I initially said the Dodgers should stick with Michael Conforto, but I’ve changed my mind. Sometimes, you have to make an example of someone, and Conforto is the scapegoat, but very deserving! It didn’t work, it’s over. Move on… there’s nothing to see here, folks. The pitching situation will fix itself, with Scott, Kopech, Graterol, Hurt, Stewart, Miller, et al due back… and if it doesn’t, then it was never meant to be. Of course, someone will say that Friedman should have traded for Mason Miller. WITH WHO? Do you really think the A’s would have passed on the Padres #4 in all of baseball prospect?
Shoot, put Rushing out there in LF if you have to (won’t happen). Call up Ward (he’s not the answer, but give him a shot). Or, call up Senzel. Play Dean in CF. Just get rid of Conforto. This shows that if you don’t produce, you are gone! Edman, Kim, maybe Kike will be back. Just clear the Conforto stink out of the clubhouse. I also never thought I would say this, but maybe it’s time to move on from Robert Van Socyoc. It at least has to be on the table, as it appears the league may be adjusting to his methods. Either that or maybe he has to change… It won’t happen this year, but I have an idea for the next hitting coach: Justin Turner or JD Martinez!
Play Dean in CF until Edman is back. Get healthy and play a little small ball with Kim and Edman as well. You will see a lot of roster moves between now and October – that’s when the season starts. The Dodgers are tied with the Padres. The season starts now. BTW, I think Blake Treinen will be fine if he is healthy. He just needs reps. Alex Vesia is just overworked. This will end soon.
Dodgers are the #1 Farm System in Baseball
It should be noted that MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo just ranked the Dodgers as the #1 Farm System in all of baseball! NUMBER ONE! Here’s what they said:
Top 100 Prospects: Josue De Paula, OF (No. 12); Zyhir Hope, OF (No. 19); Alex Freeland, SS/3B (No. 43); Eduardo Quintero, OF (No. 55); Mike Sirota, OF (No. 66)
–MLB.com
The Dodgers just keep winning (two World Series titles in the last five seasons, 12 straight postseason appearances) and keep developing talent. They have the best collection of outfield prospects in baseball, highlighted by the four Top 100 Prospects above as well as Trade Deadline acquisition James Tibbs and Ching-Hsien Ko. Even though competing for championships is always the primary focus, four of their top five pitching prospects (Jackson Ferris, River Ryan, Adam Serwinowski, Christian Zazueta) arrived via trades — as did Hope, Sirota and Tibbs.
It is always darkest right before the dawn. This is still the best team in baseball, but right now, the Baseball Gods are taxing us fans. We have all seen a lot worse. The Dodgers will weather the storm, and we will laugh about this in a few weeks. Keep the faith!
…Padres have 5 bullpen arms who touch 100 MPH and can throw at Ohtani’s head…
These guys must literally have a lower IQ than me. The umpire crew should put the teams on notice before the game starts…any ‘head hunting’ will result in mass ejections.
To be eligible for post season, does a player have to be on the 40 man roster by August 31st? If so, I expect Conforto to be DFA’d on September 1st.
So the Angels are the Dodgers’ kryptonite.
And the Padres are far superior to the Angels.
One reason: The Pads added Mason Miller, arguably the top closer in the game–and the Dodgers did not. Preller also added Sears, O’Hearn, and Laureano. Yes, Preller was swinging for the fences.
Meanwhile, AF decided to play small ball, swapping Outman for Brock Stewart and a couple of prospects for Alex Call. He also made some nice additions to the farm system by dealing Dustin May and Hunter Feduccia.
Since the deadline passed, the Dodgers have struggled and the Padres have thrived. Now the teams are tied for first…and the Padres have the momentum, for whatever that may be worth.
The good news is the Dodgers reportedly have the number one farm system in baseball, which is apparently just thrilling to prospect huggers. I’ll quote one here:
“NUMBER ONE!”
Well, zippity-doo-dah.
Maybe AF made a strong offer for Mason Miller–who, remember, isn’t a “rental” but is now under Padres control for a few more seasons. We don’t know what AF may have offered. But if he did, it wasn’t strong enough.
But let’s imagine an alternative scenario:
AF takes a big swing (DePaula + Morales + ?? + ??) and succeeds in keeping Mason Miller out of the Padres’ clutches. The Dodgers add a true closer, hitting 103 mph. Imagine him in today’s game, instead of Vesia or Caparius.
