What comes to mind when you think about Ron Cey? To me, it is his trot around the bases after he hit a homer and his solid play as one of the anchors of ” The Infield.” Cey was born on the 15th of February 1948 in Tacoma, Washington. He was a multi-sport athlete at Mount Tacoma High School. He was the first athlete to receive nine varsity letters. Upon graduating, he attended Washington State University in Pullman and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He played baseball for WSU for two years, the first on the freshman team and the second on the varsity. His coach was Chuck “Bobo” Braylon. It was coach Braylon who nicknamed him “The Penguin” for his slow, waddling running gait.
Cey was selected in the second phase of the MLB draft in June 1968. Cey was sent to Class-A, Tri-Cities in the Northwest League. In 74 games, he hit .299 with nine homers and 62 RBIs. The next season he started at Bakersfield in the California League. He had a .331 batting average with 22 homers and 56 RBIs. That earned him a promotion to AA Albuquerque, where in 13 games, he hit .156 with no homers and a couple of RBIs. He played 28 games in the Arizona fall league and hit .330 with three long balls and 17 driven in. Turning 22, he started the 1970 season at Albuquerque, where he would post a .331 average. He only appeared in 71 games, and his power numbers were way down, as he hit only four homers.
It was enough to earn him a promotion to AAA Spokane for the 1971 season. Cey did not disappoint. He crushed PCL pitching to the tune of a .328/32/123 slash line. He slugged .588 with a .988 OPS. It earned him a September call-up to LA, but he only got into two games and had no hits. 1971, he started the year at Albuquerque, which was now LA’s AAA affiliate, under manager, Tommy Lasorda. He again hit well over .300, .329, hit 23 bombs, and drove in 103 in 142 games. He again earned a September call-up and appeared in 11 games, hitting his first MLB homer in the process. He did not know it at the time, but his days in the minors were over.
Cey played 152 games for the 1972 Dodgers, mostly at 3rd base. He hit .245/15/80 and finished 6th in the ROY voting. He also did not realize it, but Cey had finally filled the black hole, which had been the third base position for the Dodgers for many years. In 1974, the Dodgers put four guys on the infield, Cey, at 3rd, Bill Russell, at SS, Davey Lopes, at 2nd, and Steve Garvey at 1st. They would play together as a unit for the next 8-1/2 years. Two were converted outfielders, Russell and Lopes, and Garvey had been a scatter-armed third baseman. Cey improved his BA to .262, clubbed 18 homers, and drove in 97 runs; he also walked more than he struck out 76/68. LA went to the World Series that year for the first time since 1966. They would lose in 5 games to the A’s, who were winning their third series in a row.
In 1975, his numbers improved again as he hit 25 long balls, batted .282, and drove in 101 runs. The Dodgers finished a distant second to the Big Red Machine from Cincinnati. 76 was more of the same, his BA dropped 6 points, and he hit two fewer homers. His RBI count was down to 80. And the Dodgers again finished second to the Reds.
1977 brought the Dodgers a new manager and a totally different vibe in the clubhouse. Tommy Lasorda had managed the last few games of the 1976 season as long-time skipper Walter Alston announced his retirement. Lasorda had basically nurtured many of his players in their minor league days. Lasorda was a no holds barred, bombastic, enthusiastic character. He told his players that they were going to win as long as they believed in themselves. And the team took it to heart. He had the regulars running in the outfield together before games. He was quick to argue with umps and to protect his players. A total of 180 degrees from the silent Alston. Cey came out of the blocks smoking hot. He was named player of the Month in April with a smoldering .425/9/29 start. He would finish the season with a .241 avg, but he was part of the first quartet of teammates to hit 30 or more home runs; Baker, Smith, and Garvey also hit 30 or more. The Dodgers would win the NLCS over the Pirates and then lose the series to the Yankees.
