No two people are the same. We all have opinions, proclivities, and prejudices. We are biased, trained, taught, and simple… while complicated. We are human. We are Dodger Fans. I have been through the bad times and the good times. I have had my heart broken many times. I have seen defeat snatched from the jaws of victory! I have seen the Dodgers lose when they should have won, but I have also seen them win when they should have lost. That was very sweet! … and it was actually worth it!
Yesterday, several Dodger fans said they were not going to watch the game. I can’t blame them. I get it. The Dodgers have recently almost been unwatchable. They have the best starting pitching in baseball, but lately, their hitting, especially with runners in scoring position, has been atrocious. They can’t jump out of a boat and hit water. Last night, they were not great when hitting with RISP, but they did manage to score seven runs and beat the Indians…. ‘er Guardians.
Like all Dodger fans, I have been upset with their play. But, I am a Dodger Fan and I will be there Win, Lose, or Draw! Since Andrew Friedman arrived in LA, we have all gotten spoiled. Most fans think the Dodgers should win the World Series every year… and that is the goal, but it is not reality. Twenty-nine other teams are standing in the way. Some have no chance of winning, but beating the Dodgers is their World Series, and the ones that have a chance seem to rachet up their play when they are battling the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are the only team in MLB, where every team has fans who chant “Beat LA, Beat LA.” They don’t do that to the Yankees or the Giants – Just the Dodgers. The Dodgers are a superteam and their fans expect “super results” which is not always realistic.
The Entire Unveiling Ceremony
Last night, the Dodgers unveiled a statue in honor of Sandy Koufax. I case you missed it, it is worth the watch. You don;t see this stuff every day.
Here’s a short Bio:
Who is the G.O.A.T?
If you say Clayton Kershaw, you are looking at the entire body of work of either pitcher and placing longer overall performance over four “otherworldly” years that will never be duplicated. If you say Sandy Koufax, you are placing more weight on quality than quantity. Both arguments are flawed. The above picture is the G.O.A.T.S – Clayton and Sandy. One pitched with a 15 inch mound in a deader-ball era with no analytics and a larger strike zone. One had four years that were the best ever, while the other had 14 years that were pretty dang good. Both are legends. One is in the Hall-of-Fame, the other one will be. One has a statue while the other one will have a statue after they retire… and it will likely co-incide with his HOF Induction. We are lucky to have had them both! Co-GOATS! They are each one of the few players who can get called by their first name and everyone know who they are. I liked this Twitter Exchange:
Oh… and the Dodgers Won the Game!
You can never proclaim the Dodger’s offense to be “back” but last night was a step in the right direction. Freddie Freeman had 3 hits, while Cody again had 2. Max Muncy was 1-2 with two walks, and Gavin Lux had a beautiful RBI Triple that was a “clutch hit.” JT had his 17th double and drove in 2 runs. The only run that scored was on a ball that Max Muncy tried to use a skillet to catch. The “easy out” clanked off his glove and a run scored. Julio Urias struggled during the first inning and then put on his cape and proceeded to mow the Indians down. The bullpen of Price, Bickford, and Moronta did not allow a hit in their one-inning stints. Bickford was hitting 96 MPH for the first time this season, so maybe he is finally rounding into shape.
We have joked about Tony G being the Dodgers’ ace, but of course, with Buehler out it is Julio. Today, Andrew Heaney joins what looks to be a 6-man rotation (maybe or maybe not)
- Urias
- Gonsolin
- Kershaw
- Anderson
- Heaney
- White
The Dodgers’ starting pitching (even without Walker) is #1 in all of baseball and the Dodgers are 2nd in team ERA at 2.89 (Yanks are #1 with 2.74). There is a lot of reason to believe that the Yankees cannot keep up that pace while the Dodgers will actually improve. It starts with this.
Next, the Bad News…
Mookie Betts who wasn’t hitting anyway goes to the IL and Zach McKinstry takes his place. I would not be surprised to see Jake Lamb take the place of Eddy Alvarez (who really hasn’t had a chance), because the Dodgers could use someone with some thunder in their bat. Stay Tuned!
Future Dodgers Down on the Farm (The Cavalry)
- Mitch White will likely make his next start in LA as he pitched 6 shutout innings for OKC last night. He allowed 3 hits, and walked nary a batter.
- As if on Cue, Mike Busch went 3-4 with a double and a BB.
