“Opinions are like…” Well, you know the rest, but here’s the difference. Opinions are welcome here, A-Holes are not. At the company I run (US Water Systems), we have 10 “Core Values” ranging from “We Don’t Panic” to “We are fair… but not suckers” to our 10th Core Value which is “We do not tolerate Assholes.” Pardon our French, but there is no better way to say it. Snarky, divisive people have no future with us. I am going to suggest that we live by that here.
People in general, and sports fans (short for “fanatic”) all have opinions based upon their own backgrounds, upbringing, life experiences, and outlook. Some people see the “glass half full” while others see it as “half empty”… and both are right. I am often accused of being a “homer” and seeing the Dodgers “thru rose-colored glasses.” I find that hilarious as I have been doing this blog for about 20 years and have been extremely critical of the Dodgers over the years. Let me mention but a few:
- I was critical of the ownership by the O’Malleys at the end and the Fox.
- I was openly critical about the signings or trades for Jason Schmidt, Andrew Jones, and Adrian Gonzalez. Some fans wanted to fight me for daring to question these deals.
- I was violently opposed to Paul DePodesta as GM and said he was “felony stupid” for not signing Adrian Beltre.
- I hated the hiring of Joe Torre and Don Mattingly and posted a picture of Mattingly “walking the plank” on a pirate ship.
- I was critical of Guggenheim and Company in the beginning and am still not crazy about corporate ownership. I supported Frank McCourt in the beginning because I saw an opportunity for a “little guy” to do some great things. It turns out he was a greedy bastard and a scumbag.
I could go on and on but since the hiring of Andrew Friedman, I have felt that the Dodgers were on the right track. I “got” what he wanted to do from day one and he is sticking to the plan.
“But he hasn’t signed any big-name free agents.” – Fans say that as if it’s a bad thing. The truth is: It’s a great thing! Over 70% of big-name, big bucks free agent contracts come back to bite the team. Remember when Arte Moreno was the “King of LA Baseball” because he signed Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton? Total Dope-Fiend Moves! However, many Dodger fans were moaning and groaning over that: “The Angels are now LA’s #1 Baseball Team,” one fan said.
“But, he hasn’t fixed the bullpen.” – My opinion is that “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” I was against the signing of Kenley Jansen, but we got one amazing year from him, one good year and this year is a mediocre year with a final year on the deal. Most of the relievers fans want to trade for are relievers that other teams have already developed. Everyone wants Felipe Vasquez, who is about the same age as Kenley Jansen was when he got his extension. You never know what you are going to get.
Andrew Friedman is drafting and developing a plethora of arms and some of the ones you least expect may become that “Lockdown Closer.” Let me throw out three names: Dennis Santana, Jordon Sheffield, and Marshall Kasowski. All are destined for the bullpen. All have warts. For example, Kas has an awesome fastball… and little else. What if all of a sudden, he develops a sinker or a cutter? He becomes “Game Over Kasowski.” That has a ring to it. Come playoff time, the bullpen will be fine. I have said it all year long and I stick to it. The Dodgers bullpen is in the TOP 25% in baseball… and will be even better with re-shuffling for the playoffs.
You can see what you believe and sometimes you will see it when it’s not there. Many of you judge a player by his last few at-bats or starts. Kershaw and Ryu have been stellar all year, but in their last two or three starts they have struggled, so you throw out their entire body of work and conclude that how they are pitching today is how they will pitch going forward. If you have been around baseball for any time whatsoever, you would know that is a complete fallacy. In June, July and September, Joe Kelly had a 8.00+ ERA last year but was Light’s Out in the playoffs… and he had to be because of Craig Kimbrel, who stumbled in the post-season.
How about all the Dodger fans who wanted to sign him? He’s has a 5.48 ERA and is back on the IL with elbow inflammation. It’s been whispered for a year that a TJ is in his near future. Theo Epstein built the Cubs the right way, but then succumbed to signing long-term deals and getting aging vets. Crash and burn! Be thankful that Andrew Friedman is building a sustainable model that will put the Dodgers in a position the win every year.
