Now That the trade deadline is behind us...
The Dodgers must have figured that getting Tarik Skubal put them in the WS. Many fans felt so. The Dodgers optioned Emmet Sheehan and certainly knew that was coming yesterday.
With Sheehan being optioned, the Dodgers are down to 5 SP of their 6-man rotation: Justin Wrobleski, Tarik Skubal, Eric Lauer, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki. Justin Wrobleski is looking more like the guy who has reached his limit in early August. He has pitched 118 innings so far in 2026, after 118.1 in all of 2025 (both MLB and MiLB) and 132.0 IP in all of 2024 (both MLB and MiLB). How much does he have left?
Wrobleski is the first Dodger ever to give up 4 HR in back-to-back games. How much better of a choice is he over Sheehan right now?
It would appear that the Dodgers are simply counting on the return to health from Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani. There is nobody else. Since the 2-way player is just a DH now, the team only has 13 pitchers available. The bullpen is a hot mess. And yet AF/BG chose not to address the bullpen. Instead, they chose to trade for LHP, Kris Bubic, who has been injured most of the year because of a left shoulder injury. The Dodgers have not been all that forthright with injury claims this year, so why should we be comfortable with the Dodgers saying they expect him back? Shoulder injuries are difficult to come back from. Ask Hyun-jin Ryu Julio Urías and Gavin Stone. I know, Bubic will be different.
Which LAD reliever does anyone have confidence in? Edwin Díaz, Jack Dreyer, Edgardo Henriquez, Jonathan Hernández, Kyle Hurt, Evan Phillips, Tanner Scott, and Alex Vesia. And yet Seth Halvorsen sits in OKC.
But no worries, the Dodgers now have 4 backup catchers, and have retained 65 of their 66 OF prospects. They did trade Jack Suwinski, but they still have Alex Call, Ryan Ward, Alek Thomas, and Ryan Fitzgerald. Will they bring up JDP to replace Suwinski? Will they bring up Charles Davalan to replace JDP in AA? If that happens, who might replace Davalan in Great Lakes?
How is this team going to get younger? Just how old is Mookie looking? Kiké? Miggy Ro? Will Max and Freddie continue to defy thier age, or will they too slow down? Will Tucker ever get hot? How will Smith come back? How hurt is Dalton Rushing? Should Wrobo be optioned to minimize his IP over the next several weeks?
The base running is absolutely atrocious, and it has cost multiple runs.
The team is not functioning like the best team in MLB right now, but as I said yesterday, they were not playing good baseball at the same time frame last year. Will it turn around like it did last year?
I choose to be an optimist. While I think the questions are fair, I choose not to dwell on the negatives. I believe that all three injured SP will come back and be productive. Yes, including Tyler Glasnow. I believe that Wrobo will get enough rest and re-find himself and become a major relief factor in the playoffs. I believe that Sheehan will find something in OKC that will turn his season around. I do not know if Doc will trust him in the playoffs, but I do think he will make a compelling argument. I believe that Halvorsen will make his way to LAD and prove to be another successful reclamation project.
While others have put too much emphasis on getting the best overall record and having home field advantage throughout, I remember last year. They were a WC team and did not have home field advantage in any of the NLDS, NLCS, and WS. Maybe it will take them a month to work it all out and get all of their players back healthy, but once everyone is back, the holes should be filled. Worry about getting the team healthy and ready for the playoffs. If they do, the talent will take over, like the last two years.
Regardless, the next several weeks are going to be inundated with frustrations. It is going to be a wild ride, so I am going to sit back and enjoy it. But I will also feel compelled to ask the questions.
Discussion (132)
Disagree, not disagreeable
8:05 PM ET
Dodgers (69-44) Cubs (64-49)
SP Tarik Skubal L 7-5 2.79 ERA SP Javier Assad R 6-1 3.75 ERA
Confirmed Lineup DH S. Ohtani L CF Andy Pages R 1B F. Freeman L 3B Max Muncy L SS Mookie Betts R RF Kyle Tucker L LF T. Hernandez R 2B Tommy Edman S C Ben Rortvedt L
77° Wind 8 mph R-L LINE LAD -185
"The Dodgers announced four moves involving backstops, as they have completely switched up their catching corps. They have selected the contract of catcher Ben Rortvedt and activated recent trade acquisition Hunter Feduccia. Eliezer Alfonzo has been optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma and Chuckie Robinson has been designated for assignment".
