Give Me a Hand!

Next year:

Kershaw

Wood

Hill

Stewart

Buehler

?

JD would look nice but he’s a rental someone will give him $75 Mil/5 Years

Another fine win.

JD Martinez would look good in our lineup.

I am pretty sure Maeda is VERY tradable!

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I also must admit, I have no clue what FAZ will do. How about trade for Mike Moustakas and convert him to a LF’er?

OK, I’m back! I had to write this:

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https://www.uswatersystems.com/blog/2017/07/protect-yourself-from-brain-eating-amoebas/

Edwin Rios was promoted to OKC today, and is starting at 1B. He singled in his 2nd AB.

The Church of Christ Taylor is always accepting new members of the congregation.

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Classic!

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Preach it!

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You have to change your name to The Truth Will Set You Free

Hey, they say there is a game tonight. Who knew?

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1. Forsythe 3B

2. Seager SS

3. Taylor LF

4. Bellinger 1B

5. Pederson CF

6. Grandal C

7. Utley 2B

8. Puig RF

9. Maeda P

I went back yesterday to the old blog and looked at the comments after the draft. Of course, since the sole purpose certain fans existence is too bash FAZ, it was comical to see how they have this as the worst Dodgers pick of all time. I did notice that the biggest blowhard basher is now gone from there.

TrueBlue’s draft tracker showing Amaya signed also.

Per Heyman Kendall, Cooper and Wong all signed

Did everyone see which two Royals starters, we are facing in the first two games, in this series?

They are two pitchers, that we know pretty well.

We will be facing the Cub’s former starter, Hammels tonight, and we will be facing Kennedy, tomorrow.

And we know Kennedy from when he pitched, for the Dbacks, and the Padres.

That makes me feel a little better about the game tonight, with Maeda pitching!

I hope Maeda can get back on track tonight!

Great news that our top pick signed.

Campy, regarding your interesting question above: remember that playoff game several years back, where the game was tied in extra innings, and with bases loaded, Robin Ventura hit one over the fence (grand slam?). yet because 1 guy scored and the rest of the guys ran around tackling Ventura and Ventura never got to 2nd base himself, it was considered a single and 1 rbi? I’d guess the same thing happens on a game winning “ground rule double”, in that did both runners legally score and did the batter reach 2b before being mobbed by his teammates?

More likely, the guy from 3rd scores, the batter goes around 1b, and the dugout erupts on the field and dumps gatorade all over the batter (who would get credited with a single and game winning 1 rbi), and I Love LA plays over the loudspeakers . Yes, that is a way we will win a game this season, sometime between tonight and November 3

According to Jon Hey man Kendall signed do 2.9 million. Will that leave enough for the last 3 to sign.

Like @Campy, I heard the Dodgers signed Jeren Kendall. $2.9M, I heard. That would be an amount less than what I was expecting.

ALEX WOOD NAMED ALL-STAR REPLACEMENT

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LOS ANGELES – Major League Baseball announced today the selections of seven players to the active All-Star rosters as replacements for All-Stars unable to participate in Tuesday’s 88th Midsummer Classic. Los Angeles Dodger starting pitcher Alex Wood joins the National League Team while newly-named American League All-Stars include Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer, Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Canó, Houston Astros reliever Chris Devenski, Minnesota Twins reliever Brandon Kintzler, Toronto Blue Jays reliever Roberto Osuna and Detroit Tigers outfielder Justin Upton.

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The players unable to participate in the 2017 All-Star Game include four pitchers scheduled to start for their respective Clubs on Sunday – Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers, Michael Fulmer of the Tigers, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians – and three players currently on the disabled list – Starlin Castro of the New York Yankees, Dallas Keuchel of the Astros and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels.