And instead of the Dodgers having the “NUMBER ONE!” farm system, it slides down to, oh, maybe just the third or fourth best. (These ratings, of course, are highly subjective.)
Count me in the camp that prefers parades to prospects.
The Dodgers lacked the necessary player collateral to acquire Miller when the Padres had one of the Top 5 Prospects in baseball on the table.
I don’t care if you have 12 Phyllis Dillers to trade for Bo Dereck – It ain’t happening. It’s purely delusional to think Friedman could have traded multiple prospects for Miller.
When the Padres included DeVries, it was over!
BTW< Sears is back in the minors. ... and the "Parades to Prospects Bullshit" doesn't work - ask Preller and most others. Preller has traded away more prospects than anyone. Look what he gave up for Soto!
You’re saying the Dodgers, with the “NUMBER ONE!” farm system in baseball, somehow lacked the “necessary player collateral” because (apparently) the A’s had such a boner for DeVries….
Maybe that’s true. Maybe the Dodgers offered, say, De Paula + Morales + River Ryan–but the Pads said no thanks, we’d rather put our eggs in the De Vries basket.
Hey, why diversify when you can De Vries?
You know, a lot of top prospects really don’t live up to the hype. Maybe DeVries is the next ARod, or the hottest prospect since Wander Franco….and looked what happened to him. And a late Dodgers draft pick like Zach McKinstry winds up becoming an all-star while top prospect Diego Cartaya flames out…
Years ago, I was reading articles about how the Dodgers had a strong interest in Francisco Lindor… but Cleveland insisted on top prospect Gavin Lux and so AF said no. And so the Mets landed Lindor. Seems credible. We know that AF had so much (misplaced) faith in Lux that he penciled him in at SS… until Lux proved he really wasn’t up to the task.
Oh well. Maybe the Dodgers will destroy Mason Miller and the Pads.
One thing I wonder about right now is team morale.
The streaking Pads, I suspect, are pretty stoked about their new teammates and the “go for it!” mentality of the front office.
Are the stumbling Dodgers really that stoked about Alex Call and Brock Stewart?
You nailed it in respect to getting a top reliever. It gauls me to think the pods will gloat if they to the unspeakable because we didn’t spend enough.
Ummmmmmmm, The Dodgers get both parades and prospects!
In case you forgotten, the Dodgers are the defending world champions, and have the top farm system.
Are you predicting another WS championship?
Sure, it could still happen. But as I write this, the Dodgers are taking on water and the reinforced Padres have surged into first place in the West.
The point, of course, is that you can give up a few prospects to improve the chances at another parade.
The second point is that all of these prospect lists and rankings are a highly subjective enterprise.
But a championship is not.
My wife and I are currently at the airport headed to Appleton Wisconsin to watch the lions. Excited to watch Hope, disappointed that we will miss DePaula and Sorota. I believe the dodgers are fine. The playoff roster will be constructed differently than the regular season.
Have fun. Appleton is a nice town.
Hope is struggling this month… hitting .094 for August and DePaula and Sirota haven’t played all month.
Quintero and Hanline are up and coming and Peyton Martin pitches today.
Isn’t Sirota out for the season?
I’ve read that he’d injured, but no details.
Tibbs looks like a strong addition to the OF prospects…
Enough with the fear of that shitty team. I’ve read enough about them. It’s just a losing streak. Let them feel the pressure to win, and Conforto isn’t going anywhere. He’ll stay even in the playoffs, where I have faith he’ll hit a couple of clutch hits. Remember, even in a tie, I think the Dodgers have the better record against them, right?
And please…. Destroy those sons of bitches’ heads!
Tough one last night. Boys batted back, stick with em.
Best is yet to come.
Agree on Conforto, its time…..
will Vesia be next with inflamed shoulder?
Overused!!!! Definitely could happen!!!!
I was thinking that it appears he has at least a 10-day “slight injury” right now.
Pitchers and two way players have to be placed on the 15 Day IL.
Two way players go on the 30 day IL.
“In Major League Baseball (MLB), two-way players are eligible to be placed on the 15-day injured list (IL), similar to pitchers, according to MLB.com. This rule was reinstated for pitchers and two-way players in 2022, according to MLB.com. Position players, on the other hand, are generally placed on the 10-day IL. The 60-day IL is available for players with more serious injuries who require a longer recovery period, according to MLB.com and Baseball Wiki | Fandom”.
It was a joke. Although from your explanation, I should have said 25.
