The Dodgers just finished off a seven-game sweep of their intra-division rivals from the North and South. The Giants and Padres don’t know what hit them. Both rivals moved in opposite directions at the trade deadline, but the results were the same. All L’s for the challengers against a very complete, incomplete Dodgers juggernaut.
The Giants mainly treaded water at the deadline, dog-paddling through the sea of possible improvements and/or prospect collecting. They picked up the wrong Machado to play 3B and shipped off platoon player Darin Ruf. Neither acquiring prospects to improve a beleaguered farm system or an impact player that will propel them into a Wild Card position.
The Padres went big, pushing in all their chips by gutting a middle-of-the-pack farm system to add big bats and the ultimate prize in Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Brandon Drury while also picking up arguably the best closer in baseball for the last couple of years.
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, the Dodgers largely stood pat. They picked up a low-risk, high-reward left-handed bat with elite power in Joey Gallo that was presented at the deep discount, bargain bin price tag of one Clayton Beeter – live arm with control issues who was having a disappointing season at AA. Other than Gallo, the Dodgers shipped off utility man Zach McKinstry for RHP Chris Martin, who looks like another pick-pocket move by Andrew Friedman. Other than a solo shot, Chris hasn’t allowed another baserunner while lowering his ERA across 4 Dodgers appearances.
For all the deadline hype, the Dodgers brass proved the ESPN analysts wrong by embarrassing the trade deadline winners in a three-game sweep this past weekend after an equally befitting beat down of the Giants in the four-game sweep of the prior series, sending the Giants into the whirlpool of a big black and orange toilet flush. After the weekend series, the good sit with a comfortable 5 wins better than any team in baseball. If that isn’t enough, it’s just going to get better.
The Padres just added four fresh faces to their clubhouse and are about to get the face of the franchise back in Fernando Tatis Jr, pending a successful rehab assignment. That assignment might be a little rushed now that they’re sitting in the 3rd Wild-Card spot and just 1.5 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. His presence in the lineup will no doubt be a huge improvement over Ha-Seong Kim and will further lengthen an already tough group of hitters. We can only pray that the injury and missed time will affect him like our injuries affected Belli and Muncy.
Not to be outdone, the Dodgers are about to make a lot of high-profile post-deadline moves…
Justin Turner could be another impact bat inserted into the lineup if he’s anywhere close to the pre-injury JT that we saw light up his stat line from June 15 through most of July. During that time, he put up a superstar slash line of .353/.430/.529/.959.
Dustin May was looking like he was about to turn into an Ace before he went down for the count leading to the dreaded TJ surgery. In his first four starts before the injury, he had a 2.53 ERA and 32 K’s against 21 innings. He looks like he’s on the mend, and he’s just about ready to put the league on notice.
Walker Buehler was 4th in the Cy Young voting in 2021 but didn’t look like himself in the early going this season. Although he went on the IL for a flexor tendon strain, he also had his right elbow scoped to remove a bone spur. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his fastball was a little off once it was revealed that he had the surgery for the bone spur. If he can make it back in time to be built up as a starter, it would be the equivalent of adding two aces to an already league-leading rotation. If he doesn’t return to the rotation, he’ll be one hell of a bullpen piece.
Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol are two high-leverage relievers that will be added back into the bullpen mix in the coming days. That’s a lot of firepower to add back into the mix, and it pushes just about everyone else in the bullpen into lower leverage situations. Evan Phillips has been outstanding while taking over Treinen’s job. It was about as seamless of a transition as you can hope for. Having two monsters like that automatically makes just about any bullpen great, but also adding a workhorse like Brusdar makes the bullpen truly elite. Although Brusdar has had some ups and downs, he’s been extremely effective. He pitched multiple innings in 10 of his 37 games and sports a solid 3.35 ERA and a stingy .967 WHIP. He’s also been the guy to enter a game with runners on, having done so 14 times.
If that isn’t enough, it seems like Tommy Kahnle will be back right after Treinen and Brusdar. He only pitched in 4 games this season and hasn’t pitched regularly since 2019. But there’s no doubt that his stuff is filthy.
