It’s Time for Dodger Baseball

Posted By on March 29, 2024

Before I start talking about Opening Day, I want to talk about something that makes baseball so special. To me, it was never so evident as in the Freeway Series, although I saw flashes of it through the spring: Watching the youngsters and seeing the pure joy they experience is the best part of this game. Last year, it was Miguel Vargas, Bobby Miller, and James Outman (well, Bobby is pretty stoic). This year, it was Kendall George, Thayron Liranzo, Zyhir Hope, Jackson Ferris, Josue DePaula, and Austin Gauthier. Pure joy and thankfulness, and it was fun watching them. I will be watching them in the minors all season.

Back to Dodger Baseball

Vin would have been proud! I still miss those words.

The man, the myth, the legend!

Freddie and Mookie went yard, and Shohei got a double and a single. Max was 1-2 with 2 RBI, and James Outman had two hits. We saw Tyler Glasnow fulfill his childhood dream, and this is the year he becomes the Workhorse and Ace he was destined to be. Equally impressive was Ryan Yarbrough who came in and shut down the Cards for the last three innings. Glasnow threw 87 pitches, and Yarbrough had 44. This is a “killer duo.” Start out with the fireballing RH Glasnow and follow him up with the soft-tossing LHP, Yarbrough. You are going to see some shutouts like this. It should not be lost on anyone that Lux and Outman, along with Heyward, are in platoons. They will see some LHP, but not a lot as Kike, CT3, and Rojas are on the bench.

This team is full of promise and even the “Dodger Rule” instituted by Rob Manfred cannot keep them from winning the World Series this year. That’s my story.

X-Cites

https://twitter.com/DodgersNation/status/1773441869235786215?s=20
https://twitter.com/jokeylocomotive/status/1773566371382571293?s=20
https://twitter.com/okc_baseball/status/1773424965192200246?s=20
https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1773439960823054552?s=20
Damn You, DePodesta!

This article has 82 Comments

  1. great win yesterday! glasnow looked like an ace. will smith is blocking those 3 young catchers for at least 3 years in my opinion. if max produces at 3rd these next 2 years, he probably gets one more year added on. and unless dodgers bring in a shortstop if mookie struggles (im not saying he will ) and gavin handles 2nd, where would will play? maybe left ? one of those probably gets traded in a trade eventually. i really don’t like. platoons, but i didn’t mind doc getting those bench guys some play. taylor seems poised to have a good season, especially if he can cut down on his swing and miss. kiki will have his moments, just keep him away from short stop! go Barnes!! Bobby Miller needs an strong outing today! was awful nice to pound Mikolas yesterday, after his. dodger checkbook remark. someone was going to pay ohthani, someone was going to pay yamamoto, someone was gonna trade for glasnow & extend him. damn the dodgers for having a top 3 minor league system. given the fact they never draft anywhere near the top. and they do have money! the cardinals i think are ninth in payroll in baseball. they spent a boatload of money on an aging sonny gray(no disrespect to gray hes a good pitcher) and signed lance lynn (bombs away!) they have money so spend it!! was absolutely shocked to see beltre yesterday! should have been a dodger for life, as too piazza. ohthani looked like a young colt just being let out of the barn yesterday!! was funny mookie told him to slow down a little!! if max and Teo h. produce look out!! that top 3 looks like a tornado! they strike so damn fast you don’t know what hit you!!!

  2. From MLBTR:

    While the Dodgers are set to turn to veteran superstar Mookie Betts and second baseman Gavin Lux up the middle this season, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) yesterday that veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas will get some starts at short as well, at least against left-handed pitching. On those days, Betts will slide over to second base and push Lux to the bench. While Robert emphasized that the situation won’t be a strict platoon, Lux’s career .586 OPS against same-handed pitching and Rojas’s strong defense at shortstop make sitting Lux against certain southpaws in order to improve the club’s infield defense a sensible strategy. Rojas, 35, hit a paltry .236/.290/.322 in 124 games with the Dodgers last year but slashed a much more respectable .286/.331/.406 in 145 trips to the plate against lefties.

  3. Opening day at Dodger Stadium was pure fun.

    Okay, having the Big Three is pretty cool..

    Not sure about tonight. Rain coming in Friday night and Saturday.

    Checkbook baseball? Love it.

    Pounding the guy who said it … priceless.

  4. Thanks for the minor league coverage. AAA missing many of the arms we expected. Knack is #1 right now.

  5. Managing a roster involves more than just the starters. It was logical to let the 3 get an at bat especially knowing that we will see a couple of lefties this weekend.

