I got to thinking about this when Albert joined the Dodgers. Just how many HOFer’s have spent time with the Dodgers in Brooklyn or LA. The answer right now is 46. Also 7 managers and coaches, 3 executives, and 4 broadcasters. The broadcasters are Scully, Red Barber, Jaime Jarrin, and Ernie Harwell, who did most of his work in Detroit. But he worked with Barber for a while. The execs are Larry McPhail, Walter O’Malley, and Branch Rickey.
Managers and coaches were Lasorda, Alston, Ned Hanlon, Ted Lyons, George Sisler, Wilbert Robinson, and Babe Ruth. Pretty heady company. Players include the likes of Jim Bunning, Gary Carter, Ricky Henderson, Billy Herman, Waite Hoyt, Greg Maddux, Juan Marichal, Frank Robinson, Joe Medwick, Eddie Murray, Piazza, Lloyd and Paul Waner, Hoyt Wilhelm, Ernie Lombardi, who was originally a Dodger and was traded after his rookie year, and Hack Wilson.
Some of those guys only spent one season with the Dodgers. Maddux spent parts of two seasons with LA as Ned Colletti traded for him twice. Some were only there for a few games, like Marichal. The ones who spent a majority or all of their careers with the Dodgers are Campy, Reese, Robinson, Drysdale, Koufax, Snider, Sutton, Dazzy Vance, Zack Wheat. Leo Durocher spent time as a player and a manager. Max Carey, Casey Stengel, Burleigh Grimes, John Montgomery Ward, also played and managed.
Names you might not know, Ki Ki Cuyler, Dan Brouthers, Billy Herman, who was also a coach, Rube Marquard, Hughie Jennings, Wee Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, George Kelly, Tony Lazzeri, Fred Lindstrom, Al Lopez, who managed against the Dodgers in the 1959 World Series, Heinie Manush, Rabbit Maranville, don’t you just love these names?? And Arky Vaughan. Lots of history there. Some good, some bad. Lindstrom was with the Giants when a ball kangarooed over his head and they lost a critical game.
Lazzeri’s nickname with the Yankees was Poosh ’em up. He is famous for being struck out by Grover Alexander when the Cards beat the Yanks in the 1926 World Series. Arky Vaughn was a career .318 hitter and spent 4 years with Brooklyn. Robinson, Frank that is, the only players to win an MVP in both leagues. Campy won 3 as a Dodger. You wonder sometimes how good Campy would have been had he come into the league sooner, and not had some nagging injuries during his outstanding career.
For me, it has always been what if, what if they had never traded Piazza. I will always blame FOX for that. There have been some borderline HOF players come through LA. Garvey, as good as he was, his numbers still fall short. Hodges belongs, pure and simple. This time the voters got it wrong. His numbers compare with Tony Perez except for the RBI’s, but Perez played longer. However, he is only a few HRs ahead of Hodges. Many say Fernando belongs. As a Cultural icon, and for what he did bringing the Latino community to games in droves, maybe. But his career stats are too weak to garner entry. I think he may get in as a broadcaster someday, or if they decide players who made contributions outside of their stats.
Albert is a lock. He will go in 5 years after he retires and there will be a StL on his cap. Some think Hershiser belongs. Again I think his career stats are just a little shy of election. But he might get in if the Veteran’s committee thinks he is good enough. Another player I think needs a look-see again is Maury Wills. Maury changed the game when he arrived and brought back the stolen base. He also was the first to break Cobb’s record of 96.
I think CK will get in. Most likely a first-ballot guy. The rest of today’s Dodgers, well, I think that only time will tell. But it is fun to look back on those who came before. Guys like Boog Powell and Rocky Colovito. Close, but just a little shy of being hall-worthy.
Only Dodger Minor League Game: OKC BOX – Kaybear with his 7th HR. LHP Justin Bruihl was promoted to OKC from Tulsa after 15 innings (1.20 ERA/0.67 WHIP). He now has 3.1 scoreless innings at OKC with 6 K’s. Watch this guy!
