Time to Go to the Whip and Ax

Posted By on August 14, 2025

The Dodger players saw the team cut Jason Heyward in 2024 when he was hitting .208 with a .682 OPS. Next, they saw the Dodgers cut Chris Taylor, who played all over the field and, like Heyward, was beloved by his teammates. Finally, the Dodgers cut ties with Austin Barnes (The Captain) when he was hitting .214. Yet, Michael Conforto, who is statistically worse than all three of the players mentioned above, is still on the team, despite hitting .187 with a pathetic .626 OPS. If I were a Dodger player, I might think the following:

  • Performance does not really matter – they just play favorites, and
  • The team is not serious about winning.

Talk is cheap. I’m from Missouri. Show Me you are serious about winning. I understand about overpaying at the trade deadline, and that you did everything you could with the idea that the farm needs to start producing in the next two years, and it already has this year. This team can win THIS YEAR, but they are going to have to show they are serious and that performance counts. It’s simple to do:

RELEASE MICHAEL CONFORTO TODAY

I do not know much about him. He seems like a nice guy. He goes about his business. He seems to fit in, but he struggles with hitting, and his fielding isn’t a strength. ENOUGH ALREADY! Get rid of him NOW. Move on. Show us fans you are serious about winning, or I am going to believe that he has photos of Gomes and Friedman in compromising positions.

It’s hard to win back-to-back championships because every team you play is playing their version of the World Series, and they always play the Dodgers with a “little extra.” We know that, but this team can win it all. They have a multitude of players coming back from the IL, and they are fully capable of turning it on. BUT, the first step is jettisoning the deadwood! Conforto must go! The best “message” this team can receive before Doc “goes to the whip” is that anything less than excellence will not be tolerated. Hell, put Rushing in LF if you have too.

Cut Conforto now!

Dodger News

  • The Bazooka will not be back THIS year!
  • Michael Kopech will start a rehab assignment today and should be back by the beginning of September, along with Yates and Scott. All we need is a couple of good months out of them and Treinen.
  • Roki Sasaki starts today for OKC.
  • Watch for the return of Bobby Miller to the Dodgers Pen.
  • Brock Stewert will likely be back in September, and do not underestimate Edgardo Henriquez. His numbers are “PCL Skewed.”
https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1955819065853010087

This article has 36 Comments

  1. “Flamethrowing Dodgers setup man Brusdar Graterol underwent shoulder surgery back in November and hoped to be able to pitch in the season’s second half, but manager Dave Roberts indicated to the Dodger beat yesterday that the big right-hander’s chances of making it back to a big league mound in 2025 are slim (link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). Graterol is with the team’s staff at their spring complex in Arizona but has not yet resumed throwing a ball, with just over six weeks of the season lef”..

  2. Saturday night after taking 2 games easily from the best team in the AL we were riding high.

    Now we are low.

    A win Friday and Saturday night and we will be riding high again.

    Its baseball, get in the tournament and play your best ball when it matters most.

    Stick with em. (ok maybe not Conforto)….

  3. We know Roberts (and all other managers) love vets. And young guys have to really fight to get in lineup. But also the Veteran Presence’ in the clubhouse BS has to be overblown. You don’t need 10 ‘great guys’ (See Taylor, Barnes, Heyward).
    So Conforto was benched the other day against the RH pitcher. I thought that he would be DFA’d the next day. So now Max tweaked something. So are they keeping his lefty bat??. Also Miggy definitely injured himself on an awkward dive back to first base.
    So Max, Freddie, Mookie doing ok. Ohtani homers and K’s with RISP
    WHAT’S NEXT????

  4. Okay, you’re letting Conforto go, and who’s going to play LF? Call? Dean? Rushing? And who’s going to be the backup catcher? Whoever the replacement is, he’ll be on the bench. Would you rather have that new guy or Conforto on the bench?

    I know no one likes the idea, but… what if they move Betts back to right field? Teo in LF and Pages in CF.
    Freeman
    Freeland
    Rojas
    Muncy
    Smith
    Betts
    Pages
    Teo
    Ohtani
    Could anyone tell if this lineup would be worse?
    List names by position, not by order at bat

    1. Mookie is playing SS at a very high level. I would not put Freeland there THIS season… maybe next.

      Rojas and Freeland would be two weak bats.

      I prefer this alignment:

      C – Smith/Rushing
      1B – Freeman
      2B – Kim/Rojas
      SS – Betts
      3B – Muncy
      LF- Teoscar
      CF – Edman
      RF – Pages

      1. That lineup looks good to me…but I do think Max needs a platoon partner.
        Freeland should get the nod.
        But I also think Senzel might merit consideration.
        The Dodgers need a feel-good story down the stretch….
        My hope is that it comes from Bobby Miller, reviving his career as a lockdown reliever. He could be the best Miller this side of Mason.

        1. Freeland is struggling with the bat. He is just not ready yet. Kike would be a better option when healthy. Kim, Edman and Kike come back, Freeland and Dean are back at AAA.

  5. I understand, but Kim, Edman, and Kike aren’t here today. You have to play with what you have, that’s why Conforto keeps playing. And I understand that Betts has been playing well as a SS, nothing spectacular, not a golden glove, but today the team needs him at another position, one where he’s a Gold Glove winner. It’s that or keep seeing Conforto take turns at bat.

