The Dodgers Miss Yasmani Grandal

Posted By on April 12, 2019

Well… at least the pitchers do!

All that most Dodger fans remember about Yasmani Grandal were the passed balls.  He was regaled, reviled and ridiculed by many fans.  “Sure he hit a lot of home runs, but they were in streaks and he struck out too much even though he had a good on base percentage.  And on top of that he just disappeared in the playoffs last year”. 

He was a free agent this past winter and the Dodgers made him the qualifying offer, which he declined, thus ending his time in LA.  The Dodgers minor league pipeline is full of catchers and there was no way he was going to get a long-term deal from the Dodgers.  I think the Dodgers may have hoped he would take the qualifying offer, but he did not.  It turns out he might have been better off if he had of taken the offer. But, I digress…

Fans look at the passed balls and lose their minds, but consider that Yasmani Grandal caught Dodger Pitchers while they threw to almost 4,300 total batters last season, which is almost 18,000 pitches and only 9 of them were passed balls.  NINE! If that seems like a lot, you are crazy.  That is a tiny number when you look at it from that perspective.  You could live with that if you had to.  Of course, the Friedman Hater’s loved to point to those passed balls.  After all, it was that damned Friedman who traded for him in the first place. They take every opportunity to create fictional scenarios in their tiny little pea brains to manufacture reasons to hate Andrew.

Someone wrote yesterday “This front office is blind to trades.” Have you seen how many trades have been made by them… how many minor league players have been traded away? The Dodgers lost Seager last year and went out and traded for Manny Machado (who did not live up to his press clippings, but helped the Dodgers get to the World Series). The Dodgers have been very active in the trade market since Friedman arrived… probably the most active. That’s the kind of pure irrational fiction that drives me crazy! You might want to “fact check” that. Back to Yasmani…

But, Yasmani’s passed balls were something else in the post-season, as we all remember.  It’s too bad because Yasmani is a good guy.  Here’s the other thing:  Dodger pitchers loved to pitch to him.  Zack Greinke called him “the best catcher I ever had.”

Right about now, the Dodgers miss Yasmani Grandal’s defense and game-calling.  I am sure that as the year wears on, they will become more familiar with Russ Martin and settle in with Austin Barnes, but I think some of the slow start by the pitching staff is simply not having Yasmani Grandal.

I was a big Grandal supporter, but he never quite lived up to my expectations.  Before the trade, I had identified him as a potential “break-out player.”  That is someone who I believe could be an All-Star… and he was once, but simply while his highs were high, his lows were lower… and lasted too long.  It was time for him to move on and maybe in Milwaukee he can reach the level of success I envisioned for him.

Right about now, the Dodgers miss his in-game leadership.  He called a good game and snatched balls and turned them into strikes. Right about now, the Dodgers miss his pitch framing.  Yasmani may have really bloomed under RVS.  That, we will likely never know, but Van Socyoc could have been good for him. 

The Dodgers are going to be fine, but its going to take a month or two for the pitchers to fully adapt to Martin and Barnes… and God help us if Rocky Gale stays more than 2 weeks!  I’d rather see Will Smith and DFA Gale. Smith is off to a good start at OKC.

By the way, the Milwaukee pitchers are still learning Yasmani too.  He has a Catchers ERA of 6.84 so far, but is off to a hot start, OPS’ing over 1.000. We shall see him tonight. Good Luck, Yasmanian Devil… but just not this weekend.

By the way, I have to acknowledge that one of the boldest, out-of-the-box moves made by any GM this winter was the hiring of Robert Van Socyoc as hitting coach. That bold move may pay off in spades… the jury is still out and this is still baseball.

