Mookie, Freddie, and Kike each had two hits. Mookie is smoking hot. Freddie is back over .300, and Kike is heating up. In his last 7 games, Kike is hitting .294 and appears to be in a platoon with Max Muncy. Pages and Outman platoon in CF, except when Pages play RF, and Lux and Rojas are in a platoon at 2B/SS. Many of you don’t like platoons and blame it on Doc when, in reality, this is what the front office wants to do.
Muncy, Lux, and Outman all have trouble with LHP, so why not platoon? Teoscar is hitting .258 against LHP and .254 against RHP. James Outman is slumping… PERIOD! He is hitting .178 against RHP and .111 against LHP. Gavin Lux is hitting .167 against both, but he will stay in the platoon. I am sure his knee is still something he is aware of. He may not be 100% this year, but hopefully he gets better. Pages is not going away. Heyward is at least 2-3 weeks away and by that time, CT3 will be on or off the team.
On the pitching side, Yamamoto is figuring it out. Vesia came in and was nails (2.08 ERA). Hudson allowed a run but pitched well, and Evan Phillips was nasty. Remember when everyone wanted Josh “8.38 ERA” Hader and David “9.00 ERA” Bednar? Everyone wants the “Flavor of the Week,” but my eyes told me that Evan Phillips is getting better each year. I’ll take him over just about anyone in baseball right about now.
Dodger News
- When OKC plays at Albaquacky (I can’t spell Albuquerque), the games should not count. OKC has scored 49 runs in the first three games with the Albuquerque Isotopes, as they scored 3 touchdowns last night. Of course, everyone hit, but what was most significant to me was that JP Feyereisen went 2.2 innings, allowing 1 hit, no walks, and striking out 4. He has missed the better part of two years, but before that, he was one of the best setup men in baseball. It looks like the rust is falling off. BOX
- At Tulsa, Jose Ramos hit his 6th HR (.257/.899). Diego Cartaya has a .128 BA. Ouch! BOX
- Great Lakes won behind Jared Karros 5 one-hit innings. He walked his first two batters of the year, but struck out 8. Wepf faced the last 4 batters of the game and struck them all out. Alex Freeland (.367/1.087), Karros, and Wefp are all candidates to move up to Tulsa. BOX
- Rancho won 12-10. Gelof is ready to move to Great Lakes (.350/1.098) BOX
- Privately, the Dodgers are hoping the Bazooka and Dustin May will be back in September.
- Tonight is a very important start for Gavin Stone.
Encouraging on Feyereisen. Hopefully, he gets back to form that would be a big boost. I just don’t c the Dodgers DFA Taylor. Just too much money on the table. What to do with Taylor is a conundrum. I will give Vesia props for doing much better. Still don’t want him in a high leverage situation in the playoffs. Can’t throw strikes. If Pages can keep his strikeouts down he would be a huge plus.
Stick with CT3 hes gonna figure this thing out.
Spot on about Phillips.
Platooning is nothing new to the Dodgers. Walter Alston did it for years when they first moved here. He was forced into it because the stars from their Brooklyn days were getting old. Reese only played 59 games as an LA Dodger. Furillo followed up a 122-game season with 50 in 1959. He played 8 in 1960 and was released. Snider played 106 in 58, and 126 in 59, only 101 in 1960. He would be gone by 63. Hodges was allowed to be taken in the expansion draft after the 1960 season, Neal was gone also in that draft. Zimmer was traded to the Cubs. Cimoli to the Cardinals. Even with up-and-coming stars like Tommy Davis, Willie Davis, Wills, Howard, LA still platooned at a few positions. 3rd base was always a sore spot. Roseboro caught a lot of games, but so did his backups. Lasorda probably had the most lineups that ran most of the same 8 guys out there everyday.
Yoshi’s life-saving catch yesterday will go down as one of the luckiest or most-skillful acts in sports history.
It saved his life.
Bednar and Hader?
Are they slipping or just struggling?
Pages, if he continues to play well, may be a significant player this summer. He seems to. be able to slow the game down. Chris Taylor, unless he changes his swing from the heels approach, and starts making more contact, may be headed in another direction. Maybe by June he figures it out. I hope he does. If he doesn’t life goes on and the Dodgers do have options.
Bednar and Hader?
Are they slipping or just struggling?
Most relievers have down years at times. That’s the danger of seeing a guy being good this year and thinking it will be the same next year. Relievers are fickle.
