My Coverage of the 2023 MLB Draft

Posted By on July 10, 2023

Here’s what I have to say:

It’s happened and is happening! Beyond the first 3-5 players, I think it’s a crapshoot. I used to follow it to the extreme, but now I really start paying attention when they hit Rancho and GL. Baseball America has excellent coverage of it.

Feel free to discuss whatever! That’s all folks! There are lots of places who discuss the draft and in their spare time, they read tea leaves! – Feel free to go there. šŸ˜‰

Andy McCullough has an excellent piece in THE ATHLETIC on one Clayton Kershaw.

OKC is off until Friday… I wonder if Vargas is in AZ or staying in LA?

  • Michael Busch hit his 11th HR – he is hitting .308 with a 1.004 OPS
  • Here’s really good news: Gavin Stone went 6 innings, allowing 3 hits, 0 Runs and NO WALKS. He struck out eight! Right on time!

This article has 97 Comments

  1. I have never really gotten into the draft, maybe because so many of the first and second round picks never see the light of day in the majors. Remember, Rick Monday was the first ever draft pick. Before that, you rarely heard about prospects or signees until they hit AAA. There was less coverage. Now they cover all of the drafts with the NFL’s being by a large margin the most popular. It used to be all about scouts beating the bushes and finding hidden gems. That is one reason I love the Clint Eastwood movie, Trouble With the Curve. Tells it like it used to be. And also remember, Piazza was a 62nd round pick and then only as a favor to Lasorda.

  2. Ok mark, bush is raking! Is he coming to play 2nd or is he part of a package going after say giolita? Sooner or later he has to play in the show! Dodgers may have their 3rd baseman of the future with kid from uva. Iā€™m through complaining about Barnes! Ainā€™t no use! He and his .100 and his .100 average are here for remainder of this year and possibly next year as Iā€™ve said before, I believe he ends up coaching in dodger organization. And I believe heā€™ll be a manager someday. Any body know when Kershaw pitches again? My son and grandson and I are in Baltimore next week and hoping my grandson gets to see him pitch! Hope Friedman adds a bat and a starter, enjoy the all star game!

    1. No update on Kersh yet, but Roberts said that Urias will open the series with the Mets next Friday, which is on Apple TV. I hate when that happens.

      1. I agree, I signed up for the 7 day free preview to watch the other one. Not sure what Ill do this friday but Id like to watch the game….

    2. Have a great time, thats a great ballpark.

      Not sure if you like wings, but if you do some of the best wings I ever had were at Pickles Pub right outside the stadium. Old Bay and Butter…..excellent!!!

  3. We thought we had our 3b of the future when we drafted Hoese. He is still in AA and not doing exceptionally well there.
    That OF we picked is lighning fast but most draft pundits had him go 2-3 round lower. We will see.

    Sending down Vargas was inevitable the way he looked at the dish. No confidence at all, looking at strikes, swinging at balls.

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      1. Don’t forget that right after Hoese, 2 of the top 5 prospects in baseball, Volpe of NYY and Gunner Henderson of Balt, were taken.

        Boy did we whiff bad on that one. Then again, it happens every year in every draft for every team in every round. But still.

        1. Jeren Kendall the year before. We havenā€™t great with our 1st round picks.

          Although, I canā€™t blame the Dodgers for taking a chance in Kendall. He was a projected top 5 pick the season before. He was an elite athlete. But man, that was a total swing and miss.

    1. Thanks for the article MushersPop. Very interesting that they are laboring to define what a strike should be.
      As I have discussed many times if they don’t introduce ABS then remove the box on the TV screen. It won’t happen but as of now there a about 3 strike zones in play:
      “Rich Garcia, a major league umpire from 1975-99 and ump supervisor from 2002-09, faults the ABS system for not being as accurate at matching human calls as the strike zone usually is applied. And critically to umpires’ reputations, he says television graphics overlaying the strike zone frequently mislead fans.” An umpire has his personal zone, there is the zone umpires are graded on by MLB, there is the box on your TV screen and ABS will be another.
      What Garcia fails to say is the “human calls” with a personal strike zone are fine when an umpire is good and consistent. That’s not what’s happening. Some umpires are consistent – consistently horseshit. That’s the problem.
      A challenge system is the worst idea if you challenge pitch calls by the umpires personal zone and suddenly compare it to ABS. Two strike zones can’t be in play simultaneously.
      Just come up with a consistent ABS zone, oval or otherwise and let’s play ball. The players will adjust after some tears.

