Is Help on the Way?

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1. “They’re just built to last,” an NL executive said. “They’re so deep, they can line shift on you, they’re very well-run, and their young guys are already established and really good. It’s a good mix of chemistry there.”

   WOW! They can line shift as in hockey or football or even basketball. Line shift, eh.

   A line I lost in copying from the article was, “They are built to last…” That is always my ultimate goal. Sure, I am dying to win another WS right now but the chances of winning increase exponentially when a team is in a position to compete for the ring year-after-year.

   AF has a multi-pronged approach. He has gained future flexibility by getting the payroll and luxury tax under control but not losing competitiveness. He has done so by astute trades and not signing risky free agents.

   He has built a team that some call deep, but I call wide. The players can be spread out all over the field on a given day. The flexibility acts as IL insurance and allows for players to have days off at little cost to the lineup. It makes it more difficult for opposition teams to prepare for a game against the Dodgers.

   He has traded many prospects, some of whom are doing well, but has not really weakened the farm system. I think the international signings have gotten better and I also understand a bit better why he totally revamped his international scouting team a while back.

   It seems the entire minor league philosophy has been revamped. That is, with consistent emphasis as the players go from level to level, emphasis on the young men as young men and not just ball players. Providing coaches who are capable of doing that and are quite often young coaches. Concern with diet, rest, caution with young arms.

   Has AF made mistakes. Sure he has but a mistake is not as a mistake usually known in advance and is discovered some time later. The big contract signing mistakes over the past few years have been avoided by the Dodgers.

   I would guess that there may be a number of teams that are concerned that the Dodgers organization as presently built is the new normal for the organization. It is built to grow and evolve with safeguards against shrinking and devolving.

2. Well, guess what? I am not going to propose a trade that includes Pederson unless it is to the Portland Rays. So, it will have to be Verdugo and Maeda for Haniger. Maybe return Taylor and Lee to their original teams as well 😉

3. Wild Horse or Bison might be available at deadline ! Joking

   1. love it

4. Is there any concern with LADT readers about Seager’s offensive production to this point? Yes, he’s coming off a season that was lost to injury but he had an entire ST working on the minor league side, in the cages and now 130 PA, second highest on the team behind Bellinger. Shouldn’t he about now be rounding into shape and providing some quality AB’s like we are accustomed to seeing from him? I was excited to see his opening day HR and thought he was exactly what the team needed go get over the hump this year. Since that day just one additional HR.

   He’s #2 in K’s behind Muncy. As a comparison Bellinger has just 16 K’s with 6 more PA than Corey. I could go on about OBP, OPS, OPS+ but suffice it to say, I am a bit concerned. Anyone else share that same concern?

   1. He looks frail and weak. We can’t win a title unless Seager and Turner pull it together!

   2. Corey definitely looks a bit lost at the plate. His fielding hasn’t suffered, though. In fact, the Dodgers are one of the best fielding teams in baseball. Many fans don’t talk much about fielding and what it can mean for the win column. At least we are not losing games due to errors and bad on-base decisions. I remember a few years ago that I criticized Corey for his slumping. He’s got a Bellinger body but has never realized that potential. Don’t know what to think about him at this point except he’s a solid SS in the field. Can’t see replacing him or even thinking about it. Just hope he gets it together sooner rather than later.

      We lose 2 out of 3 to the lowliest of teams and Mark is ranting how great we are. Instead of ranting like a preacher in church about how mighty and glorious Friedman is, perhaps you could spend your time making real appraisals and fixes for this team as it stands. Oh, it doesn’t need any fixing? lol. Well, you did say we need another RH bat. Doesn’t Friedman have a penchant for signing players with past injury issues? Everyone thought the Pollock injuries were freak occurrences. And now, this? Many bad signings by the FO in the last 3-4 years. Is it so hard to admit (not saying Pollock was a bad signing)? Too many others to point to. FO are strong when it comes to numbers and replacements, but real out and out signings of players positionally and on the pitching staff have not worked out so well. We’ll still win our division, but all bets are off for me for anything approaching the WS. At least we’ll have one superstar on our team.

      Krukow said the Giants have always had the great bats and the Dodgers had the great pitchers. Seems somewhat true over my lifetime.

