A few fans have questioned why the Dodgers have a plethora of “retreads,” “has-beens,” “never were’s,” and “wannabees” at AAA OKC. Now, I do not want to disrespect the ability it takes and the work it requires to say nothing of the talent needed to play at the AAA level. Many of these guys have played 5, 10, 15… even 20 years chasing a dream… one that they may or may not achieve. Specifically, the Dodgers have the following players:
- Matt Andriese – Age 34 this year
- Dylan Covey – Age 32 this year
- William Cuevas – Age 33 this year
- Tyler Cyr – Age 30 this year
- Robbie Erlin – Age 33 this year
- Adam Kolarek – Age 34 this year
- Tayler Scott – Age 31 this year
- David Freitas – Age 34 this year
- Patrick Mazeika – Age 30 this year
Then they have Steven Duggar, Bradley Zimmer, Ben DeLuzio, and others are also on the AAA roster. Many of these players have “opt-outs.” That simply means that if another team needs a player at a certain position, they can opt out and join that team. That will absolutely happen. Some players will quit, some will take coaching positions with the Dodgers or other teams and this will leave openings in the second half of the season for promotions such as Pages, DeLuca, Cartaya, Sheehan, Knack, and others to move up to AAA (if they deserve it) while other rookies take their places at A-ball and above. That’s not how every team does it, but that is how the Dodgers do it. I would say that overall, it is a good plan.
Last Night’s Debacle
- The loss last night might have counted as three games – it was so ugly! Fortunately, it only counts as one. Tony Gonsolin was going great last night until he tried to throw some off-speed funky stuff to a guy who has never hit a pitch over 90 MPH. Bad idea… and then it got worse. Overall, he looked good. 0 ER! 3 H, 0 BB, 6 K’s and his ERA is 1.93. FIGURES LIE!
- I don’t care what Doc said, I would think that, at the very least, Caleb Ferguson will go on paternity leave today, and Justin Bruihl or Gavin Stone will get recalled… especially with Thor pitching. I am hoping for the best, but expecting the worst – he has conditioned us that way! The Dodgers are going to need “all arms on deck!”
- It was the Dodger’s choice not to put Miguel Vargas on the IL while he waited for his thumb to heal. So, stating he has difficulty with fastballs is like saying the most obvious thing you can see: “It sure is dark at night… who knew?” The good news, is he has played a very good 2B, stabilizing the infield, and his thumb is close to healed. He also is 5th on the team among qualified players with a .341 OB% – not great, but not bad when you have a thumb that won’t let you get around quickly. The Dodgers want him to be more aggressive, and I think he will – it’s just that when your thumb hurts to swing… you may not be quite as aggressive. Look for him to get hot soon.
- Michael Busch showed that he is a work in progress at 3B. I am higher on Mike Busch at 3B than I have ever been. He has never played there, and it will involve some pain. He may go down to AAA for a while (or not), but he has the tools to play that position.
- David Peralta keeps showing us flashes but has not sustained his hitting efforts. The clock is ticking: June 1st!
- CT3 is breaking out of a two-year slump! He is a very key part of this team!
- Phil Bickford has used up most of his nine lives! He has no options left, but they can’t keep rolling him out there! I Wander about Suero too! Roster moves are in the air!
- How about some good news on Daniel Hudson, JP Feyersein, Alex Reyes, Ryan Pepiot, Mike Grove, and Jimmy Nelson? There are rumors that Jimmy is done!
- Is it going to take JDM two or three weeks to regain the stroke he was trying to regain?
- Bronny James: Overrated and Overhyped? Probably!
I’ll use my time today as a wishlist Tuesday! Would it not be sweet if Cleveland falls out of contention and we could acquire Jose Ramirez and Shane beiber at the trade deadline? I know. Won’t happen but I’ve wanted Jose at 3rd base in dodger blue for a long time. Beiber would be a nice piece in the rotation. Just wishing!
Any news on Nick Frasso after he left his last start two days ago after a trainers visit to the mound ?
Fingers crossed he is okay. Kid could be special.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As bad as the defense has been lately, the youngsters will get better and the Dodgers will eventually sort it out.
