Purely a Trainwreck!

Chris Hatcher has a lower ERA than Ross Stripling…

WHY IS HATCHET STILL ON THE ROSTER? I am using caps because it keeps me from driving a dull butter knife through my forehead. WHY , WHY, WHY? This is groundhog day from the first two months of last year. Somebody, ANYBODY, please take a warm six pack for this guy so we can move on to someone else. Not hating, I’m sure he is a good guy, but enough is enough. Pull the damn trigger.

Mark:

Hope needs a subject,

Right now Maeda, Hill, Ryu look somewhat hopeless

For the future; Urias, Buehler & White give me a lot of hope, with Alvarez to follow

This ain’t my first rodeo. Just like last year… be patient! It’s a long season. Don’t lose your minds or hope!

Hatcher and SVS just need to go. Period. Period. Period.

Forgot;

Hatcher relased

This team is a year away. I want the team to succeed, but I have realistic expectations. Too many holes especially in the SP’s

Next Year:

Urias in LA full time,

Buehler or White in LA,

Gonzalez gonzo,

Bellinger starting at 1B,

Hopefully LF resolved (Verdugo),

Hopefully swing & miss Joc gonzo,

Scott V – released (who would want him), Utley – retired,

I do like the trade scenarios for Trout but those are not happening.

Bases loaded.-

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Turner strikes out.

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He’s a bum!

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Cut him!

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That’s as dumb as doubting the Dodgers pitching depth. It may not look good now, but the depth will make all the difference!

Some good is coming out of this game. Taylor and Barnes look like they belong. Kike is starting to turn it around. Joc looks lost. He just has not gotten any better. This is his third year and I just do not see the improvement I would include Joc in any trade package. Bellinger and Verdugo has to be better than Joc.

Whew, he pitched 5 – It’s all good.

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Wait! What’s the score?

Another 4 inning start. More Dodger incompetence against lefties. Wash, rinse, repeat.

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Get Maeda out of there.

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The Dodgers have too many spots in their rotation that they need to replace right now. They have 2 guys getting it done, 3 on the DL, and the rest stink. Urias replaces Wood; who replaces Ryu and Maeda?

I should have said “reel in Archer”.

This much I know; Maeda has not been good this year!

Urias is coming next week.

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Archer isn’t!

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Maeda was great the first half of last year and ran out of gas the second half. Hopefully, it is opposite this year.

We have one ace and way too many #4 and #5 starters. Two more top pitchers (Urias and Archer?) are needed.

Kike!

I like the trade for Forsythe but I stand by my pre-spring training comments that I would be okay with Taylor starting the season as the Dodger’s second baseman. He might wind up getting plenty of playing time there as Forsythe could be in and out of the lineup all year.

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I like Ozuna and Archer and I hate to admit it, Braun is growing on me.

Back to Trout:

How about Alvarez, Stewart, Calhoun, Verdugo, Sheffield, Peters, Toles and Pederson? The Angels get one Major Leaguer who has 50+ HR and another who is already in the Show, plus 5 TOP 10 Prospects and another Top 20 Prospect?

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The Dodgers would still have Bellinger, Urias, Buehler, Diaz, Lux. White , Estevaz and a bunch more….

Hey, is it just me, or are we platooning so much that the bench guys are starting to get as many at bats as the starters? Every team we play from here on out is going to throw as many lefties as they can at us until we break the schnide. Unless it is paying off big time to platoon, which seems like a mixed bag at this point, just leave the damn starters in there for 6 or 7 games in a row and let them get some consistent AB’s. We are never going to know unless at some point this year we try it. The other teams must dig it when we trot out the spring training lineup like tonight. It totally weakens us in the long run. I am starting to see a pattern that I think is not good, and I usually don’t worry too much about us. Just seems like some of our keys guys need to in there every night no matter who pitches.

