So, maybe you are of the mindset that when Dustin May got into a little trouble in the 7th inning Doc should have taken him out? That’s silliness! It’s true that Dustin May was cruising after six innings, and he got two quick outs in the top of the 7th inning. I think he had only allowed two hits at the time. Dustin was under 90 pitchers at the time, and if you want your starters to pitch into the 7th and 8th innings, you have to give them opportunities to succeed (or fail) by occasionally pitching out of jams. Are you just going to take May out when he meets a little resistance? No lessons are learned there. Dustin has a 2.68 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP.
The Dodgers need Dustin May to go seven innings… maybe eight at times. A manager’s job is to maximize each player’s ability over a full season. If you think Dustin May is going to be a workhorse but that Dave Roberts should take him out at the first sign of trouble, you are not thinking very well. The key thing last night was that the Dodgers won, but I would also like to know, “Did Dustin May learn anything? What would he do differently next time?” Dustin May is becoming a workhorse, as in his last two outings, he went at least six innings. The Dodgers are hoping for more… seven innings would have been optimal! To get there, he is going to have to struggle a bit.
It’s just like with your kids; sometimes, you have to let them struggle to grow… you can’t pick them up every time they stumble. They have to know how to do that and the satisfaction that comes with doing so. So, considering where we are in the season, I think it was a brilliant move by Doc to let Dustin May try and pitch out of trouble. If he did that in the playoffs, it would be a bonehead move! Timing is everything!
What is Andrew Friedman Thinking?
Last night Michael Busch was the DH for OKC. Why is he not playing 3B or LF? What is AF thinking? Well, I guarantee he is thinking! What? I do not know, but if I had to guess, he is leaving Busch play 2B and 3B and trying not to confuse the situation by adding another position, effectively making Michael a “utilityman.” I think Friedman has several teams that are interested in Busch (as well as other prospects). Now, I am not saying that he will trade or should trade Busch, but it is an option. Busch is young and controllable, and lots of teams want that. I have no idea who, where, or when, but that is my guess… and Friedman is going to make them overpay.
Dodger News & Notes
- Looking at the Dodger’s Top Four Starters, Julio Urias, who goes today, has the worst ERA (and coming down quickly) at 3.77; next is Dustin May at 2.68, then Clayton at 2.36, followed by Tony Gonsolin at 1.93. The Dodgers have been very “unDodgerlike” with their pitching this year. Change is in the air. Thor is on thin ice. It appears that Evan Phillips is currently the closer, but other pitchers are going to be available soon. The Dodgers are currently 14th in MLB in team ERA!
- The clock is ticking on Trayce Thompson… Tick… Tick…
- The Dodgers are 4th in runs, and 2nd in HR but have a lot of work to do in OB% and OPS.
- It was observed that I was wrong a lot. Whoever said that is very adept at perceiving the obvious immediately! I make dramatically more predictions than anyone else. Duuuuuuhhhhh! So, there is that.
Minor League News
- Alex Vesia pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning for OKC last night. He threw 16 pitches, 9 for strikes, and struck out 1.
- Andy Pages was 3-4 last night for Tulsa as he singled, doubled, and tripled… missing the cycle by only a HR! Dodgerram guaranteed he is ready! Print the tickets!
- Truth be Known, Landon Knack may be the most MLB-ready starter for the Dodgers in the minors. He commands at least four pitches, and I would not be the least bit surprised to see him pitching in the #5 spot come August!
- Diego Cartaya hit his 3rd HR (a 3-run shot) and drove in four runs last night. I still think he is concealing an injury!
Nice Girl’s moments!!
True Mark. You have the courage(?) to make all these predictions, so of course you will have more wrong (right) than anyone else.
So certainly lo OBP and RISP is a problem. You can’t count on hitting 3 home runs every game in the playoffs against the better starters and relievers.
DODGERS MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Good night for Dodger affiliates:
OKC shutout, Tulsa and Rancho Cucamonga score big and Great Lakes wins in 10 innings
Friday scores
Oklahoma City 6, Round Rock 0
Tulsa 10, Springfield 5
Great Lakes 8, Lake County 4
Rancho Cucamonga 11, Stockton 1
Saturday schedule
3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Ben Casparius) at Lake County (Ethan Hankins)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Robbie Erlin) at Round Rock (James Marvel)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Kyle Hurt) vs. Springfield (Brandon Komar)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Peter Heubeck) vs. Stockton (James Gonzalez)
All 4 Dodger Minor League Teams are in First Place in their respective divisions!!!
