247 years ago, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired just after daybreak on April 19 in the little town of Lexington, thrusting the farmer-colonists of our yet-to-be-born nation into war.
At every turn since then, when the nation has called for those willing to wear the uniform of our nation in service around the world and here at home, there has been no shortage of people willing to do so. They are people who entered the service knowing full well they might not return.
It is not a day of celebration, nor a holiday to glorify war. Rather, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, a day of honor, and a day of respect. Thank you for your service to those soldiers who did and did not return. Never forget!
Frankie Montas Would be Nice… But I Would not do it!
It is really tempting to make a trade for a pitcher like Frankie Montas, who has made 10 starts for the Oakland A’s. In those 10 starts, he has compiled 66 Strike Outs in 57 IP. He has 15 Walks, and a 0.988 WHIP to go with a 3.28 ERA. Frankie is 29 years old and his only question is durability. He did pitch 187 innings in 2021 but has never accumulated more than 96 innings in his career prior to that. He would look good in the Dodgers’ rotation… no doubt. He’s probably the best pitcher available and it will take a Pirates’ Booty to get him. It would take a couple(at least) of the following pitchers to get him:
Landon Knack, Clayton Beeter, Jordon Leasure, Nick Nastrini, Maddux Bruns, Carlos Duran, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, Peter Huebeck, Hyun-Il, Choi, Kendall Williams, Nick Robertson, Mark Washington, et al (I probably forgot a couple). I would trade a few of those pitchers, but probably not the one Billy Beane would want. Notice, that I did not include Bobby Miller or Ryan Pepiot – the Dodgers will not be trading either of them.
Of course, not every pitcher listed above will be great or even good, but the more you have in the pipeline, the better the odds are. Growing your own pitching down on the farm is the best way to build a team and the Dodgers pitching pipeline is loaded with excellent prospects who should be traveling the path to Dodger Stadium. We have seen Michael Grove and Ryan Pepiot already this year and a few others are yet possible in 2022.
- The Dodgers have the best record in baseball with a .702 Winning Percentage – that’s on pace to win 114 games, which doesn’t seem likely, but…
- The Dodgers are #1 in Team ERA at 2.67, and WHIP at 1.08;
- The Dodgers are #1 in Starting Pitcher ERA at 2.40; and
- The Dodgers are #3 in Bullpen ERA with about half the bullpen on the IL!
By the way, the Bullpen is #20 in Innings Pitched so they are not overworked. The Starters are averaging 5.7 IP. No other contender has that high of an average. Tyler Anderson, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias, Ryan Pepiot, Mitch White, and Michael Grove have all looked solid to good. Andrew Heaney and Clayton Kershaw should be back next month, with the Ace of the staff being the only question mark with a 6-1 record and a 2.91 ERA. I still believe he has been “tinkering” with something that is affecting it, but time will tell. I would not trade for another starting pitcher. I think the Dodgers have enough, but what does Andrew Friedman think?
Dodgers Minor League Notes
- I heard the rumor last night that Diego Cartaya was about to get the call to Great Lakes.
- Of course, a couple, of days ago, Ben Casparius got that call too. He is a guy to watch!
- OKLAHOMA CITY DODGERS
- Mike Busch was 1-5
- Carson Fulmer went 2 innings, allowed 2 hits, walked 3, and struck out 1.
- Noda, Wolters, and Lamb all had 2 hits
- TULSA DRILLERS
- Brandon Lewis was 2-2.
- Jordon Leasure went 1 inning, striking out all 3 batters.
- GREAT LAKES LOONS
- Jorbit Vivas was 2-5 with a double.
- Jonny DeLuca hit his 13th HR
- Jose Ramos hit his 2nd HR
- RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES
- Diego Cartaya was 1-4 in what may have been his last game at RC.