Mark,

Why, if FAZ wants to limit the innings of Urias, is he in the rotation at OKC? Really only one pitcher has thrown significantly more innings with the OKC Dodgers than Urias and that is Jurrjens, who has thrown 2.2 innings more. In fact really only McCarthy and Kershaw have thrown for more innings than Urias. What’s up with that? Are they saying that Minor League innings are not as stressful? If they are going to throw him like that then put him in the Big League rotation for crying out loud! I don’t like the duplicity I am feeling here. What kind of message are they sending to the kid. All this talk of managing his innings…feels like someone is trying to sell some swamp land in Florida.

Well it makes it all righty batters taking Joc out for Grandal who is a switch hitter so why not test the platoon thing all the way? And it puts does Taylor at SS with a better glove however I’m not sure if Barnes is an upgrade at 2B or not. My main problem was sitting Seager after a big game unless he wanted a day off (not likely) and they all just had a day off Thurs. I’m sure the DBacks liked tonight’s lineup!

How about this:

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1. Hernandez LF

2. Taylor SS

3. Turner 3B

4. Puig RF

5. Van Slyke 1B

6. Grandal C

7. Barnes 2B

8. Eibner CF

There’s the answer! Sit Seager, who homered last night, plus Grandal and AGon and give Eibner LF. Unless Seager told Roberts he needed a blow come on! This lineup does have speed up top and maybe someone surprises me and there is some thunder off the bench when the starter gets pulled. Maeda better have his A game going or it could get ugly tonight. Taylor is also the better SS so I don’t get that at all, put Kike at 2B.

Tonight’s Lineup:

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1. Hernandez SS

2. Taylor 2B

3. Turner 3B

4. Puig RF

5. Van Slyke 1B

6. Pederson CF

7. Barnes C

8. Eibner LF

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I don’t know why they didn’t put all righties in.

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Can anyone tell me how they could have done that? I know.

I think that if the Dodgers could get 50 cents on the dollar for A-Gon, they would jump at it! They might get 30 cents on the dollar…

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The problem is this: Dodger fans love Adrian and he is a really good dude. Many think he is worth the $21 million he is being paid. Other teams wouldn’t pay him $8 million… not at this stage of his career.

I don’t feel comfortable with Wood in the rotation, and he is too good in the pen as a long man. Urias is ready to take that spot next turn as Mark mentioned. If Hill can get healthy, toughen up his fingers, change his grip or whatever it takes we have a solid 3 and McCarthy has pitched well also. That leaves Maeda and Ryu for the last spot but they will need all 6 at some point with the health concerns. Limiting innings seems to be working itself out on it’s own.

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The wheels fell off in the 8th inning but it was a perfect storm of good at bats and bad pitching and not the end of the world. It’s difficult when the bullpen is on a tight rope night after night. Romo will be ok, and a game like this destroys the ERA of a reliever and hopefully does not damage his confidence.

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I am not in favor of giving up on AGon this early and the other options at 1B don’t inspire me. Whatever salary he has is a sunk cost so might as well get what you can out of him. He may not be 100% but at least he’s playing unlike Ethier who is another sunk cost and also Kazmir. He also can field the position and is a clubhouse and community leader. Put Ethier and Kazmir on the 60 day DL and open up some 40 man spots.

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I read an interesting article about Bellinger’s arbitration clock that if called up after May 1st would give the Dodgers another year of team control. He can only be on the roster for 172 days, similar to Kris Bryant 2 years ago. If he keeps producing at OKC he may force their hand.

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I liked Pederson up top last night and Puig could look good in the 2 hole flattering their speed. Put Seager and Turner 3 and 4 and bat Grandal and AGon 5 and 6 in some combination with 2B and LF 7 and 8 depending on the lineup that day.