  5. Vargas needs this reset. Hindsight being 20/20, the Dodgers should have started him down in AAA after the injury to his hand. I believe their logic was they had basically told him he would be their everyday second baseman. He worked his tail off in the off-season to improve at the position. They didnā€™t want to discourage him by sending him back down. So they let him play through the injury. Even when that meant he took ABs for a couple weeks without being able to swing. That was just to give him reps at 2b during ST. Itā€™s obvious that he never found his rhythm at the plate. It was a difficult situation. You donā€™t want to take away his confidence by sending him down when he worked so hard to be ready to play 2b. But also took the risk that he really didnā€™t have a normal ST to get his bat up to speed against MLB pitching. Which in turn, likely hurt his confidence at the plate. Bit of a catch 22. A reset, without the pressure, is what is needed. A month in AAA could turn his season around.

    Both Michael Busch and Devin Mann have earned a shot. Both have an OPS around .1000. Neither have anything more to prove in the PCL. The Dodgers need to move one of them at the deadline. A showcase of a couple weeks in the majors for one or both might be good timing.

    1. As I recall, when Vargas came up he was described as a line drive to all fields hitter. The hitting coaches then told him to pull the ball more. When he had some issues earlier on he then spoke with his dad. I have to wonder, to what extent his problems are related to having to many people telling him what to do.

      1. I donā€™t know. It may have played a role. Itā€™s typical for players at this stage to receive instruction on how to turn raw power (which Vargas has) into home runs. I hope they leave him alone and let him find what he had in AAA last year.

        It seems like MLB hitting coaches almost despise pure hitters. Look at what Luis Arraez is doing in Florida. One of the few, if not only pure hitter in the game. I wonder what would be made of Tony Gwynn or Wade Boggs in this era. They probably would have wrecked their swings in A ball.

        1. So true boys. Some coaches and organizations don’t feel they are doing their jobs unless they change things. Hitting coaches may be the worst. It always amazes me that teams extensively scout prospects with local scouts, regional scouts and cross-checkers and national cross-checkers. After a kid is signed now they go about changing the very swing that they liked as scouts. I wonder if they ever have a discussion in the War Room that goes like “let’s draft Johnny Jones here for a few million, then we can revamp his swing and ………….”
          I have a couple of stories in this regard:
          In the mid 90’s I saw the best high school hitter I’d ever seen. He was a freshman and he hit lasers. We had to pitch to him for 4 years and he must have had a thousand scouting visits. Every time we played his team there were 25 to 30 scouts. They knew what kind of toilet paper he preferred.
          He was the 5th pick in round 1 and got some bucks. He never made it past AA. As I got the story his organization was in the Charlie Lau / Walt Hriniak days that spurned pulling ball and liked little spoon-jobs to the right side. I saw this kid hit a bullet up the middle off our ace, who signed with the Yankees, and all I saw was a puff of dirt behind second. But wait, he needs to hit flairs to right. After about 5 different hitting coaches he suffered from some anxiety disorder and quit the game.
          I watched another kid hit for 3 years in high school and was the State’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Great smart kid and he could really hit. He spurned pro ball to go to college choosing Washington State over Stanford. In his very first cage session at WSU and assistant coach was all ready changing his hands position. He’d never seen him hit in a game but he wanted to change shit.
          That same coach years before played against us. He couldn’t hit. But boy he sure tried to coach.
          Turn em into robots.
          I have always told skilled kids, be judicious about taking coaching advice. Take a piece from me, a piece from someone else, and so on, try it if it sounds like it fits your game and see if it works. If it doesn’t sound like you, shake your head politely, say “yes sir” and do it your way. Some coachable kids are too good of listeners.
          Just like a good golf swing coach, good ones take what skills a player has based on his body type and natural swing and refines it. If it ain’t broke, leave it alone. Every time Tiger Woods hit range balls, he wasn’t looking for a swing. He was warming up. Many ambitious coaches forget that.

      2. I have wondered the same thing. Sometimes you just have to stick to one voice.

        1. I alway thought Vargas was a line drive hitter that used the whole field, maybe Iā€™m wrong about that. What it looked like to me instead of being a contact hitter with some power Vargas was selling out for pull side power. It seemed that when Vargas would swing he was hitting weak pop ups instead of line drives. Like I said I may be wrong but he sure seemed to pop up a lot.

