I should say “some of you guys.”… and I am glad you are not. No disrespect intended. 😉 For the uninitiated, my wife runs the Finance and Operations part of US Water Systems and I run the Sales and Marketing. She is a very “hands-on” micromanager, while I am a “Big Picture” person. She is very good at her job, but it does create some issues. at times. There are many ways to do things, not a right way or a wrong way. Who plays tonight, what players are brought in and when, who pitches, who bunts, whatever strategy you can imagine is not what determines the outcome of games. What determines the outcome is EXECUTION.
Two years ago, I hired a guy who was our Landscaper into the sales department. He was approaching forty years old and wanted to get out of that business. He had no sales experience. During the next several months, as my wife would occasionally walk through the sales department, she would call me and say “You need to fire Tim, he’s horrible.” I did not fire him. I saw progress, but it was not linear. We have sixteen people in our Customer Service (Sales) Department and in June, Tim was the salesman of the month. At US Water Systems, we have fun and the Salesperson of the Month gets to wear the Superman cape. That’s Tim below and I am very proud of him.
After Monday’s game and during last night’s game, many of you were calling for the execution of Dave Roberts and many other Dodger players, but see what happens when players execute? This is baseball and players need to execute. When they do that, more often than not things work out.
Before the season started, many National Pundits and Dodger Fans on this Board picked the Yankees and Padres over the Dodgers. No one picked the Giants to be the best team in baseball. How did that work out? The Yankees sit in 4th place in the AL East behind Boston, Tampa Bay, and the team who used to play in Toronto. San Diego is 5.5 games behind the Giants and the Dodgers are one game behind the Giants.
All three of those teams (Yankees, Padres, and Dodgers) have had a lot of bad things happen… mostly injuries and then there is Trevor Bauer. Losing Trevor Bauer is arguably the worst thing that has happened to any of the three teams. It’s hard to win every year. During the stretch where the Giants won three World Series, the next year, they failed to make the playoffs. This stuff ain’t easy!
During the first six innings last night, I felt like the Dodgers were playing like a team that knew they were losing their superstar for the season… and that could be a possibility. Mookie Betts is hurt and no one is telling us how bad it is. We will just have to wait and see. If the Dodgers lose him, it will be a very difficult task to win it all again, but you never know when a “Tim” will step up. I told Tim when he won the Salesman of the Month Cape what my wife had said, and he said “Yes, I was bad, but I was not going back to landscaping. There was no Plan B. I had to make it work.” And he did!
If Mookie is out, it will be hard, but you never know when another player will step up. Raley, Reks, Tsutsugo, Ruiz, Davidson, Peters, and Noisy have not delivered this year. But this is baseball. The great Mike Trout hit .163 in his first month in the majors, then followed that up with a .400 month, and ended with a .182 month. He ended that season at .220. The next year, he hit .326! Now, don’t put words in my mouth (some of you like to do that) – none of those guys are Mike Trout, but similar things happen all the time. I’ll conclude with this:
- Cody Bellinger has to play every day. He does not get send to AAA. He has to be in there.
- I saw a lot I like in JoJo Gray. Yes, he got lit up like a Christmas Tree, but he struck out seven. I am sure he was nervous and amped up. He just needs to learn… and he will. He has the MLB arm.
- I like what I am seeing in Sherfy. Nice win! TAKE THAT FARHAN!
- I have learned to have no opinion about what kind of trades or even if Andrew Friedman will make a trade, because he is thinking about things that we have never considered.
- Trades are not what will win it for the Dodgers – Execution is!
Minor League News
- Bear posted this last night: OKC trounced Reno 10-3. Ruiz, Tsutsugo, Neuse and Estevez all homered. Tsutsugo went 3-4 to raise his average to .207. The HR was his 6th. Ruiz had 3 hits adding a double and single to his line for the night. Neftali Feliz got the win, he pitched 1.2 innings with 1 walk and 3 K’s. Graterol had a clean inning striking out 2. Pazos gave up 1 run, and Quackenbush closed the game with a clean inning. Ramirez started and went 4.1 giving up 2 runs, walking 5 and striking out 3. He gave up only 2 hits.
- Rancho put up 18 runs on the Rawhide. Leonard hit 2 HR (he has 12) and Deluco hit his 15th. Eddys Leonard is hitting .311/.398 OB%/.962 OPS. Not bad for a 20-year old. Jorbit Vivas (also 20) was 3-6 and is hitting .303.
The Trevor Bauer Saga
The LA Times has a piece on Trevor Bauer that shows just how little people understand. It could be argued that Bauer has not admitted to anything other than having a sexual relationship with the woman. What he or she did is up for debate… and I mean EVERYTHING! Hopefully, we have a resolution soon… one way or the other.
To say the least, I nearly dropped my coffee on me when I pulled up the scoreboard to see the final score of the game. I figured they would score a lot against our bullpen, but I didn’t figure we would score a lot against Wood+their bullpen. But we did…..thanks to CHRIS TAYLOR and WILL SMITH. I went to bed down 3-1 and seeing Wood striking many out.
I see both Turner and Muncy left the game early. I’m assuming Turner got hit that caused that, and Muncy’s wife went into labor. I hope she had/has? A safe delivery. Which takes me to this thought….we may be playing tonight’s game without Betts, Muncy, Turner, Seager still, and a guy who hasn’t hit all season long (Bellinger). That is a lot to overcome…..but we overcame last night, and all we needed was two guys to do pretty much all of the hitting, so who knows?
As for JGray’s debut. What he did in the third inning has made me a believer. Nasty stuff indeed. I know he gave up 3 home runs, but I’m not going to hold that over his head….first game. I’m sure he had to deal with a ton of adrenaline flowing through his system plus he has to learn batters’ weaknesses. He will.
I hope this Sherfy kid (I know he is not really a kid) turns out to be a great steal….especially coming from SF. So far, so good. Oh, and Joltin Joe Kelly is coming on too. Very good bullpen signs indeed.
Someone pinch me….did we really come back from being down 6-1 with Wood looking dominating?
