Posted By Mark Timmons on June 9, 2023 June 9, 2023Mark Timmons
8 W; 4 L; 2.95 ERA; 1.09 WHIP; 70 IP; 93 K’s – Not bad for an old man. Enjoy his last season as a Dodger – I hear he is seething, and it is his right! Has it ever occurred to anyone that maybe Clayton has figured out his back problem?
I GUARANTEE that Andrew Friedman will not pay Ohtani anything close to $500 Million! Whoever gets him will have a circus – just like the Angels. Instead, AF should re-sign Urias, and keep trying to extend Will Smith. Stay the course with the farm.
I keep telling you that you have to be patient with David Peralta. He had back surgery after the season last year, and while he is in great shape, it takes time to recover from back surgery. He is a Dodger for two reasons: (1) He is a Gold Glove Caliber LF’er, and (2) He mashes RHP! For his career, he has a .291 BA against right-handers and a .346 OB% to go with a .825 OPS. After a 4-5 day, he’s hitting .261 and is just warming up. You will be glad he is on this team.
Chris Taylor is a player where OPS tells the tale. If his OPS is .800, he’s good. He’s at .750 and climbing!
It was good to see James Outman garner some success yesterday. His reverse splits are puzzling. He is hitting .279 against LHP but with 1 HR, and .218 against RHP with 8 HR. It’s obvious he has changed his approach against LHP. In my opinion, this is a better team with JO in CF, but sometimes he needs to sit to clear his head.
IF Austin Barnes has to go on the DL, there is only one other catcher on the roster and that is Diego Cartaya. What harm could it do to give him a cup of coffee in the Show? It could accelerate his development. One never knows, and no one has to be DFA’ed! Of course, he’s not ready but I like to “push” prospects more than AF does!
Michael Grove goes tonight in Philly against Ranger Suarez, who has a 5.47 ERA, but that might be a fooler. Let’s hope Grove can string together back-to-back good games. Jonny DeLuca should go again tonight!
Predictably, the Doc Haters came out yesterday, but the consensus is that Doc Must Stay!
Other Stuff
Payton Martin (watch him): https://www.dodgers2080.com/dodgers-prospects-payton-martin-continues-to-shine-with-quakes/
Jared Karros: https://www.dodgers2080.com/dodgers-prospect-jared-karros-wins-cal-league-pitcher-of-the-month/
This article has 92 Comments
Mark –
As usual, I find myself in agreement!
I agree with you on Kershaw and how this could be the last we see of him as a Dodger. The Dodgers may also have taken their strong fan base support for granted and – given their current PR debacle – I am really curious on how future attendance may be impacted.
You were right on Peralto; he is looking like an important piece the rest of the way. Also, Outman has impressed me with his composure during the last monnth of troubles and hope he can make the necessary adjustments.
I like what I see in Miller, Grove and Robertson too. I like that the Dodgers are giving the opportiunities to the young guys to see what they have. In fact, I am willing to settle for a wild card slot in the playoffs to find out.
You are right about Taylor too. I get frustrated watching his big swing every time at bat but his value as a utility player – maybe a even full-time SS – cannot be denied.
I am really impressed with Ohtani but I question $500M for any one player and how a potential debilitating injury could impact the future of any franchise. The upside of signing him could be huge but so is the downside IMO.
Glad to see LADT still going strong and thanks for all you do that keeps it so!
It interesting to me that so many here seem to think everyone is religious. This is just not true, in fact numbers have been declining rapidly. In 2021 the number was down to 47% of Americans with Catholics taking the biggest hit (down to 21%) I get that many here are, but there is no way in hell that this is going to effect attendance in the slightest bit. Los Angeles is a liberal city with a huge LGBTQ population and while this pisses off Christians that make up 47% of the population, what about the other 53%. Of course, I agree that religion and politics have no business in the sports world, but it appears that is not going to happen.
I do not think the majority is religious. I just believe that is their right to believe what they want as long as it does not infringe on other’s rights.
It’s a bad decision for the Dodgers to honor a hate group. That’s the point. It doesn’t matter if sisters are hating on 1% of the population. It’s disrespectful to that group and others.
Let the sisters do whatever they want somewhere else. The Dodgers should not be promoting hate.
No one is passed off at the LBG++ community. No one cares. Hit the bathhouse. Wear a dress. Cut your pecker off. No one cares. Just keep it away from kids. It’s inappropriate. Stay in your bathroom. Boys have a penis. Girls have a vagina.
Some (not many……..yet) men have removed their penis and some of those (again not many) can even be pretty, but those are not a woman. A person can pretend all they want but they are only pretending and if they have success selling to others then why all the noise? Because they demand that all others to be fools. Beliefs are not a choice and even they don’t believe they are woman. Because they know the truth. They want to legally make us all fools.
I’m not religious either but that doesn’t stop me from believing the event schedule for June 16th is bullshit.
I’m an atheist. I have no issue with a “pride night” or the Dodgers marketing to any specific group in the LA community. But there is a difference between inviting leaders and prominent members of a community and inviting (and giving an award) to a group that openly mocks a specific religion, especially in a hyper sexualized way. And I’d say the same if it was an atheist group (of which I am one) who is offensive and disrespectful to any religion.
I loved George Carlin. But I would not want my kids (when they were young) to be exposed to his standup act. Especially at a family friendly sporting event. He was very political and often vulgar. I found him very funny. To watch in my own home. But I would have been 100% against George being the opening act at a ballgame. That would have been crazy.
