So over the past few days, I have heard that Max Muncy is toast, the Dodgers should trade for Nolan Arenado, Luis Robert, Jr., Cedric Mullins, Walker Buehler, Julio Rodriguez, and that Dave Roberts is making lots of managing blunders. In other words – this Dodger team is so screwed! Yawn. We hear this every year. We heard it last year, and look how it ended.
Dave Roberts is bringing the same “country club” atmosphere to the Dodgers’ locker room. There is no pushing, there is no urgency. This team is on cruise control right about now… as it should be. This is the best team in baseball… hands down! Doc is not making this a time of urgency because it is a long season. As we progress through the season, Dave Roberts will encourage the players to act with urgency; however, if you push them for the entire season, you risk burning them out.
Shohei Ohtani is not pitching (yet). Clayton Kershaw is biding his time in the minors. The Bazooka will be back later in the season, as will Emmett Sheehan. Andy Pages will get better or he won’t – time will determine that. By the All-Star Break, things will become clearer. The Dodgers are on cruise control right about now. There is no urgency. I am not saying that they are not trying – they most certainly are, but they are not playing “balls to the wall” right now.
In a horse race, all the horses start out at an even gait. If one jumps out to a big lead, it usually isn’t long until the whole pack passes him. But, usually coming down the back stretch or on the final turn, the jockeys “go to the whip” and the horses who are already running fast, kick it into another gear.
This is the time to just posture and position. It is not yet time for Dave Roberts to “go to the whip.” This Dodger team is a thoroughbred who knows how to win. The management knows it, and the players know it. You don’t go to the whip until you are headed down the home stretch. The Dodgers will be just fine. Roberts is not making blunders – he is seeing how certain players react in certain situations. He is seeking growth and learning opportunities. It’s a very long season, and you don’t burn out players now. Patience, young grasshoppers!
The Convention is over, and my wife and I are spending another night in Long Beach… just chilling. Tomorrow we head to Valencia to stay with some friends who are having a party Saturday night, and then we fly back to Indy on Sunday morning. It’s been a long week, and we are just resting up. I hope to see the game this evening.
Thursday scores
Oklahoma City 10, Salt Lake 7
Tulsa 4, Northwest Arkansas 2
Great Lakes 3, Lake County 1
Rancho Cucamonga 5, Inland Empire 1
Friday schedule
3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Brooks Auger) at Lake County (Caden Favors)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Jerming Rosario) at Northwest Arkansas (TBA)
5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Nick Frasso) at Salt Lake (Shaun Anderson)
6:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Christian Zazueta) at Inland Empire (Peyton Olejnik)
Sean Linan was named California League pitcher of the week on Monday, and it’s going to be hard to prevent him from earning a repeat honor this week. Linan struck out 11 of his 18 batters faced for Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday night in San Bernardino, fueling his five scoreless innings.
The 20-year-old right-hander allowed only two hits and a walk, lowering his ERA to 0.87 through his four games and 20⅔ innings on the season. Linan has 40 strikeouts against only four walks, and an eye-popping 54-percent strikeout rate.
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
Confirmed for next start
April 25, 2025
Glasnow (lower leg) is listed as the Dodgers’ scheduled starting pitcher for Sunday’s game against the Pirates in Los Angeles.
Confirmed for next start
April 25, 2025
Glasnow (lower leg) is listed as the Dodgers’ scheduled starting pitcher for Sunday’s game against the Pirates in Los Angeles.
You can say that again! 😉
Sorry, but who will be the pitcher for Sunday’s game?
Are you free in the afternoon?
Pitching matchups for series with Bucs. Skenes V Yamamoto, Heller V Sasaki, Falter V Glasnow. Twins outrighted Cartaya. He was placed on waivers and went unclaimed. His star burned out fast.
Tom Petty: “Most things I worry ’bout/Never happen anyway.”
10:10 PM ET
Pirates (10-16)
Dodgers (16-9)
SP Paul Skenes R
2-2 2.87 ERA
SP Y. Yamamoto R
3-1 .93 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
2B Tommy Edman S
C Will Smith R
LF M. Conforto L
3B Max Muncy L
CF Andy Pages R
60° Wind 10 mph Out
Haha not disrespecting Muncy by batting him 9th.
We currently have three #9 hitters.
“The Dodgers on Friday claimed Yoendrys Gómez off waivers from the Yankees, adding another right-hander into the bullpen mix.Gómez, who was designated for assignment by the Yankees on Tuesday, is out of options, having used option years in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Which means he’ll be on the active roster once he arrives in Los Angeles.