With 5 pitchers coming back, it’s going to be tough completion for the post-season staff. It’s going to be so deep, I almost feel bad for opposing offenses. Quality starters will be pushed into the pen and only the best, high leverage relievers will remain.
There’s a myriad of other players who have a chance at coming back this year as well, not to mention a couple of exciting prospects that recently made their debuts. There’s no telling if Vargas, Outman, or Busch become this year’s Randy Arozarena or if Danny Duffy reinvents himself as a left-handed long man, or if he can even make his way onto the roster. Unlike last year when Muncy went down, the Dodgers have answers for a slew of injuries and unforeseen travesties.
The Dodgers just sent a message to the rest of the league by sweeping the Giants and Padres, and they seem to have a lot more in the tank. This is by far the deepest, most talented team in baseball. They do everything well, and they’re battle tested. And they certainly stockpiled enough arms to have their own Cold War. Let’s get a couple more rings with this core and call a dynasty without rebuttal.
BP –
I always like reading your articles and posts on LADT because they are both informative and entertaining! In fact, LADT has many knowledgeable posters whose perspectives I read daily and thoroughly enjoy. I also follow college football and college basketball forums but they are not close to LADT in quality. Mark, thanks to you and all the LADT contributors for providing an old man with a wonderful alternative to the morning news!
I have always felt the same way, Tom. I look forward to seeing Evan in the mix more often. Bear is quite the historian and no one does it better than Mark. Thanks for the kind words.
I agree. great work as usual
It’s not getting any better for the Padres, having lost five in a row after winning the trade deadline. That’s a lot of losing for so much winning and it couldn’t be sweeter.
I’m sure that in the weeks leading up to the deadline, the Padres might have thought there was a chance to catch the Dodgers with a little luck. Well, I’m not really sure and I don’t think it’s a reasonable conclusion, but the Padres went all in anyways.
More than likely, the Padres went all in to try their luck at a Wild Card because while it’s technically feasible to catch the Dodgers, it’s highly unlikely. To put this into perspective, if the Dodgers just play 500 baseball the rest of the way, they’ll finish with 102 wins! If the Padres win 40 of their remaining 50 games, they’ll still fall one win shy of that mark.
With the Division all but wrapped up and a very good pitching staff trying to recover from their IL stints, the Dodgers will be playing out the season trying to wrap up the top seed in order to get Home Field Advantage throughout the playoffs. The Yankees, Mets and Houston will have a say about that, but the Dodgers are in the driver’s seat with a 4 and 5 game leads over those three teams.
The remaining schedule is no walk in the park starting with 2 games against a first-place Twins team. We also have 6 games, home and road series against the Brewers who are 2 games out of the division lead and 1 game out of a Wild Card. We’ll finish this month and start the next against the Mighty Mets for a 3 game series in their yard.
September will feature 9 games against the Padres (3 at home), a home and road series against the Giants and three at home against the Cardinals who sit on top of the Central with a slightly better winning percentage than the Padres.
The rest of the season will be fun to watch and will be a good measuring stick for our future post-season run.
And Hader just blew a save, big time, but Machado bailed him out with a walk-off HR.
Getting Hader now might have been a mistake…
A year and a half of a career wasted. MLB should be ashamed of itself. No charges, this has much more to do with Manfred sending a message to those that dare call out the Commissioner than it does with policy violation.
A certain QB in the NFL has had 23 women accuse him of sexual misconduct, and he and the NFL have settled monetarily with them, and he is suspended six games. Trevor Bauer may own MLB at some point.
Dodgers News: A Small Update in the Trevor Bauer Suspension Appeal.
As the Dodgers’ season marches along, the team sits firmly atop the division, the league, and of all of baseball as the most winnest team with 74 wins. And the team has done that without the services of right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer.
The embattled hurler has been away from the team since initially being placed on administrative leave back in mid-July 2021 following accusations of sexual assault. Earlier this year, after a lengthy investigation, Major League Baseball handed down a full two season suspension to Bauer under the joint MLB/MLBPA domestic violence and sexual assault policy, keeping him out of baseball until 2024 at the earliest.
