To begin with, I totally understand how much the Dodgers wanted to draft Mike Sirota. He was projected to be a first-round draft pick ahead of the 2024 Draft… some services even had him in the Top 10. However, he took a huge backward step in 2024 for various reasons. Frankly, he scared many organizations off… including the Dodgers, as he looked totally out of sync. I have watched Mike Sirota close to a dozen times this year, and he employs a crouched and wide stance at the plate without many moving parts and fires quick hands through the hit zone. Frankly, I am convinced that the Dodgers stole him from the Reds, as the Reds most likely sold him based on his poor showing in 2024.
He is a different player this year, and he was just promoted from Rancho Cucamonga to Great Lakes. Understand this: He has great defense, speed, and a great arm to go with his bat. Sirota led off and played LF in his first game with the Loons. He was only 3-3 with a walk to cap it off. He chewed up Low-A, and he was smoking hot in his first game at High-A. In a couple of months (if he keeps this up), he will be in Tulsa. Quick: Who was the last player who started at Low A, moved through every minor league stop (A, AA, and AAA), and finished the season in LA? I’ll tell you later!
The last two guys about whom I was this excited were Seager and Bellinger! Yeah, I liked Miguel Vargas, but not like Sirota! I will say this: Mike Sirota will be the Dodgers Centerfielder for ten years starting in 2026 or 2027!
LAST NIGHT’S GAME
Well, that was a close one. Three straight Grand Slams and we would have won! I turned it off and speed-watched this morning. After vomiting, I feel better. It was a good night as the Indiana Pacers again made it to the NBA finals. This coming Saturday will mark Clayton Kershaw’s return to the rotation. The rotation will look something like this:
- Yamamoto
- Gonsolin
- May
- Kershaw
- Knack
With Sasaki, Snell, Glasnow, and Sheehan on the IL, but expected to return sometime. Nick Frasso is also a possibility. I pray that J.P. Feyereisen goes away… soon! I am not going to talk about why (at least right now) the Dodgers have so many injuries, but it is very concerning. Maybe Mark Prior is teaching his style of pitching to the team? You know – Pitch great for a year or two, and then your arm falls off! That’s what it appears.
PETE ROSE
So, Rob Manfred made the right decision (with some prodding from Donald Trump) to allow Pete Rose and others who had been banned from baseball to have a path to the Hall of Fame. I think it’s only right if they are part of the fabric of baseball, and especially in Pete Rose’s case, who was banned for what he did as a manager, not as a player. His plaque can say that. It will also say “Charley Hustle” who played the game right between the lines. I just am not convinced that the bigoted sportswriters will do the right thing. Some are so self-righteous! Baseball writers are some of the most judgmental and dumb people I have ever met. Mental Midgets and Morons!
DODGER NEWS AND NOTES
- Bob Nightengale has reported that the Dodgers will be all in if Kyle Tucker hits the open market. Well, Duhhhh, even Ray Charles can see that.
- Clayton Kershaw will allegedly start Saturday against the Angels.
- Will Smith is hitting .330 – he always fades in the second half. What if he platooned with Dalton Rushing?
NBA finals? Getting ahead of yourself?
Well, the Eastern Finals is what I meant!
Not an NBA guy and hate Boston and NY so hope yall win.
Stoked to watch the GOAT pitch on Saturday.
I, for one, will never confuse Kershaw for Koufax.
Or Shohei, if we widen the GOAT net.
But for sentimental reasons nothing would be better than to see Kershaw come back strong and become a mainstay in the rotation for the remainder of the season.
And I’d love to see him joined by Shohei after the All-Star break.
Who knows when or even whether Snell, Glasnow and Sasaki will return–and if they return, how long they’ll last.
But the storybook season might leave those guys on the bench anyway.
Imagine a World Series with HOF talents Shohei and Kershaw lined up as starters.
could the dodgers have found the next best thing to a young mike trout? not saying he will be trout, but he sure could be special. …. Knack got knocked by jacob wilson! i like Knack, but don’t see him as a part of the big picture. .. where’s Honeywell? he’s better than garcia and jp put together! .. another ex tampa bay pitcher resurrected ! … I said a few days ago that conforto would get his stroke back. 3 more hits last night. hitting the ball hard! .. now’s the time for Max to start producing. i believe the clock is about to start ticking! … Excited for Clayton to pitch saturday!! no matter the result, it’ll be so good to see him back on the mound! …. Rojas will be a big league manager someday! …. Teo maybe back Saturday. That’s great news! Tommy Edman feeling much better too! Both are vital to the dodgers success! …. Hopefully the boys in blue get back on track tonight! The A’S are a young, hungry bunch!
