Pitching, pitching, and more pitching.

Posted By on May 23, 2023

If you have been a fan anytime at all, you have to know that pitching wins championships. You look at any of the Dodgers 7 World Series winners, and there are outstanding games pitched in each. The Dodger system is loaded with young arms who have lightning in them. Flame throwers who can top 95 consistently. Now throwing it where they want, that is another story.

Because of injuries, two of those kids are going to make starts for the Dodgers in Atlanta. Gavin Stone and Bobby Miller. The way things are going, I would not be at all surprised to see maybe Sheehan or maybe ever Landon Knack make a spot start here or there. Some of the bullpen arms might get the call also. Nick Robertson and Tayler Scott have been the most effective so far.

So which way do they go? I think AF will probably go with the kids for now. If Urias spends more than 15 days on the IL, then he might look to trade for an arm. There are other problems that will need to be addressed.

I would have liked to see them go into this 10-game road trip with a full house of healthy pitchers. Looks like that will not be the case. I would have to think they will pick up what they need at the deadline. Trades can happen anytime, but you really need to find the right trade partner. The White Sox are fading faster than a ghost. Cease would cost a lot, and the Sox would probably want LA to take on Anderson’s contract too.

But they could choose to go after the veteran, Lance Lynn, or even Giolitto, and I do not think the cost would be as high. If they would like a SS instead of moving Betts, a move that at this point I really think they should do, move Rojas to the bench, find a good hitting available outfielder and let Mookie enjoy himself. They might consider Dejong of the Cardinals. 2 years left on his deal. He is 29 and could be had.

Otherwise, I do not see much out there right now that can be had. And of course, we are still 2 full months from the deadline. Stone was a little rocky last night, but the team got the win. Well done. Freeman has proven he is well worth the money. But the pitchers definitely need to step up at this point.

This article has 76 Comments

  1. So what are the odds that Bobby Miller buries his best fastball in Marcell Ozuna’s ribs?
    His teammates would be impressed. Benches could empty. Fists could be thrown.
    Given that Ozuna is a repeat offender, I really think the MLB should consider a suspension and fines for such reckless follow-throughs.
    How often does this happen? Who are the worst offenders? The MLB needs to deal with this or risk more retaliation.

        1. Rojas batting ninth is fine because his defense is so fine.
          But the Dodgers do have a weakness against lefties.
          Overall, the team’s OPS is .775, tied for 4th in the MLB with the Red Sox.
          Against northpaws, the OPS is .789, second in MLB to the Rays. Nice!
          Against lefties, the OPS is .737, which is 18th in MLB. Unacceptable.
          The performance against lefties suffered a bit from Smith’s absence due to concussion. Today, even if he didn’t get any hits, Smith hit the ball hard and Acuna robbed him of a double.
          Should DeLuca or Pages be fast-tracked?

    2. I agree Matt. Defensively both CT3 and especially Rojas have been great. It would be nice if CT3 was hitting better then .189 and Rojas .216 (and climbing) but who’s out there that would satisfy the folks that claim we need a shortstop? Shortstop is not the problem. Having enough arms is. So we get to see the kids play and I’m good with that.

  3. Rojas improved as a hitter. He is no power threat, but occasionally will run into one. Varland could be the roster casualty when Miller is activated.

    1. Varland is not currently on the 40 man roster. Someone suggested May could be placed on the 60 Day IL for Miller and then Cyr or Bruihl get optioned to Oklahoma City so Miller can get put on the 26 man roster. Vesia has improved and will also be activated soon.

  4. DeJong has been starting lately for the Cards. I’m not sure how much SS depth they have, but I don’t see the Cards as sellers. They started off poorly, but they’ve been coming on strong. A lot of talent and pride there.
    Anderson might be the best SS on the market. A package for him and Giolito or Lynn seems plausible to me.
    If the Dodgers could snag a good right-handed bat to replace Trayce/ Peralta/Heyward (probably Trayce) that might be enough to cure the offense. But who?
    The Angels may not put Ohtani on the market, but if Mickey Moniak keeps producing, perhaps they would consider dealing Renfro or Taylor Ward. Ward was one of the guys the Dodgers were seeking in that Stripling-Joc deal that Moreno backed out of. He’s struggling this season but in 2022 had an .833 OPS with 23 HRs. Perhaps the Angels would take Trayce or Peralta plus a prospect.