In 1979 and 1980, Ron continued his good production, hitting 28 homers in both seasons and playing 150 or more games both times. In 1981, the season would be cut short by a player’s strike. Ron played in 85 games with a .288/13/50 line. It might have been better, but on September 9th, against the Giants, his arm was broken on a pitch by Giants pitcher Tom Griffin. It came in his second at-bat. The Giants would win the game in 11 innings when they scored three runs. The game had been tied 2-2 when Steve Howe allowed a homer to Jack Clark. Garvey re-tied it with a solo shot with two outs. In the 11th, the Giants scored three off of Tom Neidenfuer. I remember the game well since I sang the Anthem that night. Cey would not play again until the NLCS against the Expos. Ron had five hits in 5 games and drove in 3 as the Dodgers advanced to the World Series against the Yankees.
In the World Series, Cey was great, posting a .350 BA, with a homer and 6 RBIs. He was named Tri-MVP along with Pedro Guererro and Steve Yeager. That was the only time in MLB history that has happened. In 1982, the 34-year-old Cey had a drop-off in production, He went .254/24/79 as the Dodgers slipped to a second-place finish. Lopes had been traded after the 1981 season, breaking up the infield, now it was Cey’s turn, and on January 19th, 1983, he was sent to the Cubs for Dan Cataline and Vance Lovelace.
Far from being finished, Cey played four seasons in Chicago with a .254/84/286 line. He finished his career with Oakland in 1987. hitting .221 in 45 games. His career line was .261/316/1139. In his only year on the Hall ballot, he finished with 1.9% of the vote.
Cey still lives in So-Cal and is a member of the Dodgers community service department. He also has appeared at functions and events at the stadium many times, including the reunion of the 1981 team.
Competition Committee To Vote On Proposed 2023 Rule Changes On Friday
By Anthony Franco | September 8, 2022 at 5:16pm CDT
The competition committee is set to vote on various proposed rule changes for the 2023 season, report Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. A pitch clock, limitations on defensive shifting, pickoff limits and enlarged bases are all set to be formally voted upon today at 11:00 am CST.
I am for all of them except larger bases. Does not seem like something the game needs. Giants lost a double header to the Brewers, so the Brew Crew picks up a full game on the Padres. Rams humbled at home.
I had hoped that the larger bases would come into play… just for the opportunity for fewer injuries and a boost in the running game. At least, that is what they are saying about it. At The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal wrote this:
Bigger bases coming
The big news Tony Clark made Wednesday morning was that the Major League Baseball Players Association is now a member of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, better known as AFL-CIO. But Clark, the head of the players’ union, also listed three changes in the game under discussion for next season.
Two of those changes — the pitch clock and shift restrictions — are well-documented. The third, the enlarging of bases from 15 inches square to 18 inches square, has received less attention. But Major League Baseball, in experimenting with the larger bases at every minor-league level this season, seems to be achieving the desired effect — a boost in the running game.
As The Athletic’s Jayson Stark wrote in March 2021, larger bases make the distance between first and second 4 1/2 inches shorter because all three additional inches of the first-base bag are in fair territory. Jayson, when MLB introduced the bases last season at Triple A, predicted a “modest effect on stolen-base success rates, which would likely lead to more stolen-base attempts.” This season, the experiment is taking place at every level of the minors, and the stolen-base numbers are up at every level outside of Rookie ball, according to STATS Perform.
Through Tuesday, here were the numbers compared to 2021. A greater number of games had been played at each level through the same date. The differences in the amount varied, but the comparisons are nonetheless telling.
Stolen base attempts per game
AAA
1.89
2.37
AA
2.23
2.69
A
3.01
3.15
Rookie
3.39
3.35
Stolen-base percentage
AAA
75.5
78.0
AA
70.7
77.3
A
76.4
77.3
Rookie
73.7
72.5
The larger bases, as Jayson wrote in 2021, also could produce slight increases in infield hits, bunt hits and batting average on balls in play; first base will be slightly closer to the plate, so infielders might need to position themselves shallower. In addition, the bases are made with a different, less slippery material, which should make them safer. They might even reduce the number of collisions at first base, with the bag further in fair territory.
That didn’t exactly scale, but you can see the difference.
I did not study the proposal all that well. Also will make pitchers pay more attention to runners and mediocre armed catchers a real problem for their team. Judge hit #55. Now just 6 back of Maris’s AL record. Pujols needs on to tie Alex Rodriguez at 696. I hope he gets at least 3 and passes that jerk.