Sirota is an exciting player to follow–but let’s not get carried away just yet.
He’ll turn 22 in June–and prodigies like Trout, Acuna, Soto and a few others made The Show at age 19.
From what I’ve read, his setback last year was due to an illness. He’s been fully recovered for about a year–and hit the weight room to add muscle. He dominated in Rancho, and maybe he’ll dominate in Great Lakes.
He joins Hope and de Paula in a competition to see who wins the promotion to Tulsa, where Jose Ramos, at 24, seems to be flexing his potential.
Yes, where is Honeywell?
I was pleased to see that the pre-Honeywell, Ryan Yarbrough, has landed a starting gig with the Yankees, who are off to an unexpectedly great start. (I root for 97% of former Dodgers.)
An even more unexpected great start: The Tigers, with help from old friends Jack Flaherty, McKinstry and Trey Sweeney. (Some people here used to say Sweeney was just a Triple A talent–but he’s been critical to the Tigers’ success.)
Kudos to Tigers’ management for dealing Flaherty to land Sweeney and prospect Thayron Liranzo, and then re-signing Flaherty. I’d call that trade a win-win, since Flaherty helped his hometown Dodgers win a championship.
Flaherty been awful recently….
Conforto is the only guy who showed up last night. His 400 ft out at Chase seemed to change his batting fortunes.
Smith had 3 hits also, so he showed up.
Tuesday scores
Oklahoma City 8, Round Rock 5
Northwest Arkansas 10, Tulsa 8
Great Lakes 3, Lake County 1
Rancho Cucamonga 25, Inland Empire 8
ACL Brewers 15, ACL Dodgers 2
Wednesday schedule
Northwest Arkansas (Ben Kudrna) at Tulsa (Jared Karros), 9:00 AM PST
Lake County (Josh Hartle) at Great Lakes (Wyatt Crowell), 3:05 PM PST
Oklahoma City (Justin Jarvis) at Round Rock (Adrian Houser), 5:05 PM PST
Inland Empire (Yeferson Vargas) at Rancho Cucamonga (Sterling Patick), 6:30 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.
The 3-point arc has changed the culture of the game so much. Perhaps too much.
Frankly, I think it took too long for players and coaches to realize that the 50% extra payoff beyond the arc was such a good deal.
Now it seems like everybody just launches from long-range now–and the quality of the shooting has improved because everybody logs the 10,000 hours practicing from long-range. There are 7-footers who shoot like Reggie Miller.
Imagine what Jerry West could have done with a 3-point line. A 6-11 gym rat like Bill Walton would have developed the weapon.
Maybe a lot of fans like the bombs-away game, but I know some people have been turned off. The game evolves. Remember how physical the game used to be with guys like Laimbeer, Mahorn, Rodman and Maurice Lucas? I credit, or blame, the Europeans for bringing both soccer-style flops into the game. Vlade Divac was a master.
Would the league consider shrinking the size of the rim to make shooting harder?
Or how about a fractional scoring?
Instead of a 3-point shot, maybe 2.5 points?
Pete deserved his lifetime ban ….. and he served it. He belongs in the Hall now for his on-field accomplishments but he got the “death sentence” from MLB because he knew gambling was absolutely verboten. He had known it from his earliest days in the minors and it is posted in every MLB clubhouse he was ever in.
– He lied he didn’t gamble
– Then admitted he did but never on baseball
– Later admitted he did on baseball but never on his own team
– Then admitted he did bet on his own team but never to lose.
I truly feel that if he’d lived longer he’d have admitted he did bet on them to lose but would have said he never did anything to cause them to lose.
Pete destroyed his own legacy and had no one to blame but himself. Truly tragic.
As for Shoeless Joe, he was never convicted of anything! In fact he was acquitted and Commissioner Landis gave him the baseball “death sentence” anyway. He hit .375 in the 1919 World Series, hit the only homerun and made no errors. Gross injustice that he wasn’t removed from the ineligible list decades ago.