- Jake Lamb was 2-3 with 2 RBI and 2 Runs Scred while taking 2 walks and hitting 2 HRs last night (his 13th and 14th). Jake is calling! Hello, Answer the Phone, Andrew!
- Wichita again got “Stoned” as Gavin went 5 strong innings, striking out 11 (2 BB) and allowing 3 hits (0 Runs).
- Leonal Valera accounted for both runs (Tulsa won 2-1) with a 2-run HR. After hitting .211 at GL, he is hitting .356 at Tulsa. Go figure!
- Diego Cartaya was 3-5 with 2 doubles for GL.
- Luis Rodriguez and Damon Keith both were 2-5 with a HR for RC.
Happy Father’s Day !!!
For those that took the day off, you really missed a good game. Besides Muncy’s brick glove, the boys in blue acted like heros and put the hurt on the team formerly known as the Indians.
Julio is starting to look like his old self. I saw a lot more 94’s and 95’s than I’ve seen in quite some time. After two walks and the Muncy error, he set down all but hitters the rest of the way. It’s hard to believe he’s just 4-6 on the season with that sparkling 2.56 ERA.
Of course Freddie Freeman will be fine. He’s been one the best hitters in the game for his entire career, but he’s all the sudden gonna suck now? Everybody except Barry Bonds has slumps.
Of course everyone’s favorite whipping boy, Cody Belli got the scoring started by leading off the inning with an oppo single. Another multi-hit game as he singled again even though he thought he didn’t.
Of course, JT and Max contributed with JT hitting a big double and a couple of RBI and Muncy reaching base 3 times.
Of course, everyone in the starting lineup had a hit for this anemic offense.
They sky isn’t falling afterall…
I would hate to just outright Eddie Alvarez, but would certainly like to see a resurgent Jake Lamb rather than let him walk onto another roster.
Has Diego earned a promotion to the Tulsa yet? High A isn’t enough of a challenge for him so far. In just 12 games he’s .356/.482/.644/1.127 and is looking like Mike Piazza all over again. Just send him to Tulsa and give the guy a challenge. At this rate, he can take over for Barnes next year and he can split time with Smith at DH when the other is catching.
Happy Father’s day to all you fellow child raisers here on this site. I tip a beer to all of us today for the sacrifices you made for your kids. I know all too well that our offspring is a lot like our favorite team. They bring us great joy, but sometimes just feel like a pain in the ass. Cheers!
We have houseguests over the weekend. Yes, they’re fellow Dodgers fans, so we’re planning our day around the game. I’m eagerly waiting to see Heaney come back and K everyone. I hope he can pitch more than 2 games in a row this time.
It’s getting closer to a Dustin May return. Yes, he’s going to throw to hitters this coming Friday! He’s got to do that a few times before going onto a rehab assignment where the plan is to BUILD HIM UP AS A STARTER!
Well, you’re right, Jake Lamb is knocking at the door, we’ll see if anyone answers. I would think they need to take a hard look at this point.
Mitch White obviously has worked his way into the starting rotation discussion. Very impressive to say the least.
It will be interesting to see what Andrew Heaney brings today. He certainly dominated in his rehab starts.
Losing Mookie is concerning, but as of late, he hasn’t been much of a factor for the offense. This team will now revolve around Trea, Freddie and Will with hopefully more contributions from Cody and Max. Could Justin be primed to take off? One last hurrah. That would be helpful. Maybe Lamb adds to the mix.
The Dodgers look pretty solid in the rotation, certainly very good in the bullpen. The pitching trade market seems thin and the cost in prospects will be high. Maybe they focus on a hitter, another solid reliever just to add to the depth.
Don’t look now, but the Giants are only three games back. Somehow, some way Farhan seems to be able to put together a team without star power that finds a way to compete.
Sweeping the Dodgers certainly gave them a boost. A three way race until the end?
Looking forward to the return of Dustin May, although I think his return will be built around two or three innings in an outing. Definitely a big factor in potential playoffs.
Thanks for the continued updates on the minors. Saves me looking it up.
I watch every game I can. I am 75 and am doing ok physically, but only God knows how many I have left.
It’s a long season and there will be more ups and downs.
Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads.
Feliz Dia de Padres! for you all compadres.
I also watch all the games now that it’s possible here in Puerto Rico. Back in the 90’s, we only have WGN HCaray Cubs, TBS SCaray Braves and WOR RKiner Mets and the weekend games.