  6. steve garvey was my favorite dodger till clayton came along. clayton will always be my favorite. that said , mookie betts is special! i love freddie, will smith, walker buehler, but mookie is a first ballot hall of fame player! he plays wherever, whenever, and plays at an elite level. ohthani really won me over yesterday! you could feel the excitement he felt! no need to argue over vargas, outman, lux! i like them all ! but i don’t see a path for vargas to be a dodger for a much longer time. outman is probably going to go down the same path bellinger did. when his free agency comes around, he’ll leave to pursue a chance to play everyday. don’t blame him. with lux, if he reaches my predictions of20 plus homers and a .280 average, he ain’t leaving! if he struggles, you might see bichette in the near future! my opinion! not an expert , just love to think and talk about the LosAngeles Dodgers!

  7. I have no clue what you said about Vargas yesterday. If you say it, it must be your opinion. I don’t care. You sometimes have difficulty comprehending the English language. I think Miguel Vargas is very talented and will be a very good MLB player. I also think the same of Cartaya. Vargas is in no way my favorite player., but you insist on saying he is.

    You disagree with Roberts pinch-hitting for Outman because HE IS YOUR FAVORITE.

    Fine.

    I agree with Roberts, and the entire staff sings out of the same hymnbook.

    You are the one with the problem.

    I have predicted 30 HR for Outman. That’s damn good.

    All I am saying is that he should not hit against most LHP.

    Get over it!

    1. If not Miguelito, then who is your favorite, Mark?
      For whom do you wish success, above all others?

      1. The team called the Los Angeles Dodgers is my favorite!

        With 5 children and 7 grandchildren plus 85 employees that are part of the US Water Systems family, I really have no favorites. They are all special and I see each one through a world of potential. They have their special talents.

        Our best salesman is not our leading salesman. My smartest kid is not the most successful… or adaptable.

        Clayton was my last favorite. Before that it was Adrian Beltre. Now, I am into the team.

    2. I’m on the Vargas bandwagon also. He’s to good of a hitter not to succeed. My only fear is that his body and head will come together in a different organization. The Dodgers minor league system is stacked. Come trade deadline and we need a reliever or to fill in a spot where we had an injury or someone having a bad season, someone like Vargas will bring a lot to the table along with their pitching and depth in the infield. This team is built to be good for a long time.

  8. It should be lost on no one that some weeks ago Roberts had this to say….
    “I want him out there,” Roberts said of Outman. “He’s shown he can take good at-bats against left-handed pitching, so it’s definitely not a platoon situation. It’s more of how can I keep Manny involved situation.”
    Only now it’s Kike, not Margot.
    Against lefties in ’23, Outman had a .357 on-base percentage, and those are definitely “good at bats.”
    After joining the Dodgers, Kike had a .293 OBP against lefties.
    My guess is that Roberts would say that among the regulars, only Jason Heyward is in a “platoon situation,” while he’ll working to keep Rojas, Kike and Taylor involved.

    1. They explained last night that Kike had TWO sport hernias that were surgically repaired last winter. They went undiagnosed for 2 years and robbed him of the strength of his core. He is healthy now and I expect him to play well this year.

  9. Apple TV=games I cannot watch since I’m not going to pay for something that will give me four or five games a year at most. Ridiculous!

    1. Luckily for me, my sister lets me piggyback her account. So, I can watch them now, but tonight, I need to go to bed early because I am leaving for California at 4 in the morning. Ohtani’s little adventure on the bases was fun to watch too. Unlike the Angels, the Dodgers actually have a third base coach who knows what he is doing. Ohtani will no doubt be more watchful as he comes to second base. To platoon, or not platoon, that is the question. Lux has a history, 234 plate appearances in his career against LHP. And the results so far have not been favorable. Miggy Ro, 966 plate appearances has done much better, .269/.328/.731. But that doesn’t mean that Lux cannot improve that as he gets some ABs against lefties. Kike, although his stats against LHP have dipped the last couple of years, still has a .800 OPS against them and a .256 BA. Much better than he does against RHP on both. The only thing Outman lacks against LHP is power. His BA against LHP is only .002 lower than against RHP. His K percentage is a little lower against LHP too. Heyward has hit .230 against LHP, much higher than Pederson, but he is going to sit against them based on his production over the last several years. I want to see how Teoscar plays against them as the season progresses. Despite his K rate, Taylor usually hits lefties well. Barnes can’t hit any body.