I’m not sure this will affect ticket sales. But it has effected the reputation of the Dodger organization. And possibly the organization’s relationship with arguably their greatest pitcher of all time. And that’s a shame.
In case anybody is curious. This is the groups Twitter account. I can’t understand how anybody thinks a group like this should be honored at a baseball game.
This just a perfectly reasonable take on the subject that, up until just a few years ago, nearly everyone would agree with.
I don’t think that expressing yourself by deliberately mocking another group’s beliefs or customs or identity in any way shows tolerance or acceptance – yet these same groups demand it, increasingly violently.
I never thought for a second that Kershaw would really sign with Texas. Now I’m not so sure. If he did he’d be just another data point among there many such examples of people moving out of California to places like Florida and Texas. I know a few personally who have done that, already. There are a LOT of them. If this continues, Americans will only become more separated, in this case regionally.
If there’s no off-ramp to all of this it’s not going to end well.
CA is in trouble. I won’t make political statements, but property crime is out of control. Transients everywhere. Open drug use. There is a reason I rarely go to Dodger games anymore. Everything in CA costs a fortune. Gas, hotels and of course anything related to going to a Dodger game (and giving Frank McCourt my money for parking makes me feel ill). Traffic in LA is awful. And then you have the endless homeless encampments. A lot has changed in the last 20 years. Back when I went to a couple games a month. The only thing that improved was the Dodgers record.
Last time I went, we parked at Union Station, 8 bucks, and rode the shuttle over. Dropped us off right at our level. Was still expensive for food and drinks though. 8 bucks for a Dodger dog??? Are you kidding me???
Huge Carlin fan. Yep ol George could curse with the best of them. But at one time, he was as clean as anyone. I had an album of his that did not have a single curse word in it and it was hilarious. He introduced Al Sleet on that album, the Hippy Dippy Weatherman. Lets check the radar, well the radar is showing a bunch of thunderstorms north east of Secaucus New Jersey, but it is also picking up a flight of Russian ICBM’s, so I wouldn’t sweat the thundershowers! Funny guy. He also did a great bit about the Indians having first sergeants.
International TV revenues.
Baseball going global. It’s a thing, and Ohtani is now the game’s global ambassador.
People who say Ohtani could get a $500 million contract are not wrong, but it’s also possible he would prefer a deal like $300 million for five years. He might prefer another run at free agency. It is also possible that the deals could get creative, with owners offering equity in franchise.
Is there a “circus” in Anaheim because of Ohtani? I don’t know what that means.
Good point Matt about the return in merchandise Ohtani would bring. Plus it would make the Dodgers even bigger in the Asian/Japanese market regarding prospects and media.
Cartaya: Average hovering around .200 still. I find it curious that the Dodgers do not play him every day. They appear to give him 2-3 days off a week, not even using him much at DH.
Josue de Paula has had a slow start at A ball, average in the Austin Barnes range of .150. Still only 18 years old and probably THE best hitting prospect in the Dodgers system. Hopefully he can turn it on soon and not become anohter Joel Guzman. Yikes, there I said it…
Will the game be on tonight or called because of the smoke and dust on the east coast ?
Yes a lot of Merch sales. But what if injured after 2 years. Its a big risk.
And as that famous guy once said-‘Can’t we all just get along’?. But sadly not happening anytime soon
Kersh went off on David Bell yesterday after Barnes was hit. It doesn’t matter at this point what the fan base thinks. Kersh is a Christian, and he has strong beliefs. He is really irked about the situation, but what goes on underneath, only Kersh knows. I do believe it will not be all that easy to retain his services if he decides to continue his career. The chances of him going home to Texas have increased with this decision by the Dodgers. Today is Jeff Dominiques birthday. Happy Birthday Jefe! Hope you have a great day.
* With experience, Vargas will learn not to check swing on strike one, especially ahead in a count. Take it or let it eat, but never check swing on strike one. He went from an advantage 2 and 0 count into a double play.
* Are we in the Twilight Zone, sometimes? Mookie has 2 chances to be on 3rd with one out, including when the ball got away from the cacther with 1 out. When he did get to third he looked like he was tagging on the flair to center with 2 outs. And Freddie not sliding at home is pretty weird. And in this game it didn’t matter. Other times it does.
How nice to see a game where we used 2 pitchers, total in a win.
i Love to see CK go 7 and look great.
Freddie could have very easily gotten injured on that play, and of all the Dodgers, he is the one player they really cannot afford to have injured. But it worked out all right. Cartaya might be on the roster, but no way he gets called up if Barnes hit’s the IL. He is nowhere near MLB ready.
Other teams are usually more desperate for players. It’s traditionally harder to crack a Dodger line up. This year is an exception and I welcome it. Other teams have had less depth and more chances to advance.
Outman has more power than Todd did. Hollandsworth though did not strike out at the rate Outman does and he also was a career .273 hitter in 12 seasons. He never hit more than 19 in any season, and he finished with 98 career long balls. Career OBP was .767. No word on Barnes yet and starting lineup just posted. Betts, Freeman, Smith, Martinez, Muncy, Taylor, Vargas, DeLuca, Rojas.
His OPS as a Dodger was a little over .700. They traded him with another guy for Tom Goodwin. Talking about bad trades, everyone was talking about Alvarez-Fields. How about Oneil Cruz for Tony Watson?
18 y.o. tho when he was moved. Kids look good one season on Cape Cod then drift out of the vibe.
Hollandsworth was OK, but I think we fans expected more from a guy wins ROY.
If the Dodger brass had been on a mission to reduce strikeouts, there were two obvious moves they could have made.