I don’t like the 2 disengagements from the rubber rule. I feel like this gives an unfair advantage to baserunners. I fine with the pitch clocks and I like the anti-shift rule. I’m not sure how I feel about the size of the bases, especially with the rubber rule. The running game could get out of hand as a result.
Nice story so far.
https://youtu.be/Doyw6qA8-Ao
Cey was one of my favorites. Didn’t look the part, but he sure did play the part.
Slightly larger bases make sense to me for the reasons Mark cites, especially limiting injuries.
I’m still puzzled by the anti-shift sentiment, given how easy it is to counter the strategy. We just say Max lay down a bunt, right? I love it when batters exploit a shift. Four outfielders?
Why should pull hitters get an advantage? What happened to hitters learning to hit to all fields instead coaches emphasizing on “launch angles”?
Also, is there now an actual rule about the dimensions of the infield? I thought the 90-degree angle of the field and the distances between bases and between the plate and the rubber were all that mattered. The size of the OF varies from park to park.
Why change the game when it has survived scandal, PED’s, strikes and low attendance in small markets? The shift they use now is extreme. I do not like baseball looking like slow pitch softball with a short fielder in RF,
I’m kind of in agreement with you in the sense that hitters should adapt. But, maybe baseball wants more hard hit balls instead of beating the shift with a squibbed. The comment on Muncy’s bunt the other day says it all.
How the F is the manager surprised that players don’t bunt to beat the shift more often, when he’s the one that can have them practice it and put a sign on during the game to make it happen?
Like OldBear, I can’t stand to see a guy playing in short right field like a beer ball rover. Go ahead and standardize the infield dirt and make all of them have toes on the dirt when the pitch is thrown. You can still over load one side by having the SS or 2B play up the middle.
Bear, nice write up on Ron Cey. I don’t why, he seemed to me a surprise power source. He didn’t look like a home run hitter but put up some decent HR numbers in his Dodger career. He was a solid major leaguer. Nothing spectacular. He did his job and was certainly an important piece of the “infield”.
Note to Mark or to anyone else who can help. I’m kind of ignorant when it comes to technology. A few weeks ago the front size on the site suddenly reduced by half while writing a comment. Then yesterday it got even smaller while in the comment box. The text size changed only on this site. How can I increase the font size here on LADT? Thanks.
In the upper RH corner of the screen are three dots.
Right Click on there and a box should drop down and you can choose Zoom Size.
Thanks Mark. I figured it was a obvious and simple solution.
Thanks for the post on “The Penguin”. The first thought that comes to mind was all the dives he would do at 3B and that one glorious April. Looking at that picture, “The Infield” was pretty short. When I met Ron, he seemed like he was a little shorter than 5′ 10″ and Lopes and Garvey look even shorter than that in the picture. I was devastated when they traded him to the Cubs.
Stafford looked like crap last night. What a disappointing showing.
The Padres are in jeopardy of falling out of the Wild Card spot yet again. Preller is a pretender. It will be equally entertaining to see the Braves overtake the Mets.
The expanded playoff format isn’t making the playoff push any more exciting in the first year. Does anyone think the Orioles really have a chance to grab a Wild Card? And if they do, do they have any chance at a title? What a travesty that would be. The next two AL teams are right around 500.
The NL isn’t much better. The Brewers are closer than the O’s and they would knock off either the Phillies or the Padres. None of those teams look legit. I would have rather seen them make every series 7 games instead of letting crappy teams play more games.
So far, all this did was make the trade deadline less exciting and more expensive for teams looking to fill holes. So much for rule changes making the game better. Adding two players to the September rosters did nothing to make the game better. It allows for less rest and more fatigue and no chance to see up and coming prospects at the end of the season.
TV wizard Don Ohlmeyer, a far smarter man than I, famously opined: “The answer to all your questions is: Money.”
Attendance in Baltimore is up. Money.
https://www.wbaltv.com/amp/article/baltimore-orioles-attendance-2022/40884004
More playoff games means more TV revenue. Money.
Fewer players means less costs. Money.
The game isn’t a fun watch right now at all, so change stuff up seems like an okay attitude to me.
Epstein is smart and seems to have the right intentions on mind.
I concur with B&P that the pendulum may swing too far on the base paths, but the owners have a majority on this committee. They are well positioned to correct such things.
