Is This Rock Bottom?

Posted By on April 18, 2024

Your Los Angeles Dodgers are now 12-9, and fans are jumping off bridges, buildings, couches and sandboxes. The Dodgers have lost 3 of their last 4 games. Today is an off day, but yesterday kind of felt like rock bottom. Maybe it was – or maybe rock bottom is still below us. Either way – this too shall pass. This is baseball and sometimes most times, it can be maddening. “On any given day” any baseball team can beat any other team.

This is especially true of teams playing the Dodgers. The Dodgers are the only team in baseball where the other team has a chant to beat them: “Beat LA! Beat LA!” Now, with the Dodgers’ mega payroll, other teams want to beat the Dodgers even more: It’s their World Series! The Dodgers better get used to it! It’s still April and veteran players are just getting settled in. Ohtani, Betts, Smith, and Muncy look comfortable. Freddie Freeman is struggling … and Freddie is a big part of what makes this team click. James Outman is showing he should be fine as he is scalding the baseball. Teoscar is on track.

The part of this team that concerns everyone the most are the following players:

  • Chris Taylor – He can’t jump out of a boat and hit water. He has had some injuries over the past two years. Will he ever hit? He has 35 ABs… he will get at least 35 more. So we wait.
  • Kike Hernandez – He has 41 ABs and is hitting .195. He will get more time, but the rope is not long as Pages can also play CF.
  • Gavin Lux – He is hitting .148 and has so much more talent than that. He has settled in nicely at 2B and has 54 ABs. I am sure they will give him at least 100 more. His rope is the longest.
  • Andy Pages – This game is damn hard, and he was hot at OKC, but what will he do here? We shall see!
  • Jason Heyward – He only had 14 ABs when he went down. The Dodgers need him badly.

Of the five players listed above, some may be gone by the All-Star Break. There are options including Miguel Vargas and maybe even Drew Avans (would they dare?). Otherwise, they have the collateral to enter the trade market.

Landon Knack was obviously nervous in the first inning, but he then settled down and pitched five strong innings. With only 75 pitches thrown, why not leave him in for another inning? It was the right choice to take him out when they did. Let him build on that start. Michael Grove showed what he can do as well. Vesia walks a tightrope every outing, but his ERA is down to 2.61.

The offense did not show up, except for Shohei, who had 3 of the Dodgers 5 hits. The Dodgers will lose every game where they fail to score. Today they rest. Friday, it’s Yamamoto time. I am going to have one day a week were I report on the minor leagues.

Now Hear This:

We have several (three) commenters who like to stalk me. I won’t mention them by name, but I won’t put up with them. I will handle this, and I am getting new software that I can use to vaporize them. In the meantime, if they comment, I shall have some fun with their comments. I am in control of their lives as evidenced by their compulsion to post here when they are not wanted. Good riddance to bad rubbish! Carry on…

X-Cites

I would make him give it back to the girl!

This article has 45 Comments

  1. 0-10 with runners on base yesterday. That’s not going to cut it.

    Encouraging outing by Knack. He may stick around for a bit.

  2. hope you’re right mark, they will eventually get it together! BUT! i don’t think 2,maybe 3 guys currently in the roster is will be gone by summer. taylor probably goes first. lux could be 2nd if he could be next. really pulling for lux to figure it out. he could make the lineup much more dynamic! not a big kiki fan, but good chance its him or taylor leaving. love this site, love baseball, hate hate and bickering. thanks mark for keeping it going!

    1. They want the $$$$ from gambling, but they don’t want gambling in their sport. You can’t have it both ways.

  4. Not worried about what happens in April…we WILL be there at the end….

    Season ended today we would STILL win the West….

    1. I think that is something that has to be considered, but would it help?

      Robert Van Scoyoc is widely respected and would have another job hours later. However, you have to wonder if his methods are an issue to the Dodgers’ proclivity to hot streaks as well as cold streaks.

      More about this later!

  6. Very disappointng home stand so far. Too many holes in the lineup. But it is early.

    anybody else having trouble with MLb.TV ? With my HP laptop it won´t let me sign in, no matter what browser. Cleared the cache started the browsers again With the Toshiba laptop of my wife no problem .

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

    1. This season is not scripted. It’s all part of a process.

      My MLB is fine. My internet is a little slow so I ordered Starline. It allegedly shipped today.

    2. Had issues, called their customer service, which is terrible by the way. They then said that I was using a VPN that was not allowed. To which I replied that I have no control over that, it is what my internet provider uses. I could not get the game to load. Kept getting the in a commercial break page. Finally, I figured out that I could fast forward, and the game would come on. Their customer service was no help. What I did do was buy a new router which is twice as fast as my old one was. One big difference this year is that I cannot watch anything but the Dodger game or the free game of the day. Before, I could watch any game that was in progress. They asked me to fill out a survey and I blasted their service, their prices, and the fact that they still black out games that are either A. in my area, which means the Rockies, or B, that are streaming on another service. The clown I talked to told me, well, you can watch the game 30 minutes after it is over. I told him why should I watch a game I already know the outcome of???? Idiots, all of them.