      1. All I can say is as bad as you think it is, the Dodgers are the best team in baseball with one of the best farm systems and are odd-on favorites to get back to the Series this year, but your irrational hatred of Friedman clouds your vision. I really believe you would be ecstatic if the team were in the toilet and Friedman were fired.

         1. Try reading what I write instead of projecting your teenage fantasies of best and greatest and most glorious, and rightest, and everyone else is wrongest views. Boring stuff that you repeat over and over again.

      2. Agree !!!! FO has been good but also many mistakes and signing of injury prone players to big contracts. Why dont get Adam Jones instead of Pollock. Or Kept Puig one more year or trade him for something better or kept the Bison as platoon mentor. Or just get another righty bat instead of giving almost 5 years to Pollock !!!!!!!

5. Progression and recovery is seldom linear. It may take until August. No one knows.

   1. Bring Wild horse back for 2 months and playoff push and clutch home runs in Post Season.

      1. … and tearing up defensive positioning cards, defying coaches and wrecking morale?

6. Signing expensive long term bullpen help has shown to be a total crapshoot and usually with bad results. That’s why Kimbrel is still on the market. The league has wised up. And sometimes the best moves a GM makes are the ones he doesn’t make. Belly for Realmuto, Verdugo plus others for Kluber and signing Harper until forever! You can’t win consistently if you don’t develop and keep young talent and no one has done that better than the Dodgers the last 5 years. We don’t need a rh bat to win the west and Pollock will be back for the end of the season. Hang tight! Now we get to see what Verdugo can do full time

   1. Too bad they couldn’t have made a deal for Bauer. He is the guy I wanted. Cocky attitude and goes out to blow guys away.

7. It’s the end of the world as we know it.

   And I feel fine.

8. I hate days off!

   1. Good day to study up on the farm system. I wrote briefly about the Fangraphs Top 35 prospect list they posted yesterday, focussing on the depth in 2B and RHP in the top 10. Today I’ll mention a few guys whose rankings were somewhat of a surprise or worthy of note:

      11. Cartaya (C)–Physical teenager who draws Sal Perez comps; all the skills needed to succeed; a ways away.
      14. Amaya (SS)–Aggressive ranking here; undersized, instinctive; future utility man?; gets most out of limited tools.
      15. Kendall (CF)/21. Alvarez (RHP)–Both high risk, high variance prospects; really, anything from either would be accepted.
      18. Grove (RHP)–Post-TJS; total package.
      22. Carrillo (RHP)–They say his skills compare with Grove; one to watch.
      24. Vargas (3B)–Feel for hitting.

   2. I bet the players hate them as much as you also Bobby. 🙂

9. Let’s hope Taylor finds a hot streak. Historically, he’s been cold for a month, hot for a month, cold for a month and so on. The Dodgers are very lefty heavy and it shouldn’t be a shock to most that Corey Seager after a year off couldn’t just roll out of bed and hit lefties like he did two years ago. The Dodgers counted on AJ to be the righty bat who would even out the lineup and make up for Puig’s reverses splits the last two seasons. Unfortunately, you can set your clock to AJ going on the DL, IL or whatever they’re calling it now. I’ve said a million times that Pollack looks like the best player in baseball for 30 days every year. Let’s hope it starts in September this year because I’m counting on nothing out of him until then. BTW, both Taylor and Bellinger catch the ball that Verdugo didn’t last night.

   1. Verdugo has a great arm, but he is not a great outfielder. I think Cody needs to move back to CF.

      1. My goodness how valuable is Cody Bellinger? Not only is he doing absolutely everything an offensive player can do, he has the positional versatility not only to move from the infield to the outfield, BUT he can also move within the outfield as well, creating opportunities for other players to be in their best spots and allowing the manager to play the guys he wants. Unreal.

         1. I think everyone is arguing over Apples and Oranges. Good or Great. Verdugo is pretty damned good in the OF and is going to be a Superstar at the Plate. Play him everyday. Pollack should be the 4th OF or platoon with Joc in LF. Belli is can play where he wants at this stage.

