It used to be Starsky and Hutch but now, there is a new crime drama showing at a Ravine near you, featuring Sergio Romo, a soft-tossing arsonist who likes to start fires from the bullpen and Chris Hatcher a talented flame-thrower who is an arsonist in his own right. The crime is that they are both still pitching… OK, throwing. The drama is… when will it end? This duo needs to be split up. Frankly, I could live with just Hatcher, but not Romo. I don’t know what is wrong with him other than he can’t throw a ball and break a window. Of course, a couple weeks back, I said Chase Utley was toast and look how that worked out…
So the Dodgers had to settle for a split with the Rockies. Under the circumstances, I guess we will take it. B-Mac, whom it turned out did have a dislocated shoulder will start tonight, without a rehab start and Rich Hill will go Tuesday with a rehab start under his belt. We will see how some of your theories about rehab starts work.
Frankly, the Dodgers are a different team with Cody Bellinger in the lineup. It’s hard for the league to catch up with him because he takes what you give him unlike some our CF and RF. He also makes not only “in-game adjustments,” but also “adjustments during at bats. Maybe some of that will rub off on them. I took a lot of flack for telling you this kid was ready over the winter, but it turns out he was. Never doubt me again! 😉 Not only is he a hitter, but he is a very good base-runner and I still say he is one of the best defensive 1B, I have EVER seen!
Even after yesterday’s debacle the Dodgers are still #1 in Team ERA and WHIP! If you are prone to worry about the Dodgers’ pitching, you should probably also worry about a meteor coming out of the sky and wiping out the planet!
Has anyone noticed that the Dodgers are hitting with RISP and hitting LH pitching. Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider wrote this:
Since April 27, the Dodgers are a big-league best 12–3.
Two significant reasons for their run has been an offensive burst in two categories — hitting with runners in scoring position, and yes, hitting against left-handed pitching.
During the run, the Dodgers are hitting .307/.390/.521 with runners in scoring position — their average and .912 OPS is fifth best in the Majors during that time.
Prior to that, the Dodgers batted .243/.355/.387 — their average and .743 OPS ranked 18th in the big leagues.
In the last 15 games, they are hitting .273/.366/.455 vs. left-handed pitching — their .821 OPS is sixth best in the Majors during that period.
In their previous, 22 games, they hit .221/.302/.344 — the average and .646 OPS were eighth worst in the Majors.
So, there is that. It has been reported that bitching is down to a record level, and Yasmani Grandal bashers have been placed on suicide watch. Julio Urias needs to learn that his breaking pitches don’t break as much at Coors. He looked like a rookie!
Someone asked yesterday why we did not go after Greg Holland over the winter.
- He is a Scott Boras client;
- Boras wanted him to be in a position to close;
- He is making close to what Kenley makes ($15 mil + $15 mil vesting option).
Holland would have been nice, but there was not a snowball’s chance in hell that once Kenley Jansen signed he would consider LA! He was a fall back option if Jansen went elsewhere!
Minor League Watch
- OKC won 14-5: Thompson, Muncy and Davis all had 3 hits and Verdugo, Dickson and Sweeney all had 2 hits. Thompson hit his first big fly! Oaks went 6 and allowed 2 runs for the win. Ravin pitched 1 shutout inning.
- Tulsa won 10-2: Locastor and Sawyer had 3 hits and Ahmed, Farmer, Garlick, Allie and Beaty all had 2.
- RC won 3-1: Will Smith hits a 2-run homer, his 6th of the year, and Adam Bray went 5 and allowed 3 hits and 1 run. Ozuna and Moseley both pitched 2 shutout innings.
- GL did not play
Discussion (62)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Disappointing game last night. I have to agree with all of Dodger Rick’s observations. McCarthy made 2 mental errors in a row letting Nunez get a running lead and stealing 3rd without a throw by never looking over at the runner. Both mental errors led to runs. He reminds me a little of Chad Billingsley: sailing along then something goes wrong and the wheels fall off. The Giants received a huge gift.