A little history on Ben Casparius from my great State of Connecticut born in Westport Connecticut that Mark has his eye on:
2021 Season: Drafted in the 5th Round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. ABCA First Team Northeast All-Region. Second Team All-BIG EAST. BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament team. Finished second in UConn single-season history with 127 strikeouts. Led the Huskies and BIG EAST Conference in starts (15), wins (8), innings pitched (91.2) and strikeouts (127). His 127 strikeouts ranked No. 12 in the nation. Threw 8.0 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts vs. Miami (OH) (3/5) to notch first win at UConn. Pitched 5.0 strong with just three hits allowed and eight strikeouts at No. 9 Texas Tech (3/12). Threw 6.2 innings and struck out 11 in victory at Saint Joseph’s (3/19). Fired 7.0 shutout innings with eight strikeouts vs. UMass (4/2). Notched a complete-game shutout with a season-high 15 strikeouts vs. Georgetown (4/9). Struck out 14 in 7.0 innings of work in a victory vs. Bucknell (5/1). Recorded 6.2 innings, walked zero and struck out seven in a win at Villanova (5/15). Picked up the win vs. Seton Hall (5/21) with 6.0 innings of one-run ball and seven strikeouts. Dazzled against Creighton (5/29) with 7.0 shutout innings, just three hits and 13 strikeouts in the BIG EAST Championship.
2020: Had to sit out the 2020 season due to transfer rules.
Transferred from the University of North Carolina after the 2019 season.
MiLB Career Stats 1 2 2.78 14 8 0 35.2IP 53K 1.12Whip
From Miami of Ohio is where I first heard about him. I have a friend who lives in Oxford, OH and he liked him a lot. It’s funny, because he suggested that he would be a candidate for Driveline and later he allegedly added a few MPH to his fastball and bite to his slider.
Pretty Impressive! Pitching, pitching and more pitching!
I was talking to someone about the Rockies the other day. I said they should focus on loading up with pitching in the draft and getting the best development staff possible. Look for guys with great Fastball / Sinker / Changeups. Teach them splitters. Churn and burn your pitching prospects and get hitters in free agency where you can lure solid hitters to Colorado where the bats play up.
The Dodgers are incredible at developing and fixing pitchers. Wish they could figure out how to do the same with hitters.
A thank you to all who have served our country here at LADT!
A shout out to all those who have served, thank you! And a thank you to Mark to start today’s post with such a reminder.
I took a couple of days off to travel to see my wife’s family in Visalia. It was a quick trip and a beautiful drive up the 5 to the central valley. A great BBQ with some great people and a couple more Dodgers wins. A great trip.
I was a little afraid of the fact that Diego would get called up soon and I would miss seeing him next weekend.
Kevin Pillar made his Dodger’s debut yesterday and did no hitting. But, his glove sure does play. He won’t be here for long if the bat doesn’t show up.
I’m glad to see Rios get the runway he’s been waiting so long for now that Muncy is on the IL. Up until now, we have seen flashes what could happen if were able to play on a regular basis. Now, we’ll actually see what will happen. I think this is his big opportunity and I can finally decide if he’s for real.
There wasn’t a whole lot going on in the final day of what seemed to be a very long road trip. I think the trip just seemed longer than most with an East Coast swing and no off days. Just 4 hits yesterday and Lux had one of them. I think Gavin is starting to look more comfortable. He’s hasn’t really gone on a tare, but there’s been some solid moments and mostly great defense from him. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Gavin just yet, there’s much more in there.
At the end of April, Patch and his fellow Giant’s fans would say things like “Why can’t the Giants just be a good team”. I told him that they would be buried by the end of May. With just two more games remaining in MLB’s second month and the Giants are right where they should be. They were in first place in the West at 14-7 when May began. A lofty 7 games above 500 and a half game ahead in the standing. Now, they sit at 25-21 and 7.5 games behind. That’s 11 wins and 14 losses for the month and showing who they really are after a year long aberration. Maybe Farhan will be able to hold his garage sale a year too late.
I guess the elephant in the room is that the Padres are the good team and they will be giving us trouble most of the season. With their best player on the IL all year so far, they’ve had superman streaks by Eric Hosmer who they desperately tried to trade all offseason and Manny Machado. MacKenzie Gore is looking like the Ace his prospect status said he would be and Joe Musgrove is continuing his rebirth in San Diego. Bauer’s best buddy, at least before the incident, is coming along nicely after TJ and Darvish and Manea are pitching good enough to be the Dodgers’ 7th and 8th starters.
Tonight, we’ll begin our homestand with Bueller and his “worrisome” fastball against our favorite whipping boys Pittsburgh Pirates before we start a showdown with the Mets, White Sox, Giants and two against the Angels, aka The team that doesn’t know which city they play in. This might be our toughest stretch of games this season. Time to step up and start playing our best baseball.
