Random Thoughts

Taylor is a versatile and very good defensive player with good speed trying to hit 20+ home runs. He is over swinging his way into a high K rate and not having a starters position on the team. Kike’ is struggling as a regular and his hold on second base is getting tenuous. Muncy lacks the defensive skill of either Taylor or Hernandez and his bat no longer makes up for that difference.

Verdugo is about to claim RF and if it is unwise to make a judgement on a player until 25 games have been played, well, we are getting real close to having played 25 games. Belli could wind up at first base full time very soon. And, second base may soon be up for grabs again. If Taylor gets it he will probably have figured out he is not a 20+ home run hitter and instead is a contact hitter with speed and defense.

If Taylor, Muncy, and Hernandez continue on their current path, there will be a spot for Lux next year if not sooner. Martin’s back could have a say in who is on the 25 within the next 2 weeks. Smith could be brought up and the Dodgers could go with 3 catchers. Gale would be sent down when Martin is activated but space would have to be made for 3 catchers.

I prefer Muncy to spell Turner at third and of course he can play first so if Martin becomes that righty bat off the bench would Freese be the odd man out or Taylor? If it is Taylor, he would probably spend a few weeks playing full time in OK and then return and that question can be asked again.

2demeter2, I liked your response. Thank you! But just to be clear, there is no bigger non family fan of Caleb Ferguson than me. I have been his biggest fan since 2016. Do I want him to go down to OKC? No, but he has options, and management has made the decision that Alexander is the LHRP they want to go to. With Urias as a reliever, they have their 2 LHRP. Plus both Caleb and management are not ready to quit on the idea of him starting. He is only 22 so he has plenty of time for development and maturity.

Feeling better, Wat, thanks for asking. They say the road to recovery for this is a few months. I’m just stunned at how much muscle atrophy I’ve had, since i’ve not been able to fully use my right calf for 6 months now!

Can’t wait to get working out again and get my Giancarlo Stanton body back…….

Verdugo has to be in the lineup every day. I don’t care if it takes some AB’s from Pollock or CT3, but he has to play. I hope Martin’s back is healthy and his new catcher’s crouch will ease his back strain because he’ll need to start at least three times per week. I realize he’s 36 years-old but he will at least give us a ML AB. Barnes looks at two pitches down the middle and then swings and misses for strike three. I love the way Belli and Verdugo and sometimes Seager give a quality AB each AB. Pollock, JT, CT3, Barnes, Gale, Freese are all non-competitive with AB’s as of late. Offense needs to come to life against the Pirates and Giants.

Kenley isn’t what he was Bobby.

Hope the back is settling down. Must have been all those years of sitting in the cheap seats at the Ravine.

MJ – whatever you’re up to, hope you’re ok.

Nice innings from Kelly.

That insurance run could be the difference.

Wow, Joe Kelly with a scoreless inning!

Regarding announcers, I like Monday and Neverett just fine but delay between radio and TV doesn’t work for me when watching.

Monday and Kennedy was very good combination IMO.

Hershis her and Davis would be ok if they only talked half as much and then kept it to baseball.

Nice post AC! As always insightful and thought provoking. Since you asked, I thought I would go ahead and answer most of your questions.

1. Which reliever is going to step up and become a lockdown candidate? Right now, Dylan Floro has been the star of the bullpen. Maybe he should get a few more high leverage or closer opportunities. I think Floro will maintain his effectiveness. Not quite shutdown, but effective. I think Kelly will rebound by July. I’m not 100% sold on Kenley. I think the reliever we will be talking about in a few months will come from the minors or another team. Just don’t know who that is.

2. It will not be young Julio, as Doc has already stated that Urias will be a multi inning LHP long-man. I think Julio will be a hybrid. Multi-inning initially, then used in shut down situations.