Other Dodger News

  • Corey Seager will be evaluated after he took a pitch off his hamstring. I would think he might rest a couple of days just to make sure it is healed. That would seem to be the prudent course of action.
  • The Dodgers need to play CT3 until he gets his swing back. They had too many “all or nothing” players and CT3 is one along with Joc. Chris has good trade value if he can break out of this slump. It’s possible both CT3 and Joc could be traded. Alex Verdugo is showing a lot of signs that LF should be his.
  • Joc is growing on me, but the Dodgers need to find PT for Verdugo. It’s as simple as that. I would lead him off every game.
  • In case you missed, the Orioles returned Drew Jackson to the Dodgers… he’s back!
  • Is this Kike’s break out year? I have been predicting it for two years. Maybe this is it. Peter Gammons and the Dodgers think so. Read the story in The Athletic if you are so inclined. It’s a great read by Gammons.
  • Muncy made an error at 2B yesterday and the naysayers blame Doc. Everything is his fault because that is your worldview. It’s also fiction, but hey… everyone likes a good book. Last I saw, Muncy had a glove and should have fielded that ball cleanly, but he took his eye off of it. Yeah, that’s Doc’s fault.
  • The naysayers are out en mass right about now. When the Dodgers were 8-2, I told you there would be valleys. Don’t lose your minds people. Have you seen what is going on with the Yankees, Cubs and Red Sox? Red Sox Starters have a 8.79 ERA while the Dodgers are bad at 4.57.
  • The Nats who went after bullpen help last winter, have a bullpen ERA of 7.79 while the Dodgers are bad at 5.37.
  • The Dodgers are 8-6 while the Brewers are off to a”fast start” according to some with an 8-5 record. Perception can be your deception.
  • Keep sane my brothers and sisters. It’s going to be just fine. Watch and learn!
  • I am writing this from Brooklyn, New York as I spend the weekend with my oldest son.

Minor League Report

  • OKC was postponed due to the blizzard that we experienced in Denver Wednesday. It was 80 on Tuesday, 22 Wednesday night during the blizzard and 44 yesterday when I flew to NYC. Crazy!
  • Tulsa lost 9-8 as Alvarez was lit up again. He has a 14.73 ERA. Are they trying to prove a point? Ruiz and Peters continue to struggle while Lux, Walker and Santana are shining. Lux, Santana and Walker all had 2 hits.
  • Rancho Cucamonga lost 9-8 with Kendall getting a hit and stealing a base. He is hitting .214. Nick Yarnall hit a grand slam in the loss.
  • The story of the night was Josiah Gray who (except for an error) fired 5 perfect innings last night. His stuff is already at AAA level. If he can keep that command, look out. GL lost 2-1.

This article has 66 Comments

  2. I hope you’re right about CT3, but I have my doubts. He lead the NL in K’s last year and has a 30+% strikeout rate so far after 14 games. His defensive versatility, as a late game defensive substitution, is terrific but his usefulness as an offensive piece as a regular or as a PH is questionable.

    Sure, he’ll run into a ball once in awhile, but is his contact rate must improve enough where he’ll be counted on for a productive AB or just a “wing and a prayer” that he’ll put a ball into play? I love his grinder attitude, his versatility and his unassuming demeanor that strikes me as a “team first” kind of guy, but his offensive game leaves me wondering if he doesn’t “flame out” as a potential everyday player. RVS must work his magic or we’ve seen the last year of CT3 in a Dodger uniform.

  3. Aside from Kelly and Garcia from opening day roster, the Dodger pitchers have had games called by Barnes for quite awhile ( particularly in post season). Not sure he is the problem.

    Beuhler’s issue seems to be control. His start this year reminds me of when he was first brought up. Some signs of brilliance but lacking command. Some have suggested he’s hiding an injury but I wonder if the shortened spring is (hopefully) the main culprit

    1. Barnes if anything is a better framer than Grandal, not weaker. I haven’t read anything about his pitch calling other than he implements the game plan.

      It wasn’t just passed balls Grandal was experiencing; he also didn’t catch throws home. In any case, with Smith and Ruiz coming up and Barnes a decent bet to make a comeback, there was no good reason to sign Grandal to a three year contract.

      It is way past time to stop including Joc as a all-or-nothing hitter. He has reduced his strikeout rate every year and clearly he has a much more controlled swing this year. He is evolving and our thinking of him should as well.