Great job on the HOF guys Bear. Lot of info I didn’t know, especially the number 46. One of my greatest disappointments ever was trading Mike Piazza. There were others like Pedro and Paul Konerko but Piazza’s stung the most. I think Don Sutton is the least appreciated, for some unknown reason,
I’ve been watching Justin Bruihl since 2018. I love it when undrafted free agents make a splash. In 2021 his K/BB ratio is 26/3. In 91 minor league innings he has given up two home runs.
As a left-hander he will make his debut with the Dodgers at some point this year. He looks like he could be a Victor Gonzalez type. That is, versatile, capable of an out, an inning, two innings.
https://ladodgertalk.com/?s=Justin+Bruihl&x=12&y=6
Thanks DC. I also am not sure why Sutton is held in such low esteem except for the fact that while he won over 300 games, it was due to longevity, not exactly stellar numbers. He never won a Cy Young or threw a no hitter. He won 20 games only once, 1976. He lost more than he won 3 of his first 4 years as a Dodger. What he did do was win in double figures consistently including 12 his rookie year of 1966. He did ok in post season with the Dodgers, pitching in 10 games and recording a 5-3 record. He never pitched for a championship team. His 23 year stats are 324-256 with a 3.26 ERA and 3,574 K’s. He won one ERA title. What he really did was take the ball every 4th day. He was a workhorse.
Nice walk down memory lane, Bear.
The Dodgers were opportunists last night, getting 3 runs from 3 hits and a walk.
If this were the playoffs, all seven pitches who pitched last night would be bullpen guys!
Maybe, Graterol and Knebel are still on the IL. That’s a lot of talent in the pen. Bruihl sounds like he’s knocking really loud at the door right now. I re-read DC’s article that he posted. Seems like he was foreshadowing. Nice catch DC.
Thanks Mark, I enjoy doing the research.
Great article Bear. Scully and Barber were hard to beat. Same goes for Jaime Jarrin. The Dodgers are very fortunate to have such great broadcasters.
I’m not a huge fan of guys getting into the hall by way of the veterans committee. I once heard people say, if you think a player belongs in the Hall and you have to think about it for a while, he doesn’t belong there. I figure if a player was HOF worthy, they would have already been elected.
Clayton Kershaw should not have an “I think” attached to his name. Three Cy Young awards and an MVP makes it pretty automatic.
I’ve commented on the Hodges / Perez argument before. There’s a few magic numbers for hitters. 500 HR, 1500 RBI, 1500 Runs gets your ticket stamped. Perez has one of those numbers, Hodges does not. It’s that simple for me.
The Dodgers took care of business last night. The Phillies are a solid, but second tier team. It’s a pretty fair fight with so many of our guys out. Harper almost made it real interesting, but the ball died on the long flight towards center field. The damn Giants beat the D-Backs, as they should. But, the Padres fell to the Rox, so it was a pretty good night for the most part.
No lefties in sight for the next couple of days, I’m really looking forward to the Wheeler / Kershaw matchup on Wednesday. I sure hope Belli returns by then. I can’t believe how unfortunate we are with injuries this year. They really need to figure out how to keep guys healthy.
I guess you can call Gonsolin “effectively wild”. He was stretched out to 81 pitches, but couldn’t make it out of the 4th. I was surprised that they only gave Price 2/3 of an inning, but you know how Doc loves to get more commercials into our viewing experience. Seven pitchers later, we have a 3-1 win. At the end of the day, we had another bullpen game. On the bright side, a lot of scoreless innings by our horrible bullpen.
WIll Smith praises the team’s depth after the game…
“Injuries have definitely hurt us this year. It has not been ideal with everyone going down at some point,” Smith said. “But it speaks to the depth we have as a team, as an organization. … We’re still competitive, which is great. As an offense, everybody does their part and we score runs.”
