Let me remind you that, as fans, we have very little information with which to understand why Dave Roberts might make or not make a move. The case in point was the removal of Hyeseong Kim from the game last night in favor of Kike Hernandez. Some fans were upset by that. Why? Sometimes you accuse Doc of playing favorites, but I suggest that is precisely what you are doing when you accuse him of doing that. What possible reason could Dave Roberts have had for taking your new favorite player out of the game? Well, there are several that you may never know about:
- We know that Kim has been battling some form of injury… maybe he went to Doc and said that right about now might be a good time to take him out.
- Doc knows that Kim is faster than Kike, but at this stage of their careers, he may feel that Kike is better than Pages in LF because he gets better reads… and he might be right.
- With LH Wandy Peralta pitching, maybe Doc felt having three RH batters would be more effective. There are certain types of LHP that RH batters are better equipped to hit. Perhaps the scouting report said that.
- It worked! Scoreboard!
I don’t understand being upset by having your new favorite player taken out when it worked and the team won… and quit jumping to conclusions. It won’t be a sport at the next Olympics in LA (if there are any in LA). Of course, if second-guessing Doc gives you a shot of feeling smarter than Doc, then by all means… keep it up! We don’t know what we don’t know.
Dustin My has work to do
Last night, he walked four batters, and I think they all scored. He threw 89 pitches, but only 48 for strikes, and most of those came in the last two innings. When you throw a pitch that is 18 to 28 inches out of the strike zone, it is a wasted pitch. There is no chance the opponent will swing at it. Yet, he was throwing the first two or three pitches to some batters that were all that wide of the plate. I’m not sure, but it might be due to a lack of concentration or focus. He has work to do, and it’s not as much mechanical as it is mental.
One other thing: If Kim is going to play CF, I want Pages in RF. He would have caught that ball that Teo almost caught. I know Teo doesn’t like LF as much, but he needs to learn to love it. Conforto might sit this whole series.
too early to celebrate. But if season ended today, Padres out of playoffs. Anyway not a given all three in west will make playoffs
May has a first inning problem. Last night he did not have his best stuff. Many of his pitches were balls out of hand. But he settled in the 4th and 5th innings and the bullpen picked him up. Sauer recalled, and is starting today’s game, and Urena DFAd. Whatever Doc’s reasons for pulling Kim and PH with Kike, Kim earlier in the game hit a double off of Matsui, who is left-handed, and tied the game at 6 in the 5th. Kim is 3-3 against lefties with a homer and a double this year. Morejon was on the mound when Kike PH. This season, Kike has reverse splits. He is hitting .185 against lefties and .250 against RHP. Doc could have left Kim in and sent Kike out for the bottom of the 8th as a defensive replacement. But with no one on and one out, he chose to PH Kike, who struck out. Which he has done 16 times in 54 at bats against lefties.
I am sure Doc was also looking at his career OPS against LHP, which is much better than this year… however, that may not have been the deciding factor. Personally, I think it was something else. He was seen in pain after fouling a ball off his leg earlier in the week… but the Dodgers may never tell us. This was just an observation by a reporter.
LA never tells the fans the whole story until the guy ends up on the operating table. Been that way for a long time.
I’m out of the country as I write this so I saw only parts of the game and no post game interviews. If Dustin indicated he’s having trouble with maintaining his focus or his concentration then this post is irrelevant, BUT….
…if the subject is “jumping to conclusions” then, “…. it might be due to a lack of concentration or focus. He has work to do, and it’s not as much mechanical as it is mental.” Is quite a jump in itself. Why?
None of us KNOW if his accuracy struggle last night had anything to do with concentration or focus. Sometimes pitchers have a bad night(s) and let’s hope that is all it is. I agree he has some kind of work to do but whether that is mental, attitude, or mechanical none of us knows. Hopefully, Mark Prior knows or knows how to figure it out.
You are right.
I can understand putting Hernandez in late but can someone explain why on Sunday he played CF and yesterday he played LF, with Pages playing LF/ CF.
Yes, good chance Conforto sits all 3.
Pages is actually becoming a good CF’er!
Pages just may be an All-Star….
Which is fine. But why put Kike’ in CF on Sunday with Pages in LF and flip on Monday? Only reason I can think of is so they both get reps at each position.
100% he would have caught that ball that Two missed. Agree Teo needs to be in left.
For awhile I would sometimes cringe over the routes Pages would run. BUT he was fast enough to get to the ball….usually. And when he didn’t get it, it made him look worse than he really was because he ALMOST got to it.
As an aside, years ago I thought Matt Kemp did much the same. He was super athletic so he could make catches despite not always running efficient routes. But maybe that IS the difference between a big league CF and a LF. I feel the same about RF but the best of them have stronger arms and make more accurate throws.
Anyway, that is my uninformed fan opinion.
Kim has earned a longer leash. He’s a dynamic player that I would want available at the end of the game. After hitting a double vs a lefty earlier and now being 3 for 3 vs lefties he should have hit. Kike’s awful AB only made the decision look worse.
Good to get game one from the Madres. It was apparent early that May didn’t have his good stuff. Btw, I hate having less game vs SF & SD for inter league play
Glasnow (shoulder) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Tuesday in Los Angeles, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.
“Glasnow has been moving in the right direction since it was reported at the end of May that he was experiencing general body soreness after throwing. “He’s doing really well,” stated manager Dave Roberts. “Very excited and anxious to start facing some hitters. So that’s coming too.” If all goes well during Glasnow’s side session, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him gain clearance for live BP later in the week”
Snell (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Tuesday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
“Snell made about 10 throws off a mound over the weekend to a standing catcher, per Plunkett, and he’s now ready to take the next step in his throwing progression. The lefty hasn’t tossed from a mound since experiencing a setback in late April, so he’ll likely need to make it through at least a few side sessions before facing live hitters”.
