Here we are(this is being written Saturday morning), almost half-way through the season. Where has the time gone? It seems like the season just started. In any event, I thought I would take a shot at handing out some mid-season grades for the Dodgers. Some of the grades might seem a little harsh, but I didn’t grade on a curve. Nor did I hand out participation awards.
TEAM – B
Despite the fact the Dodgers don’t always “look” that good, they are in first place, with the best record in baseball (at least at the time this was written). They’ve been able to get where they are without the consistent aid of three of their top hitters. Their projected starting catcher is on the IL. A pitcher projected to be in the starting rotation made one, less than mediocre start, and went on the IL and hasn’t been seen since. The projected Rookie of the Year and starting second baseman, has yet to escape from the alternative camp site at USC. No Dodger hitter is in the top 30 in Batting Average. Only two players are in the top 30 in hits (Betts and Turner); only Bellinger is in the top 30 in runs scored; Only Mookie is in the top 30 in doubles; JT has the only triple; the Dodgers do lead the league in homeruns and have 4 hitters in the top 30; they have 3 hitters in the top 30 in RBI (Betts, Seager and Turner); no player is in the top 30 in on base percentage; Mookie and Seager are the only hitters in the top 30 in slugging and OPS; and Betts leads baseball in WAR. Pitching, on the other hand has been, for the most part, stellar (more on that later); defensively, none of the position players, other than Betts in right field, Bellinger in center and, surprisingly, Muncy at 2nd base, rank among the statistical leaders. A couple of the fielders, namely Hernandez, have regressed. Yet here they are in first place, with the most wins in baseball. I’m grading them a solid B, primarily because I think there is room for more with the talent they have.
MANAGER – B
● For the bitching and moaning that is extended towards Roberts, I think he has done a solid, if not spectacular job. He seems to have learned about the use of the bullpen, and for the most part has done so flawlessly. Whether or not he should have taken Rios out of the game is something, we’ll probably never know. For all I know, Rios could have told Roberts and the medical guy with him that it was only a cramp. It’s information that I’m not going to claim to have greater knowledge from my perch on the recliner. I’m sure there are some other mistakes he’s made, but non jump out at me as being the result of stupidity. Doc is a motivational manager and he’s exercising his skills to a tee. He does not have one batter hitting over .300, 3 of his starters are under the Mendoza line, with a 4th just getting over it in the last game. I give him a B, because he’s kept the team moving forward, but like the team, there’s room for some growth.
COACHES – B+
● I have little to base my grade on the coaches other than I have found no reason to complain about them. Therefore, I give them a B+. From what I observe about Prior and the rest of the pitching coaches, it appears that they have the pitchers prepared. I’ve also read that they have made a few tweaks with McGee and Treinen that have brought them back to more consistent effectiveness. Dino Ebel and George Lombard have not made and glaring mistakes and Ebel gets a higher grade just for his enthusiasm and he’s got a great sense of humor. Moreover, I don’t lay Bellinger, Muncy and Pederson’s hitting woes at the feet of the batting coaches. They’re not the ones flailing away at sliders out of the zone.
FIRST BASE – C-
● Max Muncy – – not much to be said here. Max is having a horrible year offensively. There has been some power, but he seems totally out of sync in most at bats. He has done a decent job defensively, but, let’s be honest, we need him to be an offensive force. He gets a solid D-
Edwin Rios – – Kind of a break out season for Rios. He’s played well defensively, and boy does he ever have some power. He needs to cut down on the strikeouts, but when he returns from the IL, I believe he should get some more at-bats. He gets graded up for playing well at 3rd base the few times he’s been there. C+
Matt Beatty – – He’s had a slow start, but is rounding into form. He’s a solid bench piece and has played that way. He gets a C
SECOND BASE – C
● Kike Hernandez – – For me, Kike is one of the most frustrating players on the team. He’s clearly very popular and he’s talented. I always look forward to him succeeding to the level of his talent. But alas, he always seems to disappoint. He’s the type of player, you would think would be a .280 – .300 hitter. Instead, he falls in love with his power, which doesn’t come through enough and he strikes out a ton. He gets a C-
Chris Taylor – – CT3 has been solid. I’m putting him here at 2nd base, even though he gets graded up for his defense at short and in the outfield. Taylor has been very good defensively and his offense is rounding into form. As a super utility player, he gets a strong B. He would get an A if graded on his defense alone.