I was disappointed to hear that Rangel Revelo was packing his bags for Japan. I really thought the deserved another shot at an MLB job. With Fat Albert doing his thing, it was hard to justify another right handed hitting first baseman on the team. Now I fantasize about Albert losing a few (30) lbs eating the healthy, organic Dodger’s clubhouse food and a return to his Cardinals like production. Right now he’s doing his best David Freese impression. This is his slash line against lefties…
.333/.364/.698/1.062
I think Mark can beat him in a foot race to 1B.
I enjoy watching Pujols bat. He’s no joke.
You don’t get a nickname like “The Machine” for nothing, eh?
I get the argument really I do. But there was also a thing about being the best at your position during your career. Hodges was the best 1st baseman in the league, hands down. He was a force in the Dodgers lineup during the Boys of Summer years. He belongs more than guys like Mazeroski. He won the first 3 Gold Gloves awarded at his position. And that was late in his career. He was a team leader and a total gentleman. He also led the Mets to their first WS championship. Managerial career cut short by his heart attack. The Vets committee for the most part has gotten it right. They got it wrong so far with Gil. I just guess we will always disagree on this one.
I’m not sure if it’s for health reasons, writer’s block, preoccupation with the more important things is life, or what, but it was good to read AC after a prolonged absence. No one anywhere combines as much inside knowledge of the team and the game, a deep understanding the the minor league system and can apply rational financial analysis. I learn something nearly every time I read one of his posts, and by contrast the rest of us are just a bunch of whining arm chair GMs who don’t know anything about anything.
The Dodgers have three MVPs, three Cy Young winners and two probably first ballot HOFers on the team and they’re still in 2nd place. Go figure. I think there is something to belief. The Giants seem to be on to something. They are just playing the game well without gaudy stats or big name players.
The Dodgers had that in 2017 and last year. It seems like nearly every other game the Dodgers had some sort of key walk-off hit or come-from-behind win in dramatic fashion. They were exciting to watch because you could never count them out. This year, they are more often than not on the losing end of those close games. They don’t have the key hit. Instead they have the key error or their reliever offers up a key hit to the other team. I think that effects a team’s morale. Walk-off celebrations beget confidence, which begets more walk-off celebrations – and the inverse is true as well. You can see it in their body language. Mookie is lacking swagger. Sabre nerds will never have a Swagger Index metric.
… but … they’re a game out of first place and 7-3 in their last 10 games, so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.
I really wish people would stop saying Trump incited an insurrection on Jan 6. Oh, he didn’t help by any means, and he just needs to go away because he’s part of the problem, but the series of events that led up to that incident at the Capital is long, and it was the end result of the current climate of extreme political polarization that is not healthy and may ultimately destroy our republic. If you really want to fix that problem, then you have to seriously take a step back and look for solutions objectively and not punitively. I can’t imagine a worse response than labeling half the country that didn’t vote a certain way as terrorists. What do we do to suspected terrorists? Night after night John Brennan would go on MSNBC and call Trump a “traitor.” You cannot keep saying these things and not expect something really bad to happen.
It was only about a year ago that a mob of people flooded LaFayette Park and tried to force their way unto the grounds of the White House. Upwards of fifty secret service agents were injured. The Secret Service ordered the President, the First Lady and his son into an underground bunker underneath the White House for their protection.
That actually happened. Think about that for a moment. How is that really different from Jan 6? In the meantime we were told that the park service and secret service cleared LaFayette the next day so Trump could pose for a photo op, which turned out to be another lie – among so many.
The man who entered the Capital building and was photographed sitting with his feet propped up on Nancy Pelosi’s personal desk in her office has been held in solitary confinement, without charge, since being arrested following the incident. How is that possible in this country? I learned in grade school what Habeus Corpus means, and why it was considered central to our concept of due process before the law. How is it that this fundamental legal right is violated for political purposes? – and it’s done right in front of us. And no one seems bothered by it.