  8. Thursday Dodger Minor League Schedule
    3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Jackson Ferris) vs. West Michigan (Jaden Hamm)
    5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Walker Buehler) vs. Sacramento (Daulton Jefferies)
    5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Ben Casparius) at Wichita (Travis Adams)
    6:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Gabe Emmett) at Inland Empire (Keythel Key)

    “That’s right, on a Dodgers day off, in the minors they have Ferris, Buehler pitching”.

  9. The signings in the offseason made us think this season would be different in a better way. Right now it looks like the same as last. We have a flawed team. The performance don’t match the $. Many teams found this to be true ex Mets, San Diego , yanks but Texas is an exception. It is not the money but what u get for it. Starting pitching is better but Yamamoto has disappointed early, Miller out, Paxton ?, Buehler? With only Glasnow looking ace like. Bullpen, no lefty and era doesn’t tell the story. Grove looked better yesterday(consistent) ? Playoffs? Mb Kelly has been better but not trustworthy. Treinen always hurt , who knows if he helps, Graterol has the track record. The top guys look good . Offensively, Kiki,Taylor, Barnes, Rojas, lux other than Rojas might as well pick someone out of the crowd. Muncy, outman, Hernandez kkk but will produce. Frankly, Betts has been the superstar that everyone talks about. Ohtani no clutch, freeman Punch and Judy hitter off to a bad start. I would switch Ohtani and freeman. Defense infield very shaky. Definitely not playoff ready. Same manager same results. All I here is how his communication is. It must not be helping performance. If everyone is happy then we will finish as usual.

    1. I like that idea, of switching Freeman and Ohtoni in the batting order. Freeman was very productive in the 2 hole in 2023 and might feel more comfortable there. .Ohtoni is 1-19 with men on base batting second. It’s worth a try.

    2. What a ray of sun shine you are.

      Its fricking April 18th and we are in first place. Dont jump just yet.

      1. FYI: Eeyore is a fictional character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh.

  10. Bottom of the lineup needs to do better. I am not worried about April. They were 10-11 at this point last year and a game behind. I am also not worried about Freeman or Ohtani. They will both get much better at what they are deficient at right now. Lux, Kike, are the more pressing problem. Rojas has more homers than both of them combined. Barnes has been hitting the ball better. But as always, I really dislike the K-rate on this team. Muncy with 29 already, Teoscar the same. Outman the only other player in the 20’s with 20. Taylor has 18. Team as a whole, 198, tied with the Mariners for the major league lead. They have walked 79 times, but the Yankees have 92 to lead the majors. Yes, Von Scoyok is well thought of around the league, but with all the fire balling pitchers in baseball, maybe the philosophy he uses needs to be changed. Chasing balls way outside of the zone doesn’t help either. Probably the most frustrating thing about many of Muncy’s Ks. I think without Heyward, the bench is very thin. Pages will get a little leeway, but four Ks in seven ABs is not encouraging. There are no outfielders at AAA with MLB credentials, unlike the last several years where AF has stored some guys with MLB chops at that level. They are definitely waiting for Jay-Hey to get healthy. Will Vargas get a shot if Pages does not pan out? They could always send Lux down to get his legs under him and bring up Ownings, who has plenty of MLB time. It is obvious the front office sees everything a lot differently than we fans do, because I sense no sense of urgency on their front. Roberts did say that Ohtani needs to be better than 1-19 with RISP. Brilliant Dave, none of us had that figured out.

  11. I am not jumping just assessing where we are. For all the money there are several holes.
    I think Lux will improve
    But Taylor and kike are who they are with kike always average and Taylor continues in the wrong direction so they probably won’t change so we should.
    Vesia and Kelly not likely to change.
    Ohtani and Freeman will hit because they have.
    Outman, Hernandez, Muncy kkk not changing.
    Defense? Time will tell but we know Muncy is a liability.
    Starting pitching: jury is out on Yamamoto, Glasnow a star(risky)
    Looking ahead to the playoffs we need 3 playoff pitchers. Not there yet Buehler? Kershaw? Paxton?

    1. Muncy has actually looked pretty good at third. His throwing is very accurate. Lux has been ok at second too. Mookie mad an ill-advised throw after he stopped a ball, but it did not culminate in a run. Defense right now is not spectacular, but it has not been the problem. The problem has been lack of clutch offense and the pitching has been inconsistent.

  12. I used to live in Mobile, AL. Jimmy Buffett was from down that way. His sister had a bar- restaurant in the Gulf Shores area called Lulu’s. Saw a YouTube video recently for his song “Come Monday” which he claims is one of his 2.5 big hits. Farewell, Jimmy.