But other major issues put a cloud over this team.
I’m guessing if JDM visits the IL again because of back problems, he’ll be done for this season. If that happens, it would be a big blow and a monumental hurdle to overcome. He’s critical because he’s the DH batting the important 5th hole. Losing him would require a total remake of AF’s plans for this year’s line-up, as he already had to do when Lux went down before this season began. It’s disconcerting.
For now, the immediate concerns are –
1) Finding 3 or 4 more quality bullpen arms – and particularly one lefty – (c’mon Vesia, get it together)
2) A reliable 5th SP
3) A RH outfielder who can hit LHP well — unless Taylor keeps improving or lightning strikes and Thompson figures it out
4) (With Smith as the exception), everyone else needs BETTER offensive performance against quality pitchers! Soon!!
I think that the Dodger Braintruist have a Plan for life after JDM and it involves Smith & Muncy DH’ing!
Busch plays some 3B and we will see where that leads.
Makes sense. But hypothetically, if “Plan for life after JDM” unfortunately occurs this season, ..and the BrainTrust choose to DH Smith & Muncy many games as the alternative, then that would create either…
A) a probable big hole in the offense with no-hit Barnes or an unproven rookie/Feduccia in the line-up. ..or..
B) a possible glaring defensive weakness with still-novice Busch playing 3rd base.
But truth be told, I kinda wish this happens anyway ‘ cause I don’t think JDM makes it through the season, and the sooner the Trust gets on with the youth movement, ..the better the team will be in the long run.
Bronny is going to fill out & get that strength he needs. I just don’t see him as a 1 or 2 at SC who are deep there. He doesn’t have great quickness or moves but that might come later. He impresses me with his b-ball IQ. He’s a confident kid.
He grows another 3-4” and his game might look like Andrew Wiggins? I’m in on the trip.
Swimmers
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRKNsXRo/
Just a question, it really seems we could use Busch’s bat in the lineup. Why can’t he play left field, isn’t that less of a gamble than 3B? I also don’t understand why Roberts won’t just put Betts at SS and leave him there. Moving around three positions each day must take away from his hitting concentration. Great comments from Mark about the unusable players we stock at AAA. It doesn’t seem to serve any purpose. If we have an injury the AA players could probably do a better job that the players at AAA who have already had their chance at the majors and failed. We know they can’t help!!!
Bickford is dead man walking. DFA please
Long live the DFA wants/requests/suggestions!
Compared to his “good” year in 2021, in this current season his:
K/9 is better
BB/9 is better
His FB velo is better
His HR/FB ratio is better
His FIP is better
He’s better in nearly every metric … except BABIP, which is .405.
In other words, his peripherals are pretty good. He’s probably just been unlucky thus far.
He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
I’m tired of Rojas (Hanser Alberto part 2) and the trio outfielders that only hit RHP (Heyward, Peralta, Thompson).
Bring up Feduccia and start him at catcher and get rid of Rojas (Hanser Alberto part 2), so Doc no longer has the urge to start him. Move Betts to SS and start Taylor in the outfield. Move Smith to DH to save his career (concussion) and move Martinez to the bench to save his back.
Bring up DeLuca and platoon him with one of the trio outfielders that only hit RHP (flip a coin) and get rid of one of the trio outfielders that only hit RHP (flip a coin).
Taylor becomes the back up SS and in the case that it happens, the one remaining trio outfielder platoons with Pages (he hits LHP) in the outfield.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather have Feduccia and DeLuca instead of Rojas (Hanser Alberto part 2) and one of the trio outfielders.
Bring up two more rookies?
I’m fine with Busch/Muncy circus routine at third for now. I think Busch might have already had a couple of years of third base time if Vargas hadn’t been blocking him there. If they all hit we should survive the 3 ring defense. Some consistency in the approach would help everybody. Sometimes it feels like Roberts is pulling defensive assignments out of a hat.
In my situation either Vargas or Busch plays 2B and the other goes to AAA. DeLuca is only part time against LHP and remember there is more RHP than LHP. There would be 3 and a half rookies (Outman, Feduccia, and Vargas or Busch). DeLuca is the half.