If our system of law enforcement is just weaponized against political opponents and this behavior becomes normalized, then it sparks retribution and we turn into a another banana republic. Someone please explain to me why an FBI swat team descended on Roger Stone’s home in the middle of the night (complete with live CNN cameras because they were tipped off) and arrests a 68 year old man accused of lying to Congress? – if not to send a message, create a photo op and punish political opponents?
How is it that an actual person who can easily document who he is and that he was a business partner of Hunter Biden can go on national TV and describe in minute detail the Biden’s business dealings with Chinese officials, yet the whole story is memory holed, called “Russian disinformation” and the NY Post, which broke the laptop story, is banned from Twitter?
I consider myself a reasonable person, and if someone can offer reasonable explanations for all of these things, then will consider them, but these are things that happened, and it is all just very wrong. … and I won’t even go into the Russian collusion …whatever that was.
People are willing to believe the election is stolen because, in a larger sense, they can feel there is something rotten in Denmark … and they are probably right.
But how do you feel about Jimmy Nelson’s slider?
LOL. It’s friggen awesome. At this point I would make him the setup guy over Treinen.
Regarding Richard Barnett, according to several sources he was released almost 2 months ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/pelosi-desk-rioter-released/2021/04/27/9fb5f3f8-a797-11eb-8d25-7b30e74923ea_story.html
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/27/capitol-rioter-pelosi-released-richard-barnett-484814
Never mind that, nor the Hunter Biden stuff.
They are Germans bomb Pearl Harbor moments.
He was rolling.
I think you’re onto something in the second part of your post. But, I don’t like to mix politics with pleasure, so I won’t expound upon it further.
I don’t think the Giants are onto anything. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. That’s how I see the Giants.
We’re one game behind, but we lost three in a row against them in late May after sweeping them in their own yard about a week earlier. Missing from the lineup in those games?
Pollock Belli Seager
Betts Pollock Seager
Betts Pollock Smith Turner Seager
All those extra innings and one run games were lost by guys that are in the minors now looking to sharpen their skills.
I don’t think this is rocket science and I’m not trying to find deeper meaning in our place in the standings. Occam’s razor says to look at the simplest explanation. Our best lineup has only played a single game together. It’s that simple.
So, if the Giants are onto something it would be “play your division rival when their players are on the IL”. That would be a good strategy if that’s something you can control. Like I said, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
I always say Andrew Jackson is the great bullshit detector. If you really think the Giants are onto something, pull out a Jackson and match it to mine. I’ll collect at season’s end when the Giants are looking up at us in the standings.
Ok, but that means I would have to be rooting for the Giants and against the Dodgers. What kind of traitorous BS is that?
Ok, I’ll bet a Jackson and hope I lose.
… and I think it’s reasonable to predict that the wheels will come off the Giants Cinderella carriage and the Dodgers will play better and win the division. But can anyone confidently say right now that the Dodgers would win the WS if the playoffs started today? I think we all know that, aside from not having Knebel or Seager or whomever, the Dodgers just don’t seem to be clicking. They’re playing really well at times, most of the time, even. They’re just not doing it consistently. Meh…hopefully it changes when everyone is back, but Betts is still not Betts and Bellinger is bad. One of the things that’s most disappointing about Lux is that he doesn’t walk. If he’s not hitting, at least he can get on base. He’s not even doing that.
You have a lot to complain about for a team that’s one game back of best record in our league. I will gladly take that Jackson from you at the end of the year. Let me answer your hypothetical question with a couple of questions as Socrates would do routinely.
Would the Dodgers have won the World Series last year with Muncy and Seager on the IL?
Do you think our record would be better if our best players played more than one game together?
Do you think the Giants record would be worse if their best players played just 1.5% of their games together?
And lastly, do you think there’s a better chance that our best lineup is healthy when the playoffs start then they are now?
Thanks in advance for that 20 spot!
Can you say the Dodgers would have won the WS last year with how Betts is playing now? They won because of Betts – because of his hitting, key baserunning AND his defense. Not only is he not hitting like his career norm, his defense has taken a step back.