Speaking of pitchers,we have a room full of starting pitchers out.what happens next year if they are all healthy. Ohtani,Yamamoto,Buehler ,Klasnow,Miller,Stone,Kershaw,Catman,Big Red,young Japanese,knack.Great problems .LETS TALK ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN
what’s gonna happen When Hayward comes back? They just can’t send pages down if he continues to produce and play well.. No, I’m not a doc Hater Or doc lover. Who would you replace him with? Gabe Kapler that didn’t work out too well for the Giants or the Phillies! The days of old school managers behind us. The game is changed so we will have to change too. But hitting pitching running bases remains the same. I thought, Doc ended up making a great non-sub with KK the other day! So a little bit of gut feeling I guess! I really like the looks of pages! Doesn’t seem to get rattled or upset if things don’t go well. As for Chris Taylor, feel really bad for the guy. I guess none of us so-called experts has any idea what Friedman will do. Taylor plays great defense wherever they put him. Made a couple of nice catches yesterday in the outfield, but two more strikeouts and 035 batting average just not gonna cut it in the major leagues. I’m a big UVA fan, so it’s painful to watch Taylor struggle like this. maybe this weekend when Toronto puts a lefty on the amount he can start to turn things around. But Hayward has two weeks and then is ready to come back, something’s Gotta give Kiki’s starting to hit the ball so he ain’t going nowhere yeah Moto looked good yesterday . Still concerned about Paxton and his walk issues. Has anybody heard any updates on Bobby Miller? Glasnow Is a beast! Yamamoto is a solid number three at the moment. It miller comes back healthy, there’s your number two. I’m beginning to wonder about Walker Buehler. Gavin Stone is probably on a short leash. knack Could provide quality innings in the hole. Haven’t heard anything on Clayton lately. But I can only imagine how fired up he will be when his time is come. Vesia Better in his last couple of appearances. Evan Phillips did look nasty yesterday. Hudson‘s fine. Brasier looks back on track, but, don’t know how much we can count on Joe Kelly and high leverage situations. Love Kelly, but his
Contract could come back to haunt Dodgers. Ohtani wanted to hit every pitch out of the ballpark yesterday., One through four in that lineup is unreal! Hernandez is doing just fine. Just needs to cut down on his strikeouts a little. Overall, this lineup, especially against left-handers doesn’t stack up with the Braves. One through five, yeah we’re right there! We just have to figure out the rest of the lineup. Or maybe I should say the hitters have to figure it out. It’s a little early, I know to start trade talk, but I’m sure the front office is monitoring everything in and around the game of baseball. Need to keep the streak going tonight. A seven and two or six and three road trip would be very successful. But damn gotta work on that home record!
Wow, thats a lot to unpack….
Heyward is not even hitting yet. He probably is a little more than two-weeks from returning. He will also need a rehab assignment. Last player still under contract when he was let go was Carl Crawford, so releasing Taylor is not out of the question. But some team would most likely pick him up and gladly let the Dodgers pay him.
I’ll repeat – With so MANY lefty batters that need platooning, there simply aren’t ENOUGH quality righty batters on this roster to meet those platoon needs. As a whole, Taylor/Kiki/Rojas won’t cut it, and even assuming Pages stays, I see no other solutions in the minors (including Vargas) to fill these gaps.
So Friedman must eventually make a trade(s) to resolve this issue.
I would bet he looks at it a lot differently than we fans. What is wrong with Rojas? He is hitting .278 with two homers, one more than Freeman. He is here for his glove, not his bat. Kike looked like a different hitter the last couple of games. Taylor and Barnes are the weak links in the lineup. Rojas and Kike are not going anywhere, especially if they do dump Taylor. Kike is Taylor with better stats.
I accept the future is not set in stone and risks are a fact of life, but I’ve already written off Taylor, and I simply deem it TOO risky to expect Rojas to keep his present hitting pace going, and for Kiki to improve enough to be an acceptable platoon partner with the other LH bats.
But my bigger concern overall is that RVS and his hitting coaches are at the root of the “non-stars” hitting woes.
He is also the reason Taylor had his good years, and he changed JT’s approach too. I also do not care for the philosophy he teaches, but ownership and the front office like it or he would be gone.
At some point the love affair with CT3 and Barnes has to stop. How long can a team who wants to win the WS carry two bats like that on the roster ? And it does not stop with those two. Muncy and Kike are in the same boat.
Low averages both with Muncy at least hitting home runs and getting his walks. But with only 13 hitters on the 26 men roster you can not have 2-3 silent bats . It probably works during the regular season because of the insane quality of the top and middle of the lineup but it does not work in postseason play. How many more postseasons do we have to witness to finally accept that ? If 2 or 3 of our big guns fall into slumps we are down because the bottom of the lineup can not pick up the slack. That in many cases is the difference between winning and losing a close playoff series.
With CT3 it is not only a slump , it is now the regular. We have seen this movie for 2-3 years now. I dont buy any longer into the phrase that he will get the occasional big hit . Yes, he had some big hits years back but what has he done the last 2-3 years ?