I say we trade for a real SS and put Taylor in LF.
We could really take off.
I’m sure that is one consideration
I think 11-2 run qualifies as lift off! And check out White Sox Anderson’s OPS
Anderson couldn’t carry Miguel Rojas’ jock!
Still think our best option for ss is in rf! Pick up a
Pick up a rh bat at the deadline for the out field
Red Sox have a plaque & ceremony for Kenley before Friday’s game. Big Guy smiling. Good stuff.
KJ gets pounded later for three and blows the game.
Life going Hard.
Don’t look now but Muncy is hovering above .200 again. I love his occasional power bursts, but not a fan of his inconsistency at the plate. Walks are great and all, but his role is to drive in runs.
I agree with Johnny above, prefer a trade for a solid SS.
Time to move off Trace Thompson, painful to watch.
His role is not to drive in runs.
Where did you read that?
BA and RBIs are not the droids you are looking for
Who? Why would a playoff team trade their starting shortstop unless we severely overpay. And we know that’s not AF’s MO.
Muncy has also been sick for about a week. He is feeling better.
Okay Mark, I’ll bite. I understand your point here on leaving May on the mound in the 7th until the 2/out double finally forced Doc’s hand. I see your point that May will learn lessons from this adversity. I just think using the word “silliness” for wanting Roberts to give May the hook just one batter earlier is a tiny-bit too “toxic.” 🙂 And if it’s really all about Dustin’s growth, why yank him after the game-tying double, instead of leaving him in to “pitch out of trouble” ..get that last out and complete the 7th inning?
I am not sure about the answer to your question, except that we may have still been there 😉
Doc gave him three shots! Maybe that’s the limit!
At least the Dodgers finished the game with a W, and I agree with your overall take that May will hopefully be even more motivated to get better and reach elite status. Doc knows May better than me. That’s that.
Because it made tons of sense to have him pitch to Kim. Kim doesn’t hit righties in general and I believe he was an uncomfortable 1-10 against May before that hit. With a Lefty I’m Grisham coming up next it made sense to bring in Ferguson.
I disagree based on what I wrote yesterday, and leave it at that.
Fearless Prediction:
First Manager to be fired: Bob Melvin
Was great to be at Crypto last night to watch LA knock the Bay Area out of the playoffs, AGAIN! Go Dodgers, Go Rams, Go Lakers!
Of course, I watched Mookie/Freddie go back to back on my phone. Excellent!!
I’ll be at the 4pm game today vs the Pads, if anyone is going? Be great to cheers to this blog !
Quite the turnaround for the Lakers. They made much better trades mid-season this year compared to last year.
Pelinka pulled the right strings this year. That team is Bron’s best in LA.
Can we take out Joker? It’s all on AD.
Drink two for me Bobby!
* Nice win. The top of the order carried the mail. Freddie is such a stud.
* The HPU, Jeremy Riggs had a great balls and strikes game behind the dish. Refreshing to see.
* Did you see it? May threw his Bigfoot chance-up for a whiff and screwed the hitter into the ground. If he gets that thing going, and trust it, look out.
* Vargas is starting to double tap at 2nd too much on routine plays. Bad habit that he can get away with at 2nd but not so much if he moves to 3rd. Drop the extra tap and throw the ball to first, please.
* Joe and Orel were analyzing Snell. He is an enigma. He has an odd tendency to be sailing along and then can just lose the strike zone. That was in the 3rd inning last night. He walked Thompson out of no where. An inexcusable sin considering Trayce’s last hit was April 17th and he’s batting .061 versus lefties. He’s 0 for 25. Snell followed that up with a walk to Mookie. That set up a 2 run inning. He got it back the next inning and had a decent line for his 6 innings pitched. Very compatible to May’s line except for the walks. Anybody can have a temporary brain cramp but Snell has a history of it.
I saw him in a High School state tournament game when he was a Senior at Shorewood Wa. He dominated with a low pitch count for 5 innings. He entered the 6th and tossed ball 4, ball 8 and ball 12, to load the bases. He was pulled and a relief pitcher came in who promptly hit the next batter. That ended up the only run of the game and Shorewood lost 1 to 0. Still stands out to me for how rapidly Snell fell of a cliff and apparently still has that tendency.