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It’s a long season and the team will be fine, starting with the game today. The rotation will be good. The bullpen will be better. The bats will come alive and they will start winning series at home and on the road. The Rockies are for real and will compete if they can win on the road. I don’t think the DBacks have the pitching to hold up over a long season. The Giants are flawed, Mad Bum is out and the Dodgers need to take advantage when they play them 7 out of 10 games coming up. Of course the Giants will play their hearts out but could be buried early. The Padres are the Padres and the Dodgers seem to own them. I believe in this team, in the manager and the front office and they all deserve our support while they work through this rough patch at the start of the year.

I think I have the solution to our LHP woes.

The Bryce Harper stat of the day from @MarkZuckerman – 11 plate appearances vs LHP this year. Reached in 10 of them!

It is past time for Bellinger to replace Gonzalez; The Dodgers know it, it is just a question of when.

It was interesting to listen to Orel talk about Taylor’s new swing this year. Of course he did almost hit for the cycle in AZ last year when he first came up too. I don’t see the need to try to teach him CF. I understand why, but quite frankly I would trust Puig with CF before Taylor. New swing, new position. A lot to take on. Someone mentioned he looks like Mike Marshall and I agree. However, he was hitting about .230 at OKC. He impressed at Camelback, but I need to see more to convince me he isn’t a AAAA player. Speaking of OKC, I see Trayce is still hitting .000.

Urias needs to be in the rotation next time. Wood back to the pen. I think Wood would be effective as a starter too, but not if he’s bouncing back and forth. They’re wasting innings in OKC if there are anymore. They let him throw 93 pitches yesterday. Time to do that in LA. I like Wood backing up Maeda and McCarthy while Stripling backs up the lefties. It’s a good way to mess up other team’s platoons. I have less confidence in Romo every time I see him.

I’m not convinced that Cody is ready, but a combo of Braun with Cody would be better than what Agone is bringing. I like Toles. I think he’s a good ball player and I’m not advocating dumping him like some, but Braun would provide what Agone is not and more. When Bellinger is ready, is there enough from a group of Calhoun,, Thompson, Peters, Rios, Farmer, Oaks, Wood, Stripling, McCarthy, Stewart, Toles, etc to get them to take Agone as the salary dump? I tend to think not right now. Thames can play OF, but is mostly playing first. The Brewers don’t need OF players and will be after pitching. Not being able to count on Rich Hill makes it tough to move certain players. The Dodgers aren’t going to be able to dump Kazmir on anyone. So, the next worse contract at this point is Gonzalez. To simplify, can the Dodgers dump Agone for Braun without moving White, Alvarez, or Buehler and I wouldn’t want to deal Puig. He hit two missles for outs last night. He had about 4 hits taken from him by Arenado and Para this year too. I’m not saying trade all of those guys and there are certainly others not listed, but an aging Agone with a bad neck and tendinitis in his elbow could bring down this lineup for two years.

By the way, Cody Bellinger hit .273 against LH pitching last year.

Oaks and Alvarez today. Buehler’s ball-strike count wasn’t great, but still pretty efficient.

Mark: “I was having flashbacks to the Indiana Pacers game on Thursday night where they coughed up a 25 point halftime lead. This seals the the deal for Paul George to opt of his contract and paves the way for a sign and trade to the LA Lakers. All Larry Bird wants is the #3 pick and the #28 pick the Lakers own along with Brandon Ingram and another player”.

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Yeah, never say die Larry, gets his butt kicked, then calls the Lakers hoping Magic will make it all better. Hopefully Magic told him to call the Celtics before hanging up. With all the missing posters this morning looks like some people are staring at the knife rack right now, others getting delusional like Larry. Me? All this Indiana basketball talk reminded me of this:

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Coach Norman Dale: “I would hope you would support who we are. Not, who we are not. These 25 individuals have made a choice to work, a choice to sacrifice, to put themselves on the line 162 nights for the next 7 months, to represent you. That kind of commitment and effort deserves and demands your respect. This is your team.

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OK, I’ll admit some of our players look like “Ollie” but let’s remember we aren’t stuck with Ollie, all season, like Coach Dale. We got choices! We got options! We got TIME!

