That is what James Outman has: “IT!” With his arm, last night, he threw out a runner at the plate, and both of his home runs were “key” to the Dodger’s victory over the Cubs… especially his Grand Slam. “IT” is something that is not definable, and yet it is something that allows the person to see things in slow motion, slow their heartbeat, and seize the moment. It appears to me that no stage is too big for JO. It’s still a small sampling, but you cannot argue with the results. Major League Pitchers will be trying to figure out his weaknesses and he will have to compensate, but right about now, he has to play every day!
When he was called up last year and hit a HR in his first at-bat, we took notice, but after four games, he was sent back down. Some people wondered why he was not called back up later in the season. Well, this is baseball. Some players get “lucky” and then fade away like “Super Joe” Carboneau, who was the Rookie of the Year in 1980, hitting .289 with 23 HR, only to face into oblivion the next year, and he was gone a year later. Novices are impressed with instant success, but baseball people are more calculated. It takes time to show you have “it” and maybe I am jumping the gun, but I have seen James Outman rise to the occasion on at least 6-8 times already.
I see a pattern, and it leads me to believe that he is “Big Games James.” James has had very few at-bats against LHP in the MLB, but is hitting .429 against them (.260 vs. RHP) this season. James has earned a spot to play every day, whether that be in CF or RF (if Mookie goes to SS). This changes everything and then add in that David Peralta is warming up and Miguel Vargas Thumb is looking better and this team may be a force to be reckoned with. Patience Grasshoppers!
Mookie Betts – SS
Those of you who don’t think Mookie can play SS forget that when he was drafted, he was a SS. Last night, he was able to show off his skills, and there is no doubt in my mind that he can play the position… at an All-Star Level.
Good win, lets do it again today….
The Cubs were” Outmanned” at Wrigley Field and Sham Diego beat the Snakes in the desert and the Boys in Blue inch closer to first place.
Don’t look now but could Graterol finally be blossoming into the pitcher we all thought he could be? Small sample size for sure but 10K’s and only 1 BB in 8.2 IP. He’s always pounded the strike zone but if he can continue to miss bats at a reasonable rate we could have a real backend weapon on our hands.
That would be nice for sure.
I think we will see VGone pretty soon.
Man was he good in 2020…he can be again…
A pitcher move is likely today with Grove going on the IL with a right groin injury. Time to bring up Lefty Gonzalez who on the 40 man roster and is on assignment at Oklahoma City.
Who is the 5th starter? If Grove goes down they need a starter….
Jackson
Gonsolin could be called up as a possibility. Pitching in AAA yesterday, he lines up with Grove.
I don’t believe Gonsolin is ready.
On base plus slugging. Single, single, walk, home run.
Heyward at bat crucial in that sequence. He often chases below the knees, and did in that at bat. But he didn’t chase ball 4.
Contributions from several players. Definitely a team effect. Bullpen looked better. Maybe that was the directional step this team needed.
Mookie can play anywhere. Going forward, what’s best for him and the team?
Ugh. Groin. Those can last a long time. I had one for my junior year of football. I played, but it didn’t really heal until the season was over.
Great AB by J-Hey thought for sure he was going to K
Me too.
With the day off on Monday, they could avoid the need for a #5 starter for one turn. That would give Gonsolin 1 more minor league rehab start. He could then be called up and slot in with probably a 75 (or so) pitch limit. In other words, finish his rehab with the big club. That could work and be the best solution.
That may be the plan JayB
Miller and Stone, two top prospects with an ETA of ‘23, are apparently not expected until later in the year. We will need them then too of course, but now would be nice.
Great win and huge game for Outman! The bullpen effort was also key with 6 shutout innings. And solid ABs by Peralta, Vargas and Heyward to set up Outman heroics.
Mookie turned an important DP and looked like a natural at SS. His versatility is a big plus for Dodgers but I still prefer him in RF except in emergencies. And I disagree that he would be an All star SS ahead of Lindor, Trea Turner and Boegaerts. Experience matters and shortstop is a demanding position. It would be entertaining to play Betts at SS full time but big mistake IMO.