* If you get a chance, watch Tampa Bay second stacker, Anthony Lowe, turn a double play on throws from 3rd. He has a great turn. His cross-over pivot is like the old guys did it when you had to close on the throw and get out of the way.
Maybe Snell relaxed too much with Thompson up and couldn’t ramp back up for Betts.
The Dodgers need a righty bat but is it fair to Thompson to only use him against lefties? It’s like giving Urias every chance to prove himself as a righty pitcher instead of letting him pitch as a lefty.
Bum, I think it’s a disservice to repeatedly ask Thompson to do something he can’t do. As I’ve said, it’s like the organization is trying to prove a point. Send Kershaw out to pitch right handed. They will give Trayce enough rope against lefties to hang himself and then move on. I feel sorry for the guy. I’m not being pessimistic. He can’t hit LHP. What else do we need to see?
I feel the same way. And the Dodger brass knew this when they signed Peralta.
From the start of the season this team has had too many outfielders. Five outfielders for 3 positions–and none would be rotating through DH because that has been JDM’s full-time job. (I had envisioned a Trayce/Taylor platoon that would have too many Ks but 30+ HRs.)
The saving grace from this poorly constructed roster has been Mookie’s ability to play SS. But was this part of the plan when they signed Peralta?
Trayce has gotten the shaft and he deserves better. I hope the Dodgers find a way to move him at midseason.
Another nail biter with the Padres, who woulda thunk? Snell can be either dominating, like he did the last time out, or you knock him out early. Offense still is not hitting on all cylinders. And all you guys knocking Muncy, open your ears and listen to the announcers, he has been playing while sick for almost 10 days. Hard to be at your best when you are battling a bug of some sort. Trayce Thompson’s expected demise will happen sooner than later. I doubt the Dodgers trade for a SS.
Mark, unable to post tonight’s lineup.
Here it is, Betts, SS, Freeman, 1B, Smith, C, Muncy, 3B, Martinez, DH, Outman, CF, Heyward, RF, Vargas, 2B, Peralta, LF, Urias, P. Game time, 4:15 PST.
https://www.baseballpress.com/lineups
Didn’t see this recent LAT ($$$$$) article on the Dodger’s nascent Ugandan baseball academy:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-05-04/dodgers-secret-mlb-baseball-academy-uganda
Fascinating Bluto. Thanks for sharing that.
Mark, where did I pronounce Pages ready for The Show ?
I know my memory is not as good as it once was so you might be right but I do not remember. 🙂
But happy Pages is turning it on again after a little slump.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
It was DodgerHorse.
I can’t tell a sheep from a horse!
Hahaha that was great !!!!
Ha Ha – great post Mark – loved the movie – you really know how to excite an old man – baseball wise I would like to see them leave Mookie and short – then plan around that. Hope Busch stays a Dodger.
I didn’t know if ever got that cold in LA! 🙂
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRKQEs3U/?t=1
The Dodgers can’t keep bouncing Mookie back and forth between RF to SS. They need continuity in the infield.
Since Outman was left on the bench yesterday against lefty Snell, I’m very curious to see if Roberts chooses Outman to start tomorrow against LHP Weathers. If he doesn’t, the implications would be interesting.
Interesting observation Wayne. I took a quick look at Outman’s splits as I hadn’t seen him in a platoon situation.
But he does have about 3 times more at bats against RHP. And he’s hitting a respectable .260.
Against LHP, with only 33 at bats, he’s hitting .333. So we see some reverse splits but I hope not to the point where Doc starts a platooning situation with God know who. I really don’t want to see a platoon situation in center and left.
It will be interesting to see how this materializes.
Agreed, no platooning. That might even hurt his psyche. Tomorrow will tell the tale.
Maybe it was just a day off did you ever think of that? I’m confident outman will play against most lefties.
Tonight is our best lineup against righties. We still need a right handed bat with Taylor to fill in for Heyward and Peralta against lefties. It sure isn’t TT. Can’t get picked off there Vargas!
Urias bailing out Muncy. Julio forced to waste fuel overcoming his shaky infielders.
