You may remember him back in 2019 as the Manager of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Let me refresh your memory with this video:
Mark is 42 years old and is from Burbank, California. He attended Cal State, Northridge. In 2017 he managed Ogden and in 2018 he managed the Dodgers Rookie Team in Arizona. Of course, I already mentioned that he was the manager of the Quakes in 2019. In 2019, Pedro Moura of The Athletic wrote:
‘He is one of a kind’: Mark Kertenian teaches baseball and life lessons as Dodgers’ players guru
You can read the entire article HERE. You will find it inspiring. I guarantee it! On Linkedin, Mark is listed as “Player Development Coordinator.” He was slated to be the Bench Coach at OKC in 2020, but that never happened as COVID-19 hit.
Yesterday, Brett Hein, posted this on Twitter:
Go Fund Me Page
That takes us to a Go Fund Me Page, which says this:
Our good friend, family member and beloved baseball coach Mark Kertenian is in the fight of his life, battling a Functional Neurological Disorder…he needs our help dearly.
Mark has found it necessary to travel to the UK for highly specialized (and uninsured) treatment. This program could take several months for him to complete and, God willing, allow him to get back on his feet (both physically and figuratively). His first few weeks with this group have been very promising but have also exposed a long road ahead.
Finding housing, 24-hour care, assisted transportation, medical services and of course, this specialized therapy has proved to be very costly, and we are looking for help to underwrite. Please donate if you are able, and if not, that’s ok; please just keep Mark in your thoughts and prayers.
One last note: Mark cannot take calls or respond to texts/emails currently as he is focusing 100% of his mental and physical effort on his recovery. Rehashing his story regarding his illness multiple times with caring people is not helpful; in fact, his Dr’s have suggested it’s potentially harmful. While he wants to connect with each one of his baseball colleagues, friends, and family, he is unable to right now. Please note that he has shut off his cell phone in the quest of putting 100% of his mental and physical energy into his recovery and as a result, please do not call, text, or email Mark directly. Instead, add your email address to this Go Fund Me page, and we will provide regular updates on Mark’s progress or feel free to reach out directly to one of us below.
Thanks in advance for your potential donation and for keeping Mark in your thoughts and prayers. We are all looking forward to him returning soon from the UK on a sustained road to recovery and reconnecting with him personally. We are motivated to get him where he belongs, back on the baseball diamond coaching men, in a game he loves.
— Go Fund Me
Link to Go Fund Me Page:
Share the Link: https://gofund.me/48fd8325
If the Big Dodger in the Sky moves you, DONATE!
The last thing I can find about Mark is in The Athletic on March 17, 2020, by Pedro Moura.
WE GOT THIS!
Here’s a good resource to read about Functional Neurologic Disorder:
I will have more information on this tomorrow. I am awaiting a call from John Murphy. He texted me tonight and promised to call in the Morning. Stay tuned…
As soon as I saw the picture, I thought it was Andrew Toles!
Well, all things must come to an end….so no big deal. My nephew, who likes to gamble, asked me about the game and I said, “this will be the night the Braves will win…Fried with Jansen saving.” I wish I weren’t right, but it just seemed to me it would happen. Fried is too good and Jansen is highly motivated.
The good news….I’m glad Lux sat down….had he played, another 0-4 would have put him under .250 and sinking fast. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on him….I’m just not convinced he can be an everyday player like Trea Turner.
Too bad Freddie’s final out didn’t travel 10 or so more feet. That would have been an exciting moment for Dodger fans, even with a loss.
Lastly, I said this on my first post back from vacation- starting pitching will be our biggest concern UNLESS WE GET THE GREAT TREVOR BAUER BACK or trade again for a proven stud on the trade deadline. ! Bauer is that proven stud and an innings eater. Personally, I really don’t care about him inflicting pain on women who voluntarily ask for him to do such in the privacy of their homes.
We got tonight, so enjoy the day…..