Right?
MLB To Implement Pitch Clock, Limit Defensive Shifts Beginning In 2023
By Steve Adams | September 9, 2022 at 12:02pm CDT
Major League Baseball announced Friday that the Competition Committee — an 11-person panel consisting of six ownership representatives, four players and one umpire — has voted to implement three new rule changes for the 2023 season: a pitch clock, a limitation on defensive shifting and larger bases.
Commissioner Rob Manfred issued the following statement after the vote:
“These steps are designed to improve pace of play, increase action, and reduce injuries, all of which are goals that have overwhelming support among our fans. Throughout the extensive testing of recent years, Minor League personnel and a wide range of fans – from the most loyal to casual observers – have recognized the collective impact of these changes in making the game even better and more enjoyable. We appreciate the participation of the representatives of the Major League Players and Umpires in this process.”
The league’s press release describes the changes (and provides context from minor league testing of the pitch clock) as follows:
Pitch Timer: A Pitch Timer will improve pace of play and reduce dead time. The Pitch Timer Regulations include the following provisions:
A pitcher must begin his motion before the expiration of the timer. Pitchers will have up to 15 seconds between pitches when the bases are empty and up to 20 seconds between pitches with at least one runner on base. Testing in the Minor Leagues involved 14 seconds with the bases empty and 18 seconds (19 seconds in Triple-A) with at least one runner on base.
A pitcher may disengage the rubber (timer resets) twice per plate appearance without penalty.
Subsequent disengagements result in a balk, unless an out is recorded on a runner.
The disengagement count resets if the runner advances; testing in the Minors had no reset until the following plate appearance.
A hitter must be in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher with at least eight seconds remaining. Testing in the Minor Leagues included nine seconds remaining.
A hitter receives one timeout per plate appearance.
Umpires will have authority to provide additional time if warranted by special circumstances (e.g., the catcher makes the last out of the inning and needs additional time to get into defensive position).
KEY STATS:
Compared to last season, the Pitch Timer has reduced the average nine-inning game time by 26 minutes (from 3:04 in 2021 to 2:38 in 2022) while increasing action on the field.
Stolen base attempts per game have increased from 2.23 in 2019, at a 68% success rate, to 2.83 in 2022, at a 77% success rate.
In its most recent week of play, Minor League Baseball has averaged just 0.45 Pitch Timer violations per game.
Defensive Shift Restrictions: A set of restrictions will return the game to a more traditional aesthetic by governing defensive shifts, with the goals of encouraging more balls in play, giving players more opportunities to showcase their athleticism, and offsetting the growing trend of alignments that feature four outfielders:
Lateral Positioning: Two infielders must be positioned on each side of second base when the pitch is released.
Depth: All four infielders must have both feet within the outer boundary of the infield when the pitcher is on the rubber.
No Switching Sides: Infielders may not switch sides unless there is a substitution.
KEY STAT: Defensive alignments that feature four players in the outfield increased nearly 6x across MLB since the start of the 2018 season.
Bigger Bases: With the goal of improving player safety, the size of first, second, and third base will increase from the standard 15” square to 18” square.
Bigger bases are expected to have a positive impact on player health and keeping Major Leaguers on the field.
KEY STAT: Base-related injuries decreased by 13.5% in the Minor Leagues this season, including declines at every level of the Minors.
Bigger bases will reduce the distance between first and second and between second and third base by 4.5”, thereby encouraging offensive Clubs to attempt to steal bases more frequently and generally to be more aggressive on the basepaths.
Friday Dodger Minor League Schedule
3:35 p.m.PT Great Lakes (Robbie Peto) at West Michigan (Dylan Smith)
4:35 p.m.: Tulsa (Lael Lockhart) at Frisco (Mason Englert)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Michael Grove) vs. Tacoma (Roenis Elias)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Maddux Bruns) vs. Lake Elsinore (Austin Krob)
The owners managed to set up this committee so that they had a majority even if the players voted against a change.
In today’s vote, the players accepted the larger bases but voted unanimously against the pitch clock and the banning of the shift. Their statement didn’t indicate they were necessarily against the new rules but sounded like they had concerns about various things which the owners did not address. So they voted no.