As for injuries, you fight with the army you have. I suppose the Dodgers could unfreeze Ted William’s brain and transplant it into the cloned body of Bo Jackson and put him in left, but the Dodgers don’t have that, either.
And I didn’t even bring up the drop in spin rates among all the Dodger pitchers.
Kershaw’s spin rate jumped and his slider got really effective. Early in the year he was pitching as well as he had in 2017. Now he’s tanked.
Kenley’s spin rate jumped and he suddenly became 2017 Kenley again.
Urias’s slurve became an unhittable out pitch.
Now all these guys along with Bauer are plummeting back to Earth now that the MLB is cracking down on pitchers supergluing their fingers to the ball.
Well said dodgerpatch! Thank you
Well not only our pitchers will be affected by MLB enforcement but so will everyone else.It shouldn’t affect us much more than anyone else.But now that Bauer may not be Cy Young,shouldn’t his contract be reworked,seriously!
No question, Mike Piazza never should have never been traded. Clueless Fox execs.
But honestly, Piazza behaved badly during the process. Fox apparently offered him a pretty good deal, which he rejected. Interesting that the Dodgers could have signed him a year before the sale to what would have been a very team friendly deal. But Peter O’Malley didn’t want to stick a big contract with a new owner so they waited. As much as I like Peter and the O’Malley family, his thinking turned out to be more wrong than right, especially with regard to individual ownership vs. corporate ownership.
When you talk about Dodgers in the Hall of Fame, I’ve always thought Gil Hodges should be there. A great injustice.
Good write-up, Bear.
Konerko and Martinez were kids. Piazza was an established super star, and the best hitter I had seen play for the Dodgers. More power than Garvey, I have no idea what FOX offered him, but it was not what he thought was fair. I think he did not behave badly at all. I think FOX never intended to pay a player as much as Piazza would command when he became a free agent after the season. As much as anything they did not want to get into a bidding war.
Hall of FAME or Hall of all-time leaders at RBI, WINS, ETC?
Fame, it means famous, it means that what they did was famous, that what they did meant something, that what they did, a lot or a little, was well known by many fans, that should count and not just the numbers at the end of their career!
Also, who selects the journalists who vote to decide whether or not a player enters the Hall of Fame?
Fans should have a voice and vote, who are the ones who enjoyed watching their idols play, who are the ones who paid a ticket to go see a certain player, a certain team.
It seems stupid to me, but what can I do? Not only can a certain team full of stupid clowns annoy me, there are other things too!
By the way, a hug and wishing a happy birthday since yesterday to those who celebrated their day …
Anyone who is a member of the BBWAA or Baseball Writers Association of America is eligible to vote for the hall. It has been that way since it’s inception. Entry is based on career performance. That is for enshrinement in the hall. Individual performances are recognized by different exhibits in the hall, for instance, uniforms and balls, other pieces of equipment from stellar performances are displayed. A player needs to have played 10 years in the majors to be eligible for election. Also he needs to have been retired for at least 5 years. Only 2 players were inducted without being retired 5 years, Lou Gehrig, who was dying of an incurable disease in1939 by special election, and Roberto Clemente, in 1973, also by special election after his tragic death in a plane crash on New Years eve 1972. Tommy Lasorda was elected soon after he stepped down as Dodger manager in 1996. The hall is for career achievement. Letting fans vote for the Hall is never going to happen. That is why they get to vote for the All Star game, so they can see their favorites. The voting rules have changed, players are now only on the list for 10 years instead of 15. Less then 5% of the vote on the first ballot and they are removed from consideration. The hall would be filled with very good, not great players if these restrictions were not in place.
Having the writers determine who’s worthy of being in the HOF and who isn’t has in interesting history. As you know Bear, the original 5 inductees in 1936 were Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, and Babe Ruth. Joe Davis pointed out not long ago thatThe Babe was not unanimous and was left completely off the ballot by one sports writer. He had some ax to grind against the Bambino or maybe he just didn’t condone the consumption of beer, cigars and hot dogs. You can’t please everybody.