Muncy also was hit, his wife did not go into labor. Turner was hit on the knee, and Muncy right in the shoulder blade. He has a contusion back there, and Turner the same on his knee. Wood also hit Pollock. Taylor saved their bacon, the BP came in after Gray left and shut the Giants down. Yes TM, we did.
I think we need to hit AT LEAST two midgets today.
CONCUR!
Execution mb but I’m sure the giants would say lack of execution! I went to bed with the score 6-2. Unbelievable comeback. Did not c Kelly but he put up zeros and then Sherfy wow. He has picked a good time to b good. With Betts, Seager, Muncy, turner out no way u can win. That is just one of the best comebacks ever!!!! Not only that but the Cubs score 6 in the 9th to beat the arrogant cards. What a night!!!!! And pads lose!! These are the kind of games that make u think mb it will b the Dodgers year!!!Go Dodgers!!! First place tonight hopefully!!!!
Sure they can win without those guys. The Giants are winning without their entire starting infield. And Urias is pitching tonight against Webb. Advantage LA, then Buehler against Desclafani. It would be a tie for first. They have 2 more losses than the Giants, and if they win, they would have 1 more win and 1 more loss, thus percentage points would be the separator.
What a difference a day makes. Coming back from a 5 run deficit against the team with the best record in baseball is a character building moment. (Notice how I didn’t say best team in baseball.) It makes it that much sweeter when it’s your arch rival.
Hopefully Muncy and Taylor got ahead of the swelling with some ice and it doesn’t turn into something. Heaven forbid that we lose any more players to the IL.
I can’t stand the use of the an opener. Like MT’s wife, I think it’s just micromanagement by the front office, manager, or whoever’s in the room when they’re coming up with the lineup. The game is 90% mental and the other half is physical. Starters are used to the routine of starting. They slowly get ready for the game through a ritualistic process akin to meditation to prepare them for battle ahead. Relievers are used to their own process of getting the call, then getting up and ready quickly to enter the game and to put out the fire. Yesterday worked out exactly how I expected it for those first 6 innings.
Regardless, our boys showed some fight, some moxy and Will Smith delivered some magic last night walking off to get them back within a game in the standings. Hopefully this turns the tide a little bit. Especially now that we have a couple of starting pitchers available for the next couple of games.
The transactions section of the Dodger’s website is going to see a lot of traffic in the upcoming days. Relievers will be swapped in out of the 26 man and maybe we’ll even see Seager finally return from his extended hiatus. Somehow I don’t think that two sim games will prepare him adequately to face major league pitching after not playing for over two months.
The Bauer situation is deeply disturbing. I’m not talking about what he “allegedly did”, but that people have already judged him and sentenced him in their own minds. It doesn’t seem that people are interested in truth or facts these days and just drink from the firehose of headlines and hit pieces written by those who sit high on top of their soapboxes. Journalism is dead and has been replaced by what people would only read when they were in line waiting to pay for their groceries.
B& (and) P the thing that bothers me the most is the lack of judgement used by Bauer. The details of what happened between them are important, but comes down to a lot of he said she said. The opinions, judgements, and “facts” that the media comes up with are in most cases baseless. Bauer grew up here in Santa Clarita where I live and lived in the LA for a good portion of his life. With all the attractive women in the LA area why would he deem it necessary to hookup with someone from San Diego? Bauer is pitching in his hometown with the WS champs, signs a $103M contract, is one of the top pitchers in baseball, and is an important part of a team trying to win another championship. He is regarded as one of the best students of pitching in baseball and has (had) used social media to create and promote his brand. And he throws all away for some lunatic he meets on the internet. Why? We have plenty of those type of women here in LA (or so I’ve been told). So, it’s his thought process in what he did that interests me. Talk about being selfish. He has let down his teammates, the Dodger organization, and the fans in order to have freaky sex. His decision to get together with this woman is the prominent issue. HIs actions could affect the Dodgers for several years if they can’t find a way to get out of his contract.
Hi Ted, I’m trying to not let what I think is freaky sex get in the way of what assault is. I’m not going to let opinions get in the way of what the facts are and I’m not going to speculate what the other players on the team think of his actions because everyone has a different definition of what is acceptable bedroom behaviour.
It’s entirely possible that there are as many teammates that feel sorry for him for being a victim of an extortion attempt. It’s entirely possible that some teammates are let down by all the players that choose to have children out of wedlock. Just like it’s entirely possible that may teammates are feeling fortunate having dodged a bullet for similar activities.
But, I agree that there were plenty of red flags, being from San Diego, willing to drive by herself 130 miles for a booty call, asking for rough sex. To fall for that is almost as stupid as being caught propositioning a transvestite hooker like Dave Stewart did. One could say that Stewart’s offense was worse because we all know that propositioning a hooker is illegal.
Like Badger says, smart people do stupid things every day. Maybe this is just a stupid thing that was done without malice. But, the women’s actions sure seem malicious and premeditated. I don’t find it hard to believe that someone that’s willing to do harm and get into a player’s head before a series against her team and former employer and other’s lover’s team would go a step further and fake their injuries.
If that’s indeed the case, his teammates and team should support him and not throw him to the wolves like Plaschke suggested.
BP I agree with u on character building. Taylor, Smith specifically should have gained confidence as a result of that game. I am so proud of the comeback with our top hitters out it seemed hopeless but they continued to grind.
I also agree with u on Bauer. I still think the facts matter. It was poor judgement but if we suspended players for that Tatis would have been suspended first. No telling how many incidents of poor judgement has gone on this year. Bauer could be innocent of any violations. We just don’t know. If he is cleared I don’t know why he can’t remain a Dodger.
If Muncy wife is supposed to be any time then it won’t be long until she will be induced. Somebody else step up. Cody mb? I think Cody has been so bad he has to hit bottom then mb he will relax and produce.
Good for you for sticking with Tim.
I agree about sticking with Cody Bellinger, but I’m not really sure he will fix his issues this year. He looks totally lost and this has to be getting into his head. The shoulder surgery, the leg fracture and now the mental part, lot to try to heal and fix. Add in the pressure of the pennant race, all the injuries and the Dodgers desperately need his bat to come alive. Maybe he turns it around, maybe not. He’s still an exceptional athlete, but he may not get it right until 2022.