TM
Bauer is not great. He has had an ERA of 2.60 or lower in exactly 3 seasons out of 10. He won the Cy Young by winning 5 games, losing 4 and posting a 1.73 ERA in a 60 game truncated season. He is a good pitcher, and he strikes out a lot of hitters. But he is also a head case who marches to the beat of his own drum. He also gives up a ton of homers.
Hey TM, I had a sinking feeling that facing a good left hander would be our demise. After watching the team struggle against lefties for years, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what was coming. Fried was on his game, and even the best offenses will struggle when a pitcher is on. Great teams finish the season by winning somewhere between 6-7 games out of every ten, so there’s bound to be some losses from time to time.
I don’t agree with you at all about Lux. Worst case scenario is that he becomes a Jurickson Profar who’s had a solid, if unspectacular career so far, but keeps getting paid to come back for another season. Maybe he won’t be Trea Turner, but Trea Turner has only been Trea Turner for 4 out of 8 years and only two of those were full seasons. I guess he’s kinda like Trevor Bauer.
Trea had a very good age 23 season, all of 73 games. He didn’t really break out until he was 26. I don’t know why you’re so impatient with young players like Gavin or Belli. Gavin didn’t even play last night and you have to say something negative about him. He sat down because he has a back problem and was originally in the starting lineup. In case you didn’t notice, we lost anyway. Not sure why you would be glad he didn’t play. Maybe we would have lost more? Belli is in his age 26 season. The same age that Trea started doing well. Fernando Tatis is an outlier, not the norm.
I also just wanted to let you know that today is a day game. It sounded like you were expecting a night game and I didn’t want you to miss it. It’s also on MLB Network for out of market.
Cheers!
One more thing to add. It’s hard enough to break into the league. It’s probably a lot easier when you’re coming up with the Reds or Twins. No one is blocking you and you’re given a lot more leeway. It must be especially difficult for a young kid like Lux come into a locker room on a team that expect to be in the World Series every year surrounded by all stars at every position.
Greetings BP,
I will rebut your post in order:
1. 100% agree…..good lefties scare me-Freddie, Muncy, Belli, Lux, Rios- I’m sure all hit less when facing a lefty. Maybe not FREDDIE so much.
2. Gavin Lux: I hope you are right about Lux being a decent Turner replacement should that take place, which I think it will. And you make a very valid point….I do seem to harder on the kids than the vets. I thought long about this so i think you will enjoy this response. I think it’s because they got so hyped in the social media about how great they are, that I bought into that hype, and thus my expectations for them were much higher than for the average Joe Blow being brought up. And of course, Lux was killing it all throughout the minors…..and then when he is brought up, he pretty much has crashed and burned (for the most part, not all of course).
I think THAT greatly disappointed me, so I used some reverse psychology on myself to keep me from being further disappointed. I then begin to say, “I don’t expect much from him, he can’t hit lefties, maybe we should trade him for someone we need more, etc” more so in order for me to not get my hopes up any more. All the while I am REALLY HOPING AND WANTING them to fulfill their destiny and live up to all that hype.
If I can be totally forthright with you here- Seager, Bellinger and Lux are the three guys I was rooting for the most. Every morning when I would wake, I would go to the box score to first check on the result of the game. If I saw the Dodgers had 6 runs on 11 hits, I would immediately look for……yep, Seager, Belli and Lux first…..desperately wanting each of them to be 3-4 with 2 RBIs each. I wasn’t pulling for the other guys nearly as much….these three amigos were the future and i wanted to jump on board. Unfortunately, the past several years, for whatever reason, I have been let down by two out of them….so, I then went into my protect mode- the guy that you don’t feel warm and fuzzy about- the guy who seems to be doing his best to douse your flame about these young kids.