      Taylor controls two of the nine zones. He is a great athlete and plays intelligently. He seems less and less as a regular and more and more as a utility player. Maybe he should try being more of a Butler type player and bunt more and slap the ball around more.

      Maeda is needed in the bullpen.

    2. What are you talking about Mushers? Bueller pitched in one Spring Training game and not one pitcher pitched more than 5 innings this Spring. Their struggles obviously have nothing to do with that because the manager has a good win loss record, so it must be because Grandal is gone. The Brewers starters are 26th in the league in ERA after all. They must love pitching to him.

      Only 10 more games until an off day. Who the heck is making the schedule? Last year we had 5 days off in April, this year 2 days off. Maybe try sprinkling off days consistently throughout the season?

      The starters aren’t going deep because they weren’t built up in Spring Training. The bullpen is over worked because the starters aren’t going deep and because they use guys when they don’t need to. 3 Starters on the DL, we’re lucky we even have a winning record. Everything will stabilize when our Starters come back and start pitching deeper into games.

      Yimi is on thin ice. No options and no results. Baez is overworked, most games and most innings out of the pen. Kelly is the poster boy for why Friedman doesn’t want to spend money on relievers. Not too many closers are willing to sign to become Jansen’s setup guy.

  4. I actually think Zack Greinke’s best catcher was his agent…
    Barnes to blame for our front line pitching??? I think not!!! You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil always has to be lead!!!
    I wasn’t really thinking about Grandal and well, I don’t care… Gone and went…
    Back to home cooking and the Ravine for my Blue… An elixir??? I hope so!!!
    Muncy anywhere other than 2B, Belli to 1B where he and his gold glove belongs and as I’ve said ad nauseum, Verdugo in the OF and yep I like the lead off thoughts…

      1. They can if you move Bellinger to first and accept some defensive struggles with Muncy at 2base. I think it’s worth doing to get Verdugo more at bats.

        1. But that leads us to choosing Muncy over Kiké at 2B. With Seager questionable for a bit with his leg, Kiké could be at SS over Taylor. Otherwise I would choose Kiké over Muncy to play at 2B (quality bat and GG defense)

  5. I am not implying that I want Grandal back but catchers have a big role in pitchers success. I think Martin and Barnes will be fine. There will be an adjustment period however.

    It is true that it is by design that Dodger pitchers are held back in spring training. That is an organizational edict. Not on Dave.

  6. I think they blew it by not having regular ST for the starting pitchers too. They needed to get in sync for the season, and they are looking bad because they weren’t allowed to. With the number of starters available, they could give more off days to the rotation during the season and preserve them for the playoffs. You need a good foundation to build on, and ST is the time to lay that foundation.

  7. Mark,

    Your writing really suffers when you are not seeing the Dodgers the way they really are. You want to hold on to images that are distorted by the romantic notion of greatness and success and the power of your so-called ‘positive thinking’. For some reason, you feel obligated to spin your view to your following and dismiss those whose view may differ. That’s your right, but it doesn’t make you right. Grandal is only a figment of your imagination at this point. A memory that is already distorted by the simple act of reflecting on it. Reflection is never the same as reality. Having some balance is about letting those memories go wherever they go to, which is nowhere that can be known or seen. It’s all a fairy tale that we tell ourselves. We love to tell a story that makes us feel good.

    The pitching sucks!! No catcher in the world is going to change that. Grandal couldn’t change anyone including himself. Look at the pitching last year. Same group. Maybe you forget that Barnes was the backup. Were they responsible for the injuries, the loss of command of many pitchers, the meltdown of Woods & Stripling? And, you must think that the duo of Barnes and Martin is inferior to Grandal and Barnes of last year?