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Wood, in his fifth Major League season, is also a first-time All-Star. The 26-year-old left-hander becomes the sixth Dodger All-Star selection, marking the most in the NL. He joins Cody Bellinger, Kenley Jansen, Kershaw, Corey Seager and Justin Turner as an NL All-Star. On Wednesday, Wood improved to 10-0 on the season with a 1.67 ERA and 97 strikeouts over 80.2 innings pitched. With a win in each of his 10 decisions this season, Wood tied the Dodgers record for consecutive wins to start a season, joining Larry French (1942), Preacher Roe (1951), Don Newcombe (1955) and Ed Roebuck (1962).

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With the new All-Star appointments, there are now 28 first-time All-Stars (18 AL, 10 NL) and 33 players (19 AL, 14 NL) age 27-or-younger to be selected to the All-Star rosters. In addition, there are now 23 foreign-born players on the All-Star rosters (17 AL, 6 NL), including players from the Dominican Republic (10), Venezuela (4), Puerto Rico (3), Curaҫao (2), Canada (1), Cuba (1), Japan (1) and Mexico (1).

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MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Marlins Park (July 11th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 10th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game (July 9th), All-Star FanFest at the Miami Beach Convention Center (July 7th-11th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 88th Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @AllStarGame on social media.

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2017 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR ROSTER

