The Gig is Up!

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1. Finally Roberts admitted that Tony G. is dealing with some kind of injury (article on the homepage).
   Dodgers should put him on the IL and take an extended look at Pepiot.

   Busch is absolutely on fire. How long can the Dodgers keep him down ?

   Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   1. Thanks! I did not see that.

      Well, it sounds like he is out, and Pepiot is in!

2. Be patient grasshopper, I had the same procedure done 3 months ago, May 15, on right eye. Same lens.
   It will improve (not your looks) it takes a couple months to adjust. Prior it was like looking through a frosted window now it exceeds 20-20.

   1. OK, then, I will remain patient!

      1. My the way Mark, the video with your son presenting the water system for craft beer was great. It was interesting, informative, and very well done. You son was very well spoken and professional.

3. Yes. Finally admitting that Gonsolin injured. As for ERAs of him and Alcantera–They are moving in opposite directions. At this point just put him on IL. Certainly not the guy you want to see in pen. Unless to bring in instead of Rojas.

4. Give Busch a shot! Certainly he can’t do any worse than Jeb and the two George’s!

5. AF, please put Tony Gonsolin on the IL and leave him there for the rest of the season. The way he is pitching right now, he will be of no benefit to us in the playoffs. He’s throwing batting practice right now to the opposing teams. Rather see Stone,Sheehan,Knack or Pepiot in his spot in the rotation and see which one could make the playoff roster. Catman is done in 2023.

   1. According to Roberts, Gonsolin has been dealing with an unspecified elbow injury for about four to six weeks, which would just about encompass the nine-game stretch that was the worst of his MLB career. While Gonsolin wouldn’t use that as an excuse for his performance issues, his manager certainly thinks it’s a factor.

      “Tony is just going out there and doing what he can,” said Roberts. “At times, his stuff is good, the fastball is good. But physically, he’s not 100 percent. So I think we’re going to circle up with Tony tomorrow and figure out if a blow, a break makes sense.”

   2. Tony Gonsolin Placed On IL With Elbow Injury, Unlikely To Return This Year
      By Darragh McDonald | August 19, 2023 at 12:45pm CDT

      The Dodgers are placing right-hander Tony Gonsolin on the 15-day injured list, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (X links). Manager Dave Roberts says that it’s unlikely Gonsolin will return this season.

      .

6. I stumbled upon this and found it very interesting and entertaining. If you don’t wanna watch the whole thing, the most interesting part starts at 15 minutes in. It might change the way you think of a controversial dodger trade

   https://youtu.be/vB9wAcB0rrI

   1. I’d heard something to this effect, but I thought he suffered a separated shoulder on his throwing shoulder and Jobe or whomever thought that would permanently effect his pitching (in a negative way). Didn’t realize it was his non throwing shoulder. Goes to show you, even the experts get it wrong.

      Good to see that Ross Porter is still around and doing stuff.

      1. Ross is 156!

7. Mark, I have an eye condition that prevented me from getting the $6000 lens in both eyes when I had cataract surgery last summer. So I settled for choosing a lens where I can see distance and need readers. And it saved 6 grand. I now have 20/20 vision and got some readers, one set being progressive, photo gray, tri-focals for ballgames. I can see the program, my hot dog and the baseball. I too immediately noticed the vivid colors. The whites are now white and not yellow. I trust your vision will improve as advised.
   I just have to believe Gonsolin has been trying to pitch through arm issues. Doc tried to get some innings out of him but couldn’t. You thankfully won’t see many lines that look like his 3.1 innings, 8 hits, 4 walks, 10 earned and 5 homers. On 97 pitches. Ouch!!!!!
   He obviously wasn’t right from the get-go. He must not be upfront with the staff. They would not pitch him injured. Maybe the truth will come out. Next man up. Pepiot gets his chance I hope. Like to see Busch.
   Hey it’s one game. Let’s start a new run today and win two.