Understandably, Mr. Bauer appealed and that appeal process has been underway for the better part of two months. Now there’s a new wrinkle in the saga.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported that Bauer’s appeal is now expected to “extend beyond the end of the World Series.”
Here’s a key takeaway from Shaikin’s article.
The appeal of Bauer’s suspension started May 23 and now is expected to last until November, [Bauer’s lawyer Shawn] Holley told the court. The appeal is heard intermittently, but Holley said she is “working full-time” on proceedings that she said involve “voluminous” evidence and could include as many as 22 witnesses, only four of whom have completed testimony before an independent arbitrator.
Trevor Bauer and his representation maintain that he did not violate the DV policy.
AJ Cassavell on Twitter
Is Manny Machado concerned about the way Padres match up with the Dodgers?
“Concerned? Why would I be concerned? Not at all,” he said.
Why the level of confidence?
“Cause I’m freaking Manny Machado,” he said, but he didn’t actually say freaking.
Here’s the full transcript (made up by me):
“Are you concerned after losing three straight to the Dragons up the Highway?”
“Concerned? Why would I be concerned? Not at all,” he said.
Why the level of confidence?
“Cause I’m f_________g Manny Machado, and monkies fly out of my butt!” he said.
“But in the last 30 games Manny F__________g Machado is only hitting .222.
But I have been injured. I have a boo boo on my ankle.”
“I thought you were Manny F______________ g Machado.”
What a Tool.
I hope he made good on that bet he made with a Dodger fan about who would win a WS first…..
https://twitter.com/MLBONFAX/status/1556682594917367808?s=20&t=F6tb79X4TQ5_Ve4KU37UDA
Watching the immature clown show implode down South will be a spectator sport in and of itself.
I mentioned yesterday that the Padres have a clubhouse problem. Didn’t think it’s would blow up again before Tatis is even back lol
The only thing that could stop us this year are DeGrom and Scherzer. DeGrom’s stuff plays out as one of the all time greats but he can’t stay healthy.
Scherzer probably has a dead arm….
deGrom is a beast it is true. But he is also one of the most injury prone players on the Mets. One pitch away from another stint on the IL.
From Houston Mitchell:
Well, would you have given up Diego Cartaya, Bobby Miller, Andy Pages, Miguel Vargas, Maddux Bruns and Gavin Lux or Dustin May for Soto and Bell? That is the basic equivalent of what the Padres gave up. I’d rather have those guys and a chance to win every year. You may think differently, and that’s fine. The Dodgers obviously have what it take it win it all this season. So do a handful of other teams, including the Padres. But the Dodgers are a virtual lock for the division title and first-round bye, meaning the Padres will have to win a best-of-three series to advance to the second round. The Padres’ top three hitters will be Soto, Manny Machado and Tatis. The Dodgers’ top three hitters are Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Trea Turner. Pretty evenly matched. The Dodgers have made big trade deadline deals frequently, and did not win the World Series. They did not make a big trade deadline deal in 2020, and won the World Series.
I’ll side with AF on this one! And maybe he drove up the price for Pads
Mitchell’s analysis strikes me as a gross exaggeration., but the point is valid.
The Pads may regret the move, but they obviously feel they needed to make a bold move to compete and have a shot at the WS during the three years they’re certain to have Soto. (It would be funny if, in the summer of 2024, they are struggling and put Soto on the market.)
The Dodgers simply don’t need to make a bold move. McKinstry for Chris Martin, Beeter for Gallo and Lamb for PTB or cash will suffice.
I like Mitchell’s comparison of the top three hitters.
When he’s healthy, Tatis leads the league in swag, just ahead of Soto, with Machado not far behind. They are three scary good hitters with power and athleticism.
Mookie, Trea and Freddie don’t swagger much, but (being older) they are more professional and have a longer track record of achievement. (Then Smith is league’s best hitting catcher, Lux is top ten BA guy, and Max and Belli are heating up.)