Kershaw or Koufax? 3 Rings vs 1. Enough said.
I read now that the illegal Anaheim deal was scuttled, that the City of Long Beach might make a hard play for the Angels. Something like a stadium on the bay or something.
Cheers
I would like to see the Angels move to Long Beach and change their name to something more long beach centric while they’re at it. They’ve proposed a bayside site previously. Maybe they can change their name to the porpoises, seals, crackheads, or something else definitely Long Beach.
Surf nazis? Probably not.
Long Beach Pikers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pike
I was talking about the Pike about a week ago. We met my wife’s sister and bother in law for dinner at 555 Steakhouse across the street from where the Pike used to be.
My dad was a merchant seaman working as a pump man on oil tankers in the 70’s and 80’s when I was growing up. As a kid, my mom would get a call in the middle of the night to go pick up my dad at the docks and we would travel down Westminster Blvd. to 2nd Street to Ocean, up and over the Vincent Thomas Bridge to pick him up. I remember thinking how chilling and creepy that abandoned amusement park looked on those dark, foggy nights.
My imagination when wild peering out the window at the Pike wondering what it was like riding those old, wooden roller coasters right there on the water. The place looked seedy like a carnival in a horror movie to me. Especially after hearing urban legends about murder and buried bodies encased inside the cement fixtures.
Angels cannot move to Long Beach. They would be infringing on the Dodgers territory. Same Problem the A’s have moving to San Jose.
I’ve argued with my friends on numerous occasions that they should have built a stadium for the Rams right about where they used to house the Spruce Goose and where the now bankrupt and abandoned Queen Mary is. It could be a beautiful stadium location.
I’m very sad about my Giants – but at least the Pods are doing well.
I’m gratified that B&P has had a brief moment of clarity interrupting his non-stop Dodger Happy Talk to at least acknowledge the Pods are going to give the Dodgers some serious trouble. They’re the 3rd best team in the NL despite their best player being on the IL. Machado and Tatis + malcontent Hosmer is a formidable lineup. Gore suddenly becoming the ace again adds to a pile of excellent starting pitching. With Gore, The Pods might rival the Dodgers and healthy Mets as having the best starting pitching corps. Don’t forget the Mets, too. Scherzer and De Grom will be back to a team that is already very very good. With Buehler’s Ulnar Collateral Ligament looking like string cheese and Kershaw’s herniated discs, it’s not looking good. I agree with Badger – the future is dire.
A special thanks to those who have served. This country isn’t perfect, nothing is, but it is a very special place inhabited by special people with beliefs, values and an energy that changed the world for the better. It is also very fragile, and the 250 odd years of its existence is a blip in history. Pray that it lasts.
I was thinking a little more about national anthems after Bluto’s post yesterday. I think I prefer the Star Spangled Banner. It does something that God Bless America, although a lovely song, doesn’t. SSB expresses the theme of providence. This country gained its independence in spite of incredible odds fighting, at that time, the world’s pre-eminent superpower. It preserved its independence in spite of another war and invasion by that same superpower, a key battle of which inspired the lyrics to the song. It survived dissolution and Civil War. It survived many threats to its unity and values, and those threats still exist, both external and internal.
I think the Star Spangled Banner better expresses why we honor our veterans on this day. In spite of, on several occasions, nearly losing everything, the flag still stands, and our fragile republic still exists. We can thank our patriots for that.
I write my own newsletter and wrote a little something for the occasion, and I think Eugene Sledge put it poignantly –
“Until the millennium arrives and countries cease trying to enslave others, it will be necessary to accept one’s responsibilities and be willing to make sacrifices for one’s country – as my comrades did. As the troops used to say, “If the country is good enough to live in, it’s good enough to fight for.” With privilege goes responsibility.”
― E.B. Sledge, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa
https://mailchi.mp/69a825c0bb4d/newsridesevents
Too deep for me! I don’t even believe in God.
I just like the way God Bless America is written and arranged.
The Marvin Gaye all-star jam is pretty tight too
I don’t think I was making a statement on belief,. Was I?
Whatev.
The point wasnt religion.
The point, which im sorry you didnt pick up, was that I just like the way GBA sounds!