8. 3:00 PM ET 1st Game

   Marlins (64-59)
   Dodgers (74-47)

   SP Eury Perez R
   5-4 3.19 ERA
   SP Ferguson
   7 – 3| 2.38 ERA

   Confirmed Lineup
   2B Mookie Betts R
   1B F. Freeman L
   DH Will Smith R
   3B Max Muncy L
   RF D. Peralta L
   LF Chris Taylor R
   CF James Outman L
   SS E. Hernandez R
   C A. Barnes R

   85° Wind 10 mph Out

9. I changed the channel after Burger’s blast and watched a Paul Hogan movie that was made in 2009. Charlie and Boots. Father-son thing. They leave off on a 3000-mile trip to go fishing at the northern most point of Australia. They need to reconnect after the passing of the dad’s wife and dad is not too happy about the trip. But after a time, they settle in, and some fun ensues. I had never seen it before. But I digress. Gonsolin was not sharp from the get-go. I figured after I read the box score that DR was trying to get some innings out of him because of the double-header today. It is on the website that Ferguson is starting game one. Pepiot is likely the bulk innings guy. I did not get to reply to Duke not Snider’s last post. Duke, I understand what you said about my comment that Muncy’s AB’s were a black hole and you disagreed. That is fine, you can disagree all you like. And according to what I heard when I watched the re-cap, Max hit the ball pretty hard a couple of times and did get a homer. My problem is this, I do not give a rats rear end about his OPS or his walk rate or any other geek stat. What I care about is seeing a player hit the damn ball. I can tell you right now, it is not fun watching Max hit. Yay, 29 times we have been rewarded for our patience with a ball over the fence. Sorry, the contact percentage for me is way too low. When I watch a game and see a guy take pitch after pitch right down the middle and then swing at one way too low or wide of the zone, well, it gets a little old and annoying. JD has Cody Bellinger syndrome. He chases pitches outside of the zone on probably 75 percent of his swings and misses. Max is what he is. But this sub=200 BA has been going on for almost two years. I saw guys jump all over Bellinger about his low average and strikeouts. And Cody had as bad if not worse injury that required surgery. Nope, to me it is just bad baseball. Max is a great person and he never uses anything as an excuse, but for most of the time, watching him hit is just not fun.

10. According to Roberts, Gonsolin has been dealing with an unspecified elbow injury for about four to six weeks, which would just about encompass the nine-game stretch that was the worst of his MLB career. While Gonsolin wouldn’t use that as an excuse for his performance issues, his manager certainly thinks it’s a factor.

    “Tony is just going out there and doing what he can,” said Roberts. “At times, his stuff is good, the fastball is good. But physically, he’s not 100 percent. So I think we’re going to circle up with Tony tomorrow and figure out if a blow, a break makes sense.”

11. Bobby Miller has a 2.59 ERA during the second half, a 1.15 ERA in the month of August. He is pitching his way into serious consideration for a starting role in the playoffs. Lynn is a tough one. As well as he’s pitched so far, I don’t know that he’s yet earned the trust to be one of the three primary starters the team will need playoff time. I suppose you could look at how they match up against a hypothetical Braves starting rotation, but having your starting rotation start to pitch well heading into the last month of the season is a good problem to have.

    If Pepiot is healthy I say he takes Gonsolin’s spot. His fastball has been down in velo all year, he’s not missing bats – the barrell % and zone contact % are all dramatically up versus previous years, his BB% is up. Something’s wrong with him. I would say he’s still suffering the ill effects of that forearm strain that shut him down at the end of last year. He’s fragile. Shut him down and, either get surgery, or have him go through extensive PT and strength and conditioning during the off-season.

12. “According to Roberts, Gonsolin has been dealing with an unspecified elbow injury for about four to six weeks”.
    Really? I find it hard to figure why Doc/the Wizard would send damaged goods out to pitch. We are so protective of arms and managing workloads. WTF would we jeopardize and compromise Tony? And the teams chance to win his games. I seriously don’t get this one, unless it’s just an excuse to easy Tony’s ineffectiveness.
    On the other hand, he certainly doesn’t look right. Something’s up.

