Some Dodger fans are losing their collective minds after 13 games, even though the Dodgers are on track to win 112 games with a .692 winning percentage. I have heard all of the following suggestions:
- Chris Taylor is toast.
- Max Muncy is a bum
- Mookie should be in CF
- Mookie should be at 2B and Miggy should be at SS
- Andy Pages should be in AAA because he cannot play CF
It seems that many Dodger fans feel that this team is a colossal failure. They evidently believed my satire that the team should win 162 games. Anything else is a failure! Of course, all of that is silly at best, probably delusional. Give it time. Maybe Andy Pages can’t play CF… but maybe he can. I have seen too much baseball to say he can’t play CF, and don’t forget, I was the one who said Lux could not play SS. BTW, Gavin has been playing LF and hitting cleanup for the Reds. I was also the one who said Lux should be in LF! Progress is not linear. I see progress on some plays with Pages and then question other plays. That happens with young players.
Patience Grasshoppers.
Dodger Notes
- Walker Buehler has an 8.68 ERA after nine innings in which he has given up 14 hits and nine runs. Yikes!
- Keibert Ruiz is hitting .343 with a .981 OPS after being one of the worst players in baseball the past two years – Progress is not linear!
Tuesday scores
Oklahoma City 16, Round Rock 3
Tulsa 1, Arkansas 0
Great Lakes 10, Lansing 5
Stockton 6, Rancho Cucamonga 2
Wednesday schedule
9:05 a.m. PT: Tulsa (Peter Heubeck) at Arkansas (Nick Fraze)
3:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (Luke Fox) at Lansing (Yunior Tur)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Tony Gonsolin) at Round Rock (David Buchanan)
7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Samuel Sanchez) at Stockton (Blake Hammond)
Second rehab start for Tony Gonsolin, who pitched 1⅔ scoeless innings last Wednesday. He’ll be on five days rest.
For more detailed recaps,stats and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of the page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
Promising results for Frasso so far but he is no longer an elite prospect. Maybe a multi-inning reliever down the road or trade fodder.
Still glad to see him back.
I always saw him as that. He’s not a horse!
Lets win today and have a happy flight!
Done and done-er
Trade Ohtani and Betts Designate Snell and Sasaki and start rebuilding!
Also fire Andrew and dave!!
that will do it!
It’s coming…
You will hear it soon enough!
😉
Great comments Mark. The only thing I’m frustrated about at this point is all the base on balls we’re issuing. It drives me crazy to lead all of the majors in walks, when we are widely considered to have the top talented pitching staff…. maybe ever.
You have to remember that the Dodgers are ramping up most pitchers slowly. They know it’s a long race.
What happened to my clearly intelligent comment?
Awaiting moderation
I still think this team is way too reliant on the long ball. Over 60% of their runs have come on homers. In this series alone, 4 of their 6 runs came on long balls. Ohtani has 4 homers, but just 5 runs batted in. His last homer on Monday, was his first with a runner on. Shows how critical it is for the bottom of the lineup to set the table for the big boys. So far, it is not happening.
… and yet they are on track to win 112 games without playing well.
I think you’re wrong about this. The HR is the single best outcome of an at-bat. I get what you’re saying but HRs are good.
Well, that isn’t happening. On pace means zip. Earlier everyone was saying they were going to threaten the Mariners 116 games. Pages probably kept his job for another couple of weeks with that homer and sliding catch. Great play by Mookie at SS today and what a throw. Muncy striking out at a 42% rate. Not the point Brian. A team can become too dependent on long balls. You need to mix in some hits and make those homers more than just solo shots. LA hit the same number of homers as DC yesterday, but DC scored 5 runs on theirs.
I agree with you Mark and I also can’t argue strenuously with many of the fears some have offered.
Lux is playing LF more because of who is already playing short and second than his inability to play second. That’s why Betts played RF instead of second in Boston. A bat will find a glove.
Lux is a moot point.
To me, Lux’s fate shows that the Dodgers have high standards for UT guys.
Edman, Taylor and Kike deliver quality defense just about anywhere. (Mookie too.) Rojas is good at SS, 2B and 3B.