Getting to the playoffs every year is the model. Trading the farm and loading up a “fantasy baseball team” is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. When you get to the playoffs anything can happen. Maybe Kenley won’t close. Maybe it’s May or Maeda or Baez or Garcia. Who knows. All I know is that the Dodgers have the most wins in baseball, the best pitching staff and are one of the best hitting teams in baseball and play good defense. They also have the most depth, top-to-bottom, of any organization.
So, you can say the “sky is falling” and you can moan and groan (it sucks to be you) but you have a right to think that… and voice that opinion… and others have the right to disagree. However, all I ask is that you disagree without being disagreeable. Play nice, my friends!
DC’s 10th Inning
Ogden Raptors 3 – Orem Owlz (LAA) 2
Alfredo Tavarez started for the Raptors and pitched a nice 5 innings on 2 hits, one run and struck out 7. Relievers Mitchell Tyranski, Corey Merrill, Reza Aleaziz and Nick Robertson combined for 4 innings on one run by Merrill. Tyranski struck out all 4 batters he faced.
The Raptors scored a run in the 3rd inning on a Zac Ching single and pushed another across in the 7th inning on an Andrew Shaps double followed by a sacrifice bunt that led to an error and and giving the Raptors a 2-1 lead. Eddys Leonard broke the 2-2 tie with a home run in the bottom of the 8th.
Great Lakes Loons 0 – Lake County Captains (Cleveland) 4
A pair of 19-year-old pitchers squared off in game 2 of the series. Loons left-hander Robinson Ortiz faced Captains right-hander Ethan Hankins who was a first-round selection by Cleveland in 2018 and reputed to have the best fastball in that drafting class. Things didn’t go as expected. Both pitchers left in the 4th inning with the bases loaded and both were bailed out by a reliever leaving the game scoreless. Twenty-year-old Edward Cuello stranded the 3 inherited runners and went on to pitch 3.1 innings on 2 hits with 6 strikeouts. Left-hander Jeff Belge came on in the 8th and after a clean inning loaded the bases on 3 walks in the 9th inning with one out. Yeison Cespedes was called upon to put out the fire but fanned the flames allowing a 2-run single and a ground out that scored the 3rd run. The 4th Captains run came home on a Luke Heyer throwing error.
The Loons offense had 5 hits but struck out 16 times.
The winner-take-all game goers today with right-hander Jose Chacin on the mound for the Loons at Dow Diamond.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6 – Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego) 7
The Quake went down 2-0 in the best of five series blowing a 6-1 lead. John Rooney gave them 5 strong innings on 7 hits, one run and struck out 5. Relievers Darien Nunez, Guillermo Zuniga, and Max Gamboa gave up 6 runs to put the Quakes on the brink of elimination.
The Quakes had scored 2 in the 4th on a Dillon Paulson double and 4 in the 6th including a 3-run home run by catcher Tre Todd.
Andre Jackson takes the hill for the Quakes today trying to extend the series at LoanMart Field.
Tulsa Drillers 3 – Arkansas Travelers (Seattle) 1
Leo Crawford started for the Drillers and went 6.1 strong innings on 4 hits, one run with 7 strikeouts. Luis Vasquez finished up with 2.2 scoreless innings and 5 strikeouts.
One run came home in the 2nd inning as Connor Wong scored on a steal of home that went wrong for the Travelers. They added a second run in the 5th inning on a Jeter Downs single following a Jared Walker single and stolen base.. A 3rd run came home in the same inning on a Connor Wong single.
Downs enjoyed a big night at the plate for Tulsa, finishing with three hits, one run scored and one RBI. Wong and Omar Estevez had two hits each.
The Travelers used defensive shifts throughout the game, and the Drillers used it their advantage. Eight of Tulsa’s 11 hits were to the opposite field.
Markus Solberg goes for the Drillers today at ONEOK Field in Tulsa.