No need to mess with Muncy.
Well, right about now, Vargas is going nowhere,
Outman has a better chance of being sent down (and he’s not going either).
The Dodgers have to decide how much Busch can play, and whether it is worth it to keep him on the big club (I think it is).
Busch could play LF, but right about now, the Dodgers are committed to Peralta. That has to play out first – one way or another … probably by June 1st or so! If Peralta can regain his stroke, he will be a HUGE asset to this team. We just have to be patient.
I am still not 100% confident that Heyward is the answer. I am forming an opinion that he has a couple of pitches in a couple of spots that he can hit and that’s it! I hope I am wrong!
… and yet with all of this to deal with, the Dodgers are #3 in the Power Poll!
D-train in the booth is sort of like fish and visitors. I really didn’t dig all those tricky little ideas he has for the pitcher to get a breather and “slow down the game”. Shit like asking for another baseball…repeatedly or claiming your “pitch com” device doesn’t work. I hate that. The game is so much better with the pitch clock and the elimination of pitchers and hitters farting around. Did you see the clip of Soto taking 35 seconds to get in the box and ready, last season? Here’s my advice for D-Train – Get your tricky ass on the mound and let’s go.
I know, it’s one game, but Busch’s lack of experience at 3rd showed up in spades. On the job training in the big leagues is risky business. He’s a project at 3rd and could/would take so much work for him to be adequate. Outfielder? I like his swing but where can you hide him?
Where did Wander Suero come from? He fit right in with our inability to hold runners. He was 1.85 to home with Yelich stealing. Barnes had no chance. Wtf
DT has VD (Verbal Diarrhea)
Baseball players, have always used every trick in the book to gain advantage. So ,what Dontrell said, every major leaguer has already thought about.
I agree with your take on Busch, But I think the Dodgers are desperately searching for answers right now, trying anything
I saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert about 4 years ago. His voice was a little thin sometimes but he put on a great show. RIP. Thanks for the great music.
“Does anyone know
Where the love of God goes
When the waves
Turn the minutes to hours ?
Great song. The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald.
Edmund Fitzgerald hits hard.
GL was cool.
I saw Lightfoot at the El Paso Coliseum when I was in the Army. He had two sidemen with him. It was a great concert and the guy was suffering from a bronchial irritation. Yesterday the Maritime Cathedral in Detroit rang the bell 30 times, once for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald and once for Gordon Lightfoot. Totally cool. I still do some of his music.
Saw Gordo at the Hollywood Bowl in the late 70s. Nice show. One memory stands out: The crowd got into a song and started to clap along. But I guess we weren’t that rhythmic. In mid song, he said something like, “Thanks folks, but let the band take it from here.” He politely told us to knock it of
DODGERS MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Eddys Leonard, Alec Gamboa, Austin Gauthier win minor league player of week awards
By Eric Stephen@ericstephen
For the week ending May 7, the award winners are Eddys Leonard and Alec Gamboa from Double-A Tulsa, and Austin Gauthier from High-A Great Lakes.
Three Dodgers minor leaguers have won weekly honors in each of the last four weeks:
April 10-16: OF Andy Pages (Double-A), RHP Ben Casparius (High-A), 3B Phil Nevin (Low-A)
April 17-23: C Hunter Feduccia (Triple-A), IF Jorbit Vivas (Double-A), C Dalton Rushing (High-A)
April 24-30: RHP William Cuevas (Triple-A), RHP Yon Castro (High-A), Chris Newell (Low-A)
May 1-7: SS Leonard (Double-A), LHP Gamboa (Double-A Tulsa), IF Gauthier (Low-A)
Leonard was on fire last week for the Drillers, collecting 10 hits in 20 at-bats with two home runs, four doubles, drove in six runs, and scored five to win Midwest League player of the week. Those were the first extra-base hits and RBI for Leonard on the season, whose OPS rose from .376 to .633 in one week.
The left-hander Gamboa pitched twice in bulk relief last week for Tulsa without allowing a hit. He totaled 5⅓ innings with no runs and six strikeouts, walking one to win Midwest League pitcher of the week.