    Do you want us to keep a list of your pronouncements that didn’t come about? Wouldn’t that be interesting and it would probably get a few laughs. The Dodgers have a good team they just need to address some issues that the FO has not addressed so far. They are going to win a lot of games but I doubt they win the WS based on what they don’t have, a solid pitching staff. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want them to win the WS, it means I want the FO to wake up and ACT!! Do something that most of us fans want instead of tinkering on the computer and eating stats and metrics for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Get us some healthy pitchers with talent. If they ain’t healthy, even the most talented won’t be able to help. The lesson is still not learned.

  8. and another thing…….every staff has their share of injuries but good gawd are our guys made of porcelain? CK with a shoulder injury, Hill with a bum knee, Ryu with a bad groin, Buehler with a squawking shoulder in ST (which kept him from getting stretched out) . Everyday at about 4:30 I check to see who’s next for the IL.

    I support the FO, I support Doc and I want the Dodgers to win big time, but expecting better results from Baez, Garcia is the definition of insanity. Last year the big BP acquisition was Koehler and Alexander. Koehler never pitched in a game and the results for Alexander were suboptimal.

    This year the big BP acquisition was Kelly and so far the results have been abysmal. He can turn it around but the blind loyalty to Friedman as if he is a savant is confounding. Has he done a good job?……..sure. Is he in class all his own?………hardly!

    1. By BP, do you mean Bull Pen or Batting Practice? The latter is a good description for Kelly.

  9. A couple of years ago Theo was a genius. Look at the Cubs now. They are calling for his firing in Chicago. Every GM makes his share of mistakes, but Friedman’s model is sustainable year in and year out. The Dodgers are 8-6, not 4-10. I don’t get your panic and fear at this moment. This is baseball. I will feed your words back to you at the appropriate time for you to munch on.

  10. Jeff, you’re saying we don’t have any talent in our starting 5-6 when healthy??? Another example of the opioid crisis…
    M.T. you turned the lights on and they scurry about…
    Honeycutt has got to be next…

    1. Peter, I am saying you can have all the talent in the world, but if the pitchers are not healthy, it all flies out the window. The pitching staff needs to be upgraded. You have starters like Urias, who are not really starters, just subbing till the real starters get healthy. The problem remains that our starters do not remain healthy. This cycle has been happening for too long.

  11. I am just going to write this last series off, because it didn’t start on a high note, after Ryu wasn’t able to go more then two innings.

    And because of that, and the series before in Colorado, I am not going to put to much judgment on the bullpen.

    But I still think the key is to have our starters pitch deeper into a games, but I also know right now, our starting staff, is not where I thought it would be at this point with Ryu out.

    And I don’t have a lot of confidence in Kershaw, because of his velocity issues, and the fact he worked out all off season, to try to gain more velocity, which I thought was a losing proposition, but that is water under the bridge right now, so we will see.

    I might be wrong about Kershaw, maybe he will surprise me.

    Like I said at the top, I am looking at this next series with a clean slate, and let’s see what happens in tonight’s series.

    But I do agree with 59, I wish Roberts would be a little more judicious with our relief pitchers, and don’t use just one pitcher, for one hitter for a match up, because our pen is over worked as it is.

    2. Good attitude MJ! How the team responds to the last series coming home to face a team with revenge on their minds will be a test of the players will to win and Doc’s ability to motivate them. The pitcher tonight has allowed 3 HR’s in both of his starts this year against Urias who is primed for a big effort. The next 2 games who knows what the starters look like?

      Having said that I agree with both 59 and Jeff to an extent that the team could have done more in the off season and in ST to better prepare and this has been a consistent theme every spring. The minor league season has barely started, guys are dropping like flies and Doc doesn’t have buttons to push but he is still pushing them anyway.

      I was advocating guys like Buchholz and Adam Jones when they were unsigned so late and both got what $3M plus incentives? A RH OF bat and an innings eater for cheap is what good teams do. Their RH OF subs were CT3 and Kike and one is playing 2B this year. Now CT3 goes to SS? Time to see if Verdugo can hit LHP because Joc can’t and won’t get the opportunity anyway. We all want the same thing just have different takes on how they get there. This team will be fine over the long season but a lot of what’s happening now was predictable and preventable.