I wonder if we’ll eventually find out what their concerns were.
Also don’t understand why they ever agreed to this setup where they are always going to be in the minority.
Bear, great write up on the Penguin. Being a WSU grad he’s like a brother. As you mentioned he was a terrific all around athlete in high school earning 9 letters. Word is he was a fearless fullback who was like tackling a bowling ball with those short powerful legs.
* Andrew Vincent Forte thanks for the summary on the proposed rules changes being considered.
Having seen some of the proposed changes in Fall ball and at the minor league level, here’s my 2 cents worth:
* The pitch clock is a no brainer. The pace is so much more enjoyable. Just last night I watched a crisp A+ game, 4 to 2 in 2:18. Saw one at 1:58. I really don’t miss watching a batter adjust his batting gloves again after a take. 14 and 18 seconds are perfect. Plenty of players coming up are used to this and I have seen 1 violation all season. They will all adjust and the game is better.
* I don’t even notice the bigger bases but if they are statistically safer, I’m in. Decreasing the distance between bases by 4.5 inches might increase steel attempts in MLB but I doubt it. IMHO teams don’t steal now because its a team philosophy and not due to lack of success. The % of success is good now but teams don’t want to risk the out and potential injury. Closer bases won’t change that.
* They will also reposition 2nd base to actually fix its misplacement for the last 150 years. Instead of the base measured to its back, center field corner it’s been measured to the middle of the bag, incorrectly.
* The pitcher only allowed to disengage from the rubber twice per batter appearance is crap and I’m against it. After the 2nd pick off attempt, I’m tapping in the starting blocks and with shorter bases it’s double jeopardy. That is too big of an advantage handcuffing a pitcher’s ability to hold a runner not just for steals but plays at 2nd in the infield on ground balls. The “disengagement rule” is in effect in games I’ve seen which means a pitcher has to clearly step off to become an infielder by rule, to pick off at 1st. That eliminated the LHP pick off move which I’m against and eliminated the jump pivot by a RHP. So a kid perfects a Petite or Kershaw move to 1st but can’t use it anymore? Scrap that one.
* Eliminating the shifts with 2 infielders on either side of 2nd; I’m in 100%. Same with the rover in the outfield. I’ve seen enough of that. I had hoped that players would adjust and get teams out of shifts but I’m now convinced that will never happen. Just like the bunting against the shift we’ve discussed lately. It’s going to take a rule change, sadly. Again, watching no shifts in MiLB is like watching real baseball again.
* I’m also all in on the ABS when they get to that in a year or so. No challenger system please. Either use it or don’t but don’t add any more stoppages and challenges.
Amen and it’s about time!
You’re welcome PhilJones.
News from Internet:
DAN SZYMBORSKI CHAT:
Devil Ray Jay Johnson Forget the MVP Award. Assume Judge and Ohtani are free agents this offseason and both will agree to the same long term contract. Which do you sign?
Dan Szymborski Gotta be Ohtani. Even two years in age is a significant difference in free agent valuation.
Dansby Swansong Does Tony Clark understand the full implication of unionizing the minor leagues and the conflict it could present?
Dan Szymborski I don’t know what he understands, but I doubt he’s unaware of the consequences. It may be painful, but it’s an inevitability, I think, the question is when it happens between soon and 2050 or something. MLB’s patchwork two-tier system is just really unwieldy and leads to really weird incentives
Farhandrew Zaidman Trayce Thompson – legit every day OF or a nice story and a hot streak?
Dan Szymborski Nice story and his stock has gone up, but let’s not go nuts yet
Pkpkpkpk Hey there Dan, thanks for the chat. I’m wondering if you have any insight into Freddie Freeman and his power shortage (doesn’t quite qualify as an outage) and how that might affect his future projections. He’s obviously hitting plenty, and his production is still excellent, but I’m curious as to whether the change in the shape of his production affects his projections positively or negatively, if at all.