Julio is really pitching great. For the ones who like to search stats, look what Julio does the last 3 months of the season. There are some really good things to come.
Happy Father’s day to all the LADT Dads. I watch as many games as I can and living in the Central Time zone I have a hard time staying up to watch the game to completion when they are in the Pacific Time zone during the week night games.
Too bad about Mookie going on the IL. There isn’t much meat or fat on that guy so it doesn’t surprise me he has a cracked rib. Hopefully this isn’t too long an IL stint. Trea Turner will do just fine in lead off spot. I think he should be our lead off guy anyway but no big deal if not.
Still think we need an some sort of bat at the deadline. CJ Cron is just mashing it right now. Yeah I know it’s Coor’s field and don’t think the Rockies would trade him to us anyway.
Have a good day all.
Well I lied. I ended up watching the game. I needed to relax after helping my sis put a couple pieces of lawn furniture together. Nice to see Cody get a hit to left field. Losing Betts is a blow, but now Turner gets to hit leadoff where he has been a monster in his career although he did K three times yesterday catching a little Chris Taylor syndrome.
Happy Father’s Day! Kudos to you Mark for your successes as a husband, father, and businessman. Oh, and blog wrangler.
Spokane Bob. I love your perspective on watching the current Dodger team. Perfection ain’t happening. So enjoy the excellent pitching and frustrating offense while we can. We could be an Angel fan or even worse. I’m old enough to remember that the Dodger offense has been lackluster for most of their time in LA. The 60’s, 80’s, and 90’s were some lean times for Dodger offense. There was minimal power and too few runs. Thank goodness for all the great Dodger pitching all those years.
Sandy Koufax was something to watch! He and Drysdale formed quite a duo in the early to id 60’s. What a fantastic, humble human being as well. I thought his statue captured a perfect reflection and power of what Sandy represented.
Carry on.
4:10 PM ET
Guardians (33-28)
Dodgers (40-24)
SP Andrew Heaney L
1-0 .00 ERA 10.1IP 16K
Confirmed Lineup
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
LF Chris Taylor R
CF C. Bellinger L
DH J. Turner R
RF Eddy Alvarez S
2B Gavin Lux L
Clear-day
0% Rain
79° Wind 11 mph Out
Happy Father’s day to all of the LADT dads. I use to watch every game when I lived in Northern California (as my user name implies) but I recently moved to Northern Virginia to be closer to my daughter. I was born and raised in California and lived in both Northern and Southern California, but I’m now glad I’m out of that state as it resembles nothing like the place I grew up.
Not political………but the homeless/vagrants, the lawlessness , the decriminalization of certain crimes, high taxes, gangs and the one-party system that enables new laws without the benefit of debate or compromise made my decision to move quite easy. I recently drove to see the Indy 500 and I must say our blog host has a lot to very proud about in Indiana. I stayed in Noblesville and had lunch in Carmel and was I very impressed Indiana.
I subscribe to MLB Extra Innings but can only find myself watching inning 1 or 2 when the Dodgers play on the West coast. I then speed watch games when I get up without looking at the final score.
Love Sundays when I can watch a game live and in real time and will do so today while I enjoy Father’s Day with my daughter and family. Go Dodgers!
My wife is from SF and due to the pandemic, we have not been back for a couple of years. I hear it is a lot worse now, but it was abysmal the last time. I was shocked about what a s___ hole LA has become in large “pockets.”
Indiana ain’t perfect, but my wife considers it home.
BTW, Hamilton County (Noblesville, Fishers, and Carmel) is one of the TOP 5 Income per capita Counties in the US.
Moronta optioned back to AAA. Heaney activated.
DODGERS PLACE MOOKIE BETTS ON IL, ACTIVATE ANDREW HEANEY
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers activated left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney from the injured list, recalled infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry, optioned right-handed pitcher Reyes Moronta and placed outfielder Mookie Betts on the injured list with a right rib fracture.
Heaney, 30, returns from the injured list after missing two months and will make the start this afternoon against the Guardians. Prior to being sidelined with left shoulder discomfort, he was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/10.1 IP) and 16 strikeouts in two games for the Dodgers. He made three rehab starts between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, going 0-1 with a 0.73 ERA (1 ER/12.1 IP) and 19 strikeouts. In his last start on Tuesday with Double-A Tulsa, he went five innings, striking out nine and allowing two hits in the no decision. He has been in the Major Leagues parts of nine seasons with Miami (2014), Los Angeles-AL (2015-2021), New York-AL (2021) and Los Angeles-NL (2022) and he is a combined 33-38 with a 4.65 ERA (333 ER/644.2 IP) and 666 strikeouts. He signed with Los Angeles in free agency this offseason after spending parts of last season with the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees.
