Is this the Master Plan?
Is this the Master Plan? To have everyone ready for the playoffs? Mookie Betts is suddenly hot. Will the Dodgers catch Lightning in a Jar? The stars are getting aligned... we shall see.
Will Smith is back and trying to get his sea legs. Andy Pages is days away from returning. Shohei can return a week from Wednesday. Freddie Freeman is ... well... maybe... OK! Kyle Tucker has looked good of late, and several pitchers are trending up at AAA. Glasnow looked shaky today, but it's one game.
Is this the Master Plan? To have everyone ready for the playoffs? Mookie Betts is suddenly hot. Will the Dodgers catch Lightning in a Jar? The stars are getting aligned... we shall see.
I have talked to several insiders who believe Andrew Friedman made some moves under (pressure or duress - you pick the word) last offseason. I think he is ripe for being picked up by another team with ownership as the carrot (Angels, Giants, Reds, A's, et al.). We shall see... Of course, Ohtani could go with him. To me, that's not a bad thing...
But, right here, right now... the Dodgers have another Championship to win... and they can do it! Hang on... It's going to be a Wild Ride!
OKC Comets 3 – Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston) 2
All the scoring was done in two innings. OKC got three in their third inning while Sugar Land got two in their fifth inning. In the OKC 3rd, C Chadwick Tromp hit a 2 out double. Tromp scored on a RF Zach Ehrhard RBI single. CF Alek Thomas followed with a 2-run HR and a 3-0 lead.
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RHSP Christian Romero tossed 4 scoreless innings without a whole lot of stress. In the 5th, after one out, Romero walked a batter, hit the next batter, and walked a third. After he got the 2nd out, he gave up a 2-run single, narrowing the lead to 1 run.
OKC got some excellent relief work. RHRP Kyle Hurt pitched a scoreless 6th inning. He gave up a single but struck out 2. LHRP Ronan Kopp pitched a clean 7th striking out 2. RHRP Jerming Rosario pitched a clean 8thwith 3 K.
In the 9th, Rosario returned to the mound. He gave up an inning opening single. The next batter hit into a force out. That brought in LHRP Garrett McDaniels. He got the first batter he faced to ground out, with the runner moving into scoring position. A passed ball moved the runner to 3rd. McDaniels got the next batter to ground out 1st baseman to pitcher completing the victory.
The winning streak has now reached 14 games. And OKC has now increased their lead over Sugar Land by 5 games with 7 to play. Because OKC has secured the tiebreaker over the Space Cowboys, OKC can win the 2nd half PCL championship with a win on Sunday.
· Zach Ehrhard – 2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, double (26)
· Alek Thomas – 1-2, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 sac bunt, HR (11)
· Noah Miller – 1-3, double (21)
· Chadwick Tromp – 1-2, 1 BB, 1 run, double (2)
Tulsa Drillers 8 – NW Arkansas Naturals (KC) 4
Tulsa raced out to an 8-0 lead after 6.0 innings.
RHSP Patrick Copen ended the regular season as he started it…dominant. He completed 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits, walking 2, and striking out 6.
Tulsa pushed across 4 runs in the 3rd. RF Jose Izarra opened the inning with a single. With one out, CF Mike Sirota singled. DH Elijah Hainline walked to load the bases. 3B Jake Gelof singled to score Izarra, and LF Kole Myers hit a SF to score Sirota. Hainline and Gelof scored on C Frank Rodriguez’s 2-run double (9).
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In the 4th, 1B Joe Vetrano hit a solo HR (13). After two outs, Sirota singled and scored ahead of Hainline’s 2-run HR (13).
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In the 5th, Rodriguez led off with a HBP and SS Sean McLain followed with a BB. Rodriguez moved to 3rd on a GIDP and scored on Izarra’s single.
LHRP Alex Walsh relived Copen in the 7th. He allowed a leadoff single who was erased on a DP. In the 8th, Walsh allowed a 1-out double and RBI single. After the 2nd out, RHRP Jacob Kmatz was summoned. The first batter he faced singled to bring home a 2nd run of the inning.
In the 9th Kmatz gave up a one-out HR and a two-out HR. After the 2nd HR, RHRP Cam Day was asked to get the final out and bring home an 8-4 win.
