Sound Bytes, or is it Sound Bites?

Posted By on May 28, 2023

  • What’s for breakfast? How about some Stone-Ground Deviled Rays?
  • If you have not been paying attention, maybe you have not noticed what The Bazooka has been doing: He has been taking 2-3 MPH off his fastball, and it is moving like crazy. He can still throw the Big Kahuna Heater occasionally, but hitters can time flat pitches… they can’t time movement!
  • As I suspected, Julio Urias’s bullpen session has been pushed back. I think his hamstring is worse than advertised. It may be a couple more weeks for him to return. Certainly not the end of May.
  • Mookie is starting to earn his pay!
  • Freddie is on an MVP Mission.
  • Justin Turner or JDM?
  • Michael Grove last night – 5.2 IP/5 H/0R/0 BB/7 K
  • I think Alex Vesia will be back soon. He has worked his ERA down to 4.66.

Fierce Lineup:

  1. Betts RF
  2. Freeman 1B
  3. Martinez DH
  4. Taylor LF
  5. Muncy 3B
  6. Vargas 2B
  7. Rojas SS
  8. Thompson CF
  9. Barnes C

Gavin Stone -P

Today is the day CT3, Rojas, Thompson, and Barnes breakout (with hives).

This article has 75 Comments

  1. EARLY GAME!!

    11:35 AM ET

    Dodgers (32-21) 1st Place NL West
    Rays (38-16) 1st Place AL East

    SP Gavin Stone R
    0-0 10.13 ERA 8.0IP 2K
    Josh Fleming L
    1-0 3.59 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    RF Mookie Betts R
    1B F. Freeman L
    DH J. Martinez R
    LF Chris Taylor R
    3B Max Muncy L
    2B M. Vargas R
    SS Miguel Rojas R
    CF T. Thompson R
    C A. Barnes R

    Dome
    In Domed Stadium

    What a Horrendous Dodger Lineup!!!
    Get Away Day and Give A Game Away Day!!!

  3. With injuries hampering the Dodgers’ rotation, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team could “potentially” target pitching at the trade deadline, but it will still be a while before the Dodgers know a firmer recovery timeline for Julio Urias or Dustin May. “Right now with where we are, it’s gonna be a little more shell game-ish if we have more injuries. But we’re thinking through that and trying to be as prepared as we can be if that happens,” Friedman told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters. May won’t be able to return until at least mid-July due to his placement on the 60-day IL, and Harris writes that May received a PRP injection as part of his treatment for a flexor pronator strain. Beyond the injuries, Noah Syndergaard’s rotation spot might also be a question mark as the righty continues to struggle.

  4. Taylor certainly deserving a shot at cleanup. Struck out 3 of last 4 times and 6 of last nine Including first one yesterday as his approach was ‘I don’t care what he is throwing I am swinging as hard as I can as if it is a heater’. So he got 3 offspeed and wasn’t even close. Thompson looked the same.
    Kershaw. A couple good innings then . That’s it. Same with their guy
    .
    Good luck Gavin!!!

  5. “with hives” 🙂 ..at least Rojas having meh AB’s with tolerable K rate, getting singles/doubles here and there.

  6. Saturday scores
    Sacramento 2, Oklahoma City 1
    Tulsa 12, Northwest Arkansas 0
    Great Lakes 5, Peoria 2
    Rancho Cucamonga 10, Lake Elsinore 6

    Sunday schedule
    1:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Andre Jackson, after opener) at Sacramento (Kyle Harrison)
    2 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jared Karros) vs. Lake Elsinore (Miguel Mendez)
    4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Emmet Sheehan) vs. NW Arkansas (Jonathan Bowlan)
    4:35 p.m.: Great Lakes (Maddux Bruns) at Peoria (Trent Baker)

  7. Today’s plan. Mookie and Freddie get on base-JD homer. Do this twice. Maybe a run somewhere else- like yesterday on wild pitch. Seven runs should do it.

  9. How is Tampa runs nine decent to very good hitters out there every game and the dodgers roll out this? Come on Friedman! Trace, Barnes same day? Why not give Freddie and Mookie day off too? Hell let’s run out nine.190 hitters today! We can afford it!

    1. The Rays have done a good job signing and developing International players. The Dodgers are getting closer with that process and should see some rewards soon.

  10. So let’s take a look at the facts:

    1. Our team has the best record in the NL.
    2. After a .500 start over the 1st 26 games, we have gone 29/8, a .700 winning percentage
    3. Even with the 13/13 start, we are still trending for 98 wins.
    4. Just won a series from the other best team in the NL in their park.
    5. Could win today and win a series from the best team in MLB.

    Yet, with all this, the negativism and the suggestions for improvement still abound. I honestly don’t get it. We root for an incredible organization who truly know what they are doing. The results continue to show that.