Dan Szymborski I doubt much of a change in projections. It’s not like his hard hit numbers have crashed, plus league HR rate dropping by like 15% and aging are part of it too… The shape may change a bit — a bit more BA a bit fewer HR — but I don’t imagine it would be much of a change
Zach Recent reports state that Bellinger refuses to change his stance, specifically not spreading out and lowering his hands, as he believes he can still succeed with the swing he had when he won MVP. How can someone who has been the worst qualified hitter in baseball over the past two years be so stubborn as to not completely change everything?
Dan Szymborski High-end professional athletes tend to be stubborn; it’s hard to get to that level of play without an enormous amount of confidence… Now, not a*all* players will be confident/stubborn to that degree, but it helps
Torquelson Hey Dan, Do you think Mookie keeps getting starts at second base?
Dan Szymborski He got a handful of appearances there last year too… I never thought him as a wreck at second as a prospect. But he had the misfortune of being a middle infield prospect on a team that had Bogaerts and Pedroia
Trout Is this the new Trout? 30% K rate, power, and not much else?
Dan Szymborski HE’S GOT a 173 wRC+ YOU GREEDY GREEDY GREED GOLEM
Cat Latos
Would your cats attack you if they were 10x larger?
Dan Szymborski I suspect so. They bop each other and they’re the same size as each other
FanGraphs on changes to how Chris Martin is pitching POST-trade deadline:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/post-trade-deadline-pitch-mix-changes-relievers/
The Change: -4% Sinker, -4% Curveball, -4% Changeup, +12% Four-Seamer
Oh man, this one is a delight. As we all know, smart teams hate fastballs. As we all know, the Dodgers are a smart team….
An interesting look at Minor League records. The correlation between those “good at developing” and those “good at winning”
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/rays-on-top-of-2022-milb-organizational-standings/
Jay Jaffe on the Dodgers’ strategy as the regular season wanes:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-dodgers-are-once-again-chasing-history-as-a-marathon-and-a-sprint/
Kahnle’s rehab assignment report:
Kahnle only threw three fastballs, one each at 95, 96, and 97, but still good to see the velo holding up on his first back to back. His two fastballs last night were both at 96.
González’s velo was up today, sitting 95 with a couple 94s mixed in.
Ben Clemens takes a WONDERFUL look at the “sweeping slider” and how teams are teaching it.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-secret-benefit-and-cost-of-sweeping-sliders/
Baseball America has identified 5 top International Prospects for next signing season:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/five-big-international-prospects-to-watch-for-2023/
None are currently associated with the BoSox
Keith Law Chat:
JJ Thoughts on Chaim Bloom? The fanbase/media in Boston is just about ready to kick him to the curb. Is he qualified to be the GM for the Red Sox? It seems to me that a management position in Tampa Bay is a completely different animal than that job title with a team with twice the payroll, like the Red Sox or Yankees.
Keith Law LOL. Yes, he’s qualified. I really don’t give a rat’s ass what the fanbase thinks and neither should anyone in that organization. I have vague memories of fans and media arguing that the Sox were wrong to move John Valentin to third base for an unproven rookie back in 1997.
Henry I totally agree with your assessment that MLB owners will contract minor league teams if unionization goes through. What can the player’s association do to realistically stop that unintended consequence?
Keith Law That’s a better question for a labor lawyer.
Tom Any concern over Kiebert Ruiz’s meh offensive season?
Keith Law No, and also I see a huge contact rate that I believe will turn into much more production next year.
Guest Any notable 2022 draft debuts yet? Spencer Jones is performing really well in Tampa but he should be dominating in Low-A right?
Keith Law Exactly. Rushing too. Props to Baltimore for pushing Dylan Beavers to high A, even just for two weeks.
Fangraphs Sunday Notes:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-diego-cartaya-gained-a-flatter-swing-and-lost-a-baseball-brother/
“Diego Cartaya Gained a Flatter Swing (and Lost a Baseball Brother)”
Prospects1500 Looks back at the Dodgers draft:
https://www.prospects1500.com/milb/recapping-the-mlb-draft-national-league/
Los Angeles Dodgers
Best Pick: Dalton Rushing
Worst Pick: Nick Biddison
Sleeper: Logan Wagner
Deep Sleeper: Chris Newell
This article has a title that is just too good to pass on:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/so-you-want-to-seize-the-means-of-production/
“So, You Want to Seize the Means of Production”
Prospects1500 on Kendall Williams
https://www.prospects1500.com/nl-west/dodgers/prospect-kendall-williams-potential-dodgers-ace/
Brought to the west coast from Toronto in a trade that sent Ross Stripling to the “Great North,” Williams (along with Ryan Noda 1B/OF) was one of the two players to be named later. The former (Williams) is an extremely projectable right-handed pitching prospect….