Every Dodger who stepped into the batter’s box got a hit today. Every starter and then Trayce pinch-hitting for Mookie.
How often does that happen?
Vargas optioned to OKC. Active roster as of this morning sits at 25. So, someone is going to be added by game time tonight. JT? Possible. Padres now sit 16 back of the blue thanks to a loss to SF last night Machado’s ego is going to ruin whatever chemistry might be in that Padres clubhouse. They want to really improve the team; they should trade that donkey. Chris Sale suffered a broken arm in a bicycle accident and is out for the year. Talk about not being worth your contract. Sale has pitched only 48 1/3 innings since signing his 145-million-dollar extension in 2019. He also pitched another 9 innings in the postseason. Great stuff BP. I have come to realize that AF really knows his stuff!
I suppose there are a couple of different ways to look at the Padres and the deadline deals. They want to excite their fan base and they did that. They have a “window” to slay the dragon up the freeway, win a World Series. No matter what they do, they are still a mid market franchise, the monster is in their division. Being able to sustain over a lengthy period means you have to produce major leaguers from the farm system, which is what the Dodgers do.
Trading away a bunch of highly rated prospects no doubt hurts them moving forward. One or two of those prospects may turn out to be pretty good players, like Trea Turner.
As far as the Giants. Farhan Zaidi pushed all the right buttons the year before, but this year the aging roster has faltered. It was the Dodgers, not the Giants who picked up Anderson and Heaney.
No doubt in 2023, the Padres loom as the Dodgers biggest rival for the NL West. You can twist this anyway you want, but if the Dodgers don’t re-sign Turner they won’t be as big of a beast. Forget about the cheater or Dansby filling in the gap. Yes, it will cost. So what? I really don’t care. I really like the big three (Betts, Turner and Freeman). The Padres will have Tatis, Soto and Machado.
Bellinger and Muncy are hitting the ball harder and things may be looking up. Both will benefit next year with the removal of the shift.
Glad to see May coming back. Huge upside.
The Dodgers are the best team in baseball. The only question remaining is will they be the best team in the playoffs?
Most of this, I agree with. Farhan’s genius is greatly exaggerated. I have a hard time giving Farhan credit for 4-6 guys all having career years at the same time. No one gave them a shot in the preseason and they overproduced to a historic level. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Posey 889 OPS, second best in his career. (831 career)
Belt 975 OPS, second best in his career. (818 career)
Solano 748 OPS (703 career)
Crawford 895 OPS (723 career)
Wade 808 OPS (763 career) Previous best was 723
Ruf 904 OPS (776 career)
No GM could predict that would happen, so I can hardly give him credit for building a great team. That’s without considering similar performances from the pitchers he signed.
All that , 107 wins, and they still lost to the Dodgers, who had to beat the Cardinals to just get there. Nationals claimed Jake McGee, and DFA’d Donovan Casey. Zach McKinstry is 0-14 since joining the Cubs.
Casey was one of the Dodgers traded for Scherzer and Trea. Will AF bring him back? The Dodgers have a habit of bringing back guys they know, most recently Rylan Bannon.
Oh, let’s credit former Dodger Jake McGee for his contributions to the Giants’ magical season. He was a very good lefty option for the Dodgers but AF let him get away. (By some accounts Farhan had promised him the closer role.)
I think the Dodgers lost three games to the Giants that year that arguably turned on a single play late in the game. Neuse, playing second base, could have had an easy force play to end an inning but failed to stretch for the throw. Next batter hit a gamewinner.
He’s put together some pretty good and affordable rotations. I’d take him on my team all day, every day
The person behind future Dodgers, who is apparently also studying for the bar, recently wrote (and wrote well) on the Dodgers trade deadline:
https://futuredodgers.wordpress.com/2022/08/06/2022-trade-deadline-thoughts-gallo-soto-frasso-and-more/
He/she also updated the prospect rankings:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Tuooytw157kjyMeY1ecRDnPq9FTGGWQOwzWSgsQpqN4/edit#gid=882166644
Top Ten:
Cartaya, Miller, Vargas, Pages, Stone, Busch, Pepiot, Ramos, Nastrini and Bruns.