I like the French anthem best, and i think it comes from (or is famous by association with) the French Revolution
Really? Kinda thought you’d be into this one … a special mix feat. Cardi B.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK2GUxOnjDQ
Its OK. Was good in Hunt for Red October!
The French with the horns is awesome.
Flower of Scotland? Pretty good. Oh, Canada? Ok, but its cool when the fans sing along.
Actually, it’s not bad (much better than the Communist Chinese one I almost picked. That’s cringe). It’s from a culture that gave us Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, so some pedigree. Makes you want to stand at attention like Ivan Drago.
La Marseillaise is good. Very French. Very revolutiony – “Let’s march! Let’s march! So that the impure blood waters our fields.” Snobby lefties talking about revolutions. No wonder you like it.
Oh Canada is good. Simple and unpretentious. Easy for people to sing along to it, which is part of it’s charm. Maybe lacks the gravitas and magisterial qualities that I think an anthem needs, but still one of the best.
God Save the Queen is my vote for the best anthem. Simple and easily recognizable melody that has the sense of place, solemnity, history and greatness that is perfect for the former British Empire.
Star Spangled Banner is great in its own way. Tells a story in the music, with an introduction in the verse, a build in tension in a distinctive bridge, which is rare for an anthem, and builds to a dramatic finale. It’s very flexible, and can and is performed in a variety of creative ways, which is the most American thing you can think of.
My grandfather preferred Shoskatovich.
Snobby lefty? I prefer snobby moderate.
But your post, your words.
I guess your moderate status depends on the current state of the Overton Window and where you reside on the sliding scale.
I’ll take Shostakovich.
It’s slid remarkably far in both directions, no?
Glad to see Rios getting his chance. He just needs to improve his pitch recognition and tighten his zone. Learn from Smith and Lux. Because when he makes contact, good things happen! And he did a pretty good job in the field yesterdsy
I first became a Dodger fan in 1959. From ‘59 to ‘66 they were 3-1 in the World Series. Since then they are 3-19 in post season attempts at a Championship. Not sure what that means. A lot of “Curses! Foiled again!”
Have to admit Anderson continues to surprise me. Can he keep it up for 30 starts? My Magic 8 Ball says ….. “are you f’n nuts? 24-0? Not a chance.” My Magic 8 Ball is very opinionated .. and long winded.
The Dodgers defense, which is average in my opinion, and frankly good enough with this offense, is improved with Pillar. But I agree he has to hit.
Rios just needs more at bats to develop plate discipline. It’s ok to walk Ed.
Buehler.
We will eventually play teams that are good. I look forward to it.
Today is my mother’s birthday. She would have been 95.
On this Memorial Day I wish for peace, knowing full well I will never see it in my lifetime. Humans have a very difficult time just getting along.
Enjoy your family time and barbecue’s. I’ll be grilling corn and veggie kabobs. I made peace with God’s critters decades ago.
I had a piece of a critter of God just last night!
Cheers
You are what you eat. Brillat-Savarin.
Here’s another one you may have heard – what goes around comes around. Next life, it eats you.
I am hamburger!
Statement based on false pretenses. You only get one chance.
“You are what you eat. Brillat-Savarin.
Here’s another one you may have heard – what goes around comes around. Next life, it eats you.”
Exactly, which is why I’d rather not have soy induced Gynecomastia.
The reason why we’re sitting here on these things called computers and phones using our big brains to argue about baseball is because our ancestors started hunting, which needs big brains. Big brains getting consistent protein is what allowed those early ancestors to win the evolutionary game against those weaklings digging up roots and tubers.
Nothing immoral about a lion eating a buffalo. Circle of life. We’re no different.
I’d like to see some ‘notes’ discussion on Kimbrel. Haven’t seen him pitch, but seems he is like Jansen. doesn’t like clean innings
Id like to get a consistent duo in the broadcast booth. Some of you may like D Train but hes not for me.
I miss Joe and Orel….guess we will get that tonight.
SD is ok but they will fade per the ususal.
I never really thought broadcasters would affect my enjoyment.I was very wrong.I love Joe and Orel.I can put up with D Train,occasionally.
All this winning is aggravating. It’s getting harder and harder to be negative, but I’ll try. Besides Buehler’s obvious nosedive, Mookies now in a slump. Freddie won’t hit the ball into the shift. Smith fouls off too many pitches to hit a homer and Anderson can’t always go 8 shutout innings. And I could go on and on but I don’t want to get branded always negative
Cassidy, If you keep that up you may have to decide for the forth time to stop posting
And that would make a lot of people happy!
