He’s not gone yet. Farhan is still the Dodgers’ General Manager, but he is as good as gone because of the Dodgers success several teams will want to hire him as their President of Baseball Operations… and he will go because they will pay him a lot of money and he will be in complete control. That is likely what he dreams of and has been waiting for. It won’t be a small market team – it might be the Mets or Angels or Mariners or Rangers or Phillies, but they will come… right after the Dodgers win the World Series this year!
It’s inevitable. He’s a bright guy… actually a very, very bright guy, who has a passion for baseball and will likely shine in his new role. Enjoy Farhan while he is here, because he won’t be here much longer. Teams see what the Dodgers are doing and have done and will most definitely copy them. What better way to do that than hire Andrew Friedman’s chief lieutenant?
On MLB Radio, it was asked why the Dodgers were the only team experimenting with a six man rotation and the answer was “Because they are the only team that has enough depth to do it!” Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi have built a farm system and a major league team stacked with DEPTH and everyone else wants to copy that formula.
Just think, not that long ago, I was ridiculed for supporting FAZ by people, whom I won’t say are morons – they just have difficulty when it comes to thinking. They hated FAZ and now FAZ is the next big thing in baseball.
The roadmap to success as implemented by Andrew Friedman is the next big thing EVERYONE will be doing. It will be interesting to see who Farhan’s successor will be. Friedman has plenty of assistants to choose from, including several former GM’s. We do know it won’t be Tommy. It might be Alex Anthopoulos, Galen Carr, Billy Gasparino, Gabe Kapler or maybe Aaron Sele.
But, it might be someone we have never heard of either. All I know is that I would be shocked if Farhan Zaidi is with the Dodgers next year. Like any former Dodger, I’ll root from him… except when he is playing the Dodgers. You’ll see other teams try and take our coaches and minor league staff as well. It’s the price of success.
Rants and Raves
- I like winning better….
- That was a weak, lucky swing by Jake Lamb for a Granny off the foul pole. Lamb pulled the wool over our eyes… OK, that is a baaaaaaaaaaad joke.
- Even though Watson was not spot on last night, I don’t worry about stuff like that. Move on… nothing to see here folks.
- I do worry that Baez is reverting back to his old form or maybe it’s just his pitches don’t have the “bite” they usually do in AZ.
- I’d like to spank Greinke tonight!
- I just saw that MLB Trade Rumors expects Darvish to get a 6 year deal. So, that would be $175 to $200 million. If you think FAZ will resign him at that price, you have not been paying attention.
- Rios homered and is up to .284 with .927 OPS after his promotion to AAA.
- Tim Locastro continues to hit – he was 2-4 last night – .333 since his promo.
- Henry Ramos played CF and was 0-2 with 2 BB – .348 with 1.075 OPS
- Yasiel Sierra has pitched 15 innings at OKC and has a 1.20 ERA but a 1.60 WHIP. He has walked 11 batters in that span. For the year, he is 5-0 with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. In 64 innings he has struck out 78. Maybe next year…
- Josh Sborz continues to pitch well. Last night he pitched 6 innings and struck out 6 while allowing 1 ER.
Photo Credit: MLB.com
Discussion (82)
Disagree, not disagreeable
It was good to see Joc get that hit last night, because no one likes to see anyone struggle.
And that was a perfect time for Joc to get a hit.
It was the back of the line up’s turn, to help win the game last night anyways!
And that is how it has been most of the season, a different part of the line up steps up, and helps the team win every night.
And Bellinger is a beast!
If a pitcher makes a mistake, Bellinger will punish you.
At the end of the day Wood without his best stuff beats Greinke on the road to go 14 and 1. That’s part of learning to be a pitcher and the team had his back. In the playoffs it would be Kershaw he matches up with not Wood. Tomorrow is Darvish against Banda, and that seems like quite a mismatch on paper. Then the club returns home and does not face another winning team until the Brewers and DBacks at the end of the month. There are also 3 more off days this month so all of the staff can be rested even without Kershaw and McCarthy and Stewart can start if needed. Was McCarthy put on waivers as Mark predicted?
4 sacrifice flies in 13 PA for Adrian Gonzalez.
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The optimist: He’s a situational hitter who can get your RBIs.
The pessimist: He’s lost his power, and the ball stays in the park. Even in the minors.