One would have been to trade for Luis Arraez, the first guy to flirt with .400 in decades. He’s a Carew/Gwynn type with amazing bat-to-ball skills and not much power. Marlins gave up SP Pedro Lopez for him. As I recall it, the Dodgers were interested in Lopez, but never heard them connected to Arraez–perhaps because they were so committed to Vargas.
The other move would have been to sign FA Masataka Yoshida from Japan, who is basically Ichiro Lite. Can’t fault the Dodger brass with missing him because the Red Sox swooped in with a big offer when he was posted. So far, it’s paying off: an .863 OPS, an .381 OBP, with 23 walks against 24 Ks.
Meanwhile, Will Smith has progressed into the top tier of bat control. This season he’s walked 28 times against 22 Ks. OPB of .399, second to Freddie’s .407 and ahead of Mookie’s .363.
As for today’s game, am I the only fan surprised that RP Nick Robertson didn’t get into the game? He should have been rested since his fine debut. Did I miss something? Is he nursing an injury? Did he get sent back to OKC on the RP shuttle?
SP Michael Grove R
0-2 8.14 ERA PRIM
Ranger Suarez L
1-2 5.47 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
DH J. Martinez R
3B Max Muncy L
LF Chris Taylor R
2B M. Vargas R
CF Jonny DeLuca R
SS Miguel Rojas R
Arizona Complex League: Left-hander Mike Montgomery, who signed a minor league deal Tuesday, was assigned to the ACL Dodgers
Thursday scores
El Paso 4, Oklahoma City 3 (10 innings)
Arkansas 9, Tulsa 5
Lake County 7, Great Lakes 2
Rancho Cucamonga 7, Modesto 3
Friday schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Yon Castro) vs. Lake County (Ethan Hankins)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Emmet Sheehan) vs. Arkansas (TBD)
5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone) at El Paso (Jay Groome)
7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jared Karros) at Modesto (Marcelo Perez)
That’s just a mitigating factor in terms of price.
Every player can get hurt. Teams can hedge the investment with insurance.
Early in his career with the Angels, an injury kept him off the mound but he was still an effective DH. All of this could be factored into a negotiation.
Normally you would not use your closer in a tie game on the road.
Yes, I know Bear, but the need is still there, especially if the Dodgers continue to have injuries to their SP’s.
In a pinch, that guy is Evan Phillips. Why pay a certified closer 13-19 mil a year or more?
I have no problems with Phillips, but he’s not quite good enough to be a closer, IMO.
And a certified closer would mask the holes in the rest of the bullpen.
It turns out Ferguson is not a situational lefty, either.
I think this is all part of Caleb’s lesson plan (sarcasm intended). We were told to sit and watch his development and that the blow up in Cincy was a one-off and all part of a grand scheme to develop him for pressure situations. Hard lesson and a failure in round #1.
Martinez lead off double in 8th, no conscious effort to move him over. Roberts game when he played was small ball and speed, guess those days and philosophy are gone. Looks like Friedman needs to go yardsaling and find a couple reliable relievers. Wouldn’t Robertson made sense in the ninth?
Robertson is a rookie, besides Ferguson was brought to try to handle the Phillies power left handed hitters. I think Caleb should have started the game and would have been VGonzalez in the 9th.
All these relievers seems to be having a similar problem with their delivery/release point.
You brought him up for a reason, use him and find out what you have. Being a rookie did not scare Steve Howe when he came up from AA in 1980. He went on to be the Rookie of the Year. Find out what kind of makeup he has.
It is over and nothing will change that. The team has not played well on the road all year. Maybe the bullpen arms are stressed because they have been used so much. At this rate, this BP could be gassed by the end of July. Starters not going at least 6 really hurts the staff and right now, there are two MLB class starters on this roster, Kershaw and Gonsolin. Miller has looked good so far, and lets hope he keeps it going with a nice performance today. If the Yankees did not scare him, the Phillies sure won’t. But they need good starting pitching and they need it yesterday. And right now there is no help coming from AAA. Stone got lit up again yesterday. They can either try and trade for help, or hope May and Urias get back sooner than later. Andriese and Erlin are the only two starters at AAA with any real experience in the majors. I do not believe Grove is a viable option in the rotation permanently. He sure has not looked the part his last two starts. Oh, I hate the opener theory. Let the starter face the guys he needs to get out.
Yes they have, but it has bitten the Dodgers in the ass more than once. I simply think having a set job is the best thing for all concerned. Tampa might train their pitchers that way, by the way, how many championship banners hang in the Trop???? Thats right none.
May is a BIG “if” whether he comes back at all this season. And Miller’s regular-season usage must be “rationed” carefully if he’s to be effective come post-season.
I’m being honest here when I say this…..Guys like Thor or Grove should possibly have to pitch the entire 8 innings no matter how many runs they give up. That way we give our BP and much needed day off. Here is the scenario I’m laying out for that to happen.
Why should these bums pitch 4 innings, give up a ton of runs, and then go to the shower while needlessly stressing out the BP? If we’re down by 4 or more runs after their initial 4 innings, keep them in and let them finish. If they allow 15 runs, so what? Thor for instance is making about 15 million, right? Well, let him pitch to earn it. If we’re down by 3 or less, I suppose you could think of still trying to win the game and bring the BP in.
