Posted By Mark Timmons on July 18, 2025 July 18, 2025Mark Timmons
Let the Chat Begin.
This article has 39 Comments
Lets see how Mookie does after some rest.
What can we expect from Betts and company after a few days off?
The same ! I don’t understand why so many people believe that three days off will improve things and that players will break out of their slumps.
I think last year we had a similar slump going into the break and came out winning 5 straight games.
Most of the players had 4 days off at home. It sure couldn’t hurt.
Actually, they get four. They haven’t played since Sunday. Being able to just relax and not have to work out can reinvigorate someone. Same thing would happen with me when I was driving long haul. Those days off between three or four weeks on the road were a god send. Texas sent Dane Dunning to the Braves in a trade for a minor leaguer. Glasnow gets the start tonight against Preister. LA has never seen this guy. He is 7-2 with a 3.55 ERA.
Dodgers should be well rested after the break. Getting the remainder of our pitching staff back soon will be the key to the second part of the season
“….So many people believe” because it’s been proven to help in past seasons. Not for everyone but for a few. Sometimes it’s not so much the physical break as relieving the mental load or anxiety.
Mental load still heavy…atleast Freddie started the 7th with a walk
Maybe Mookie gained a few pounds with 3 days off
Two-day vacation with wife councluded perfectly with no baseball. Am I a genius? Depends on who’s asking.
hopefully, we’ll see a different dodger team against Milwaukee in Los Angeles. Milwaukee has a very good team, but the Dodgers like I said earlier, need to punch the Brewers in the mouth early! The four day break couldn’t have hurt Mookie. Teo? Needs to come out and make a statement in the second half. Hopefully the rest did him some good too! Edman? Probably needed this break as much as Mookie. Conforto? I think has 5 to 6 games to prove he belongs….. the bullpen? Is a major question mark. I still think something big is gonna happen! But the biggest thing right now is getting some people healthy and getting off to a good start in the second half!
It seems to my untrained eye that the strategy regarding the bullpen has always assumed we would have too many starting pitchers )once Ohtani gets ramped up and guys get healthy) and the excess would bolster the bullpen. To my more knowledgeable friends on LADT, does this sound plausible?
That strategy might change with the struggles all year of Scott and Yates at the backend of the pen. The bullpen pitchers have given up 67 of the 123 homers the staff has allowed. May could be moved to the pen, but he also could be traded as part of a deal for maybe a hitter and a back end of the pen arm. I prefer Sheehan over May in the rotation. When Snell returns, I see the rotation as Yamamoto, Kershaw, Snell, Glasnow, Ohtani and Sheehan. Pretty solid six.
Solid 6 maybe later in the year. Right now it’s a solid 5.
Add another Homer to the bullpen…thx Kirby
Loss is on the offense. You give up 2 runs total and lose? Brewers right now are the better team. Their pitching is much better than the Dodgers who at this point, couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
This team still has the best record in the National League and everyone knows (but a helluva lot of fans don’t remember) that’s they’ve done it with a myriad of pitcher injuries and their strongest hitters not at their best. Mookie hasn’t been very Mookie-like all season. Freddie slumped awhile. Max was a disaster to start the season before coming on very strong. His late injury is a huge blow. I doubt he’ll be much of a factor if/when he comes back. I am pulling for Will Smith to get a lot of MVP votes. He certainly deserves them.
I wonder how deeply AF/BG will dip into the prospect pool for trades? They’ve planned just when to slowly bring injured starters back to be effective in the post season and how much they need to add to get there.
Andrew goes by one overriding principle
If it makes the team better
If it does he will do it !
Pages, Ohtani, Rojas, Conforto and Smith. Only healthy hitters left
and Kim
It’s just one inning, I know, but I’m still glad to see that a few days off helped a lot at the home plate!
3 Up, 3 Down, 3 SO….
It’s the same crap we’ve been seeing in recent weeks.
I think something is wrong with Freeman. I mean his glove fell off for godsakes. He looks confused
Where’s AVF?
Hard to believe but I have lost all faith in the top 3 in the lineup…more importantly they have lost faith in themselves
But at least they are not tired, they rested for 4 days!
Pinch hitting for Kim was brilliant.
Interesting rumor/report about a potential blockbuster with Cleveland for Kwan and Clase….
I like it. Both would be great fits. But they wouldn’t come cheap.
It will cost DePaula and several other top prospects. I would not do it.