    1. There is reporting on this, all the doctors opined that the condition would not worsen with continued pitching.

    2. The injury thing is a smokescreen. Tony was simply a flash in the pan. The clock struck midnight, and he turned back into a pumpkin.

       1. Stay positive Wayne!

       2. Little harsh there Wayne and probably totally inaccurate.

          1. We’ll see ….in time.

13. And there you have it.

    The Dodgers are placing right-hander Tony Gonsolin on the 15-day injured list, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Manager Dave Roberts says that it’s unlikely Gonsolin will return this season.

14. Tony Gonsolin Placed On IL With Elbow Injury, Unlikely To Return This Year
    By Darragh McDonald | August 19, 2023 at 12:45pm CDT

    The Dodgers are placing right-hander Tony Gonsolin on the 15-day injured list, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (X links). Manager Dave Roberts says that it’s unlikely Gonsolin will return this season.

    More to come.

15. 08/19/23 Los Angeles Dodgers recalled RHP Ryan Pepiot from Oklahoma City Dodgers.

16. DODGERS RECALL BRYAN HUDSON

    LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Dodgers recalled left-handed pitcher Bryan Hudson from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin on the injured list with right forearm inflammation.

    Hudson, 26, returns for his fourth stint with the Dodgers and he is 0-0 with a 7.94 ERA with four strikeouts in three games. He is 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA (14 ER/45.2 IP) and 75 strikeouts in 39 games for Oklahoma City this season. He is a combined 37-28 with a 4.23 ERA (236 ER/502.2 IP) and 443 strikeouts in 189 career minor league games (75 starts). He was drafted by the Cubs in the third round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of Alton High School (IL).

    Gonsolin, 29, pitched last night, allowing 10 runs in 3.1 innings. On the season, he is 8-5 with a 4.98 ERA (57 ER/103.0 IP) and 82 strikeouts in 20 starts. He has been with the Dodgers five seasons, posting a combined 34-11 record with a 3.19 ERA (133 ER/375.2 IP) and 349 strikeouts in 79 games (71 starts). He was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2016 First Year Player Draft out of Saint Mary’s College.

17. Doesn’t anyone read the previous posts before the repost the same info?

    1. What I post is the official Dodger Press Release.

       I do not sit in front of my computer waiting for them, but I post every single one.

       Sorry if I offended you, but I will continue to do so. And maybe you have not thought of this, but You have the option of NOT reading it.

       This has been a Public Service Announcement!

       1. Mark,
          Calm down!! I was not talking about you. And am not offended by anything posted. YEEESH. Just reading multiple people copy and pasting the same press release stuff. You could have gone back and looked at what I was talking about before exploding..
          Just a Public Service announcement for everyone. Thanks.

          1. I am always calm!

             I just speak directly.

             People who know me understand that I can dress someone down (not cuss them out) and then have a beer with them 10 minutes later!

             😉

             1. Ok. But I wasn’t even talking about you!!!!

18. My take on the elbow injury is that Tony needs minor surgery (and will likely have it soon), but Dr. ElAttrache deemed that continuing to pitch would not exacerbate the problem.

    1. Totally agree that El Attrache decided it wouldn’t get any worse, and they didn’t feel they had any other better options…………………..until recently.

       As far as minor surgery, let’s hope it isn’t TJ.

19. Who is going down for Hudson ? Pepiot replaced Tony.

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. The Dodgers are allowed an extra pitcher for double headers.

       1. Ahhhhh1.

    2. No one, teams can carry and extra player when they have doubleheaders…….

       1. Ahhhh. 2

          1. Ahhhh So!

             1. Politically incorrect, but very funny

             2. I care less about being politically correct than I do about the Padres. And it was totally meant as a joke.

    3. The Press Release said nothing about Pepiot. According to the Dodgers, Gonsolin was placed on the IL, and Hudson took his place.

       Pepiot was not involved.

       1. If that’s the case, that means Pepiot is only here for one day?

          1. ???