This morning I see the Dodgers are 7-3 over the last 10 games. I see that as pretty dang good. I’ll let you know what I see next week.
Another pathetic game versus giants. We can’t win in our own division. We have almost single handedly kept the giants afloat. Instead of burying them we have helped them head the right direction. Turner is about our only true threat at this point so he sits. One thing I didn’t like about mattingly is he never seemed to have any urgency about winning today. I am starting to see mattingly part 2 instead of worrying about today it’s always the big picture while we lose today.
The Dodgers wilt and SF seems to play over their heads vs Dodgers. SF takes the rivalry to heart.
Grant Dayton is absolutely not the same guy as last year. His release point is all over the place and he has no idea where the ball is going. No wonder he isn’t used in high leverage situations.
A few more observations
1 – Kike absolutely can’t hit a right-handed pitcher
2 – Dodgers’ defense has let them down tonight – Taylor really kicked one (but he looked good at the plate again)
3 – I don’t understand why the Dodgers can’t hit Cain – he has nothing
4 – Cain really had Bellinger’s number tonight
What did McCarthy tweet?
A couple of observations:
1 – McCarthy’s velocity is down a little compared to when he was DL’d
2 – His stuff looks good
3 – The Dodgers’ defense in the 4th is totally incompetent – McCarthy should never have cut that off and Bellinger probably would have had the ball that Crawford hit
4 – For a veteran pitcher, McCarthy sure lost his concentration after he made the mistake and cut the ball off
I am going to take the advice of Therealton. Goodnight everyone.
Quite possibly Brandon McCarthy burned up all his brain cells tweeting. He has been pronounced brain dead. TOTAL MORON! You get kicked out of little league for stupidity like that.
That’s why Bellinger should be on first – he makes the play. Agon, not sure
Wilmer Font today for AAA: 7ip, 15k.
Wow!
Cain is cy young against dodgers and can’t beat anybody else. I live in Midwest and work tomorrow so I may as well go to bed. Where’s ethier when you need him he killed Cain.
Peter J I hope your right on McCarthy I will be pulling for him. I don’t like the lineup tonight it is very weak at the bottom. I don’t mind grandal at the 3 spot without turner he is our hottest hitter. I know utley has hit better lately but I am not convinced. If anything he should be batting 8th but that shows you how weak our lineup is. You got to hope seager. Grandal, or bellinger do something or you will probably be shut out. Pederson needs to wake up or be traded. He used to have some power but now you cheer when he walks. How can you sit turner against the giants? I know big picture.
AC – I meant I got to see him at Rancho and was impressed…
You give MLB F.O.’s this 10 day joke and by gosh, they’re gonna run with it…
Please no trade for Harvey – the Mets will want too much (an elite arm), it will turn into a colossal bad trade for the Dodgers . Stay the course with the SP’ers.
BP: insanity, or a long leash given to the two poor performers (Romo & Hatcher) – tending toward insanity especially with regard to the latter (how many bad years must Hatcher have before being released).
On Van Slyke staying on the roster – why? There are better options, including the guy just sent down. Van Slyke was sent down to get his bat going – he didn’t, why did they bring him back? A reward for underachievement, what a paradigm.
On Utley; he had a few hits, he still is running on fumes. Remember the 2nd half of last year? He probably stays for the year, but this has to be his last hurrah.
On the DL/10 day R&R: it will be used/abused a lot more because of the new 10 day gig – get used to it.
On Grandal – I’m not a fan, but at least he is starting to hit, but batting third? He and AGon have to be the two slowest players in baseball. I can see Puig running him over somewhere between 2nd and 3rd – it will make MLB highlight bloopers with both going to the DL.
On the positive side: this team will be in first place shortly and won’t relinquish it all season despite the odd maneuvers and constant roster changes, I.e. as long as key players stay healthy, and Romo never sees the 8th inning again.