No , you sure can’t. And it was interesting in that photo they showed on TV the other day, Cobb was not there. He was probably one of the most hated players of all time. To bad they used a total non athlete who was too old to play the part in the movie. Tommy Lee Jones is a great actor, but he, like John Goodman in Babe, was out of his league playing Cobb. I also took Umbridge with them using Ray Liotta, a righty to portray the lefty swinging Shoeless Joe in Field of Dreams.
Also Jorge, if they did as you suggest it would become the hall of the merely good, not the hall of fame. All of the other sports who have halls have similar rules.
Julio needs to give us some innings tonight and the offense needs to wake up! It’s a thin pen for this game
The bullpen actually looked good last night. 4 hits, no walks, 5.1 innings.
The Dodgers need to sweep the Phillies and Diamondbacks, win 2 of 3 against the Padres and 3 of 4 against the Cubs. If that happens, there is no way the Giants are in first place when we face them on the 28th.
Somehow I don’t think it’s a requirement to go 11-2 to be in first place before we play them.
Not gonna happen unless the offense starts giving us 5-6 runs a game consistently. That’s gonna be tough especially with Seager, Bellinger and Muncy out. Hopefully Belli’s is a short stint and he can start barreling up center cut fastballs.
MLB just announced that they will begin issuing 10 day suspensions for using foreign substances on the baseball. How this will impact Bauer and others remains to be seen. Maybe Mark can post the entire release. This will begin on Monday.
Well it sure seems that Bauer hasn’t been using the last 3-4 outings and the results show it!
Well it sure seems like Bauer hasn’t been using the last 3-4 outings and the results speak for themselves!
That’s a bold claim, especially with that exclamation point at the end!
I look at it this way. If most of the pitchers are using goop, then they’ll all be a little worse. Unfortunately for us, Bueller, Kershaw, Urias are also in the top ten in spin rate this year for 4 seam fastballs. Add in Cutter and two seamers and you’ll find Darvish no 3 overall.
When we signed Bauer, I didn’t expect him to duplicate his 1.73 ERA. I expected him to be a workhorse and have an ERA around 2.5 or less. I still have the same expectations.
I happened to watch a recent video that Trevor Posted a few days ago, probably a couple of days before his last start. He said he hadn’t been feeling well for a couple of weeks.
Another thing I consider is that the Dodgers have been leaning on him pretty heavily this year. He’s already thrown 113 pitches or more 5 times this year. Do you know how many times he threw that many pitches last year? Not one time. In a 5 game period, before is drop off 4 games ago, he threw 113, 90, 113, 113 and 126 pitches.
So, I think it’s probably a combination of being sick, over use and goop. The last game he pitched, he went 117 pitches and gave up 6 runs, 4 earned. Mookie Betts dropped a can of corn that game that lead to two runs in the inning, both scored with two outs. Then, in the 7th inning, Doc sent Trevor back out after he already had 104 pitches through six innings. When have you ever seen Doc let a pitcher start an inning after already throwing 104? To put that into perspective, Clayton has thrown 104+ pitches three times in the last three years. 104, 104 and 105. It’s no surprise that he wound up giving up 2 more runs in the 7th.
If I were a betting man, I would bet that he will give up less ER in his next 4 games than he did in his last 4 games.
Fun post Bear. Great research on a topic I would have never thought to write about. Good idea. And well executed. I love your stroll down baseball HOF history with the great photos.
* Great job by the bullpen throwing up a shutout after the 1st. The situational pitcher was excellent especially in the 3 innings where there was traffic. Holding the Phillies to 1 for 11 w/ RISP was huge. The back end looked awesome with Treinen, Nelson and KJ. You don’t win many with 3 hits without an extraordinary bullpen.