          2. Never mind. I found out the answer to my question. Just because Pepiots the 27th man and Hudson was brought up, for Gonsolin spot on the roster,the Dodgers can decide who takes the spot without making any more moves.

20. Thanx. Did not think about that.

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!

21. Glad to see Pepiot hopefully get his shot. I see some are saying that we need to bring back Stone. Stone needs to work on his command. It’s not uncommon to see after a game he pitches to have 8 strikeouts but five walks. I’d love to see the Dodgers put Gonsolin on the 60 day IL and give Landon Knack a shot. He’s throwing the ball really well at OKC. Our organization is blessed to have so many very good young pitchers. By not trading them away at the deadline on some foolish trade we can recover in house from temporary injuries. You can’t replace a Betts, Freeman or a Kershaw, but you can stay afloat if one of them go down momentarily. Our front office is the best.

22. That young Marlins fireballer reminds me so much of Ramon Martinez.
    Tall, lanky flamethrower . Even his delivery is a lot like Ramon. My favorit player back then. Saw his 18 SO game, still have the box sore of that game from the LAT somewhere.

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. My favourite of that era too.

23. Bellinger has a couple of dingers today. They had a clip with him working in BP closely with a hitting coach. Finally, someone got through to him and he allowed it to happen.

24. I’m going to do small post of praise for Gonsolin. He’s still in his arb years and could easily have protected his future value by going on IR or made a big deal about his elbow.

    But the team was stretched thin on pitching, the young pitchers needed veteran presence and the guy kept taking the ball and doing his best.

    1. Tony is signed for next year. To avoid arbitration this year he signed a two year deal 2023 and 2024.

       1. Still my point remains.

          1. Yes, it does Bluto.
             I’ve vented about Tony, but knowing that he subjected himself to embarrassment by not going out there 100% is very admirable
             Knowing that he could’ve just collected his checks makes it even more so

25. Muncy strikes again!!!!

    1. You mean strikes out again????? I despise K’s. They absolutely drive me bonkers. 11 of them today. Through 7 innings, they have been over matched and looked helpless.

       1. That kid has great stuff

          1. Yes he does.

26. DeJong DFA’d, Carson Kelly signs a MLB deal with the Tigers.

    1. DeJong slashed .068/.068/.068/.136 in 44 ABs for Toronto. Yikes!

       1. Yep, hard to see a guy with his MLB experience play that bad.

27. Ok. After a game and a half we can start panicking again. Facing playoff type pitchers and this is the result. Pitcher who throw strikes, especially with secondary pitches give us (and everyone else) fits

    This year I feel we WILL figure it out.

    1. Serious or sarcasm?

       Apologies but it’s hard sometimes.

       1. NON sarcastic. I feel this is our year.

          And there you go. This is our old plan. Get the starter out of there and work on the bullpen. (Hoping that they are not all super shut down guys)

          1. The “old plan” works — as long as our SP holds up as elite through the playoffs.

28. After the pummeling yesterday, and the way this game went for seven innings, we’re playing with house money now
    Nice win !!!
    How about that Barnes?
    How about that Roberts keeping the bunt on after strike one.?

29. Who kept saying?? Why doesn’t Barnes just bunt more since he can’t hit?

    1. someone who clearly understands the game!

       1. Well, can the Dodgers teach Muncy to bunt too ?:-)

          Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

          1. Nah, he would probably bunt into a double play.

             1. Ouch, lol

30. Barnes made another play that wasn’t talked about at least in the broadcast I was listening to. When Mookie make an incredible on a ground ball to his left but threw the ball away, the runner didn’t advance. I didn’t see Freeman going after it so it had to be Barnes backing up the play. The ball was thrown on the outfield side of first base so Barnes wasn’t just going through the motions. It’s hard not to like Barnes as a player but this month he’s done everything well but stopping the running game. I’m still not convinced that the backup catcher needs an upgrade next season.