Jay Jaffe Chat:
GuestatDoor Thoughts on the new rule changes reported yesterday? I’ve wanted pitch clocks for awhile but actually looking at the rule there’s 50 different ways that the batter or the pitcher can break the rule. I’m worried it’s gonna feel ridiculous when the Sox lose to the Twins because Aaron Bummer forgot how many times he stepped off the rubber or whatever.
Jay Jaffe Conceptually I’m in favor of a pitch clock, I’ve come around on the idea that it’s worth seeing what banning the shift would do, and the bigger bases are fine. However, there are some complexities to the rules changes that I honestly haven”t taken the time to digest yet. I know i’m supposed to have a blistering hot take here, but the stove ain’t lit yet
Dan Will we have roboumps next year?
Jay Jaffe Not in the majors. 2024 is possible if things go well in the minors and with further testing but those aren’t guarantees.
Guest how do you think front offices will adjust to the bigger bases? Is there going to be a significant shift towards building faster teams that steal more bases, or do you think the change isn’t big enough to cause a big philosophical change from the way things are right now?
Jay Jaffe I don’t think the bigger bases themselves will have a huge impact on base stealing but the pitch clock-related limitations on the number of throws will. And I think we’ll see some experimentation before anyone discovers how much this will really have an impact from a philosophical standpoint.
Matt VW With likeliest playoff participants in mind, which potential World Series matchup strikes you as the most intriguing / appealing?
Jay Jaffe I want Dodgers-Yankees. That’s what made me a baseball fan in the first place and I’ve spent more time writing about and watching those two teams in my lifetime than any other.
Darryl Vanilla Peak DeGrom or Peak Pedro?
Jay Jaffe Peak Pedro. From 1997-2003, he had a 213 ERA+ in 1400 innings, which is more than deGrom has thrown in his entire major league career.
Pedro Where do you come down on Dwight Evans’ omission from the Hall? Thanks
Jay Jaffe I’m pro-Evans. Wrote about him for the 2020 ballot and think he’s got a shot sooner or later https://blogs.fangraphs.com/underappreciated-in-his-time-dwight-evans-…
While the players voted against the3 new rules it will still be implemented as proposed by the New Committee implemented as part of the last CBA. Thankfully. I don’t make too much of the Union being against it as it just seems that they learned nothing from the past mess getting a CBA. If the owners and Manfred are in favor of something, the Union will automatically be opposed to it. Again the fans don’t matter. For the life of me I can’t see the resistance of the Union for a pitch clock and the other changes for that matter.
This one, just like the players rejecting last CBA before being overruled, is a black eye to me for the players. They need to shake up the uncompromising union leaders and work to a more cooperative environment.
Actually, they voted in favor of the new bases but against the other two.
I agree that the handcuffs they are putting on pitchers with regard to pickoffs, etc. is going to be a problem and I predict they’ll make an adjustment after a year or two.
Between that and no more shift, pitcher ERA’s are going to go up by quite a bit next year.
Dodgers important (To me at least) team stats ranked:
Pitching:
#1 Runs allowed per game
#1 Batting average allowed
#1 OBP allowed
#2 SLG allowed (.015 behind)
#2 OPS allowed (.007 behind)
#1 WHIP allowed (Basically the same stat as OBP).
Room for improvement: Cut down on allowing hard hit balls (SLG). Culprits: Price, Heaney, Bickford, Bruihl and others with very little innings or who are gone. .433 SLG and higher.
Hitting:
#1 Runs per game
#1 (3 way tie) Batting average
#1 OBP
#1 SLG
#1 OPS
Room for improvement: Make more contact (Batting average). Culprits: Alberto, Barnes, Taylor, Gallo, Bellinger, Muncy. .237 Batting average and lower.
Very good team stats. When I say room for improvement I’m not complaining because there is very little room for improvement.
