I love the Giants! Right! OK, that’s a damn lie!
Gavin Stone has exceeded my expectations. I have always liked him but did not envision him in the rotation. He’s there and he’s good! JP Feyereisen is a Godsend and the bullpen remains outstanding. The offense generally rolls and this team is a juggernaut. Even Lux and Outman had hits last night.
Down on the Farm
OKC – Vargas drove in the only run with a double as the Nameless Team lost. Somebody is going to pick up Lamet!
Tulsa – Freeland, Rushing, and Cartaya (3rd HR) all had two hits as the Drillers lost.
GREAT LAKES – Also lost.
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – Won 6-0. Copen went seven innings, allowing just three hits and no runs. Hummmm…
I don’t put much stock in the other leagues. It’s too much of a crapshoot for me.
Kyle Neddenreip of the Indy Star wrote this yesterday (it falls under the category of “Unbelievable.”):
2 outs. Nobody on. Bottom of the 9th. Down by 9 runs. How IU Southeast pulled off stunner.
Brett Neffendorf was up until 2 a.m. as Monday night rolled into Tuesday morning, returning dozens of unread text messages from earlier in the day.
“Enjoy it while you can,” Neffendorf said. “I’ll give up a little sleep for a day like that.”
The IU Southeast baseball coach has never experienced anything in his baseball career, coach or player, like he did on Monday. Neither has IU Southeast assistant Glendon Rusch, who pitched 12 seasons in the major leagues.
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” said Neffendorf, in his first season at the New Albany school. “No matter what happens, our guys will always be able to carry it with them as a story of resilience and never giving up.”
The scene on Monday was the Upland bracket of opening round of the NAIA baseball tournament. There are 10 sites around the country on campus sites with the winners advancing to the 10-team Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, from May 24-31.
In the first game of the tournament on Monday afternoon at Taylor University, fourth-seeded IU Southeast fell behind fifth-seeded Indiana Tech by six runs after four innings, then 9-0 after six frames. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Grenadiers trailed 11-2.
Colin Long grounded out to third base. Mason White flied out to left field. The team’s top two hitters retired. Two outs. Nobody on. Bottom of the ninth. Down by nine runs.
Neffendorf’s mind wandered.
“I was just really thinking about the fact that we have a tough road ahead of us at that point,” he said. “Being in an elimination bracket is tough. You never want to sit there and say it’s over but I’m thinking, ‘What do we have to do to get where we want to go?’ It’s a tough feeling emotionally.”
What happened next is almost inexplicable. With two outs and nobody on, No. 3 hitter Luke Powell hit a groundball to shortstop. A routine play. “He boots the baseball,” Neffendorf said, “and the inning keeps going.”
And going. And going. And going. How it happened:
> Cleanup hitter Kody Putnam singled to right center to advance Powell to third.
>> Trevor Goodwin singled to right. Powell scored. 11-3.
>> Max Flock doubled to left center. Putnam and Goodwin scored. 11-5.
>> Logan Murphy walked. Alex Yurt entered as pinch runner.
>> Ethan Burdette hit a groundball to third base. Another error. Flock scored. 11-6.
It was around this point, Neffendorf started to think maybe something was in the air — if IU Southeast could get White, the River States Conference Player of the Year, back up to bat. White, a senior from Evansville Central, is hitting .420 with 16 home runs and 69 RBIs.
>> Slater Schield singled to left field. Yurt scored. 11-7.
>> Kade Robinson, one of Indiana Tech’s top relievers, entered the game.
> Long, up for the second time in the inning, walked to load the bases.
>> White walked. Burdette scored. 11-8.
>> Powell singled to right. Schield scored. Long scored. 11-10.
>> Putnam doubled down the right-field line. White scored. 11-11.
That brought up Goodwin, who singled for the first RBI of the inning. This time he launched a flyball to center field. Indiana Tech centerfielder Patrick McGinn jumped at the fence and fell to the warning track.
“For about 10 seconds, no one knew if the ball made it over,” Neffendorf said. “Once the umpire made the call, it was something I never experienced in my life.”