    Norcaldodgerfan, thank you for your post yesterday about Doc. He has this team winning in spite of having 2 rookie position players and now 2 rookie starting pitchers. Winning in spite of having 2 of our original starting pitchers on the IL and Gonsolin on the IL for over the 1st month of the season. He is a very good Manager period.

    1. Some fans cannot be happy unless they make themselves miserable! It’s difficult to do, but they try!

  12. Sorry if I sounded negative, but we’re carrying at least 3 position players who probably wouldn’t start in double a ball. I guess we’ve over achieved a little. Just would love to see a better lineup than we’re playing today

  13. Yep, I’ll wait a little while before I put the crow on the grill! Go trace!

  14. So that we don’t forget, Justin Turner was hitting .204 on May 27th last year. He ended up at .278.

    I feel like I have to remind some of you that every 10 minutes! 😉

  15. Taylor and Muncy go back-to-back and Thompson gets off the Schneid with a run scoring single. Luke Raley is playing his butt off in Tampa,

  16. I guess the way this game is going we should expect a three run homer from Barnes to clinch the win

  17. … and just like that, Gavin Stone gave it all back. They aren’t bombing him; they are just singling him to death!

  19. This game will make or break Gavin Stone.

    Is he a bulldog or a kitty cat?

    Sorry, Tony!

    1. We won’t know. Doc mercifully pulled the plug early on Stone. The beating too much to ask a prized rookie pitcher to overcome.

  20. As I said June will be interesting.
    But just think if we somehow win this game on the Barnes Grand Slam we will be 5-5 on this grueling road trip. Even with a loss 4-6 not too bad.
    Will Stone have to take it on the chin for 2 more innings? Lets see

  22. What a strange game!! but at the same time so fun!!! This Siri is a very fast CF

    1. Yes, Siri is a roadrunner, beep beep!

      He tracked the Vargas gapper like nothing.

  23. In Mexico we have a saying: “they kill you with pinches” that’s what the Rays do: lots of hits, stolen bases, good defensive plays

    1. Not watching…. why did Muncy come out of the game?
      Hoping it’s not an injury…

  28. Did Muncy injure his leg jogging after his HR?
    Hope he’s better soon.

  31. I was for giving James Outman a longer leash to see if he could get out of his slump
    But he looks so lost now that I think it’s probably hurting him more than helping.
    It’s a tough call for management, but it might be time for him to go down to OKC and figure out what’s up with his swing and get his confidence back.He’s just flailing away at pitches and missing them by feet not inches.
    We probably wouldn’t be in first place if it wasn’t for his play in the first part of the year
    We really need him to get back to the player that he was

  33. Who could ever imagined after the April Outman had, that we’d be talking about sending him down by the end of May? But it needs to happen. He’s completely lost it! And save a seat for Stone!

  34. I’m not a fan of leaving a pitcher in for 7 hits and 6 runs in one inning. That seems like conceding the game, especially in the second inning

  35. Tough to lose when you score ten runs. Starting pitching in a shambles! Next man up. Lets try Knack

  37. I said yesterday…

    “I agree with everybody on Thor. We’re way better off giving Knack (or almost any other of our prospects) a shot. They literally can’t be worse. ”

    Gavin Stone

    “Hold my beer”

  38. It has become painfully obvious dodger pitchers cannot put together a clean inning! Gavin may be a stud later on , but not now. Dodgers may not have a choice if Miller pitches well in his next start but to keep him in rotation. Syndergard reminds me of Matt Harvey, he has no confidence or put out pitch. I’m no expert
    But he looks completely done! I really believe Clayton will be ok. It’s been a rough stretch, but physically I feel he’s ok. Gonsolin is the ace right now. Mark is probably spot about knack. Give him a start if pepiot isn’t ready yet. Good for trace! 3for 3 with a. Walk and roberts pinch hits for him . Supposed to be better against right handed pitching right? Still don’t see Thompson going on a rear though. Barnes on the other hand is absolutely abysmal. Please bring up hunter.

  39. Fun game.

    Would love to see changes to addressing the running game, both in preventing and doing.

  40. Unfortunately, considering the state of our pitching and catching situation, the only way to offset other teams running game is to steal a few bases ourselves
    We don’t put enough pressure on other teams pitchers by getting one way leads, drawing throws and distracting them
    We go out to the job with a hammer in our hand. Teams like the rays have a toolbelt full of tools.

  41. It looks like Almonte is starting to be on a roll. Hopefully this is the start of Taylor getting on track. Outman is in a slump but what outfielder besides Betts has contributed more to this team this year. The starting pitching is in a bad place right now. The top of the lineup has carried the offense. The Dodgers are in first place in the division, but it’s a surprise to me considering how erratic they’ve been. But then again the other equasion is how the other teams in the division are doing.

    Just my 2 cents.

  42. For me it’s easy to look at this morning’s game as a victory. As roughed up as this team has been through they stood their own and certainly instilled some fear not only to the Rays but every team to face us further on as repairs are on their way. If you don’t feel pride after this last game then you ain’t a Dodgers fan.

