Are the Dodgers Doomed?
NOTE: We are running two blogs today. This one and the MiLB Blog by Jeff.
The six losses in a row were embarrassing, but last night's game was more than embarrassing. It was humiliating! The Dodgers were 11-0 against Merrill Kelley, who allowed nearly six runs a game against them. Last night, he held them to one run. Then the Dodgers got two runs off Taylor Clarke, who makes $1.5 million, and Brandyn Garcia, who makes the MLM minimum. After Roki Sasaki pitched a solid game, giving up just 2 runs in 6 innings, Edguardo Henriquez (MLB Minimum guy too) shut down the D-Backs in the 7th inning... with the Dodgers clinging to a 3-2 lead.
In the 8th inning, Tanner Scott ($16 million) needed 24 pitches to retire the side with bases loaded. Then, Edwin Diaz (best known for cockfighting and his 11.00 ERA) and his $14 million salary came in and promptly gave up a 2-run home run to win the game for Kevin Ginkel ($2.7 million). For one, I am ashamed to be a Dodger fan. The Dodgers were beaten like rented mules! Seven losses in a row is pathetic.
I liked what Andrew Friedman did in Tampa Bay... he did more with less. When he came to LA, he started out doing the same thing, but over the last few years, the Dodgers have become "pigs" and pigs get slaughtered. Andrew Friedman is now doing less with more! Here is how the Dodgers rank against every other team in baseball with the Luxury Tax included:
The Dodgers' payroll and Luxury Tax are more than double what the D-Backs happen to be. Maybe you would enjoy watching the Lions and the Christians in ancient times in an arena, but I'm not into that. The Dodgers are pigs and pigs get slaughtered. Let's look at what they are paying certain players:
Mookie Betts .233 BA/.682 OPS - $30.4 Million
Kyle Tucker .244 BA/.719 OPS - $57.1 Million
Teoscar Hernandez .252 BA/.727 OPS - $19.9 Million
Blake Snell - 0-1/12.00 ERA on IL - $31.3 Million
Tyler Glasnow - 3 Wins, on IL - $27.3 Million
Edwin Diaz - 1-1/11.00 ERA - $21.1 Million
You have to be a certified moron to pay that amount of money to the above-listed players and get such awful production. I hate it! That's more than the annual payrolls of 16 teams! This is why we likely are not going to see a lot of baseball next year. This has to change. Even if the Dodgers were winning, I'd be embarrassed! But the fact that we are losing is also embarrassing, and it proves we are stupid. Come on, man!
Discussion (85)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Saturday Dodger Affliates' Schedule 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Isaac Ayon) at Dayton (JP Ortiz) 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Aidan Foeller) at Corpus Christi (Andrew Taylor) 5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Emmet Sheehan) at Salt Lake (Joel Hurtado) 6:45 p.m.: Ontario (TBA) at Lake Elsinore (TBA)
Wow!!! What team would you change places with? My confidence in the winning it all isn’t any different than a month ago. I do worry about Will Smith. He’s steady presence on the field and behind the plate is a great influence on the entire team. If I wanted to be political which is taboo on this site as it should be, could it be the trump factor. The Dodgers haven’t been very good since that visit.
Simply it was unwatchable and bad fundamental baseball, which they have been doing a lot. Ohtani caught stealing again, Edman picked off of first. Bad routes to balls, see Teo. Ohtani with a GIDP in a clutch situation. Freddie beat out one of those to score the first run. LA leads the majors in GIDP with 97. Cmon guys, how about a few clutch hits mixed in? Doomed? Maybe not, challenged, definitely. At this point last year, they had a 67-49 record and were just 3 games in front. At this point last year, they had 26 games remaining against their in-division foes including 6 against Az and 6 against the Padres. This year they have 2 left against Arizona, 3 against the Padres, 3 against Colorado and 7 against the Giants, who no longer have Arraez, Roy, Ramos or Chapman who will most likely need season ending surgery. Every team goes through slumps. In Between those 7 Giant games they play the Padres 3 in LA before heading to SF to finish the season. I still have to believe there is enough pride and game left in these guys to win the division. Best record? They are 3 games back of the Brewers and behind the Braves for the two spot. If that is the case at the end of the season, they would be a wild card team again. And right now, Az would be in the wild card along with the Cubs and Phillies and all three of those teams would be a challenge for LA. Right now, if they played Az, they would probably have to play games 1-2 there since they are losing the season series 5-6. Not sure exactly how that works. They were 2-4 against the Cubs, and are 4-2 against the Phillies.