The Tulsa Drillers entered just two home runs away from breaking the single-season franchise record for HR, and Jake Gelof was tied for the single-season home run record. The Drillers broke one of the two records as Joe Vetrano and Elijah Hainline each homered. Will Gelof break the individual season HR record in the final regular season game?
The Drillers have now won ten of their past 11 games. They improved their season record to 88-49, ten more wins than any Drillers team has ever recorded in the franchise's 49-season history. It is also the most victories in all of Minor League Baseball this season.
· Mike Sirota – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs
· Jake Gelof – 2-3, 2 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI
· Jose Izarra – 2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI
· Elijah Hainline – 1-2, 2 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, HR (13)
· Joe Vetrano – 1-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (13)
· Double – Frank Rodriguez (9)
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Discussion (69)
Disagree, not disagreeable
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I was very entertained for 7 innings. No complaints.
Freeland with 2 hits. DePaula saying hello. Sheehan outstanding.
DePaula might be the link to Mark's shortstop.
Good teams lose games.
Overreacting is a bad look.
Some people would rather lose and be right than win and be wrong.
Another bullpen debacle. Henriquez, Scott and Stewart all failed to do their job. Not a good omen for the postseason.... But we also have the bright silver linings here too from Sheehan and JdP. Sheehan seems to be fully on track and could step into the playoff rotation is Glasnow struggles. If not, he'd be another weapon in the pen. And if JdP keeps it up, he could also join the postseason roster. Great to see the young talent make an impact on this very veteran team. And we can hope that Sasaki can step up like he did last season.
Never been a Tanner Scott fan. Now even less. Last year was not an anomaly, even if this year has been generally acceptable.
Good job JDP!! Is Rojas injured?
Don't look for Edwin Diaz to help much with the bullpen, as he just gave up 5 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning at AAA Oklahoma City today. This Dodger loss pisses me off, as we could have gone 3 1/2 games up on the Braves today for the second bye as they also lost to the Phillies 9-4. Can we count on Sasaki to be the answer like last year? He is eligible to come off the IL.
I feel a choke job after today's game vs Marlins. Bullpin blown another save by giving up 4 runs. After sweeping Reds at DS, the Reds want revenge. I wouldn't be surprised if Reds sweep Dodgers. The bullpin can't be trusted. Sorry Dodgers fans . No threepeat!
In a way to early look at the Dodgers look for 27, a lot will depend on where Mookie wants to play,short or second base. I predict the Dodgers will make a major move for a middle infielder. Another factor is where they are going to play Morales. If they think he will stick at shortstop the Dodgers might go get a stopgap until Morales is ready. Just to throw a couple of names out there who might be available are Abrams (Nationals) and Neto (Angels) with new ownership it’s worth a discussion. There are better players for example in my backyard is Bobby Witt. I believe there would be root not seen since Watts if KC traded Witt.
I believe it’s wayyyy to early to judge the Tucker contract. For the record I was against the signing because of the young highly talented outfielders in the Dodgers system. Edmund will be the super utility man. He’s good. A concern could be Smith’s caddy. I’m not sure of Rushing’s injury but if he’s out for a significant stretch next season the Dodgers could go get a backup catcher. Personally I like the catchers they have now.
Finally please don’t give a ridiculous contract to a relief pitcher. Most are so up and down.
This loss is entirely on Doc. Instead of inserting Kike to play outfield, he should have brought him in to pitch.
Shit
BP is garbage and the inability to tag on more runs with a lead (looking at you Kyle Tucker) is a problem.
Poison pen! And Dodgers offense totally dependent on long ball. Not exactly building my playoff confidence!
THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow what a HR by JDP. Kid looks like the real deal!
Michael Grove DFAd by the Rays. D-Backs DFAd Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Sunday Dodger Affiliates' Schedule 12:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Cole Irvin) vs. Sugar Land (TBA) 12:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Roque Gutierrez) at Northwest Arkansas (Ethan Bosacker)
1:40 PM ET
Dodgers (90-58) Marlins (73-76)
SP Emmet Sheehan R 5-8 5.08 ERA SP Eury Perez R 7-11 3.94 ERA
Confirmed Lineup SS Mookie Betts R 1B F. Freeman L DH Max Muncy L C Will Smith R RF Kyle Tucker L LF J. De Paula L CF Alex Call R 2B Miguel Rojas R 3B A. Freeland S
In Domed Stadium LINE LAD -143
Mookie leading off, DePaula moves up in the order to 6th and males his debut in LF, NO Teo.