I’m not concerned.
once again i am wondering why casparius wasn’t used in the ninth? with vesia running on fumes right now, wouldn’t it have made sense? oh well, another tough loss . still have hope for a full recovery! but that begins with conforto being sent packing. we don’t know if Fields can hit, he hasn’t had but one opportunity. Call hasn’t impressed, but he could be pressing trying to make a good impression. kinda makes me wonder if a guy who has wanted to be a dodger for years would be a guy taking a chance on. No i’m not crazy! Tommy Pham has always been a good pickup for teams in a pennant race. And don’t give me the “ not a good teammate “ excuse. . Maybe this team needs a little attitude! …. Emmit struggled through 5 stressful innings last night. i still think he has a bright future, but don’t see him on the postseason roster. …. Wouldn’t Taylor Ward look good in left field in Dodger Blue?
Who is Fields?
Do you mean Dean?
my bad! Dean. had football brain for a second!
Per Aiden Gonzalez, ESPN.com
“Kopech (right knee) took part in a simulated game Monday, and he is on track to return before the end of the month, but he has made eight appearances all year. Scott (left elbow) and Yates (lower back) also are expected to face hitters this week and could return right around when Kopech does, but Scott and Yates have combined for a 4.21 ERA in 2025.”
All will be well – just wait for the injured guys to return.
But they are 15-20 since 7/1. So this assumes that they will not continue to put up a .429 W-L for the rest of the way.
I looked at the standings this AM – Dodgers behind Cubs, Phillies and Brewers at .567. 7.5 games behind the Crew. Tied with Pads for 2nd wild card.
Not where they should be.
Oh, and the offense is in the bottom 5 in R/G since 7/1 too.
I look for the team to struggle into September. Even when players get back, they will need time….
The best thing Conforto did last night was strike out the first time. After that he struck out with the bases loaded and hit into a double play. Doubt Ward would be any worse in left field and will probably hit a little better.
Agree with Kim and Edmon back, we add speed and versitility, having 2 switch hitters on the roster and multi position guy to move around s huge.
Will it be enough to win the division? Not sure, the Pods scare the shit out of me. The six games with them may determine who wins the division.
AF, it seems, has decided to ride or die with Conforto.
The problem with a $17 million contract is that it’s awfully hard to admit a mistake.
Several weeks back, I suggested that the Dodgers go after Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins and his expiring contract as an upgrade over Conforto. Somebody around here said there was no way that would happen and suggested Jarron Duran of the Red Sox.
Sounded good… if the Red Sox would deal him.
Ultimately, the Red Sox did not deal Duran.
But the O’s did deal Mullins to the Mets–and he’s been playing well. The O’s also dealt Laureano and O’Hearn–to the Padres.
AF, meanwhile, brought in Alex Call as a complement to Conforto–not a replacement.
Reportedly, the Dodgers made a serious bid for Steven Kwan–but not serious enough to land him.
Oh well.
So Robert keeps penciling Conforto’s name into the lineup.
We are currently 5-2 against the Padres and technically not tied for first in the Western Division as we have the current tie breaker in a head to head matchup. Six more games against them in the next 10 days ,3 at home and 3 on the road will probably be a factor in who wins the West.
The Best is yet to come…..
No one said it would be easy….
Team with the best record rarely wins…except in 24…..
This team is old and boring. Just not a fun brand of baseball to watch.
Were they fun last year to watch???
Not talking about last year MATT
OK KEVIN, easy with the caps dude….
Its basically the same team. Ever been thru a 162 season KEVIN?
Look if you cant find joy watching Shohei, Freddy, Kersh, I dont know what to tell ya. Go watch SD I guess…..
Thanks for coming on here and letting us know what a not a fan you are.
Eat a cock MATT
You’re saying the Dodgers, with the “NUMBER ONE!” farm system in baseball, somehow lacked the “necessary player collateral” because (apparently) the A’s had such a boner for DeVries….
Maybe that’s true. Maybe the Dodgers offered, say, De Paula + Morales + River Ryan–but the Pads said no thanks, we’d rather put our eggs in the De Vries basket.
Hey, why diversify when you can De Vries?
You know, a lot of top prospects really don’t live up to the hype. Maybe DeVries is the next ARod, or the hottest prospect since Wander Franco….and looked what happened to him. And a late Dodgers draft pick like Zach McKinstry winds up becoming an all-star while top prospect Diego Cartaya flames out…
Years ago, I was reading articles about how the Dodgers had a strong interest in Francisco Lindor… but Cleveland insisted on top prospect Gavin Lux and so AF said no. And so the Mets landed Lindor. Seems credible. We know that AF had so much (misplaced) faith in Lux that he penciled him in at SS… until Lux proved he really wasn’t up to the task.