Tough loss last night. I have been harping about how you win games. It’s a consequence of everyone doing their job. Each player sticks to the process, pick up teammates and control what you can control. If everybody does their job, you have a good chance at winning. * It’s easy to blame Diaz and he has certainly struggled. Closers are hard to pick up by teammates. When they fail, you go home. That’s why they need Rhino Skin and NO memories to have that job. * But this was again a team loss. We had plenty of opportunities to NOT be in that position for Diaz to poop the bed. * Not to kick a dead horse but we didn’t get anything done against Kelly for 5 innings, again falling behind 2 - zip. We had NO hits and 2 walks until the 6th. * I love Tommy Edman, especially his beautiful, contact RBI base hit in the 7th. But getting picked off 1st to start the 6th cost a potential run. * Follow his getting picked off Kelly gave up another single and 2 walks to load the bases. Time to make him pay, finally. Instead Freddie hits into a double play, scoring an unearned run, and Muncy strikes out to end the rally. A potential big inning gone. * Scott did a high wire escape in the 8th despite the dreaded walk after an intentional walk but he nutted up to keep the lead with a great, clutch, battle with Arenado. * Doc decided to stick with Scott versus Arenado. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Doc had decided to go with Hurt for the righty-righty matchup but he chose to stay with Scott, it worked. * Doc had to go to Diaz in the 9th. They signed Diaz and paid him handsomely for this exact spot. He’s made his career closing games. Last night he didn’t do his job * We all saw the ending. * I have been on teams that couldn’t buy a win. That’s when the slump-buster activities would come out and the superstitious players would do shit like reminiscent of the voodoo-practicing slugger Pedro Serrano (Dennis Haysbert) in Major League. * This veteran clubhouse needs to keep the faith that a positive run is just around the corner, if we * Play Better
I think we need Scott to come back and warn of the end of the world. That usually works for us every year.
Am I the only one who thinks Carrol would have caught the home run that Eranado hit? It looked like Teo’s feet barely left the ground.
I like it MT....some emotion and frustration and no more "rose colored BS." We might put it together and win a 3-peat and we might not. Either way ownership needs to instruct AF to get younger and no more bat shit crazy contracts to broken down players. Snell, Tucker, Glasnow, Diaz, and the third year given to Teo come to mind as some wild ass contracts. It has to cause AF to question whether Freddie gets an extension. Did we need Diaz, did we need Tucker, did it take a third year to secure Teo? Did we need Keekay? At this rate I would have loved to see what JDP, Sirota, Tibbs, Erhard, etc. could do. Notice how a young nimble, quick and athletic RF like Corbin jumped at the fence and took a HR away from Edman, while our RF lumbers and stumbles and looks wretched playing the field. By the way could someone please get Ohtani a message that reminds him he has bad knee preventing him from pitching meaning he may lost a half step and to quit trying to stretch a long single into a double and quit trying to steal a base.
Probably not doomed, but borderline mediocre! Base running. Situational hitting. Bullpen(walks). Catching (injuries). Lack of power. And to me,my biggest pet peeve is? Refusing to take a walk! Especially when a pitcher can’t find the strike zone! These are getting paid to win. Bases loaded , 2-0 counts, and they never seem to take. I know they can all hit, but the main objective is to win the damn game! A bases loaded walk scores a run the last time I checked. It’s a little different if they are up 2-4 runs, but they’re struggling to drive in runs! For goodness sakes, take the walk if the pitcher wants to give it to you! Love Teo, but I hope he isn’t back next year. Now how will this affect Andy? His mentor, his buddy, his rock. I don’t know but I think we’re all a little tired of Teo swinging and missing so darn much. Station to station , no steals, bad choices on the bases, not even looking at the base coaches! I’m sure it will pass, (it better!) . Diaz is very cocky for a guy who can’t get anybody out! Maybe Phillips would have been a better choice last night? I know , that’s why they signed Diaz, but geez, guy can’t throw strikes, and when he does? Long gone!!! Tanner ain’t the “ the great” Scott at the moment either. Henriquez was sharp last night. Can we expect more of that? I hope so. I feel better now. Hopefully we all feel better tonight!
It has always been my opinion,it's NOT my money,so I DON'T care what they spend each year.It is the long term contracts that really bother me. Most of the Dodger owners are multi-millionaires or billionaires and they ONLY want to win and DON'T care about luxury taxes because the Dodgers are grossing a billion in revenue. The major issue I have is,we are NOT getting any younger on the MLB roster which will be a problem in 2027 and beyond.