I haven’t done this to piss you or anyone off, but more so to keep a lid on my emotions regarding players I deep down want to like and root for a lot. Trust me- i want to eat crow, lots of it. It appears to me, i may with Belli, who now appears to be back on top of his game, soooooo, pass the salt! With Seager gone, that leaves Lux as the remaining ??? More crow? I hope so! Unfortunately for me, I am very passionate about the teams and players I root for- the most for the New York Football Giants- Think Daniel Jones- so this is my way to try to keep myself on an even keel.
3. Thanks for letting me know today was a day game. I was not aware and would have been surprised when I checked the scores of the other teams at 7:00 pm eastern time.
4. Both you and Bear add a good perspective regarding both TTurner and Bauer- they seem to have both good and not so good years. But i still believe Bauer to now be GREAT. It took him a while, but i believe he climbed the mountain. Lux and Belli deserve some slack seeing that they are not robots and are human too.
Great conversation, thanks for this…
TM
Wrong at least on Muncy and Freeman. Muncy is a career .259 hitter against LHP, RH, .231. 28 points higher against lefties. Freeman at .265 with a .309 against RH. Rios .194, but he only has 40 at bats. Lux .171 in 111 AB’s. Bellinger .236 against lefty’s which is not bad considering. He also has 40 of his career 135 HR’s off of lefty’s and he hits left-handed starters at .246, 10 points higher than lefty relievers. Greatness implies you have done it consistently. Bauer has been anything but consistent.
I’m confused…..Why would you say wrong on Freeman? You showed Freddie batting 44 points higher against RHP and browsing through the complete numbers, he has more almost three times as many RBIs and HRs batting against RHP than LHP while only batting slightly more than two times v RHP.
Well look at it this way TM, any lefty who hits north of .250 against LHP is doing pretty well against them. Consider Pederson is below the Mendoza line against lefty’s, and you mentioned Freeman as not being that good. Well he is. Nuff said.
I found your self-psychoanalysis entertaining. Cheers TM.
Lol….I really got into thinking about why i do what i do…..when I finished, I was wondering how this was going to come across. It actually has helped me know myself much better ……lol
Braves lineup is very, very good and will be even better when Acuna comes back. Their bullpen is formidable too especially when KJ has it going like he did last night.
There weakness is their rotation IMHO. That is where the Mets are superior . Both teams will make the playoffs and will be a huge roadblock for whoever team has to face them.
I agree the Dodgers need TB back to improve our rotation.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds awful. I trust the Dodgers are stepping up to help.
Thanks for sharing his story Mark. Life is certainly more than Dodger wins and losses even for Dodgers. I’m sure the Dodger organization is stepping up
I wish Mark Kertenian all the best luck in the world. We never know when unfortunate uncertainties are going to strike out of the blue onto us. You have my prayers and sympathies.
Very sad story to hear. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Sorry Bear, but you’re dead wrong on Bauer. Any pitcher that wins a Cy Young award is a great pitcher. When he got suspended last year (I know it’s technically “Administrative Leave”), he was the best pitcher on our staff, he was better than Max Scherzer, and only DeGrom was arguably better. Bauer had a breakout season at age 27. DeGrom’s first season was at age 26. Bauer’s last 180 innings (2020-2021) he has an ERA barely over 2.
Scherzer is another head case that marches to his own drum, like many other great pitchers before him. Mark Fidrych comes to mind and so does Zach Greinke. Clayton Kershaw gives up a ton of homers, still a great pitcher.
What’s happening to Bauer has as much to do with him speaking out against Manfred as it does about this setup that he’s currently entangled in. All you have to do is look at Marcell Ozuna’s suspension to realize that.
Some idiot at TBLA wrote a hit piece on Bauer yesterday. He claims to be an attorney in order to persuade his audience into believing that he knows what he’s talking about. Then he proceeds to talk like Bauer’s attorneys are somehow amateurish in how they and Bauer are handling the case. You know, the attorneys with DC and Beverly Hills addresses don’t know what their doing, but the attorney that writes long winded baseball articles while trying to set the record for most commas and run on sentences knows better.