SP Bobby Miller R
2-0 1.06 ERA
SP Aaron Nola R
5-4 4.30 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Martinez R
LF D. Peralta L
RF J. Heyward L
SS Chris Taylor R
CF James Outman L
Transactions
Triple-A: Left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery assigned to Oklahoma City
Friday scores
Oklahoma City 14, El Paso 10
Tulsa 5, Arkansas 4
Great Lakes 5, Lake County 0
Modesto 6, Rancho Cucamonga 4
Saturday schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Maddux Bruns) vs. Lake County (Rodney Boone)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Landon Knack) vs. Arkansas (Ethan Lindow)
5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Mike Montgomery) at El Paso (Matt Waldron)
6:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (TBD) at Modesto (TBD)
Ferguson should not pitch in high leverage situations for some time. His confidence seems damaged. Rather would have V-Gone in close games as the primary lefthanded reliever.
Grove has very good stuff but he is not consistent enough yet.
Stone got hammered again yesterday at OKC. He is sinking faster than a Stone (sorry, could not resist).
The low averages of too many hitters are finally creeping up on the Dodgers. Against good pitching all those low averages are exposed and it is costing us games lately.
Actually, you love to say it.
100%!
But how about that Bobby Miller? The Dodgers’ new ROY candidate just seems so locked in.
And how about Mookie? His ability to play 2B (and SS) enabled Roberts to load the OF with lefty hitters. Peralta homered and doubled, and Outman came through with a double, walk and two runs scored.
As I’ve been writing this, YouTube is showing highlights of the As-Brewers game. Ex-Dodger prospect Ryan Noda had a great game. He’s been good all season, with a .401 OBP fueling his .849 OPS. He was blocked by Freddie and, as I recall it, was lost in the Rule 5 draft.
I assume Noda’s success must give hope to a guy like OKC’s Devin Mann, who is having a fine season but ranks well below Busch in prospect rankings. I don’t recall Noda or Luke Raley, now a cog in the Rays machine, getting much love from the prospect rankers.
trueblue.la is a fun blog to read. This year they are doing flashbacks of the 1963 season. Below is a piece of one of the articles.
The never-ending hot seat
Dodgers manager Walt Alston has been rumored to be on the hot seat this year, at which he expressed frustration earlier in the season. To start this week with the loss, the Dodgers’ fifth straight, the Dodgers fell to 27-23, four games out in the National League standings, in third place.
Red Smith in a syndicated column wrote that Alston is not properly appreciated. From the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York:
Perhaps there have been other managers who got as little credit for winning and as much blame for losing as Walter Alston does, but their names do not come to mind.
In his nine full seasons — now the longes unbroken term in the majors — Alston’s teams have won two World Series and three pennants and tied for a fourth. They were second three times and missed the first division only once. That single sickening plunge had a sequel that would have raised any other manager to a permanent place in history beside miracle man George Stallings, for the very next year Alston steered that seventh-place club through a pennant playoff to the championship of the universe.
The only permanent place for reserved for Walter is on the griddle.
The Unabomber died today at a medical facility in NC. He had been in Super-Max prison here in Colorado about 8 miles from me in Florence. He was transferred to the medical center in 2021. He was 81. Don’t hear much complaining about Peralta lately, nor Heyward.
Pretty sure the Unabomber was a Giants fan.
Pretty cool stat re Miller, found on mlb.com:
“… Miller is the only pitcher in AL/NL history to go 3-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA while compiling at least 23 strikeouts and allowing fewer than 15 hits in his first four games. Sure, that’s a bit of a mouthful, but put a simpler way: no pitcher has ever started his career quite like Miller. ”
I say we keep him. Sure hope Julio comes back strong.
To me, May and Buhler are big question marks. If AF & Associates feel the same way, I think Dodgers will target proven SPs and RPs in the trade season.
Kershaw has a right to be ticked off at the Dodgers. He has defined the term pitcher this year. Great competitor. Could he be a Ranger next year? I hope not. Would love to see him pitch his entire career in LA. Seager is having a good year in Texas after being injured. Let’s stop the Doc bashing. In my opinion, he is the second greatest manager in Dodger history behind Walter Alston, even though I’m still ticked at Alston for not letting Drysdale get the last three outs in the 1962 playoff against the Giants!! Roberts’ winning pct. is right up there with the best at this point in his career.
Bobby Miller is the real deal, and he KNOWS it! Stone not ready. Grove is a little better, still iffy. Mookie needs to cut back on strikeouts in my opinion. Wish his BA was as high as it was in Boston. I think he could steal more. Don’t get me wrong. Mookie, Freddy, and Will are the most valuable Dodgers. And, Mookie being able to play three positions shows what a superstar he is. I agree; no way will Friedman give Ohtani $500 million. To be honest I hope he stays with the Angels, though I doubt it. This is my first time on this site. It is outstanding, by the way. I go way back to 1955 when I stayed home from school and watched Johnny Podres in his rookie year beat the Yankees in game seven. Podres was one of the greatest big game pitchers in Dodger history.
Mark –
As usual, I find myself in agreement!
I agree with you on Kershaw and how this could be the last we see of him as a Dodger. The Dodgers may also have taken their strong fan base support for granted and – given their current PR debacle – I am really curious on how future attendance may be impacted.
You were right on Peralto; he is looking like an important piece the rest of the way. Also, Outman has impressed me with his composure during the last monnth of troubles and hope he can make the necessary adjustments.
I like what I see in Miller, Grove and Robertson too. I like that the Dodgers are giving the opportiunities to the young guys to see what they have. In fact, I am willing to settle for a wild card slot in the playoffs to find out.
You are right about Taylor too. I get frustrated watching his big swing every time at bat but his value as a utility player – maybe a even full-time SS – cannot be denied.