Trea Turner is an AWFUL defensive SS. There was a reason he played 2nd behind an Avg fielder in Seager…..
Trea Turner was so awful at SS that he won a WS with the Nats and signed with Phillies for $300 million.
Sure, he is not great defensively but he ranked 12th in MLB in defensive runs saved for ss in 2022. Not great, but average to above avg as a MLB shortstop per that metric.
Check his stats during that Nats WS win. They won in spite of him…..
He can hit during the reg season but in the playoffs hes another guy…..
For the was tied for 4th in # of hits, 3rd in runs scored, 2nd in SB. He wasn’t, by any means, great, but it’s the world series. Very few players’ stats emulate the regular season.
Take Turner at SS any day over Betts. Betts is an outfielder. Although Dodgers won their roster is horrible. Look at the number of low 200 and below 200 hitters on the roster. With this roster they will barely be a .500 team if .500. Not knocking the Dodgers but I just feel this roster will not be able to compete in the long haul. If they keep this roster they should travel with the Banana Team and be their opponent. Like the Washington Generals are for the Globetrotters. I have been a Dodger fan since the 1950’s. Just being realistic.
He is a hell of a baseball player,I know that.We won 111 games with him playing SS so maybe defense doesn’t make that much difference.I have said before for about a third of last year he was the best player in baseball.
Jose Iglesias opted out of his minor league deal with the Marlins yesterday. He started for Rockies last year at SS and hit 292 with 701 OPS.
He is 33 and did not make the Marlins roster in spring training. But he may be an option until others get healthy.
I want to see more of Williams.
Vanessa?
Me too.
I keep going to my front door. Somebody is pounding on one so loudly that it seems like it is mine.
Oh, it’s Feduccia.
Let him in
Why don’t they lab test a pitcher’s ‘sticky stuff’? Get away from all the whining/screaming. Easy fix.
Outman reminds me LOTS of Freddie Lynn.
Interesting lineup today. 7-9 looks like maybe 3 innings of outs. Maybe not. I’ll say 2-9. Outman back to the middle. 6th. Not crazy about JD hitting so high, 3rd. I find him to be a suspect base runner, but him there gives the top 2/3 the R/L approach so many seem to like. I like a lineup that doesn’t care which side the ball comes from.
A worthy and Worthy nickname: Big Game James!
From all the interviews I’ve seen and articles I’ve read, part of the “it” factor is his coachability, focus and work ethic. . Robert talks about his “heartbeat”, about how he remains calm in tense situations. I used to think that maybe AF should put him in a deal for Reynolds. Now I think, no way–he’s a keeper.
He is bound to have a slump before long, but the Dodgers need to stick with him. Right now, he might be the ROY frontrunner, even ahead of the young slugger Jordan Walker with the Cards.
BTW, I thought it was kind of nice that Outman had his big game on a day that Belli homered. I still want Belli to succeed….but I also want him overshadowed against the Dodgers.
Coming post-recovery lineup:
Mookie SS
Freddie 1B
Smith C
Max 3B
JDM DH
Outman CF
Peralta/Trayce LF
Vargas 2B
Heyward RF
Bench: Barnes, Taylor, Rojas….Feduccia?? Williams??
I
2:20 PM ET
Dodgers (10-10)
Cubs (11-7)
SP Julio Urias L
3-1 1.90 ERA 23.2IP 26K
SP Drew Smyly L
1-1 4.70 ERA 15.1IP 13K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
DH J. Martinez R
3B Max Muncy L
2B M. Vargas R
LF James Outman L
CF T. Thompson R
SS L. Williams R
C Austin Wynns R
Partly-cloudy-day
0%
56° Wind 11 mph Out
Thursday scores
Oklahoma City 8, Albuquerque 6
Tulsa 3, Wichita 0
Great Lakes 5, South Bend 2
Fresno 6, Rancho Cucamonga 1
Friday schedule
3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Justin Wrobleski) vs. South Bend (Brandon Birdsell)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Dylan Covey) at Albuquerque (Phillips Valdez)
5:35 p.m.: Tulsa (River Ryan) vs. Wichita (Aaron Rozek)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jerming Rosario) vs. Fresno (Jordy Vargas)
Pretty balsy of Roberts to put Mookie at SS. I like it. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to make this permanent, but it does open some intriguing possibilities. –
– It would cement Outman as the permanent starting CF/RF. He’s earned it. He already has 3 Defensive Runs Saved, so defensively he’s more than capable of anchoring RF. It’s hard to say how far his offense will come down. Right now he’s striking out at about 30% of the time and his BABIP is .371, which is well above the .300 that is considered typical, so you could say he’s getting a little lucky and that lofty strikeout rate is a harbinger of an eventual decline in his offensive output.