Goodwin’s three-run home run ended the game, a 14-11 IU-Southeast win. The Grenadiers scored 12 runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. All 12 unearned. It took seven hits, two errors and three walks. A dramatic home run to top it off.
“Before the regional, we talked about believing,” Neffendorf said. “Believe we are supposed to be here, believe you are capable of winning the tournament no matter what the seeds are.”
IU Southeast did not have long to celebrate. The dramatic win put the Grenadiers in a winners’ bracket game vs. top-seeded Missouri Baptist. Ace Luke Schafer took care of business, blanking Missouri Baptist for eight innings in a 4-0 win.
Momentum? Better believe it.
“After an emotional win like that, absolutely,” Neffendorf said. “We fought back to win and going into that game against the No. 1 seed, we had a lot of momentum, especially with Luke Schafer on the mound.”
IU Southeast is back in action today in a winners’ bracket game against No. 2 seed Taylor. That game has been pushed back to a 6 p.m. start. The winner of that game will be in the driver’s seat by the end of the night with a chance to close out the regional championship Wednesday.
Neffendorf, in his first year at IU Southeast, believes his team is set up well for today with freshman Connor Sims, a Greenfield-Central grad, on the mound and “all of our horses ready in the bullpen.” But belief is not a problem after Monday.
“Playing in the postseason is about having a low heart rate and not making it bigger than it is,” Neffendorf said. “Once we came back and won that game, I think it allowed us relax and believe.”
What a story!
A Glimpse into My Life:
We are winding down our construction at the new house. The Kitchen, Dining Room, Family Room, and Laundry Room are done. The pool house is close, and we are working on the top floor now.
When we moved in, the kitchen looked like this:
Here it is during the Construction:
Here it is Now:
Also, my wife is from San Francisco, and she loves Napa, so here is the mural on our dining room wall:
,,, and her “wine art” wall – I swear I had nothing to do with taking the two missing bottles (hic):
Of course, the pool is done and is 87 degrees!
I’m not retiring, but when we move to our new facility in July, I will no longer have an office. I work several hours a day (on my terms), and on days like yesterday, I meet with a good customer for lunch and then had a meeting from 3-6 PM at the office. Life is good. It is so good because my son, Steve, will be our CEO on his 25th Birthday next month. He will lead the next generation. He is a beast… I used to be one.
Very nice house! Absolutely love the pool.
We are currently in Tuscanny /Italy. Napa Valley often is called Tuscanny 2.0, very similar landscape though a LOT more history over here and MUCH better wines. :-).
Cartaya with another good day. Fingers crossed he keeps it up.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great story about the comeback. Never of heard anything like that.
Nice Mark. Enjoy it.
Yes this team is fun to watch. Don’t sweat losing 5 of 7 throughout the 162 grind, it’ll happen.
Lets just get hot (and healthy) at the right time this year.
I suspect MiLB call-up today, perhaps Salazar to help out in the BP game with an Outman demotion. When the Dodgers get home Salazar goes back down and Hayward is added….just a hunch.
I think you can not demote a position player for a pitcher if . Has to be 13-13 on the 26 men roster.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
I didn’t know that. Thanks
If memory serves me correctly, in 2020 playoffs against the Braves, the Dodgers scored 11 runs in the first inning of game 3. 10 of those runs scored with 2 outs.
Good memory.
wow. all of us were ready to cast a Stone away!! The young man has been incredible his last several starts!! His motion and effortless delivery makes me think he doesn’t have a lot of stress in his pitching. He’s been outstanding. …… On another topic. Andy Pages seems to be going in the wrong direction. I wouldn’t be shocked if AF. pulls a gollywhopper of a trade later on. If outman,Pages, and even Heyward struggle i can forsee a big move coming. Unless he brings Vargas up and he rakes! No matter who, they need more production from the outfield . Teo can’t be the only one !
Nice crib. .
I missed some earlier Dodgers posts, and want to catch up with some commentary.
–The defense. It really does seem improved, and to me this counts as the biggest surprise of the season. I really expected Mookie to have more trouble, but the move to SS full-time has been such a success that Roberts is doing a straight Lux-Rojas platoon at 2B to ensure that Mookie further develops as a SS. And Max is passing the eye test. He’s made a lot of nice plays out there, including starting DPs. And Lux seems solid at 2B.