    2. There are a few shows that I watch on Apple TV… but their MLB announcers last year sucked!

  10. I am from Southern Illinois so I have to suffer the Cardinal fans. It was wonderful to shut them and Mikolas up!!

    Glasnow is dominant no doubt. But he still couldn’t land his curve. Imagine his stuff all working in a game. In a word unhittable.

    I tried to research but couldn’t find the numbers. I heard from one of the announcers the dodgers at one time were 40-20 with Will Smith and 20-22 without him. Now Smith can’t dh so we will be fed the no hit no throw Barnes ugh!

    As great as I think this team will be a lefty reliever is going to be needed. Someone who throws strikes and can dominate lefties.
    Great time to be a Dodger fan!!

    1. I think his curve is his best pitch. The fact that he’s had these two starts so far without it really working effectively is encouraging. Once he gains some command of that, he’ll be that much better.

  11. Hey Mark, did anyone win a free water system? I know I missed by one, and it was dumb on my part. I didn’t have Hudson making the team, I had Feyereisen.

  12. Dodgers Sign Drew Pomeranz To Minor League Deal. The lefty has been assigned to OKC.

      1. When healthy ,he is very effective.He has groundballs in play at a 46.8% rate.

  13. Just a heads up on the Apple subscription.
    About 6-months ago, my wife and I were comparing misc charges to our credit cards and noted that we were signed up for individual Apple apps to include:
    Apple Music
    Apple TV+
    Apple Arcade (which I don’t use)
    Apple News+ – which is really a great site!
    Apple Fitness+ – this is another great app!

    I think we were spending in excess of $80+ per month, for just my wife and me.

    However, after doing some research, Apple has a Family Plan that cost $36/mn that includes all the above and can be shared with six (6) individuals – it does not have to be family members.

    Between all six people who share this service the savings are significant.
    You also do not need an iPhone for this to works as 3 of the 6 on my plan have Google phones.

    I think this is an awesome deal and as Mark stated – Apple TV has some really great shows!
    Plus I do use Apple Fitness a couple of times a week.

    2. I actually liked The Morning Show a lot. Enough to renew pay for yet another SAAS? For a few Dodger games? Meh. I’ll just check the box score.

        1. meh… maybe I’ll check it out. I’ve been cutting a lot of SAAS cables. Don’t even have Netflix anymore. Don’t really miss spending hours watching television. Getting into pointless arguments about baseball on an obscure blog is so much more worthy of my time.

          Oh wait! I forgot. I LOVED Ted Lasso. That was Apple I think. I’m getting soft, but I prefer likable (even if unrealistic) characters. Someone convinced me to watch an episode of Succession. “What?! These people are awful! I don’t like any of them!” I’m tired of awful people.

          2. True. Calling this site obscure is an insult to Scott’s site, which is truly obscure, right Scott? LOL.

      1. Eric’s fixation with being right about a particular baseball player is probably not the healthiest thing, but sure, carry on.

  15. Down in AAA Vargas is batting cleanup and starting in… Left field?

    Some would say it’s about time to try this.

    1. LF is the ONLY path he has to the MLB roster.

      …. in spite of Mark saying he can play every position at a gold glove level and that he’s going to be the next MLB triple crown winner and get into the Hall of Fame and his has his picture pinned to his bedroom wall because he’s Mark’s favorite.

    2. Actually, Vargas is starting in CF, and next week, the Dodgers are bringing him up to take Outman’s place.

  16. 10:10 PM ET

    Cardinals (0-1)
    Dodgers (2-1)

    SP Zack Thompson L
    0-0 .00 ERA
    SP Bobby Miller R
    0-0 .00 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    2B Mookie Betts R
    DH S. Ohtani L
    1B F. Freeman L
    C Will Smith R
    3B Max Muncy L
    RF T. Hernandez R
    CF E. Hernandez R
    LF Chris Taylor R
    SS Miguel Rojas R

    33% Precipitation
    58° Wind 11 mph Out

  21. Taylor should be platooning with somebody at OKC. And now we need Rojas’ bat in the lineup!

  22. great win Dodgers!!
    Bobby Miller awesome!! To me he has the best stuff on the staff. 4 quality pitches just more experience and improved command. Tonight the command was there evidenced by 11 k.

    Roberts at it again. Turning a blowout game into an opportunity for the Cards. If not for injuries Grove would not be on the roster. If you’re lucky enough to get 1 clean inning out of him then rejoice and replace. He would probably be traded but for lack of value.