Guessing the trade market will be incredibly active and the Dodgers will be in the middle of it all, along with the Giants and Padres. Pitching will be front and center. Bullpen pieces and starting pitchers. It’s a sellers market when it comes to starters so the price will be high.
This year’s deadline trades may end up breaking or making the Dodgers. Lot depends on the health of Clayton Kershaw. David Price will be part of the solution. But right now the Dodgers are down two starters and the relief corps needs a boost.
Not expecting Trevor Bauer to return. The Dodgers need to move forward with that in mind. Do they even want him back? They’ve got to be incredibly disappointed. Will all this get resolved before the end of next week?
Andrew Friedman made a big mistake not signing Wood. He knocked Justin Turner and Max Muncy out of the game, hitting one in the knee, the other in the shoulder. Connected with AJ Pollock too, but he stayed in the game. If for no other reason, Friedman should have inked Wood to protect his starting line-up. Can’t afford for another hitter to go down.
Will Friedman be able to hold on to Keibert Ruiz? He will be every team’s first ask, especially when it comes to making a major acquisition.
I’m guessing Mark would say no to trading Ruiz. So who would be on the block within the farm system, Mark? Who would be your top target? The pitcher in Colorado might be a good one to acquire, but would the Rockies trade with the Dodgers? Or would you focus on a reliever or two? Maybe both.
I remember how adamant I was to not wanting to trade Lux about 3 years ago. That experience has made me rethink this quandary.
Maybe it isn’t so bad to trade a potential star for a proven solid player, especially when the latter fills a huge need that can help us win it all. For example…Ruiz packaged to get Scherzer.
As far as I know, Andrew made an offer to Wood but couldn’t assure him that he would be one of our five starters. The Giants gave him that assurance so he signed with them. One year contract to re-establish himself so he naturally went where that opportunity was better.
When you have Kershaw, Buehler, Urias, Bauer, May, Gonsolin and Price you can’t guarantee Wood that he’s one of your five starters.
Thank you STB, Typical Monday morning quarterbacking! Mark, great decision about keeping Tim but I’m in agreement with your wife regarding Bellinger! Smith sure has hit some BIG homers in his short career.
You’re of course right STB. We didn’t need Wood as a starter then. Friedman was honest with him, and Wood made the right choice.
This morning I agree with Mark. Not necessarily about Tim, I don’t know the guy. I’ve met Mark’s wife. Strong woman who scared me. None of you remind me of her, but he would know more about than me. He’s right that at times there are some out there opinions on this board. But, you know the old saying regarding a**holes and opinions.
Last night? Never doubted the outcome. The money had us as favorites. Never doubt the money. Whatever the question, the answer is money.
Sure hope Muncy and Turner are ok. I hope Betts is ok too. Bauer’s not ok. Kershaw’s not ok. Bellinger hasn’t been ok. Ok I’m done.
Gut check win; that was awesome. I like Zach MUCH better in the OF than the IF, but we didnt have much choice.
Was about 1:30AM in NC when it ended, well worth it.
Next man up….
Someone asked about a trade. I am not saying I would do this, but…
What if Mookie Betts is out for the year?
Would you trade Austin Barnes, Gavin Lux, Bobby Miller, Zach Reks, and Cody Bellinger for Paul Goldschmidt and Jack Flaherty?
Lineup:
1. Seager SS
2. Goldschmidt 1B
3. Turner 3B
4. Muncy 2B
5. Smith C
6. Taylor CF
7. Pollock LF
8. McKinstry RF
Ponder that!
No, would like to have flaherty though. A California boy cards going nowhere make it happen.
No pondering necessary. A huge yes with no hesitation. Adds an All Star quality starter and a needed RH power bat. But, why would ST Louis make this one sided trade?
ABSOLUTELY YES!!!
I could sign it today!
Where is the pen…….?
No.
Goldschmidt is past his prime and I like Muncy at first. Flaherty makes it thinkable, but I’m not giving up on Lux and Bellinger.
We disagree again. Goody is “only 33” which tells me he still has at least 5 more years of good baseball in him. He has 16 HR and 54 RBIs….doesn’t sound like he is slowing down to me. Btw, how old did you say is Albert Pujois?
Muncy could play 2B.
Goldy TODAY is 10 times better than fragile Belly. If you want to win the WS this year and next year, you improve our team greatly by swapping Goldy for Belly. You have no guarantee you can fix Belly with all of his problems. Goldy is a GIVEN.
We don’t need fragile Lux…resign Seager or CT3to play SS and Muncy on 2B
Adding jack Flaherty…oh yeah…..25 years old, just coming into his full potential.
Yep. We disagree. Goldschmidt hasn’t been an All Star in 3 years. Won’t be an All Star going forward. Negative dWAR several years running. What I said was he’s past his prime. Lux and Bellinger have many years left, Miller has barely started and grades high. And, I like Muncy at first.
So you want to trade the 23 year old Lux, 26 year old Bellinger, and one of your top pitching prospects and 2 throw ins for a 33 year old first baseman, who has not hit the same in 3 years? And a pitcher who right now is on the 60 day IL?? U R Nuts. Yeah, Goldschmidt is a power RH bat, but he is not worth all that They do not need another 1st baseman. A RH power bat in the OF maybe.
Goldschmidt does not play CF, which is a prime defensive position. Old saying, you need solid defense up the middle. Goldschmidt has not slugged over .500 in 4 years. His OBP and his OPS are both down from his prime. Sorry. not worth what Mark suggested especially since Flaherty is on the 60 day IL.
Ilusos……..
A clear and quick NO from my side on this proposed trade.
Dodgers should keep Lux and Bellinger, never a good thing to trade your assets when they are low, not at the stock market or in baseball.
Dodgers need the Bauer thing to be resolved before making any moves regarding a starter.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!
Nope. Not a snowballs chance in hell. Goldy 4 years ago maybe, not the player he has been the last couple of years.
The real issue is this……how badly do you want to win a WS this year and or next year?
If you badly want to win now, then the proposed trade makes sense. (I’m not assuming Belli can be quickly fixed because he is getting worse, and I’m weary of all your excuses about how injured he is. He is not injured now, he just won’t adjust away from his long swing and thus can’t catch up,to a high fastball. He has other swing issues but I won’t go into them. It has nothing to do with his injuries.)