  6. Draft was fun to watch. Watched it until Dodger #36 pick , Kendall George. He’s a base stealer. Wonder if he will go to Arkansas or sign with Dodgers. Being a baseball fan, the draft is interesting. However, the NBA and MLB drafts are no where near the spectacle that is the NFL Draft!
    Hopefully, Vargas will come back like Lux did when he was sent down.
    Go Dodgers!! Win the West. Hoping Kershaw has a great second half. We may be seeing the end of Clayton’s great career with the Dodgers. Maybe a Texas Ranger next year?? Great human being and great pitcher and competitor.

  7. I generally donā€™t pay attention to the MLB draft. Iā€™ve seen so many 1st round picks (even top 5 picks) come up to the CA league and be largely unimpressive. Many never amount to anything.

    As an example, Mickey Moniak (1st overall by the Phillies) completely busted. Heā€™s in his 4th season getting ABs in the majors and has only now seemed to reach anything close to his potential. And that was only after the Phillies tossed him in as a side chip in the Syndergaard trade with the Angels.

    I saw Joey Bart play down in the CA league after the Giants took him with the 2nd overall pick. I wasnā€™t terribly impressed. He hit ā€œokā€. But not for a 2nd overall pick. He now looks like a light hitting backup catcher after a couple years in MLB.

    300 ABs in high A or higher is when I start to pay attention.

    On the flip side, one of the more impressive players I saw in the CA league in 2018 was Jared Walsh. He was the 38th round pick by the Angels. I remember he once went 5 for 5 against the Quakes with 3 doubles and a home run. He had a month where he destroyed high A and was in AA before you could blink. He was an AS in his first full season with the Angels after leading AAA in home runs. Injuries have derailed his last two seasons. But from 38th round to MLB All Star tells you how much of this is a crap shoot.

    1. The draft is fun as far as who your team picks but as far as impact players you never know. Thatā€™s the difference between the NFL draft and baseball. In the NFL you get somebody who is going to help your team right away even someone picked in the last round. In baseball it may be five years or more before you know what you ended up with. With the way the Dodgers move prospects it could be 5 or 6 years before Kendall sees a major league field.

          1. Ya, i realize that now. Forgot we have a new Kendall in the org. Letā€™s hope this one works out better.

    2. Good point about Jared Walsh. A lot of late draft picks turn out to be good players. Piazza, of course, And Zach McKinstry was a 33rd- round draft pick who made the Dodgers
      roster, got traded to Coldplay, I mean Cubs for Chris Martin and is now a key player for the Tigers.
      Then there’s Austin Gauthier, who wasn’t even drafted. Starred at Hofstra, signed as a free agent with the Dodgers. He’s zipped from Rancho to Great Lakes to Tulsa. His OPS is now .883, exceeded on the Drillers only by DeLuca and Pages. Can’t help but root for him.

  8. Keith Law’s take on the first day of the draft for the Dodgers (from The Athletic)::
    “ā€¢ The Dodgersā€™ picks mystified me, and I say that knowing full well that they have been one of the best drafting teams in baseball for a long time. Iā€™m fine with Jake Gelof in the second round, but thereā€™s more risk to him than is typical for a college bat because he has such an issue with high fastballs. To take him after taking a high school hitter with no power (Kendall George) with their first pick makes for a strange Day 1 combo.”

    1. 36. Los Angeles Dodgers: Kendall George, OF, Atascocita High (Humble, Texas)
      Not ranked on Lawā€™s Big Board

      The Dodgers take the first player who wasnā€™t on my top 100. The high school outfielder is an 80 runner and switch-hitter with well below-average power, maybe grade 30, between limited strength and a flat, slappy swing that puts the ball on the ground way more often than in the air. Heā€™s an Arkansas commit and I thought heā€™d head to school, since he might have a much better draft profile in three years if he fills out some and has a few years of SEC production. But the Dodgers ā€” who do have an excellent track record in the draft ā€” obviously like the defense/speed combination enough to buy him out of that.

      1. I did not like the pick, but I have no clue what they are thinking. Maybe they would like to have a hitter like Luis Arraez or maybe they don’t want to sign him at slot value.
        I did not like Lux in 2016 but that may be OK
        I did not like Kendall in 2017
        I did not like Ginn in 2018
        I did like Hoese in 2019, but soon soured on him.
        I liked Busch in 2019
        Miller in 2020 was a no-brainer
        In 2021, I was ambivalent about Bruns, but he could pay off in 2-3 years.
        Rushing was their first pick in 2022, and he looks to be a stud.