    Chris Taylor what has happened? He has somehow gotten worse. I remember when he was one of my favorites but now I cringe when he bats.

    Hernández was hired to hit lefties. He earned his money tonight.

    I predict our offense will lead the league in strikeouts.

    1. I feel you on CT3. He has been a favorite for years and now I have lost all confidence in him at the plate. At least he is still a + player in the field. Hope he gets the swing figured out soon.

  23. David Vassegh
    @THEREAL_DV
    Walker Buehler will pitch a rehab start for OKC on Sunday. Dave Roberts said he expects Buehler to make close to 4 rehab starts. #Dodgers

  24. No time to post today because we are in the midst of our move, and then I also have a funeral to attend.

    However, it was a great win. Bobby Miller is looking Ace-Like. Teoscar does what he does and Michael Grove continues to pitch a lot worse than his stuff. He will likely go to OKC today and JP will be up.

  26. Lance Lynn tonight. That should be fun. Ohtani gets his first Dodger home run tonight. Call me crazy but I still think Grove has the stuff to be an mlb starter.

    1. I don’t know about a starter but his stuff is very good. He just does not realize his ability.

      1. He can’t get lefties out. Great slider but apparently his fastball doesn’t move most days and/or location is not there. I realize his value is as a multiple inning guy but I don’t think he can be trusted.

  27. Great outing by Miller. Dominant performance. And Teoscar showing his power. He hit two HRs tonight that were probably flyouts in Seattle. Mark predicted over 30 HR to his credit, but it is a long season.

  28. If Bobby Miller stays healthy and offers outings similar to last night all season, that checks a lot of boxes for this rotation. That was nothing short of dominant.

    Big night tonight for Yamamoto. I say he has a solid outing and earns his first big league win giving him some much needed confidence going forward.

  31. Fangraphs posted a recent article on the Will Smith signing.
    I think this is the best Dodger move of the offseason. Will has been a top 2 catcher in baseball over the last 5 years. He is the ultimate team player, and played a key role in the 2020 world championship. Dodgers do not win a WS without Will’s 3 run HR in the 6th inning of game 5. They trailed in the series 3 games to 1, and trailed 2-1 in the game. His at bat was fabulous as he had to overcome two questionable umpire calls that put him down 0-2 in the count. But he battled back to a full count and hit a pretty good pitch for a HR that turned the game around and staved off elimination for the Dodgers. Great clutch performance by Smith.
    Will Smith also had 2 RBI in game 7 against the Braves in the 4-3 comeback win.
    Even as a rookie he came close to being a postseason hero. In the horrible loss to the Nationals in game 5 in 2019, Will Smith nearly hit a walkoff HR in the 9th inning. His drive to right center looked to by a HR or at least a game winning double, but it was held up in the cold October air and caught at the wall. The next inning Howie Kendrick hit a grand slam and the Dodger season was over.
    The Will Smith contract is a team friendly deal with an annual AAV of only 12.2 million. While the 10 year deal is lengthy for a catcher, Will is athletic and may be able to play other positions as he ages. The deal makes Will Smith a Dodger for life and gives him generational security. Great to see the Dodgers retain a homegrown/long term talent. Hopefully, they can sign Buehler to an extension as well as he gets ready to pitch a rehab game in OKC. They should prioritize rewarding their longtime, successful players who have helped build the organization.

  32. 9:10 PM ET

    Cardinals (0-2)
    Dodgers (3-1)
    SP Lance Lynn R
    0-0 .00 ERA
    SP Y. Yamamoto R
    0-1 45.00 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    SS Mookie Betts R
    DH S. Ohtani L
    1B F. Freeman L
    C Will Smith R
    3B Max Muncy L
    LF T. Hernandez R
    CF James Outman L
    RF J. Heyward L
    2B Gavin Lux L

    60% Rain
    60° Wind 13 mph R-L

  36. If Hernandez hits 30 homers this year, does that mean he strikes out the other460 times? If Smith, Muncy and Hernandez don’t even swing we score at least 2 runs there. My goodness

  38. How many RBI’s is Smith going to have this year? He may never bat without someone on base! Couldn’t have a better comeback effort from Yamamoto!

  40. 9 million $ Joe Kelly. Him or Vesia either one can throw strikes. Pathetic
    Dodgers should have scored how many early. I guess it never occurred to Roberts to make a change.

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