      2. The defensive metrics dont support your conclusion, he is currently one of the top defensive OF in baseball, even with that misplay. He had a chance to make a play yesterday but everyone fails to mention that he tried to make that catch with the last bit of light on the field in his eyes, I think the play at the end of the game last night, when he came in on that ball is why I think you’re dead wrong about verdugo not being a great outfielder. Also like I said the #s dont support your claim

   2. I think it disingenuous to say that when you can obviously see from the replay last night that the ball was hit into the only sun exposed spot on the field, if you dont think that made that catch alot harder then you’ve never played in the outfield before. The play he made at the end of the game coming in, Taylor would not have made that play, Verdugo does.

      1. agree with you. Verdugo is a great outfielder, and I”m looking forward to him playing a lot of CF while Pollock is out.

      2. How about the ball he should have caught the night before in RF? Yeah, I know, the wind…

         Have you watched Alex in OKC? I watched him a lot and I will stick with “He’s not a great outfielder.” Cody is a great outfielder. Alex is good! Defensive metrics are somewhat dubious and subjective. I prefer the eye test.

         Insofar as the sliding catch, I think CT3 makes that standing up, but that’s purely subjective.

         1. I agree CT3 would have made that sliding catch. In fact he did make one of those himself either Tuesday or Wednesday

         2. He’s a rookie for Chrisakes! Let him play some games out there, every park is different and has quirks. MT, I’d pay a lot to see your ass running around out there. The OF’s in SF and Denver are really big and hard to play, especially in the gaps or directly over your head.

            1. Agree with Vegas. IF you know San Fran you know it is a crazy place to catch fly balls. As a player, Verdugo, he needs experience playing in SF to understand those wild winds. These guys should have seen Candlestick Park.

10. It’s early but I too am concerned about Seager and Turner. Seager seems headed for the mendoza line and Turners power hasn’t shown up much this season. Seager looks under nourished. IDK… but it is getting kinda problematic.

    1. Besides the bullpen, I think the main thing I am concerned about is our apparent lack of offensive replacements/depth should something [else] happen to a core position player. If we lost a starting guy, I’m assuming our in-house options would be as follows:

       C–Gale/Will Smith [not sure Smith’s ready for anything more than emergency defensive duty]
       1B–Beaty/Rios/Joe [we are fairly well covered here, especially with Freese as our first bench option]
       2B–Castro/Jackson [we are more likely to see Taylor assume the 2b job should Hernandez be injured]
       SS–Same as above
       3B–Rios
       LF/CF/RF–Toles is probably our best/only option to replace an outfielder for anything other than a short term

       I guess this is the one main soft spot of our minor league system: upper level offensive players able to step in and replace regulars. Peters ain’t playing this year; Lux likely won’t; Ruiz is still a full step behind. We might need to plug the gap via trade. Pollock’s injury instantly tests our depth. We need Toles to get his head on straight.

       Conclusion: I expect to see us be very active this season in proactively filling in gaps in our talent BEFORE it becomes a problem. Even though AF talks about not wanting to trade prospects–instead gradually replenishing the minor league pool–we have to be smart about the distribution of our assets come the postseason.

       1. Agree: DJ Peters is not going to be here. Lux neither unless lots of injuries. Ruiz still needs to refine. Will Smith. The thing is, they don’t need another Left Handed Hitter like Toles. That is why Taylor is cutting his own throat. He plays everywhere and if he would just cut down the swing and lose a little power he would be better off.

    2. Dirk C hit the nail on the head with “Seager looks under nourished”. It’s almost like there’s no sunshine in his once jovial rookie baby face. His cheeks seem sucked in not substantially but just not right. I couldn’t find the right word that gives me worry when he comes to the plate but Dirk C did so says the eye test.

       1. Maybe he needs more dairy!

       2. Corey looks like he just got out of hospital. He looks smaller than he was when he first came up. FAWC – my grandson looks remarkably like him facially. Not sick I mean, baby face, same facial structure.

11. I grew up a Dodgers fan late 50’s and 60’s. Pitching and defense. Pitching and defense. As I have said forever, my first Dodger hero was Larry Sherry (and Junior Gilliam) and then Ron Perranoski . Relievers have always been a staple for the Dodgers (and me), and that is why I am always trying to have the FO put together a lock down relief corps, especially when starting pitchers do not go long. As any aside, it was fantastic to see Ryu go a great 8 innings last night.