I guess bringing Phillips in now let’s you know who Roberts thinks is Padres biggest threat! Wonder if he lets him pitch the 9th seeing it was a quick inning?
Hold your breath, it’s Brusdar.
Yup, one bad pitch and Doc doesn’t trust the bazooka either.
The Friars officially struggling to score this year. ..holes in their bullpen ..the implosion draws nearer.
25-15. It’s linear up right now!Tomorrow, can we review some of the doom and gloom comments when we were 13-13 and heading into the tough part of our schedule?
How many times is John Smoltz going to make excuses for Joe Musgrove…..the Padre centerfielder lost the game in the first inning when the score was 0-0….poor Joe!
I am so glad I rooted against the Braves in the 1990s….
Thankfully JDM is back, initial plate appearances look good. Just stay healthy!
Ballers
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRKCTfVV/?t=1
Dodgers are indeed rolling with 40 games done. The Padres fans may gloat about bouncing the Dodgers last year, but now they’re 19-21 while the hated Dodgers are 25-15–even though Lux was lost for the season, other key players have been sideline with injuries.. The crude projections after nearly 1/4 of the season down would have Max finishing with 48 HRs and 116 RBIs, and Mookie and Outman with 32 HRs, and Freddie ith 28. Kershaw finishes 24-8 and Julio goes 20-12…. And so on.
Must suck to be a Padres fan. So much talent–Tatis, Soto, Machado–but most aren’t delivering on the hype.
And now JDM is back and he has followed the lead of veteran stars Mookie and Freddie with a big blast. Julio and the bullpen delivered the goods too.
I wasn’t following the game live, but monitoring Gameday updates on mlb.com. Thought that Graterol got the save but then the Pads won that challenge.
In my nervous imagination Muncy had maybe bobbled the ball–but the highlight I saw later showed a damn fine barehanded play and a quick but not-quite-strong-enough throw. Game of milliseconds.
Could Busch have made that play? I don’t think.
But Matt Chapman would have had Bogaerts by a half-step.
Also, Freddie is on pace for 132 runs scored—and Outman for, yikes, 192 strikeouts.
How bad is Outman’s propensity for strikeouts?
Kinda bad…. but let’s take a closer look.
He’s tied for 8th in the MLB with 48 Ks–which is two more than the big fish. Trout has 46. Our ROY candidate trails some pretty prominent names: Matt Olson with 58, Teoscar Hernandez with 56, Jazz Chisholm 52, fellow rookie sensation Josh Jung at 49, also Schwarber at 49.
So Outman isn’t really n outlier these days. We certainly hope he reduces the K rate, but here’s another fact when you scan down the stats. Among the top 20 on the K list, Outman has the second-highest OPS at .929, behind only Patrick Wisdom’s .925, a number fueled by his 12 HRs. Trout is now at .877 and Olson at .885. Most of the rest of these K leaders below .800 OPS. Old friend Trea Turner has piled 45 Ks and an OPS of .709. But he sure signed a nice contract!
Something else I noticed.
Matt Chapman has struck out 42 times–but his OPS is .963.
AF is not signing Matt Chapman next year. Our needs are a shortstop.
As long as they keep winning, I have nothing to bitch about. I do not care about Thompson’s lack of hits, Outman’s K’s, or Betts low BA. As long as those W’s keep coming, I am down with it.
KJansen was called last night for 3 time violations leading to another blown save.
Saturday scores
Oklahoma City 2, Round Rock 1
Tulsa 8, Springfield 3 (5 innings)
Great Lakes 6, Lake County 5
Rancho Cucamonga 7, Stockton 5
Sunday schedule
10 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Justin Wrobleski) at Lake County (Ryan Webb)
11:05 a.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone?*) at Round Rock (Cody Bradford)
11:05 a.m.: Tulsa (Nick Nastrini) vs. Springfield (Wilfredo Pereia)
2 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jeisson Cabrera) vs. Stockton (Dheygler Gimenez)
*Noah Syndergaard completed a full bullpen session Saturday with a covered right index finger without issue. The Dodgers are expected to determine Sunday whether he will be able to make his start on Monday. If not, Stone could step in, though at the moment he’s listed as Sunday’s starter for Oklahoma City.
All 4 Dodger Minor League Teams are in first place in their respective divisions