This malaise is something I expected. It started in June and I expect it to last for another week or two. They are just going through the motions right about now. They know how good they are, and you can’t be 100% intense every game. Doc is just letting them play, but as I have said in the past, there will come a time, just like a jockey does in the Kentucky Derby, when he will “go to the whip!”
ChatGPT on “Go to the Whip:”
The phrase “go to the whip” originates from horse racing and means to urge extra effort, especially at a critical moment. In racing, a jockey uses the whip to push the horse to run faster near the end of the race.
In everyday usage, it’s a metaphor meaning:
To push hard for maximum effort
To apply pressure to achieve a result
To intensify your actions to meet a goal or deadline
Examples:
“We were falling behind schedule, so the manager went to the whip and made us work through the weekend.”
“The coach went to the whip in the fourth quarter, calling aggressive plays to win the game.”
It generally implies urgency and a last push toward success or completion.
It’s not yet time to go to the whip, but you will know when they do.
the only positive from last night? Glasnow was good. he seemed to tire a bit in the 5th and 6th, but overall, he was just what the doctor ordered. yates isn’t worth discussing. the. first 2 words out of my mouth when i saw him warming up in the pen? OH SH*T! Didn’t matter. this offense is as bad as we’ve seen it in a while. Why not move Kim into the 2 spot, Will 3, Freddie 4, Pages5, Teo 6, Mookie 7, and guess for 8&9? love Mookie and i really believe that he will get back to being Mookie. But right now he doesn’t belong in the 2 spot! Heck, ohtani isn’t even close to being a leadoff hitter! Edman wasn’t close to even hitting a ball last night. Where’s van s. during this bad streak.? We madea pitcher who wasn’t considered a strikeout pitcher look like Nolan Ryan!! Miss Max in the lineup, but Max can’t fix this by himself. I say it again, AF is going to do something big.
Mookie has not looked right all year. Body language in the batters box in one of low confidence. Edman after a hot start just cannot hit at all. Somewhat concerned as the guys who were carrying us have cooled off and the guys who were not doing well have continued to suck. No reason for Glasnow to get a loss last night. Experience is great, but I believe the Dodgers line up as a whole is a bit too old as injuries, ailments and slumps seem to linger on and on.
Edman is dealing with the effects of A. his broken toe, and B. his ankle that has not really healed fully. As for Mookie, getting sick and losing all that weight is not a good thing. He has gained the weight back, but his timing and eye are not quite what they used to be. He is also not really aggressive on first pitch strikes. Every player has a down year at one point or another, this seems to be his. The major problems is that except for Smith, the entire starting lineup is in a slump, even Pages, who was close to .300 10 days ago, and now is under .290.
I don’t think its so easy to ‘turn the switch on’ when it matters. Sure we are still in first place, because the division as a whole is just as bad.
The Brewer pitching is excellent and it seems that they rise to the occasion when they are pitching against the world champs. Of course the way our offense is playing just magnifies their abilities.
We do seem to have these kind of slump every year. It will pass.
“Los Angeles Dodgers: Despite late first selection, a strong first two picks lead solid class
The Dodgers didn’t pick until 40 because their owners are actually willing to invest in the big-league payroll, but they made the most of it, landing Arkansas lefty Zach Root (1A) with that pick and fellow Razorback Charles Davalan (1A) at pick 41….”
“I like the Dodgers draft quite a bit, mostly because I think they were still able to capture a lot of upside, a lot of tools, a lot of stuff, despite where they were picking…”
Jeff Spiegel had Future Dodgers on a YT broadcast recapping the draft:
“The Dodgers aren’t an unstoppable force, in large part because like last season, the rotation has absorbed a ludicrous number of injuries. While their hopes to make the playoffs and win the division are quite safe, there’s no guarantee that they’ll coast to a first-round bye. And that matters….”
Mark Chiarelli on blocked prospects who could be moved ($$$)
“I’ll go with the last pick of the night, of night one, rather, with the Dodgers taking Landon Viterich outfielder in Cincinnati. Really loud tool set with him, fresh off of career year. Real bat speed, consistently generates quality contact to all fields.”
Good read from a new source recapping Days 1 and 2 of the LAD draft:
“some really good picks. Not the biggest Root fan, but Davalan, Leiter, Vidourek, and Ligenza are all great gets. I like some of the upside plays in West and Hickson. A lot of reliever types which is interesting, but I like it overall”
It’s Quintero, but Hope, Sirota and De Paula get a mention.