    As Jeff said above, I want to have the best defensive team there is. For the most part, the team is very solid defensively, and elite with Belly, JT, and Seager. I think Barnes/Martin are plus defensive catchers even if Barnes does not have a great arm. Verdugo has an elite arm, but I am not sure he is an elite CF. I think he can become an elite RF, but right now I prefer to keep Belly’s legs less stressed, and Alex plays a better than average CF. Belly is a superior defensive CF, but the team is better structured with Belly in RF and not have to cover two alleys.

    With respect to Corey. He is in a massive slump and is obviously trying to break out of it on every pitch. It happens. He will find his swing and he will become an offensive force. I know Mark has mentioned the 2018 start of Paul Goldschmidt. Goldy hit rock bottom on May 2, 2018 when he dropped below the Mendoza line. His slash after that game was .198/.320/.355/.675, and that was with 203 PA. At the end of the year, Goldy was at .290/.389/.533/.922. Good players work themselves out of the mess, but they are human and humans tend to press. Corey has gone through 2 significant surgeries, and a lot of physical changes. If he needs the year, he needs the year. I do not think he will need the year.

    1. You promised me he would be healthy. I shall hold you responsible. 😉

       Actually, I too believe he will be fine.

       1. So do I. But I hope he’s just not trying to keep his weight down for fear of losing the SS job. Maybe non dairy isn’t for everyone.

          1. My thoughts exactly! Steak and ice cream baby!

    2. He may also have a metabolism that makes it difficult to bulk up too much. Some people can eat till the cows come home and not gain weight. I do think he is pushing himself back too soon, but if so, he should bat lower in the order. just my opine

12. I don’t expect AF to make any “significant” trades to replace AJ while he is on the IL. It’s not his way. He isn’t a knee jerk decision maker. In fact I won’t be surprised if we don’t do anything at all except bring up some of the MiLB players for depth and to pinch hit and play occasionally. Freese will become the RH bat to replace AJ and Verdugo can hit LH pitchers. We will weather the storm and still likely be in or near 1st place in the division when AJ comes off the IL just in time for the stretch run. Whether you like AF or not you have to admit that he has “built the team to last”.

    1. Probably the biggest “beneficiary” of the injury, besides Verdugo, is Chris Taylor. This is exactly why he’s so valuable to us. He can suck up those at-bats that go missing when a man goes down.

13. 

14. Personally all I ask of the FO is to keep the Dodgers in contention year-in and year-out. Advancing through the play-offs all the way to a WS victory is a crapshoot. I don’t know if any magic formula that guarantees a WS victory. Lots of luck involved.

    1. I hear selling your soul to the devil doesn’t hurt.

       1. I hear having the “best pitcher of his generation”actually showing up doesn’t hurt.

       2. My soul ain’t worth bluebook. Besides, the devil don’t want me, Anybody want to buy a soul real cheap?

15. Dominant pitching sure helps and we haven’t gotten that consistently in October!

16. Corey’s gonna be fine. He needs to put some of that weight back on, maybe start eating dairy again.

    Pollock will hopefully come back before the very end of the year and help us out in the playoffs.

    The FO is definitely going to get some bullpen help if they can, and will be opportunistic in other areas whenever possible. It would be great to get that RH bat, but I don’t see them trading defense with Casty.

    There’s lot’s of options to cover injuries with the myriad of minor leaguers. Lux and Estevez are probably a lot closer than most think.

    The only area of real concern is how many games Doc’s gonna blow for us. Last night was yet another move that didn’t “work out” when Doc was trying to exploit that righty on righty matchup. Because we all know that Urias can’t possibly pitch to Posey because he’s right handed. I don’t see any help on the way in that regard.

    Doc, resist taking out pitchers mid inning especially when they got the guy they faced out.
    Doc, resist bringing in guys cold unless the guy on the hill NEEDS to be replaced.
    Doc, resist taking out a 300+ hitter to bring in a 200- hitter to pinch hit for “handedness”.

    Doc just doesn’t get it. Don’t be a Doc!