    1. Duke, what do you think we should give up for Tim Anderson and either Lance Lynn or Giolito?

      1. Beats me.
        Depends on what the Chisox want. If they insist on ML-tested talent, Busch could be a good start plus Pepiot or Grove. Eddys Leonard maybe? Dodgers have a lot of younger prospects that would be appealing.
        I’d happily toss in Trayce in the hope he’d get a fair shake.
        Come to think of it, Jayson Heyward still has ties to Chicago and he might be open to a deal. But I think the Dodgers like having him around and also the fact that the Cubs are paying him.

  5. Loved the boys in blue wiping those silly ass grins off the braves faces ! Great comeback last night. Got to give it to doc , bringing phillips in was a brilliant move. Please don’t sit Will today!! Jd is really heating up. Please no Barnes or Thompson ! Bottom of the order is starting to come around, don’t throw a wet blanket on it!

  6. Outman needs to put on some Sinatra. “Thats life” Right now, he’s hitting a fastball about as well as ole blue eyes!

  7. If the Dodgers lose tonight, I, Alessandro, will no longer comment on this blog.

  8. I don’t think the Dodgers need to make a trade for a major leaguer but it would seem like they could swap a pitching prospect for a position player prospect to better balance their prospect depth.

  9. Great Game. Everyone is happy. So the Dodgers invite the Sinister Sisters back???? It’s a big FU to all Catholics. I am proud of my Catholic Heritage, and am disgusted and insulted with this organization.

    1. The same Organisation that took the moral high ground with Bauer for fear of blowback lol.

      1. Well to be fair every team in the league took that moral high ground, but point taken.

        Just disappointed in Kasten…

    2. The Catholic Church thinks that The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are dangerous to children….THE CATHOLIC CHURCH thinks that. Who is going to tell them? Oh how the irony is lost here gotta love it. Oh your so proud of your Catholic heritage…I’m disgusted and insulted that they’ve been molesting young children for generations. SICK!!

      1. So there weren homosexual child abusing pedophile perverts infiltrated in to the Catholic Church , and the hierarchy didn’t have the guts to call it out. I call them out, and I call out the HATEMONGERING PERVERTS in this group out too. Whose side are you on? The homosexual pedophile child abusers?

        1. Being homosexual and being a pedophile are NOT synonymous, not remotely close. Stop being a blind hater.

      2. The “yeah but look at what they did” answer is never a good look on anyone. There is no denying anybody who has half a brain and looks into it that this is an anti-catholic hate group. Then people talk about some good works they do. Big deal! Drug cartels in Mexico have all kinds of towns that love them for all the money they give them. It’s called payola. And that’s without the absolute scientific fact that we’re talking about mentally ill people.

      3. “They’ve?” … as in, the Catholic Church did this?

        Why is it that people are so willing to freely lie to promote an ideology?

        In a broader sense, one could make an argument that prohibiting priests to marry and to take an oath of celibacy – and putting them in positions of authority and in close proximity to boys – could lead to molestation. I don’t think celibacy vows are healthy nor realistic for men, but that’s for a more formal study.

        And to the extent that any diocese deliberately covered up molestation to avoid scandal or embarrassment should be condemned.

        … but to say the Catholic Church, as in its entire organization, history, beliefs, etc., molested children for generations is a complete bald faced lie in service of an ideology that, at its root, hates Christianity – and don’t tell me modern leftism does not hate Christianity. We both know you’d be lying.

        If your belief system or ideology depends on lies to make sense, your belief system and ideology sucks. Period.

        If a key component of your ideology is hatred of other groups or people, then your ideology sucks. Period.

        I’m not Catholic. I’m not Christian. I also don’t hate them.

        1. Yes, and the abusers were all homosexual pedophiles. Maybe you should mention that too. To give the story “,context”.

          1. Context is the first thing to go out the window when you have an agenda or are crippled by bias.

            Again, is it the Catholic Church that did this, or was is a product of motive and opportunity by pedophiles?

          2. Stop positioning those you disagree with where they are not. I have friends that are devout Catholics but are mad at the way the Church handled those Priests and Nuns that have molested kids. It is common to transfer those molesters to other churches instead of reporting them to the police. The Church however is much more than its failures, a lot more.