      2. They must see something they like to try to get him now. Being near the end of the first round will come with a decent signing bonus. So he may sign. They have to believe that he will develop in college in such a way as to become a much more attractive draft prospect. Which means in a future draft the Dodgers wonā€™t be likely to have the opportunity to draft him. Get him now or never. At least thatā€™s what they must be betting on. Unusual pick, for certain.

        1. There’s no way that Kendall George will sign for anywhere near full slot value.

          The assumption is that they’ll use those savings to sign others for above slot. One of those will probably be Brady Smith, a high school pitcher whom they took with their third pick. Most of the rest of their picks today are college guys who won’t require above slot money either.

          That means we could see some interesting picks tomorrow (high school guys) or that Smith is going to get a major amount above slot value.

          1. I think we got so tired of watching guys steal 10 bases a game against us, that we said “fine, time to turn the tables on these teams!”

            If this guy can even bunt (bring it back to the old days), he’ll be on 2nd base before we know it, and he’ll be a superstar. Get on base and do your thing!

          2. He can bunt. There is video out there of him bunting for base hits.

            One rating group gave him a speed rating of 90 on a 20-80 scale. šŸ™‚

          3. The report I read stated that Dodgers wanted Kendall George at 60, but decided to grab him early because a pitcher they wanted as their first pick was grabbed by the Marlins (I think) right ahead of their pick.
            The fact that they passed over a bunch of guys to grab George suggests to me that AF, Gasparino and the gang are just simply sold on his talent. Superfast with great contact skills, and a quality glove. He’s young and should add a bit of strength which could turn some singles into doubles. One suggestion is that he’s a Juan Pierre-type. Other comps might be Willie McGee. He’s obviously years away, but I think the Dodgers’ apparent faith in the guy makes this an exciting pick.
            The next guy, Jake Gelof, seems like a solid pick. But, yeah, so did Kody Hoese. I choose to be optimistic.
            Oh, what the hell… the 2007 lineup:
            George CF
            Freeman 1B
            Betts 2B
            Ohtani DH
            Smith C
            Rushing 3B
            De Paulo LF
            Pages RF
            Lux SS

            Cartaya, Vargas, Busch all traded

  9. Doesnā€™t matter how fast you are if youā€™re only going between the dugout and home plate. Do we really need another Jake Vogel? Looks like a wasted pick to me.

    2. I felt the same way about Lux, but he may end up being a very good player. You just never know.

  10. I went to two AAA games over the weekend at Victory Field and the ABS was excellent. There were several challenges and in every case, the call was overturned. .. in a matter of 5 seconds or less. I was impressed! The games really moved quickly!

    1. Mark, please explain the challenge system in AAA. Is ABS in use full time but the HPU calls all the pitches on his own until there is a challenge and then they revert to the ABS call?
      I need to know how this deal works.

      1. The HPU calls the pitches until there is a challenge and every challenge was resolved almost instantly and in every case, the call was reversed.

        1. So Mark there are 2 different strike zones at work at the same time. The HPU’s personal strike zone AND the ABS System strike zone for challenges?
          Is that right?

          1. At least two! šŸ˜‰

            If the TV shows a strike zone, that’s a third one!

  11. I was not impressed with the 1st pick, but am willing to wait and see. After all, the LAD brass knows a lot more about him than any of us. His batting stats are pretty impressive. and his work ethic sounds pretty solid. Pick #2 looks pretty good. Hope Kendall George turns out better than Jeren Kendall.

  12. Dodgers #36 pick – Kendall George 5ā€™10ā€ 165 deluxe speed. Maybe the Dodgers are planning on going in a new direction with a speed emphasis.
    At 1st look, this looks like an odd pick for round 1, 36.
    You canā€™t steal 1st but this kid has some bat to ball skills and may grow into some power, but maybe not. Would that be an bad thing. Granted it seems odd to pick this kid, whoā€™s best rating was 65 best prospect by MLB. Itā€™s thought that he may take less then the 2.36 million slot value to free up money for the 9 other picks. They must have a # in mind. Sounds like he wants to sign but at a much lower #, why. He can go to Arkansas in the best conference in the nation and grow up.
    At first this was a head scratcher. I would think a big college pitcher with flaws but a big upside would be the plan. Or a kid like Gelof they got next.
    Thinking about it a super fast kid with contact skills who is 5ā€™10ā€, 165 at 18 doesnā€™t sound that much different from Latin kids who signs at 16.5 and 17 at that size and grow into their game. Maybe the Dodgers see that kind of upside with this kid. It will be interesting what he may sign for. It appears we think this kid wants to be Dodger more than a Razorback.