I understand that people don’t like Bauer. I could care less. But, let’s just stick to facts and not make shit up. TM said Bauer is great, okay, that might be debatable over the course of his career. But, the last time we saw him in uniform, he was a stud and an innings eater. He would improve the staff, so let’s not act like he wouldn’t.
The thing that really pisses me off about all of this is that people want to believe the lady, who is basically a proven liar (By making misleading statements on court documents), and who obviously tries to get entangled with ballplayers (Tatis, Clevinger and Bauer) looking for a payday, over Bauer becauses he’s mean to people on Social Media.
This is the world we live in.
Agree to disagree. Great pitchers do it year after year. When he left, he had given up 19 homers, 4 of those in one game. His Cy Young was a fluke and in a shortened season. He has a decent career record but his career ERA is over 3.50. At the point when Bauer left, Urias was better. He gave up only 19 dingers all year. I never agreed with signing Bauer. He is good, but far from great. Should he be allowed to return? Not up to me, but the 22nd we will find out something hopefully. He does make the staff better. But calling that guy great, well, not something most pundits or fans would call him.
Wrong again Bear, on June 28 last year, Bauer had a 2.59 ERA and Julio had a 3.95 ERA. Beyond that, you’re just arguing semantics about what the word “Great” means. If you don’t think having a 2.59 ERA while leading the league in innings pitched is great, than I disagree with your interpretation of the word. No big deal.
You’re last sentence is just your opinion. I can easily say that most pundits and fans do call him great after the last two seasons. AF paid him like he’s great. I trust AF’s opinion more than yours.
My interpretation of great is doing it over the entire career. Does not make me wrong. Julio may not have been leading in ERA, but he was the leader in wins and he was doing it night after night without giving up a ton of homers. Koufax was great. Kershaw was great., Bauer is a better than AVERAGE pitcher with one very good year, and 9 of Meh! I have seen a lot of great pitchers, and Bauer is no where near their class.
You’re wrong again Bear. This time by saying one very good year and 9 of Meh. Maybe you should revisit his BR page before choosing a hill to die on. If your interpretation of great is over an entire career, then by your definition, no active player can be called great.
You can see in context of the original post is that he’s not calling Bauer great over an entire career. He’s calling him great in the here and now and that’s hard to argue against. So again, you’re just arguing semantics and you’re letting your personal feelings towards Bauer to devalue his worth.
So, I ask you this. Is there any reason for anyone to believe he is no longer as good as he was the last two years? Before you answer that, take a look at Logan Webb, because by your logic, he’s merely an above average pitcher.
I do not believe Bauer is great. We can argue this all day. Bauer has had an ERA below 2.60 just 3 times in his career. The rest of the time it is well over 4, and that is on his baseball reference page. My point is for most of his career he has been very average. His Cy Young came in a 5 win season. Please do not tell me that defines greatness. And it is your opinion that I am wrong. In your eyes maybe, but to me, the guy is a atypical one trick pony.
I just talked with John Murphy who organized the Go Fund Me Account. He is a close, family friend of Mark Kertenian.
There really is no treatment or cure in the US so Mark found a place in the UV that has had a history of success in the treatment of this disease. Of course, it is not covered by insurance.
He says that the Dodgers have been amazing and are really stepping up, but that Mark needs all the help he can get. It’s a very scary and insidious disease.
We are going to lose around 55 games this year. And I hope that each one is like last night. We just got beat by quality pitching and not by giving the game away. There are quality losses. The ones I hate are the give away games where we don’t show up and sleepwalk through games we should win. I didn’t see that last night. We just got taken to the woodshed by outstanding pitching.
Well said Phil…..two thumbs up. I too wasn’t upset…Fried and Jansen were highly motivated. Let them have their due and move on.
Lux was removed from the lineup due to back stiffness.
Thanks….didn’t know this….I guess that is why he didn’t play this afternoon. Hopefully he will be ready real soon.
