I wrote about the possibility of a slow start for the Dodgers but did not predict one. I know Mark liked to chide me with that after the first two series. But 5-2 against arguably two of the worst 3 teams in the NL was nothing to brag about. The Padres played the same two teams and went 4-3. And now LAD gets to face the Rockies without having to face Kyle Freeland or German Marquez, and with Daniel Murphy on the IL. The Dodgers should not lose tomorrow and should sweep the Rockies giving them an 8-2 record for their 1st ten games. This is also different from last year when the Dodgers were horrible against teams <.500. 8-2 is what I would expect against these three teams. But actually achieving it is special.
My point was that while some of us get exasperated with a slow start of the season, the Dodgers FO does not get excited about it as they believe they have the team to battle back, and they have backed it up. My observation was that while they may be saving the starters for October, they are wearing out the relievers, or at least that is how it is panned out the last two WS. Why worry about saving innings for October if you are not going to let them throw longer in the WS. So it doesn’t seem to me that the less use in April is so that they can go longer in October. The pitch/inning limit is here to stay for the Dodgers, and I cannot argue too much since they have been to the WS in consecutive years. As a fan, I may not agree with it because as I write this, it has been 30+ years since the Dodgers have won the WS. But I accept it as reality, until the next metamorphosis in baseball strategy.
But everything is pointing that this is a different team. They are scoring in bunches and not all because of HRs. They are getting runners home from 3rd with less than 2 outs consistently. They are going the opposite way consistently. They are aggressive when they need to be and patient when it suits them. It is great to see the improvement in their approach.
Walker Buehler followed a bad first outing with a strong 5 innings, and the bullpen held it together, with a few shaky moments. Thus far the bullpen just has not been automatic. In eight of the nine starts, the starting pitching has been stellar. The bullpen????
Well it looks like Dodger management has done what opposing pitchers could not do…cool off Joc Pederson. I will admit that Joc looked overmatched against Mike Dunn in the last two games. But he blistered Andrew Chafin in another AB against a lefty. I do not know what we should expect when a batter is seeing the ball well and then sits for most of 4 games and 5 days. Sunday’s game is against a RHSP, and then there will be 4 consecutive series against a team with no LHSP (Cardinals, Brewers, Reds, and Brewers). Joc should have plenty of time to find his stroke again, just in time to sit against the Cubs with Lester, Hamels, and Quintana. It has to be frustrating to hit so well only to sit. Joc does not come off the bench well.
It is no secret that I have been less than impressed with the FO and how they value relief pitching. I hope that I can be a little critical and not be considered a moron. I know Mark gets chippy when I say that AF does not value relief pitching, but I see no evidence that AF and Company believe that RP is critical to win. I firmly believe that they would rather focus their efforts elsewhere and hope that they can plug a hole with a Zac Rosscup, John Axford, Wilmer Font, JT Chargois, Erik Goeddel, Edward Paredes, Daniel Hudson, or Ryan Madson, while Ryan Pressly, Keone Kela, Brad Brach, and Zack Britton are all traded to other teams. While I would love for them to trade for Jose Leclerc, I cannot fault them if Texas is not willing to trade him.
It has not worked out yet, but I at least give AF & Co. credit for signing Joe Kelly. I was hopeful that Joe learned what was so successful, but either the Dodgers do not like the pitch that was so successful last WS, or Joe has lost total command. I think it is the latter because one of the trademark pitches for the Dodgers is a rising fastball, and Kelly has not been able to get that pitch…yet.
Brock Stewart should never have been led to believe he could be a starting pitcher. I know one of the things Bums likes about Stewart is that he is a converted position player, threw hard, and still has time to harness that command. But those type of pitchers he often cites (Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen) have done that as relievers not as starters. If they had the ability to get three pitches to be successful, they would not have been position players. Stewart has a two pitch repertoire and that is as good as it is going to get. When he does go back to OKC, I hope he ends up in the pen, because that is the only way he can help the Dodgers this year. Next year he will not be a Dodger, so it will not matter.
Yimi Garcia right now looks snake bit and has lost confidence. He looks every bit as Baez looked last year before he was sent down. Hopefully his 7th inning last night will help his confidence. The difference is that Garcia does not have any options left. If he is DFA, and some team picks him up, there are others at OKC who can do what he has done. It will not be the end of the world for the Dodgers or Garcia.