If people are happy about that is that positive or negative?
Why am I not surprised that Bluto has to tell everyone on this site that they doesn’t believe in God? Maybe if you did, you wouldn’t be so negative all the time. Like vegans, they feels the need to tell everyone. Why? What is they possibly seeking by making that statement? How is it relative to baseball?
It sure would be nice for people to stop posting their political views on this site. Let me pre-empt your response about it being religious and not political. It is not, you are being a good comrade by following Marx with your non-religious, state above all else views.
You can always choose to believe what you want and not advertise it. That is also a choice you can make.
1Peter 3:15
NIV
Just read it.
Especially liked this part:
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”
Good advice to follow.
Ecclesiastes 10:2.
“Kindness matters, and we will be appreciated by how much we give it, not by how much we know.” Bhagavad Gita
Faith without works is dead.
James
Perfect.
“Why am I not surprised that Bluto has to tell everyone on this site that they doesn’t believe in God? “
Why is that a problem? Bluto is free to believe whatever he wants to believe. As you are Bullpen.
“It sure would be nice for people to stop posting their political views on this site.”
Yeah. You keep reminding us. And thank you for that.
Not ignoring me anymore?
I just said why it’s a problem. Probably has a large bearing on they’s unhappiness and negativity.
Yes, I keep reminding everyone. It’s pretty crazy how often that happens considering the vote was pretty much everyone to no one. So, why?
Tough break for you.
God did His work 13.7 billion years ago and hasn’t done anything since. Physics rule.
Faith is some kind of wonderful. Wish I had some.
Same. My brain is not wired that way.
Standard physics maybe. In quantum physics there don’t seem to be any rules.
Quantum physics and General Relativity use completely different rulebooks, which is a big problem if you want to use science as a means of explaining the universe in a metaphysical sense. Why Mr. Speak-and- Spell voice was so hot to trot on creating a “theory of everything.”
What about psychics?
Those of us who served know only too well that Freedom is not free. It has been paid for in blood. Way too much in my mind. Baseball has been along with music my refuge from the day to day BS. I love my country, family and my Dodgers. I do not consider a season where they do not win it all to be a failure. I know how hard it is to just win your division anymore. True dynasty’s like the old Yankees just do not exist in the way the game is structured today. I wish each and everyone a very peaceful Memorial Day. And to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice, RIP my brothers and sisters, you will never be forgotten.
Thanks to all of you who served our great country. Have a peaceful Memorial Day.
Bleacher Report updated their Minor League rankings this morning. Guess who they rank #1?
https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2956468-fresh-mlb-farm-system-rankings-at-quarter-mark-of-2022-season.amp.html
People say the Dodgers are where they are as a franchise because they have money. Not surprisingly, Tampa is #2 (kind of blows that theory out of the water, don’t it?) AF plays chess while the rest of the league plays checkers. #3 and #4 are coming out of full tank mode. In the case of the Orioles, their tank mode has lasted half a generation.
Best record in baseball. Best minor league system in baseball.
The next time we go into a 4 or 5 game losing streak (and we will, probably several more times this season) and somebody calls for Dave Roberts to be fired… or blasting AF for picking up players “on the cheap”…they should be forced to get an Orioles face tattoo.
I hope everybody has a good Memorial Day. My son’s team was eliminated yesterday from their weekend tournament. So they aren’t playing today. Spent the morning watching Band of Brothers in our hotel room. I’m glad HBO puts on that marathon every year.
Thx for the link, Jayne.
I grew up a few miles from the Big A. Some close friends who are Angel diehards asked me about whether the Angels might expect some help from the farm and this can help me explain why I said probably not.
Seriously the Dodgers are so deep that I hope AF does some opportunistic shopping down the road. I can imagine a team fighting for the playoffs that could use OKC guys like Lamb, Martin and Romero. (The Angels could well be one of those teams.)
As for tonight’s game, the bad/good news is that we might be learning whether Kimbrel really still has the chops to close. If his struggles continue, AF might have a better idea what to shop for. Certainly loving the fact that Mookie is back in MVP-caliber form, delivering in the clutch and lifting his OPS to 1.006.