Connor Wong was named the August MiLB Uncle Ray’s Player of the Month for the Texas League. He led the league in eight offensive categories: batting average (.412), hits (40), total bases (72), home runs (nine), RBI (26), on-base percentage (.463), slugging percentage (.742), and OPS (1.205). He put together an 11-game hit streak from Aug. 16–27, during which he recorded seven multi-hit games. In total, Wong put up 13 multi-hit games during the month of August.
Make that Markus Solbach starting for Tulsa today. Sorry Markus. Paying too much attention to Hurricane Dorian heading towards us tomorrow.
Batten down the Hatches and get those hurricane shutters closed. Godspeed!
Good points Mark. I agree about disagreeing without being disagreeable. Makes for a more civil blog.
Be safe DC. Have you received a lot of rain and storm surge from prior hurricanes?
No. we are very fortunate. We get the tail end of hurricanes that come up the coast once in a while. Juan, back in 2003, was the most serious one we have had. This one is forecasting 4-6 inches of rain and 60-70 mph wind gusts. We live a couple of miles from the shoreline so no problem with storm surge. It is relatively mild compared to what the Bahamas and some US states received.
Folks here don’t have any hurricane shutters as there really hasn’t been any need. Our piece of land, about 3 acres, is completely bordered by large ash trees and our driveway is lined with large maple trees. They tend to block out a lot of wind for us when they are leaved out, which they are now.
We expect loss of power but have food that doesn’t need to be heated and lots of water and don’t need heat so we are ready.
Excellent column. Totally agree on the Beltre disaster, made no sense. The signings of Schmidt and Jones (out of shape and overweight) turned out badly. But I was pleased that Jansen was signed. Without him, I’m not sure we win the division those years. Plus I think he can improve this year. The Artie Moreno thing is interesting. The LA media fell all over themselves in praising Moreno, especially after he lowered the price of beer. Plus they disliked McCourt. Then there was Albert Pujols. Best thing that ever happened to the St. Louis Cardinals. His best years were behind him and the length of contract was an absolute killer. But when Moreno had their guy behind some very good drafts fired, pushed for disastrous trades and signings, it led them to where they are now. Moreno is no longer a media darling, although he did sign Trout, which I expected to happen because baseball’s best player really likes SoCal and really had no interest in leaving. You nailed it about O’Malley and Fox. Good article today on in the LA Times about how teams are pitching around Bellinger. Dodgers do need to fix that next year.
Our bullpen will be crucial for us even in the first round. Washington will probably be our opponent. With Scherzer, Strasbourg and Corbin the games will probably be low scoring and close. Their starters go deeper into games than ours so in later innings the matchup will be our bullpen and their starters. That’s a tall order. Who do you trust in those last 2-3 innings? Right now I don’t trust Jansen. We can’t afford to give up any runs. If we can get into their pen then it swings to our advantage. I think it’s a big lift if Hill can start and we can use Urias in the pen. He and Maeda will have to be good in the late innings. That first series will be a dogfight, much tougher than Atlanta last year!
SPOT ON! I love to exchange opinions / comments about the Dodgers and baseball in a reasoned and rationale atmosphere. Opinions that make me stop, and reflect are valuable as they make me think from a different perspective . I may not agree with another opinion, but will gladly debate the pros and cons. For me, name calling serves no purpose other than to incite retaliatory comments. A Dodgers fan for 65 years, I too have had my pro and con moments with ownership, leadership, players, trades, signings, etc., but at the core there is always my beloved “Dodgers;” win, or lose, my favorite sports team — EVER!
Well said SoCalBum. I couldn’t agree more. I really like this sight for the reasons you mentioned. Almost everybody exchanges opinions and information is a civil manner. A couple of bad apples spoiled the barrel yesterday and seem to have a bad habit of doing so frequently. I try to ignore it but it isn’t respectful. Time to move on. Go Dodgers
So well-put SoCalBum. Thanks.