Forgetting about his four pitch walk last night, it certainly looks like Caleb Ferguson is a staple in the bullpen. He looks comfortable, and he can stay at ML if he recognizes that his future is as a reliever. I think Dennis Santana is in the same situation, but they all know where the money is, and it is not in relieving.
I do not expect AF to spend any of his player capital for solid relief in July. I do expect he will look at OKC and Tulsa for the answer. Santana, Gonsolin, Sborz, Schultz, Stetson, and Kasowski are all potential callups. Gonsolin, Stetson, and Kasowski will all need to be placed on the 40 man before getting called up. Every one of them is a potential high caliber prospect, but that is what they are…prospects. If Kimbrel is not signed by the June draft, I would like to see him considered for the stretch. Can you imagine Kimbrel with a chip on his shoulder to prove everyone wrong?
MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
OKC 4 – San Antonio Missions 6 (Brewers)
Ben Holmes started for OKC and was not sharp. He went 3 innings allowing 3 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. Zach McAllister relieved Holmes and pitched very well in his two innings allowing a single but striking out 5. Jaime Schultz went 1.1 IP and gave up a run when Justin Grimm gave up a runs from an inherited runner for Schultz. Josh Smoker gave up a 2 run HR to Tyrone Taylor in the 9th for the difference in the game.
Down 4-1 in the 7th, Paolo Orlando and Jake Peter led off with HRs. Rocky Gale then reached 1st on an error and went to 2nd on a walk to Daniel Castro. Gale scored on a ground ball force out and throwing error to tie the score. There were no multi hit games for any Dodger. Besides the two HRs, the only other XBH was a double by Rocky Gale.
Tulsa 5 – Arkansas Travelers 8 (Mariners)
Tulsa lost for the third consecutive game. JD Martin, another offseason minor league free agent, started and pitched 6 innings allowing 6 runs on 8 hits. Down 6-3 in the 6th, the Drillers made a run. Jared Walker led off the 6th with a HBP, followed by a single from Josh Thole. Both runners moved up on a WP and scored on a Zach McKinstry single. Gavin Lux and DJ Peters followed with singles and the bases were loaded with nobody out. Chris Parmelee struck out and Keibert Ruiz popped into a foul out DP with McKinstry thrown out at the plate. Offensively, the Drillers had 14 hits led by Omar Estevez and three hits. DJ Peters, Zach Reks, Jared Walker, Josh Thole, and Zach McKinstry all had 2 hits apiece. Unfortunately, with all of those hits, the team was 4-16 wRISP.
Just like with the ML team, the relievers continued to throw gasoline on a fire. Shea Spitzbarth put together a quality 1.2 innings after a horrendous 1st outing on opening day. Marshall Kasowski made his 2019 debut and allowed a walk and bunt single. With two outs, Adam McCreery relieved Kasowski and promptly issued a WP followed by a 2 run single. Why Kasowski was not allowed to finish the game, well????
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4 – Stockton Ports 2 (A’s)
Down 2-0 and with two outs in the 4th, Carlos Rincon hit a double. Donovan Casey singled to score Rincon and continued to second on an error. Marcus Chiu followed with a run scoring single to tie the game. The scored stayed knotted at 2 apiece until Connor Wong hit is first HR of the season in the 8th. The Quakes added an insurance run with a Marcus Chiu HR in the 9th.
Bryan Warzek started and pitched 3.1 innings allowing the two runs on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. However, tonight the Quake bullpen was outstanding led by 2.1 innings from Max Gamboa, 2 innings from Jordan Sheffield. Wes Helsabeck gave up a 9th inning run, but got the save. It was great to see Jordan Sheffield in his new role.
Great Lakes 3 – Lake County Captains 5 (Indians)Great Lakes loses their 3rd consecutive game to start the season 5-3 to the Lake County Captains (Indians).. The bright note in this game is that Josiah Gray pitched 4.2 innings allowing 1 run on 2 hits, issuing 2 walks and getting 6 strikeouts, and came out tied 1-1. Unfortunately, Saturday’s GL bullpen did not come through as Austin Drury allowed 1 run on 1 hit (HR) and Jasiel Alvino allowed 3 runs on 3 hits. Each had 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Justin Hagenman pitched the 9th allowing no baserunners.
Offensively, the team hit 5 doubles led by Miguel Vargas’ 2. Niko Hulsizer, Jacob Amaya, and Hunter Feduccia had the other 3. But the story of the game was they were 2-11 wRISP.