And I’d much have the Dodgers have these kind of losses against the Pirates and their ilk, as opposed to Pads, Giants or any team that they may face in the postseason.
Could I settle for a butt tattoo?
As long as you wear it proudly dude.
And walk backwards
Yep
We have a lot of diversity, culture, and opinions on this blog. I have no problem with sharing them. I do not have a problem with different and divergent opinions. What I have a problem with is people telling me what I should believe or that I am wrong about a certain belief. Most of these beliefs are just opinions. Most are not absolute truth.
Mark, with all due respect. You don’t like people telling you that you are wrong about a certain belief and then you say that most of the beliefs people have that are expressed in this blog are not truth, just opinions. Isn’t that saying most people’s beliefs are wrong, if they are not truth ?
Isn’t that what you don’t like ?
Just asking.
Bluto, with all due respect. You don’t look like you’re genuinely just asking. It looks to be like you’re antagonizing Mark passive aggressively.
I thought it was pretty clear that Mark is referring to things that are non binary in their true and false values. Some things are debatable and others less so. We all know that the world isn’t black and white, and grey area must be considered. This is where a “belief” comes in. It’s something you’re convicted in, but can’t necessarily prove as true or false, good or evil. He said that in his last two sentences. Most beliefs are just opinions. Most are not absolute truth.
But, in your antagonistic way, you try to corner him with some pretty weak logic. Most people’s beliefs are not true, therefore they are wrong. Not what he said at all.
That’s Bobo, not Bluto.
But I don’t think reading is quite your forte all of the time.
Beliefs in faith can only be opinions. as they cannot be proven one way or the other. If God suddenly died what would change? The God most people have in their minds has a strong personality and if so also has a strong sense of humor and the joke is on me.
10:10 PM ET
Pirates (19-27)
Dodgers (33-14)
SP Walker Buehler R
6-1 2.91 ERA 52.2IP 42K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
SS Trea Turner R
C Will Smith R
DH Edwin Rios L
3B J. Turner R
CF C. Bellinger L
LF Kevin Pillar R
2B Gavin Lux L
Clear-day
0% Rain
71° Wind 6 mph Out
No Dodger minor league games today.
Padres lost to the Cardinals 6-3.
BandP, ok I might of been trying to get a reaction. But, the Reality is that truth is either true or isn’t. Truth is something that conforms and agrees to reality. Mark said most things expressed on this blog is not truth but but is opinion ( as if someone’s opinion couldn’t also be true, but that’s a different line of logic )
Mark said, he doesn’t like it when someone tells him he is wrong about a belief, but that is what he implied. He said most are opinions and Not absolute truth .
( not truth is equivalent to wrong, not true ) Well it used to be, maybe we just all get to decide what is true and isn’t these days.
Play ball!
Semper Paratus
Hey David,
In response to Craig Kimbrel. I looked at the top ten saves leaders and compared stats among these 11 pitchers, there are ties so that’s how we get to 11 on a top ten list. The cutoff is 10 saves.
Here are some bullet points that stand out.
Kimbrell pitched in the least number of games and the least number of innings. 15 games and 14.0 innings.
The number two guy on the list is beast –
Josh Hader. 0.00 ERA 16 saves 14.2 IP 3 H 6 BB 22 K
Kimbrel 4.50 ERA 10 saves 14.0 IP 14 H 5 BB 19 K
Those are the only two players on the list that don’t have a blown save or a loss.
The only sub 2.0 ERA’s on the list are Tyler Rogers and Josh Hader
There’s 2 more out of 11 that have a sub 3.0 ERA
There are only 3 out of 11 that pitched less that 20 games
Out of the 11 games Kimbrel has pitched, he’s given up runs in 5 of them. In 4 of those games, he entered the game with a 3 or 4 run lead.
He’s hasn’t entered a game with a 1 run lead all season.
He’s entered the game with a a 3 run lead or more 13 times.
When I watch him, pretty much every game this year, I see a confident pitcher who’s wild and is getting behind in the count a lot leading to some unnecessary hits, especially the shift hit kind. But, he never looks worried or panicked at all. He always looks the same no matter what. No one has attempted to steal a base off of him this season.
The good, bad and ugly in reverse order…
His ERA is ugly, but if you put it into the context that he doesn’t mind trading a run for an out with a three run lead, I don’t think it’s cause for concern.