    1. He has at least 1.5 million reasons to choose the Dodgers. Iā€™d take the cash. $1 million in your hand is worth $25m in the bush.

      1. I have a draft question that I think I know the answer to but I can’t find the answer on Google. Here goes:
        The Dodgers have $7.27 million in Bonus Pool money ie. money they can spend on players taken in the first 10 rounds. Sounds pretty simple.
        BUT, the Dodgers drafted 12 guys in the first 10 rounds. We got 2 compensation picks between the 4th and 5th rounds – at #’s 136 and 137.
        So, do the Dodgers get awarded extra pool money for these 2 picks of do we have to pay for these picks out of our $7.27 Bonus Pool money?

        Did I read somewhere that Compensation picks give 5.25 million per of Bonus Pool money? Or do we pay 12 guys out of $7.27.
        Which of you smart guys know the answer to this one?

        1. They get additional “slot money” commensurate with the location of the pick.

        2. The $7.27MM number includes the extra $ for the two extra picks we received between rounds 4 and 5.
          That extra $ added up to a little over $900,000 for the two picks combined.

    1. Maybe the Yankees are getting away from too much analytics and getting back to a coach who had success as a major league hitter and can speak from first hand experience.

  14. I have been thinking about this for a month, and then it was brought up today. Miguel Vargas’ father was a “quasi-hitting coach” for him and the Dodgers wanted him to pull the ball more. What effect, if any, could that have had?

    As a hitter, I regard Vargas as a “Corey-Seager Type Hitter.” We haven’t seen Miguel Vargas in MLB yet!

    1. Speaking of Vargas, They shouldā€™ve let him experience some success at the major league level before trying to mess with his swing or his approach.
      As far as his father goes, does he live in the US? I wonder if he would be available to help his son, also wonder what the Dodgers would think of that

    2. That was my question above it seems like heā€™s trying to launch everything and is popping up all the time. I thought he was a line drive hitter to all fields. No real solid contact really since the series in Milwaukee.

  15. Mookie Betts hit 11 HR – in the HR Derby – not nearly enough, but a lot better than Yasiel Puig, who laid an egg!

    1. Clayton did an all right job pitching to Mookie. but that guy PeƱa pitching to Rodriguez was right on the money. The guy pitching to Alonso didnā€™t help him at all.

      1. Clayton pitched to Mookie?!?!?!?

        Cancel all speculation on Clayton going to Texas!

        He likes us again.

        This entire post was a joke.

  16. All-Star game tonight. I won’t be watching. I watched last year because it was at Dodger Stadium. But the so-called Midsummer Classic has lost its luster to me. I am instead going to see the new Indiana Jones movie. I know it has gotten some lousy reviews, which means, I will love it. Never read what the reviewers say. I prefer to see for myself. I watched a very interesting movie last night on Max. It was called Red. No, not the one with Bruce Willis about the retired CIA agent, but this one starred Brian Cox, who incidentally was in Red with Willis as the former Russian KGB agent. It is about a guy whose dog is killed just for kicks by a sadistic teenager and witnessed by his two friends. The dogs name is Red. My dog’s name was Red. All he wants is justice for his murdered dog. But he ends up paying a high price for trying. Tom Sizemore plays the kids dad.

  17. Looks like Chris Taylor will be ready to rejoin the team on Friday in New York. He hit a homer in his last game at Rancho. MLBTR is reporting that the White Sox seem to be amenable to listening to offers for everyone except Robert, Vaughn, Jimenez, and Cease. There was also a blurb on one of the internet news lines that if the Angels keep losing, they might pivot and actually trade Ohtani. But most feel Moreno would not send him to the Dodgers even for the short term.