Oh well. Maybe the Dodgers will destroy Mason Miller and the Pads.
One thing I wonder about right now is team morale.
The streaking Pads, I suspect, are pretty stoked about their new teammates and the “go for it!” mentality of the front office.
Are the stumbling Dodgers really that stoked about Alex Call and Brock Stewart?
It’s less about who AF traded for and more about the roster performing to their capabilities. Not one player is living up to the numbers on the back of their baseball card. No one is at their career average much less having a career year. Conforto is the whipping boy for poor performance but the whole team has taken their turn being anywhere from bad to putrid. Every one has been inconsistent this year is it complacency, World Series hangover, age catching up too much travel from back to back overseas openers. This seasons performance is not on AF and Gomes they built a team to win the players have not lived up to expectations
Whether or not I put the bug in your ear, Mark, I can’t see us going very far with Conforto striking out constantly. Thanks for agreeing. Just another thought about shaking up the roster. AF and the management swallowed more contract money releasing Chris Taylor early in the season than what they still owe MC. Which was $15 million a year to CT3. Actually, although Chris is on the DL right now, I REALLY believe we would be a couple wins better with him on the roster instead of Mike if CT3 had the equal amount of ABs. Chris was clutch and could play multiple positions and play them very well. Researching more stats on Ryan Ward, he isn’t as horrible fielding as many on here claim. He’s played right and left fields with average defense. He also can steal a few bases. Sure, AAA isn’t the MLB… but it’s a close second. It’s driving me crazy watching MC look so pitiful. Also, I agree that our bullpen needs guys back desperately. Alex has gotta be gassed. Blake is rusty…. and unfortunately the guys coming back are gonna be rusty too. Disappointed lately but not defeated yet…
The Ryan Ward situation is baffling. Maybe he’ll crush pitching in Japan or Korea. In hindsight, I’d have rather seen him in LF than Conforto. Oh well.
Right now I’m watching highlights of the Padres thumping the Giants to take over first place in the NL West. And I just read that Max will sit out today’s game with the Angels with some new and (hopefully) minor ailment.
Many fans, it seems, consider it sacrilege to criticize Andrew Friedman. But let’s do a quick review of this season.
The Dodgers, reigning champs, were said to have “won the winter” with deals that brought in Snell, Sasaki, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates and Conforto–and brought back Teo. Wow. AF famously said he wanted to avoid the high prices in mid-season.
And even with the Dodgers struggling, AF declined to meet high prices for top-tier talent like Mason Miller or Steven Kwan.
But every one of AF’s winter acquisitions has failed to live up to expectations, mostly due to injury. (Conforto lacks that excuse.) Maybe we’ll see a strong finish from Snell –but if he had a decent first half the Dodgers would still be in first place.
At the trade deadline, AF & BG did some nice bargain hunting. Somehow they got two interesting pitching prospects and a backup catcher for Feduccia. (Why wasn’t Ryan Ward added to that deal?) Flipping Outman for Brock Stewart seemed like solid move–but now Stewart is injured.
Maybe everybody will get healthy and the Dodgers won’t descend into a battle for a wild card spot. But I don’t understand why a team with such a deep (“NUMBER ONE!”) farm system–so much collateral– doesn’t try to win in the midseason marketplace.
Last season, the Dodgers slickly added Edman, Kopech and Flaherty at the deadline–and all proved vital in the run to the championship.
This season, it’s Alex Call, Brock Stewart and some prospects that may or may not make it to the majors.
Maybe the Dodgers can turn it around, but right now the Padres have the momentum in the NL West. They didn’t just add some firepower but held on to Dylan Cease.
Instead of another parade, Dodger fans could wind up consoling themselves by looking at the MLB’s Top 100 prospect list.
With a strong 6 man rotation and an overworked and hurt bull pen, it’s time to extend the starters by encouraging them to challenge hitters with every pitch. There’s too many 3-2 counts! Maybe Sandy can have a talk with them about going for an out with every pitch!
Curt,
Do you really think the Dodger pitchers are trying to throw balls not strikes?
Right now only Max is ‘hot’. If I had to predict I would say that neither Smith nor Freddie will lead the league in BA. And would think that neither will bat over .300.