The WHIP is bad. At 1.36 it isn’t far off from Liam Hendricks at 1.29, or Edwin Diaz at 1.26. Ideally anything just below 1.0 is elite and that’s where I would like to see it.
The Good. No Blown Saves! If he comes in with a lead, he keeps it in the early going. And that is the most important thing to do a closer.
Baseball Savant says his fastball is down slightly (half a tick) at 95.9 compared to 96.5 last year. Spin is off a little less than 100 RPM 2224 vs 2301.
Same thing with the curve, a tiny bit slower 85.8 vs 86.1 and a little less spin 2513 vs 2558.
Is it the ball, lack of use, or age catching up to him?
My personal opinion is that he doesn’t look sharp, but he’s ultimately getting the job done. I don’t have cause for concern because of that inflated ERA because the 14 inning sample is so small. A little rust and a little bad luck and constantly pitching behind in the count is what it looks like to me.
Two months ago I said I was worried about Buehler and that hasn’t changed for me, nothing has happened, nothing to tell me that he’s reversing the trend.
He was a power pitcher now he is not, he would understand if he was 35 years old and many innings accumulated, this soft version of Buehler is slowly catching up with him, he has more hits than innings pitched, fewer strikeouts than innings pitched, his avg in against continues to increase, etc, etc
Urías also started about 2 MPH down but in the last 3 games he is constantly at 94-95 mph where he is good, his trend is upward.
It is clear that he can throw 95-96 but he only does it 10-12 times a game. Why?
That is the question.
He can shoot 95-96 but he can no longer shoot 98-99 and sometimes hit 100 like before.
He abuses his off-speed pitches because he knows his diminished fastball is very hittable and he doesn’t trust it.
Buehler at 98-99 MPH was great, Buehler at 95-96mph is very good, but there is a difference between being great and being very good, there are very few great players, there are many very good players.
Bickford has lost 2 MPH and it is not working like last year, hits allowed have increased, strikeouts have decreased, etc, etc
It’s just kind of unbelievable with Buehler’s fastball right now. It’s like a magnet is attached to it! A wood magnet
Wow. Perspective. Given how slow Mook started.
https://twitter.com/billshaikin/status/1531482563620982784?s=21&t=5OmUkkkqdS6IWbVXnTobzA
Is it me or are the Dodgers hitting a lot of solo home runs this year.
Well that was an enjoyable game to watch and actually highlighted some of the frailties mentioned earlier in this thread, notably Buehler and Kimbrel’s troubles.
Much prefer Orel with Joe
And it’s Flower of Scotland for me….
Will you be participating or attending The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend 2022?
I can’t stand Orel. Just talks too much BS for me. I prefer Nomar and have enjoyed Dontrelle. But everyone is going to have their own favorites. Tough game to watch. Too many missed chances and they had the right guys up in the 9th. Kimbrel’s 3-2 curve was a dumb call in that situation. The walk burned him.
I think that was Eric Karros.
Noticed that the “fresh” prospects rankings from Bleacher Reports that Jayne linked to has Gavin Stone moving all the way up to the No. 10 position. Among pitchers that puts in behind only Miller, Pepiot and Knack. A Stone with helium, apparently.
LHP Clayton Kershaw (right SI joint inflammation)
Expected return: Mid-June
Kershaw, who was scratched ahead of his scheduled start against the Phillies on May 13 with inflammation in his pelvic joint, threw just shy of 40 pitches in a bullpen session May 30. Manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw used all of his pitches and could go on a rehab assignment in less than a week.
“He was outstanding,” Roberts said. “He might argue being outstanding, but he used his entire pitch mix and there will be another [bullpen session] here in a couple of days.” — Doug Padilla (Last updated: May 30)
LHP Andrew Heaney (left shoulder discomfort)
Expected return: Mid-to-late June
Heaney threw a two-inning simulated game May 30, pitching against Kevin Pillar, Hanser Alberto and two hitters borrowed from Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. Heaney will throw a side session this week and could head out on a rehab assignment June 3 or 4, according to manager Dave Roberts. — Doug Padilla (Last updated: May 30)
You just have to be able to close out 7,8and 9 on a crummy team! And you can’t walk a crummy #8 hitter ahead 1-2! Kimbrel just has to be be better