A better question is: Who cares what happens next year, this year? Here we are with three games to play, and the Dodgers are stuck on 110 wins. Will they lose 50 games this year? It’s a strong possibility. To put it in perspective, the Dodgers are 61 games over .500. There are currently four teams who have not even won 61 games. It will be disappointing if the Dodgers don’t win the World Series, but I won’t cut my wrists or jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. I’ll start thinking about next year. If they don’t win it all, it will still be a season for the ages, and we have had a lot of them over the past ten years.
Since 2014, no team has won the World Series more than once. That’s eight consecutive seasons without a repeat. It’s time to change that. It ain’t gonna be easy! However, this team has all the horses. We will find out all in good time if Trea Turner re-signs with the Dodgers, but nothing is really going to happen until that issue is resolved. If Gallo is gone and Belli gets “fixed,” could the Dodgers prosper with a defensive wizard like Jacob Amaya at SS and hitting 9th and Vargas in LF? I think so… but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Trea Turner is not a defensive wizard, and Gavin Lux is not a SS. Jake Amaya is a real SS with a bat that “could” get better… maybe… possibly, please God! However, the Dodgers have a World Championship to win in the meantime. I am focused on that.
Arizona Fall League
Tomorrow marks the official start of the Arizona Fall League as they celebrate their 30th year of playing in the fall. The Dodgers are playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs like every year, and here are the Dodgers minor leaguers on the roster:
- Ben Harris – LHP – 2021 Draft/ 2022 Stats: 55 IP/3.72 ERA/107 K/37 BB/.166 BA against
- Emmet Sheehan – RHP – 2021 Draft/2022 Stats: 68 IP/2.91 ERA/106 K/31 BB/.177 BA against
- Tanner Dodson – RHP – 218 Draft (Tampa Bay) Forget the stats – this is a complete rebuild.
- Jorbit Vivas – LH – 2B – 58 K in 479 ABs/.374 OB% – A chance to be really good.
- Jose Ramos – RH – OF – 474 AB/25 HR/97 RBI/.339 OB%/.818 OPS/Cannon on his shoulder
- Andy Pages – RH – OF – 487 AB/ 26 HR/80 RBI/29 DBL/.336 OB%/,804 OPS
- Hyun il-Choi – RHP – He is not on the Roster and has not pitched all year, so I do not know what to tell you.
Players to watch: Watch them all – they are all there for a reason. The reason is to try and tap their true potential. At the top of the Home Page, I have posted a page called Arizona Fall League. Click on it to get all the scoop. Enjoy!
Headed to Waikiki
Tomorrow afternoon, we jump on a jet and fly to San Diego before boarding a plane to Hawaii on Wednesday. I hate that 10-hour flight, so we split it up into two legs. I will be gone for ten days, so those of you who blog, come on with it. Bear has a couple in the cue. I will stay connected. We are taking my wife’s two kids and their wives and two granddaughters. So, this is a Filipino-Style Vacation. My knucklehead son-in-law, who is a Red Sox fan, will be my best friend on this trip.
Which island?!?!?
We are staying on the Island of Oahu in the City of Honolulu in the District called Waikiki.
Sharks Bay > Hanauma Bay but not by much.
Don’t do Dole.
53 By the Sea, not bad.
The Pig and the Lady, one of my fave’s.
Drinks at Skull and Crown supposedly good.
Filipino’s love Hawaii. If you haven’t tried it, make sure you eat as much Spam Musubi as possible. Stay away from Poi. There’s no reason for a human being to eat that crap.
I do not eat span. I like about half of their food. If I don’t like it, I don’t eat it.
f you like sushi Mitch’s fish market by the airport is a must. Piggy Small’s in Kaka’ako is awesome. Rainbow Drive-in is a classic (try the locomoco and red slushee with a scoop of ice cream). Leonard’s for malasadas is a must. Ono seafood on Kapahulu has the best poke in town. Aloha and have a great trip. Oahu is awesome!
Go Blue!
Ono seafood on kapahulu is the best for poke.
I tried doing some surf fishing above Waianae obviously looking like a damn fool as I’ve always fished in creeks. More than looking like a fool the sunburn I got was pretty serious, especially the top of my feet. They felt like they were going to burst open putting them on the ground getting up from bed. So be careful with all that sunshine. Perfect weather. It stays inside of 12 degrees day and night all year around. Rent a wreck for your car and don’t comb your hair, you’ll be treated better. Haole, you like beef? That’s Hawaiian for ‘white boy, do you want to fight’ and the best answer is with your fist. Stay away from Samoan funerals and you won’t be confronted. I didn’t hang around the tourist parts of Oahu too much. Hang loose and enjoy your trip Mark.