Bold = Fan-Elected Starter

^ = Player Ballot-Elected MANAGER TERRY FRANCONA (#17), CLE

* = Choice of MLB Coach Kevin Cash (#16), TB

Uni. # PITCHERS (16 Total; 12 Active) Club All-Star Selections

22 ARCHER, Chris* TB 2nd

68 BETANCES, Dellin^ NYY 4th

11 DARVISH, Yu* (Inactive) TEX 4th

47 DEVENSKI, Chris* HOU 1st

32 FULMER, Michael* (Inactive) DET 1st

60 KEUCHEL, Dallas^ (Inactive) HOU 2nd

46 KIMBREL, Craig^ BOS 6th

27 KINTZLER, Brandon* MIN 1st

28 KLUBER, Corey* (Inactive) CLE 2nd

43 McCULLERS, Lance Jr.* HOU 1st

24 MILLER, Andrew^ CLE 2nd

54 OSUNA, Roberto* TOR 1st

41 SALE, Chris^ BOS 6th

54 SANTANA, Ervin^ MIN 2nd

40 SEVERINO, Luis^ NYY 1st

51 VARGAS, Jason^ KC 1st

Uni. # CATCHERS (2) Club Selections Fan Elections

13 PEREZ, Salvador KC 5th 3rd

24 SÁNCHEZ, Gary^ NYY 1st

Uni. # INFIELDERS (11 Total; 10 Active) Club Selections Fan Elections

17 ALONSO, Yonder^ OAK 1st

27 ALTUVE, Jose HOU 5th 3rd

22 CANO, Robinson* SEA 8th

14 CASTRO, Starlin^ (Inactive) NYY 4th

1 CORREA, Carlos HOU 1st 1st

12 LINDOR, Francisco^ CLE 2nd

8 MOUSTAKAS, Mike (Final Vote) KC 2nd

11 RAMĺREZ, José CLE 1st 1st

22 SANÓ, Miguel^ MIN 1st

6 SCHOOP, Jonathan* BAL 1st

14 SMOAK, Justin TOR 1st 1st

Uni. # OUTFIELDERS (7 Total; 6 Active) Club Selections Fan Elections

50 BETTS, Mookie^ BOS 2nd

23 BRANTLEY, Michael^ CLE 2nd

26 GARCĺA, Avisaíl^ CWS 1st

99 JUDGE, Aaron NYY 1st 1st

4 SPRINGER, George HOU 1st 1st

27 TROUT, Mike (Inactive) LAA 6th 5th

8 UPTON, Justin DET 4th

Uni. # DESIGNATED HITTERS (2) Club Selections Fan Elections

23 CRUZ, Nelson^ SEA 5th

10 DICKERSON, Corey TB 1st 1st

2017 NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR ROSTER

Bold = Fan-Elected Starter

^ = Player Ballot-Elected MANAGER JOE MADDON (#70), CHI

* = Choice of MLB Coach Don Mattingly (#8), MIA

Uni. # PITCHERS (13 Total; 12 Active) Club All-Star Selections

71 DAVIS, Wade^ CHI 3rd

21 GREINKE, Zack^ ARI 4th

52 HAND, Brad* SD 1st

56 HOLLAND, Greg^ COL 3rd

74 JANSEN, Kenley^ LAD 2nd

22 KERSHAW, Clayton^ (Inactive) LAD 7th

46 KNEBEL, Corey* MIL 1st

18 MARTĺNEZ, Carlos^ STL 2nd

17 NESHEK, Pat* PHI 2nd

38 RAY, Robbie^ ARI 1st

31 SCHERZER, Max^ WSH 5th

37 STRASBURG, Stephen* WSH 3rd

57 WOOD, Alex* LAD 1st

Uni. # CATCHERS (2) Club Selections Fan Elections

4 MOLINA, Yadier^ STL 8th

28 POSEY, Buster SF 5th 4th

Uni. # INFIELDERS (11) Club Selections Fan Elections

28 ARENADO, Nolan COL 3rd 1st

2 COZART, Zack CIN 1st 1st

44 GOLDSCHMIDT, Paul^ ARI 5th

5 HARRISON, Josh* PIT 2nd

22 LAMB, Jake^ ARI 1st

9 LeMAHIEU, DJ^ COL 2nd

20 MURPHY, Daniel WSH 3rd 1st

5 SEAGER, Corey^ LAD 2nd

10 TURNER, Justin (Final Vote) LAD 1st

19 VOTTO, Joey* CIN 5th

11 ZIMMERMAN, Ryan WSH 2nd 1st

Uni. # OUTFIELDERS (7) Club Selections Fan Elections

35 BELLINGER, Cody^ LAD 1st

19 BLACKMON, Charlie COL 2nd 1st

30 CONFORTO, Michael^ NYM 1st

34 HARPER, Bryce WSH 5th 4th

11 INCIARTE, Ender* ATL 1st

13 OZUNA, Marcell MIA 2nd 1st

27 STANTON, Giancarlo^ MIA 4th

Quick note:

Jake Lamb hitting 2 HR’s was no surprise as we saw him in batting practice on Wed he hit ball after ball into the bleachers in RF and over the CF wall, just a show. Goldschmidt hit one out of the stadium, bouncing off the scalloped roof in LF and over, and another screamer that hit the #42 sign down the LF line second deck.

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The Snakes and Rocks should be thinking deadline deals, they are behind and both just got swept. A team as hot as the Dodgers are don’t need to do anything remotely dope fiendish at this point. They will do a couple of small deals that make sense from a team need and prospect cost but nothing major.

Alex Wood has been added to the AS team.

Chemistry is extremely important, especially with a team on a 108 win pace. But the team has some vulnerabilities and I think FAZ can address them without hurting that chemistry. I admit I would have no problem with trading Puig if they can get a more consistent RHB. But the return would have to be there. FAZ needs to think more as a seller with Puig than as a buyer packaging Puig.

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Regardless of what FAZ does this deadline, DJ Peters will not be blocked. He is the one RH power bat in the system. Verdugo will battle for a starting spot on the 2018 roster. Farmer is a luxury right now. Nothing happens with Kyle until September. He is already on the 40 man, so a roster spot will not have to be created when he is called in September. He is blocked by Barnes and Grandal. He played SS last night, so he is becoming a very good utility player who is primarily a catcher. Do the Dodgers need three of those (I include Will Smith)?I

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The Dodgers are in the driver’s seat, and FAZ is driving the bus. All is good with LAD.

I am in the don’t mess much with the chemistry camp and even though the older crowd on this board would trade Puig he is still extremely popular with the fans as I saw first hand on Wed. He has become much more of a team player this year as well. I think Joc and Forsythe have stepped up lately and are important parts of this team. They don’t need Verdugo right now but he will be up in Sept. Taylor is as important right now as Cory, Cody and JT and the catching duo, and those guys are carrying the offense.