Some terrific thoughts from everyone on this post. Clearly, we are passionate Dodgers fans. We are getting old, obviously and that probably contributed to the losing streak. I don't see Tucker as a big problem as Mookie. Yes we paid a lot for an average OF, but money is not a factor on the playing field. Little guys (Mookie) wear down faster than big players (Freddie, Max). Teo can be traded if the Dodgers pay some salary and he should. His defense is not good.
Clubhouse value doesn't help the offense or defense. Bringing Kike back just added another old player. Kim is cheaper and could play all outfield and infield positions except 1B, had speed and was an average hitter. No, he doesn't hit home runs but he would be a hell of a substitute runner in the bottom of the ninth. So sit back, hopefully watch your Dodgers win another WS and see what next year brings. I think these old guys still have some good baseball in them.
Will the Dodgers sign Skubal after the season to a new contract
Per Alex Freedman Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone have reported to OKC. Miller will start on Wednesday and Stone will start on Thursday.
Welcome to Gopherville Tarik.
I absolutely hate this batting order. I know Will Smith being out and Tucker not performing has made it tough but Mookie needs to be down in the lineup. Edman needs to be hitting 2nd. I think I would go Ohtani Edman Freddie Muncy Teo or Pages Tucker Teo or Pages Mookie Catcher
The Cubs are sending a message tonight....
Dodgers lead the league in GIDP with 96. Mookie absolutely sucks with 1 for his last 20 AB. He needs to sit tomorrows game and we need some timely offense right now.
Tucker has to make that catch. Poorly done!
I caught an interesting Foolish Baseball report on YouTube. The nerdy, funny guy who runs it did a data-heavy analysis that led him to conclude that "The Brewers Are a Fraud" because their offense beats up on weak pitching--hitting as a group like Bryce Harper--but fails against good pitching. Roughly a .200 drop in OPS, if I recall correctly. But what I also noticed is that his research showed that Cubs were fairly indifferent to the quality of the pitching. They were at or near the top against both. So the Cubs' offense is real. And now they've added Gausman and Holmes to the rotation....And tonight, as I write this, they are beating the Skubal-led Dodgers.
I'm sure others here noticed that the Brewers picked up old friend Dustin May... And of course the Pads picked up Robbie Ray and Casey Mize.
More of the same.
Nothing wrong with this Dodger offense. Everything’s fine. At the deadline we just needed to trade for a pitcher that only throws shutouts! Great to have Diaz back. Trying to outdo Tucker as biggest free agent flop!
The Mets owned the Dodgers in 1988.
How did that work out?
The Cubs are a great August team.
It all happens in October!
Shitfuck
Keep your chins up. Our 'Stopper' goes tomorrow
Per Jack Harris Roberts said Rushing has a small tear in his UCL he will stay on a hitting progression but will be shut down from throwing for several weeks
Lose 5th in a row and second straight series but will not lose any ground to the D-Backs since the Padres are cleaning their clock tonight 8-0 in the 7th. They also fall 1.5 games back of Milwaukee for the best record in baseball. Brewers won their 70th and have lost 2 less than LA. Rushing diagnosed with a partial UCL tear in his elbow. 6–8-week recovery time. Shut down from throwing. Smith not back until late August at the earliest. Lauer vs Imanaga tomorrow afternoon. Off day Thursday and then 3 in Phoenix with Az. The last time they play them this year. They are 5-5 against AZ this year. 3-3 at LA, 2-2 in Az. Imanaga is 7-9 with an ERA just below 4.
Did anyone get my message yesterday? I said that I've been a Dodger fan since the 2977 world series. Not too often someone becomes a fan of a team that LOST the world series! That's me!
Excuse me. I meant 1977 world series.
Dodger fans do not panic at the Dodger record for this month. In 2025 their August record was 15-13 (.536) and the Padres got within 3 games of their lead. They will pull it together down the stretch.