* I’m going to knit-pick again about the lack off aggressive moves by Doc in-game, that go completely unnoticed. But over the long haul they can be opportunities lost. Botton 4, Phillies up 1 – zip. Mookie walks. And I keep waiting for Doc to run early to get him to 2nd with Lux batting. It never happened. Finally at 2 & 2, I figured he has to be going to stay out of the double play, right? It’s called a “hit & run” or “ run and hit”. Dodger fans are unfamiliar with the play but other teams almost always run in that situation. Lux grounded into a force at 2nd which would have moved Mookie to 2nd had he been running on the play, and the out would have been at 1st. Mookie at 2nd with 1 out is a good thing. Lux at 1st, less good.
And it didn’t matter because Smith goes yard for a 2 run homer and all is forgotten. But to me it’s a missed opportunity to manage the game and putting more pressure on the defense. I believe that stuff pays off in the long haul.
Now I plan to get a comment from Cassidy who commented the last time I bitched about Mookie not running. He very correctly pointed out that I lacked inside information and maybe Mookie wasn’t entirely healthy and able to steal. That can certainly be true. But I’m going to assume that if he’s out there, he’s capable of running to 2nd on a hit and run. Maybe I’m wrong.
We could use some innings out of Urias tonight.
No I get it Phil. Mookie ran in big moments in the playoffs. But for some reason they are reluctant to run him this year. He just doesn’t look right in any facet of his game right now and I have to believe some nagging injuries have to be part of the problem. Also Reamulto is a pretty good catcher
It’s not that game anymore. Phil.
No steals, no sacrifices, not nearly as exciting.
I think Theo Epstein recently cited a stat which said (and I paraphrase)
The steal, the double and the triple have been cited by the public as the three most exciting plays in baseball.
All three are declining and being marginalized.
You’re right Bluto. But I still think that it’s winning baseball especially in the playoffs with tight contests and staff aces. I love it when a bunt is necessary in a tight playoff game and the stats say the guy hasn’t bunted since King Kong was a chimp. Well, why the hell hasn’t he?
I’m going to predict that there might be a trend back to some small ball if pitching continues to dominate, shifts continue to rob base hits, the baseballs drop from the sky like dead ducks and reducing “substance abuse” doesn’t improve hitting numbers. The Nick Madrigals of the world will more valued.
I think the opposite.
Defenses and the shift are the reason you won’t see it. Because a runner on 2nd is going to only likely score on a HR if the shift and positioning take away more and more 1B/2B/3B hits, and they’ll also score from first and you don’t risk or lose the out.
Anybody really believe the Giants are going to win62 per cent of their games for the full season. No way that would b around 100 wins. The Giants have not had a bad slide but they will as all teams do.
The Dodgers just need to get healthy and perform to capabilities. But they may not get healthy which might end their chances. Would we have won a World Series without this one or that one? No we we needed most everybody except mb pollock.
To win a World Series u need somebody to play over their head(Seager) a hot pitcher(Buehler Urias) somebody who makes memorable plays(Betts Bellinger) and others who keep the line moving(Muncy Smith Barnes Turner) with occasional game winning plays. So most everybody makes contributions.
The Mets and Brewers will be a formidable opponents in the National League playoffs with their pitching staffs. It’s a long way to go ,but something to think about.
They both have to get there first. And the Braves will have a lot to say about whether or not the Mets make it. Brewers have competition from the Cardinals and the rejuvenated Cubs.
Sometimes I need to get in a shameless plug… especially with technology this awesome.
Cool Mark, also guys, Mark added the photos to my post. I do not have the know how to do that yet. He is something to chew on, if Urias gets his 10th win tonight, it will be the first time in his career he has ever won in double figures. His most prior to this season, 5 in 2016. By contrast he already has 6 post season wins. More than Koufax, more than Sutton had as a Dodger, more than Don Newcombe, who never won a post season game. More than Podres, and Big D. Of course those guys had to get all of theirs in the World Series except Sutton. He has one more than Fernando, and is just 2 behind Hershiser.
Great stats on Julio.
AF needs to lock him up long-term. It’s hard to imagine Julio really wanting to play somewhere other that LA, but who knows?