I am really impressed with Ohtani but I question $500M for any one player and how a potential debilitating injury could impact the future of any franchise. The upside of signing him could be huge but so is the downside IMO.
Glad to see LADT still going strong and thanks for all you do that keeps it so!
It interesting to me that so many here seem to think everyone is religious. This is just not true, in fact numbers have been declining rapidly. In 2021 the number was down to 47% of Americans with Catholics taking the biggest hit (down to 21%) I get that many here are, but there is no way in hell that this is going to effect attendance in the slightest bit. Los Angeles is a liberal city with a huge LGBTQ population and while this pisses off Christians that make up 47% of the population, what about the other 53%. Of course, I agree that religion and politics have no business in the sports world, but it appears that is not going to happen.
I do not think the majority is religious. I just believe that is their right to believe what they want as long as it does not infringe on other’s rights.
It’s a bad decision for the Dodgers to honor a hate group. That’s the point. It doesn’t matter if sisters are hating on 1% of the population. It’s disrespectful to that group and others.
Let the sisters do whatever they want somewhere else. The Dodgers should not be promoting hate.
No one is passed off at the LBG++ community. No one cares. Hit the bathhouse. Wear a dress. Cut your pecker off. No one cares. Just keep it away from kids. It’s inappropriate. Stay in your bathroom. Boys have a penis. Girls have a vagina.
Some (not many……..yet) men have removed their penis and some of those (again not many) can even be pretty, but those are not a woman. A person can pretend all they want but they are only pretending and if they have success selling to others then why all the noise? Because they demand that all others to be fools. Beliefs are not a choice and even they don’t believe they are woman. Because they know the truth. They want to legally make us all fools.
I’m not religious either but that doesn’t stop me from believing the event schedule for June 16th is bullshit.
I concur.
Agree.
Yep.
I’m an atheist. I have no issue with a “pride night” or the Dodgers marketing to any specific group in the LA community. But there is a difference between inviting leaders and prominent members of a community and inviting (and giving an award) to a group that openly mocks a specific religion, especially in a hyper sexualized way. And I’d say the same if it was an atheist group (of which I am one) who is offensive and disrespectful to any religion.
I loved George Carlin. But I would not want my kids (when they were young) to be exposed to his standup act. Especially at a family friendly sporting event. He was very political and often vulgar. I found him very funny. To watch in my own home. But I would have been 100% against George being the opening act at a ballgame. That would have been crazy.
I’m not sure this will affect ticket sales. But it has effected the reputation of the Dodger organization. And possibly the organization’s relationship with arguably their greatest pitcher of all time. And that’s a shame.
In case anybody is curious. This is the groups Twitter account. I can’t understand how anybody thinks a group like this should be honored at a baseball game.
https://twitter.com/sfsisters/status/1511042141195317266?s=46&t=QLZL6rUStVTcnhF7gF-Qig
This just a perfectly reasonable take on the subject that, up until just a few years ago, nearly everyone would agree with.
I don’t think that expressing yourself by deliberately mocking another group’s beliefs or customs or identity in any way shows tolerance or acceptance – yet these same groups demand it, increasingly violently.
I never thought for a second that Kershaw would really sign with Texas. Now I’m not so sure. If he did he’d be just another data point among there many such examples of people moving out of California to places like Florida and Texas. I know a few personally who have done that, already. There are a LOT of them. If this continues, Americans will only become more separated, in this case regionally.
If there’s no off-ramp to all of this it’s not going to end well.
CA is in trouble. I won’t make political statements, but property crime is out of control. Transients everywhere. Open drug use. There is a reason I rarely go to Dodger games anymore. Everything in CA costs a fortune. Gas, hotels and of course anything related to going to a Dodger game (and giving Frank McCourt my money for parking makes me feel ill). Traffic in LA is awful. And then you have the endless homeless encampments. A lot has changed in the last 20 years. Back when I went to a couple games a month. The only thing that improved was the Dodgers record.
Last time I went, we parked at Union Station, 8 bucks, and rode the shuttle over. Dropped us off right at our level. Was still expensive for food and drinks though. 8 bucks for a Dodger dog??? Are you kidding me???
Huge Carlin fan. Yep ol George could curse with the best of them. But at one time, he was as clean as anyone. I had an album of his that did not have a single curse word in it and it was hilarious. He introduced Al Sleet on that album, the Hippy Dippy Weatherman. Lets check the radar, well the radar is showing a bunch of thunderstorms north east of Secaucus New Jersey, but it is also picking up a flight of Russian ICBM’s, so I wouldn’t sweat the thundershowers! Funny guy. He also did a great bit about the Indians having first sergeants.
Apparently not with you posting either.
500M but how much Merch will he sell and extra tickets will he sell??
Not often a guy like this comes on the market. Dodgers will be players make no mistake about it.
The3 Dodgers pretty much sell out, so I think it would be jersey sales only.
Not tickets as much as revenue elsewhere on the balance sheets.
Merch will definitely escalate.
International TV revenues.
Baseball going global. It’s a thing, and Ohtani is now the game’s global ambassador.
People who say Ohtani could get a $500 million contract are not wrong, but it’s also possible he would prefer a deal like $300 million for five years. He might prefer another run at free agency. It is also possible that the deals could get creative, with owners offering equity in franchise.
Is there a “circus” in Anaheim because of Ohtani? I don’t know what that means.
Good point Matt about the return in merchandise Ohtani would bring. Plus it would make the Dodgers even bigger in the Asian/Japanese market regarding prospects and media.