Good stuff, Thanks Bluto!
And here we go again.
Game over, better luck tomorrow.
Maybe the game will go at least into the 5th inning.
Right now it’s more fun to watch Washington vs. the sons of bitches.
Too early to give up.
Where’s Andrew Vincent Forte?
yeah, don’t throw in the towel just yet! there were some good signs last night. The offense showed some signs of life. Teo and Tommy hit the ball hard. ohtani came back to us! Rojas continued his good work at the plate. But. Pages looks frustrated. he was about to get run for complaining about a ball almost dead center. Freddie. seems close. Conforto looks like a man about to get out of town. Kim? over anxious. Ruiz? nothing else to say. ……. Bullpen? HELP! Emmit? completely fell off the face of the earth in that inning. Offense kept. them right there, but, nobody in the bullpen could slow down the Brewers! Man they are fun to watch. Bunts, stolen bases, hit and run. Baseball the way it should be played. … well at least the padres and giants both lost. Clayton is on the bump today . Maybe he can somehow get a win. Quintana goes for the Brewers. He always pitches well against the dodgers. probably a even weaker lineup today with Ruiz in left field. Who knows if Mookie is back in the lineup. …. Steven Kwan ? probably not. but they could sure use someone out there who can hit! As Freddie Mercury might say, “ find me somebody to hit”
Lets see how Mookie does after some rest.
What can we expect from Betts and company after a few days off?
The same ! I don’t understand why so many people believe that three days off will improve things and that players will break out of their slumps.
I think last year we had a similar slump going into the break and came out winning 5 straight games.
Most of the players had 4 days off at home. It sure couldn’t hurt.
Actually, they get four. They haven’t played since Sunday. Being able to just relax and not have to work out can reinvigorate someone. Same thing would happen with me when I was driving long haul. Those days off between three or four weeks on the road were a god send. Texas sent Dane Dunning to the Braves in a trade for a minor leaguer. Glasnow gets the start tonight against Preister. LA has never seen this guy. He is 7-2 with a 3.55 ERA.
Dodgers should be well rested after the break. Getting the remainder of our pitching staff back soon will be the key to the second part of the season
“….So many people believe” because it’s been proven to help in past seasons. Not for everyone but for a few. Sometimes it’s not so much the physical break as relieving the mental load or anxiety.
Mental load still heavy…atleast Freddie started the 7th with a walk
Maybe Mookie gained a few pounds with 3 days off
Two-day vacation with wife councluded perfectly with no baseball. Am I a genius? Depends on who’s asking.
hopefully, we’ll see a different dodger team against Milwaukee in Los Angeles. Milwaukee has a very good team, but the Dodgers like I said earlier, need to punch the Brewers in the mouth early! The four day break couldn’t have hurt Mookie. Teo? Needs to come out and make a statement in the second half. Hopefully the rest did him some good too! Edman? Probably needed this break as much as Mookie. Conforto? I think has 5 to 6 games to prove he belongs….. the bullpen? Is a major question mark. I still think something big is gonna happen! But the biggest thing right now is getting some people healthy and getting off to a good start in the second half!
It seems to my untrained eye that the strategy regarding the bullpen has always assumed we would have too many starting pitchers )once Ohtani gets ramped up and guys get healthy) and the excess would bolster the bullpen. To my more knowledgeable friends on LADT, does this sound plausible?
That strategy might change with the struggles all year of Scott and Yates at the backend of the pen. The bullpen pitchers have given up 67 of the 123 homers the staff has allowed. May could be moved to the pen, but he also could be traded as part of a deal for maybe a hitter and a back end of the pen arm. I prefer Sheehan over May in the rotation. When Snell returns, I see the rotation as Yamamoto, Kershaw, Snell, Glasnow, Ohtani and Sheehan. Pretty solid six.
Solid 6 maybe later in the year. Right now it’s a solid 5.
Add another Homer to the bullpen…thx Kirby
Loss is on the offense. You give up 2 runs total and lose? Brewers right now are the better team. Their pitching is much better than the Dodgers who at this point, couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
This team still has the best record in the National League and everyone knows (but a helluva lot of fans don’t remember) that’s they’ve done it with a myriad of pitcher injuries and their strongest hitters not at their best. Mookie hasn’t been very Mookie-like all season. Freddie slumped awhile. Max was a disaster to start the season before coming on very strong. His late injury is a huge blow. I doubt he’ll be much of a factor if/when he comes back. I am pulling for Will Smith to get a lot of MVP votes. He certainly deserves them.