This is so sad. We got to know Mark when he was with the Quakes. An incredibly kind person.
This was something I posted on Facebook in Sep 2019.
“ Rancho Quakes were eliminated from the playoffs tonight. Our minor league season has come to an official end. My son wanted to say goodbye to his favorite players so he was hanging out at the locker room door. The Quakes manager is Mark Kertenian. He’s watched out for my kid all year. Given him lineup cards and chatted with him before games. Tonight he came out looking for for him just to give him his fungo bat that he used all season. This might be the coolest thing anybody has ever given my son. Best summer ever… so far.”
I will spread the word about his FoFundMe effort. He is one of those people that, when you meet them, truly leaves an impression. I hope he makes a full recovery and comes back to the Dodgers.
That’s a really unfortunate story. Reading up a little on the disease, it is commonly linked to severe psychological stress or trauma, though not always, and the exact causes are elusive. Reading about it reminded me of that scene in Saving Private Ryan when Tom Hank’s hands were trembling. That was probably the same thing.
SPTony Gonsolin R
0-0 1.29 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
SS Trea Turner R
2B Max Muncy L
3B J. Turner R
C Will Smith R
CF C. Bellinger L
LF Chris Taylor R
DH Edwin Rios L
Partly-cloudy-day
0% Rain
68° Wind 7 mph R-L
By comparison TM, Seager hits lefty’s at a .282 clip, better than Freeman or Muncy. Pollock was over .280 against lefty’s, Turner, .274, Trea, .321.. Chris Taylor hits .262 against both. Alberto .332. So, if you look at the averages by some of the regulars, their struggles against LHP should not be that way all of the time. But Freid, who they crushed in the playoffs, had an excellent arsenal last night. It happens. Does not mean it is going to happen every time they face a lefty.
I don’t have the numbers and stats (too tired and lazy to look right now) but my eyes are telling me that we don’t fare very well against left handed pitching, especially decent starters.
I believe our RHB probably hit RHP much better than our LHB hit LHP. And that is what I believe makes the difference. Now of course, you can prove me wrong by showing me how both Turners, Smith, Pollack, and Mookie fare against RHP, but without doing that leg work, I’m going out on the limb here and say they probably fare much better than the lefties on our team fare against lefties (Lux, Belli, Freddie, Rios, Muncy).
And I loved Seager for being able to hit lefties like he did- that was why he was my favorite…I knew he would never be an automatic out like some guys can be.
TM
I showed that above. Righty’s usually hit lefty’s well. Some do not. For example, JT is much better against RHP than left.
Unfortunately Kenley didn’t make anyone in Atlanta nervous last night. Hopefully we won’t see him today.
The Giants’ rotation got a little thinner:
Giants Place Alex Cobb On Injured List
By Darragh McDonald | April 20, 2022 at 12:04pm CDT
Between the two games of last night’s doubleheader, the Giants made a roster move, announcing that right-hander Alex Cobb had been placed on the 10-day IL with a right adductor strain. Fellow righty Yunior Marte was recalled to take his place on the roster.
Me too.
Walker just does not have that extra velo he had to get him out of jams.
Hopefully it comes back as the season goes along.
Go Dodgers!
I’m still worried about Buehler-Moyer, that loss of speed is starting to show in his numbers, he’s still efficient but not overwhelming: 15.2 IP, 17H, 6BB, 11SO, every hitter every at-bat he has to throw his entire repertoire in order to take him out, he can no longer say there goes my 98-99 mph fastball, hit him if you can.
Buehler’s average fastball velocity by year from Baseball Savant is as follows:
2022 – 95 MPH
2021 – 95 MPH
2020 – 97 MPH
2019 – 97 MPH
2018 – 96 MPH
2017 – 98 MPH
I think it is nothing to worry about as it is the same as last year.
His velo is down from early in his career because he is no longer a max effort pitcher.