            A person that is born and wired gay faces condemnation from some people and organizations. Many, as can be expected, don’t appreciate those that condemn them. I don’t like satire that is crude and therefore don’t like the crude satire The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are performing. But like the Catholic Church they help those that are being hated, mocked, threatened, and questioned. Their help is not as broad as the Churches’ and is limited to those that are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more. They are being recognized for the help they give and not their warts.

            It has become too common for us to find something to get upset about that we would not have the slightest knowledge of if it were not for someone promoting it. If your urge is to boycott the Dodgers because they looked past the warts and recognized the contribution of an entity, aren’t you participating in cancel culture?

        2. This issue is not about sexual abuse by priests. But if you need to bring that up, you should prioritize going after teachers first: “The most widely cited study available, conducted in 2004 by the U.S. Education Department, estimated that 1-in-10 students will be sexually abused by a teacher during their years in school. One-in-10.”

    3. I feel the same way but I am torn as to what to do about it. The SoPI are not Jackie Robinson. Jackie never mocked or insulted caucasians. Boycott? What are people’s thoughts?

      1. Based on some of the above, I’d avoid soliciting opinions or thoughts from anyone posting on this subject.

      2. Old Bear, could you invite those gentlemen to comment on baseball and put aside their political-religious comments elsewhere? That’s why Mark gets angry and then wants to close the blog, please gentlemen, only baseball or sports in general.

        1. If it was not related to Dodger baseball, I would simply delete the comments. But the Dodgers brought this conversation on themselves by re-inviting this very controversial group.

  11. Why do I have this demon of discouragement, that won’t go away, constantly whispering in my ear that a combination or all of the following -Gonsolin, May, and Kershaw -may not be able to pitch in the post season due to injury ?

    I wonder why Thor is not included in these whisperings?

    1. You are asking the Blog community why voices in your head are whispering some names and not others?

  12. Could we PLEASE get back to baseball and determine what part of Ozuna’s body Bobby Millers 100 MPH pitch is going to hit. I vote for between the eyes.

  14. 7:20 ET

    Dodgers Lineup vs Braves Spencer Strider:

    Betts 2B
    Freeman 1B
    Smith C
    Muncy 3B
    Martinez DH
    Heyward RF
    Peralta LF
    Outman CF
    Rojas SS

    Bobby Miller P

    1. 05/23/23 Los Angeles Dodgers placed RHP Tyler Cyr on the 15-day injured list retroactive to May 21, 2023. Right shoulder Impingement.
      05/23/23 Los Angeles Dodgers transferred RHP Dustin May from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Right forearm strain.

      1. 05/23/23 Los Angeles Dodgers activated RHP Bobby Miller.
        05/23/23 Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of RHP Bobby Miller from Oklahoma City Dodgers.

  15. DODGERS SELECT BOBBY MILLER

    LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have selected contract of right-handed pitcher Bobby Miller and placed right-handed pitcher Tyler Cyr on the injured list with shoulder impingement, retroactive to May 21. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred right-handed pitcher Dustin May to the 60-day injured list.

    Miller, 24, will make his Major League debut this evening against the Atlanta Braves. The former 1st round selection (29th overall) out of the University of Louisville was 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA (9 ER/14.1 IP) and 12 strikeouts in four starts for Oklahoma City this year. Last season, he spent most of the season with Double-A Tulsa, going 6-6 with a 4.45 ERA (45 ER/91.0 I) and 117 strikeouts. He finished the campaign with Oklahoma City, going 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA (8 ER/21.1 IP) and 28 strikeouts against six walks in four starts for the Triple-A club. He was named the starting pitcher to the 2022 Sirius XM Futures Game that was played at Dodger Stadium, striking out three and allowing one run. In his three minor league seasons, he is a combined 10-10 with a 3.79 ERA (77 ER/183.0 IP) and 227 strikeouts.

    Cyr, 30, has appeared in two games for the Dodgers, allowing one hit in 1.2 scoreless innings. He has been in the Major Leagues parts of two seasons with Philadelphia (2022), Oakland (2022) and Los Angeles (2023) and has allowed four runs in 15.0 innings with 18 strikeouts. In eight minor league seasons, he is a combined, 19-13 with a 3.08 ERA (102 ER/298.1 IP) and 358 strikeouts in 233 games (three starts). He was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 10th round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of Embry-Riddle University.