Therealten, I like your ‘5’ and a little side bet McCarthy does a lil better than you think tonite in the Bay!!!
AC, help me out!!! I spend a lot of time at time At Rancho C. and I think Walker Buehler is the next big Dodger diamond in the rough… Great composure and killer instinct…
Bobbie, put that water pipe away… Urias will be everything that he is ballyhooed to be… Vegas Dodger had it dead nuts…
Some of you are going to lose your minds on tonight’s lineup. Grandal is hitting 3rd!
1. Pederson CF
2. Seager SS
3. Grandal C
4. Bellinger LF
5. Puig RF
6. Utley 1B
7. Taylor 2B
8. Hernandez 3B
9. McCarthy P
Mitchell White with a great game today for Rancho: 7ip, 3hits, 1 run, 8k
Put romo on dl. He “must” be hurt. I look for McCarthy to struggle through five tonight while giving up a homer. Roberts will say he couldn’t go longer because he wasn’t stretched out lol. Hill has got to stay in the rotation if he is over the blister problem. He is a dominant starter when healthy. I think kershaw, hill, wood, McCarthy, and Urias are the top five starters. Put Ryu and maeda in the pen. I don’t see how they can send fields down right now because he has pitched great. Send vanslyke back down he is terrible and/or Eibner. If you want a right hander in the rotation substitute maeda for Urias. I know they said they don’t want Urias in the pen but things change. He could conserve some innings that way.
Eibner optioned to make room for McCarthy tonight. Another roster move to follow to accommodate Hill’s return tomorrow.
OK, Best 5 starters right now:
1) Kershaw
2) Wood-His K’s are impressive, missing a lot of bats.
3) McCarthy-He has been throwing mid 90’s heat all year with movement.
4) Maeda-He is a pitcher not a thrower. Stepped forward by pitching backwards.
5) Urias-Filthy stuff but needs to challenge hitters-this will get him more respect from the umps too.
6) Hill-A lot to prove with both blisters and command-huge disappointment so far, on a very short leash.
7) Ryu-Not all the way back yet. Put him in the pen or shut him down for a month. He is 1 and 5 this year.
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Hatcher has been shut down for long stretches each of the last 2 seasons without doing a DFA and risking losing him. He does have value as a low leverage innings eater. However there must be another arm as AC points out who could potentially do better. Let’s find out! Romo needs to be shut down, he is hurting the team. Every man has a role and there is nowhere to hide him in this bullpen. Either send him to the DL or home. Masterson could be another valuable long man/spot starter. Broussard could step into set up duties, something Romo and Hatcher just cannot be trusted to do in a winnable game.
I just heard from what I consider to be a reliable source that if Ryu can stay healthy for a month, he could be traded.
It will be a long time before Urias is much good. The team is between a rock and a hard place with him. I would keep him in the rotation for another 30 days, and if he can’t consistently throw strikes, he goes to the bullpen. Sending him down is probably the best play, but he doesn’t like AAA, I guess, so he has to stay. Throwing the 4 seamer for early strikes using the entire strike zone is the answer. But it is hard to do. I’m not sure why. I wish we didn’t have McCarthy and Hill pitching in this series. Kershaw v Cueto in Wednesday noon game. giants starting to feel good about themselves. The series will be won with the bats, I’m afraid.
Richie, we did want Holland as our 8th inning guy, but he wanted to close. Can’t blame him.
Good article on one of those linked sites about maybe we can buy low on Matt Harvey. Our pitching, much like our hitting now, is so left handed. I”d love a strong right handed starter in there (Mcarthy or Maeda don’t count)
Maybe this is the year we go get Chris Archer to be our #2 for the playoff run (likely costs us Buehler, but it’s understandable)
1 – I think that they still need to find their best 5 starters and go with them to the extent possible. The constant roster shifting makes it impossible for starting pitchers, who are creatures of habit and who need to get a rhythm, to do so. If there are real injuries (like McCarthy’s) that’s one thing but for Maeda, who pitched 8 brilliant innings and immediately went on the DL for a hamstring injury which, if it existed, obviously didn’t bother him at all, it’s another. Many of the Dodgers’ pitchers (Ryu, Maeda, Hill) rely heavily on touch and feel and can’t possibly maintain it if they are off for 10 days at a time.