Cartaya: Average hovering around .200 still. I find it curious that the Dodgers do not play him every day. They appear to give him 2-3 days off a week, not even using him much at DH.
Josue de Paula has had a slow start at A ball, average in the Austin Barnes range of .150. Still only 18 years old and probably THE best hitting prospect in the Dodgers system. Hopefully he can turn it on soon and not become anohter Joel Guzman. Yikes, there I said it…
Will the game be on tonight or called because of the smoke and dust on the east coast ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Game will be on.
Yes a lot of Merch sales. But what if injured after 2 years. Its a big risk.
And as that famous guy once said-‘Can’t we all just get along’?. But sadly not happening anytime soon
Most of the US gets along, David.
Don’t worry about the extremes.
Kersh went off on David Bell yesterday after Barnes was hit. It doesn’t matter at this point what the fan base thinks. Kersh is a Christian, and he has strong beliefs. He is really irked about the situation, but what goes on underneath, only Kersh knows. I do believe it will not be all that easy to retain his services if he decides to continue his career. The chances of him going home to Texas have increased with this decision by the Dodgers. Today is Jeff Dominiques birthday. Happy Birthday Jefe! Hope you have a great day.
That’s David Bell, not Buddy (his father) or Gus (grandfather).
Your problem, Bear, is your baseball memory goes back too far. Too many names to sort through.
Thanks Blue, but remember, all Bells look alike! And it is fixed…LOL
* With experience, Vargas will learn not to check swing on strike one, especially ahead in a count. Take it or let it eat, but never check swing on strike one. He went from an advantage 2 and 0 count into a double play.
* Are we in the Twilight Zone, sometimes? Mookie has 2 chances to be on 3rd with one out, including when the ball got away from the cacther with 1 out. When he did get to third he looked like he was tagging on the flair to center with 2 outs. And Freddie not sliding at home is pretty weird. And in this game it didn’t matter. Other times it does.
How nice to see a game where we used 2 pitchers, total in a win.
i Love to see CK go 7 and look great.
Freddie could have very easily gotten injured on that play, and of all the Dodgers, he is the one player they really cannot afford to have injured. But it worked out all right. Cartaya might be on the roster, but no way he gets called up if Barnes hit’s the IL. He is nowhere near MLB ready.
Why is it that other teams can develop players and they are in the mayor league faster than the Dodger players.
Because very few other teams win 111 games?
Just maybe?
Other teams are usually more desperate for players. It’s traditionally harder to crack a Dodger line up. This year is an exception and I welcome it. Other teams have had less depth and more chances to advance.
Outman > Hollandsworth?
Outman has more power than Todd did. Hollandsworth though did not strike out at the rate Outman does and he also was a career .273 hitter in 12 seasons. He never hit more than 19 in any season, and he finished with 98 career long balls. Career OBP was .767. No word on Barnes yet and starting lineup just posted. Betts, Freeman, Smith, Martinez, Muncy, Taylor, Vargas, DeLuca, Rojas.
“Career OBP .767”
And we shipped him out? Lol….
TH was ok but not what we wanted. JO giving me same vibe – trade material.
His OPS as a Dodger was a little over .700. They traded him with another guy for Tom Goodwin. Talking about bad trades, everyone was talking about Alvarez-Fields. How about Oneil Cruz for Tony Watson?
Cruz was in the Dodger system? That’s wild.
18 y.o. tho when he was moved. Kids look good one season on Cape Cod then drift out of the vibe.
Hollandsworth was OK, but I think we fans expected more from a guy wins ROY.
If the Dodger brass had been on a mission to reduce strikeouts, there were two obvious moves they could have made.
One would have been to trade for Luis Arraez, the first guy to flirt with .400 in decades. He’s a Carew/Gwynn type with amazing bat-to-ball skills and not much power. Marlins gave up SP Pedro Lopez for him. As I recall it, the Dodgers were interested in Lopez, but never heard them connected to Arraez–perhaps because they were so committed to Vargas.
The other move would have been to sign FA Masataka Yoshida from Japan, who is basically Ichiro Lite. Can’t fault the Dodger brass with missing him because the Red Sox swooped in with a big offer when he was posted. So far, it’s paying off: an .863 OPS, an .381 OBP, with 23 walks against 24 Ks.
Meanwhile, Will Smith has progressed into the top tier of bat control. This season he’s walked 28 times against 22 Ks. OPB of .399, second to Freddie’s .407 and ahead of Mookie’s .363.
As for today’s game, am I the only fan surprised that RP Nick Robertson didn’t get into the game? He should have been rested since his fine debut. Did I miss something? Is he nursing an injury? Did he get sent back to OKC on the RP shuttle?
7:05 PM ET
Dodgers (36-27)
Phillies (30-32)
SP Michael Grove R
0-2 8.14 ERA PRIM
Ranger Suarez L
1-2 5.47 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
DH J. Martinez R
3B Max Muncy L
LF Chris Taylor R
2B M. Vargas R
CF Jonny DeLuca R
SS Miguel Rojas R
Partly-cloudy-day
36% Precipitation
70° Wind 8 mph L-
Addendum to the above:
Dodgers going with an opener. With the Phils having lefties at the top of the lineup and with Grove’s relative trouble with LHB, makes sense to me.