Kenley has definitely been a letdown over the past year but relievers in general have become more inconsistent than ever recently. This is why I hesitate to trade a boatload of players for Vazquez because he could pull a Diaz next year. On the other hand, we have such great depth at most positions that we would be one of the few teams which could afford to do it. I definitely expect AF to revisit talks with the Pirates this winter. I’m hoping they make a change in their front office which might enable Friedman to get a deal which he could live with even though, as I mentioned above, Vazquez could crash and burn after we traded for him.
By the way Mark, you said this about Kenley:
“we got one amazing year from him, one good year and this year is a mediocre year with a final year on the deal.”
Just for the record, there are two years left on the deal after this year although he can opt out after this season. We all know that won’t happen since his next two years will pay him a total of 38 mil.
One can only hope he opts out, maybe upset he lost the sole closer role. Or he could try to punch AF like Antonio Brown did to Mayock-lol!
Nice post today MT.
The San Jose Sharks have hired former LA Dodgers GM Ned Colletti as a scout.
Did not see that coming.
may he fail! Go Kings Go!
You talkin’ bout my team, boy!
Did not know he had a hockey background. Interesting. Might be a good thing for the Sharks.
Guggs is the best Dodger ownership in my life as a Dodger fan. The O’malleys were cheap. Friedman is the best general manager in my life as a Dodger fan. Campanis was ok till he revealed some personal beliefs that were troubling, These are opinions. DR has a chance to be the best Dodger manager if he can win a few WS. An if he doesn’t get fired 1st. This probably says more about the not so great Dodger leadership of the past than how great this leadership is. But this is just an opinion. I got a ton of em on a bunch of different subjects from sports to politics and more. I am an opinionated SOB. If you wanna hear some more of my opinions let me know. I love to opine.
Austin Barnes will rejoin the team tonight as well.
Mark, many of your recent posts have dealt with the civility on the website. I have been reading this site for several years and been posting occasionally the past couple of years. I have never had a reaction to a comment by a poster that would cause me to resort to name calling or criticism regardless of how absurd it might be . After all, we’re opining on a GAME. Sure, they’re are many ups and downs throughout the season. Some amazing, frustrating, head scratching, temporary, but surely not life changing. I have loved baseball and the Dodgers for over 50 years. But, it’s entertainment. To waste time and energy on criticizing, arguing, and name calling is something I just don’t understand. If I disagree or can’t comprehend a comment I just roll my eyes and move on. Some people enjoy avoidable conflict. I don’t. There’s enough in life where you need to deal with conflict or disagreement. This site, fortunately, is not one of them.
Enough of my rant… some Dodgers baseball thoughts.
It’s nice to see that we have some solid prospects for the bullpen in the minors. It’s seems that the front office targeted the bullpen in the last draft along with a couple of possible third base replacements for JT. I think developing your own bullpen from the minors is financially the best way to staff the bullpen. We have seen that there with even the most “successful” closers are not dependable year after year (i.e. Kenley, Diaz, Kimbrel, etc) Even with the recent call ups of Smith and Lux the farm is still loaded with position players. They all are not going to be playing for the Dodgers in the future so what are going to do with them? I think some of them could be moved for starting pitching and/or pitching prospects (i.e. J Gray). It’s just amazing how well the Dodgers develop their players. Position players, check. Starters, check The only area they have not been totally successful is developing the bullpen. I believe that’s about to change.
It’s going to be very interesting on who makes the playoff roster. So many deserving players, but only so few spots available. What a problem to have.
So here’s to a successful playoff and a dominating World Series victory.
I’m now thinking Will Smith the pitcher might not be a good target for the Dodgers this off season as a free agent.
His last 28 days .263 .370 .526 .896
His overall 2019 numbers are still good at .202 .263 .366 .629
But his 2019 splits are lopsided .702 OPS vs RHB and .446 OPS vs LHB. His career numbers are not good.
Remember the new 3 batter minimum rule goes in effect next year. Lopsided splits like that won’t play well starting next year.
And with all that said a desperate GM will probably look at his saves and offer him a contract that the Dodgers shouldn’t try to beat.
Friedman should try to find a few relievers with both 2019 and career OPS stats under .630 with not so extreme splits, considering that new 3 batter minimum rule.