But…..If you don’t like Goldy’s numbers this year….272, 16 HR, 54 RBIs then you must hate Belli’s numbers…..155, 19 RBIs, which I know you do. So again my point is this….do you want to win now or is that not important to you?
Today: Goldy>>>Belly, hands down
Why are you so opposed with moving Max full time to 2B? He plays there half the time now?
And then we come to Jack F….who is about ready to come off of IL. His 60 days expires next week. Here is the latest news on him…. “Jack Flaherty (oblique) to face hitters this week.” 25 years old
So, here is perhaps the missing piece we may need, especially if TB is out. We may not need him as much if TB comes back, but that is still undecided. Jack is 8-1 and was tearing it up until his setback. Adding him makes us much much better in SP. assuming Clayton returns soon, we now have 4 legit starters and 5 if TB returns. If we have 5, we can then possibly move Urias back to the bullpen to close like he did in the playoffs last year. Anyhow, by adding this stud, we now have plenty of options.
As for who we lose…Belli has stunk for 2.5 years, yet you want to mock Goldy for his last 3 years, and only people with wishful thinking and many words think he can be fixed anytime soon. Lux is irrelevant the moment Corey returns. We don’t need Barnes with Ruiz brought up and the pitcher prospect won’t win us anything anytime soon.
So, again I conclude….if we want to enhance our chances of winning this year and next, we make that trade. If winning now isn’t important, hang on to the two fragile players who can’t hit LHP and one can’t hit any kind of pitching and hope for that fix you are wishing for.
I don’t think Goldy is an upgrade at 1st, and he damn sure is not that big of a difference maker. Oh yeah, his splits against LHP are bad. All of his HR’s have come against RHP. Muncy, our first baseman is hitting 70 points higher against lefty’s than Goldy. Again, I reiterate, he is not an upgrade. And he does not help at all against LHP>I think he does not improve anything, especially if you trade away your top defensive outfielder, and a player under team control for two more years for a guy making 82 million over the next 3 years after this one. And that is another reason this trade never gets made, he puts them way over the CBT. 7 of Max’s 22 HR’s have been hit off of LHP. You lose. I do not hate Bellinger’s numbers, I understand the reasons why he is not at this point, producing. His injuries have played into it, and he probably is having some confidence issues. But they are not going to trade him. To think so is wishful thinking. And the salary disparity plays into it too.
If I trade for a RH bat, it would be Kris Bryant. He can play the infield and the outfield. As far as Flaherty goes, who knows how healthy he will be after an oblique injury. And the salary’s do not match up. Bellinger is getting 16.1 Barnes, 1.6 and a 2.650 deal next year. Goldy at 26 and Flaherty at 3.6. Lux getting MLB minimum, Then you owe Goldy 82 mil over the next 3 years after that. I care less about how Bellinger has performed over the last 3 years. He had a bad second half in 19, and still won the MVP, 2020 was an abomination of a year, and he still recovered at the end to hit .239 and get some clutch hits in the post season. He is 26 years old and has been injured most of this season. You just do not turn on the switch and all of a sudden start being the player you were. I will give you a case in point. Matt Kemp was injured in 2012 when he crashed into the wall at Coors Field. In 2013, still recovering from 2 major surgeries, he had a terrible year. But in 2014 he rebounded and looked a little more like himself. He was traded, and still put up solid offensive numbers for the Padres and Braves. He was not the same defender, but he still could hit. And he hit well when he came back to LA. Bellinger has played in 39 games, he has had 137 at bats. He had a broken leg and shoulder surgery in the off season. He deserves as much a chance to turn it around as Kemp did. It is easy to give up on a player, when you are not the one who is making the decisions. I think AF would be an idiot to trade Lux and Bellinger in the deal you are talking about. Your conclusion is based on faulty intelligence, or no intelligence as to the situation at all.
Bryant makes more sense to me. Bryant and Hendricks for Reks, Rangel Unchained, Peters, Neuse, Quackenbush, Tsutsugo, Santana, Barnes, 2 anybody’s not on the 40, 2 of the guys we just drafted in PTBN later, not much later, and Tim (sorry Mark but he fills out the trade)
Lux, Miller, Reks and Barnes for Flaherty. Deal. Thought the Dodgers should have drafted Flaherty originally. Top high school pitcher in SoCal.
Logan White missed on that one. Instead of Flaherty he drafted Grant Holmes. Didn’t turn out so well for LAD or Logan. Hindsight is of course 20-20. I do remember Holmes being a highly thought of RHP out of South Carolina. He has not made it to MLB, primarily because of a series of injuries. He is now 25 and is still considered a decent prospect; #14 with the A’s.
Totally agree on Bellinger Mark. He is ++ on D no matter how he hits. When you have Smith in, you can bat him 8th if needed. LOTS of teams have ++ D player who do not hit well. He has proven quite well he can hit, he just needs more time than apparently over half the posters here want to give. Just a symptom of our instant gratification society IMO.
cheers
pb+
Biggest swing this season by The fresh prince of LA. Absolutely huge, not only in the standings but for momentum and resiliency shown by our boys in blue.
Hopefully it will not turn out a Phyrrhus victory losing both JT and Max for an extended time.
Lets hope that both Betts and Seager will return today or tomorrow. More positve on Cory than Mookie. Many of you have expressed the fear of losing him for the season and if that is the case I do not see the Dodgers make a bona fide run at a repeat. Mookie is what makes this team go over the hump.
MLB must resolve the Bauer case soon. In fairness to the player and the Dodgers this has to be cleanead up before the deadline. Since I expect this thing likely go to court anyway MLB can not suspend him until the case is over.
JoJo had his moments but as advertised the long ball hurt him big time. Has to cut down on that if hse wants to stay up.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The case is not in MLB’s hands. It belongs to the police and the DA, MLB just doing due diligence until the police and DA decide if they are going to charge him or not. Either way, it looks like there will also probably be some sort of civil suit against him ala OJ. Nats GM, Mike Rizzo says he doubts that Starlin Castro will play for the Nats again this season. Castro is on admin suspension until his abuse charge is worked out.