In six relief appearances with New York this season, Gómez had a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings with nine walks and five strikeouts. The 25-year-old pitched in the majors in parts of three seasons since 2023, totaling a 3.09 ERA and 5.47 FIP in 12 games, with 19 strikeouts and 16 walks in 23⅓ innings.
Gómez has been a starter in the minors, and had a 3.67 ERA last year in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 23 games, including 21 starts, with 93 strikeouts (27-percent strikeout rate) and 39 walks in 83⅓ innings”.
Long man
04/25/25 Los Angeles Dodgers sent OF Eddie Rosario outright to Oklahoma City Comets.
i don’t think max is done, BUT, he probably has a shorter leash than we believe. right now Taylor is more valuable than max. Chris is a better defender than max. And his strikeout rate is probably even with max! Oh by the way, whomever the idiot was who verbally attacked max after the cubs game should be banned from the stadium. no matter how much max is struggling, he deserves the respect and privacy from fans. yamamoto shoves tonight!
Disagree about Taylor. Even with zero HRs, Max has power in his back pocket. Look at Casas, Pages, some guys start slowly.
If you’re giving up on Muncy or opening up the position, you have to consider Freeland.
In fact, that might be a better way to frame the question: Does Freeland provide more value than Muncy?
But we’re not there yet.
It seems like we go through this every year with Max… and then he hits 35 HR!
Over/Under 17.5?
Aernado started out hot, but is now hitting .200 with no extra base hits in his last 25 ABs!
He is toast!
Now, in the unlikely event that Muncy is toast, I agree with Brian.
The season up until Memorial Day (maybe sooner with opening day in late March) is about evaluation and data collection, with today’s emphasis on analytics. There is no reason to be worried but the eye test says that the Dodgers are not playing “winning” baseball. I am sure that it has Roberts attention right now – defensive plays they don’t make, baserunning mistakes, poor at bat quality, walking opposing hitters, etc. Things that you can control. Just tonight, Muncy bobbles a double play grounder, Yamamoto has walked four, Pages runs into an out on a comebacker, they don’t get a guy in from third with no outs, Ohtani chases pitches out of the zone ahead in the count.
If the Dodgers decide to move on from Pages in center, I can see him platooning with Conforto. He is starting to swing the bat better and has hit four homers in the last two weeks.
So, the Dodgers just got shut out… at home… by the Pirates.
The best news lately has come from the farm.
I don’t expect any bold personnel moves soon, but it’s increasingly apparent that the mid-30s bench of Taylor, Rojas, Kike and Barnes are blocking Freeland, Rushing and Kim. When will the real Conforto show up?
Younger talents like Hope and Sirota should be promoted to face tougher competition.
The Dodgers are really into “slow-playing” this season.
Is there anybody who could be fast-tracked?
The Dodgers ran into Skenes. One of, if not, the most dominate pitcher in baseball.
Skenes is a beast. But the Dodgers are supposed to be beastly too.
Great pitching will stifle great hitting most of the time. No one should be surprised by Skenes’ performance against the Dodgers, or any other team for that matter.
And the ever-streaky James Outman has come back to life:
“Outman went 4-for-4, extending his hitting streak to nine games. During the streak, Outman is 15-for-36 (.417), and it is his longest hitting streak since 2021 with High-A Great Lakes…Over the nine games, Outman is hitting .417/.432/.750/1.182 in 37 PA.”
BTW, it seems like every time I see Luis Robert Jr. on the day’s highlights… it’s a lowlight. Some ugly strikeouts and an error in CF. Ugh.
“The Dodgers have reached agreement with infielder Nick Senzel on a minor league contract, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. He’ll presumably head to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Senzel makes his return to affiliated ball after a brief stop in Mexico. The former #2 overall pick had signed with the Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos. It didn’t take long for him to find interest from a big league club. Senzel hit .591 with three homers, four walks, and one strikeout over six games. That attracts attention even in an exceptionally hitter-friendly league”.
Interesting…..
I thought the Dodgers might go after Senzel a while back when he was a free agent. He seemed like a good platoon partner for Max, and also a guy who could help out in the OF.
It would not surprise me if Senzel gets called up ahead a prospect like Freeland. Senzel is a role player now–and the Dodgers would prefer that Freeland see action every day.
Any word on David Bote?