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I believe the bullpen needs some reinforcements from outside the organization or from the minors. A rightie and a leftie would be ideal. The names mentioned come at a high price and after sweeping their closest pursuers in the standings may not be needed. July is a soft month and there is time to explore internal options in the bullpen first. Would Kazmir be a solid LHP in the pen, or Ryu? They have lots of RHP candidates for the pen in the minors.

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DJ Peters may be a couple years away and he needs to cut down his strikeouts but if a RH bat is added it should not block kids like Peters and Verdugo who have a bright future. Kyle Farmer is another guy who does not have much left to prove in the minors.

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The Dodgers are a half game off Houston’s pace for the best record in MLB. Houston has a 15.5 game lead in their division! The Nats are up 8.5 and then the Dodgers at 5.5 for biggest leads in baseball. The Dodgers are 8.5 up in the wild card which is what the Snakes and Rocks are starting to set their sights on instead.

Obviously Midas has his money on the Dodgers. Are we to expect this kind of play to continue? Geez, it’s looking like 110 games is the under! Just wow! CHEERS!!!

Kendall is in…..

Hill’s strike ball ratio was outstanding. Something like 80-20. Barraclough is right handed but can pitch every day. Rubber arm.

Team won’t trade in the division. Hand is good, but not enough history to go on. He could be another Morrow. I wouldn’t give much. How about Barraclough of the Marlins?That would be a nice piece with Ozuna.

In spite of the near-euphoria that has set in in light of the stunning win against the Snakes last night (and who doesn’t want to see Taylor up with the bases loaded? He has an OPS of 3.489 with the bases full), something didn’t feel quite right after the bullpen gave up 3 runs in 2 innings so I checked out the stats and the ‘pen has been faltering as of late.

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April – bullpen ERA – 3.21 – WHIP – 1.20

May – bullpen ERA – 2.20 – WHIP – 0.96

June – bullpen ERA – 3.51 – WHIP – 1.19

July – bullpen ERA – 4.38 – WHIP – 1.38

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It was great to see the starters give up 1 earned run to a good-hitting Arizona team in 21 innings – not as good to see the ‘pen give up 6 runs in 6 innings. Is it a case of bullpen overuse? Are certain pitchers being exposed as being not as good as originally thought?

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I have said in the past that I don’t see a high-quality starting pitcher being available for a price that I would pay at the deadline, but the ‘pen is an obvious area to improve. They need a lefty in light of Liberatore’s health problems, Dayton’s ineffectiveness and health issues, and the fact that they don’t really trust Avilan in high leverage situations. I am reluctantly OK with Baez as the 8th inning guy but think that they may have trouble bridging the gap between the starters and Baez/Jansen.

I’m hijacking this thread, but I have a question that I need help on.

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Last of the 9th, tied game, bases loaded and the batter hits a drive down the line and it goes into the stands on one hop. Is it a ground rule double and two runs score, or does only one run score and it is a game winning single? Since 4 runs score on a home run, I would assume it would be a double with two runs, but I have never seen it happen so I am not sure. What is the rule??

I also understand why Mark is talking about Logan now.

That HR that Logan hit last night, was only his 11th extra base hit, in about 169 at bats.

And Joc has about the same amount of at bats, and he has 19 extra base hits!

Logan is the most passive hitter in baseball this year.

Orel brought this up the other night, but Orel brought it up in a positive way, but that article about Logan being a passive hitter, wasn’t a positive spin, about Logan.

It is frustrating when Logan doesn’t protect the plate with two strikes, and he allows himself to get down with two strikes quite a bit.

I know he has done better lately, but he has mostly been a singles hitter, that strikes out, quite a bit, for a singles hitter!

The only problem with trading Logan, is that he does hit lefties better, and it looks like Kike may be regressing a little right now.

I noticed that opposing hitters are hitting 295 against Avilan this year, and that is higher average, then opposing hitters, are hitting against Ryu.