MLB will weigh in eventually, I think we can count on that.
I can see the DA and police department willing to give a rich citizen of their community a little room on this one. Crazy woman from out of town comes into their city and takes advantage of one their own, and a Dodger starting pitcher at that. Woman got a lot of nerve. . I’m not saying that’s my position, I don’t really have one, I’m just saying I know how justice systems often work.
I agree, and maybe MLB will keep him out. Me, I am not counting on him coming back at all this year, and maybe never. I think he is too much of a distraction.
Yeah, I agree. But will I be surprised if after a 30 day suspension he’s back for September and October? Nope.
How long will it take him to build back up to be able to pitch at least 6 innings??? He has already Been out over a month. I have no clue if he is throwing at all, but that does not replace facing hitters.
I think he’s been working out on the heavy bag.
Ouch.
MLB can not drag this on forever. The union hopefully will not allow another adminstrative leave I hope.
For better or worse the Dodgers and Bauer deserve a decision before the deadline.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just finished watching the last few innings. FINALLY someone with a great move to first. Sherfy has a great move to 1st & in fact the second throw that the DIDN’T review, he obviously got the runner. Be nice to have someone who can hold a runner.
cheers
pb+
Not terribly likely to happen but wouldn’t it be sweet to have Sherfy and Bickford play big roles in our bullpen down the stretch since both are Giants castoffs.
That would be the defining definition of SWEET REVENGE.
cheers
pb+
Burns released. I do not like going with a short bench, especially against the Giants in a series like this. Uceta activated and sent to OKC.
If Betts can not go they need to make a move, especially with JT and MM hurt now too.
Peters has somewhat found his stroke at OKC. Bring him up if Mookie can not go.
Plays superb D and maybe he will start to hit finally.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still a long bench, it’s just kinda empty.
Who’s next? Reks again? Is Raley still there? Peters? Rangel Ravelo?
Just trying to help.
Ravelo is in Japan. Hottest hitter at OKC right now is Matt Davidson. 10 HR’s in the last 11 games. Raley has cooled off and is under .300. Peters got his average up over .230, and he has cut down on his strikeouts. Tsutsugo went 3-4 last night with a HR and is finally over the Mendoza line. Ruiz hit his 14th and is hitting around .285.Right now they are carrying 12 position players, 2 catchers, 3 infielders and 7 outfielders. Taylor is listed as an outfielder. Me I sign Taylor to an extension right now before he hits free agency. There will be no one like him on the market, and he has more than earned it.
No word yet on either Turner or Muncy. Doubt we will hear anything until this afternoon when the lineups get posted. Thin bench and three of your main players hurting. I do not think Betts will be gone for the season. Mookie says, and I believe him, that it is something that he has been dealing with all year. And that it gets aggravated more when he has to run a lot. If I were looking for a replacement for Betts, it damn sure would not be Goldschmidt. If he is on the market, I go after Haniger of the Mariners. Solid outfielder with good power. Lots of rumors about starters they might be targeting. Duffy of the Royals was one of them, but he like Flaherty is on the IL. Kyle Gibson of the Rangers has been mentioned as a possible target as has Gray of the Rockies. Padres willing to go over the tax at the deadline, so they will be bidding a lot. Rizzo says that the Nats will make a decision whether or not to sell in the next seven days.
All this gloom and doom about Mookie. Wait until they find out exactly what the problem is. Right now it is inflammation and irritation in his hip. Other than that, we know nothing, only that he has been dealing with it for quite sometime. Vassegh reported on Dodger talk that the Dodgers liked what they saw from Hamels.
Not being a doc here, but wonder if some PRP injections might help?
Never can tell. I am sure Betts and the medical staff are trying to figure out a way to decrease the pain. Back in the 50’s he would probably be getting cortisone injections or greenies. That was what they did back then. Just think, if Big D were pitching in this era, he could have had his rotator cuff repaired. In 69 they could not do that, so he had to retire. Koufax’s arthritic elbow would not have been so easy to fix.
Or stem cells
PRP or stem cells have been shown to greatly increase the speed of healing. Not sure what or IF there is any downside to them.
When the Dodgers got James Sherfy I thought he was another one of those pitchers that Friedman gets that have average to bad stats but Friedman and his staff see something that they like. It turns out that James Sherfy actually has pretty good career stats (my favorite stats). Take notice of this guy, James Sherfy, he might stick around for awhile.
James Sherfy’s stats (my favorite stats).
Career OPS .636
Career OPS vs RHB .636
Career OPS vs LHB .638
Cubs will be sellers according to their front office.
I’m jumping on the CT extension… Do it now…
Paul G. used to covet him… Now??? Not so much!!! Put the gun on safety..
Cole Hamels, a blast from the past.. I’m sure the Blue sent a small regimen to evaluate CH and if they’re in agreement make him an offer… Quality guy on and off the field… Is he looking for Multi year or ??? What do you think???
What a year for injuries. Just bums me out that we lost May and the list goes on..
Hopefully it’s welcome back Mr. Seager…
Utley was one of the people watching him. They said his changeup was really working. One year deal most likely, just to get back in the game.
I’ll play along with the trade that MT suggested.
MT, if Mookie was out for the year, why does it make sense to trade for a RH First Baseman and include another outfielder in the process? I’ll break it down really quick. HELL NO!
I’m not giving up on Belli this year, there’s way too much upside for the next couple of years. If you’re just gonna put ZMack in RF, he’s your replacement for Mookie and you need another 1st baseman like a whole in your head.
If I’m looking for an outfielder, I would roll the dice on Starling Marte and get either Alcantara or Lopez from the Marlins in a package centering around K-Bear. Both of those pitchers are pretty good, but not quite in the “great” category and they both have three years of control remaining vs. 6 years of control for K-Bear. They have no catching talent in their system and don’t have great choices in their MLB roster either. Now you just have to include a mid and low level prospect to get it done. How about Gus Varland and DJ Peters? This way they get a center fielder replacement, a SP replacement and a MLB ready catcher.
So,
K-Bear, Peters and Varland for Alcantera and Marte.