  18. I heard yesterday on national radio the person said mlb gets the all star festivities right but the NBA gets the regular season right. How in the hell can anyone believe that crap? What they call defense in the nba is a joke.! You wonā€™t find better defense in sports than Major League Baseball.! The officiating in pro basketball so resembles WWF wrestling! I know we complain about plate umpires but have you seen nba officials? They do have remarkable athletes in pro basketball, but so does mlb, and mlb players play on both sides offense and defense. Giolita is available, please donā€™t let Texas or Cincinnati snap him up! Yelich to the dodgers is flying around, not sure thatā€™s a fit but itā€™s out there. Would also include either burns or adames. Not me wanting this , but itā€™s out there

    1. Have not seen a Yelich rumor. Where did you hear that>??? Sounds like BS since the Dodgers are loaded with LH hitting outfielders.

    2. I agree Dodger dad. The NBA is a joke. And, the NBA all star game makes it an even bigger joke. They play no defense. The players have complete control. I sound like an old guy, and I am! Give me the days of Magic, Kareem, etc, or further back, Elgin, Jerry, Wilt, etc.
      I still say Mookie could be a base-stealer. Get Davey Lopes to work with him.
      Like your acquisition ideas! Giolita especially. Tough series coming up in New York. Get focused Dodgers.

  19. That kid that Dodgers drafted, Jack Gelof, is he related to Oakland’s Zach Gelof?

    2. Lux he come to MLB was affected by the Dodgers approach to loocking for the 3-run HR, he was dropped to AAA, for a few days, and recovered his old approach, he said he just wanted to put the ball in play, use his legs and the entire field game, the change was notable, he got to be with. 280 AVG and .380 OBP, .802 OPS then the neck injury, he healed and hit very well in October.
      That also happened with Vargas, the approach of the big leagues team hurt him, he lengthened his swing and had a very pronounced swing from the bottom up, that was NOT Vargas, they turned him into a Muncy but without power.
      Miguel, like Lux, has to go find his old approach, the one that led him to MLB, Miguel is going to be fine !!!

  20. On dodger rumors site. They were questioning Heyward and peralta s sustainability

    2. I am well. My eye surgery is scheduled for the 28th of August. This trade proposal has zero chance of happening. Peralta and Heyward are doing just fine, and Yelich is no centerfielder any longer.

  23. Been away for a few days being busy and caught up on reading here and Bear you still don’t get it. “congratulate myself on the Vargas call” as you said. It’s not congratulate myself, IT’S THE BAD MOUTHING ME i’ve recieved a lot here in the past for what I’ve said and being right a lot in the end. Not “a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile” like you said.

    1. Well, Eric, I don’t know how to say this: but you do not have a clue. I would never revel in someone being sent back down, and secondly, to say “I knew he needed another 6 months in AAA” is something you pulled out of your ass (as if the Genius Eric knows more than the Dodger development people), and I will stop right there!

        1. Do you even know some of the “backstory?”

          I put out predictions all the time and am frequently wrong. So you were right about this and Will Smith (“Trust me, I was right about Will.”)

        2. Your skin is so thin you are transparent. Go back and check some of your old posts, you pat yourself on the back every time something you said comes true. Waa Waa Waa. Everyone gives me shit. Nobody cares Eric. I totally get you. Your ego is as big as your mouth.

    2. Ok, Eric. I believe you. You say you predicted Vargas would not be a good player, or something like that. (And don’t we want ALL Dodgers to succeed? Even if I thought Vargas was a bum, I’d want to be proven wrong, no?)

      Supposing you are correct? And? So? What is it, exactly, that you’re after? Do you want praise? Do you want a cookie? You wanna pat on the head?

      It’s just a baseball blog. Yeah, I know there’s a temptation to want to crow when perhaps your insight turns out to be correct, but why obsess over it? I think that’s what’s annoying people – your obsession with wanting to be right, and insisting that everyone acknowledge it.

      And then when they don’t acknowledge it or someone predictably responds negatively, it’s “everyone’s attacking me!” No. You’re just being annoying. Don’t be annoying and your experience here will be much healthier. LOL! The basic essence of likability is “don’t be annoying.” Words to live by.

      PS – I’m not saying any of this to attack you. I giving you a perspective on how your behavior may be interpreted by others – rightly or wrongly – and why they may respond the way they do.

        1. Ok. fair enough. Perhaps when it comes up you can address the specific behavior. In the meantime, I don’t think James Outman being a 3rd or 4th outfielder is really all that important in the grand scheme of things.

          1. By the way Patch, I stopped posting my Dodger opinions. I just read, and I like reading, and if I come across someone like Bear talking shit about me, I’ll respond.