N ow – they need to win tomorrow – no series losses to division rivals!
Nice job by the pen tonight.
Bases loaded and a lefty on the mound and Dave goes Farmer before Forsythe.
Hawkeye
I hope they hit Bradley hard, tonight!
Mark and Hawkeye
You two must be two ever ready bunnies, up at this time!
It is a great moment for Joc and Puig, and the team!
The back of our line up, brings it again!
And of course, Mr. Cody Bellinger!
Zack,
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Memo to you: “The Big Dodger in the Sky no longer has your back!”
Puig has to love that!
Thank you Greinke for floating one to Joc. I was about to curse Roberts for hitting Joc ahead of Puig.
I love Joc Pederson!
Maybe a phantom injury and a trip to the 10 day DL is in order for Alex – the Dodgers will need him at his best for the post-season.
The double was 93.
He just hit 94 on the last pitch!
Anyone here concerned about Wood’s velocity? I just read that he didn’t hit 92 with any fastball in the 4th.
Something occurred to me today . I don’t know if that is what is happening, but if I were running the club, it would be happening.
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Obviously, the Dodgers have a big lead and are a lock for the playoffs. If I were in charge, I would have pitchers throw certain pitches in certain situations or locations so as to throw off the other teams’ scouts.
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If Kirk Gibson did not know that Eck liked to throw a backdoor slider (due to a scouting report) , the Dodgers may have lost the Series.
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I would have my pitchers (at times) do things in a manner they would never do in the playoffs just to skew the scouting reports.
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FAZ and Roberts are smart – that could be some of what is happening. We don’t have to win every game now.
If the bullpen was a problem this team would not have 79 wins in the pocket. As has been noted the starters can’t go 7 innings in a game, so that means something has gone right out of the pen. If you look at a small sample size you can make anything look great or terrible. Kershaw couldn’t keep the ball in the park early in the season and has given up more home runs than any other season. Joc had a hot streak after he came of the DL but has regressed to his normal output. Utley was horrible at the start of the season but he has been productive in a platoon. A rough couple of weeks from the pen is not too concerning, if it continues through all of August then I might have some concerns. Like Always Compete said the bullpen today won’t be the same in the playoffs.
As Dodger fans we have to feel very fortunate that we can complain about a bullpen giving up HRs on an 11-2 run. I went back to look at the HRs the bullpen has given up the last two weeks because MJ asked a reasonable question. I formed no opinion, just provided the facts. I can’t really fault Watson for the granny since it was really a weak hit, but it counts just the same. Much harder hit balls have been hit for outs. Things have a way of evening out. Also, the Stripling HR was a non-factor. With a big lead, I am sure that the instructions he received prior to going to the mound were no walks. His command was a tad off and he let one leak out over the plate. I also remember him blowing the ball by Nolan Arenado earlier in the year with runners in scoring position.
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We need to keep this in perspective. Since July 1, the team has played 11 series and swept 7 of them. They are 25-5 during that time, and the bullpen was 8-2. There were also 11 saves. We also know how the bullpen is used, so it is safe to say that there have been a lot of holds during that time as well. The team went something like 60 consecutive games while having a lead and not losing. The bullpen had to come through on those games.
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Maybe Watson is not the lockdown lefty the Dodgers want for the playoffs. But Justin Wilson has been no prize for the Cubs, and that was a very expensive acquisition. He has been in 4 games, and has not been clean in any of them. Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson cost the Nats quite a bit as well, but it hasn’t been Doolittle that has dominated. It has been the righty Madson who has. Doolittle has pitched very well of late, but it took him 4 games. It is also possible that the Dodgers do have the playoff lockdown lefty on their 25 man…Hyun-Jin Ryu. He will not be in the rotation, and he is an absolute lock right now. Hopefully it continues.
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It is never easy changing teams in the middle of a pennant race. Let’s let Watson (and even Cingrani) have a few more games to get better acclimated. If we get into September and they are still having problems then bullpen adjustments will need to be made.