31. Ok. Any plenty of fresh arms for game tonite

32. With this performance, Pepiot might have just cemented his place as the 5th starter for the rest of this season.

    1. Clearly the choice with TG heading to the IL> Need to put Martinez on there too if he cannot get back in the saddle.

       1. In the near future, a dreaded Dodgers announcement proclaiming Martinez lost for the rest of the season seems almost inevitable, and would be a big blow to this line-up. There is simply no replacing him directly. And if/when it happens, only better production from the rest of the “supporting hitters” could make up for his loss. Guys like Peralta, Heyward, Outman, Hernandez, Rosario, and Rojas would simply have to be better — a TALL task for them. And then the Dodgers would have to hope they could improve the “margins” with someone like Busch or Vargas.

33. I have never understood why a starter should be left in to give up 10 runs. 4 wasn’t enough. 7 wasn’t enough. It’s conceding the game. The Dodgers can score a lot of runs. They always have a chance. As for the pitcher getting shellacked, it reinforces the bad habits that got him shellacked.
    Conversely, I have never understood pulling the starter having a good game. For example, pulling a guy throwing a no hitter on 68 pitches. Saving him for October, when he probably won’t be on the roster.

    1. Clearly to me, Gonsolin gave up on himself WELL BEFORE he allowed ten total runs. Maybe Doc persisted on keeping him on the mound to see if Gonso could rekindle a fire within himself, which I suppose is laudable to a degree. But to me, as soon as Kitten Man lost confidence and gave up on himself early in the game, he should have TAKEN HIMSELF OUT AT THAT POINT!!! Just tell Roberts something between innings that would force him to remove himself from the game.

       If you give up on yourself, fine. Just don’t take your teammates and your manager down with you. Don’t take their hopes of still winning the game down too by staying in the game like a zombie until all your crappy pitching snuffs out any hope of winning EARLY in the game. That’s what upsets me about Tony.

       So all this talk now about Tony being “unselfish” because he was pitching “hurt” ..”for the team,”.. is all a bunch of BALONEY!

    2. Why burn up your bullpen for a game that’s already lost?

34. Saving the bullpen to sweep them today

    1. Better to lose the battle and win the war.
       Ahhhhh 123

35. 9:10 PM ET 2nd Game

    Marlins (64-60)
    Dodgers (75-47)

    SP Braxton Garrett L
    7-3 3.91 ERA
    SP Julio Urias L
    10-6 4.35 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    RF Mookie Betts R
    1B F. Freeman L
    C Will Smith R
    DH J. Martinez R
    2B Amed Rosario R
    LF Chris Taylor R
    CF James Outman L
    3B E. Hernandez R
    SS Miguel Rojas R

    77° Wind 8 mph Out

36. Martinez in, Heyward injured

    1. Minor hip problem. Dodgers wanted him to get three days off.

37. What a great game. I love pitching duels.
    Barnes a hero again. I said earlier in the season that to help his team, Barnes needed to work on being the best bunter in the league to help his club. The safety squeeze today was a perfect example. Good for Doc calling it in the first place and doubly for leaving it on after an unsuccessful attempt. The play is indefensible with any half decent bunt.
    And Barnes’ tag at home early on Peralta’s throw from right was huge. He made that pick on a tweeter hop and tag look easy. It wasn’t. And try it wearing all the gear. Great play. Nice to see Barnes contributing in a big way.
    The Perez kid for them was great. Some nasty stuff. I’m glad they pull pitchers now days as we were eating out of his hand all day.
    Pepiot looked the best I’ve seen him. Nice tight stuff. I hope this is his entry into the rotation. I was dreading him taking a loss after pitching so well. Especially on a slow roller that a more speedy, athletic third baseman could have turned into an out at first.
    The new guys came through again.
    Now let’s get Julio on track and sweep the doubleheader.