    1. I don’t get why Mark is so excited about Casty? Already has 33K’s and a staggering 8 RBI’s. We already have that.

       1. And not much of a glove either, he would be limited to LF.

17. In stunning news, Cody Bellinger named NL Player of the Month for April:

    https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/tim-anderson-cody-bellinger-players-of-the-month

    1. Very stunning news indeed.

18. I’m not worried about Turner. He never hits for power in April.

    1. I agree Hawkeye.
       I wouldn’t even call Turner a Power Hitter. He is a hitter, and only in today’s world do people focus so much on the Home Run. Plenty of other ways to help the team, with 1B, 2B, 3B, Walks. To keep today’s iPhone Fan excited the player has to hit a HR every AB or they stink.

19. Ok, some of you guys are friggin killing me about Pollock, Like Roggin and Rodney were talking about on SportsTalk LA, THIS IS AN ILLNESS, not an injury. Nobody could have predicted it. It’s not a pulled hamstring or a torn ACL, it’s a damn infection. He will out for awhile, but even they are getting tired of the Dodger Doomsday fans calling it a horrible signing. While Pollock is hitting in the low .200’s, and that will change, our boy Puig is hitting .187 and looks like a lost puppy dog. There are at least 3 guys on this site who blasts Mark all the time about how he likes Freidman and what he is doing. Where the hell were you during the McCourt years, when everytime Colletti had a chance to get a Cole Hamels or C.C. Sabathia in his prime, McCourt shot him down. For that matter, how about Depodesta not giving Beltre the time of day and letting him go as a free agent? Or better yet, the bonehead Fox execs who traded away Piazza because he wanted to get paid? And my all time favorite, Claire trading a young Pedro Martinez for Delino Deshields. You are acting like spoiled little kids who didn’t get enough presents under the Christmas tree. Damn, how can you call yourselves Dodger fans if all you do is bring hate and negative vibes? Freidman is the real deal, and this time next year and the year after that we will be once again locked and loaded for a World Series run, because that’s how the team is built. How can you guys hate of Freidman when his rival execs from other teams admire the way he runs things. How about you guys buy a vowel and get a clue that this team is in it for the long haul. If not, the psycho on that other blog would love to have you so you can take turns throwing hate darts at Freidmans picture on the wall.

    1. Epic post! If you consider where the team is without JT, Cory, Muncy or CT3 hitting much yet I think they are in good shape. Cody, Alex and Martin have been pleasant surprises so far. The rotation is getting stretched out and the bullpen is coming around. On bad trades don’t forget trading Carlos Santana because McCourt didn’t want to pay Casey Blake’s pro-rated salary for 2 months. I think Doc is an average manager but Freidman is the real deal.

    2. But his illness was caused by previous injury, therefore, it is re-injured. The man had a propensity for injury or illness and viola, here we are again. He had two decent years at the plate otherwise he is an ordinary hitter. Dodgers went cheap and got another injury prone vet.

       1. Yes, and I am perfectly fine with that. Maybe he won’t play another inning this year, but it’s not a big deal… except in your mind.

          1. I am fine with it also as it gets Verdugo in the lineup. I know you claim him to be only “Good” in the field and unproven at the plate, but so far he has done much more than AJ did for the team…except in your mind.

    3. “buy a vowel and get a clue ” — Love it.

20. Amen Roger.

21. Everything has it’s weaknesses and that’s what baseball is all about. By design if one had an open account to construct a team from all fields through history it might be the best team to ever exist. BUT it wouldn’t be without weaknesses. Finding those weaknesses is as much of the job as constructing and there’s 29 demolition crews and chiefs throwing every monkey wrench they can muster. Good luck! You’re gonna need it! While I don’t write so swell I can read pretty good. Or at least I think so. So here’s my shots at AF. The hardest task he has is pitching. He knows thins and has been finding others in the FO to put faith in. That’s fluid and why he didn’t address the bullpen issues when he first got this gig. I was critical at that time but now see his way to fix his own deficiencies. It’s taking time but it’s getting better every year. The team has all bought into this FO and want to remain a Dodger. That’s BIG! Even though it also means being a Dodger is only for a time so they’re gonna give their almost best till they don’t. There’s no such thing as giving your best as there’s always room for improvement so trying real hard is what we get and that’s great. I’m rattling on and my ADD is going where I didn’t intend. So I best cut before none of this makes any sense. I appreciate roger askew’s comment on McCourt to blame above Colletti. If Colletti had been able to construct a team with no barriers it would of been the best ever.