3. Is Yimi Garcia turning the corner on his season? In his last 5 games, he has pitched 5 innings, not allowing a run or hit, one walk to go with 4 strikeouts. I think Doc is getting comfortable with him as he has pitched in 3 out of the last 5 games (1.0 inning each). He will used in lowere leverage situations for the time being – seems too much like Baez #2

4. Will Joe Kelly figure it out? Yes, though not as effective as in the WS The Dodgers have no choice but to stay with him, but he gave up the eventual winning run again in Wednesday’s game. Right now he is worse than Brandon League. All we can do is hope he finds whatever he had in the WS. Harsh comparing him to League, but you’re right.

5. Will Kenley continue to show decreasing effectiveness? Yes Is he a few outings away from his pre-2017 WS self, or is he what we saw in post 2017 WS? Post 2017. Speed is down and the cutter doesn’t cut like it once did.

6. Kimbrel is not the answer. It is going to have to come from within right now. Maybe Tony Gonsolin, but as long as LAD wants him to start, I do not believe Tony will get the call as a potential closer. Jaime Schultz? Josh Sborz? But then again how much confidence does Doc have in Sborz when he does not get into a game in the week he was up. I hope they give Sborz a chance, sooner rather than later.

7. Who goes down to OKC when Dick Mountain comes back? I am predicting it will be Caleb Ferguson to continue his quest to remain a starting pitcher. While I really like Ferguson, I think you’re probably right.

8. Stripling will be the RH version of Urias. Baez and Alexander are who they are. More good outings than bad, but nothing special. Even with Urias and Strip, the bullpen is average at best. Agreed – I think Strip is more effective as a starter, it’s just that he and Maeda are not consistent.

9. Will Maeda figure out how to be more aggressive. He cannot nibble as a starter or reliever. I know the FO is trying to be fair with Maeda and his contract, but how long will they go? I proposed trading him over the winter. I think he’s lost it and what we see is what we’re going to get from him.

10. When you do not begin to lengthen in ST, the 6th inning can become a problem for SP in April. It certainly was for Buehler in Wednesday’s game. He was dominating before the 6th. Did he tire? No Or is Chicago really starting to heat up? In the post game interview he said he wasn’t tired, he just made a bad pitch, and paid for it.

11. CT3 has to play to stay relevant, and it is best against a RHP. But the leash has to be getting shorter, even with his run-scoring single on Wednesday. It has to be getting shorter. He looks totally lost at the plate. I’n not opposed to giving Lux a chance as infield utility and sending Taylor down, ala Puig and Pederson

12. When does Verdugo get to become a regular? Hopefully starting now. What more does he need to do? Nothing Unfortunately he is the best PH the team has. He is 6-12 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs as a PH. We need him more as a starter than a pinch hitter.

13. Seager is starting to make better contact even though his HR power has not yet returned. I think Corey is going to have a big 2nd half. I do too.

14. Is JT hurt, aging, or just off to a slow start? He looks hurt Will he turn it around as the weather warms? I certainly hope so. He just looks more fidgety I the batters’ box than I remember him being.

15. Will Joc get a legit chance to face lefties? Probably not. I am guessing NO. I guess a fair retort might be, does he deserve the chance after being so bad against them in his ML career? Only way to improve is to give him a chance to succeed.

16. Will the return of Russell Martin help Austin Barnes and his poor offense since Martin went down? Only slightly. If Martin’s back goes bad again, should the Dodgers consider bringing up Will D. Smith? Yes Why not? I can’t think of any reason

17. It is way too early to be thinking trade deadline acquisitions. We do not even know who will be buyers and who will be sellers. There will be relievers available. Who is anyone’s guess. I have some thoughts that are percolating. I cannot think of a SP who is good enough for the Dodgers to consider. I am sure one or two will emerge, but they need to be #1 or #2 type SP. The Dodgers have enough #3, #4, or #5 SP. It’s never too early to speculate about possible trades. Part of the fun of being a fan. They need a a solid trustworthy reliever, and I would like to see them add a solid #2 type pitcher. Unfortunately, they don’t grow on trees. If they try May or Gonsolin, they’ll have them on an innings limit, taxing the bullpen more.