–Yes, Outman seems headed to OKC as soon as Heyward gets back–and barring an injury that could alter the situation. I hope e’s will get full-time reps in OKC to help him work on his hitting. That will kind of screw over the incumbents. I keep hoping guys like Ward and Avans who can’t crack the LA lineup get dealt to small-market teams where they might have a chance.
–A meme was shared highlighting the claim that Will Smith had tied Mookie and Shohei for the team lead in RBIs. Actually, Teoscar has been leading in that stat for some time. With just over 1/4 of season done, Teoscar is at 36 RBIs, followed by Shohei at 30, Will at 29, Mookie at 28, Max at 27 and Freddie at 24. If Freddie picks up the pace a bit, could the Dodgers really have six players reach 100 RBIs? Probably not, in part because Will figures to get more rest, and a HR by Shohei empties the bases for Freddie. Still, it’s impressive team stat.
–It’s endearing that Mark remains bullish on Miguelito. He asserts that Vargas , while “no longer a prospect,” would be “top 30” if he was. But if that were true, it would put ould put him ahead of Pages, and the Dodgers clearly rank Pages higher. Unfortunately for Vargas, he is far more limited defensively than Pages or Outman–and much more limited than Chris Taylor, who is the weakest link in the Dodgers offense. Still, if Vargas continues to play well, he should get another chance in LA–or he’ll increase his value as a trade chip.
–The bullpen is indeed a strength, but it also seems fragile with so many key guys like Phillips, Graterol, Brasier and others doing time on the IL. AF is the master of “churn and burn,” and Prior has a remarkable record of making unpolished gems shiny. Certainly the bullpen is good enough to get the Dodgers to the World Series.
But if it’s the 9th inning in a tight game against the Yankees, who would you want facing Soto and Judge?
Maybe you’d like a better lefty option, like Tanner Scott from the Marlins. Or maybe you’d prefer the beastly Mason Miller and his unrivaled heat to Phillips. I know I would. So I see nothing wrong with wanting to turn a Grade A bullpen into Grade A+.
And I would happily include Miguel Vargas in a deal for those guys–and I bet Miguelito would be happy about it too.
In my wet dreams (:-)) I want both Mason Miller and Tanner Scott. Lethal LH-RH combo for the playoffs.
Along with Phillips , Bazooka, Hudson, Treinen, Vesia would give us a killer pen.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!
Here they go again; Last night Houston Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco was ejected for using a foreign substance to enhance his pitch grip.
Must have been a Dave Roberts clone managing the Indiana Tech bullpen!
Nice crib. Very nice.
I missed some earlier Dodgers posts, and want to catch up with some commentary.
–The defense. It really does seem improved, and to me this counts as the biggest surprise of the season. I really expected Mookie to have more trouble, but the move to SS full-time has been such a success that Roberts is doing a straight Lux-Rojas platoon at 2B to ensure that Mookie further develops as a SS. And Max is passing the eye test. He’s made a lot of nice plays out there, including starting DPs. And Lux seems solid at 2B.
–Yes, Outman seems headed to OKC as soon as Heyward gets back–and barring an injury that could alter the situation. I hope he’ll will get full-time reps in OKC to help him work on his hitting. That will kind of screw over the incumbents. I keep hoping guys like Ward and Avans who can’t crack the LA lineup get dealt to small-market teams where they might have a chance.
–A meme was shared highlighting the claim that Will Smith had tied Mookie and Shohei for the team lead in RBIs. Actually, Teoscar has been leading in that stat for some time. With just over 1/4 of season done, Teoscar is at 36 RBIs, followed by Shohei at 30, Will at 29, Mookie at 28, Max at 27 and Freddie at 24. If Freddie picks up the pace a bit, could the Dodgers really have six players reach 100 RBIs? Probably not, in part because Will figures to get more rest, and a HR by Shohei empties the bases for Freddie. Still, it’s a damn impressive team stat.