    Although it must be recognized that batting has not been the problem, the fact that the team is losing many games is not due to Conforto, the pitching is what has been failing.

    1. I would play Call in LF. Give him a shot. He has little power, but was having a good BA year!

  6. When I was housebreaking my dog years ago I would spread out newspapers to protect the linoleum floor in what was a makeshift playpen to keep her enclosed during the day when I had to go out for a spell. The sports sections of week to ten day old LA Times back in the day were a favorite target of hers to sprinkle and dislodge upon. It occurred to me more than once as I cleaned up the mess how appropriately ironic it was that my beloved friend deposited effluence on the somewhat recent news of the Dodgers highs and lows that had already become largely irrelevant blather. Now, may the painfully irritating facts of the team’s descent into second place (SECOND FRIGGIN’ PLACE!!) behind their arch enemies down South as a result of blowing leads and trotting Conforto out to left field etc. etc. etc. turn out to be just as insignificant. We will soon introduce a new pup into our household and I’ve just renewed a subscription to a certain big city rag that will commence delivery a week to 10 days before her arrival. GO DODGERS!!!

    2. I recently trained my Cane Corso, and we just trained him from the get-go that you cannot go in the house- Period! We have a very large fenced back yard (550′ x 80′), and every morning at 6:30 AM, rain, snow, or shine, I walked him around the fence line, and every time he peed or pooped, I said “Go Poop.” He was crate-trained and never once had an accident in his crate. Within 2 months, he was housebroken and has never had an accident in the house again. I let him out several times a day and say, “Go poop.” He still has a crate (it would hold a tiger), but he is seldom in it. At 14 months and 140 pounds, he allows us to sleep very well. I will either hear him bark or hear someone shoot him. He is amazing! Shadrack!
      Shad-Pool

  8. Didn’t read each comment.
    I’m afraid I TEND to agree with the idea of releasing Conforto but I’m mindful Friedman, Gomes, Roberts & Van Scoyoc see, hear and know more about what’s “wrong” with him than any of us do. There has to be a reason(s) they have not done something before now. Maybe it’s as simple as not wanting to cut a 3rd player after CT3 and Barnesy ? Would it send the message to the roster that, “…you’re all dispensible”. Or maybe they know/see something behind the scenes we all don’t.

    Muncy being in pain is NOT good while Mookie is still scuffling a bit – tho it SEEMS he’s coming out of it. Graterol = BAAD, Kopech = Good and Miller to the pen = ??? Fingers crossed he becomes a successful reliever after failing as a starter Ala Eric Gagne from years ago.
    Trenien is a head scratcher. He’s always thrown a squirrelly ball but now it seems he’s lost his “feel” for where the pitch ends. Vesia? I have no frickin’ idea what’s suddenly become of his control.

    GO DODGERS !!!

    1. Treinen was out for quite a while. He has only pitched 3.2 innings. Give him some time.

      1. Yeah, you’re right. But even when he was “on” his pitches do all sorts of weird things I’m surprised ANY of them land in the strike zone…or near it. But he’s a weapon for sure when he’s right.

  9. Mark, your lineup looks good but Edman hasn’t been playing CF for a while. I assume it’s ankle related. So I’m not sure he’s an option. Kim would be good in CF but lacks the experience and I doubt us an option.

      1. I think that would be next year. Like Freddie he will have to play through it. But harder in the positions he has to play

  11. I agree, Dodgers respond best when their back s are against the wall and their manhood is tested.. Padres are the best medicine, nut cuttin time boys!! Love that Muncy is back,, need his saltiness, I’m thinking he goes deep a couple of times this weekend, dude has some brass ones in big games.

  12. If I’m reading it right, Padres intended King for tonight but is now out. So they move Cease up a day – still with normal rest, OR they pick someone else – Vasquez and his almost 4 ERA?

    Makes me wonder why were they giving Cease an extra day? Did the think he was fading due to fatigue?

    Does this create some space for the Dodgers to jump out to a stronger start in the series?

  13. 10:10 PM ET

    Padres (69-52)
    Dodgers (68-53)

    SP Randy Vasquez R
    3-5 3.93 ERA
    SP Clayton Kershaw L
    6-2 3.14 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    DH S. Ohtani L
    SS Mookie Betts R
    C Will Smith R
    1B F. Freeman L
    RF T. Hernandez R
    CF Andy Pages R
    LF M. Conforto L
    3B A. Freeland S
    2B Miguel Rojas R

    72° Wind 7 mph Out

    NO Max Muncy

  14. 08/15/25 Los Angeles Dodgers designated RHP Julian Fernández for assignment.
    08/15/25 Los Angeles Dodgers claimed 1B Buddy Kennedy off waivers from Toronto Blue Jays.

  15. Tanner Scott (elbow) threw a 22-pitch simulated inning Friday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

      1. AF knows more than us. AF knows more than us, AF knows more than us. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.
        Sorry I lost it for a moment

      2. I don’t get it. Who is Buddy Kennedy and why should Dodgers fans care?

        * Nevermind. I figured it out. Weird, but I figured it out.

  17. Say what you want about an older Kershaw, but this dude is channeling his inner Greg Maddux and has learned to be a pitcher with lower velocity and hit his spots. I am totally amazed at how effective he is , I thought he was going to be shelled this year . What a damn warhorse, the team totally feeds off him, great gritty win.

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