9:40 PM ET
Dodgers (94-42)
Padres (76-62)
SP Dustin May R
1-2 3.94 ERA 16IP 8BB 18K
SP Mike Clevinger R
5-6 3.96 ERA 88.2IP 29BB 77K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B J. Turner R
DH Joey Gallo L
LF T. Thompson R
2B Chris Taylor R
CF C. Bellinger L
41% Rain
79° Wind 11 mph R-L
Friday Dodger Minor League Schedule
3:35 p.m.PT Great Lakes (Robbie Peto) at West Michigan (Dylan Smith)
4:35 p.m.: Tulsa (Lael Lockhart) at Frisco (Mason Englert)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Michael Grove) vs. Tacoma (Roenis Elias)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Maddux Bruns) vs. Lake Elsinore (Austin Krob)
Heading back to California for about 5 weeks on Monday. Going to relax and watch the game tonight. Glad some enjoyed the Cey story. He never looked like a ballplayer, but he was a lot of fun to watch.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR5kbCqK/
More celeb spotting.
Help me understand.
Adderall?
I was one of the few who predicted OJ would be acquitted!
Most people still do not accept the verdict.
Anybody with a brain!
I avoid his twitter feed but it’s weirder parts make it onto several podcasts I listen to. He seems completely mad as all get up and believes he is a star in some weird Narco movie. Chilly dude.
Game delayed approximately one hour due to rain. May never started warming up so he should be good to go.
Muncy received a cortizone shot in his knee not expected to play until Sunday
Clevinger is so annoying to watch, even worse with those uniforms. Nice job on the yellow lettering on the back. It’s completely useless. Those are the worst uni’s I’ve ever seen in my life, in any sport! This includes roller derby in the 70’s.
Yeah it looks like he’s trying to get a stick out of his ass with his hands tied in front of him.
All I can say is those disgusting uniforms are fitting for the punkdres
Some of those White Sox uni’s in the 70’s were pretty bad, and so was the shorts they wore. I wish most teams would go back to the classic look. The White Sox pinstripe uni’s with SOX on the left front are pretty classy. I am not really fond of the City connect Los Dodgers uni’s either, But they look better than that color conglomeration SD wore tonight. Some of the Marlins unis are awful. The worst Dodger uni I thought was a few years ago when they played the Yanks at Dodger Stadium and they had uniforms with white lettering that you could not read and the Yankees were in solid black. Awful.
That was a strike em out throw em out turned into a three run homer!
Early days but Dustin gonna need to find better control in October.
I’m giving Anderson the ball before him at the moment.
True.
What I loved about Ron Cey is that he absolutely destroyed the Giants and our toughest rival during his years, the Cincinnati Reds.
.899 and .926 OPS against SF and Cinn. Also 42 lifetime homers against the Giants, his best power numbers against any team.
He didn’t take too kindly to the Dodgers breaking up the infield in ‘82. I was fortunate enough to briefly interview Mike Marshall (Moose, not Iron Mike) several years ago and he mentioned that Cey was not about to help the kids (Brock, Marshall, Anderson, Maldonado, Sax and the like) when they were called up. To Marshall’s credit, he did not speak negatively of Cey. He said he was a great player and a guy that he looked up to as an mentor who showed him how to be prepared to play the game at the top level.
Disappointing defeat.
Love him or hate him, Machado is some player.
Yeah he is, but he sucked as a Dodger. I couldn’t wait for that guy to leave, He is one of the biggest Prima Donnas in the league. Loss wasn’t as disappointing to me. What lost the game for them was A, making errors on balls they normally shouldn’t have, but the field condition had a lot to do with that, and B. no clutch hitting. Had that been a day game in warm weather, Freeman might have hit four homers. He hit all of his balls hard.
Kimbrel with another good outing.
Eight in a row. Considering his career stats, it could lead to something good.
And Trayce keeps on producing…
Bill Plunkett
@billplunkettocr
#Dodgers Dave Roberts said Muncy had a scan on his knee about a week ago. Showed “irritation” but nothing structurally to worry about. Muncy said he thinks it’s related to the step-back he’s added to initiate his swing. Could be available as PH Saturday
8:03 PM · Sep 9, 2022