That last paragraph of mine is not so realistic. The OPS stats should read under .650.
Timmons will be in the house tonight.
Rock on!
Ok. I know it wont happen, but if RYU ends up with two more horrible starts ( 5 in a row) I would leave him off the playoff roster.
Interesting thought 50 on Ryu. What a fall that would be going from a Cy Young front runner to being left off the post season roster. But if he isn’t a starter I don’t see his valua in the bullpen with the other guys there. I see that being a dog fight for 9 spots. Hill will be a key if he’s back. I think Gonsulin is next in line as a starter over May who so far hasn’t been successful in the pen, and Urias, depending on the opponent and the lefty / righty matchups. I see May not making it too. Interesting thought we all hope it won’t come down to with Ryu. But it’s a production business.
Like Stripling last year. From an Allstar to left off playoff roster. Perhaps instead of RYU , Urias-Hill for 3 innings or Urias-Stripling
This weekend’s starters: Kersh, Gonsolin, Urias. Buehler being given some extra rest so he’ll go on Tuesday at Baltimore.
And please, can we not discuss the san jose sharks??? yuck!
Ok. Sorry Bobby. I apologize. I am a Dodger fan first and hockey fan second. I am as knowledgeable in hockey as I am in baseball which is not much lol. I live in NorCal now so root for the local hockey team but not at all the local baseball teams. So, Bluto, please disregard my question.
I’m just messing with you. I hate the Sharks, but love the Kings Sharks rivalry; it makes things more fun!
Agreed. Thank you.
hockey is an amazing game. To me, the best game to go watch live.
I’m absolutely stunned at what these athletes can do on the ice.
Long time season seat holder in the pre-Gretzky days. The Triple Crown Line and Rogie. Fun times, mediocre teams. But the price was right.
Wow more hockey fans on here than I thought.
Hanging out in the Forum Club with Glen Frey was always a treat but my greatest thrill was spending an evening with Bobby Orr and speed skater Eric Heiden In Dr. Jerry Buss’s private box.
I just finished reading the LA Times piece by Jorge Castillo in which he credits Brant Brown with stating that Cody Bellinger was “that guy” when he wasn’t trying to be that guy. I absolutely agree with that, and suspect that the Dodgers are doing everything imaginable to make that the case. This is all likely something that relates to Cody’s level of maturity, and his ability to harness that maturity into the productivity that he seeks. Here’s hoping that Cody can pull it off now and/or in the postseason, or whether it will take an off-season of commitment to bring it to fruition? Got to hope it’s the former.
I’m probably not paying close enough attention, if there truly is a very vocal contingent of fans unhappy with Friedman. The Dodgers are about to win their 7th straight division title and I believe they’ve never done that in the history of the franchise. Back-to-back WS appearances and a full stable of promising prospects. We’re winning at a rate last seen since…early/mid Lasorda years? What’s that, like 30-40 years ago? Strap these detractors to a polygraph machine, and confirm if they “really” want to see Friedman replaced. I suspect they’re just having a mad minute, nothing more.
I can send you a link where they all think that.
I agree with Mark about this team being on the right track under Friedman. The oft-repeated idea that you have to make the playoffs then get lucky and/or hot to win it all is probably fairly accurate. Having said that, I don’t think the focus on depth and versatility serves to give us the best chance at post season luck. The edge it gives us over 162 largely disappears in a short series. It’s why many of us feel like the Nats with their “big 3” might beat us in the playoffs. I honestly think that will happen at the moment. But the crapshoot that is the wildcard game may derail them. Fingers crossed.
Some interesting news from Ken Gurnick:
Gonsolin starting tomorrow.
Ryu will be skipped a start.
Walker Buehler is being pushed back two days to give him extra rest and to accelerate Julio Urias’ build up so he can be a starting option.
Roberts confirmed Rich Hill will start Thursday in Baltimore and make four starts before the regular season ends.
Dave Roberts said he believes Will Smith’s offensive slump is mechanical and has been cleaned up.