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I understand MJ’s concern about the playoff bullpen. It has not been good in the past. But this year it should be different. Morrow, Maeda, and Ryu will be in the bullpen this year, and Blanton will not be. I still think Watson will be there when needed. As long as Baez is used appropriately (meaning he does not come in for Kershaw), he should be okay. He was very good against Nationals, and very bad against the Cubs. Dayton was not very good last year, but he probably will not be on the playoff roster this year. Fields was very good last year in the playoffs. Avilan gave up 0 runs, but did give up a critical hit that blew a save. Stripling was really bad for one of five games he was in, but the other four he was fine. Overall, relief pitching was pretty good against the Nationals (7 runs scored against relievers – 4 against Jansen and 3 against Dayton). Not so good against the Cubs (18 runs/13 earned). Last year the Dodgers relied on 7 relievers (plus 1 relief appearance from Urias, Kershaw, and Wood). Blanton (7 games), Dayton (7 games), Baez (7 games) Jansen (7 games) Avilan (5 games), Fields (4 games), Stripling (5 games).
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There are 58 games till the playoffs, so Doc has a lot of time to sort things out. And there are a lot of moving pieces. Are the bullpen HRs the start of disturbing trend, or just a hiccup? Let’s wait and see.
One domino has fallen. Luke Farrell was waived and the Reds signed him.
Just last night I was going to post something about the lack of nicknames in MLB. There use to be a lot of very colorful names used by the players and there don’t seem to be so many now. Then comes an article by Dodgers.com that gives us the following Dodger nicnames————-
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• Cody Bellinger: “CODYLOVE”
• Kenley Jansen: “MA’MONTRO”
• Justin Turner: “REDTURN2”
• Yu Darvish: “YU-SAN”
• Chase Utley: “SILVER FOX”
• Yasiel Puig: “WILD HORSE”
• Rich Hill: “BRICE”
• Joc Pederson: “DIZZY”
• Yasmani Grandal: “YRG JR”
• Enrique Hernandez: “KIKÉ”
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guess I was wrong again…
I have a theory about last night’s loss. The Dodgers lose to teams coming from places starting with the letter ‘A’ (Atlanta and Arizona).
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That being said, it seems like the Dodgers have gone through long stretches where the ‘pen shuts their opponents down for several innings but when they get into the other teams’ bullpen, they win. Last night was the rare night when the ‘pen let the team down. I agree that it seems like for the past 6 weeks certain guys have been more susceptible to the long ball.
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Watson was a good but not great reliever for the Bucs this year. He lost the closer job after being horrible early in the season. By his own admission he hung 2 sliders to Lamb, a lefty swinger with big platoon splits who usually doesn’t hit lefties. That’s why the walk to Pollock and that’s the guy he has to get out. I don’t know if he will be better in big situations as the season progresses – experience will tell us but Roberts has to be able to find out whether he can rely on Watson in close games. Alert – he has a 4.01 ERA on the season and an FIP of 4.96, so he has been no prize this year. WHIP on the season is 1.54 which would be the highest on the team this year (yes worse than Sergio Romo or Chris Hatcher or Tony Cingrani) except for …Julio Urias.
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Cingrani won’t make the post-season roster – he has been horrible this year. His ERA is 6.04 but his FIP is even higher – 6.89.
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I have to admit – seeing Baez in the game when it’s close still makes me nervous even though his numbers are generally great.
I would advise you not to take leave of your senses. Pedro Baez has a 1.89 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. I think Pedro is going through a little rough streak right now, which will pass. Here is his ERA by month:
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April – 0.96
May – 1.35
June – 1.69
August – 9.00
Hate to break up the band but, talent will rise.
I would love to know how many HRs this bullpen has given up, in the last ten days, or two weeks.
If anyone knows how to find this out, I would love to know, because I have been concerned about the HRs this bullpen have given up, lately.
I would say that they have given up at least 7 HRs in the last couple weeks, and that can’t happen, especially in the post season!
I know they have said that Lamb has had problems hitting lefties, but the last time we played the Dbacks, Lamb hit one of our lefties hard, so I don’t know if the scouting report for Lamb against lefties, is a current scouting report.
Because the last time we faced the Dbacks, the broadcasters mentioned that Lamb had trouble hitting lefties, and then Lamb went off on one of our lefties, and that only happened a month ago, when we last faced the Dbacks.
It is hard to see a pitcher like Maeda pitch very carefully and pitch hard and well, for five innings, and then see one of our relievers come into a game, and they can’t pitch even one clean inning.