But Avilan is another pitcher in the bullpen, that has no options left.

Maybe they should bring Libertore up, if he is healthy right now.

He was really good for us last year, in the first half of the season.

Mark is right we definitely need another good arm in the bullpen, but the price seems so high for Hand.

And I think Dodgerpatch just might be right about Hand, having a outlier year.

I like AC’s idea, of getting that really good closer that the Orioles have, if that is possible.

If we are going to have to give up so much, why not try to get a better relief pitcher, and give up a little more.

But I am not sure what is out there, and what it will take, but I do think Mark is right, that it will take more, then we would like, to give up!

I also think it would be good to see what Verdugo will do at the major league level, but AC is right, he will have to play everyday, to really see what he can do, at the major league level.

But I don’t know if there is enough room for him to play everyday, on the major league team right now.

I was about to go to bed last night when Puig singled in the 9th. I told myself, Ok this team is special so let’s watch some more. Joc walks and you could just feel the momentum swing over to the Dodgers. We have had many comebacks this year and this one ranks up there towards the top. Rodney melted and couldn’t find the strike zone. The Dodgers patients at the plate is one of the biggest differences this year in my opinion. Turner Ward is worth every penny he earns. Hill was impressive last night which is what I was going to take positive out of last nights game before the big comeback. I’ll still take Hills performance as a positive but now there’s so much more to talk about. If McCarthy doesn’t lay an egg on Saturday, the trade deadline should be focused on relief pitching. Hopefully one more starter can step up before the deadline. Just to put in my two cents, I would not trade Barnes for Hand. SD would make us pay too high of a price for anyone so I would start looking else where. It’s a great time to be a Dodger fan. Lastly, I hope the boys didn’t party too much last night, I would love to beat KC over the next 3 games. GO BLUE……………………………

The Dodgers are rich in talent over all the levels and all of em can’t end up Dodgers. Prolly gonna have to trade some of em, though talented depth is awesome to have. Dodger farm slogan should be Arms R Us. I wouldn’t even pretend to know who or what they need or when. They seem to be muddling along pretty well right now without any advice from the gallery.

Let’s see…Kershaw 7 IP 0 runs, followed by Wood 7 IP 0 runs, followed by Hill 7 IP 1 run. Against the DBacks…not the Padres, not the Reds, not the Phillies, not the Mets, but against the 2nd best team in the NL and 3rd best team in MLB. I know we are not supposed to get euphoric yet, but can we at least acknowledge that the starting pitching might be good, and can go deep (yes 7 innings is deep these days). Can we say we have three solid starters for the playoffs, maybe four? I know I know, Hill, Wood, McCarthy, Maeda, and Ryu are all going to break down, and then it’s Kershaw and who. But just for the moment, can we acknowledge that FAZ has put a very good team together?

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Okay, there are some concerns. The Dodgers do not have any truly reliable LHRP. Who knows where Liberatore is at, or what is wrong with Dayton’s neck. Avilan is a very good 6th inning reliever (but not high leverage). There are some LHRP out there. We know there are some available. Brad Hand and Justin Wilson are solid and available. Maybe Sean Doolittle…18.1 IP, 2 walks, and 27 strikeouts; 20 games and 15 unscored in; 3 HRs (but only 1 since April); 0.764 WHIP. And of course, my hope and dream would be Zach Britton (no rumor…I just want him in the Dodger pen). Felipe Rivero is more untouchable than Zach Britton. I guess that would be called a fantasy. There are multiple RHRP that are available, and you can always have better. But the need is LHRP and the pickings are slim and will be costly. I would bet there will probably be a couple of the LH versions of last year’s pickups Jesse Chavez and Josh Fields. Like Dan Jennings from the White Sox. I still believe Ryu is headed for the bullpen.