Gauthier has been on fire all season for Great Lakes, but last week reached base 20 times in 30 plate appearances, with three three-hit games, four extra-base hits, and eight RBI to win Midwest League player of the week. On the season, the infielder — a non-drafted free agent signed in 2021 out of Hofstra — leads the league in batting average (.429), on-base percentage (.533), OPS (1.140), hits (36), and runs scored (23).
We can sit here and surmise and criticize all we want, that is what we fans do. But behind the scenes, we have no clue what AF is thinking or planning. A trade for a hard-hitting outfielder does not seem to be on the radar right now and if anything like that occurs, it will be at the deadline. Martinez is in Arizona where he can get plenty of AB’s every day. There is a chance he will be activated when the Padres hit town this weekend. You can dis Heyward all you want, but he is one of the few making consistent hard contact, and the hits have been coming more often than not. He is also doing exactly what he was signed to do. Peralta has been hitting balls hard, but right at people. That will either change, or it will not.
Oops, my mistake, nothing to see here folks, move along.
Close…
News from Internet:
This headline sez it all:
Winston-Salem Dash to play as grammatically correct Hyphens
https://news.sportslogos.net/2023/04/22/winston-salem-dash-to-play-as-grammatically-correct-hyphens/baseball/
Ben Clemens chat:
Mike M: A question about semantics. I hear people say that the Dodgers lack depth because Mookie has had to play SS, but I see things differently. Their starting SS (Lux) has a season-ending injury right before the season started. Their backup (Rojas) has been injured. Their backup to the backup (Taylor) has also been injured off and on. So they’ve had to play some innings with Mookie at SS as the backup to the backup to the backup. Not ideal, but a pretty good 4th option. They’ve even used Luke Williams as a 5th option. So I’d say that their depth is being tested, not that they lack depth. Having to use your 4th option is not a lack of depth. Nobody has a league average player as their 4th option at a position, do they? And Mookie may actually be a league average SS or better. So do the Dodgers actually lack depth?
Ben Clemens: With you on this one. Now, the Dodgers traded for Rojas as the depth started to thin out, so I’m not 100% sure you can count on him. But depth does not seem to be this team’s problem. Proven depth, sure, but I think what actually worried people coming into the year is that they were less star-studded at the top than normal, which meant that they were susceptible to star injuries in a way that didn’t seem to bother them before
Farhandrew Zaidman: Dodgers rookies can bang. That is all.
Ben Clemens: Yeah, Miguel Vargas looks to me to still be a bit limited by his hand injury from an early HBP, and yet, he’s doing pretty well. And then Outman is en fuego! You love to see it… Again, apparently the Dodgers aren’t suddenly a bunch of frauds, shocking
More Kiley McDaniel! He takes a look ($$$$) at Ohtani:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/37413674/shohei-ohtani-free-agency-contract-predicted-mlb-insiders
Two insiders say the Dodgers, one said either the Dodgers or Mets, another said Dodgers or Yankees…a very specific scenario: “I think he uses the Padres and Mets to run up the price, but he wants to and will go with the Dodgers”
PODCAST ALERT!
Baseball America presents a new podcast, Behind The Plate with Kyle Glaser. Kyle hosts a different scout or executive every week to talk about their experiences in the game and the players they signed. Our first guest is Dodgers area scout Tom Kunis, who signed reigning National League rookie of the month James Outman.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/behind-the-plate-episode-1-dodgers-scout-tom-kunis/
The Dodgers are hiring! Go work for one of the two best teams in MLB:
https://recruiting.ultipro.com/LOS1000LADOD/JobBoard/5365ad6e-23ff-4703-bb77-1e9451fb855e/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=d398a462-d86a-417f-a281-a76aa731269f
https://recruiting.ultipro.com/LOS1000LADOD/JobBoard/5365ad6e-23ff-4703-bb77-1e9451fb855e/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=f508e20f-8ef2-4995-aab3-ab9da8a8fcf1
Jay Jaffe looks at Bellinger:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/cody-bellinger-is-in-a-much-better-place/
I didn’t know that the Cubs’ hitting coaches come from the Dodgers system.
Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) looks at a change in Dustin May’s arsenal:
https://twitter.com/LanceBroz/status/1655238428672286723
He’s joining the “sweeper” trend.
Some people here were advocates for Matt Chapman. Dan Szymorski takes a look at how great Chapman is doing for Toronto.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/matt-chapman-is-a-weapon-of-mass-destruction/
Old friend Trevor Bauer made his NPB debut on Wednesday and allowed one run over seven innings as the DeNA BayStars beat the Hiroshima Carp 4-1. The controversial former Cy Young Award winner fanned nine batters and allowed seven hits and one walk.
Josh Thomas, a must-follow, looks at the changes that have benefited Kyle Hurt:
https://dodgersdigest.com/2023/05/06/kyle-hurts-small-adjustments-paying-big-dividends-in-2023/
Baseball America updates their top 100 list ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2023-top-100-prospects/
Vargas graduated out, Pages hasn’t quite been admitted in.
FanGraphs’ Dan Szymborski says the Dodgers should extend Urias:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/whose-contract-extensions-should-teams-tackle-with-urgency/
Eight years, $186 million should do it according to Dan’s model.
Austin Gauthier, Eddys Leonard and Alec Gamboa have been named players of the week for their respective leagues.
https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1655621738254745601
https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1655621736677748761
Leonard slashed .500/.546/1.000
Gamboa tossed 5.1 scoreless, hitless innings, with 1 BB and 6 Ks in the Midwest League
Gauthier slashed .579/.667/.947, with 2 doubles, a triple, a homer, and a BB/K of 9/4
Two hits on Frasso. The first is Geoff Pontes naming him one of the ten under-rated prospects ($$$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/ten-underrated-pitching-prospects-impressing-early-in-2023/
Frasso and Knack made BA’s hot sheet ($$$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/hot-sheet-baseballs-20-hottest-prospects-from-the-past-week-5223/
…so far in 2023 Frasso has sat in the mid-to-high 90s, touching 99 mph at peak. Frasso pairs his high-octane fastball with an upper-80s slider and a changeup with plenty of arm-side run. (GP)
…Knack’s career has somewhat stalled at Double-A, but so far this year, he’s showing signs that he has regained his plus control and his hoppy fastball, slider and changeup could help him carve out a big league role.
Old friend Connor Wong is excelling behind the plate:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/connor-wong-is-popping-and-blocking/
The Dodgers are in the top third in outfield defense, in the bottom third in infield defense in 2023.
https://twitter.com/sis_baseball/status/1655611016804290560
FanGraphs looks at the Rays’ aggressive baserunning. More of this please.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/five-things-i-liked-or-didnt-like-this-week-may-5/
Thanks Bluto!
Great links Bluto!
DODGERS RECALL JUSTIN BRUIHL
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled left-handed pitcher Justin Bruihl and placed left-handed pitcher Caleb Ferguson on the paternity list.
Bruihl, 25, returns for his second stint with the Dodgers after appearing in five games in his first stint with Los Angeles. He went 0-0 with a 1.80 ERA (1 ER/5.0 IP) with four strikeouts in five games for the Dodgers. With Triple-A Oklahoma City, he was 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/9.0 IP) over seven appearances. In 50 games (two starts) for the Dodgers, he is 1-1 with a 3.23 ERA (17 ER/47.1 IP) and 28 strikeouts while limiting left-handed hitters to a .202 (19-for-94) batting average against with 15 strikeouts. The southpaw was originally signed as non-drafted free agent on July 15, 2017 after finishing his collegiate career at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Ferguson, 26, has appeared in 15 games for the Dodgers, allowing two runs in 14.1 innings while striking out 14. He has limited left-handed hitters to a .136 (3-for-22) batting average while garnering a career-best 0.84 WHIP on the campaign. In his five seasons with the Dodgers, he is a combined 13-5 with a 3.24 ERA (58 ER/161.1 IP) and 191 strikeouts in 148 games (seven starts). He was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 38th round of the 2014 First Year Player Draft out of West Jefferson High School (Oh.).