  25. Old Bear, I hope you enjoy the Indiana Jones movie. It was corny, far-fetched, 100% high energy, great persistent bad-guys, including a perfect stereotypical, wanna-be Hitler. It had chases in every possible vehicle and including time travel to Syracuse, not to meet Jimmy Brown, but to bump into Archimedes himself during the Second Punic War (where old Arch supposedly was killed by a Roman Soldier). Total improbable folly. And I loved it. What’s why I love the entire franchise starting with the very first one. If you go to pick this baby apart, forget about it. If you go for pure fun, you’ll love it too. I hope you enjoy it.
    I am totally done with the Home Run Derby. I know what to expecting and it deteriorates every year for a number of reasons that has nothing to do with the power hitting ability of the participants.
    I’m not there yet with the actual game, but I may be after tonight.

    1. I feel the same way about Indiana Jones.

      I watched the HR Derby. I will probably watch it next year unless I have to wax my dog.

    2. I went to the eye surgeon today for my preop appointment. My surgery is on the 28th of August. Then I caught the 4 PM showing of Jones. I loved it. You are right, pure fantasy, but well acted. The ending was cute enough. They both looked worn out.

  26. i am not a stat man. I simply get my enjoyment from what I see and feel. It’s great when stats back up what I see and feel but I’m always prepared to be wrong as often enough that is how things play out. I was high on Outman and stated thus. I saw his 1st at bat a plus backed up by recognition him showing he had all the tools for greatness but lacked the stats. I had spoken with boxers who were good enough to boxed in televised matches and one of them proudly stated “I box good on TV”‘ That was in the color I saw in Outman, his answering to the chance at showing what he had on stage. I’ve posted what I saw in him and hoped he could substantiate my judgements. I wasn’t at all familiar with Vargas’ play and as I’m not into stats and 1stly use my eyes only I had little view on Vargas. What I read it was clear more staff and professionals held Vargas above Outman but I didn’t take that as a challenge. Why should I? They both play for Dodgers at this point and I hope they both will for the future. Do I expect them to be superstars? Not at all as nice as it would be for either. From here I expect Vargas to be the better hitter and Outman to adjust and continue answering the call. The contest is against other teams. If anyone has negative feelings with this then dump it here right on me….I can take it!

  27. With Ahmed Rosorio being a free agent at the end of this year from the Indians I think that’s who the dodgers go after in free agency and then move Lux back to second base. And then try to improve third base or left field as well in trades or free agency. Rosorio would certainly be an improvement at shortstop and then keep Rojas as the utility guy that plays all over the infield. Use Taylor Muncy and some rookies in minor leagues to make trades and add pitching this off season. If they can get Stroman and Gilotto and sign those two for next year with Buehler coming back and Miller and Sheehan and Gonsolin that’s six starters and I didn’t even mention Kershaw or Urias who both could walk. Any way that’s my opinion on what to do by next year and which pitchers they should get at trade deadline and they need another bat if they could get Rosario Naylor and Bieber that would be excellent but the guardians aren’t out of wild card chase. But, a trade like that. Means we will lose some high level talent to get three great players and that’s what winners do.

    2. Rosario is an offensive improvement over Rojas… but not by a lot! Looking at OPS+ where the league average is 100, Rosario is 90 this year and Rojas is 83. BOTH ARE NOT GOOD OFFENSIVE PLAYERS, but Rojas is a better defender, so you are trading for the sake of trading… not to get better!

      Losers give up high-level talent to get players like that!

      Come on, Man!

  28. Eric, you have to get over the paranoia that Mark and Bear are out to get you. Itā€™s just not so. Theyā€™re out to get me!

  29. Dodgers have the surplus of potential trade chips and if they want to utilize their wealth I believe it will happen with teams who approach Dodgers. So it may be subtle improvements for the 2nd half of the season and not costing the premium as some mentioned. Dodgers don’t need to replace players to win the division but likely feel the need to improve chances for the world title. Getting under the tax and resetting is undoubtably the goal for next season. At the time Kershaw departs Dodgers it’ll be for retirement. I don’t think he’s even tempted to play for Texas as he doesn’t like playing in humidity. The sign is in the sweat on his head. Sweat = stress.

  30. Mookie the MVP in sales too!

    Per Twitter and Jorge Castillo:
    A quote to remember from Shohei Ohtani for when he hits free agency: “Not just today, but watching guys overall, I feel like Mookie Betts really impresses me. Heā€™s so versatile.”

  31. So weā€™re looking for a closer. How about the NL all star who closed out the game tonight?

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