I hope I have underestimated. Don’t know what to say about Ohtani. home runs and Ks
Here are a few things:
1. It’s hard to focus 100% of your energy and attention when you are the World Champs and you know you have the best team in baseball (on paper).
2. Other teams, like the Angels, are laser-focused because these are the World Champs and this is their World Series.
3. The Dodgers have not yet “gone to the whip,” but it is coming… most likely when most of the walking wounded return.
4. Some of you have difficulty understanding the value of a TOP 5 Prospect in baseball. If a Top 5 Prospect is worth $500, you must believe that a Top 30 Prospect is worth $100. Not true. Top five prospects are almost always certainly stars. Top 30? It’s a crapshoot. The top 30 players are worth $20 if a Top 5 Prospect is worth $500. You can’t trade 10 Top 30 Prospects for 1 Top 5 Prospect. You wanted to get Mason Miller for $150, but the A’s got $500. Math is not your strong suit, and there is no evidence that Lux was ever offered or requested for Lindor. You are just making stuff up to suit your narrative.
“Top five prospects are almost always certainly stars.”
Well, top five according to which rating system? Baseball America or MLB or what?
What is the evidence for this claim. Prove your case.
Oh, what the hell. I have a little time. Let’s go to the MLB.com Top Prosects for 2020.
The top five include these guys: Wander Franco at 1, Gavin Lux at 2, Luis Robert Jr. at 3, Adley Rutschman at 4, Mackenzie Gore at 5.
Not a terrible group–yes, Lux was overrated, and Franco’s failures weren’t on the diamond–but wouldn’t you rather have five of these guys?
Bobby Witt at 10, Tarik Skubal at 46, Riley Greene at 31, Julio Rodriguez at 18, Logan Gilbert at 38, Hunter Green at 53… etc, etc…. Yes, several players from No. 6 to No. 100 have outperformed the top five. Skubal was so underrated!
Again, these ratings are highly subjective exercises that involve plenty of groupthink. Perhaps a better test is to consider the draft, which is a tangible,real-world exercise, not a bunch of baseball wonks talking to each other. The draft is a serious business. Teams put their money where their mouth i.
A while back, I looked at the first round draft on 2016, when the Dodgers got Will Smith with the 32nd pick.
Smith, I think, has outperformed all the 31 players drafted ahead of him. In a re-draft, he’d have been No. 1. So kudos to the Dodger scouts.
And let’s remember that Piazza outperformed hundreds of players drafted ahead of him.
The player rankings are fun, but I don’t know why some fans make them into a fetish.
I started arguing that the Dodgers should go after Mason Miller more than a year ago, after I first saw his beastly highlights.
It figured that the A’s would put him on the market at some point–and the Padres pounced.
But hey, AF got Brock Stewart for Outman.
Might Dodger fans such as myself be in the belly of the dreaded “recency bias ” golem, that cognitively distorting bad actor favoring recent occurrences over historic ones? Just a thought but didn’t the squad kick some serious tush earlier in the season and aren’t they presently the World Series Champs? Oh, I do agree that there certainly is cause for tweaks in the lineup such as sitting or DFAing Conforto. Yep, some of the more dependable bullpen arms are overused and not performing as they had been. Aren’t a few of the stalwarts of lasts year’s juggernaut and some of the new spark plugs at this moment marinating on the IL? Indeed they are. Reinforcements will be on the way in due time though and will be in fine form by the time the playoffs start…hopefully. A thought bubble suddenly appears of my long departed Uncle Steve, well into his second six pack of Schlitz who once said to me when I got squirrely when the fish weren’t biting: “Patience Jackass.” In calmer moments I remind myself that this is just the strum and drang of another season of Dodger baseball. How flippin’ juicy it is! Here’s hoping for the best outcome for our team. GO DODGERS!!!
Them there’s the facts!
Lets rejoice we got Shohei Flipping Ohtani on the mound tonight.
Win tonight and then we go!!!!
He needs to go 5 or 6 or…..let him pitch!
The Dodgers relased Chris Taylor after hitting .200/.286/.305 with a 67 OPS+ over the last 2 seasons
They released Austin Barnes after he hit .214 in 24 at-bats this season.
They dumped Jason Heyward after he hit .208 with a .682 OPS despite re-signing him for $9MM
Yet they still employ Conforto, who is statistically worse than everyone I just mentioned (.187/.299/.327, 81 wRC+) and continue to play him every day. — Cody Snavely
It turns out he has photos of someone doing something…
Ha!