I guess AF was pretty smart not to chase Scherzer when he was a free agent. He is missing another scheduled start due to a ache and pain. Being old, I understand what he is feeling. But I am totally happy he is a Met and not a Dodger. Those two contracts for him and Verlander were ridiculous.
A’s have several locations on their minds for a ballpark in Vegas. They sure need to get out of Oakland.
They may have several locations on their mind, but they already purchased the site (Right across the freeway from T-Mobile Arena) I’m not sure it will ever happen though, Now they are asking for $500 mil in taxpayer money to build and that’s not happening.
7:40 PM ET
Dodgers (21-15) 1st place
Brewers (20-15) .5 GB
SP Noah Syndergaard R
1-3 6.32 ERA 31.1IP 21K
SP Eric Lauer L
3-3 4.40 ERA 30.2 IP 29K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
LF Chris Taylor R
3B Max Muncy L
2B M. Vargas R
DH James Outman L
CF T. Thompson R
SS Miguel Rojas R
In Domed Stadium
Shiny things cost money Bear! Both are hall of fame pitchers, both are old. Wouldn’t count on them, but I wouldn’t count against them either! Without them Mets are done. Very important start for syndergard tonight. Can’t keep running him out there pitching like he has been. Hopefully he can give the dodgers 5-6 decent innings
Which is exactly why I drive a 14-year-old truck with 113,000 miles on it. No need for a shiny new one. On the other hand, Scherzer has not exactly looked like a 43-million-dollar man in his one season plus with the Mets. He got lit up in the playoffs and has stunk up the joint most of this year. Verlander was injured at the beginning of this year and even though he is older, he has been the better pitcher the last couple of years. We have to wait and see how the rest of the season plays out for him.
Good start. Cuz a W might take a lot of runs tonite.
Thor is toast – you can see it in his body language. He is beaten!
… but by the grace of the big Dodger in the Sky!
OK, this is not good… a blister!
Thor to the IL.
Gavin Stone is back!
Statement from the Dodgers, via Kirsten, it’s a cut, not a blister
Blisters can be more problematic. They have a tendency to want to come back.
Cut are cuts!
Smith has been locked in all season.
Thor gone, big trouble, no easy answer(s) for 5th starter, …except to rake like crazy and outscore the opp when another (5th SP) goes to the mound.
Well at least Syndergaard pitched a shutout inning tonight! That will drop his era.
What he’s doing now is not sustainable, but I still love the kid’s potential, and he’s doing fine. Fingers crossed for Outman to learn the art of contact/fouling away 2-strike pitches. Then his K’s will drop, he’ll extend his at-bats, get more hits, and become a batting star. But easier said than done.
Funny calling a 25/yr/old man a “kid.”
When you are 70 like me, 3/4 of the population are kids!
57 I am, so about 2/3 youngsters for me.
Little kid! 😉
I believe in GS!
I believe in SPM! Kersh is going to have to give us some length tomorrow. If only he was an ace!
No, Mookie spookedness there
That’s made-up fiction!
That’s was my point.
Made up fiction.
Is there another kind?
Yo
Miggy’s thumb is getting better!
That’s the first time this season I’ve seen Vargas pull a 95+ pitch for a homer. YES! PROGRESS!!
THUMB!
Exciting future!
I think TT’s time is up. It’s just been a train wreck!
Mark’s nervous tic keeps coming up.
If he has a chance to diss Outman, he takes it. This time he repeats his assertion that Outman is more likely to be sent down to the farm than Vargas. He quickly adds that he also thinks neither will… But why the gratuitous dig? Is it because he thinks Outman is just too “lucky” and actually lacks the potential of Busch, Pages, DeLuca, Ramos and Busch?
The good news is that Vargas is really coming around with the bat. The other good news is that Outman–and not Mark’s favorite rookie–who has emerged as a legit ROY contender. But hey, it’s still early! Still, the notion that Vargas’s defense has “solidified” the infield is quite a reach. Roberts, who never shies away lavishing praise on his players, described Vargas defense as “OK” and that he expects it to improve. We’ve all seen Vargas miss plays that a first-rate second baseman makes. Anyway, Vargas has always been known more for his bat than his glove–and if he delivers OK defense, well, that’s OK.