That trade I make.
Dodgers and Giants National League stats:
Team batting OPS, Dodgers #1, Giants #2
Team pitching OPS, Dodgers #1, Giants #2
Team E.R.A, Dodgers #1, Giants #2
Starting pitching E.R.A, Dodgers #1, Giants #3
Bullpen E.R.A, Dodgers #4, Giants #2
Dodgers acquire Billy McKinney from Mets for outfield prospect Carlos Rincon. I saw McKinney play while he was with the Brewers and Mets, but I don’t know much about Rincon. McKinney is a scrappy player who might prove to be valuable and add depth.
I’m not going to read too much into this one except he’s a better option as a 4th outfielder than he is as a Mookie replacement. Maybe it’s a “bridge the gap” move to get Mookie to the IL and provide coverage that Z-Mack and Recks don’t offer. Here’s a good writeup on B-Mack…
https://metsmerizedonline.com/2021/07/the-mets-options-with-billy-mckinney.html/
It looks like he’s out of options and was traded after being DFA’d, so he’s going to have to stay on the big club. Carlos Rincon has put up solid, yet unspectacular numbers in the minors. Maybe he lost some of his prospect luster.
Interesting trade. It is certainly not a game changer by any means. Billy McKinney is a former #1 pick by the A’s and is probably more well known for some of the trades he has been in:
From A’s to Cubs with Addison Russell and Dan Straily for Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija
From Cubs to NYY with Rashad Crawford, Gleyber Torres, and Adam Warren for Aroldis Chapman
From NYY to Toronto with Brandon Drury for J. A. Happ
McKinney is another LH bat and is a corner OF, so if I am supposing anything, I believe he is more of an insurance for Mookie than is Zach Reks, although he will undoubtedly not be considered a starter.
Carlos Rincon is a decent prospect with good to plus power. He is probably more of a DH (which LAD has plenty of). He is not on the Dodgers top 30 prospect list. He is young for AA and is hitting decently (.263/.343/.470/.813). He is certainly not an elite prospect, but he does have a legit shot at MLB with NYM.
McKinney in 2021 with Brewers and Mets – .213/.282/.415/.697, 8 HR, 89 OPS+. Certainly not a game changer, but for a reserve OF the team could do worse. Reserve OF are not supposed to be game changers so please do not say that this was a stupid trade because it does nothing to help the team get to the top. Sometimes the Steve Souza’s of the baseball world can make a difference every once in awhile, and I like Billy McKinney over Zach Reks for 2021.
McKinney is 26 and controlled thru 2025. Rincon is 23.
I first thought that McKinney was the definition of mediocrity, at best………………………………………………………
and then I realized his 2021 numbers are better than Belli’s.
Looks like AF was reading this morning and is including Bellinger in the Flaherty deal. McKinney is Belli’s replacement. Just putting the pieces of the puzzle together guys. You’re welcome.
They might as well have brought Souza back up. Looks like he can’t hit but good defensively. Rincon must b really bad to waste him on this trade. With reks u can send him down. With McKinney u r stuck. Head scratcher.
McKinney is a good defensive OF who is a better offensive option than Reks/Raley/Souza/Tsutsugo. He is nothing more than a reserve OF (a lot of RF and some CF) who can play at the ML level. He will never be an AS. It is not that Rincon is a bad player, but the Dodgers have a lot of Carlos Rincon’s in MiLB.
I do not understand why only trades for All Stars are considered worthy. There are 26 men on the roster, and some have to be reserves.
IMO this is not a head scratcher. This makes the LAD better in 2021 than would any of the other options they presently have.
I get that McKinney is a better option mb. Mb he can make contact at least against a rh pitcher. But u can’t option him, he can’t hit, they lost a prospect. It seemed that AF was all inspired about bolstering the bullpen with Cody reed so he is probably lost.
I realize not everybody is a star but he has been shipped by multiple teams. It just seems like a high price for a very mediocre player who may not b an upgrade. But here’s hoping he gets the game winning hit tonight. Thanks for your insight and your reason.
He does strike out a lot, but he also has some pop.
Rincon reminds me of that other guy they had and let go last season, Starling Heredia I think. Lots of power, no real position. But low BA .
DODGERS ACQUIRE OF BILLY MCKINNEY
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired outfielder Billy McKinney from the New York Mets in exchange for minor league outfielder Carlos Rincon. The Dodgers designated right-handed pitcher Jake Reed for assignment to make room for McKinney on the 40-man roster.
McKinney, 26, has split the year between Milwaukee and New York, batting a combined .213 (39-for-183) with eight homers and 20 RBI in 79 games. In his 39 games with the Mets, he batted .220 (20-for-91) with five homers and 14 RBI. In parts of four Major League seasons with the New York Yankees (2018), Toronto Blue Jays (2018-2020), Milwaukee Brewers (2021) and New York Mets (2021), he has hit a combined .225 (125-for-556) with 26 homers and 61 RBI. He was originally drafted in the first round of the 2013 First Year Player Draft out of Plano West High School by the Oakland Athletics.
Rincon, 23, played in 63 games for Double-A Tulsa this year, batting .263 (61-for-232) with 12 homers and 48 RBI. He has been in the minor leagues for six seasons, batting a combined .244 (386-for-1579) with 84 homers and 259 RBI across six levels. He was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent on July 2, 2015 out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
McKinney is LHH who cannot hot LHP. Sound familiar?
I will take “who are Gavin Lux & Cody Bellinger & Matt Beatty” for $1000 please.
Though at times Bellinger HAS actually hit LHP pretty well. Looking to get back to those days.
You forgot to mention corner outfielder. Doesn’t sound familiar at all. He’s an upgrade over what we’ve seen from Recks and Raley so far without the flexibility to move him on and off the roster. I’m all for it if it means I’ve seen the last of Beaty in the outfield for now.
Never heard of him.
This is Friedman warming up.
Can’t hit righties either. I guess AF has had enough of reks and Raley.
Great, Turner will be out of the lineup tonight.