38. * Stolen bases are at their highest per-game rate since 1992, when five players stole 50 or more bases. At this rate we will see 1,087 more stolen bases this year than last year, an increase of 44%. The stolen base success rate has jumped from 75% to 83%
    * Joe Posnanski presented an article where he reported some amazing stats from the past.
    He was talking about Roy Campanella and Yogi. He said Campy was the better defensive catcher — you couldn’t run on him, for one thing, He threw out 60% of attempted base stealers over those eight seasons, ranking among the leaders every year. Yogi was no slouch throwing out baserunners himself; he threw out about 50% over those years and led the league three times in caught-stealing percentage.
    But Campy was all-world.
    * Think about that compared to today’s success rate.
    I know, bigger, stronger, faster but Campy and Yogi must have had some pop times. And pitchers may have actually held runners.

    1. The cleats they wore back then, and the heavy wool uniforms certainly didn’t help baserunning either.
       I agree about Campy and Yogi Phil, multiple MVPs for a reason.

39. I keep reading that last night’s loss was Roberts’ fault for not taking Gonsolin out of the game before 10 runs? Wow…

    1. He should be fired for that.

    2. I guess he should have taken him out after the leadoff homerun

       1. Robert’s is in danger of slipping from moron to imbecile status!

          1. Dumb bunny is the worst.

    3. The bigger complaint is Gonsolin HIMSELF not taking the initiative to remove himself EARLY from the game well before he gave up 10 runs, when it was clear to everyone watching that Gonso lost confidence and QUIT on himself by the 3rd inning!

       1. Pitchers rarely take themselves out of the game unless there is an obvious injury.

          1. I’ve written my take on yesterday’s Kitten Man fiasco plenty of times already in this thread, so I won’t rehash it again with you Bear. I’ll just finish by saying I can respect Gonso’s motives for pitching this season UP until last night, ..but NOT what he did in his last Dodgers game of this season. End of…

          2. Gonso WAS playing with an obvious injury that both he and Roberts KNEW he had by the 3rd inning of that game.

             No, not the physical one he supposedly has, ..but the one he had in his head and heart.

40. Marlins making this one interesting in the ninth. Mookie hit two more bombs. Now only one shy of his career high.

41. In the end I am ok with how the Gonsolin situation was handled. Obviously the loss of the one game doesn’t mean anything. And OK we don’t know what actually the real situation is and how it was addressed. So perhaps he felt he could pitch thru the injury. So Roberts said ok let the guy pitch until he is convinced he really is injured. So thats what happened. He let him stay out there and get punished to prove to himself that he is really done for the season and its time to give up.
    Next up there has to be a similar resolution to JDM. It doesn’t seem to make sense -one game in, one game out. He should also go on IL and maybe be ready for playoffs.

    1. “So Roberts said ok let the guy pitch until he is convinced he really is injured. ….He let him stay out there and get punished to prove to himself that he is really done for the season and its time to give up.”
       ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

       Pure speculation, ..a reach. You’re probably over-thinking it.

42. Wow, what an exciting day of baseball. Amazing pitching ,defense, and clutch hitting.
    How lucky are we to be dodger fans?

43. In the nightcap, the Dodgers played superb defense, ..but so did the Marlins.

    This game was primarily determined by Julio’s pitching and Mookie’s bat.

    …proving once again the singular importance of STAR players giving star PERFORMANCES.

    1. And importance of run prevention, depth and defense?

       1. The Marlins did much of the run prevention and defense stuff too in the last game.

          But they didn’t have a star-bat like Mookie to RISE above it all. Right!

       2. https://www.truebluela.com/2023/8/19/23838594/mookie-betts-julio-urias-dodgers-marlins-lebron-james

44. Well, it looks like the gig is up for the Puds and Angels…

45. Watching today’s two games brought to mind a baseball maxim I have heard since I started playing the game – “good piotching will always beat good hitting.” The Marlins showed off some excellent young pitching in this series that kept the Dodger hitters – except Mookie – in check. Fortunately, our superstar performed and we got two wins.

    Today looked like playoff baseball to me where strong pitching dominates. This is why I hope we see the Dodgers continue to play more “small/smart ball” to get ready for the playoffs. It was also encouraging to see the solid defense in both games – that will be needed in the playoffs too.

    1. Agree 100% Tom

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