But not so fast.
Throughout is minor league career, his BABIP has remained pretty consistently well above that .300 threshold, and his strikeout rate has remained within a range of about 25% to 30%. His batting average has remained pretty consistent, too, hovering around .290, so you can make a pretty good argument that his current performance at the MLB level is right in line with what he’s done consistently throughout is minor league career. He might be one of those rare minor league players who successful make the jump to the MLB pretty seamlessly. It’s going better for him that is has for Vargas so far.
Missing from Mark’s article is his eating crow for saying things such as Outman was lucky, or that the MLB now has the book on how to exploit the holes in his swing, etc. Although I don’t think it healthy that Eric constantly belabor the point about Outman, I will admit he was right.
With Mookie at SS, however, it exposes some question marks in the outfield. I was never really thrilled with the Peralta signing for 6 mil, but he’s going to keep playing in LF for the foreseeable future against RHP. Not much to do about that for now. He’s terrible, and probably isn’t going to exceed what he’s done the last few years, which is barely replacement level at this stage in his career.
Which leaves Trayce. He’s question mark. He was great last year, although his BABIP was .374. This year it’s .200, but he’s also striking out 37% of the time. It’s hard to predict if he’ll completely crater, but if the Dodgers could get an average among his largest sample size years – 2016, 2022 – that’s about 25 home runs, a 120 wRC+ and about 3-4 WAR, I’d take that.
If Mookie got injured playing SS that would be an absolute disaster.
Dodgerpatch
Thank you for what you said and I apologize to you if I said something to you in anger. It’s just that I got this all the time. You’re wrong, You’re wrong, You’re wrong and then I got this, I hate you for being right, I hate you for being right, I hate you for being right.
Thank you again.
And Mark, good article up top. I’m glad.
Eric, let me explain what going out and touching grass means, because you expressed that you didn’t understand what I meant.
It means that there are things outside and in the real world that are more important than being right on the internet. Go outside. Feel sunshine. Get some exercise. Talk to real people. Learn a new skill. Get another hobby. Do things that will give you confidence and help your self-esteem. Depression is a real thing, for sure, but it’s also a product of our minds, our confidence, our sense of purpose and the outside manifestations of positive action. Improving these things can and will improve your sense of self-worth and will improve your outlook.
Having an obscure opinion about a baseball player, obsessing over it for days, and nailing yourself to a cross when someone disagrees with you will NOT help your outlook. Whether I or Bobby or whomever express agreement with your baseball opinion should not matter that much. Someone disagreeing with you is not an attack and they don’t hate you.
I don’t mean this to be mean. To an extent all of us deal with the same issues, and my advice here is merely based on observations about myself and about people over the course of my lifetime. It’s meant to help.
and you were right about Outman for sure. Good insight.
I understand what you mean about the grass now. But you can’t relate to being born with a disease that is disabling and you can’t hide. From being made fun of and being bullied as a kid to being 100% blow off by women and cruel words said to you from women ect.
If it sounds like I’m being mean to you in that post, I’m not.
I also forgot to include all the medical things I’ve gone through in my life and I’m not talking about depression which I have.
“But you can’t relate to being born with a disease that is disabling and you can’t hide. From being made fun of and being bullied as a kid to being 100% blow off by women and cruel words said to you from women ect.”
I spent the majority of my younger life going to therapists in one form or another. I made an attempt on my life in high school and had to drop out. Up till about 10 years ago I was on anti-depressants and Adderall.