I will be rooting for us to get far enough ahead that Julio can plunk a couple of them right back without it costing us. To “accidentally” ( though it might have been ) hit 3 of our hottest hitters in a short span starts looking suspicious.
cheers
pb+
Yeah, I wasn’t too happy about that. He sure played if off like he didn’t mean to do it. I would have liked to have seen “an eye for an eye”.
Please can we see more of the Giants Closer.
What an exciting comeback win last night. We needed that. I’m happy for Will Smith. He got a mistake and didn’t miss it. It’s all about execution as Mark pointed out, no matter who’s in there. Next man up. Get er done. These guys are Major League baseball players.
Some thoughts on last night:
* I thought Jo-Jo gray looked good for his first outing. He made some mistakes and the Giants didn’t miss the mistakes. But I liked what I saw and I hope he isn’t on the up and down shuttle to AAA. Let him stick around, get his feet wet and get a legit chance. It’s not like he’s taking up anybody’s spot in the rotation.
* Orel was his typical good and bad last night. Orel made a terrific analogy on Alex Wood. He compared his funkie delivery to an unorthodox golf swing. There are some critical spots during a pitch delivery and a swing that are common to every successful player. How they get to those spots is where the uniqueness comes in. Between 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, every good golfer is in basically the same spot. The position and consistency at impact is shared by all good players regardless of how they got there. It’s how they get there that can be unique. They aren’t robots. Same with Alex Wood’s delivery and good hitters at critical spots. Good one Orel.
* Then the was the not-so-good or Mr. Obvious Orel, who over analyzes and makes stuff up. Here are a few that I found mostly humorous:
* Barnes took one to the mask and Orel described how a catcher’s tongue can be in the wrong place causing him to bite is tongue. I guess there are must be “tongue drills” a catcher can think about when he’s trying to block a spiked 86 mph slider with the bases loaded. Who would think of that?
* Orel pointed out that a catcher on one knee means a fastball is coming. Good for the viewer but how is the hitter supposed to know that? Peaking at location, prior to a pitch, will get you just as plunked as peaking at signs earlier. Peaking is a no-no.
* On McKinstry’s error on a total candy hop. it was due to the excessive spin that took the ball out of his glove. It looked to me that he just dropped it.
* McGee has more than one pitch, as he tries to throw the fastball to different locations. What a good idea.
* Finally bottom 9th “There are some teenagers out there who have a 10:30 bedtime that are begging to stay up.”
* As peterj pointed out, we really need to try to get an extension done for CT3. He’s been our MVP this season and has flourished even more with Kike moving on. His contributions are invaluable and I want to see him get the money he deserves and be a Dodger in the future..
* I always liked Jake McGee and couldn’t figure out why the Dodgers didn’t think more highly of him. I like his approach to pitching. It’s pretty simple; “ I‘m going to throw it really hard, and you can try to hit it”. He’s still doing that. He’s not trying to trick anybody. He was a reliable pen guy last year with a 2.66 in 20 innings with 33K’s. He had high leverage stints in Sept. He gave up 1 run in 3 games in the NLCS and 1 scoreless in the WS. And then he was gone. I was disappointed that he didn’t re-sign in the winter and I don’t know if he wanted too much $ or the Dodgers were not that interested.
* I hope to wake up soon to find that all these injuries were just a bad dream. But again, it’s next man up and man up.
philjones, I agree with your assessment of Gray. He is obviously very athletic and seems to have a repeatable delivery. It was refreshing to see him work at a good pace and throw strikes. I would think that the main objective was to give him some MLB exposure. Pitching to the batter’s weakness wasn’t a big consideration hence the three HR’s. The first one that Wade hit was a bomb for sure. Anyway, Gray should stay on the team for the remainder of the season to help with the starting rotation and gain some valuable experience for next year and beyond.
McKinstry and now McKinney. Hope Roberts doesn’t get confused.
Tonight’s lineup:
HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG
C. TaylorSS 86-313 52 13 8 .275
M. Muncy2B 76-276 59 22 1 .275
M. BeatyRF 38-145 29 4 1 .262
W. SmithC 64-242 42 12 2 .264
C. BellingerCF 22-137 19 4 2 .161
A. PollockLF 60-216 34 13 2 .278
A. Pujols1B 50-207 35 13 1 .242
Z. McKinstry3B 34-141 29 7 1 .241
J. UriasP 9-37 8 0 0 .243
No Mookie or Justin
Where is Seager? I thought he would b activated. Let’s hold him out until mid August just to be sure.
Sarcasm noted. Why can’t Roberts be somewhat honest with the media and the fans when it comes to injuries?
Very few teams are honest about injuries, and how they are reported is not really up to Roberts. He just spews what the FO wants him to say. They do not want teams around this time of year to know they are desperate. And they do not want their opponents to know how badly they are banged up. Full disclosure is not something MLB is very good at.
Because AF does not want him to be.
No word on Seager yet, but maybe he will be activated by Friday.
Seager hit off of Knebel at the stadium yesterday, and looked pretty good. Knebel is also close to returning. McKinney is insurance nothing more. Has more MLB experience than Reks or Raley and has shown some pop. He does strike out a lot. Reks will probably be sent down when McKinney arrives in LA. He is on the 40 man, but not the active roster yet. Reed was simply BP fodder. Burns was released.
Seager hit of Knebel at the stadium on Monday. Seager says he’s ready to play, but the training staff says otherwise.
The injury problems are extremely frustrating.
I think they are waiting to make sure he feels good the day after and there is no residual soreness. Yep, injuries are frustrating and you never really know the truth. How different is Kelly now that he is healthy, and we never knew about his shoulder problem until way after the season.
Holy Star Wars Batman, it is Orel Wan Kenobi bobblehead night. May the force be with us.
Bums – your comment in the last thread made me chuckle
Roberts saying that McKinney will join the team tomorrow. So long Reks, you really are a wreck. Roberts just waiting on the OK from the medical staff on Seager. Lingering problem seems to be soft tissue soreness.
Soft tissue soreness? Everyone has that. Rub some dirt on it Candypants
Hard to grip a bat. Sprained fingers hurt like hell. I did that a couple of times and could not grip the bat at all. When I pulled my Achille’s tendon really bad coming into second base, I was out about 3 months.