–It’s endearing that Mark remains bullish on Miguelito. He asserts that Vargas , while “no longer a prospect,” would be “top 30” if he was. But if that were true, that would put him ahead of Pages, and the Dodgers clearly rank Pages higher. Unfortunately for Vargas, he is far more limited defensively than Pages or Outman–and much more limited than Chris Taylor, who is the weakest link in the Dodgers offense. Still, if Vargas continues to play well, he should get another chance in LA–or he’ll increase his value as a trade chip.
–The bullpen is indeed a strength, but it also seems fragile with so many key guys like Phillips, Graterol, Brasier and others doing time on the IL. AF leverages the Dodgers’ financial advantage as the master of “churn and burn,” and Prior has a remarkable record of making unpolished gems shiny. Certainly the bullpen is good enough to get the Dodgers to the World Series.
But if it’s the 9th inning in a tight game against the Yankees, who would you want facing Soto and Judge?
Maybe you’d like a better lefty option, like Tanner Scott from the Marlins. Or maybe you’d prefer the beastly Mason Miller and his unrivaled heat to Phillips. I know I would. So I see nothing wrong with wanting to turn a Grade A bullpen into Grade A+.
And I would happily include Miguel Vargas in a deal for those guys–and I bet Miguelito would be happy about it too.
No matter what the Dodgers stats are now, still too early for assessments on where this TEAM stands with pitching, defense, and offense. Need another 20 games when they’ve played about 65 games to make definitive conclusions, imo.
Don’t know how Outman’s hitting gets better at OKC. The hitting coaches there aren’t on the same level as the one’s he’s working with now.
Gauthier one to watch long-term at OKC. Vargas wasting time there – either move him up, or trade him ..Soon.
What would it take to get Brent Rooker from the A’s?
Vargas for Rooker straight up?
Rooker is 29 and has three years of control left. He is arbitration eligible next year. I doubt they could get him in a 1-1 trade. Since he is with the A’s, I would rather see him included in a deal for Miller. But Miller would not be cheap. One trade scenario that involved the Dodgers had them sending 3 prospects, DePaula, Rushing and Knack to the A’s for him. I think that is a little steep. The Dodgers are deep in catching prospects, but Smith just got a 10-year extension. You have to figure he is going to be the primary catcher for at least 4-5 of those years before they would move him to another position. Rushing and Cartaya are both blocked by Smith, and Rushing is also blocked by Freeman, who has three seasons left after this year on his contract. But I could see LA trading one of those guys and some RH pitching depth that they have in the minors and maybe a position player or two, but not DePaula.
Agree on dePaula though the lack of power is beginning to worry me. Kid is built like a Greek god with a sweet lefthanded swing but still no power to show for
Rushing or Cartaya (whoever they want) plus Knack plus River Ryan for Miller would be a trade I make and should be good for both sides.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!111
DePaula hit his first homer today, obviously in response to your comment.
Maybe I should rant a bit more. 🙂
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
Here’s a link to a Bleacher Reports article detailing what teams might have to offer to get Miller. This one has us giving up Rushing, DePaula and Hurt and then says the A’s could do better.
The article details trade ideas for the 5 most likely teams: Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Orioles and Cubs.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10121001-as-closer-mason-miller-landing-spots-amid-mlb-trade-rumors-red-hot-start-to-2024
The fact that this author posits the Dodgers as a likely candidate with that package leads me to believe the author has no concept of how Friedman operates, his philosophy nor of his history with trades.
Other than that, I can see why he envisions it happening.
Spot on.
For a trade to happen now (this far from the deadline), some team is going to have to make an offer similar to what he has proposed. It won’t, however, be the Dodgers.
They DFAd Crismatt, sent Varland to AAA and recalled Hernandez and Salazar. Hernandez will start tonight’s game. Giants signed Curt Casali to an MLB contract and optioned one of their catchers back to AAA. Dodger lineup tonight is the same as it has been the last two games. No way AF would trade three players for a reliever. That is why I could see a package deal that included Rooker. Maybe 5-2 trade.
Very nice place Mark. Enjoy it while you can. Does not surprise me that a member of the Astros was found with an illegal substance on his glove. They have an arrogant culture over there.