Latest Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet ($$$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/hot-sheet-baseballs-20-hottest-prospects-from-the-past-week-8922/
Ryan Ward at 15. “The Scoop: The Dodgers latest draft steal as an eighth-rounder out of Bryant in 2019, Ward has hit at every level and is continuing to crush this year at Double-A….”
Yunior Garcia in the “Helium” section “Garcia has been hampered by injuries the last few years, but now that he’s healthy, he’s raking for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga. ”
FanGraphs looks at the remaining schedule for teams
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-teams-most-affected-by-their-remaining-schedules/
The Dodgers’ is on the tougher side.
Baseball America updated their top 100
https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2022-top-100-prospects/
Cartaya at 9, Miller at 24, Vargas at 27, Busch at 50, Pepiot at 54, Gavin Stone at 56, Pages at 80. That’s SEVEN. Uh-Maize-Zing.
Ben Clemens Chat:
Mike M The Dodgers sweeping the Padres: small sample outcome or something greater? If the latter, what did we learn?
Ben Clemens With four-game series, I’m always gonna lean small sample. That said, if I learned anything, it’s that the Dodgers are good
davealden53 Thoughts on the Zaidi/Kapler regime in San Francisco? I think that the Giants were remarkably lucky last year and almost equally unlucky this year, two blips that confuse the long-term picture, but I still trust the approach.
Ben Clemens I agree with that. Trying to figure out if they’re equal is tough, but I think they ran extremely hot last year and have had a ton of bad breaks this year… I believe in the approach, Zaidi also has a track record long enough that I’d believe in the approach even if things were going a bit worse
Farhandrew Zaidman Am I insane to be REALLY high on the AAA bats in the Dodgers’ system – Vargas especially, but also Outman, Cartaya, Amaya, Busch…
Ben Clemens I’m not sold on Cartaya and Amaya yet, but to be honest i haven’t given their numbers a thorough comb-through so it’s more just inherent conservatism about prospects than anything
Vargas is one of my favorite hitting prospects. He made my data-driven mid-tier hitters list last year and has done nothing but hit since then. Definitely a believer
I missed this but the great Mike Petriello took a look at StatCast’s bat speed tool:
https://www.mlb.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-statcast-bat-tracking
To note, Cody Bellinger’s tracked bat speed is now 78.4. I believe it used to be around 82 at least. Perhaps this is behind all the tinkering he is/has been doing…
Julio Rodriguez said Ryan Pepiot was the best MILB pitcher he’s ever faced
https://twitter.com/kimballzzzzz/status/1555378398855176195
Baseball America lists the youngest player by minor league:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/youngest-players-by-league-august-2022/
Vargas at #5, he’s only 22.7YO
Ilmerson Colon in the DSL is only 16.8YO
FanGraphs Prospect Roundup includes;
Moises Brito has fanned 32 batters and issued just one walk in 29 Dominican Summer League innings. Signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an international free agent on June 2, the 20-year-old southpaw was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Tuesday’s trade deadline as part of a four-prospect swap.
Ryan Ward leads the Double-A Texas League with 27 home runs. Featured here at FanGraphs last November, the 24-year-old outfielder in the Los Angeles Dodgers system is slashing .267/.323/.534 with a 110 wRC+ for the Tulsa Drillers.
Despite the 40 man crunch KEEP an eye on Robles, he has MLB pitching experience:
Hansel Robles was a tick up on his fastball recently (97 last time out vs 96 avg this season) and also had five inches less run than his season avg. That’s been a trend over his last few games with OKC—not a bad thing, as his fastball had 2+ inches more run this year than prior years.
Ben Badler is bullish on what the Dodgers received for Mitch White ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/trade-central-blue-jays-dodgers-swap-prospects-with-nick-frasso-alex-de-jesus/
MLB.com rates the Padres package for Soto as arguably the biggest of all time:
https://www.mlb.com/news/prospect-trade-hauls-all-time-rankings
#2 oddly is the old Teixeira deal. No not Ruy Teixiera!