McKinstry, 27, has appeared in four games for the Dodgers and he is batting .200 with a homer and two RBI. With Triple-A Oklahoma City, he was batting .328 (60-for-183) with eight doubles, three homers and 22 RBI in 46 games. In three Major League seasons with the Dodgers, he has hit a combined .218 with 10 doubles, eight homers and 31 RBI. He was originally drafted by the Dodgers in 33rd round of the 2016 First Year Player Draft out of Central Michigan University.
Betts, 29, heads to the injured list for the first time this season and the third time in his Dodger career. The 2018 American League MVP was hitting .273 (67-for-245) with 17 homers, 40 RBI and 53 runs scored in 60 games for the Dodgers. He is currently tied for third in the league in runs scored while his 17 homers lead the team and are tied for eighth in the Major Leagues. The five-time All-Star has been with the Dodgers parts of three seasons, and he is slashing .273/.362/.517 with 56 homers and 137 RBI in 237 career games for the Boys in Blue. In his Major League career, he is a .295 hitter with 195 homers and 607 RBI. He was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2011 First Year Player Draft out of Overton High School (TN).
Moronta, 29, pitched last night, firing a scoreless ninth inning in his second stint with the club. The righty has appeared in eight games for the Dodgers, going 0-0 with a 2.00 ERA (2 ER/9.0 IP) and nine strikeouts. In 10 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City, he was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA, including two saves. He is in his fifth Major League season, and he is a combined 8-9 with a 2.61 ERA (41 ER/141.1 IP) and 171 strikeouts against 76 walks with San Francisco (2017-2021) and Los Angeles (2022). He was signed as a minor league free agent with the Dodgers on March 12, 2022.
Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads out there.
Sandy is such a dude. What a class act.
With Mookie’s injury and the Dodgers short an outfielder, this seems like an opportunity for Jake Lamb to get a shot with the Big Club. He’s hitting .300 with 14 bombs. With an opt out his future, he has to be thinking “if not now, when?”
It would take a roster move as Jake isn’t on the 40 man. But our only outfielders on the 40 man that are healthy are McKinstry, Belli, CT3 and Outman with Lux in the infield. If the isn’t the time for Jake, he needs to be given the opportunity to be freed up to sign elsewhere. This seems like a now or never situation.
I hope he’s brought up soon.
Happy Fathers Day to everybody.
And Mark, I agree. As Dodger fans we have been spoiled. No question.
However, I think AF has spoiled the players as well. They’ve gotten used to just “doing their thing”. 3 outcome approach works really well when you’ve always got a bunch of guys in front and behind you in the lineup hitting long balls. It gives players the freedom to worry about their own stats. Rack up those home runs. Put yourself in a place for your next arbitration hearing or contract negotiations. Make the playoffs. Get in the World Series every other year or so.
Until half the team hits a wall. Then that approach is poison. I think that may have been behind Roberts comment last week. We have no way of knowing what’s going on in the clubhouse. But I have no doubt the players are as spoiled as the fans. We’ve all come to expect winning as a birthright of the Dodgers. Sometimes you have to grind. And grinding ain’t fun. But winners do what it takes.
As fans we probably should take a step back. But the players need to get back to grinding when grinding is what is called for.
I actually think Lux is one of the guys who gets this. He’s not trying to win with every swing. Not trying to be the MVP of the team. Just doing what the team needs from the 9th hitter. Not producing great power numbers. But that may not be what the team needs him to be. Freddie as well.
Maybe a few weeks of humble sandwiches is what this team (and fans) needs.
As I’ve said since his promotion Eddy Alvarez is worthless.
Perhaps the Dodgers should have actually called up an outfielder from the minors. Two very horrible defensive plays by Alvarez.
Why not Outman who’s on the 40 man roster
It was nice knowing you Eddie
Every pitchers dream is having Max Muncy batting cleanup!
Small ball Eddy returns from the grave!
“But Kimbrel was unlucky! There was a 9 minute delay. He got cold. It’s not his fault!”
What’s the excuse this time?