Hear, hear.
Right on!
When you pitch your worst pitchers starter and relievers on the days he didnt gamble it is betting on them to lose. I would go further to say thats the equivalent of throwing games.
It also came out that he did bet as a player not just a manager. His records are in the Hall. No need to enshrine him. I hope everything MLB has on him is released before he gets a vote. I used to believe he belonged. However, the more lies he got caught in as well as the evidence on how he used his pitchers based on whether or not he was gambling changed my mind. Throw in the statutory rape, he got what he deserved.
It wasn’t a lifetime ban for Rose.
not getting carried away, but the build, speed , arm, power? hey , doesn’t hurt to dream! Sirota in center, Pages in right, Depaula in left? Fleeman at shortstop. Dalton catching. Will at 3rd. Mookie at second. who’s on first? just looking ahead!
Save one of those corners for Shohei
And one for Tucker
You’re getting carried away.
Dreams are nice, but they’re not reality.
https://x.com/i/grok/share/yiyF85PXLcx4lIpiQPibzZSWV
That is based upon his horrid season before the draft, where his stock dropped immensely. He is a different player now. Wait for the grades after this season!
Turned the game off when they went down 6-1. Reruns of NCIS more entertaining than that. Miller is a lost cause and should be dealt, soon. AF might not be able to stick to his desire to not make a major trade at the deadline. His pitching staff is in disarray. Glad to see Kersh coming back. Just 32 Ks short of 3000 for his career. Would be the first career Dodger pitcher ever to reach that plateau. They should also trade Ryan Ward and give him a shot with another organization. Wilson was impressive at the plate; his dad is former MLB player Jack Wilson.
rushing coming up!
Wow they DFA’d Barnes. Didn’t think they had it in them to do that…..but I LOVE THIS.
I HATE this move. Remember when we let go of AJ Ellis….yeah that didnt work out….
Yeah it did, A.J. Ellis didn’t do jackshit the rest of his career. Grandal was easily the superior catcher.
Guess you forgot how the season ended….hope this works out.
Oh I remember Grandal completely shit the bed in the playoffs (esp defensively) and if I recall Barnes started the last few games. The problem for Barmes this time around is he is the defensive liability. The guy can barely throw to second base at this point. Love the guy and he’s been a great Dodger but he’s just not contributing.
Wowsers!
It is a business. Platoon or Semi-Patoon Smith and Rushing!
Exactly. Just get him to the show and figure it out. He’s too good to be at AAA with nothing to prove.
i expect barnes to go nowhere. probably becomes a coach
I wonder if Kershaw’s major endorsement of Rushing when he pitched to him in his rehab game the other day had any effect on Andrew’s ultimate decision?
Very good thought, maybe?
100% – Let’s see if Rushing catches Clayton on Saturday.
If they are in fact DFA Barnes,which one of the three is next ,Taylor,Rojas or Muncy?Remember their payroll is almost 400 million and they are all in it to win the World Series.Any one of the three salaries mentioned is meaningless in the skeme of things.
A great move with a left handed bat with Rushing off the bench with power when Smith catches.
Barnes had 1 homerun in 2024 and none thus far in 2025. Anyone want to bet that Rushing will exceed those stats in 2025 even as a platoon player?
He may exceed those stats in his first game.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Will Smith/Dalton Rushing catching combo era has begun.
Rushing has crushed pitching in minors and has thrown out 28% base stealers this season in Triple-A.
The Dodger youth movement has begun.
I am sure that this was not a shock to Barnes. The Dodgers have likely talked to him about this for a while and maybe even offered him a job if he would retire. The fact that he was DFA’ed indicates that maybe he is not done yet. That’s OK, he will still always be a Dodger.
If this can happen… and it just did, what’s to stop the Dodgers from DFA ing Taylor or Rojas? Muncy is a different story… but when does the Alex Freeland era start? I think Freeland has to get his BA up over .300 – he’s at .276 with a .378 OB%, but his OPS is .799. Rushings was .938, but Freeland has 29 RBI’s to Rushings’ 17.
If Freeland can keep improving, I look for him by July!
i believe taylor is next. just my opinion. I said the other day day barnsie’s throws to second base were awful. maybe that was the final straw. hopefully he accepts a job with the dodgers staff. i believe he has a lot to offer as a coach.