18. What RH bat will be available? No Bums, Mitch Haniger will not be available. Jose Abreu? Will be available, but I’ll pass. Nick Castellanos? May be available, but I’ll pass. There is nobody in the Dodger system who might be considered for this year. They could always humor me and bring up Kyle Garlick to be a pinch-hitter. You never know.

Keep up the good work AC, DC and Mark! Haven’t posted for awhile (busy preparing for a trial) but I still read every day.

It hasn’t been just a month for Barnes and Taylor. They were both bad last year as well! Can’t afford to take away ab’s from Verdugo to Taylor. Verdugo should be our everyday right fielder. He is showing he can hit lefties. Belly back to first and Muncy and Hernandez split 2nd and utility.

Re previous post comments on Dodger announcers–I love Hershisher and Davis combo.

Thanks again, AC, for the very informative and interesting “Random Thoughts”. Glad to see that Jacob Amaya and Ryan Moseley are doing so good. Hope they can keep it up. It is still early for the Minor League and also with the big club. Go Dodgers.

Grant Holmes still hanging in after shoulder problems. Saw him pitch in hi A and was impressed. If he is actually cured of shoulder problems and can make his starts he’ll be up in 2020 at 23 years of age. Still has the heavy fastball and power curve with good depth. If he stays healthy he’ll be a decent middle starter. Still spending the 2.5 million signing bonus Dodgers paid him.

Barnes, Taylor and Muncy are one hit wonders. Each had their outlier year and now they’ve crashed back to earth. Verdugo in right, Belly at first every day and give Muncy back up duty. And give Taylor back to Seattle!

I don’t think Buehler got tired. Although he only gave up 2 hits through 5 innings, only 1 strikeout and exit velocity was pretty high on balls that were hit.

JT’s history is that he hits less in April. Let’s see how things progress next month before we panic.

Why does JT look so slow with the bat? Why is AJ Pollock swinging at pitches in the dirt and outside the zone? Why is CT3 in the starting line-up, why is Belli batting 6th, why can’t Verdugo get a start against LHP and why are the Dodgers so dependent on the HR to score runs? Last night they got 7 or 8 BB’s and 5 of their 6 runs were scored as the result of a HR. Love the long ball but we need to string together AB’s.

I don’t think Austin Barnes has a ML bat.

I think Bum has something with #10

1. It might help Taylor to play everyday in OK.

2. Bring up Will Smith and send down Taylor and let Smith play.

3. Use Martin as a pinch hitter and occasional catcher to protect his back and add a righty bat off the bench.

4. Protect Urias’ arm by pitching him with 3 or 4 days rest in 3 inning relief stints.

5. Keep Stripling in the rotation and put Maeda in as the 8th inning guy.

6. Make Floro the 7th inning guy.

7. Baez, Garcia, and Kelly are trade pieces. José Leclerc has had only 1 good year and is off to a poor start this year. That one is for you AC.

8. Muncy should backup 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Verdugo should be the right fielder.

9. If Joc hit 8th against lefties no one would notice the difference in production from that spot in the lineup.

10. Everyday players: Pederson, Turner, Seager, Bellinger, Verdugo, Hernandez, Pollock.

Amaya and Vargas are both heating up. Amaya has hit in nine of his last 10 games while Vargas has hit in eight. They are starting to get multiple hit games. Both are drawing walks – Vargas 13 and Amaya 12. Both are getting hits or scoring runs in key situations.

Jose Chacin has been arguably the best pitcher on the Loons staff pitching the most innings and all by piggybacking with starter Guillermo Zuninga.

Keep an eye on Luke Heyer. He started out 0-12 and since then has gone 10-26.

I read that Kelly has been modified with another form of throwing, or something like that, why not send it to minor leagues to work on it? And call who could be the future member of the bullpen, what worse can happen with that?

How many more losses will the Dodgers have to suffer, while Kelly becomes the Kelly we all hope it will be?

And I’m not saying that Kelly is the culprit, or that he’s the only one to blame, but until today, it’s the most!

It has to start by someone …