22. The Dodgers are off to a great start which is wonderful. Cody Bellinger has been the best player in baseball thus far. I felt and said prior to the season that bellinger was due to break out. I must say I never expected him to have this great of a start. He has serious talent no doubt. Kershaw, ryu, stripling are off to hot starts as starters. Buehler not so much and maeda is the weak link in the rotation and would be trade bait if he wasn’t cheap. They have to use urias in the bullpen due to innings but like buehler he is not a reliever.

    I did not like the pollock signing and for good reason. A supporter can spin it any way they want but he is on the injury list. This should be no surprise he is on the list every year. It is not if but when. He seems to be of good character, good defensively, right handed, and a streaky hitter. At best he is an average player to above average who can’t play half a season. I am not making this up check his past 5-6 years. It does not take Einstein to figure this out. This is what I call a McCourt signing. He overpays to run off the competition but when they sign you say well I don’t know how I feel about it. Kelley the same way and the Ryu qualifying offer. What do you think of the signings now? Pollock and Kelly bad and ryu good. It is too early to conclude and I like all 3. But, pollock cannot be counted on, Kelly is improving, and ryu is quality but has been on the injury list once. I would have been happy if ryu signed a 3 year deal but no other team would have paid him 18 million. I am hopeful on Kelley who said the Dodgers were the only team to offer 3 years. I don’t believe pollock will earn his money but he could come back in September and become the streaky player that he is long enough to help us win a World Series. In which case he would become my favorite dodger.

    1. See my above post on Pollack. I agree. Kelly never has been tremendous except against the Dodgers, so they took what they could get.

       Some say trading away Verdugo is a route to improve. I think that is insane. Trade away Toles, Taylor, Maeda, players like that but keep Verdugo on this team, he is too young and too talented.

    2. I don’t see Pollock being much more than a .250 hitter with less HR’s than Joc. Perhaps this is the big opportunity for Verdugo to show what he’s got, to fight for and keep his position as a starter. You can’t take out a player who is solid defensively, runs the bases well, and hits over .300.

       1. I agree. He reminds me of the classic #2 hitters of the past. Not great power, but solid contact hitters.

23. If Stats hold up the Tampa Bay Rays will be our competition in October. And if their Pitching is for real, we better be ready with ours.

24. Anyone know what happened to Jeren Kendall? He’s not been in Rancho’s lineup for quite a while now.

    1. I know, sometimes it is difficult to find info on these guys.

    2. He’s on the IL. Brayan Morales is getting a lot of play time. No power, but he has 18 SB and only 2 caught stealing.

25. Some of you still don’t get it. I feel really bad for you…

    I simply don’t know what to say so that you can understand.

    We are the frigging best team in baseball, with or without AJ Pollock!

    He was just a piece, not a solution.

    He’s owed $60 million over 5 years, which is about what Bryce Harper makes in a year and a half. He is low risk, high reward. Are some of you really this stupid?

    You are just pretending to be this stupid, right? It’s a joke right?

    1. Who said anything about Harper? Calm down Mark.

       Pollack just seemed like a panic signing after everyone was gone and the Dodgers were left looking like chumps.

       I personally, like I said, prefer Alex Verdugo over AJ Pollack and now we get that chance. Give the young talent a chance to shine and keep shining for years, instead of plugging in holes with broken down older players.

26. I disagree Hamchuck with your take on Pollack. He was not a panic signing, Freidman does not roll that way. Freidman gave Puig 6 years(once again, the Dodgers FO preaching patience almost to a fault) to pull his head out of his ass and be a consistent player. Do the research on this blog the past two years. Check out how many guys were so pissed off with Puig’s up and down moments, one minute hitting a home run, the next moment trying to hose a guy at 3rd base in a crucial moment while the guy with the base hit takes 2nd. And now some of you guys think trading Puig was a huge mistake. If anybody out there wants to talk some baseball, you guys need to take some time and listen to what the real baseball guys are saying. Colletti, Nomah, J-Hair, Hershiser, they love Pollack, the guy plays the game the right way, and can carry a team when he is hot. Puig, one of my favorite players, was a boom or bust kind of guy, and he played like his emotions dictated. Colletti had a great point, he said Pollack is pressing because he wants to impress his new team and prove that he is worth the contract. We will see the real Pollack during the stretch run in September and October, and I will gladly give you a bottle of ketchup to eat with your crow. This guy is legit, give him a chance.