Arizona Complex League: Left-hander Mike Montgomery, who signed a minor league deal Tuesday, was assigned to the ACL Dodgers
Thursday scores
El Paso 4, Oklahoma City 3 (10 innings)
Arkansas 9, Tulsa 5
Lake County 7, Great Lakes 2
Rancho Cucamonga 7, Modesto 3
Friday schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Yon Castro) vs. Lake County (Ethan Hankins)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Emmet Sheehan) vs. Arkansas (TBD)
5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone) at El Paso (Jay Groome)
7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jared Karros) at Modesto (Marcelo Perez)
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Julio Urías will not start on Sunday. Left hamstring didn’t respond in last bullpen session. #Dodgers
Great news
Let him breathe – hammies are tricky – no rush coz he’s too valuable .
I bet Peralta’s chuffed…..
No player is worth $500 million.
Well, but he is two players in one. so it is only 250 million per player he is.;-)
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And if he gets hurt you lose both. Great Talent, but pass.
He would play longer as a DH. The way he throws, he is just asking for trouble as a pitcher.
That’s just a mitigating factor in terms of price.
Every player can get hurt. Teams can hedge the investment with insurance.
Early in his career with the Angels, an injury kept him off the mound but he was still an effective DH. All of this could be factored into a negotiation.
True, but 400-500 mil for one guy???? No thanks.
Deluca looks like he belongs out there.
Let this dude play against everybody and see how he does!
Schwarber was totally gassed after hitting that triple. Looked like he needed oxygen.
He didn’t looked gassed on his home run trot. Can’t wait for Ferguson’s next outing!
Nope, he crushed that pitch. Ferguson hung that one. 3 walk-off losses on this trip. That is unacceptable.
Spotlights the Dodgers need for a legit closer.
Normally you would not use your closer in a tie game on the road.
Yes, I know Bear, but the need is still there, especially if the Dodgers continue to have injuries to their SP’s.
In a pinch, that guy is Evan Phillips. Why pay a certified closer 13-19 mil a year or more?
I have no problems with Phillips, but he’s not quite good enough to be a closer, IMO.
And a certified closer would mask the holes in the rest of the bullpen.
It turns out Ferguson is not a situational lefty, either.
The definition of insanity: Allowing Ferguson to pitch to anybody in the 9th inning of a close game and expecting a different result.
Another AF crap show.
Weren’t the Dodgers and Mets supposed to have all this great pitching?
Yep but injuries have taken their toll and now Urias is NOT STARTNG Sunday.
Meanwhile…
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT81SJyqw/
I think this is all part of Caleb’s lesson plan (sarcasm intended). We were told to sit and watch his development and that the blow up in Cincy was a one-off and all part of a grand scheme to develop him for pressure situations. Hard lesson and a failure in round #1.
Martinez lead off double in 8th, no conscious effort to move him over. Roberts game when he played was small ball and speed, guess those days and philosophy are gone. Looks like Friedman needs to go yardsaling and find a couple reliable relievers. Wouldn’t Robertson made sense in the ninth?
Robertson is a rookie, besides Ferguson was brought to try to handle the Phillies power left handed hitters. I think Caleb should have started the game and would have been VGonzalez in the 9th.
All these relievers seems to be having a similar problem with their delivery/release point.
He got two outs and then threw a fastball hitter a low fastball right in his wheel house. Bad location from a guy who should know better.
Actually, it was an 87 MPH pitch. Orel said it was a curve. Game day said it was a cutter. It should have been a high fastball!
I stand corrected. Curve is not his best pitch. Logic says, make them beat you with your best pitch.. Fergies is his heater.
Rookie? Looked good against the reds!
You brought him up for a reason, use him and find out what you have. Being a rookie did not scare Steve Howe when he came up from AA in 1980. He went on to be the Rookie of the Year. Find out what kind of makeup he has.
It is over and nothing will change that. The team has not played well on the road all year. Maybe the bullpen arms are stressed because they have been used so much. At this rate, this BP could be gassed by the end of July. Starters not going at least 6 really hurts the staff and right now, there are two MLB class starters on this roster, Kershaw and Gonsolin. Miller has looked good so far, and lets hope he keeps it going with a nice performance today. If the Yankees did not scare him, the Phillies sure won’t. But they need good starting pitching and they need it yesterday. And right now there is no help coming from AAA. Stone got lit up again yesterday. They can either try and trade for help, or hope May and Urias get back sooner than later. Andriese and Erlin are the only two starters at AAA with any real experience in the majors. I do not believe Grove is a viable option in the rotation permanently. He sure has not looked the part his last two starts. Oh, I hate the opener theory. Let the starter face the guys he needs to get out.
The Rays have used it with great success.
Yes they have, but it has bitten the Dodgers in the ass more than once. I simply think having a set job is the best thing for all concerned. Tampa might train their pitchers that way, by the way, how many championship banners hang in the Trop???? Thats right none.
May is a BIG “if” whether he comes back at all this season. And Miller’s regular-season usage must be “rationed” carefully if he’s to be effective come post-season.
Agree Bear. Nobody standing out in bullpen except Phillips. Robertson could sure be a better option
I’m being honest here when I say this…..Guys like Thor or Grove should possibly have to pitch the entire 8 innings no matter how many runs they give up. That way we give our BP and much needed day off. Here is the scenario I’m laying out for that to happen.
Why should these bums pitch 4 innings, give up a ton of runs, and then go to the shower while needlessly stressing out the BP? If we’re down by 4 or more runs after their initial 4 innings, keep them in and let them finish. If they allow 15 runs, so what? Thor for instance is making about 15 million, right? Well, let him pitch to earn it. If we’re down by 3 or less, I suppose you could think of still trying to win the game and bring the BP in.