And this isn’t an isolated incident, and that is why I am upset, and concerned.
There are hitters, that can hit a high fastball at a high velocity, so you can’t always ask for a high fastball, and expect a hitter, won’t hit it, even if it is a little of of the strike zone.
Bottom line, these relievers have to be much more careful.
I don’t know why Baez gave up a second HR last night, but the Dbacks are not the Mets, because the Dbacks can hit, so our relivers can’t just throw any old pitch up there, and expect the hitter, won’t capitalize on a mistake.
And that HR that Puig made a good catch on, was the third HR that Baez has given up, in his last couple appearances.
This is the type of stuff that can cause an easy loss, in the post season, so they better get on these guys in the bullpen.
The Nats went out early and got the A’s closer, and another pitcher, and they also went out late, and got the Twins closer, right before the trade deadline ended.
And it seems like hitters have more trouble hitting pitchers that they have never seen, so I think the Nat’s bullpen might give us problems, in the post season, because most of their new relivers, are from the American League.
And both of our new relievers, the Nat’s players, and the Cubs players, have seen a lot of.
And these two pitchers, we recently got, were having problems giving up HRs, before we got them.
The bullpen plays such an important role in the post season, and that is why I am worried about our high leverage relievers, except for Kenley!
Lamb’s HR may have been a lucky swing, but the amount of HRs given up by our relief pitchers lately is a bit concerning.
It is being reported from numerous sources that Clayton Kershaw is “close” to returning to the rotation.
I and probably most of you think Roberts should of stayed with Morrow. However, I think Roberts needs to find out what the two new relief pitchers are capable of doing. I am not sure what Roberts learned about Watson last night. That is why I think Morrow was taken out. Morrow is capable of getting lefties and righties out.
Farhan Zaidi can put this on his resume:
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Never resorted to slander.
Never complained about bad contracts someone else left him with.
Never tried to use bankruptcy to get out from self-inflicted problems like McCourt and others have done.
Never made wild promises he couldn’t keep.
Never pointed a finger at someone else.
Never tried to force something big and instead made continuous improvements.
Created a team environment with everybody working together in harmony.
Never lied.
OK I’ll bite on the Faz possibly leaving, but I’m more worried about who he will take with him from that list of replacements or others…
I too hate losing, especially when I thought I’d run the table!!! Zack will be on a mission today and let there be no doubt…
Lets get ready to rumble…
Lefties hitting against Morrow are 1 for 35.
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FAZ should be credited with what they haven’t done as much as for what they have done.
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Turner has recovered from Bronchitis and is back to full strength.
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Puig doesn’t smile after making a great catch–just another day at the office doing routine stuff I guess.
Josh Sborz is turning his year around. He started out horribly with a 8.53 ERA after 3 games (down from 14+ ERA after Game 2). He continued to pitch uninspired for the next couple of months, so much so that he has fallen out of the Top 30 Dodger prospects as published by MLB.com. He has been surpassed by one of my favorites, Caleb Ferguson. I have been critical of Josh for much of the year, because I was hoping for and expecting much more from him.
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For the last 10 games, his ERA has dropped from 5.09 to 3.66, or at a 2.10 clip during that 10 game stretch. But something really clicked after another poor start on July 4. Since then, he has had 6 starts and pitched 36.2 innings. Over that 6 game stretch he has allowed 7 earned runs, 27 hits, 16 walks (still a concern), and 26 strikeouts (also a concern). His ERA over those 6 games is a very good 1.72.
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While Josh has seemed to turn around his year after summer started, there are still some considerable concerns. His walks are way up, and his strikeouts are way down. For 2015/2016, his K/9 innings ratio was 9.16. This year it is 6.00. Contrary, his BB/9 innings has gone from 2.75 (2015/2016) to 4.59 in 2017. Even for his last 6 games, while his ERA is 1.72, his K/9 is 6.38 and his BB/9 is 3.93. That is a K/BB ratio of 1.63/1.00. With those kind of strikeout and walk numbers, Josh is not likely to make a move up the prospect lists, or in the eyes of Dodger Player Development Staff.
You are a mind reader! I was thinking about other teams hiring Dodger Execs away just yesterday. Of course the result of such will be a price increase on the scraps the Dodgers have been getting so cheap.