As for 3B, I don’t think Busch is the answer. He is, as they say, “serviceable.” n If Busch had “the tools” for 3B–the lightning quickness, the powerful arm–he’d have been put there years ago. Max clearly has the stronger arm–and Max ain’t exactly Arenado back there. The fact that Vargas was moved to 2B tells me that Dodgers don’t see him as the answer either.
The answer could be that guy in Toronto who is playing great in his walk year. As I’ve mentioned before, AF should have dealt for Matt Chapman when he had the chance. He’s a Gold Glover and now having a great year with the bat. (He bats from the right side.) If the Dodgers fail to land Ohtani, perhaps they could invest in Chapman. Not sure what town Chapman considers “home,” but he went to Cal State Fullerton (like JT and Tim Wallach) and might want to play in SoCal. Perhaps he grew up dreaming to wear Dodger blue.
Fantasy 2024 non-Ohtani lineup:
Mookie RF
Freeman 1B
Smith C
Muncy DH
Chapman 3B
Outman CF
Vargas 2B
Lux SS
Taylor/Heyward/??? LF
I think you and Eric are obviously the some person, “My guy is better than your guy. I saw this shiny object last off season and he’s my guy and he’s better than your guy, and that makes me smarter. Blah, Blah, Blah!”
You are still doing it! This is like an argument with a 5th grader… actually more like arguing with a pig!
Of course, you are most excellent talent evaluators. You both proved it after James Outman first 13 AB’s when you anointed him the King of the World and questioned why you were not sitting in Andrew Friedman’s seat. After all, you are smarter than him, you stated! You are obviously, all-wise, all-knowing and BTW, all Full of Shit! Give it a rest before you embarrass yourselves more!
Geeeezzz! Children….
Smith en fuego!
Brusdar still can’t miss enough bats! Frustrating!
Especially the bats that hit it to his 2nd baseman!
“On fire” it is said in spanish “está encendido” so it is said “Smith está encendido” or “Smith anda encendido”. Said it respectfully
Just looked it up…
Matt Chapman was apparently born in Victorville and attended El Toro High before Cal State Fullerton. So yes, he probably considers SoCal to be home.
Maybe he cheered for the Angels as a kid, or maybe the Dodgers. But the Angels have about $30 million per year tied up in Rendon. (D’oh!) Anyway, this could give the Dodgers an edge when Chapman is a free agent….
And how is en fuego is Smith?
If he had enough ABs to qualify, Smith’s .329 BA would be 5th in the NL. His OPS of 1.026 is 6th among all NL players. (BTW, slap hitter Luis Arraez is now hitting .412. Last year Rod Carew said Arraez is his favorite hitter. He has 8 extra-base hits and 41 singles.)
BTW, one of the guys who is outhitting Smith is Matt Chapman.
Bron gets his stroke going on 3’s it’s going to crank up this run another notch.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRK6Lh5W/
Duke Not Snider
Good post about 7 posts up. Outman more likely to be sent down than Vargas. WHAT? HOW? I would post the slashlines but what’s the point.
Predictions vs results. I’ll go with results.
In the offseason I said who is more ready RIGHT NOW. I’ll leave it right there. I’ll bow out.
You are just silly. This must be your first rodeo. I’ll leave it at that!
While I’m falling in love (again) with the notion of Matt Chapman at 3B, I’m struck by how the Dodgers farm system seems so thin in the infield. A lot of pitchers, some really good catchers, some promising outfielders… but what about SS and 3B?
Hoese was drafted ahead of Busch to be 3B of the future, but he’s looking like a career minor leaguer. I guess Rayne Doncon is the top SS prospect now, but he’s a few years away and some say is better suited to 2B. They drafted a bunch of shortstops recently, and signed some intriguing international talent–but they are also years away and are not touted as “sure things.”
Anyway, while we are waiting for Lux to return, I hope AF & Associates targets some of top SS and 3B prospects out there. The Yankees are looking to deal some of their depth, and I’m sure some other teams might be interested in the Dodgers’ talent.