The Dodgers also got a little thinner:
DODGERS RECALL ZACH MCKINSTRY
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry and placed left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney on the injured list with left shoulder discomfort.
McKinstry, 26, has played in 12 games for Oklahoma City, batting .404 (21-for-52) with three doubles, four triples, one homer and nine RBI. Last week he was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week and he is among the league leaders in batting average (.3rd), OPS (7th, 1.121), triples (1st), total bases (2nd, 35) and extra-base hits (T-3rd). In two Major League seasons with the Dodgers, he has hit a combined .264 with 10 doubles, seven homers and 29 RBI.
Heaney, 30, has made two starts for the Dodgers this season, tossing 10.1 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts against three walks. He signed with the Dodgers in free agency this offseason after spending parts of last season with the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees. In 30 combined games (23 starts), he went 8-9 with a 4.53 ERA (84 ER/129.2 IP) and 150 strikeouts in 2021. He has been in the Major Leagues parts of nine seasons with Miami (2014), Los Angeles-AL (2015-2021), New York-AL (2021) and Los Angeles-NL (2022) and he is a combined 33-38 with a 4.65 ERA (333 ER/644.2 IP) and 666 strikeouts.
Well, that did not take long for our first starter to go to IL.
We need TB back.
Catman getting them out with junk stuff today. No hits threw 4.
Go Dodgers!
I live in South Carolina about 4 hours from Atlanta. I sometimes make a trip to see the Dodgers play in Atlanta. I also have MLB for the Dodgers only. I don’t understand why I should be blacked out when the Braves play the Dodgers in LA. Anyone know the reasoning?
Because SC borders Georgia and they consider it part of Atlanta’s market. So they are blacking you out from the Braves game. You can use a VPN to get around this.
But even so, it’s a road game. I suppose this only makes sense if the Braves have a exclusive broadcast arrangement with some media company to televise ALL of their games – road and home. It used to be road games were televised. They would only black out home games because they didn’t want to compete with ticket sales.
I’m only going by my own personal experience with Dodger games. Sometimes while travelling I would get blacked out on my MLB subscription in unexpected places. Home vs road hasn’t mattered in years. I’m not sure if there’s any teams remaining that have over the air (free) broadcasts anymore.
Same thing happens to me with Rockies games against the dodgers. Doesn’t matter if it’s home or away, I can only watch the dodgers/Rockies on cable or not watch it all
It made no sense to me last night to see the game blacked out while the Braves are in California. Oh well….must be some rule written down some where…
It wasn’t blacked out. I watched it. Maybe in your area.
With Gonsolin pitching well today and Andrew Heaney going on the IL I’m wondering if Anderson will get a start next time.
They said he will start Saturday.threw a bullpen session during the third inning today
Go dodgers!
YES!
CATMAN! Not bad for a guy a lot of people don’t even want as our fifth starter! When he can locate his fastball he’s a very good pitcher. Hopefully my negative energy won’t take as long to work on Mookie as it did for Belli! HES BACK!
Cody looking good!
Go Dodgers!
If Muncy gets the ball out of his glove and doesn’t take the extra step before throwing to first, the no-hitter would still be in play and Roberts would get another chance to stay with a pitcher throwing a no-hitter. Lucky Roberts, unlucky Gonsolin.
Put Lux at second and leave him there.
Lux is hurt.
Those kinds of plays can only be made by a real second baseman, Muncy is not, he will make the routine plays and he can play occasionally but he is not a player to play day to day at second base.
Muncy is very valuable since he is very versatile, today that Lux was not available, Muncy did well in general, besides the Dodgers won, which is what matters.
Let me add my two cents in this “great” controversy. I think it is wrongly used. When you talk about Kershaw, Koufax, Valenzuela (yes, the forgotten one) they are beyond great, they were EXTRAordinary. In that context, then T Bauer indeed has been great. That applies for some nowadays players.