They say that they start to get the measure of a team around the 25% mark. They have played 42 game and so they are starting to see where they can improve. Rushing up because he’s an upgrade over Barnes. So Rojas, Taylor, Muncy – they aren’t going anywhere unless the Dodgers have an upgrade on the roster. At this point, it’s not clear that they do. Maybe they trade for an upgrade at the deadline.
They will be patient and see what happens with Kim and Freeland.
Is Taylor next?
Sounds right to me. His OPS is at about .500, roughly 100 points below Rojas’s. Taylor is more versatile, but Rojas is the better infielder.
The second question would be whether Kim or Freeland would take Taylor’s spot.
This move could also foreshadow something bolder, like a deal for Arenado.
10:10 PM ET
Athletics (22-20)
Dodgers (27-15)
SP Gunnar Hoglund R
1-0 2.38 ERA
SP Y. Yamamoto R
4-3 1.80 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
RF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
CF James Outman L
2B Hyeseong Kim L
66° Wind 13 mph Out
The DFAing of Barnes sends a clear message to players NOT producing,that you cold be next.
What happens if the SD whores take Barnes? Just to piss off the Dodgers, or just because they think Barnes will give them information about Dodger pitchers? I don’t know.
Very unlikely, but possible?
They have 3 catchers, Elias Fiaz, Maldondo and Campusano. I doubt they would want another 30years plus catcher. I could see him going to a team with a young pitching staff. Nice win, four homers, 3 leading off innings. Ohtani, Pages and Kim. Max really tattooed his homer. Nice to see Conforto coming around. My guess, Taylor next to go when Edman is activated, Outman will get sent back to OKC when they activate Teo and will probably not get called up again. Ruiz or this Berroa kid will get called before he does.
Wow.
Did not see this coming… even though Rushing is definitely ready and Barnes is officially over the hill. (I guess the abiding affection for “the captain” just made it seem unlikely.)
All considered, a great, exciting “win now” move. Suddenly, the Dodgers roster is about 10 years younger–and maybe 10 HRs more potent.
Rushing, it seems, could pick up about a 1/3rd of the starts at catcher and also be a weapon off the bench. He could also see action at 1B if Freddie can’t play.
Interesting thought that the Padres might be interested in Barnes. Let’s add the D’backs and Giants to that speculation. The NL West is a four-sided war.
Another possibility, perhaps, is that Barnes does not get an offer that entices him–and he joins the Dodgers coaching staff, perhaps as a roving instructor.
Or maybe that’s the job he takes next season.
maybe max will be next? looks awful at the plate. almost as bad ss outman!
Apart from his 3 run bomb!!
The DFAing of Barnes is long overdue Let’s see what the kids have got. Rushing makes the bench a lot more potent.
Then he hits a 3-run HR.
Snell (shoulder) played catch from 60 feet out Wednesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports
“Some shoulder discomfort prevented Snell from beginning his throwing program over the weekend as originally planned, but he now has the green light from a doctor to begin playing catch. A better idea of when the 32-year-old will return to the mound for Los Angeles might emerge as he progresses further in his rehab, but he seems to be at least several weeks away”.
How bout Mookie last night after that 2B when they walked Shohei!!
He took that personally!
good to see Max run into one! He needs to produce! …. I’m getting anxious! what happens when Teo and Edman return?? Will they actually send Kim back down? i’m of the opinion that Taylor could be in jeopardy of being released. This could get very interesting! Does Kim make them better than Taylor does? … i feel bad for James. He wants to be a dodger so bad! Maybe a place like tampa bay? somewhere else, less pressure. I’m pulling for him, though it probably won’t be in LA. … Dalton time tonight!! Can’t wait to see him in Dodger blue! …. Conforto continues to hit the ball hard! it’s coming! … Pages? WOW! i’m sorry i ever doubted him! …. Yamamoto? hung a curve, move on. …. Kim? i say he stays! ( not my call))…… Last thing. i have often wanted Austin Barnes gone in the past. But yesterday i felt an empty feeling when i saw the news he had been released. He was frustrating at the plate most of the time. He never had a strong throwing arm. He didn’t show much emotion even when he did something good. But he was and always will be a Dodger. i hope he retires and stays in the dodger organization. good luck Barnsie!!