  12. MJ – My local high school teams teach starters the quality start crap-ola…
    The pen rules in the minds of most…
    Back in the day could you see a manager stroll out to the mound after six strong innings and ask for the ball from Drysdale, Gibson, etc. etc….

    1. Peter

      The balance is definitely different in this age of baseball, with starters and relievers.

      Maybe they will find they should change that balance back to the starters a little more, because there is definitely an in balance right now.

      1. 59

        I have always liked the exchanges that Tommy had with his pitchers, when he went out to the mound.

        I still remember when he first joined the team, as the third base coach too.

        1. Me too. I remember pitchers getting pissed when he asked for the ball. It’s just sad that complete games are becoming unicorns.

  13. What a bummer the STL series was!!! But when the the going gets tough, the tough get going… That being said, I have brought down from the attic my beloved Hawaiian shirts… Removed them from their shirt bags, soon I will be wearing them daily basis… The magic of So-Cal!!!
    They make my mood ring bright and take a few years off my ancient status… I will don the aforementioned shirts to my first Rancho C. game tonight..
    Anxious to see this 20 y.o. Carrillo pitch…
    P.S. I truly hope the Midwest snow storms get the hell out of Dodge soon.. It’s summer and time for baseball…

    1. I hear that about the weather.

      To tell you the truth, that series meant far more to the Cards, then us.

    2. I met my wife in my slick Magnum P.I. Hawaiian Shirt. I thought I looked cool and she thought I was an undercover cop.

  14. Sometimes you get hurt by signing Free Agents like Heyward, Morrow, Darvish and Chitwood. Imagine how good the Cubs could be without those boat anchors. There is talk in Chi-town that Theo may blow it up… again. Friedman’s formula is going to keep the Dodgers competitive every year. He is not perfect, but I have been hearing this negative crap since Friedman was hired and it was BS then, just like it will be BS now. Be sure and pile on me now, but I will be on you like stink on a goat later.

  15. There was a time when pitchers like Koufax, Drysdale, Gibson would pitch 300+ innings and start every 4th day. They threw hard but could have thrown harder and they didn’t have long mega-million dollar contracts. Pitchers now are taught to get closer to max effort whether it be for 5 or 6 innings for starters or 1 inning for relievers and owners want to protect their mega-million dollar long-term contract investments.

    Teams that reach the World Series find themselves playing up to 19 additional games and those games are pitched with additional intensity. Those teams should not push their pitchers in Spring Training. As I remember a young Hamels pitched for Philadelphia’s World Series teams and he didn’t do well the next year.

    A World Series team needs to survive April and hopefully allow pitchers to miss a start or two during the following season. Some pitchers do not have a great history and when they have problems in April they are suspect. Garcia, Kelly, Baez fall into that category.

    The Dodgers have a few prospects that can wind up in the bullpen later this year and two between Maeda, Stripling, and Urias will add strength to the bullpen when Kershaw and Hill return. Should the Dodgers have traded for bullpen help when they have so many options when Hill and Kershaw return? I would rather wait until we better understand what we already have in-house. And that is coming from yours truly Off-Season-Trader-In-Chief.

    1. Bums,

      You are a freaking Genius!

      Well said! Actually, like Pete said: DAMN WELL SAID!

    2. Ok Mark I will take the first shot, when you are trying to accomplish the almost impossible- making three World Series in a row, you have to do more then we did in the off season. The baseball gods expected a better offseason from us and we fell way short and actually lost more then we gained. To think we could add Kelly and Seager and drop Machado, Kemp, Puig, Grandal and Wood and be better is not correct thinking and not positioning us for an historic accomplishment. I understand the long view but when you are a team with infinite resources, the long view can still be accomplished while also taking a chance on a big signing as well. And adding some cheap fliers, the previously mentioned Adam Jones or Clay Bucholtz or another pitcher.