At this point, the Dodgers have nothing to lose by letting Kim play somewhere and seeing if he’s the real thing or not. Of course he’s not going to hit .400, but Conforto has the lowest BA in the NL for qualifying hitters.
I suspect that the real reason that Edman isn’t playing CF and Kim is is because Edman’s ankle is still acting up and it’s harder on him to run and play CF. Kim is Edman’s equal defensively at 2B but Edman is superior in CF. My regular OF would be Teo in LF, Tommy in CF, and Pages, who is a far superior defensive OF to Teo, in RF, with Kim at 2B.
May has been no better than an innings eater 4th/5th SP since his return this season. He’s number 2 right now due to the absence of the rest of the rotation. His FB is down 3-5 MPH and he has less movement with his sinker and sweeper with his lower arm slot, which he is using to protect his elbow. This is his 1st season back. He has room to improve and it often takes a year or 2 to fully recover from surgery. Right now I am glad he’s there to take the ball every 5th day but hope that the likes of Glasnow, Snell, Ohtani et al can return so that they won’t need him to start in the post-season. Maybe he can be really good and let it loose pitching out of the bullpen.
Kim’s value is also in his versatility. He can play 3B, 2B, SS, LF, and CF. If he can hit .270, he will be amazing.
Kikuchi or Joe Ryan anyone?
Both will be available…
Kikuchi… uh no!
Ryan would be great, and he has 3 -1/2 years of control, but he will come with a huge cost.
The Dodgers have the #3 Best Farm System, and to get Ryan, the Dodgers would have to mortgage the future. The team is aging – they need to get younger. They have a plethora of pitchers coming back… if only half of them make it, the team will be fine.
I say NO to gutting the farm.
I WISH you were wrong but you are absolutely right.
The team will get younger this offseason and it will surprise some fans, anger some fans but some (too few) will also understand it is absolutely necessary if they want to continue to be competitive year after year.
Conforto and Rojas will be gone… maybe Kike, but he might stay one more year.
Replaced with Freeland and who?
The Ohtani quote is unfortunate.
They idea that Kiké has “reverse splits” is misleading
First, it’s two samples of fewer than 100 PA.
Second
Vs L: .171 BABIP, .241 ISO
Vs R: .314 BABIP, .145 ISO
Yes, he’s been a bit better be right-handed pitchers. It’s almost certainly small sample noise and batted ball luck. So, no reason to think those reverse splits should continue.
FanGraphs just had an article on Andy Pages
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/andy-pages-is-a-perfect-fit/
Excellent overview of Pages.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic has an article today that predicts what teams will trade for at the Deadline. Here’s what he says about the Dodgers:
Biggest need: Getting their roster healthy
The Dodgers are not expected to be active at the trade deadline, if they’re able to get their roster healthy. Three of their top starting pitchers — Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow, not to mention Roki Sasaki — are currently rehabbing, trying to work back from injuries. That’s three top-of-the-rotation starters, along with a rookie who is viewed as having that type of ceiling as well. If the Dodgers can get that trio healthy and maintain the health of their current rotation that includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May, they really won’t need any more pitching help considering some of their starters would be moving to the bullpen to provide more depth for that unit. In addition, their lineup doesn’t have any glaring needs, and they have the position player depth to withstand injuries.
For now, I didn’t list trade targets for the Dodgers. However, they have endured a rash of pitching injuries, and if they get closer to the deadline and don’t have more of their top pitchers healthy or closer to returning, they could add yet another starter.
The Shohei Ohtani post is a fake.
This just in: The quote is fabricated and originated from a parody account, not from any legitimate press conference or interview.
It’s now official, with the Dodgers announcing they have recalled Matt Sauer and designated Ureña for assignment.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor has landed on the injured list just 10 games into his tenure with the Los Angeles Angels.Taylor has a left-hand fracture after being hit by a pitch and will now spend time on the 10-day IL
9:40 PM ET
Dodgers (40-27)
Padres (37-28)
SP Lou Trivino 9(opener)
1-0 3.97 ERA
SP Dylan Cease R
1-5 4.72 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
3B Max Muncy L
CF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
2B Tommy Edman S
C D. Rushing L
66° Wind 7 mph Out
Matt Sauer will pitch multiple innings
Matt is going Sauer!
I’m hoping a deal can be struck to replace Conforto with either Jarron Duran or Cedric Mullins. (Conforto got a hit in today’ debacle, but….) Another possible upgrade may be the Angels’ Taylor Ward, who the Dodger tried to get years ago in that deal Arte Moreno nixed. Ward is on a 30-HR pace this season, but his on-base percentage is awful. Who knows what the brass may be thinking…
If the Dodgers promote Freeland, he’d spend a lot of time on the bench unless somebody gets hurt. Might be best to keep him in OKC and have him play every day.
Is Kim dealing with a mystery injury? Certainly a mystery to me. Maybe Roberts just wants to keep his UT guys active. At any rate, Kim should be playing more.
Kike isn’t as fast as Kim, of course, but he’s got a lot more experience in CF and probably gets better reads. I’m more comfortable with Kim at 2B.
What is going on with the Dodger pitchers?
Bobby Miller’s line in last night’s 15-2 loss at AAA Oklahoma City:
3.1IP 11H 10R 10ER 3BB 1K 1HR 5.69ERA
Roberts even said the chances of Ohtani returning before the All-Star break are “north of zero,” per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, indicating there’s a possibility he makes his two-way debut before the All-Star break in mid-July.
For those thinking Rojas is going anywhere you are nuts.
Listed to the latest Mookie podcast and you’ll understand….
Win the series today, get back to LA.