  13. he any zac brown sound great together. brown doesn’t get enough credit! he’s so talented and he doesn’t fit in today’s country crappy music! buffet was a treasure. Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers, Turnpike Troubadours, Margot Price, Molly Tuttle, Tedschi trucks band, So many good bands, of course no airtime on regular radio. That’s why I listen to outlaw country. Love it! I would love to see Pages produce and become the Dodgers regular leftfielder. As mark said earlier, one less platoon, and I think the kid has 3030 written all over him. If he makes it and Hayward comes back healthy and productive I really believe Chris Taylor is gone, unless they would decide to try and trade KK, which I don’t think they would find any takers maybe but his value wouldn’t be very high. I said a couple of days ago I would switch Freeman and Ohtani. I don’t think this would affect Ohtani, and I think Freddy would thrive again in the 2 hole. see Matt Chapman has 15 RBIs for the Giants, may be in for a good year, maybe a good sign for the Giants. Excellent defensive third baseman. max Hasn’t been bad at third, just wish he could cut down on his swings and misses. Once again, Gavin lux Could be an important piece to a championship run for the Dodgers. Just hope he gets it together soon rather than later.

    1. The grass sometimes looks greener, but is it?

      Matt Chapman – 77 AB – 4 HR – 12 RBI – 4 BB – 20 SO – .208 BA – .256 OB% – .672 OPS

      Max Muncy – 70 AB – 4 HR – 18 RBI – 9 BB – 29 SO – .257 BA – .341 OB% – .841 OPS

      I’ll take Muncy every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Chapman can’t carry Max’s jock!

    2. In my humble personal opinion, Brown’s best song came from a movie. 12-Strong. The song is It Goes On, performed with someone called Sir Roosevelt. Poignant lyrics, and a very good melody. The movie was excellent also as it told the story of the first Special Forces team sent to Afghanistan to assist the tribesmen fighting against the Taliban. Toes is also a great tune. Most of what proclaims itself to be country music in today’s music scene, isn’t. Very few traditional artists left.

        1. No, I have not. Good tune, but has his history mixed up a little. Kamikazes came later in the war, not at Pearl Harbor.

          1. Just a bit of poetic license I reckon. Rory Gallagher does a song called Out On the Western Plain that butcher’s the history of the American west but it’s still a pretty good ditty.

  15. didn’t say i would rather have chapman. just commenting on him being a nice pickup for the giants! as far as music goes im an old Skynyrd guy! . bob seger, eagles, outlaws, zz top. love em all!!

    1. When I was playing at the Chat Room in Carson in the early 80’s, the most requested tune was Sweet Home Alabama. I would make it audience participation on the chorus. People loved it. And no, I absolutely refused to sing Ackey Bracky Heart.

    1. Thanks – I have a new and improved way of dealing with them. It should be fun if they come back.

  17. FWIW, I worked with Jo Rowling.

    She was lovely. Her lawyers and publishing house? Less so.

    1. Did you see the biopic, George and Tammy? Jessica Chastain as Tammy and Michael Shannon as George Jones. Pretty good show. Shannon was also in 12-Strong. He played the A-Teams chief warrant officer.

  20. I had my brushes with the law as a kid, taken to jail, but this is a first for “Comment Jail”

    Not that my comment was profound or anything, just having some fun…

    Mr. Timmons , is there a ‘no links’ policy in place I’m unaware of; or not a George Jones fan?

    1. Sometimes links are put in jail. I release them.

      I am going to have a major update soon. Bear has some problems as well. Some people don’t, si I will upgrade.

      1. Thanks, Mark….

        I’m glad this site is back…

        Don’t always agree with you but I will say this: you talk your shyt, but it’s not like your takes aren’t clear and well researched. I hear the accusations of using numbers to fit your narrative: who doesn’t do that?— and IMHO you’re not an egregious offender of that practice. Besides, we’re all smart enough here to decipher what the numbers really mean (well, maybe not all of us are smart enough or interested enough, but I digress…). You come to gunfights with your iron holstered, but guns will come ablaze if necessary. It’s unfortunate some dudes are being banned, but it’s your call and it is your blog. Admittedly, I think “Blind Joe Death” is a funny handle, but my real name is Joe so I might be bias (I hope nobody thought my real name was Pee Wee, haha)

        I have to say something in this post about baseball:

        Is it just me or does there seem to be a change to Muncy’s approach at the plate? Also, he hasn’t been bad at 3rd (knock on wood); still with the limited range but he’s making throws he couldn’t last year….

        And the TJ thing is something else. Even pitchers with good mechanics aren’t spared. The arm can’t take the abuse, the elbow can’t take the snap and teams might start a petition to the MLB office for a “Tommy John- related IL “ designation ( I suggest 15, 30 and 45 day options). I was thinking after the 14 K game that Bobby Miller might be the one who can escape arm troubles; that thought didn’t age well.

        Screw it, just go all Earl Weaver: the key for Dodger wins are pitching and 3-run homers. The team had one of those games already this season against the Twins- yeah, that’s the way to go….

        Take care and does that new grandbaby of yours have an opinion on Doc Roberts yet? Cheers….

        1. Stick around Pee Wee, or Joe, or whatever you’d like to be called.
          I enjoy your comments and you bring a sense of humor which could definitely be used around here.

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