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The other concern is RH Power bat. I too like Trayce Thompson, and I agree that he is a very good athlete. But I do not want to see him come to the plate again with the bases loaded in a critical spot. Not SVS either. Taylor and Forsythe are doing exactly what they were acquired for (Taylor even more). Maybe the answer is Verdugo (even though LH), but I would prefer someone more ML tested as we get closer to the playoffs.

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Next week is the ASG and the Marlins will have no reason to keep anyone after that, including Marcell Ozuna. Miami is crying for a Cuban everyday player. They loved Fernandez, but he only pitched every five games, and the seats were packed on those days. They want someone for 81 games. Puig is a natural, and so would be Alveraz, and maybe Omar Estevez. I am being selfish, I want to keep Yusniel Diaz.

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I still think the Dodgers make a play for JD Martinez and Justin Wilson.

Went to bed after 8. Finallly got around to checking this morning as just didn’t feel like reading a recap of last night–WOW what a great morning this is. Coffee is tasting much better!

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I periodically will listen to the opposition feed on Sirius while driving–dodger radio feed is not great here in the evening. If you get a chance to listen to some of the other teams announcers, you’ll never complain about our announcing teams again. It’s pretty grim out there.

If Monday and Kennedy are teamed up I turn the TV sound off and listen to them. What they lack in polish they make up for in professional insights. Otherwise, Joe’s OK. Should just let him go solo or put Rick Monday with him. After all, Rick did saved the Flag from being burned. That counts for something. Though I ain’t no fortunate son… flag burning is not high on my list of ways to protest. Dodgers are amazing this year. Beginning To expect them to come back and win every night. Go Dodgers.

Today at 2pm is the deadline for draft picks to sign. Our top 3 picks are still unsigned.

FAZ should be looking around for upgrades, including Brad Hand type guys, but maybe Brad Hand type guys before they became Brad Hand. I still like how FAZ swooped in and got Alex Wood at the deadline two years ago.

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I think this guy has the right outlook.

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http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19868350/chicago-cubs-president-theo-epstein-says-biggest-fixes-clubhouse

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“You can’t force anything”.

I have to admit I went to bed after the 8th inning. I have the MLB package and all games are recorded. I just watched the end this morning. All I can say is wow!! I did go to the other site yesterday and they are not talking about Dodger baseball, they were talking about “pot”. Not all, but some.

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I thought we had inhouse options for left hand relievers. Now I am not sure.

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I agree with you Mark, Verdugo must come up. He has earned the call. I have a feeling he may be very god. Thompson and SVS are not going to make it. I like Thompson very much, but hitting is his problem. If Verdugo comes up, he needs to play. Where does that put Taylor. He certainly needs to play every day. Second base is his best position. But Forsythe is just starting to hit. I guess these are the problems every manager would love.

The Church of Christ Taylor is always accepting new members of the congregation.

Man Mark, I watched Betances give up back to back to back to back (4) walks yesterday, guy has some control issues. From NY Post:

“In his past nine appearances, the four-time All-Star has worked 7 ¹/₃ innings in which he has given up six hits and nine earned runs, walked 14 and struck out 13.”

I like Hand but think the Nats get him with their worst bullpen ERA in baseball and the fact that the Padres would probably demand our entire minor league system as you mentioned.

I am ready for Verdugo as well, call him up!

I’d be surprised if Preller did business with the Dodgers again. He got burned by Friedman in the Kemp for Grandal trade, and I think there was that issue of Preller publicly leaking rumors of Kemp’s physical to try to renegotiate the deal that Friedman wasn’t too please with. And then there’s the old proscription against making trades with rivals within the division.

Hand is good. Hand might be on the upswing of his career if his slider continues to develop. I’m not sure I want to give up those guys for a left handed reliever. There’s that guy who’s the closer for Detroit. He’ll probably be cheaper.

I’m in Wash DC this week, and so last night, by the time the 8th inning rolled around (at like 1am) I figured ‘oh well, 2-3 is good enough for me, and went to bed!!

Great waking up at 3am and seeing the updates on my phone that we did it again. Amazing, yet at 3am, I wasn’t at all shocked that we did it again