Cody has been really crushing the ball. He didn’t look anywhere near this good at the end of last year, when he was relatively good. He still stands very upright and there’s still a lot of head movement. Go figure!
Dodgerhorse, I’m wondering how many posts you’re made so far saying that you’re worried about Bueller. Are you looking for people to agree with you, or talk you down from the edge? I’ll try to help…
It’s very early after a very short Spring. The results aren’t that bad, 2, 2, 3 runs in three starts and one of those was in Colorado. Two of the runs yesterday were extremely lucky if I remember correctly. It looks like he’s having trouble commanding the fastball and the velo is down a little. I would give it at least two more starts and see how it goes. Pretty much all players have some down years. Let’s see if he actually has one and what it looks like.
Walker had 3 fastballs over 96 with the fastest at 96.8 yesterday. He threw one pitch over 96 at 96.1 in his first start in Colorado. Does that help? Lets see what he does after a couple more starts and on a warm day and see if it gets any better.
I just read this, .571 are hitting his fastball, it seems it’s not just me that’s worried:
https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/walker-buehler-struggling-with-fastball-early-in-2022
Okay Horse, go ahead and worry all you want. I just want to let you know that nothing in that article makes me think anyone is worried. I’m sure it isn’t just you who worries, there’s a lot of other people on this site that like to worry just like you, but the article doesn’t convince me of anything.
Walker had 4 K’s in each of his first three starts last season and gave up 5 runs pitching against the Reds in his fifth game at home. He pitched pretty well last year in total. I’ll go ahead a be patient and give it a few more games. And if we’re still in first place, I still won’t be worried.
Let’s not lose our minds on Heaney – It’s shoulder soreness. That can be bad or not so bad. We have to wait and see.
You will not shave a few years off of your lives if you quit worrying about Cody’s hitting and Buehler’s velocity.
Trust the Catman – his time is here. He has always had this ability. Progress is not linear.
Since Bobby Miller struggled last night, some fans think his star is waning. I see last night as a blip…. unless he has an injury we do not know about. I still believe there is a very good chance we see him in LA THIS YEAR! He is legit!
I can’t believe what I just witnessed this afternoon…….Gonzo throwing a one hitter through 6 innings, with a 1.23 WHIP. Not to mention a respectable 83 pitches.
Just a few days ago I came on here and said “I don’t trust Gonzo because he works to hard” but let me say this now (as an update)….if he can pitch like this all the time- much more efficiently- I will be very happy to get off the “I don’t trust him” bandwagon and get on board the “He’s the man” wagon. I’ve been rooting hard for both he and May to be our 4/5 starters for the next 10 years, so maybe that hope isn’t so far fetched.
TM
This is a case of having “sight”, but lacking “vision.”
If you fall into that trap, you can never “project” what a player can be.
I have been saying this about Tony Gonsolin for two years now. Finally, he is putting it together.
Exactly, I add one thing: that vision must also be applied with Gavin Lux.
Just curious, can you also apply that same vision to Daniel Jones, QB of the NY Giants?
One more thing Horse, just because I say “I don’t trust a guy” doesn’t mean I’ve given up on him. Trust can also be earned…it doesn’t have to be a given.
While I may not trust Go so and Lux TODAY, I still root for them and never want them to fail just to justify my lack of trust. I’m a fan of my team, not myself.
Cheers,
TM
It’s still early – too early to say either that a player is doing/will do well or not.
MLB had a 3 week preseason. The Dodgers played only 33 games including split squad games. Buehler pitched 9 2/3 innings over 2 games all Spring – that’s it.
He isn’t fully up to speed yet. If after another 4 or 5 starts he still has a wimpy fastball and looks like a so-so pitcher, I will start to worry, but not yet.
I’m not going to get too up or too down about anyone yet. I still question why the Dodgers wasted precious AB and IP this Spring on guys who were never going to play though.
You guys measure greatness a lot different than I do. I will let you have your fantasy’s.,
Bauer is a good pitcher who has had a few flashes of greatness.