Friday scores:
Salt Lake 9, Oklahoma City 4
Northwest Arkansas 8, Tulsa 4
Great Lakes at Lake County, postponed
Rancho Cucamonga 8, Inland Empire 2
Saturday schedule
12:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Landon Knack) at Salt Lake (Chase Silseth)
2 p.m.: Great Lakes (Brooks Auger) at Lake County (Josh Hartle)
Game 2: Great Lakes (Wyatt Crowell) at Lake County (TBA)
4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Jacob Meador) at Northwest Arkansas (Ryan Ramsey)
6:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Samuel Sanchez) at Inland Empire (Andre Sanchez)
“Mike Sirota, the player the Dodgers acquired in the Gavin Lux trade, had three hits, including his second home run in three games. The 21-year-old Sirota is off to an excellent start with the Quakes, slashing ten extra-base hits in his first twelve games, and sporting a 1.136 OPS after his first forty-seven professional at-bats”.
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
A poem I read whenever I’m having a tough day.
I’m so tired of being tired
As sure as night follows day
Most things I worry about
Won’t happen anyway.
John: As the brilliant Tom Petty sang… Meanwhile, irritating to watch the team in the micro. Macro on the other hand is an open book of possibilities impacted by injuries, extended hot streaks, surprising play from unexpected sources etc. Yamamoto was not at his best last night, seriously micro. To conclude from this one game that he’s mediocre or losing it is serious sampling error. Loving the ups and downs of it all.
Preach it, Brother.
After last night’s game, Skenes has a 2.39 ERA and Yamamoto sits at 1.06!
There are so many possibilities: Outman, Rushing, Freeland, Senzel (watch him – he’s a guy who just never put it together, but has all the tools, and he’s not a bad actor), Davis, Gomez, Kershaw, Ohtani, Bazooka, Sheehan, Frasso, Kopech, Snell, Gonsolin, Harris, Miller, Knack, Wrobs, Feduccia, Kim, Ruiz, and others.
Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Pages, Conforto, Muncy, Rojas, et al are all very much under their career averages. Give it time. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Watch them fly around the final turn:
Love Tom Petty!!
9:10 PM ET
Pirates (11-16)
Dodgers (16-10)
SP Mitch Keller R
1-2 4.18 ERA
SP Roki Sasaki R
0-1 3.20 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
2B Tommy Edman S
C Will Smith R
LF M. Conforto L
3B Max Muncy L
CF Andy Pages R
59° Wind 11 mph Out
Noah Davis was optioned to Oklahoma City The Dodgers on Saturday activated right-hander Yoendrys Gómez ahead of their game against the Pirates, and optioned Noah Davis to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Roberts announced Gonsolin will make his first start for the Dodgers on Wednesday.
Hooray for that.
Another great post my man. You hit many nails right on head grasshopper.
Comets pitcher today……..
7 innings, a win and retired the final 15 hitters in a row. My boy………..
Landon Knack
Oh it was against a sub 500 team so it doesn’t count! What ever. I love the kid.
I love Petty too. Remember folks…..
“Even the losers get lucky sometime ”
Book em
Mark, I’d like to give you a homework assignment. Get another audience with AF and stress to him that pitchers who walk the leadoff man gets fined fifty dollars. For that particular game for each lead off walk the fine doubles. For example: first inning walk $50 let’s say third inning he walks the leadoff hitter, that’s a $100 fine. In the fifth the same pitcher walks the leadoff hitter it’s a $200 fine, etc.
If a hitter leaves a runner at third with less than two outs it’s a fifty dollar fine, $100 if he does it twice in the game etc.
At the end of the season all the fine money is given to RBI or Special Olympics or an organization like that.
Thank you Mark for your consideration.
I think he might do it.
“Eddie Rosario elected free agency on Friday, according to his transaction log on MLB.com (h/t Eric Stephen of True Blue LA). The Dodgers designated the veteran outfielder for assignment last weekend when they activated Shohei Ohtani from the paternity list. After Rosario cleared waivers, the Dodgers sent him outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, but he exercised his right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency”.
Oklahoma City 5, Salt Lake 4
NW Arkansas 1, Tulsa 0: game suspended in 4th inning
Lake County 6, Great Lakes 1, game 1
Lake County 3, Great Lakes 2, game 2
Rancho Cucamonga 8, Inland Empire 6
Sunday schedule
Great Lakes (Luke Fox) at Lake County (Matt Wilkinson), 10:00 AM PST
Tulsa at Northwest Arkansas, 10:30 AM PST, completion of Apr 26 game
Tulsa (Jackson Ferris) at NW Arkanas (Hunter Owen), ~12:05 PM PST
Oklahoma City (Justin Wrobleski) at Salt Lake (Jake Eder), 11:05 AM PST
Rancho Cucamonga (Hyun-Seok Jang) at Inland Empire (Yeferson Vargas), 2:05 PM PST
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.