The Dodgers had Lux for years and eventually concluded that, on defense, he could be trusted at 2B–and only 2B. (Why it took the brass so long to realize Lux’s limitations is mystifying.) The Dodgers signed Conforto in part because they didn’t see Lux as an OF option. The Reds need Lux’s bat and will tolerate his defense in LF.
Another example: The Dodgers concluded that Michael Busch should play 1B, and not 3rd or LF. Of course he was blocked at 1B. Swapping Busch and Yency Almonte for Hope and Ferris looks like a brilliant move. Yet when I see Cubs highlights and see Busch sprint for a triple, he sure looks like a guy who could have handled LF. My sense is that the Dodgers just have higher standards than most teams.
I’m expecting Kim to earn a promotion to LA, with Edman shifting to CF full-time and Pages moving into a platoon with Conforto. Also expecting Max to improve–but not ruling out a Max Muncy for Max Muncy trade with the A’s.
Or maybe a deal for Arenado will make sense. The Cards are off to a meh 5-7 start, but Arenado’s OPS is .872–about 300 points higher than our slumping Max.
Correction: Arenado’s OPS is about 400 points above Max’s right now.
Yikes.
But I do expect much-maligned Max to start hitting. We seen this before.
Still…
The Cards should be sellers at midseason.
Hmm…
Shohei DH
Mookie SS
Freddie 1B
Teo RF
Conforto LF
Edman CF
Arenado 3B
Smith C
Kim 2B
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Freeman (ankle) will be activated from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Friday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.
Thank God
With Freeman back Friday.Kiki can be a role player again against left handed pitchers and spell Muncy at third base. Defense will definiely be better there.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have recalled right-handed pitcher Landon Knack to start Wednesday’s game against the Washington Nationals.To make room on the active roster, left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski was optioned back to Triple-A.
Knack sucked rocks today while Gonsolin pitched 3.1 scoreless innings at OKC. I trust the Cat man a lot more than Knack. Ruiz’s 3-run homer put OKC up 7-5. Little got the save. Chavis hit one tonight too.
4:05 PM ET EARLY GAME
Dodgers (9-4)
Nationals (5-6)
SP Landon Knack R
1-0 .00 ERA
SP Jake Irvin R
0-0 5.40 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
2B Tommy Edman S
RF T. Hernandez R
LF M. Conforto L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
1B E. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
55° Wind 6 mph
Roberts is sure stubborn!
“The Dodgers believe Snell will not be out for the long term and think he can recover with rest. That was confirmed by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttache, so the plan is for Snell to start throwing again next week, via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
A meeting with head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday confirmed that Snell will not need an injection or any other medical intervention, either.
The plan now is to have Snell begin throwing again at the start of next week.
Even though Snell is set to resume throwing soon, he is still expected to miss at least two starts, if not mainly due to the minimum IL requirement for pitchers.
Snell’s IL stint was backdated to April 3, which makes Friday, April 18, the earliest day he is eligible to return”.
I hope Freeland gets an opportunity with the Dodgers this year. Nice glove and being a switch hitter is a plus.NO errors thus far at shortstop and third base at Oklahoma City.
From MLBTR: Pages has only had 41 plate appearances at the time of this writing. He had multiple stretches of 40+ PA last year that were worse: one that began in mid-May, and another than began in late July. In that last example, he posted a .363 OPS from July 21st to August 3rd, even worse than the .415 OPS he currently sports. Then from August 5th onward, he hit .286/.351/.586 in 78 PA. It’s a bit like the stock market – if the Dodgers “sell” on Pages now, they might miss out on a possible resurgence.
That said, Pages only has 484 big league plate appearances to his name, and he has a 95 wRC+ to show for it. More than a quarter of those PA have come against southpaws, which is where the right-handed-hitting Pages has had most of his success. I think there’s an above-average hitter in there and the ability to play a competent center field. Many teams would be happy to have the 24-year-old Pages, but I do not actually know whether he will succeed as a Major League regular, particularly in a high-pressure environment.