Very cool FanGraphs article about how trades happen in MLB
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-time-for-reach-out-calls-has-begun/
Jay Jaffe on the Kershaw injury:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/dodgers-once-again-lose-kershaw-and-an-air-of-invulnerability/
In the grand scheme, the Dodgers have higher-ceiling pitchers in their system more likely to round out a future rotation in Ryan Pepiot and Bobby Miller. White, who’s out of options after this year, was less likely to figure in next year’s plans, hence the trade to Toronto….
Miller, a 23-year-old righty with an upper-90s fastball and a plus slider, is still at Double-A and unlikely to figure in this year’s plans. Pepiot, a 24-year-old righty with a 70-grade changeup, has made four starts for the big club this year, posting a 2.76 ERA and 4.15 FIP but only once lasting even five innings…
By that point, the wild card in this whole sequence, Dustin May…..
Dodgers Digest does a mid-season look at the Dodgers top prospects:
http://dodgersdigest.com/2022/08/08/2022-dodgers-digest-midseason-top-30-prospects/
Longenhagen ranks the prospects traded:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ranking-the-prospects-traded-during-the-2022-deadline/
Relief only Beeter is at 10. Frasso at 16. Brito 2nd to last.
Bluto
Remember when you told me I rubbed you wrong when I said that I thought Pages was ranked too high on Dodgers.com at number 4? Well Baseball America updated their prospect list and Pages is ranked number 7 among Dodger prospects. That’s exactly where I thought he should be at that time when I rubbed you wrong. So I’m sorry I rubbed you wrong, but Baseball America agreed with me.
Hi Eric,
I remember none of that, but I’m glad you feel affirmed!
Affirmation is awesome!
Eric, let’s set the record straight…
I got kicked out of this site for being an asshole long before I started writing.
Yes!
You are very right.
I DO remember our conversation! Of course I do, it was such a great conversation. Was it the one where you said Pages should be ranked #7 and I thought he should be #9? Something like that?
I can’t believe I didn’t remember it earlier. I mean that was such a profound moment.
Get over yourself buddy.
Unacceptable Do it once more and you are gone for good. We will not tolerate name calling here anymore. PERIOD.
Petty and passive aggressive. Too bad you didn’t mix in some sarcasm, you would have hit the trifecta.
Bluto had the sarcasm covered in his response.
Comments like his last post are not tolerated here anymore. No name calling period. Agree to disagree, but keep personal attacks off the site. BP, have you let writing for the site go to your head? I haven’t.
Yeah, I put it at the top of my resume.
I have met you BP. Your a pussy cat. I was writing for this site before Eric came along I think. I try to respect everyone’s opinion. I might disagree, and if I am proved wrong I am more than willing to admit it. He is entitled to evaluate, comment, and post anything he desires except personal attacks on any one or name calling. Stuff like that can ruin a blog, It did it to ladodgerreport. Not happening here. Be civil or begone.
Thx Bluto. That was awesome. How soon before you join the writing crew?
On Gallo, you never know, well it’s possible if it is known whether Joey Gallo might be relation to Earnest and Julio and Doc could use some tips as well as any wine maker from the biggest voice in the world of wine making. With that I’ll be keeping an eye on how Doc and Joey relate in the dugout.
Dodgers Sign Jahmai Jones To Two-Year Minor League Deal
By Darragh McDonald | August 9, 2022 at 3:43pm CDT
The Dodgers have signed infielder Jahmai Jones to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports that it’s a two-year contract, since Jones will miss the remainder of this year after having undergone Tommy John surgery.
Jones, 25, was a second-round pick of the Angels and made his MLB debut with them in 2020. He was a highly-touted part of their system, with Baseball America placing him on their list of top Angel farmhands starting in 2016 and even ranking him #89 in all of baseball in 2018. He went to the Orioles in the trade that sent Alex Cobb to the Halos prior to the 2021 campaign. Between the two clubs, he’s gotten into 29 MLB games, hitting .176/.228/.216 in that small sample.