  17. Strike Outman is sinking faster than the Titanic. He’s starting to make Belli look like a contact hitter!

    1. Bellinger is hitting .271 with 7 homers, 20 RBIs and only 31 K’s in 144 at bats. His OPS is over .800 at .830 and his OPS+ is 126. Outman has struck out 62 times in 159 at bats. His OPS is .850, but his OPS+ is the same as Bellinger. Cody seems to have found his swing.

        1. Dodger Belli was pretty damn good until the injury. 21 and 22 dragged his stats down and he did K too much, but his OPS was .819 for his 6 seasons in blue, he hit .248 over that time with an OPS+ of 118. He averaged 25 homers a year, and 74 RBI’s. We get those kinds of numbers from Outman, we will all be pretty happy. You take the four healthy years, and he averaged .270 with 32 bombs. His injury’s were the biggest contributors to his problems at the plate.

        2. Kudos Bobby Miller. I’m sure my hair is grayer and I know I don’t have any nails left.

        3. It would’ve been nice if the Dodgers would’ve kept Bellinger that way we wouldn’t have to be going through the trio outfielders that can only hit RHP. And not very good at doing that. An outfield of Betts Bellinger Outman would be nice. I never wanted the Dodgers to get rid of Bellinger.

      2. Nice to see Belli doing well.
        Also nice to see that Outman, now scuffling, is doing well enough to get compared to a former MVP.
        Of course Belli has more talent. He proved that a few years ago. He has cut down on his strikeouts because he has altered his swing to get more contact while reducing power.
        Another point of comparison.
        The Dodgers, I assume, are paying Outman the minium: $720,000.
        The Cubs are paying Belli $16.1 million.
        And the Cubs are still paying Heyward too.

  18. Worried for Smith’s health behind the plate. How many knocks to the head can he endure?

  20. From the 2nd to 5th inning, Miller impressed with his location. Repeat this again and he’s a keeper in the rotation.

  21. And they’re headed for the exits at Truist! Miller time was indeed a good time in Atlanta! Pretty impressive after laying an egg in St Louis and coming here with 2 rookie pitchers.

  23. Let’s get back to complaining about the 5th OF, or the back-up catcher!

    Bruns and Sheehan had nice outings in the minors. Would love to see both stretch out more.

    Miller looked good, too.

    2. There really isn’t a 5th outfielder. Peralta 116 plate appearances, Heyward 103, Thompson has to platoon with them against LHP. There’s also Taylor but he’s played the infield too, a utility guy. Add in Betts playing the infield too sometimes.

      There’s no 5th outfielder, let alone a 4th. Or are you talking about the complaints about Outman and Mark’s 5th outfielder comment about Outman.

      1. You are overthinking things Eric.

        ’twas a joke about how people stress about silly stuff.

        But obviously there IS a 5th OF.

    3. I’m high on Sheehan. He’s not ranked in the top 10 prospects, but he should be.

  24. Two in a row against the “best team in the NL”…..well, not any longer after our win tonight.

    Sad to see Outman struggling, but I hope he can adjust. Happy to see JD being JD. Will Smith better be re-signed. I’m okay with Rojas playing SS most of the time…love his defense. If he bats .225, I’m good with that too. Heck, Tre Turner is only batting .250.

    Almonte is making me feel better when I see him on my screen…..the entire bullpen has been great here in ATLANTA.

    Great to see Miller look better than Strider. I hope he can stick around and more importantly, not get hurt. We have enough of them.

  25. So what were his best pitches?

    Pretty cool Stone & Miller b2b wins.

    JDM heat.

  26. Holy shit.

    Dodgers’ Landon Knack, like ttonight’s starter, Bobby Miller, was scouted by Marty Lamb, who also was the drafting scout on Landon Knack, Devin Mann, Dalton Rushing, Walker Buehler, Will Smith, Chad Billingsley, A.J. Ellis, etc.

    Lamb also is credited with already graduated: Luke Raley, Zach Pop and J. Sheffield.

  27. I don’t know enough about scouting to interpret this. A lot of talent, obviously. But I assume that many other scouts also scouted these guys.
    Once in a while you hear a story about a single scout who believes in some obscure player and persuades a team to draft him late. The Angels’ Jered Walsh was such a story. He was a two-way player in college and it seemed like only scout believed in him…
    https://theathletic.com/999230/2019/05/29/i-used-to-be-mad-about-it-how-the-angels-jared-walsh-channeled-his-39th-round-draft-selection-and-became-a-big-leaguer/

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