  44. Thompson raised his average to .143 with his performance today. Taylor is up to .213. Martinez is hitting .273 now with an OPS over .900 and he has 10 homers. Still want JT??????? Muncy pulled something. Barnes is a black hole in the batting order. He hasn’t had a hit since Moby Dick was a minnow, Outman, Barnes and Thompson all need to be replaced. Maybe next spring the Dodger pitching gurus can work on holding runners on base. Rays stole 5 bases today and 10 in the series. They also need to teach the infielders to tag the base runner who is sliding in head first on the hand, not the torso like they did today. Muncy and Taylor both tagged the runners at third after their hands had already touched the base. Both out calls were overturned.

  45. Totally agree bear! I said a while back , somebody else said it also. If Barnes is going to stay on the roster make him bunt every single time! He cannot hit , period! Don’t hate the kid, he just needs to go! He would have been let go by 98percent of teams. Wonder what pitching move is next?

  46. If you look around baseball particularly managers, very few of them were good to great players. Aaron Boone was a good player. Not a great manager. Dusty baker was probably the best player/manager in todays game. Now what I’m getting to is this. Austin Barnes is a way below average mlb player. But. I watch him in the dugout when he’s not playing, and I honestly believe he will be a big league manager some day! He has all the heart and desire to manage in the show. Unfortunately not the talent to be a player that has an average career as a player. I would like to see him as a dodger coach , and even a manager some day. I think he has a future in coaching. I appreciate his effort on the field and in the dugout. Just think he’s going to be a lot better coaching than playing,.

    1. Well if playing and managing are inversley proportional then Barnes will be a Hall of Fame manager!

      1. Hopefully the Dodgers brass has the necessary brains/guts to force Barnes’ switch from player to coach SOON, so he can be that HOF manager for LA sooner rather than later.

  47. Dodgers need two players better then Thompson and Barnes and two starting pitchers and a legit closer that can come in and close a game in the ninth. If there going to stick with Taylor Rojas and Betts at shortstop things. Then that’s the areas we need improvement if we’re going to be a threat in playoffs. Right now it’s the Devil Rays that look like a threat. And I sure wouldn’t want to play them in the world series. With the roster we have now nope. But, after trade deadline things might look better.

    2. I’d love to play them in the WS! Are you sure that’s all you want? Two starting playoff pItchers and a closer. And two more players. AF, dial that right up!

  48. I’d love to see the Dodgers play the Rays or any team in the WS, because that would mean they were National League champs with a chance to become World Champs.

    I have always believed that you’re never as good as you are at your best and as bad as you are at your worse.

    I still believe in this team, and expect them to get better as the season progresses, especially the young players. And there are likely going to be player moves.

    No guarantees, but let’s hope that this year the Dodgers catch fire at the end of the season. Mark is definitely right about one thing. Progress is not linear.

  49. Nick Frasso was dominant for Tulsa last night returning to the mound after a 3 week absence. He pitched 3.0 innings with 35 pitches (24 strikes). He pitched to one over the minimum due to a batter reaching on an error. He struck out 4. The right-hander lowered his season ERA to 0.91.
    Sheehan relieved Frasso and allowed one run in six innings He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out nine. Sheehan lowered his ERA to 1.64.
    Pitching help is definitely on its way.

  50. How does Tampa do it with their budget? Truly amazing….all the big spenders should be ashamed. That team clearly has my respect. I hope they do beat out Houston this year.

    1. Part of Tampa’s plan is to sign and develop cheap talented International players and they have a number of them on their 26 man roster. Also Randy Arozarena was a great trade they stole from St. Louis and under team control payroll wise.

    2. Also Tampa has NO long term contracts they’re dealing with. Scout, Sign ,Develop and Promote from within is the key to success for an organization and the Rays do it as good as anybody.

  51. Taylor and Thompson tease us once again. I really believe Chris is a valuable bench piece. His defense is outstanding. When Kiki left Chris became Kiki. Batting average the same, defense practically same. Taylor just not the clubhouse presence that Kiki was. Think you have to keep him. Still believe if dodgers won’t get rid of Barnes, then release Thompson and bring up hunter. Carry 3 catchers. We have plenty of outfielders. God bless all that served and all still serving. Thanks for allowing us the freedom to enjoy our lives! It’s not the red against the blue, it’s the red white and blue that make us a great country! I truly believe the heart of this country is strong and vibrant. It’s all the so called leaders who need to work together for the good of the country ! Not being political, not at all. Just grateful for my life, my family, and my country! And really appreciate the freedom to be baseball fan for 60 plus years. Thanks mark for giving us this site to enjoy, vent, bitch, and smile and love our dodgers! Happy holiday everyone!

  52. Happy Memorial Day to everyone!! As we all enjoy this day with family and friends, think of the fallen who gave us the freedom to speak our minds and enjoy the wonderful Dodger site that Mark ,Bear and others have provided us with.

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