I’m not going to tell you it’s easy when you struggle with mental illness, because it’s not. At the same time you need to understand that everyone struggles to a certain degree. You’re not special. I struggle, still, but I will not let these labels define my future.
You can choose to stay where you are and be content feeling like a victim on a Dodger blog, or you can choose to do difficult things that will help you move forward.
A good friend of mine recently recommended a movie he watched on Netflix. He loved it so much he’s watched it three times … and taken notes. It’s by the same guy who was in Moneyball – Jonah Hill.
It’s called Stutz, and it’s about Jonah Hill’s therapist, and what his therapist did to help Jonah Hill overcome his severe depression and anxiety. I mean, Jonah Hill … Here’s a famous movie star, and he’s fucked up like a lot of us.
I still haven’t watched it all the way through, but I do remember something his therapist said that sticks with me. He said life involves three things: pain, uncertainty and work. This applies to everyone.
Life involves pain. Everyone has felt rejection and people being cruel, or tragedies that happen to you for no reason. Mark was literally in jail for something he didn’t do.
Making changes involves uncertainty. We don’t know what the future holds. It can be tempting to stay in our comfort zones and not take chances because we are afraid of the possibility of feeling that pain again.
Making those changes and moving forward involves work. You’re not always successful. Most people fail on the road to improvement. Failure involves pain. But failure is just part of the process. It’s how you learn.
You can stay stuck, Eric, and dwell on what happened to you in the past, or you can do work and embrace uncertainty and occasionally pain. It’s not easy. It never is, but the successes that come from taking small steps forward is a lot more rewarding and will make you feel a lot better than waiting for someone on a baseball blog to compliment your takes on James Outman.
And I say that as someone who understands your pain.
I remember happiness even though it’s been a while back. True happiness is an empty bladder and if I’m unable to soon feel that happiness I’m gonna take morphine and die. Goodnight Irene.
Intelligent post patch.
Where’d that come from?
Mookie at short is a very intriguing idea, but I doubt it is what the Dodgers want. Their pattern has been in their prime All League guys, which is why I thought they might just go ahead and pay for Bogaerts. Had that wrong. Then thought it had to be a tax cap dive. Might have got that wrong too. Won’t really know til later.
So for the moment it’s Williams. He looks athletic enough. Can he hit?
Thompson and Martinez so far this year are not doing well against lefties and neither are the Dodgers.
UGH, you HAD to bring up the possibility of Mookie getting injured huh? Well, it could already have happened with he and Heyward colliding.
BUT, I think it’s unrealistic to expect Mookie to play SS and not make some ugly mistakes (along with some impressive plays) in his desire to excell like he does everywhere else. But if he’s allowed continue doing it I would expect his on-the-job learning curve to be tremendous with his athleticism.
04/21/23 Los Angeles Dodgers transferred RHP Ryan Pepiot from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Left oblique strain.
04/21/23 Los Angeles Dodgers placed RHP Michael Grove on the 15-day injured list. Right groin strain.
04/21/23 Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of RHP Jake Reed from Oklahoma City Dodgers.
Hey Mark looks like Dodgers might need Mad Bum as a fifth starter wouldn’t be a bad idea having Syndeguard Kershaw and Bumgarner with Urias and I say Jackson you laughed in preseason when I said that but now he is out there and rumor is Mets Dodgers and Yankees looking at him he knows how to pitch out west so why not.
*sigh*
Hey Eric. It could be a lot worse. You could have Bradley’s takes.
Why not? ERA 10.26 WHIP 2.40
And the desperate for starting pitching Diamondbacks just DFA’d him. Please! Sober up!
Who do we have buddy. we are running thin on pitchers smart asssss. You sober up or put a cork in your mouth and zip it. Bumgarner or a rookie from AAA uhhhh duh I think the veteran.
The rookie 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. He’s no longer Mad Bum he’s just a bum. Arizona has less pitching than the Dodgers and they cut him.
Why not??? Because he has an ERA over 10 and his WHIP is almost 2.5!! Last year his ERA was almost 5. The guy is cooked. I don’t care about a great playoff run many moons ago he hasn’t been effective for years. I don’t see the Dodgers biting, they are always rumored to be in on everyone.