4:05 PM ET
Dodgers (36-28)
Phillies (31-32)
SP Bobby Miller R
2-0 1.06 ERA
SP Aaron Nola R
5-4 4.30 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Martinez R
LF D. Peralta L
RF J. Heyward L
SS Chris Taylor R
CF James Outman L
Partly-cloudy-day
9% Precipitation
81° Wind 8 mph L-R
Transactions
Triple-A: Left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery assigned to Oklahoma City
Friday scores
Oklahoma City 14, El Paso 10
Tulsa 5, Arkansas 4
Great Lakes 5, Lake County 0
Modesto 6, Rancho Cucamonga 4
Saturday schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Maddux Bruns) vs. Lake County (Rodney Boone)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Landon Knack) vs. Arkansas (Ethan Lindow)
5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Mike Montgomery) at El Paso (Matt Waldron)
6:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (TBD) at Modesto (TBD)
Ferguson should not pitch in high leverage situations for some time. His confidence seems damaged. Rather would have V-Gone in close games as the primary lefthanded reliever.
Grove has very good stuff but he is not consistent enough yet.
Stone got hammered again yesterday at OKC. He is sinking faster than a Stone (sorry, could not resist).
The low averages of too many hitters are finally creeping up on the Dodgers. Against good pitching all those low averages are exposed and it is costing us games lately.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bobby 2Chains: Drippiest
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT81ATsbK/
All my love to Mets World. Polar Bear out – adios offense.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT81DNQxP/
If guys learn from adversity, then I guess next stop for Thor and Caleb is Hall of Fame!!
I hate to say it but some of you just have no clue…
Zero!
Actually, you love to say it.
100%!
But how about that Bobby Miller? The Dodgers’ new ROY candidate just seems so locked in.
And how about Mookie? His ability to play 2B (and SS) enabled Roberts to load the OF with lefty hitters. Peralta homered and doubled, and Outman came through with a double, walk and two runs scored.
As I’ve been writing this, YouTube is showing highlights of the As-Brewers game. Ex-Dodger prospect Ryan Noda had a great game. He’s been good all season, with a .401 OBP fueling his .849 OPS. He was blocked by Freddie and, as I recall it, was lost in the Rule 5 draft.
I assume Noda’s success must give hope to a guy like OKC’s Devin Mann, who is having a fine season but ranks well below Busch in prospect rankings. I don’t recall Noda or Luke Raley, now a cog in the Rays machine, getting much love from the prospect rankers.
Good outing once more by the kid.
Don’t worry about this guy just throw strikes…… Ha, ha, ha ha ha ha
trueblue.la is a fun blog to read. This year they are doing flashbacks of the 1963 season. Below is a piece of one of the articles.
The never-ending hot seat
Dodgers manager Walt Alston has been rumored to be on the hot seat this year, at which he expressed frustration earlier in the season. To start this week with the loss, the Dodgers’ fifth straight, the Dodgers fell to 27-23, four games out in the National League standings, in third place.
Red Smith in a syndicated column wrote that Alston is not properly appreciated. From the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York:
Perhaps there have been other managers who got as little credit for winning and as much blame for losing as Walter Alston does, but their names do not come to mind.
In his nine full seasons — now the longes unbroken term in the majors — Alston’s teams have won two World Series and three pennants and tied for a fourth. They were second three times and missed the first division only once. That single sickening plunge had a sequel that would have raised any other manager to a permanent place in history beside miracle man George Stallings, for the very next year Alston steered that seventh-place club through a pennant playoff to the championship of the universe.
The only permanent place for reserved for Walter is on the griddle.
The Unabomber died today at a medical facility in NC. He had been in Super-Max prison here in Colorado about 8 miles from me in Florence. He was transferred to the medical center in 2021. He was 81. Don’t hear much complaining about Peralta lately, nor Heyward.
Pretty sure the Unabomber was a Giants fan.
Pretty cool stat re Miller, found on mlb.com:
“… Miller is the only pitcher in AL/NL history to go 3-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA while compiling at least 23 strikeouts and allowing fewer than 15 hits in his first four games. Sure, that’s a bit of a mouthful, but put a simpler way: no pitcher has ever started his career quite like Miller. ”
I say we keep him. Sure hope Julio comes back strong.
To me, May and Buhler are big question marks. If AF & Associates feel the same way, I think Dodgers will target proven SPs and RPs in the trade season.
Kershaw has a right to be ticked off at the Dodgers. He has defined the term pitcher this year. Great competitor. Could he be a Ranger next year? I hope not. Would love to see him pitch his entire career in LA. Seager is having a good year in Texas after being injured. Let’s stop the Doc bashing. In my opinion, he is the second greatest manager in Dodger history behind Walter Alston, even though I’m still ticked at Alston for not letting Drysdale get the last three outs in the 1962 playoff against the Giants!! Roberts’ winning pct. is right up there with the best at this point in his career.
Bobby Miller is the real deal, and he KNOWS it! Stone not ready. Grove is a little better, still iffy. Mookie needs to cut back on strikeouts in my opinion. Wish his BA was as high as it was in Boston. I think he could steal more. Don’t get me wrong. Mookie, Freddy, and Will are the most valuable Dodgers. And, Mookie being able to play three positions shows what a superstar he is. I agree; no way will Friedman give Ohtani $500 million. To be honest I hope he stays with the Angels, though I doubt it. This is my first time on this site. It is outstanding, by the way. I go way back to 1955 when I stayed home from school and watched Johnny Podres in his rookie year beat the Yankees in game seven. Podres was one of the greatest big game pitchers in Dodger history.