The way things are going, he could be a Cy Young contender.
More prominent players hitting the IL today as Tyler Glasnow of the Rays, and Max Scherzer are headed that way. Glasnow’s injury is the more serious of the two. We might lose Bellinger if he is not better by tomorrow.
Interesting rant from Glasnow:
Tyler Glasnow just went off about the midseason crackdown. He stopped using sunscreen a couple starts ago and felt sore afterwards due to difficulty with grip. Same last night. Says it contributed to his current injury. He’s hopeful to be back at the end of the season.
Talk about unintended consequences
If my local CHP starts enforcing the speed limit, I’ll just have to learn to drive more slowly.
Look a straw-man!
Both are illegal yet rarely enforced. You have a problem with that?
You could say that.
Opening Night
Mookie CF
Gavin SS
JT 3b
Will C
Matt LF
CT3 2b
Albert 1b
Zach RF
Julio P
Cool technology Mark. My wife saw it and she wants to get a sensor placed at my local bar so it can detect when I’m drinking too much and can cut me off!
Will be interesting to see how the Dodgers play against these weak teams. Elfin is an ex Dodger. Traded in the Rollins deal if I remember right. They need to beat up on these kinds of guys.
Or else what?
Bear will be quite mad?
I always get mad when they play lousy against teams they should beat the crap out of. As far as or else, it just means they are not the 2020 version. We all know that. by the way, Elfin has an ERA north of 9 against LA and the Phillies have lost all of his starts against the Dodgers. So, yeah, they should beat the crap out of a guy like that.
Back to the IL for Bell-il. Mitch White recalled right after Doc said 13 pitchers is enough. lol I don’t think he’s the great communicator everyone thinks he is.
I really dislike the 3 man bench. It means all they have there tonight are Barnes, Raley, and Pollock. Giants getting hammered by the D-Backs right now and SD ahead of the Rocks. Chance to move into a tie for first if the D-Backs lead holds up.
I have said this over and over u cannot trust anything doc says about injuries. He will say oh he is day to day and they will be out for a month. I don’t know how this lineup scores but mb somebody will get hot. 3 hits last night but 2 for homers so mb we can just get lucky.
There u go Phil. Roberts must be reading your comments. He had Lux running on 3-2 count to get to third and scores on the ground out. Manufactured run for Dodgers! I love it!
Yep, I was thinking of Phil when I saw that.
Wow, Z-Mack has a knack for timely hits.
Julio! Another Ribbie!
Julio Ohtani!!!!! Why isn’t he batting cleanup?
Urias should b a 2way player or mb just bat for Betts. What has happened here he seems to b more than lucky. Doc has found his xtra inning pinch hitter. Sorry kershaw
Wow! UGLY! Is Julio supposed to field as well as hit and pitch? Tho it was a horrible 0-2 pitch to Herrera
I’m sorry but Luke Raley is not a major league hitter!
That was obvious his first stint with the team. Giants rallied to go ahead of the D-Backs who now are in line to lose their 21st consecutive road game. Mookie’s HR puts them back in front, now up to the pen to keep Philly off of the board.
Kelly 1,2,3 inning wth
I don’t want to hear anybody on the site calling him Fat Albert anymore.
Oh yeah way to go mookie
So all Mookie needed was 56,000!
I don’t want anybody on this site calling him Fat Albert anymore
Oh yeah way to go MOOKIE
Put Bickford on the bus with Raley!
Come on, Give me a reason to like you Bickford,, please just slow it down a little bit
Oh yeah, two hits off rightes
BIG AL !!!!
Great win.
Treinen has some absolutely filthy pitches in his arsenal.
Mookie looking a lot more like it.
So much better watching baseball with a sell out crowd, although it was a strange end to the game.
I was wrong, they had a 4 man bench. I forgot there were only 8 position players in the lineup. Pujols has been pretty good as a Dodger. Watching him interact with the rest of the team when he gets on is very fun to do.