Discussion (54)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I can’t help but feel that we are witnessing something historic. The Dodgers look nothing like the last two seasons and could possibly have the best team this club has ever seen. With an offensive production that has no limit, it allows Doc much more lateral leeway with how long his starters play and the constant shuffling of the BP. We are getting an early feel of how our BP can and should be used, allowing the relievers to prove themselves early in the season, and because of the injuries to Kershaw and Hill, the early callups of Ferguson and Santana and the rotation work of Urias and Stripling filling in will make the club that much stronger.
Urias needs to be in the BP, not starting. He already is working with a pitch limitation and doesn’t have full control of his stuff. If our offense wasn’t so productive, Urias might of been in line for the loss tonight. Even Kelly’s unproductive outing got him a win!, all because of our offense. Doc can tinker all he wants with these kinds of leads in games. He’ll test Kelly again and again, as he should, and as the offense allows him to.
The one surprise for me in tonight’s game was no Verdugo. Doc’s blessings fell on Joc and Taylor, 2 players that need to pull it together while the team is so hot. Don’t blame Doc for Pederson’s shortcomings. Any player at the pro level should be able to withstand bench time and not dive into a slump. Slumping has been Pederson’s MO his whole career. I think this will be his last year to prove that he can be a starter as Verdugo’s presence is probably on his mind more than ever now. And, Joc still can’t hit LHP. Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.
I like that the Dodgers are trying to step on the NL West immediately this year. Yes Turner and Seager got hurt and that was huge, but the Dodgers took a half-ass approach to spring training last season and when they had an April full of NL West teams last year they put themselves in a hole they were digging out of the entire season.
Sooo, just kind of observing out of the box… Why are we more critical player for player on our own team on a Dodger blog than the national media? Do the research, ESPN, MLB, and other baseball websites are singing our praises, even had an article on ESPN that if Freidman retired right now, without any moves, we would still be relevant through out 2021. ESPN couldn’t say enough about us tonight, our depth, our focus, how we are an offensive force. C’mon guys, enjoy the damn ride, surf that wave into shore instead of picking our team apart. These guys totally remind me of the 2017 team, already some great comeback wins, they just seem really tight. Enjoy, get fired up, and let’s take this sumbitch into St. Louis!
Oye como va!
The Dodgers shipped Dee Gordon, Dan Haren, Miguel Rojas and cash to the Marlins in exchange for Chris Hatcher, Andrew Heaney, Kike Hernandez, AND Austin Barnes.
Let that sink in for a minute.
Cody pop!
I wonder if Ryu pitched in St Louis last year?
This is now a perfect opportunity to let Santana get a few innings in relief, and save the pen for StL
Tough outing for Julio, this game could get interesting. Hopefully a learning experience in a tough place to pitch. Nice punch out there by Kelly. They are into our BP in the 4th inning.
What Kike giveth Blackmon takeith away.
It is going to be more of a test in this next series, but I think we are more then capable of handling the Cards, just as long as we keep this up.
Isn’t this much more exciting then watching a bunch of HRs and walks?
Of course those things are also part of our of our offense, but the difference, our offense are not dependent on only HRs, and walks.
I love that first pitch hitting by Urias and Barnes too.
Man, great AB after great AB! Urias handed a big lead now leave him in for 6. Julio has a hit and a sacrifice bunt too. We are into their bullpen in the 3rd inning.
99, FYI, if anything, Puig is NOT an idiot. If memory serves, both of his parents are engineers, and I also recall reading that he was the go to guy when other players had tech questions.
So while he clearly had faults, being an idiot was not one of them?
Freese gets the start at 1B and in a small sample he has hit Bettis in the past. Muncy is heating up and is 2 for 7 off Bettis, both hits HR’s but hits the bench. I was hoping for Verdugo to get a start in CF after his big game yesterday and AJ has not had a day off this year. Doc the cooler in action. I do hope Freese and AJ have success today.
I predict a big game from Urias today. He should not go back to the bullpen but has to earn that rotation spot. Right now I consider him the #2 in terms of stuff and talent. Maeda should be the one to go to the pen when Kersh comes back. He pitches well there and is the weakest rotation link IMO. Call me crazy but Hill would be a real asset in the bullpen too and leave Strip in the rotation. Get out the brooms! Other than Dahl and maybe Story the entire Rockies team is not hitting. Give Urias a lead the bullpen can’t blow like last time he pitched.