    1. Roger,
       I did not think twice about the Puig, Kemp Trade. That everyone in Baseball saw it as the gateway to Harper was not false. It didn’t work out. But Pollack there were other choices better than AJ.

       This topic has been discussed from here to the moon and people will still feel the way they feel. Salary Dump, Player with Ego Dump, Old Dude Dump, whatever, the Dodgers left a big hole in the Outfield. Did they make it Superior??? In one way, I say Yes with Alex Verdugo playing. AJ Pollack was a stretch with being injured all the time and not being a superior hitter to either Puig, Kemp, Verdugo or might I say Harper. The outfield did not improve dramatically. Mark keeps thinking every one on this site moans about Harper. That isn’t true. I said earlier, if it would have been Willie Mays, I would have signed him in a second. Who in there right mind passes on Willie Mays Generation Talent. Was Harper?? No. But the Dodgers DO need to open the wallet once in a while to sign a Big Talent. Perhaps, resigning Machado would have been that.

       One could also say Harper is pressing in Washington to live up to the roll. As is Puig now in Cincy. This comes with high expectations. Aside from Harper issue, was the Pitching and was not improved. Kelly??? No. A lot of talk was about Kluber and Bauer. Bauer was the player I liked and still do. But in the Off-Season, they really did not improve themselves much and it is over now.

27. Machado wasn’t a fit for Dodgers. Who was a better sign than Pollock?

    1. DJ LaMahieu. Better hitter, RHB, and GG fielder. Hernandez could have been our CF. Friedman thought that Pollock would bring more power and speed. In my mind, this was a real misjudgement of talent. I had DJ penciled in at the end of 2017 as a player I thought the FO would definitely scoop up in FA. A solid dude.

       1. Pollock has a much higher ceiling the DJLM and plays GG defense in a position of need. Lux will be with the MLB club in, what?, a couple of years? You only need a place holder at 2nd until Lux makes it. The Dodgers are thin at prospects in the pipeline who are true CFs and did need that RH bat.

28. The Dodgers needed and still need two more good righty bats who play good defense and add to the clubhouse. That is why I wanted to load up a truck full of prospects for Realmuto and Haniger. Pollock was a good signing if Seattle and Miami wanted too much for those players. We don’t know.

    For the purpose of saying something that might get CT3 going again, I hereby have given up on CT3. Maybe Toles should use the next 2 months to become a righty bat.

    Machado was a fit and Turner could have moved to first base or second base. Machado could have played second base for a year before moving back to third. If the Dodgers had signed Machado it would have made it more practical to trade both Muncy and Taylor.

    1. We pretty much know that Haniger would’ve cost a bundle. He is their core positional player.

       1. Yeah, it’s the same thing with the guy AC likes from Texas. If a team is rebuilding, they’re willing to shed the contracts of older, expensive players or players who aren’t under team control. If a team is rebuilding or, the less extreme option – retooling (which I think you can conclude both Seattle and Texas are doing), why on Earth would that team trade a proven elite player who is young, cheap and under team control for unproven prospects? You know what you call an elite player who’s young, cheap and under team control for several years? A unicorn. Those are exactly the players those teams hold on to and build around.

          It would be comparable to a GM calling Friedman and asking, “So, we got a few prospects we can trade you for Cory Seager. You interested?”

          “LOL!” *click*

          …and Realmuto is not an elite framer, which is a deal breaker.

       2. I was willing to pay that bundle.

    2. NO Bums, DJ was the one that got away from this team. Our need was strongest at 2B. Plus, Machado is way overrated and overpaid. He did not fit with this team in any way and the FO knew it.

       1. An 8 year contract for Machado was probably within the acceptance criteria. I don’t remember any clubhouse issues with him. He hustled when hustle was needed and maybe should have hustled more on routine outs for show. His relaxed nature made him a better hitter and fielder and it is hard to turn that on and off.

          Would the Dodger culture, Roberts, Turner, Koufax etc made him less of a dirty player? Who knows, but after a year, he would still be tradeable.

          Pollock and LaMahieu are not the righty bats that Machado and Haniger or Machado and Realmuto are.

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