I wonder how deeply AF/BG will dip into the prospect pool for trades? They’ve planned just when to slowly bring injured starters back to be effective in the post season and how much they need to add to get there.
Andrew goes by one overriding principle
If it makes the team better
If it does he will do it !
Pages, Ohtani, Rojas, Conforto and Smith. Only healthy hitters left
and Kim
It’s just one inning, I know, but I’m still glad to see that a few days off helped a lot at the home plate!
3 Up, 3 Down, 3 SO….
It’s the same crap we’ve been seeing in recent weeks.
I think something is wrong with Freeman. I mean his glove fell off for godsakes. He looks confused
Where’s AVF?
Hard to believe but I have lost all faith in the top 3 in the lineup…more importantly they have lost faith in themselves
But at least they are not tired, they rested for 4 days!
Pinch hitting for Kim was brilliant.
Interesting rumor/report about a potential blockbuster with Cleveland for Kwan and Clase….
I like it. Both would be great fits. But they wouldn’t come cheap.
It will cost DePaula and several other top prospects. I would not do it.
This malaise is something I expected. It started in June and I expect it to last for another week or two. They are just going through the motions right about now. They know how good they are, and you can’t be 100% intense every game. Doc is just letting them play, but as I have said in the past, there will come a time, just like a jockey does in the Kentucky Derby, when he will “go to the whip!”
ChatGPT on “Go to the Whip:”
The phrase “go to the whip” originates from horse racing and means to urge extra effort, especially at a critical moment. In racing, a jockey uses the whip to push the horse to run faster near the end of the race.
In everyday usage, it’s a metaphor meaning:
To push hard for maximum effort
To apply pressure to achieve a result
To intensify your actions to meet a goal or deadline
Examples:
“We were falling behind schedule, so the manager went to the whip and made us work through the weekend.”
“The coach went to the whip in the fourth quarter, calling aggressive plays to win the game.”
It generally implies urgency and a last push toward success or completion.
It’s not yet time to go to the whip, but you will know when they do.
the only positive from last night? Glasnow was good. he seemed to tire a bit in the 5th and 6th, but overall, he was just what the doctor ordered. yates isn’t worth discussing. the. first 2 words out of my mouth when i saw him warming up in the pen? OH SH*T! Didn’t matter. this offense is as bad as we’ve seen it in a while. Why not move Kim into the 2 spot, Will 3, Freddie 4, Pages5, Teo 6, Mookie 7, and guess for 8&9? love Mookie and i really believe that he will get back to being Mookie. But right now he doesn’t belong in the 2 spot! Heck, ohtani isn’t even close to being a leadoff hitter! Edman wasn’t close to even hitting a ball last night. Where’s van s. during this bad streak.? We madea pitcher who wasn’t considered a strikeout pitcher look like Nolan Ryan!! Miss Max in the lineup, but Max can’t fix this by himself. I say it again, AF is going to do something big.
Mookie has not looked right all year. Body language in the batters box in one of low confidence. Edman after a hot start just cannot hit at all. Somewhat concerned as the guys who were carrying us have cooled off and the guys who were not doing well have continued to suck. No reason for Glasnow to get a loss last night. Experience is great, but I believe the Dodgers line up as a whole is a bit too old as injuries, ailments and slumps seem to linger on and on.
Edman is dealing with the effects of A. his broken toe, and B. his ankle that has not really healed fully. As for Mookie, getting sick and losing all that weight is not a good thing. He has gained the weight back, but his timing and eye are not quite what they used to be. He is also not really aggressive on first pitch strikes. Every player has a down year at one point or another, this seems to be his. The major problems is that except for Smith, the entire starting lineup is in a slump, even Pages, who was close to .300 10 days ago, and now is under .290.
I don’t think its so easy to ‘turn the switch on’ when it matters. Sure we are still in first place, because the division as a whole is just as bad.
The Brewer pitching is excellent and it seems that they rise to the occasion when they are pitching against the world champs. Of course the way our offense is playing just magnifies their abilities.
We do seem to have these kind of slump every year. It will pass.
