people who just want to cling to their anxiety and virtue signaling and wear their masks in perpetuity. It’s infuriating.

    Ok, rant over.

    1. California has approximately $40 Million People.

      Florida has approximately $22 Million People.

      California was/is locked down and they had 63,000 deaths.

      Florina has been open since September and they have 36,000 deaths.

      California averaged a death for every 635 people.

      Florida has the oldest population in the US and they averaged a death for every 611 people.

      They have been back to work and back to school and the state is doing very well.

      By contrast, NY has 20,000,000 in population and they have locked down tighter than a drum, yet their darling Governor has managed to kill one out of every 384 New Yorkers. This is all politics too. When Trump sent a hospital ship to NY for the COVID-19 Recovery patients, the Dumbass refused to use it and instead sent the COVID-19 patients to nursing homes. He should be indicted!

      1. The USNS Comfort was sent to NY for treating people with ailments other than Covid-19. The ship made headlines during its short mission in New York, with multiple crew members getting sick, and outrage over the initial decision not to accept coronavirus patients. Cuomo made mistakes but this one wasn’t on him.

        1. The point is they treated less than 180 people and said they didn’t need it. They could have utilized it to prevent sending the COVID patients to nursing homes, but Cuomo did not want to make Trump look good in any fashion.

          In fact, he disparaged the vaccine that was developed under Warp Speed. But, it’s OK now because Joe is taking the credit.

      2. covid deaths WITHOUT a comorbidty stand at around 6%. in the past with EVERY other disease EVER, they would list the existing condition as cause of death & the virus or whatever they caught as the comorbidity that pushed them over. but since this has become so political, politicos LOVE BIG NUMBERS so they can scare people.
        only my last sentence is my opinion, the rest are just facts that are easy to find if you actually care.

        1. Well, one can say that it was double pneumonia that caused his death as he was put on a ventilator. But that came about by covid19. The doctor put covid as his death, though I’m certain hospitals protocols wrongly are in place and need to be brought up to speed with common sense instead of backwards science that came from education. Education sometimes creates stubbornness that isn’t righteous. At any rate covid19 was brought to his house and he was dead in less than a week after. He didn’t have pneumonia prior to covid.

  5. Back to baseball: has anyone watched our minor league games? Michael Busch already with 4hr???

    How’s his swing look? How’s his defense? Is he a Daniel Murphy type at 2b?

    1. I have watched several of his games. He has a sweet swing. Starting at AA was a jump for him, but he is doing OK. I think his BA will start to climb.

      His glove is better that Murphy, but I think he more of a 1B or LF guy!

  6. Little baseball news yesterday. But I had a full day anyway. Had to get my tires rotated and get an estimate on getting some old dents repaired. Covid has not affected me personally, but it has affected things I love to do. My love for the game has never waned. but my enjoyment has been affected. The price of attending a game is way out of my league. This visit to California will be the first time I have not gone to a game when I have visited. We were going to try to see the Quakes this trip, but I have just been too busy. And in 2 weeks, I will be headed home. It will be nice to be in a town where the streets are not lined with homeless people. That aside, it has been a nice visit. No one here has had covid or it’s symptoms. So my family has been lucky. I have a couple of dear friends who live in Lancaster who have had it. My ex girlfriend got her second shot the other day, and it pretty much knocked her out of commission. Me? I am doing well. Dodgers seem to be coming around. Last two games played at a better level than the previous 20. Now if we can get Belli back, and Zack, and some length out of our starters and better BP performance, then we should be ok. I now more than ever trust AF which has not always been the case. I love Dodger baseball. I really enjoy being a part of this blog and I will resume writing when I get back to Colorado and have the time and a better computer to research with.

  7. Wow, Mark. I’m sorry to hear you’re under the weather again with COVID related malfeasance. I hope you get better soon. Maybe a Dodger’s win tonight will help out.

    I took a look at each of the Dodgers affiliates this morning mostly because of Busch’s 4th homer mentioned in this article. With that good news, I was surprised to see him batting his weight. I was hoping to see him batting my weight.

    Sadly, it doesn’t get much better when you look around each roster. I highly recommend that no one checks stats on our minor leaguers anytime soon, unless you’re into masochism, self deprecation, or punching yourself in the face.

    As always, or mostly recently, I’m looking for to the game tonight against our old friend Don Mattingly and his Marlins. Let’s see who wins the boneheaded move award after each game to see who empties their bench first, makes mid inning pitching changes and unnecessary double-switches.

    1. There are solid prospects at every level (less at AAA), but frequently the Dodgers have their coaching staff and roving instructors working with certain players on varying phases of their games. Tulsa could have a championship-caliber roster, but you don’t know which players might beak out or get moved.

  8. with our assorted injuries any chance we make run Ryan Braun . He’s still unsigned – probably come cheap and is local kid. I know we made run at him years ago for Puig could be big help.