Certainly there could come a point where the Dodgers look to upgrade at second or center field, using Tommy Edman in the other spot. That point would likely come in July. Luis Robert Jr., the most obvious answer, should be available even now. On the second base side, I could picture Luis Garcia Jr. or Luis Rengifo becoming available this summer. At this point the clear sellers are the same four teams we expected: the White Sox, Nationals, Marlins, and Rockies. Certainly the Angels, A’s, and a few of the NL Central clubs could join them.
UPDATE: Somewhat proving my point, Pages homered, singled, and walked on Tuesday after I wrote my initial answer.
Luis Robert Jr’s current batting average is .175 and his OPS+ is 45.
I think we should consider someone else.
Pages seems like a good guy but to me he has a far below average baseball IQ and that’s why I’d like to see someone else out there. Edman, for example, always seem to do the right thing and be in the right place. Pages, given a choice, always seems to pick the wrong route or action.
Every year many all stars get off to horrendously bad starts.
Do that some more please
Almost home. Just landed in KC
Three walks in the first inning… ugh !!!!!
Good call on Pages.
Gonsolin’s line at Oklahoma City: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K 46 pitches and 34 strikes.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has announced that right-hander Landon Knack will get a second start when his rotation spot comes around, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. He will most likely face the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.
After today’s disaster. he should be back at OKC. He was awful.
Sasaki got multiple chances.
Some suggestions I have seen on LADT…
Lux should play center!
Vargas is “stellar” at 2B!
Will Smith should shift to LF!
Et cetera. But it’s not really news that the pot keeps calling the kettle black….
But Mark, you were right about Lux at SS. (Did you tell AF about that? “Andrew, what were you thinking? Even a blogger like me could see that Lux didn’t have arm for SS!”)
Anyway, it was nice to see the mighty bullpen lift the Dodgers to another win and nice to see Pages show signs of life. (Your turn, Max.) Edman, Teo and Shohei keep rolling. And really nice to see Mookie make a terrific play on a shot to SS–backhanded, with a strong throw from the OF grass. (Some nice plays by Kike and Pages too.)
Hey, will Kim be up soon or not? The sight of Kim getting hugs and congratulations in the dugout the other day sparked speculation that he was LA-bound.
In non-Dodgers news, the Angels have an early ROY candidate in Kyren Paris, who is now batting .440 with 5 HRs. He’s the reason the Angels released Mickey Moniak, who is now a Rockie.
1. I think Lux can play CF – he just will need some time. LF is a step. He can play 2B, but Matt McLain is much better. LF may be perfect for him. I hope he does well.
2. Miggy Vargas continues to not be able to catch up to high fastballs. This was something that never happened in the minors, but was exposed in the majors.
3. I think Will Smith WILL start playing some 3B… where he has some experience. Dalton Rushing will demand playing time soon.
4. The Dodgers are not going to move Andy Pages off of CF in two weeks… maybe two months, but unlike some who think EVERY play he makes is bad, I see a lot of progress with him.
5. The Dodgers’ .714 winning percentage tracks to 116 games won.
6. Of course, Landon Knack will get another start and another one after that. One bad game does not a season make, and you would really have to want to purposely tank his trade value if you sent him down now.
7. Kim needs to show what he is doing over a couple of months, not a week!
8. I did not raise the Lux issue with Andrew. He did say I was responsible for him getting the Dodger job (yes he really said that…. tongue in cheek!) 😉
9. Now that I am back, I should have the video up shortly. I am taking my laptop into the office this PM and letting the smart people I have work on it. I don’t have a degree, but I do have some MBAs working for me. We are having a hot tub delivered and installed this AM and then we will build a deck around it over the next few weeks. Back in the construction mode….
10. This Dodger team IS very good and will get better.
While some folks are snarky. Others are jumping off the cliff. And the whole time Mark is the voice of reason.
Thank you .
Book em
The hedgehog & the fox
One of my realtors here in Panama is a big Dodgers fan, 26 yr old youngster, Ohtani his favorite player. Panama is a great baseball country!
I make sure to wear some kind of swag every day. Gotta represent.
The sky is falling. We suck. We’re 10-4.
Andy Pages’s improvement the last two games has been because he is trying to pull the ball where his power is ,rather than earlier in the season and Spring trying to go to right field . Let it rip Andy!!!