I have said it numerous times: Kike and CT3 are the same player. You do not need both.
This affection has to stop . Soon. Bring in someone who hits. Vargas is tearing it up in AAA so when is a better time to give him another shot ? Fiduccia has almost a OPS of 1.000 and hits lefthanded. Give him his shot instead of Barnes.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Austin Barnes, Dodger Captain, is not going anywhere. Write that down. He means way too much to the pitching staff.
CT3 is another story.
The Dodgers Front Office and Minor League Staff are still very high on Vargas.
Last year, they tried to change his swing, and he also had broken fingers, so it was mostly a lost year. They are still perfecting his swing as we speak, but his power is evident. He has gone from a player who struck out at a 17-18% clip to one who strikes out 25-26% of the time, but that is still a lot less than Outman, Teo, and Max. I think we will see him around the end of May. He has speed and is playing a very credible LF. He is hitting .300/1.000 OPS with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR and leads the team in RBI with 22 in 22 games.
The smart money is still on Vargas.
There are way too many arms in the minors and on the IL to even consider a trade for a pitcher.
If Pages continues to produce, where is Vargas gonna play? No sense bringing him up to be a part time player or you think Pages to center and Outman gets sent down.
You can move Miggy around. Some LF, some 2b or 3b. There would be enough AB for him. Especially if you remove CT3 and/or Rojas/Kike.
At some point I hope the Brewers fall out of the race in the NL central and the Dodgers make an attempt to bring in Williams for the pen along with Adames. Would dramatically improve our roster.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Williams is going to miss 3 months with 2 stress fractures in his back. Not sure that would be a wise trade, considering what he would cost in prospects.
How about A’s reliever Mason Miller? Almost 2 k’s per inning this year and has hit 103 on the speed gun. 25 years old, controllable for 6 more years. The price would be crazy but with 6 years of control, we could afford to lose him for a year to TJ somewhere in there.
Well, sometimes it is time for the captain to leave the bridge and put someone else in charge.
I remember that much of the same was said about AJ Ellis and his special relatinship with Kersh. That he was the glue of the pitching staff, Claytons personal catcher yaddayaddayadda. But at some point that alone will not cut it for a team with aspirations of a WS title. There are just too many weak bats on this roster at the moment.
Barnes, Kike, CT3, Lux, Rojas (yes, at the moment his BA is good, but how long can he sustain it? Looking at his career numbers not much longer) and to some degree Muncy. That is 5 guys with subpar averages and way above strikeout rates.
At some point you have to make decisions even if they are tough ones to make from a emotional standpoint. Every busniessman , CEO knows it.
On the pitching side: Graterol and Treinen apparently are weeks, maybe even months away from contributing. Same for May. Dodgers rather sooner than later will need to find at least one more big bullpen arm. A guy who comes in and puts out the fire in a regular basis. Preferably a LHP. If not know but for the stretch run and postseason play.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, mark, I understand as most of us do Barnes isn’t going anywhere. But wouldn’t it be wise to try to figure out A better time to rest Will Smith when Taylor and Rojas aren’t in the lineup the same day? You’ve convinced me that Barnes isn’t going anywhere. I’m not an expert so I’ll leave that to those guys. I have to say, though when his contracts up, I hope somebody makes him a good offer somewhere else. Either that or the Dodgers make him a coach, think he’d make a good one!
Barnes will be a Dodger for life.
I’ll repeat. Barnes is not going anywhere. The only way he is gone is if he goes on the IL. It might be Okey, not Feduccia who gets called up.
Jesus Luzardo is likely headed to TJ!
7:07 PM ET
Dodgers (16-11)
Blue Jays (13-13)
SP Gavin Stone R
1-1 6.00 ERA
SP Chris Bassitt R
2-3 3.90 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
SS Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
LF T. Hernandez R
CF James Outman L
RF Andy Pages R
2B Gavin Lux L
In Domed Stadium
Friday Dodger Minor League Schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Peter Heubeck) at Fort Wayne (Henry Baez)
5 p.m.: Tulsa (Kendall Williams) vs. Northwest Arkansas (Eric Cerantola)
5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Elieser Hernández) at Albuquerque (Karl Kauffmann)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Patrick Copen) vs. Lake Elsinore (Eric Yost)
Thank you, AVF for doing this without fail!
It’s my pleasure.
The Mets announced that former Dodger J.D. Martinez has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, and will make his Met’s debut against the Cardinals tonight at Citi Field.
Making another rehab start
“Manager Dave Roberts said Friday on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that Buehler (elbow) will make another rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday before potentially joining the Dodgers.