10:10 PM ET
Twins (57-51)
Dodgers (75-33)
SP Julio Urias L
11-6 2.57 ERA 115.2IP 109K 24BB
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Turner R
2B Gavin Lux L
LF Joey Gallo L
CF C. Bellinger L
Partly-cloudy-day
0% Rain
84° Wind 6 mph Out
Dustin May starts for AAA Oklahoma City tonight
Bobby Miller starts for AA Tulsa tonight
Emmet Sheehan starts for A+ Great Lakes tonight
Just a suggestion. I really like that you post the lineup, the only thing it’s missing is the opposing starting pitcher and what hand the throws with. Cheers!
No problem. Will include in future lineups. Tonight’s Minnesota’s starting pitcher is Joe Ryan who is a right hander.
Just posted: Edgardo Henriquez starts for A Rancho tonight
Went down with an apparent injury.
🙁
Bellinger and Muncy are raking.
Wait until next year when they ban extreme shifts. Can you imagine?
I can’t wait. Gallo hammered one too. Good for him.
We’re seeing the old Max Muncy returning, just in time for the last 90 days of the season!
Meanwhile, Dustin May tonight: 5ip 3 hits, 1 run, 1bb, 8k
Even Gallo is getting in on the fun..hopefully he just needed a change of scenery
These days don’t appear to be the dog days judging by way that the Dodgers are playing. Can they continue playing like this much longer? It seems like they’re winning percentage is only going to increase and they’re already on pace for 112 wins. I don’t think other teams stand much of a chance regardless of how hot they are from here on because the buck stops when they face the Dodgers! Ain’t no lookin back.
What with Muncy and Bellinger finally figuring out how to hit again this just isn’t fair. Can’t our starting pitching at least have a slight meltdown to give these other teams a chance! And no fire Dave Roberts posts. Amazing what a better manager he is when the players perform better!
So it’s the 7th inning against the Twins and EVERY Dodgers starter has at least one hit. Best news: Max’s homer and double.
Second best news: Julio delivers seven strong innings.
This team is looking like the juggernaut that many expected.
Also, I was pleased to see that the Dodgers signed former top Angels prospect Jermai Jones to a minor league contract. He’s recovering from TJ surgery, so it’s a two-year deal. He showed real promise before the injury. Not sure if that’s why the Angels cut him loose.
Well, the Twins just scored a couple of Bickford….
Hey, at some point the fates will intervene.
Moronta and Bickford are probably the two most vulnerable pitchers to be demoted when Graterol and Trienen return. Pepiot is with the team and will most likely get the start tomorrow. Someone needs to go down then.
If my math is correct (it was better in my youth) Dodgers are now on pace for 113 wins and that has been on the rise. If they keep up this show they just might break the all time record for team wins in a season. No flat spots, and no stress.
The Future Dodgers guy is quite dedicated and indeed an excellent writer. Well worth reading.
The Soto ship has sailed, of course, but Future Dodger Man made an interesting case for giving up A LOT to get Soto premised on the notion that he is indeed the greatest hitting talent to come along since Trout.
But missing from the analysis is the obvious fact that baseball is a team sport. Giving up half a quality team–Cartaya, Lux, Miller, Vargas, Pages, etc– to get 1/10th of a team (even for the “generational” talent) doesn’t lead to winning. The Angels got Trout for a draft pick and can’t figure out how to win.
But half a team for a two-position superstar could make sense. And next summer, I expect we’ll see that, unless the Angels suddenly flourish and/or Ohtani decides to take a monster contract to stay.
Now I’m not going to make a case for Ohtani–but if he is put on the market AF will probably be in the mix, if only to drive up the cost. Perhaps Arte Moreno will refuse a better Dodgers deal out of animus..
Anyway, it’s fun to fantasy about Ohtani in a 6-man rotation and in a DH platoon role. Imagine having him as a pinch hitter.
Perhaps San Diego can get him next summer… if their package includes Soto.