I’m with you Bear. Kershaw and Scherzer are great! Bauer is good, a level below.
Even Barry Zito won one Cy Young
LOL!
A lot of pitchers have one Cy Young and won’t smell the hall. Great pitchers put up numbers consistently. Bauer has been above average the last couple of years, but before that, he was anything but. I also believe his Cy Young is bogus since he pitched in exactly 11 games in a truncated season. There are some great players in baseball. I think deGrom is one of the best pitchers in the game. Is he great? He could be if he stayed healthy. In my eyes he is 10 times the pitcher Bauer is and has none of the baggage. Bauer was a sub .500 pitcher over his two years with the Reds, has he improved since 2019? Some, but great is not a handle I would put on him.
I think everyone is trying to compare apples to oranges.
Which Trevor Bauer are you talking about?
Prior to 2018, Trevor Bauer’s ERA’s were as follows:
2012 – 6.06
2013 – 5.29
2014 – 4.18
2015 – 4.55
2016 – 4.26
2017 – 4.29
However, then before the 2018 Season, Trevor Bauer got involved with Driveline Technology and in 2018, his ERA dropped to 2.21
2019 – 3.79 in Cleveland and then was 6.39 in Cincy (10 games)
2020 – 1.73
2021 – 2.59
As you can see, he was a different pitcher after 2018… except for the 10 games when he switched leagues. Certainly, he will never be in the HOF, but he could be a Top 10 or 20 pitcher in the NL.
True. But I still would never call him great.
Also, I believe that if the Dodgers leave Max Muncy at 2B, he will be above average. Not a gold glove, but good.
I know that everyone has anointed Gavin Lux as the 2B and future SS… and I hope you all are right, but his BA has dropped to .276. He is going to have to be consistent.
That said, Max Muncy is off to a horrid start. It does not appear to me that he is injured and I am just about 100% certain that Mookie is 100% healthy.
I wonder how Corey Seager enjoys being 2-8 on a team that has a 6.24 ERA?
I’m sort of enjoying it. Thanks Corey for the opportunity to get Freeman.
If he had little interest in being a part of a winning organization and just wanted the payday, then he’s fine with it. He probably convinced himself, though, (and Texas probably sold him) that Texas was making a dramatic turnaround and was making itself competitive. He didn’t do his due diligence about their pitching staff or their farm system, which was awful last year and which they did nothing about.
Boras did him a disservice by simply going with the max payday over other intrinsic factors – like not being part of a crappy team. When Boras extracts the max possible dollar amount even though the environment might not be the best fit for the player, then that’s when the best interests of player and agent don’t really align. Boras doesn’t give a s**t if Corey now is in baseball purgatory forever.
10 years is going to feel an awful lot like an eternity in hell.
He will follow in AROD’s footsteps and be traded to Yankees and be their 3rd baseman. Texas gave AROD a huge above market contract and had to trade that contract away.
Good point, and I could see this happening. Texas will eat part of that contract.
Well he enjoys the first and the fifteenth!
Here’s a Free Tip:
Someone asked why they could not get the Braves -Dodgers Game in South Carolina when the game was in LA. It is how MLB protects the local market. Agree with it or not – it is what it is.
You can get around it with a VPN which is a virtual private network, and is a secure tunnel between your device and the internet. VPNs protect you from online snooping, interference, and censorship.
I use Express VPN (www.expressvpn.com ) for two things:
1. Mask my IP Address (by picking another area, like NYC) so that I can watch the Dodgers; and
2. I also use it on my laptop when traveling (airports, coffee shops, etc.), so that crooks can steal your stuff.
I pay $9.99 a month. The only drawback is that I have to watch on my laptop, but I run 3 monitors so it is not a problem.
This has been a public service announcement!
I also can’t find good ramen in South Carolina! What’s up with that?
Three Words:
Shrimp and Grits
I almost moved to Greenville, SC a few years ago!