      I don’t believe Friedman accurately assessed our pitching and until it improves I will continually restate my current position. He should have known our young promising arms were still at least a year away, that our entire starting staff was either injury prone or on innings restrictions or both. Knowing this he should have made more moves.

      Furthermore he should have also known we have no innings eaters and a manager with an itchy trigger finger when it comes to starters and tried to at least build super pen. The pen last year was slightly above average last year and looks worse this year. His one addition is a bust so far but I commend him for at least trying in terms of the Kelley signing, in fact he should have added two more Kelley’s almost assuring at least one to two solid bullpen additions. We had the money and I don’t want to hear otherwise.

      1. I will argue the other side: The Dodgers could have done more like Theo did and they end up like the Cubs. A great farm system that continues to deliver trumps dope-fiend trades and lunatic free agent signings. Theo found out the hard way. 14 games in and the Dodgers have one of the best records in baseball and everyone is losing their minds? You have seen this same movie the last two years. You still haven’t learned…

      2. Who says we aren’t better. Don’t you remember last year’s start? Plus, we would have 2 more wins if Doc didn’t pull Urias and Strip for no reason. And with a little luck at all, we should have one at least one of these Cards games.

    3. But Koufax, Drysdale and Gibson also pitched into the playoff and world series and did pretty well. I just tend to believe players are pampered due to guaranteed contracts. Plus these younger boys are far more delicate then us older guys.

  16. Bum – Damn well said…
    I can’t wait to see Gonsolin and company join the fray…

      1. Not the word I would use for Gonsolin. If anything he could be a late-bloomer.

  17. Mark – I’m not so sure that I miss Grandal. Maybe the Grandal of 2016, but definitely not the 2017, 2018 version. The Barnes and Martin combo, while no elite, are certainly serviceable until the young guns arrive.

    It just might be that the Farmer trade was not a salary dump. Small sample size, but Gray and Downs are definitely looking like keepers!

  18. Mark

    There is an article in the LA Times I think you, and everyone would enjoy, by Houston Mitchell.

      1. DodgerBlueMom

        I thought he did a good job putting everything in perspective, for all those people Mark talked about, that have been losing their minds.

    1. Good to see Corey back in the lineup. Need a big game from Urias and the bats to wake up on this RHP.

  20. Given the fact that Gonsolin wasn’t drafted until 2016, he might qualify as being precocious, even though he will be 25 in May.

    Good to see that Verdugo is in the lineup. Hope he gets to stay there,

  23. It was nice to see that Grandal got a good ovation. I wasn’t sure if people would cheer him or not

  25. So it is early, but it seems that Losing Grandal was a big mistake Mark. Not only to our pitching staff as you write about, but his bat. Yes Barnes and Martin have played well, but something tells me that they won’t keep it up all year. I was not one of those fans Booing YG for his passed balls last year. He is one of the highest rated Catchers in Baseball and AF let him go, simply because we have a ton of Catcher in the basement ready to pull out of the pantry.

    Another thing. What about sitting AJ once in a while? If his production starts to slip, will the Brass consider an outfield of Joc, AV, and Belli?

  27. 19 men LOB. Kind of looking like memories of last year, except for a few players. Come on Dodgers.

  28. My point was well represented again. Pitching sucks. Urias gives up 5 ER’s in 5 innings. This looked like a repeat of the last game in St. Louis. HR here, HR there. See saw lead and the BP collapses once again. Same pitchers, same mistakes. How can anyone blame these losses on the offense? Dodgers are hitting well.

  29. I like Urias a lot but he is not getting ahead in the count enough and is not finishing off hitters with 2 strikes. He shows flashes but is not consistent yet. The team ERA is at 5.00! Maeda, Strip and Buehler have had trouble with consistency too. Kershaw on the way back but you have to figure he’ll need a couple starts to be stretched out. Hill is behind him, ready for a rehab start or two. Ryu, who knows when they ramp him up or how long he is out. The rest of this month is going to be choppy results I’m afraid. On the bright side the bats are waking up again and pitching help is on the way.

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