Wednesday scores
Oklahoma City 7, Round Rock 5
Arkansas 9, Tulsa 2
Lansing 8, Great Lakes 2
Stockton 12, Rancho Cucamonga 5
Thursday schedule
3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Patrick Copen) at Lansing (Kyle Robinson)
4:35 p.m.: Tulsa (Jackson Ferris) at Arkansas (Danny Wirchansky)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Justin Jarvis) at Round Rock (Adrian Houser)
7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Hyun-Seok Jang) at Stockton (Ryan Magdic)
Evan Phillips made his third appearance for Oklahoma City, and after a strikeout to open the sixth inning had someone reach on an error, then allowed three singles in a row and a sacrifice fly for three runs (one earned) in his two-out, 25 pitch outing.
For more detailed recaps,stats and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of the page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
Manager Dave Roberts spoke on Gonsolin and how the team plans to ramp him up in the coming weeks.
“He’s going to be built up to three innings (in his next rehab start),” Roberts said. “Then I think the plan for him is to make sure he gets up to five innings or potentially six innings. So, he’s a few weeks away.”
Checks out
According to Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times, commissioner Rob Manfred enjoyed seeing the ABS during Spring Training and hopes it will arrive in the Majors as soon as the 2026 season:
“I think that the experiment was really successful. I think the owners made a good choice by going with the challenge system first, and I hope that we bring it to the big leagues in short order. It won’t be in 2025. It’d be in 2026.”
The ABS challenge system offers a good balance of technology to ensure calls are correctly made, while also preserving the human element with regular umpires.
Yasmani Grandal signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox, likely because of the injury to Connor Joe. Mark loves this guy.
Former Dodgers everywhere
Wong Connor. It was Connor Wong
Wi Tu Lo
You’re terrible!!
https://youtu.be/CaOkTKfxu44?si=O-PzqDAqy_hzCKNo
The Dodgers optioned catcher Hunter Feduccia to Triple-A Oklahoma City, a sure sign that the club will activate first baseman Freddie Freeman from the injured list by Friday night’s game against the Cubs.
Great news!
“The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly made a trade a couple weeks ago with the Kansas City Royals.
As reported by Baseball Aruba on Instagram and later by Baseball America, the Dodgers acquired right-handed pitcher Shawndrick Oduber from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for cash considerations.
Oduber was born in De Bruynewijk, Aruba and signed with the Royals as a minor league free agent in 2022.Oduber hasn’t played above Rookie Ball at the professional level, but is still just 20 years old.
In 2023, Oduber was a full-time starter, making 11 starts and going 0-2 with a 3.06 ERA. He had 45 strikeouts to just eight walks across 32.1 innings pitched.In 2024, Oduber was moved to a reliever. He struggled across 14 appearances, sporting a 5.18 ERA with 21 strikeouts and 11 walks over 24.1 innings pitched.
The Dodgers clearly saw something in Oduber they wanted to try to develop. The right-handed pitcher is listed at 6-foot-0 and 170 pounds.It will likely be a few years until Oduber potentially makes a name for himself in the upper minor league levels. But for now, the Dodgers will work with the young pitcher and turn him into the player they hope he can become”.
Thursday scores
Oklahoma City 9, Round Rock 8
Arkansas 4, Tulsa 3
Great Lakes 3, Lansing 2
Stockton 6, Rancho Cucamonga 3
Friday schedule
3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Brooks Auger) at Lansing (Gage Jump)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Jared Karros) at Arkansas (Dylan File)
5:15 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Bobby Miller) at Round Rock (Dane Dunning)
7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Aidan Foeller) at Stockton (Wei-En Lin)
LHP Jackson Ferris struck out six in 5⅔ scoreless innings for Tulsa, the longest of his nine starts in Double-A dating back to last season.
Eddie Rosario hit two home runs, including the game-winner in the ninth inning to lead the Comets over the Round Rock Express (Rangers). Oklahoma City trailed by four after seven innings but scored four runs in the eighth and three in the ninth to pull out the road win.Rosario had four hits, including another home run in the second inning, and his fifth double of the year.
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of the page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.