In his Triple-A debut, Gonsolin now hadfive straight strikeouts after striking out the side in the second inning, then had a tough third inning, allowing three runs on two hits.
Nice season debut for Mitchell White in Tulsa.
And, in cse you missed it, the the second installment of Backfields Notes:
https://t.co/Tyjj1YWog3
Looks at Jeter Downs
Looks like Puig might get a suspension for charging after Archer during a melee at the Cin/Pit game. Things were starting to calm down when Puig broke loose from Votto and Cabrera holding him back.
https://nypost.com/2019/04/07/yasiel-puig-charges-at-chris-archer-as-brawl-gets-heated/
Other than the obvious, Stewart was replaced because the bullpen needed a fresh arm.
Santana hasn’t demonstrated great control since he returned from his injury last year. He is definitely not the guy I would have brought up today, especially since we’re playing at Coors. I would have left him at OKC for a while to work on his stuff instead of throwing him out there in a situation where he might very well fail and hurt his confidence. He has a great future ahead of him, unless the FO screws around with him and shuttles him back and forth to OKC all year long like they’ve done with Stewart.
AC, I think it was you that I had a discussion with this winter regarding the possibility of signing Greg Holland to a one-year deal. The Dbacks wound up signing him and he’s started the year very well, albeit with a small sample size. I think we should keep an eye on him. He might be worth looking at again at the deadline in July.
Why with a runner on 1st didn’t the Dodgers have Kenley attempt to bunt him over?
AC, I agree with everything you posted.
I was hoping Stewart would regain his fastball and command. He should accept that he is a relief pitcher until he develops a third pitch in the winter or spring training. Hard to do once the season starts. At this point the better he does the more likely he will be traded. Stewart is throwing more sidearm this year for some reason and the movement it taking the ball out of the strike zone.
Joc probably lost some of his timing while sitting but it seems to me that his approach changed as well. I hope RVS gets him in a head lock when they talk hitting.
Muncy and Turner are heating up. Seager is still cold. Verdugo looks good.
What reliever might the Dodgers trade for that would be better than Maeda, Urias, Stripling, Hill, Gonselin, May, this year? Maybe it is better to let a prospect pitch as a reliever before he is ready for the rotation.
Garcia broke off a nasty slider yesterday. Maybe he should use it more often.
The Dodgers have signed 17-year-old catcher Nelson Quiroz.
In addition the Dodgers have also agreed to terms with 17-year-old right-handed pitcher Hendrick Briones. Both are from Mexico.
Most likely means a quick hook for Urias. I bet Santana is stoked to make his 2019 debut at Coors. 😉
Santana’s coming up for today’s game. Have to assume Stewart is gone.
So far the Dodgers have a different approach to hitting this year. I agree with AC. When they have a runner on third with less than two outs, the batter looks for the first good pitch to hit a fly ball. They are also using the middle of the field for hitting.
Verdugo is going to get more playing time and Taylor is going to get less. It is early, but players are making their case for more or less playing time. I do not know what to say about Joc. Sitting four days is not good. He looked frustrated last night. I do not blame him. He looks different this year. I would like to see him play this year against left handlers. One final opportunity. It should not take long to find out. If he looks bad, then I think you have to trade him. Verdugo is ready and he can hit left handlers. I hate platooning. It takes two players for one position and nobody can find a rhythm. Not good.
I think our bull pen is better than we think. The bull pen throws a lot of innings early in the season. Our starters are not ready to pitch anymore than 5-6 innings. The bull pen is going to throw 3-4 innings every night early. They all have to be good every night or we lose. They just do not get much rest.
Speaking about getting runners home from 3rd with less than 2 outs consistently. I have a doubt: If a runner is on second base and the next batter get a hit, but the runner stay at third, that affect to the WRISP? Since the runner don’t score.
I do not know if I wrote it correctly, I hope you can understand my doubt
Good morning. It’s been a long time since I wrote anything, but I always read this blog, it’s the best. And although I agree with what you say, since it’s still very early in the season, it’s been a very good thing got the victory, because they have been games that had to be won. It is much better to have 8 – 2 instead of 5 -5.
AC, I think AF values relief pitching, but I also think he believes that “buying” it is generally not the way… although he did spend for Kenley and Kelly. One of these days I am going to do a post on the correlation of spending money on relief pitchers and winning. I’m off to Denver…