1) Dodgers will skip Ryu’s next start. The aim is to have him and Buehler start 3 more times before the NLDS
2) Rich Hill will start Thursday in Baltimore (basically a minor league start haha).
Today:
Joc (RF)
Seager
JT
Belly (CF)
Beaty (1b)
Pollock (LF)
Lux
Smith
Kersh
I finally made it. Now for a Dodger Dog…
Those are important injections, Mark! The Dodger Dog!!
Ugh. Seager is batting 2nd would prefer him batting 8th. He almost grounded into a double play 1st time up.
Boy, you really have it in for Seager.
I’m just looking at stats Mark. I like Seager but I recognize that he’s not doing the Dodgers any favor by batting anywhere but 8th right now. If he starts tearing it up against right handed pitching then maybe move him up in the lineup and then if he keeps it up then let him bat against lefthanders. Yes I want him to sit for the time being against lefthanders and think about it.
Again I’m just looking at stats. Taylor is tearing up lefthanders and he can play SS.
And no I’m not one of them that wanted Taylor gone when he was in a slump. I just wanted Taylor and Hernandez and Barnes broken up in the lineup.
Mark,
Ditto on that!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Doc was taking out CK you could read his lips….”already..why?” Look at the freaking line score…99 pitches through 4 innings, with two men on in the 5th, that’s why.
If you want to hear a vintage pitcher/manager exchange check out a youtube video/audio of Tommy taking out Doug Rau in the WS against the Yankess. Tommy was indeed in charge and he let Rau know it. Old school manager that would lead to a player revolt in today’s game, but it’s entertaining nonetheless.
It was classic Tommy.
Tommy would have left Kershaw in though. He didn’t care about 99 pitches.
This is very much like a Kersh playoff game. He throws a ton of pitches, leaves the game early having allowed maybe 1 run, but with guys on base, and the bullpen allows those runners to score.
Yep. I believe something like every inherited runner from Kershaw has scored in the post season. I would have let Kershaw go through Posey before I pulled him. The Floro-Yaz matchup was predictable. Floro sucks vs lefties and once Yaz started fouling everything off you knew what was coming. BB caught Doc unprepared.
“Floro sucks vs lefties”
Yep and that’s why he will be worthless next season with the new 3 batter minimum rule. He’s worthless now with Dave Roberts managing.
I have no problem with CK being pulled. Too many pitches, a very ineffective off speed pitch tonight, in trouble all night (only one of the five innings started did the leadoff man not get on base and the one inning that he did not allow the leadoff man to get on base he allowed a HR).
Probably CK’s worst outing of the year.
2 more inherited runners score (out of 2). Kershaw got out of it every time, but not Floro. Dodgers’ offense doing nothing against the Shark, who has essentially nothing at this point. Awful.
Awful?
Who is this new LF we have?
Who would have guessed that Pollock would hit 3 homeruns, and the Dodgers would score only 4 runs and lose?
None of this is about any particular player. The Dodgers offense, while it’s had some good games, has to a very large degree gone through stretches where it has completely disappeared. Consistency is lacking.
Pollock can be the difference maker in playoffs especially against lefties! But we have a lot of guys right now that need to get back on track for October! Maybe we can hand out more of Ethier’s bats!
Pollock was impressive today. 2 homers against a right handed pitcher, he has struggled against right handed pitchers all season so far, but came up big against the Giants right handed starter. And added another homer against Will Smith the pitcher. As my earlier post today showed Will Smith the pitcher vulnerable against right handed hitting. He’s probably not a reliever the Dodgers should pursue with those 2019 splits.
Too bad the Dodgers didn’t win this game.
Did they deserve to win?
Whether the Dodgers deserved to win or not, it is certain that Max Muncy is missed. And while I am a Gavin Lux fan, I don’t know when he will he will become a force in the Dodger lineup. It could be very soon, or like is often the case, it may have to play out over time, maybe even into next season. Let’s try not to forget that he’s still 21 years old.
Spot on!