DODGERS RECALL IF SHELDON NEUSE
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled infielder Sheldon Neuse and optioned left-handed pitcher Darien Núñez to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Neuse, 26, returns for his second stint with the Dodgers after hitting .172 with three homers and four RBI in 28 games. In 38 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City, he was batting .282 with five homers and 24 RBI. In 452 career minor league games, he is batting a combined .293 with 54 homers and 271 RBI. He was acquired on February 12 along with minor league pitcher Gus Varland from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for outfielder Cody Thomas and left-handed pitcher Adam Kolarek.
Núñez, 28, pitched 2.0 innings last night, allowing two runs on two hits with two strikeouts in his first Major League start. He has appeared in four games for the Dodgers this year, allowing four earned runs in 6.0 in innings. In 61 minor league contests, he is 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA (26 ER/98.2 IP) and 154 strikeouts. He was originally signed by the Dodgers as a minor league free agent on April 16, 2018.
Seems to be a lot of empty seats at the ballpark for a Dodger/gnats series with 1st place up for grabs. Could it be because the lineups are lacking the star power we want to see or have the fans just gotten tired of hearing all the excuses as to why certain players can’t play the game we love to watch. Contusion…soft tissue…day of rest…are all weak excuses for not playing and has the fan base upset with the prices they have to pay while not being able to see their baseball idol’s they came to watch.
They usually file in late, don’t they? Watching some games on tv, it always looks like there are many more fans watching in the 4th inning rather than the 1st inning.
But you make a good point…knowing you won’t be seeing Mookie, Corey, JT, and this year’s Bellinger isn’t worth seeing…..that does remove some of the glitter.
I have been at the games the last 2 nights and it seems many fans have gathered behind the outfield stands at the bars and food establishments. It was still surprising to see only 42K paid at the game last night. The STAR POWER is missing and hopefully that will change soon.
I think some are fearful of the Delta Variant!
And some mask mandates are coming back. Covid is on the rise in LA county. But there seems to be a lot of people out in the CF area for sure, but they are still paying customers.
How the heck do the damn Giants hit so many homers! My goodness!
Ya gotta get Taylor extended. You won’t be able to replace him., and he doesn’t get hurt
What exactly is the win for Taylor to sign an extension now? Unless the team drastically overpays him.
I’m actually really impressed with the Giants. Ruf is a solid mid-priced piece. As is Flores, Wade Jr and several other of Zaidi’s acquisitions.
BP summed up how the fit together nicely.
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/64462/pecota-likes-what-the-giants-are-building-right-now/
I still can’t believe the Dodgers pulled this off:
Dec. 21, 2018: Dodgers trade Kyle Farmer, Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Alex Wood to Cincinnati for Homer Bailey, Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray
Security and being on a winning team
What exactly is the win for Taylor to sign an extension now? Unless the team drastically overpays him.
I’m actually really impressed with the Giants. Ruf is a solid mid-priced piece. As is Flores, Wade Jr and several other of Zaidi’s acquisitions.
BP summed up how the fit together nicely.
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/64462/pecota-likes-what-the-giants-are-building-right-now/
I also cannot believe the Dodgers got Downs, Gray and the carcass of Homer Bailey for the slop they gave the Reds. Wood, Farmer, Puig, Kemp and maybe some cash?
FanGraphs has a post-draft somewhat comprehensive prospect report, including this on the Dodgers:
A few Dodgers notes, as that’s who I’ve spent time watching the last few days in Arizona. Switch-hitting 20-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Carlos Santiago is short to the ball with power and looks quite good on the complex. So does Jose Ramos, who trades places with Luis Rodriguez on the Dodgers list. Ramos had a big Extended and has continued to hit throughout the summer; his hitting hands work great.
Don’t know what happened to Blutos post and my response I guess got lost in the ether
Shrug.
Sad to see Bellinger this bad
It sure is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player with his Pedegree, fall so deep down the well before. With the exception of guys that have had catastrophic injuries trying to come back
Andrew Jones
Damn, I’m beginning to not trust Kenly again.
Friggin Jansen/bullpen
All I can say is come hell or high water, break out the check book and resign Chris Taylor . He is one of those unsexy glue guys that just gets it done, like we all wish Kike was. If we lose him, that would hurt big time.
Damn Kenley don’t put it out of reach
Blake Treinen looked pretty good.
Can’t blame the Dodger faithful for booing KJ. Passionate fans pay good money and want the “rush” of a Dodger victory and a tie for first place. I probably wouldn’t have booed had I been at DS, but I won’t blame them for doing it.
He’s blown two consecutive games that both would have moved the Dodgers into a first place tie. He’s making $19 million per year and thank goodness this will be his last year as a Dodger closer.
The Dodgers would be a game up, in the standing, if Jansen doesn’t waste that two games in the last days but he would not exist.
Back to bad Kenley!
I’m not gonna jump on the Lynch Kenley bandwagon just yet
Right now it’s just a hiccup we’ll see what happens going forward
Blame Jansen if you want but our offense was once again pathetic tonight!
Not a lot of Dodger offense tonight, but I’ll point out that while we wait for Bellinger to find his groove he’s now hitting .156, .227 OBP, .264 SLG. Pitiful
I am getting tired of watching these inept supposedly MLB umpires blowing call after call behind the plate. But I don’t blame them, I blame MLB. You can’t tell me that MLB is unaware,, since they must be watching the same broadcasts we are. Are they just letting it happen with the intention of going to an electronic strike zone next year, or are they just going to let this travesty continue?
As for tonight’s game, I have nothing to say.
Well that sucked and the boo’s Jansen received were justified. Umpire was terrible. He missed a lot of calls on those pitches that were down in the zone or just off of the plate. You might be down on Bellinger, and I get it. But without his stellar defense, and speed, they would not have had the lead going into the 9th. He made two excellent plays in the field to rob the Giants of hits, and he scored from first on Pollocks double, and that sports fans is why he is still in the lineup. Won’t have to worry about Reks after tomorrow. He will most likely be sent down when they activate McKinney tomorrow. Just when I was starting to trust Kenley again he blows one to the lowly Rockies and then ruins a great outing by Urias and a chance to tie for first with a pitiful performance tonight.