  9. My wife and I got our 2nd shot (Pfizer) 2 weeks ago. She didn’t have much of a reaction. I developed a low fever and felt horrible the next day, similar to when I had the virus in Dec. The third day every thing was fine.
    We’re still in Florida and not attempting to get back to Jersey until this gasoline situation is much better. It’s normally a 17.5 hour drive. I only have to stop for gas twice, but I’m not going to chance it now. we drive I-95 most of the way. That means going thru Ga., S.C., N.C., Va. etc. All of the hardest hit states. I sure wish the Vero Beach Dodgers were still around. 🙂
    I’m looking for a good weekend for the Dodgers. They’ve got Kershaw, Bauer and Buehler pitching Against Miami And the Dodgers will be facing at least 2 RH’s. Padres are facing the Cards. It’s Very possible St. Louis could win that series. The Giants face the Pirates this weekend but I’m More worried about the Padres. Dodgers will be getting their shot against the Giants next weekend in L.A.

  10. I think Braun is done. When Belli gets back the lineup will be much improved. Just like when the Asstericks got Alvarez back. Then McKinstry will help when he gets back too. Belli is a career .900 OPS guy. They impact a lineup immensely.

    1. Agree with your points – tread water until they get back. We could still use good vet RH stick off bench – relying on kids now.

  11. Hopefully can help down the road –

    Dodgers claimed INF Travis Blankenhorn off waivers from the Twins.
    Blankenhorn, 24, can play all over the diamond and will head to an organization which will certainly value his

  12. Sorry you had a bad shot experience. My second Pfizer shot kicked my ass. Same symptoms as you. Lasted about 36 hours. Felt like I was hit by a truck.

    Still worth it. I was sitting at the bar at my friends place watching the Dodger game again the other day. At the bar! Imagine that.

  13. I was on my way yesterday moving from my place in Phoenix back to Washington so I missed responding to the Balls and Strikes conversations. But I do have some thoughts.
    * If CK is correct about actually seeing problems with the technology, it would be nice to know that. But MLB again is spy versus spy. There is NO transparency in any of this. Starting with why umpires aren’t currently wired to explain replay decisions and the rule possibly involved to the fans, players and TV audience. It’s so simple. But fans are kept guessing. It’sindicative of how Manfred and his minions feel about baseball fans in general. The ABS system has been used. I’ve seen it live and never even noticed a change. So, what are the reviews where it’s been used? Is it accurate? Is it going to be a bargaining chip in the new CBA?
    * It was suggested yesterday, in jest I hope, that home plate umps can be fitted with Fighter Pilot type helmet’s with heads up display and cool technology. Those bad boys, for F-35 pilots, go for a cool $400,000 each by the way. I guess we could just add that expense to your game ticket or TV Package.
    * I played and coached for years understanding and accepting that human error was part of the game. That said, the game has changed due to technology and replay. I’m an old school baseball guy but am receptive to tech that makes the game better. The goal is to get it right. If the ABS system is trustworthy and available it needs to be used.
    It doesn’t have to be that complicated or tricky. The home plate ump has the ear bud, gets an instant, accurate, ball or strike signal and makes the calls on what he heard. He can overrule a select few things like balls bounced through the strike zone and other things that trick the system. He can’t overrule a normal pitch call. Otherwise his job is the same as now.
    I’m completely opposed to anything that overcomplicates or increases time for reviews. No set number of challenges or reviews for me. It’s unnecessary except for some concession to keep the human element in the game. That’s not a something I want to see. Actually, the last thing I want to see is if a Manager decides to challenge a pitch location. Get it right in real time.
    The current poor umpiring make me wish for the ABS system more every day.

  14. Busy day for AF !
    More help on the way !
    Dodgers Sign Nate Jones
    By Steve Adams | May 14, 2021 at 3:07pm CDT

    The Dodgers have signed veteran right-hander Nate Jones to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per their Triple-A communications director Alex Freedman (Twitter link). Jones, a client of Sterling Sports Management, was designated for assignment and released by the Braves earlier in the week after a brief stint with Atlanta.

    1. If you haven’t seen or can’t remember Nate Jones, he’s a hard throwing right hander with an unusual arm action. I first saw him some years ago in AA with the Montgomery Biscuits. I the White Sox .org. He threw major gas. I saw him recently and he still was firm. Seems like a no risk, high possible reward signing if he has anything left.

  15. Belli will be going to rehab assignment later next week.
    David Price threw a pen today, will get 2 days off and then be activated or throw another pen.
    Zach McKinstry is going on rehab assignment Sunday or Monday.
    Scott Alexander is 2-3 weeks away.
    Bullpen Game on Sunday.
    CT3 will start at 3B next time JT needs a day.
    Rios played through the injury for some time, out until 2022.

    1. He definitely doesn’t belong in the bigs. Belli and McKinstry’s returns are much needed. Neuse needs to go down too.

      With the exception of the walks I’ve liked the way Kenley has been throwing this year. Unfortunately, when he walks someone it turns into stolen bases.

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