My youngest son went with us the past two times. Now he is our COO and holding down the fort. He is frequently mistaken for a local. Here’s a photo last time we were there:
Dodger Blues. Go Mark.
So the playoff brackets are shaping up, with the Mets and Padres squaring off while the Cards face the Phillies.
If all the favorites win–a very big if– it looks like the Dodgers will have to beat the Mets and Braves in succession to set up a championship series against either the Trashtros or Yankees.
I really don’t want any upsets now.
Here’s hoping for an epic finish to an epic season.
Something tells me that the SD idiots will beat the Mets, which I think would make the road easier for the Dodgers, and I don’t think Houston or New York will be as difficult as Atlanta will be.
The Mets really choked away that division…I do think St. Louis could beat Atlanta.
In the playoffs anyone can beat anyone, and more so in a short series, Dodgers have a lot of experience in that!
Mark- If you have a rental car you should take the grandkids on a drive to the North Shore. The waves should be very big this time of year and they would enjoy a shave ice from Matsumoto’s, a family owned shop since 1951. It’s kind of cool to get away from the “hustle and bustle” of Waikiki and see other parts of the island.
Aloha!
Here’s the newest Dodger Fan from Andrew Vincent Forte . His name is Anthony!
Jeff Dominique wrote a piece on “Why Does Alex Verdugo Seem so bitter?”
Alex is bitter. That’s a fact.
He imagined himself a Dodger long before he became one. He hated that he was traded.
The opposite of love is not hate. It’s ambivalence. Alex hates what happened, which means he still loves the Dodgers. He needs to get over it because it is affecting his production.
Either that, or trade him back to the Dodgers. I still believe he will win a batting title(s).
He certainly doesn’t seem to be a player that would thrive in Boston, that said screw him for what he said…..bitter much Alex….???
Congratulations to the parents and to you Grandpa Andrew. Looks like a lefty to me.
Happy for you Mark that you were not injured or killed by your confrontation with that dog. Enjoy your vacation.
I’m leaving Tuesday for Hawaii for 9 days and staying on the North Shore. I’ll keep an eye out for you. Love your true Hawaiin shirt.
We were thinking about going up there for a day to check out the waves.
I’ll e-mail you my number.
I’m not going to throw too much shade at Mark, but I do chuckle at his biases and blind spots. Every time Gavin Lux sneezes Mark declares he has “that deer in headlights look” and wants to package him in some trade scenario that will never happen. Poor Gavin can’t catch a friggin break. Mark has had his crosshairs on him from the beginning.
Meanwhile, Mark’s still pining for Alex Verdugo to come back to the Dodgers because he’s still convinced he’s the next Tony Gwynn.
I don’t know that Verdugo still wishes he was a Dodger. Maybe he does. The reason, however, he made those comments is less because he’s a jilted lover and more because of the same reasons he was shipped off in the first place. Verdugo’s biggest flaw was not his game or his skills, but his immaturity and character issues. These were well discussed in scouting reports long before he came up, and long before he started flapping his gums in Boston.
Verdugo will never win the batting championship. He’s an above average contact hitter. He doesn’t strike out, but he also doesn’t walk to get on base. He has limited power, especially at the position he plays, and he’s a below average defensive outfielder.
He’ll top out as a 1-3 WAR player – maybe – in a full season, but his chances of being a full time starter are diminishing because of the obvious flaws in his game. He will play a few more years in Boston before he is traded and bounces around a few more years. He’ll probably wind up with a 7-10 year career that is mostly uneventful.
I don’t want Verdugo back. He served a role. He was ballast in a trade where the Dodgers got Betts and Boston avoided a lengthy contract and got a cheaper player. Gavin Lux is a better player than Verdugo.
Yes, Mark, in June, also asked for Roberts to be fired, he said he lacked fire, and Van Scoyoc.
He also points a lot at players’ strikeout percentage but when it comes to M. Busch he looks the other way.
Yes, I have called on Roberts to be fired several times.
Funny, a couple of days ago, I posted Busch’s strikeout percentage. It is a consideration.
I do not want Verdugo back … especially based on how he acted in the instant case.
I also like Lux. He will always have issues throwing, although it is manageable at 2B. I am not alone in the belief he will never be a SS.
Actually, I have said something about Lux’s throwing 3 times this year – I could have said it more, but some are just errors anyone could make. I am talking about the ones that start in his head!
I seem to recall – way way way back – you advocated the Dodgers blow up the team and trade Kershaw for prospects. I might be crazy, and it’s hard for me to believe you actually wrote that, but I think I’m correct. I think that was about the time I said you had half a gnat’s brain.