That could explain it.
when this team is pounding the ball they are exciting.!! And then the times they can’t fall out of aboat and hit water!!! They can be difficult to watch. But THEY are the team i love!!! Good with the bad. hot and the cold. Starting pitching is coming fast! Offense? you never know what to expect. look, they can make a sub 500 pitcher look like cy young! but doesn’t it make sense that the dodgers bring out the best in every team. AF should not gut the farm system. But! i’m pretty sure sure that most of those prospects won’t be in the show. now i am not a scout , but that’s my opinion. It’s a shame They didn’t believe Michael Bush could play second, ok. that bat looks pretty good though. .. Bottom line, they aren’t very good, right now. They can be very good at any moment. (please!!!). … i haven’t seen the lineup for tonight, but i would imagine Conforto is in it. Like Dave Roberts a lot. But he’s not willing to change it up. Hopefully he makes me eat my words tonight.
The starters are going once a week. They should be able to pitch deeper into games.
9:38 PM ET
Dodgers (68-52)
Angels (58-62)
SP Shohei Ohtoni R
0-0 2.37ERA
SP Kyle Hendricks R
6-8 4.63 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
3B Max Muncy L
CF Andy Pages R
LF Alex Call R
2B A. Freeland S
SS Miguel Rojas R
78° Wind 8 mph Out
Justin Wrobleski 4-3 3.88 ERA to follow Ohtoni with bulk innings. Like to see Ohtoni go 5 innings and atleast 75 pitches
NO Conforto against a right handed pitcher
Could we be seeing the end of him
Hope so! Had enough of him striking out or hitting into double plays with runners in scoring position or the game on the ine.
Better late than never…
New Dodgers Lineup vs Angels
Shohei Ohtani, DH
Mookie Betts, SS
Freddie Freeman, 1B
Will Smith, C
Teoscar Hernandez, RF
Andy Pages, CF
Alex Call, LF
Alex Freeland, 3B
Miguel Rojas, 2B
Max Muncy out of the original lineup and Mookie Betts in playing shortstop
Why is Max Muncy Out for Dodgers vs Angels?
Manager Dave Roberts revealed that Muncy has some pain on his right side. Roberts said he’s day to day.
Max may have another oblique.
He will have a MRI Tomorrow.
Yikes!
Oh No. That would be another reprieve for Conforto
Oh boy . Rojas tweaked something also
Madres already clobbered the Midgets. We are officially in 2nd place as of right now.
Was that 6 or 7 missed pitches by Buckner? 1st inning
Didn’t count but that seems low.
Painful to watch.
One ugly game, from the umping to the pathetic hitting and back end relief. One for nine with bases loaded recently ,another lead blown. This is not Dodgers baseball.
Not sure the guys coming back off the IL will be enough. Certainly not the offense unless Tommy and Kim give us a much needed spark. That will be the end of Conforto.
1-10. 1 hit, Mookie’s single, 5 Ks and 4 walks in the series with the bases loaded. Not very pretty. 2 more base hits and they probably sweep instead of being swept. CB Bucknor should be fired immediately. He is the worst ump in the majors.
All is well. Don’t believe the evidence of your own eyes or the scoreboard. This is the best of all possible worlds after all.
maybe they take the white box off the screen. By doing that we wouldn’t have to see how terrible most of these umpires are! It’s one thing to lose a game because the other team played much much better, but to be called out on third strikes with balls 6 to 7 inches out of the strike zone is pathetic! It makes you wonder if some of the hitters throughout baseball are striking out more because they’re afraid of taking pitches. If that’s the case, Theo must be scared to death! Love the guy and I realize he’s probably not 100%, but man he swings at some bad pitches. Still haven’t heard anything on Max, but if Max goes down, the Dodgers are in a lot of trouble! How many of us ever thought we’d be saying that back in April?…. Like the guys on the broadcast said last night I think it was Karros. The Dodgers just can’t buy a break right now. And the bullpen isn’t helping at all! To be honest, did any of you guys think the Dodgers were going to win the game with the one run lead going into the eighth inning? I know I didn’t. … Dave Roberts, maybe close to a coronary! But it’s not his fault, really doesn’t have anybody on the bench. He’s got Jack dryer, and Ben Casparius, who is leaned on very hard and they’ve done an admirable job. The rest of the bullpen just like being on the wheel of Fortune, it’s a shame he keeps spinning the bankrupt.