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Wilbur ‘Shooter’ Flatch (Ladodgertalk posters): You gotta promise me you won’t get your butt kicked in no more games!

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Coach Norman Dale (FAZ): Scout’s honor.

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Well, we all know how that turned out, but it all ended GREAT!! Never ever forget, it can always be worse, we could all be SF Midget fans. OK Dodgers, let’s win some for the Gipper!!

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http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/hoosiers.php

What came first, the chicken or the egg? What came first, hitters dominating starting pitchers or bullpens pitching 4-5 innings a game? My take is that hitters have been dominating starting pitchers for a while now, to the point that few can get through the lineup 3 times. It’s a hitters game. Period. That’s what MLB wants, and the fans do too, I guess. Lately, I’ve seen on TV starting pitchers that seem to be terrific early on, but when I read the box score the next day, they are out in 5 with 4+ runs given up. Hitters advantage across the board. I advocate again to raise the mound to get more of balance between starting pitching and hitting. We can’t blame steroids now (I think) for the dominant hitting. Maybe we can blame lack of steroids for starting pitching to be so bad. Or maybe hitters are still juicing with something that the pitchers aren’t. I don’t know. I just hate the present state of affairs with the weak starting pitching, Dodgers included. MLB and the union will never allow the raising of the mound. I think the umpires are calling a fair strike zone now, so it can’t be that. These guys just aren’t good enough. Add to that the 100 pitch count, and we have the type of game we can see at a local park on Saturday.

Adrian Gonzales Exit Velocity has dropped, but his average distance has also dropped 40 feet and if you look at his launch angle and average height of his hits, you have to conclude that he is trying to just get a hit. Not a god ting for a middle-of-the-order hitter. I hope it’s just injury, but if it is, DL him!

Verdugo article:

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http://www.askcoachwolff.com/2014/06/08/parents-v-coaches-star-hs-pitcher-dictates-coach-playing-time/

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Of course, that was a while ago and he may have overcame his father’s meddlesome ways, but his dad is still a piece of work.

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Here’s what one scout has to say about Verdugo:

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Verdugo is a sweet-swinging 20-year-old who’s already advanced as Double-A. But with subpar athleticism, he must further develop his power before he can stand out as a possible major league star.

I would reward Joc by leading him off against the lefty!

Obviously, I will have to see more from Taylor – we know he has a good glove – just not much Outfield experience, but I think he can grow into a decent Outfielder. I love the look of his bat and the speed, but He’s going to have to show me more. This is a tough game. When things are going good for someone, we think he’s Babe Ruth and when he is in a slump, we want to retire him. Things are seldom what they seem in the instant!

As we put the train wreck of an 8th inning in the rear view mirror, I did see some positives.

Joc looks pretty good at lead off and has deceptive speed. I am curious to see if they turn him loose stealing.

As much as the Team Dad is struggling, he hit the ball on the nose 3 times, just right at guys. He is due. Stellar defensive grab on that line drive by the way.

Seager is starting to warm up, which will help everybody.

I agree with Mark, Wood in the bullpen makes us real tough. He has great 3 inning stuff.

We take Turner’s defense for granted. The guy makes the hard plays look routine. He has worked hard for that. Love it.

I wish they would play Toles more, he has upside, just needs more at bats. Great bottom 3rd of the line up guy.

Until the 8th, this was a great game to watch, we battled pretty good. One inning doesnt worry me.

Taylor is the real deal, ride that wave into shore, and yes, Kike should be worried.

It was the wrong decision to send Taylor to AAA after the spring he had.

Bum, Trout would be the best news ever, but I’m afraid it would take more.

Think you would have put Urias & Belinger in the mix.

I was unaware of Verdugo’s ‘possible character issues’. Could someone please elaborate.

Sad to see Agon nearly gone.

Chris Taylor just won’t go away.

Wood to the bullpen

George to the Lakers.