9:45 PM ET
Dodgers (29-15)
Giants (19-25)
SP Ryan Yarbrough L
3-1 2.56 ERA PRIM
SP Logan Webb R
3-4 3.38 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
2B Gavin Lux L
RF Andy Pages R
CF James Outman L
Dodger SP subject to change
Dodgers call up Elieser Hernández & Eduardo Salazar for bullpen game vs. Giants
Salazar & Hernández were both starters in Triple-A, called up as the fresh arms for series finale in San Francisco. Gus Varland was optioned to Oklahoma City, and Nabil Crismatt designated for assignment
According to MLBTR< Hernandez most likely will get the start. Remains to be seen.
All you guys who wanted them to sign Chapman would sure be disappointed so far, .210 avg, 5 homers and 18 driven in. Muncy has been far better.
Who was the guy who wanted Muncy up with the bases loaded?
Why didn’t we just bring up Knack to pitch tonight?
15-day rule maybe.
The nothing gang showed up tonight.
It’s a decent bullpen game.
They brought the bullpen but forgot the hitters… so far.
Up by 7 and a half games , I can see why they are throwing different guys out there right now, they have the luxury to do it, clock is ticking on CT3, dude needs to hit real soon, problem is the Dodgers are on the hook for two more years with that big contract. Knowing Freidman , he’s going to make sure Taylor has every opportunity to straighten himself out before making a move. A lot of our totally spoiled and front running fan base doesn’t realize or even care about the reasons behind the scenes why certain players are in the lineup, they just default to blaming Roberts. I’ve noticed over the past month or so when they trot out different starting pitchers or do a bullpen game, arm chair managers are out there squawking but don’t realize that Freidman and Doc are filling in the blanks with guys that eat innings and starts until guys like Miller(remember him?) a full strength Bueller, and a healthy Kershaw come back. I think so far Doc and Freidman have held serve on that so far,. Outman will probably go down when Hayward comes back , he still has options, ain’t no way Taylor will be sent down to Triple A. Going to keep my eye on that one , love Taylor over the years, lots of big moments, but damn, start hitting dude!!!
In many of their games so far this year, the Dodgers offense has been literally all or nothing. So many of their “impressive” offensive team stats have amounted to meaningless “empty calorie” runs in blow-out wins.
But regardless ..very good playoff pitching shutting down the Dodgers offense …is still a real possibility again.
That is true not only for our Dodgers but every team.
Dodgers need better production from the bottom of the lineup and the bench . Otherwise they are too dependant of their big guns Betts, Ohtani, Freeman, Smith.
MM and Theo are all or nothing type of hitters and Pages has slowed down too after a hot start what was to be expected. Just like the last years we are a cold streak by the top of our lineup away from an offensive meltdown.
I would love to have one additonal bat with a high average and OBP like Arraez who sadly was picked up by the Padres.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well.. Ohtani’s last AB shows that he’s advanced his approach to making contact with 2-strikes. That’s encouraging!
Totally agree with Wayne on the play off pitching, I believe that’s why the Dodgers are giving guys like Lux, Taylor, and Outman a long leash, they want to know for sure what kind of production they will get out of these guys going forward before they have to make a roster move, either in the coming month, or at the trade deadline,. Freidman always plays the long game, thinking about October when it’s only May or June.
The Dodgers have got to find some hitters who can put the bat on the ball. The first 4 plus lux can at least make contact in a playoff situation. Muncy and Hernandez are high risk high reward but the Dodgers are going to live with those 2. However, pages, outman are almost automatic strikeouts. Outman struggles with all pitches and pages can’t stay in the zone swinging at everything. You just don’t have much of a chance when u have 4 strikeouts in the lineup. I would be looking for another solid situational hitter to trade for, move Lux up in the order between Teo and Muncy against righties and start giving him some abs against lefties or use Rojas.
The Dodgers really need a centerfielder who can make contact. Easier said than done. I just think the offense has got to improve by playoff time and I don’t c it with the current roster. They need to make a trade. Hayward coming back does not excite me. This offense will not do in the playoffs. As long as we are healthy our sp, bullpen, defense will be playoff ready but the offense is a no.