News From Internet (Draft Edition)
Keith Law recaps the NL West Draft ($$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6496058/2025/07/16/nl-west-draft-grades-picks-mlb-2025/
“Los Angeles Dodgers: Despite late first selection, a strong first two picks lead solid class
The Dodgers didn’t pick until 40 because their owners are actually willing to invest in the big-league payroll, but they made the most of it, landing Arkansas lefty Zach Root (1A) with that pick and fellow Razorback Charles Davalan (1A) at pick 41….”
Future Projection Website covered the MLB draft:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-133-2025-draft-review-for-all-30-teams/id1555299031?i=1000717901827
“I like the Dodgers draft quite a bit, mostly because I think they were still able to capture a lot of upside, a lot of tools, a lot of stuff, despite where they were picking…”
Jeff Spiegel had Future Dodgers on a YT broadcast recapping the draft:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2etmlOxla8
My summary?
“Not as buzzy as past LAD picks, but interesting in the mix of quality and different player profiles.”
Dan Szymborski on what teams have the most to gain at the deadline:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/which-teams-have-the-most-to-gain-at-the-trade-deadline/
“The Dodgers aren’t an unstoppable force, in large part because like last season, the rotation has absorbed a ludicrous number of injuries. While their hopes to make the playoffs and win the division are quite safe, there’s no guarantee that they’ll coast to a first-round bye. And that matters….”
Mark Chiarelli on blocked prospects who could be moved ($$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-trade-deadline-10-blocked-prospects-who-could-be-impacted/
Interesting to note is that it’s Alex Freeland from LAD
Baseball America podcast covered the draft:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baseball-america/id201539011
Among the picks they liked:
“I’ll go with the last pick of the night, of night one, rather, with the Dodgers taking Landon Viterich outfielder in Cincinnati. Really loud tool set with him, fresh off of career year. Real bat speed, consistently generates quality contact to all fields.”
Good read from a new source recapping Days 1 and 2 of the LAD draft:
“some really good picks. Not the biggest Root fan, but Davalan, Leiter, Vidourek, and Ligenza are all great gets. I like some of the upside plays in West and Hickson. A lot of reliever types which is interesting, but I like it overall”
https://medium.com/@landon_abl/dodgers-breaking-down-day-one-of-the-mlb-draft-1211ed804b0b
https://medium.com/@landon_abl/dodgers-breaking-down-the-day-2-haul-ee25b79d8de4
Davy Andrews on Ceddanne Rafaela
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/has-ceddanne-rafaela-made-the-leap/
Baseball America draft review:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-mlb-draft-reviews-for-all-30-teams/
Draft Theme: Safety Early, Risk Later
Most Interesting Pick In Rounds 4-10: OF Mason Ligenza, 6th round
Ben Resnic has NCAA WAR leaders for pitching:
https://x.com/BenResnic_/status/1946014001785102570
Z. Root near the top!
Interesting new pitching metric called xPitching+
https://maxsportingstudio.com/explaining-xpitching/
Casarius’ stuff stood out to me.
Top Midseason Prospect Performers from Matt Eddy/BA ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/top-mlb-prospect-performers-in-every-organization-at-midseason/
It’s Quintero, but Hope, Sirota and De Paula get a mention.
Good stuff, Thanks Bluto!
And here we go again.
Game over, better luck tomorrow.
Maybe the game will go at least into the 5th inning.
Right now it’s more fun to watch Washington vs. the sons of bitches.
Too early to give up.
Where’s Andrew Vincent Forte?
yeah, don’t throw in the towel just yet! there were some good signs last night. The offense showed some signs of life. Teo and Tommy hit the ball hard. ohtani came back to us! Rojas continued his good work at the plate. But. Pages looks frustrated. he was about to get run for complaining about a ball almost dead center. Freddie. seems close. Conforto looks like a man about to get out of town. Kim? over anxious. Ruiz? nothing else to say. ……. Bullpen? HELP! Emmit? completely fell off the face of the earth in that inning. Offense kept. them right there, but, nobody in the bullpen could slow down the Brewers! Man they are fun to watch. Bunts, stolen bases, hit and run. Baseball the way it should be played. … well at least the padres and giants both lost. Clayton is on the bump today . Maybe he can somehow get a win. Quintana goes for the Brewers. He always pitches well against the dodgers. probably a even weaker lineup today with Ruiz in left field. Who knows if Mookie is back in the lineup. …. Steven Kwan ? probably not. but they could sure use someone out there who can hit! As Freddie Mercury might say, “ find me somebody to hit”