2 – I haven’t been a fan of Wood’s in the past, but he is throwing differently this year. His arm slot is higher and he is able to maintain it so that his release point is consistent. This means that he is putting the ball where he wants to and he is pitching much better than in ’15 or ’16 to my eyes. Maintaining a consistent release point is what’s important here.
3 – Hatcher has been OK in low leverage situations and can pitch multiple innings. I wouldn’t use him in high leverage situations but he is valuable as long as he is used properly. Romo seems to have lost it and I wouldn’t let him pitch right now. I still get nervous seeing Baez in there with the game on the line. I know that he throws hard but he throws a very straight fastball and a good hitter will catch up to it.
4 – Bellinger has lengthened the lineup and has been a real spark to the offense. If he can adjust as Mark suggests that he can then he will be a factor all year. I expect he will be the regular LF when Gonzalez returns.
5 – They have some roster decisions to make when McCarthy, Hill and Gonzalez return. I expect that Liberatore will be sent back down again although I hope that they will find some phantom injury for Romo to have. One of the utility INF or backup OF will also have to go – they are playing Taylor and Kike regularly so I expect it will be Van Slyke or Eibner, probably the latter since Van Slyke can play 1B and is right handed. Maybe Ryu will also be DL’d again after his last outing.
Mark, please, I didn’t include you in the bashers… The rudder M.T. , the rudder!!!
I could see Bellinger and his already HOF glove, manning LF while we wait out the demise of AGon and head to the Promised Land…
Romo and Hatch, that’s funny! I think Romo is done, if the brain trust does not agree then send him to the DL, work out the kinks and let him prove it on a rehab assignment. His contract isn’t much to absorb either, and his ERA is now above 8. Hatcher same thing, only his issue is mental, not physical. He has the tools but leaves a fat pitch on 0 and 2 counts way too often. They have shut him down at some point every year he has been here.
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Big test for both McCarthy and Hill coming up. Seems like they are willing to gamble on the road, I expect 50/50 results but both pitching well would be a nice bonus. When and if all 7 starters are healthy I believe 1 LHP should go to the pen, and right now it should be Ryu or Hill as Wood has really turned a corner. Someone said Urias needs the Bulldog speech Lasorda gave Hershiser and I agree with that too. Ryu is 1 and 5 now and has had some tough luck and seems healthy but others are more effective and his stuff might play well out of the pen while he builds up more arm strength. At $48 M of course they want Hill to start, and Maeda and McCarthy being RHP give the rotation more balance. We shall see!
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Taylor has cooled off a bit but he still shows me more than Kike. Roster move today for McCarthy but they have Eibner or SVS that can be sent down. Another one tomorrow to activate Hill and they are carrying 8 in the BP, perfect time for Romo to have a hammy or something.
Damn Mark, It’s hard to be humble when you’re right in so many ways… You are the rudder on our ship…
I only hope that soon the Adrian Gonzalez bashers will be on suicide watch. That would be sweet …
Mark, I agree. Romo and Hatcher hurt us yesterday. We could of won the game 6-5. If FAZ signed them, they will keep them. That is a theory I have on FAZ. I would like to see them gone. If we could of won yesterday, we could of buried Colorado.
I am hoping McCarthy will not be affected by the lay off, like I think Ryu and Maeda would. McCarthy is not a finesse pitcher. Ryu and Maeda are finesse pitchers. We will see if McCarthy has good control.
Bellinger just looks like a natural. He continues to adjust. He also plays great defense.
Both Romo and Hatcher need to be tossed into the compost bin.