No, really. He’s really really good. He’s a true shut down reliever. He’s lights out. He’s just getting unlucky. Ok, so he’s getting unlucky every single time he pitches, but, really, it’s not his fault!!!
Glad to see you are finally getting it now patch…..you finally understand see the big picture.
It’s taken you a while but the light has finally broken through all those clouds hanging over your head.
Congratulations, brother. You persevered and finally got clarity. You should feel fortunate…this is not a given for all.
With hand on shoulder,
TM
Why is it with Cody bellinger when he has 2 strikes on him the 3rd swing and miss he always looks off balance
He looks off balance because……………………………………he’s off balance.
The result of looking for a certain pitch and simply flailing away if he gets anything else.
Late inning – magic, nah meltdown. Like Bilichick so famously said “On to Cincinnati”.
Hard to watch
For all the accolades bestowed on AF from many Dodger fans (me included) this year’s roster is flawed and very deficient when you have to play Eddie Alvarez has an OF in a ML game. The 9th inning missed fly ball was a tough catch but a true OF makes that play and there are no excuses for a dropped fly ball and a horrible read on the ball that fell in front of him, after he recovered too late from breaking back on a ball that was more of a line drive than it was a true fly ball.
I can’t understand why an OF was not brought up when Rios went on the IL and it seems as if the decision to bring up Alvarez was simply a left handed bat swap for another left handed bat. McKinstry could have been that guy and has played some OF and Outman is on the 40 man. Odd move but we’ll read Tuesday where Alvarez will hopefully be sent down.
Max is a “shell of his former self” and just when you think Bellinger is going to turn a corner he jay walks right back into some horrible swings.
This team is flawed when you lose 5 out of 6 games to the Pirates and Guardians all at home. Hoping for a day where we start a ten game winning streak or 12 out of 14, but right now that seems a dream only.
Eddy Alvarez is a good infielder that can passably play SS. Lux can play outfield. I wonder why Doc chose not to put Alvarez at 2B with Lux in LF and Taylor in RF? Well, it sure cost them this game by misplaying 3 balls in the outfield.
The roster is heavily slated towards pitching, which is part of the reason why we don’t have other options in the outfield. You have to save some money somewhere, I guess. Alvarez was called up after Pillar was hurt, but before Mookie was. I’m not sure why they didn’t want to make a different roster move. McKinstry is in the dugout, but not playing. It seems quite often, they’ll call up a player and put him on the roster, but sit him for the first day. I don’t know why they do this. But, McKinstry is a worse outfielder than Alvarez anyway.
The only other outfielder on the 40 man is Outman and he’s at AA. Jason Martin is a true outfielder, is at AAA and crushing it, but isn’t on the 40. In order to call him up, you have to cut someone. Maybe that someone is Alvarez now that we know he’s not going to be able to cover for Mookie over the next 2 weeks.
For what it’s worth…..there should be no shame in losing to a good, well respected team like the Cleveland Guardians (love this name too).
After all, didn’t the Giants lose to a lesser team in Pittsburgh and San Diego lost to an even lesser team in Colorado. Unlike the Guardians, both these teams are under .500.
It’s all good fellows….we can’t win them all. Life wouldn’t be as exciting if we did. And we all know there are more posts here on this board after a loss than there is after a win. This brings the passion out of many, and let’s be honest, we all like to feel frisky every so often, don’t we?
Lastly, what has happened is now in the past. So, consider how happy the Guardians will be boarding the plane to take them to their next city. Had they lost, do you think they would be as happy? Of course not…..so why not try to find happiness for them in their good fortune ……while we dissect and contemplate our team’s future.
TM
Manny Machado left the SD game today with what was called a severe ankle sprain.
Twitter is saying that he’ll probably be out until at least the All Star break, if not longer.
So now, they don’t have Jr or Manny for the next month (if the report on Machado is correct).
Their situation would be like us losing Mookie and Freddie. At least Freddie is still healthy and we have Trea on top of that. It’s all sunshine and roses.
Finally a good news!
Cold……
Not a Machado fan, but he is a hell of a player. Seems like karma that it happened on a play at first, the scene of the bush league crime he pulled when he was with the Dodgers. The video looked pretty nasty.
Mookie ‘s defense was missed in that game. But also Pillar’s. He’d have been out there if he hadn’t been injured too.
Well… shit
That’s all I have to say about that.
Leif.