The right-hander threw 86 pitches and allowed five runs (three earned) over 4.1 innings Wednesday at Oklahoma City, and he’ll require at least one more rehab outing before making his 2024 debut for the Dodgers. Buehler’s performance in five starts during the rehab assignment has been underwhelming with a 4.86 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 16:9 K:BB over 16.2 innings”.
For Veteran Baseball Players rehabbing, minor league rehab stats mean Zero, Zolch, Nada!
Want proof?
Justin Verlander had an 18.00 ERA in his minor-league rehab at SugarLand and Corpus Christi.
Then, in his first two games back with Houston, he had a 1.74 ERA.
If Buehler’s 4.86 ERA is underwhelming, what is Verlander’s 18.00 ERA.? Sickening? … and it didn’t mean a thing!
Clowns!
On AJ Ellis:
Something happened behind the scenes that caused the Dodgers to trade him and not welcome him back after he retired. I have tried to find out, and everyone is close-lipped… they know something but won’t say. I have no idea what it is, except that maybe he clashed with Honey…
Oh.
I don’t think this is much of a secret. He (and some others) gave a lot of clubhouse news to Molly Knights (and I think Andy McCullough) for their books.
That is a given, but was that all?
One thing I read somewhere was the story about Puig being sent to minors was leaked only to Ellis. Sort of to see if he was the leak. When it was reported that Puig was being sent down Ellis was traded shortly after that. I don’t remember where I read or who might have written it but it was a pretty good coincidence.
I would agree that minor league rehab stats generally mean nothing for experienced MLB players. But Buehler’s rehab is coming after two years since his second TJ surgery and his last meaningful start in the majors. It is not unthinkable he can become the Dodger’ s third best starting pitcher but it is also possible that he slots in with Stone and Paxton as back end of the rotation.
Was never a proponent of dealing multiple top prospects for David Bednar, Josh Hader, or a healthy Devin Williams for that matter. I can’t think of any role in baseball with more variability than relief pitching. Rangers best bullpen arm in their World Series run was Josh Sborcz – had a 5+ era in the regular season. Kevin Ginkel was lights out for Diamondbacks last post season. Dodgers will try to rehab Connor Brogdon, hope that Graterol and Treinen return healthy and effective, and keep churning the bottom three or four relievers until they find some consistency. I am okay with that approach.
I don’t mind the platoon approach, especially during the regular season but in the post season where bullpens cover many more innings, managers are able to dictate match ups much more frequently and may deplete the bench trying to stay in favorable match ups.
good for barnes. i have to honest, he drives me crazy when he hits! Grandal drove me crazy catching! james loney made me nuts. big strong 1st baseman with little league power. not many dodgers over the years i absolutely hated, a few i couldn’t wait till they were gone. Bonilla comes to the top of the list. Jeff Kent was not likeable at all, but a damn good 2nd baseman! so yeah, austin is a good dude! just wish he didn’t have to hit!
Yasmani Grandal tops my list. I couldn’t wait for Marichal to retire. And I really did not like Gary Sheffield, especially after he said he never played hard all of the time. Charles Johnson, Frank Robinson, there are several I just thought were not real Dodger material.
Angels lose Anthony Rendon to another injury. This time, a torn hammy. Wade Miley to have TJ surgery. Barnes is who he is. It is kind of puzzling because he hit everywhere he ever played and in 2017 hit well enough to replace Grandal in the post-season as the primary catcher.
Barnes had huge hit in the 2020 WS off Snell. He is a hero.
Thank you. IYKYK
The hero was the Rays manager, Kevin Cash, who pulled Snell, who was dominating the Dodgers up to that point only making 73 pitches with 9 Ks and no walks and replaced him with Nick Anderson who immediately gave up a run scoring double by Betts to tie the game, and then Betts scored on an infield out by Seager. The next 3 hitters coming up after Barnes had struck out 6 times in 6 appearances against Snell. One of the worst moves by a manager in a must win game.
The Dodgers need to carefully ration Smith’s playing time to keep him from wearing out. He’s simply their most pivotal player in determining the outcome of this season.
At this point in time, it is very clear that Chris Taylor is on a really short leash. The only way they can keep him is if he suffers a phantom injury and needs a rehab assignment. He is just painful to watch. And you have to feel for the guy. He has had some huge moments as a Dodger. His first career homer was a grand slam, and he has six of them for LA. He is owed over 20 million over the next two seasons with a team option and a 4-million-dollar buyout. I seriously doubt any team would trade for him, but they would definitely take a shot if he was put on waivers. Yep, let the Dodgers pay him to play for us, just like the Dodgers let the Cubs pay for Heyward last season. J.D. Martinez went 2-4 in his Mets debut with a double and a run batted in. Mets lost to the Cardinals. Oh yeah, his other 2 ABs he struck out. D-Backs losing as are the Padres, so LA should pick up a game in the standings on each.