You also said Puig was a knucklehead from the very beginning and wanted the Dodgers to trade him when he had max value. You were 100% right on that, but I’m glad he provided some entertainment for a few years until AF fleeced the Reds with him.
This place is for blowing off steam, making half baked trade proposals and having edgy takes.
It’s not all bad with Verdugo. He had one of the best walkup songs ever!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPg_jbGYzgA
I agree with all of this with one exception. Gavin Lux is a better player than Verdugo should read Gavin Lux is a MUCH better player than Verdugo.
Mark is good at a lot of things. Sorting the prospects from rejects is not one of them. It makes we wonder about Gavin Stone. If we go by Mark’s track record, Gavin will be an All-Star shortstop next year.
That song makes me want to ask the waitress for a refill of chips and salsa.
Mark wants LA CHONA comeback!
Morning gang! Have a great time in Hawaii Mark. Never been myself. Would love to go simply to see Pearl Harbor and pay my respects to all of my dad’s shipmates who died that day. Good game until it wasn’t. Freeman now only .001 ahead of McNeil. I would love to see Freddie win the title. Bought a Freeman jersey on Ebay. Larussa to announce retirement today. As for Verdugo, I concur with BP, he was a punk when he was here and he still is. Sour grapes pure and simple. I would rather have kept Beaty than that guy. Lone claim to fame in LA was being one of three rookies to hit walk-offs in a sweep of the Rockies in 19. Smith and Beaty the others. Taylor out with a sore neck, must have caught Lux disease.
Safe travels Mark to you and your family. I personally could just live on shrimp from the trucks on No Shore. I’ve always said the easiest job in the world is being a weather man in Hawaii. “Todays high will be 84 and the low 74. It will rain 12 times for a total of 9 minutes”. Great time of year there as I suppose you know, as you’re going now.
Enjoy your trip to paradise.
OK, I can take it, but I can dish it out too.
Gavin Lux has played parts of 4 seasons in the MLB. He has 992 PA (not insignificant). His career BA is .254 with a .715 OPS.
Alex Verdugo has parts of 6 seasons in MLB with 1771 PA. His career BA is .287 with a .774 OPS.
Lux is not better now. Maybe he ultimately is better… or not. The only planet he is better on is Uranus, which is where you will have to pull out some stats to prove he is better.
He’s better on planet “This Year” maybe Uranus too. Also half as many plate appearances and plays a premium position.
Lux as twice the WAR in 24 fewer games this year. He’s getting better. Verdugo has gotten worse since his pretty good year in the (COVID shotened) 2020 season.
What has Alex done for me lately?
To me Verdugo’s whining is sour grapes. He was traded from a class organization to an organization that has trouble getting out of its own way. And that begs to ask the question, why did the Dodgers feel compelled to put him in the deal? Attitude was one of the reasons bandied about. He is if nothing else, cocky. He has some very good bat to ball skills but is not close to being the defensive outfielder or hitter Betts is. The time was right, and he was sent packing. I saw a lot of crying and bellyaching about the trade on Twitter after it went down, but think about it, Betts has been everything he was advertised to be, and although many do not care for him, Price has done everything the team asked. Even his sitting out 2020 was a plus. Still ranks as a steal for the Dodgers and a deal Boston probably wishes they never made.
10:10 PM ET
Rockies (65-89)
Dodgers (106-47)
SP Jose Urena R
3-8 5.24 ERA 91.0IP 43BB 59K
SP Tony Gonsolin R
16-1 2.10 ERA 128.1IP 35BB 116K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
2B Gavin Lux L
CF C. Bellinger L
DH T. Thompson R
LF Joey Gallo L
Clear-night
0% Rain
72° Wind 5 mph Out
10/03/22 Los Angeles Dodgers activated RHP Tony Gonsolin from the 15-day injured list.
10/03/22 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned RHP Andre Jackson to Oklahoma City Dodgers.
As I previously mentioned, Thompson and Gallo back to back is a bad idea at the bottom of the order if you want somebody to put the ball in play. Thompson K rate is 50% and in the last 5 games Gallo’s whiff rate is 73%. Lots of swing and miss here.
Maybe we’re still doing tryouts but I’d still break those 2 up with Bellinger who’s swing it good right now or Lux who hits .333 against RHP in 8 hole.
Congrats AVF. Anthony all ready has more hair than I do.
Thank you Phil.
Congratulations Andrew – what a beautiful baby.
End of the season needs to come now, boys in blue are playing flat.
CT3 not likely to make the NLDS. Vargas time?
Thank you Watford!