Dodgers have pitching coaches to correct veterans remember Anderson last year all Bum would have to be is a fifth starter hell ya Id take that over a AAA a rookie which we don’t have anybody because the top four guys are hurt. I think Bum ends up going to Texas with Bochy but sounded like we need pitchers so he would be a veteran with attitude
Well crap.
This is a very hard watch.
It seems the Cubs fixed Bellinger just another reason RVS should be sent packing.
Wow, when Julio decides to screw the pooch, he doesn’t mess around
I know there’s no reason to cry over spilt, crumbled cookies,
but wouldn’t the outfield look nice with Bellinger in center and Outman in left
As far as the Cubs fixing Bellinger, seems to me his swing is same as it was. Maybe his shoulder is completely healed, or maybe the Cubs hitting coaches just left him alone and let him rely on what got him to the big leagues in the first place.
I hated his stance and his swing when he was with the Dodgers, and looking at it now I still hate it. I don’t see any difference.
The difference is he’s making contact. I think it’s the shoulder being healed.
I hope you are right and wish him a long, solid career.
It wasn’t the Cubs, it was time.
I was annoyed about the early start. Especially on a Friday.
Now? Well, at least so far I’m quite glad I haven’t been watching this game.
Ugh
Well I’ll give you this Bradley. The way we look today, I might sign Bumgarner for his bat but not his arm. And who knew the cure for Bellinger was to face the Dodger pitching staff!
Reeds delivery is kinda odd looking. What does he get with that hand shaking at the end?
I thought that loss yesterday might take the starch out of the Cubs for a game or two. Wow was I wrong. Now I wonder what this drubbing will do to Dodger conference.
Was that an iceberg we just hit?
We didn’t hit it. The iceberg hit us!
They have 12 runs. We don’t have a hit yet. I’m sure I can find something else to do.
Looks like the Dodgers offense found something else to do
I hope Smyly gets his perfecto. Maybe that will wake us up.Although he has thrown 93 pitches with 2 innings to go.
Not me, it was bad enough just being shellacked by the Cubs.
As far as I’m concerned, getting no hit, Is an embarrassment to the organization
Mark, following todays title, may I suggest the title for tomorrows article, “Sh”.
Dodgers showing their character by fighting to ensure we don’t get no hit
I like this Williams kid. 1-2-3 inning.
I’ve got zip nada nothing with no passion.
Proud to say I may have just watched the worst played game in Dodger history. Now that I think about it I’m embarressed to say that I watched this entire game. I need to step up my retirement game!
Well after I suffered through this game without missing a pitch.
I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s all Dave Roberts fault
Please can we not go there…
Sarcasm, Alert
Pretty sure you know that though.
Yep!
Discusting
Well I had the bottom of the order wrong. 0 for 8 with a walk and 5 Ks. Top of the order 0 for 10 with only 3 Ks and a walk. So clearly the top of the order was just as worse.
What an ugly game.
Rear view mirror. Moving on.
I wanted to watch a perfect game. All I got was seeing a very classy smile by Smyly. He could have pouted or yelled at his catcher and instead merely shared the moment with a smile as horrible as it was.
Missed this stinker. Went to see The Covenant. Good movie. Tonight I am heading out to Chatsworth to play some tunes.
Let me recap for you.
It was like the movie Deliverance. If you stopped half way through. And didn’t watch the end where Burt Reynolds make things right.
It was like that.
Right now, today, this is the worst dodger team I’ve seen in several years! That could change, but there’s a lot of work to do!
All considered, I really wish this had been a perfect game.
Any silver linings for the Dodgers?
I guess Williams threw a perfect inning.
Oh, found more good Dodger-ish news today!
Tim Wallach’s son Chad homered for the Angels, while future Dodger dominated in a 2-0 win.
That future Dodger is now 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA. He’s struck out 38 batters in 28 innings.
Just noticed that this dismal day for the Dodgers was also a dismal day for the Padres. They were similarly stomped by the D-backs, on a two-hitter by Zac Gallen.
Could the D-backs be for real?