Might as well IL Glasnow and let Sheehan take his starts before the postseason. With no Ohtani, we could use Glasnow as the #4 starter so we don't need to risk Wrobleski. But a better way is not really needing an SP4 at all. Sweep the NLDS and use him only once in the NLCS & WS.
I agree the Dodgers we're somewhat "forced" or pressured to make the Diaz and Tucker moves because they did not want to give up prospects in a trade (and money was not an issue).
Tanner Scott was to be the closer for the next few years, but he was so bad in '25, he was not even on the roster in World Series! Diaz was insurance, albeit at a high-price (money and character flaws). FTR, I am not a fan.
Same situation with Tucker. We needed to add a bat in the OF. In the '25 WS, our offensive production from the outfield positions was poor. The Conforto experiment failed, and Andy Pages was a no-show offensively. There was essentially nothing to run-back--i.e., so in the offseason, they needed to add a bat that could be counted on to perform under the bright lights. With the payroll investments and win-now mantra, counting on an OF of Teoscar, Pages, and a rookie was not an option--too risky. Tucker in right field producing at career averages and, most importantly, a few clutch hits in the post season would make his high AAV contract worth it. I am still bullish on him.
I have always thought the Trevor Bauer move fell into "forced" category too. In this situation, I think the Padres played the Dodgers into signing him. The Pads were surging and Friedman wanted to slow their roll, but in doing so he ignored the character flaw road signs.
As a quid pro quo, I think Friedman and team did an excellent job baiting the Padres into signing Xander Boegarts to a long term deal. The Dodgers had no intention of signing Xander but put out lots of signals bc they were without a proven SS at the time. The Padres took the bait, and have regretted it ever since.
FanGraphs projects MLB playoff odds by simulating the remainder of the season 20,000 times, estimating each team’s probability of making the playoffs, winning their division, or capturing the World Series. FanGraphs calculates playoff odds using current standings, remaining schedules, and projected team performance. Each team’s strength is estimated from depth chart projections, blending ZiPS and Steamer forecasts, and their neutral-opponent winning percentage is used to simulate each remaining game
The simulations are run 20,000 times, and the results are aggregated to determine probabilities for division titles, wild card berths, and postseason success.
The Dodger's Magic Number to clinch the NL West is NOW 4 over the Padres because we have the season tie breaking record against them at 7-3 with only 3 games remaining against them and a Magic Number of 3 over the Snakes.
FanGraphs as of today even with our loss yesterday and the Braves' win has our chances of winning one of the two playoff byes at 90.8% and the Braves at only 11.2%. I hope they are RIGHT. These results change daily.
Looking forward, what could the Dodgers do in order to field a dominant team. Left field? Second base? Move Mookie to second base and get a big time SS? Let Kike walk? Move Call? Rojas is retiring, right? Stuck with Tuck? Is Pages the real deal? Freddie next season. 12 homers and 65 rbi? Dalton out for 27? Lots of questions for next season. But right now they have a World Series to win! Ohtani? He could be back. Don’t count him out!
Interesting topic: will Ohtani and Friedman leave the profoundly rich LA market?
Friedman is paid $7 million a year and is living comfortably in the beautiful city of Pasadena. Ohtani, lives wherever he wants, will be 33 next July, appears to be showing signs of aging and is still owed over 100 billion yen to be paid out at $68 million a year for a decade after he turns 40.
Who is going to want to do that?
Well, if we are to ask Claude, or Grok, ChatWhoever, Meta Llama or the Dalai Lama the answer is a few cities would be interested. “San Francisco: Pacific Rim, Asian American demographics, technology, venture capital, Eco-innovation. Toronto: global commerce, international banking, true multinational cross border capture. Seattle: aerospace, e-commerce deep ties to Japanese baseball.” And of course New York.
Would these cities and organizations welcome him as a baseball player or just a brand? I don’t know. Certainly over my pay grade. But the question is, for me anyway, if he’s not whacking 50 home runs every year, and let’s face it, he won’t be, what will his B.I.S. revenue be worth?
I think I might be with Mark on this one. You and Andrew want to park your Brinks trucks somewhere else? Ok. Sayōnara. And thanks for the memories.