SHORTSTOP – A-
● Corey Seager – – Other than getting injured. Seager has been solid. He’s a steady presence in the line-up, typically giving you strong at-bats. Defensively there have been a few lapses, but over all he’s been strong. He gets an A-
THIRD BASE – B
● Justin Turner – – JT has been JT. He’s had a few lapses on defense, but remains a steady performer on offense. He also gets some bonus points as a team leader. A solid B
LEFT FIELD – C+
● AJ Pollock – – He’s been a very pleasant surprise, showing some of the offense we expected he would bring to the table and being fairly solid defensively. He gets a sold B
Joc Pederson – – for every positive Pollock has brought to the team, Pederson has been the opposite. He has been flat out disappointing. Moreover, while I know it’s not fair to judge a players attitude from the recliner, his overall appearance is that he doesn’t care. He simply is not good enough to be lackadaisical. He gets an F
CENTER FIELD – D
● Cody Bellinger – – Belli’s defense remains spectacular, but his struggles at the plate bring his grade way down. There was a glimmer of hope in the 1st game against the Rockies. Let’s hope he keeps it up. For now he gets a D
RIGHT FIELD – A
● Mookie Betts – – Enough said. He’s as good as advertised and more. He gets an A
CATCHER – C
● Will Smith – – has struggled offensively, and unfortunately got hurt. Remains solid defensively. Because of the offense he gets a D
Austin Barnes – – the enigma that is Austin Barnes. We were all ready to ship him out for some free Dodger dogs and all of a sudden, Mookie whispers in his ear, and he starts hitting like Mike Piazza (well maybe slightly different). His offense has been solid of late and he remains a strong defensive catcher. He gets a C+
Keibert Ruiz – – He’s been much better than I expected defensively, and anyone that hits a home run in their first MLB at-bat you have to be happy for. Not enough to go on yet, so I give him a C
STARTING ROTATION – B+
● Clayton Kershaw – – Don’t know if it was Driveline, but CK, with the exception of one game has looked very good. All of his pitches seem to be more effective than in the past couple of years. I give him an A-
Walker Buehler – – Until last night, Buehler hasn’t looked as dominant as last year. Certainly not the ace we expected. Still, he has been steady. I give him a B
Ross Stripling – – Chicken Strip was the hardest one for me to grade. His pitches look crisp, but he gives up hits at inopportune times. Most everyone would agree that Dustin May is having a solid year, and place him strongly in the plus column, while not so much for Stripling. However, if you compare Strips statistics to May’s, they are virtually identical, with the exception that Strip has given up more homeruns and allowed more runs. Is that the product of bad luck, or a lack of execution? 3 of the home runs allowed came in last Monday’s game against the Mariners, when the ball was flying out of the yard. That said, you still have to execute, and Stripling hasn’t done that consistently. I give him a C-
Dustin May – – May has exhibited some of the most electric stuff of a starter. At times he’s looked unhittable, other times he seems to be the recipient of some bad luck. Like Strip, he also needs to be more effective when he is ahead of the count. He gets a C+
Julio Urias – – I can pretty much repeat here what I said for May. At times, he looks like an ace. Other times not so much. Overall he has been solid, though at times he nibbles too much. He gets a B-
Tony Gonsolin – – The surprise of the starting rotation. He’s given the Dodgers everything you could ask for from a starter with excellent results. He gets an A
Alex Wood – – Because he’s on the IL, he gets an incomplete.
BULL PEN – A-
● Kenley Jansen – – Some of the old mojo has returned. His cutter is cutting, and his slider is more effective. The results have been solid. He gets an A
Blake Treinen – – very nice pick-up by the Dodgers. Really not much to complain about other than he walks a few too many batters. He gets a solid B+
Caleb Ferguson – – One slightly tough outing, but otherwise he’s been money. I give him an A-
Dylan Floro – – has done a very good job getting out of trouble and Doc has used him well. He’s been one of the pleasant surprises in the pen. He too gets a B+
Jake McGee – – He has been a very nice addition to the pen. Like Ferguson, a lefty with heat. He gets an A-
Brusdar Graterol – – On pure stuff alone, he would get an A. However, you don’t win on stuff alone, you have to harness it. Nevertheless, he’s fun to watch and with a little more experience, I think he will be exceptional. I grade him a B
Scott Alexander – – Despite not having “lock-down” stuff, he’s been effective. Several of the hits off of him have been of the seeing eye and dying quail variety, otherwise his statistics would be better than they are. Still he gets a B
Pedro Baez – – Pedro hasn’t looked as strong as the last two years, perhaps because of whatever injury that has placed him on the IL. He’s been solid, but not uh-lah, lah. He gets a C+
Adam Kolarek – – AK has shown that he can handle the 3 batter minimum all-right and he’s kept batters off the bases better than I thought he would. He gets a solid B
Victor Gonzalez – – There’s a lot to like about Gonzalez’ future. In limited action, he has shown that he can pitch at the major league level. I give him a C+
Dennis Santana – – Santana has the stuff by which you would think he could get major league hitters out on a more regular basis. But, alas, he doesn’t. He’s one that could benefit from a solid strikeout pitch. I give him a C-
Joe Kelley – – He’s a pitcher whose results belie how he’s looked, and a poster child for the argument that ERA is everything. His 0.00 ERA is not enough for me to give him a high grade.
There you have it. To steal from Drew Carey, “Welcome to LADT, where the grades don’t matter, that’s right the grades are just like 4 of the Jackson 5.” Let me know what you think and how you would grade differently.
My hurriedly written song parody for today, is one of my favorite country songs, “Remember When” with sincerest apologies to Alan Jackson.
Remember when we’d hit everything they threw
Seemed time stood still and wins were all we knew
You would do it first and then would I
We hit homeruns and made them cry
Remember when
Remember when Gibson homered though he could barely walk
Our hearts were glad, the A’s were sad
We played and learned, we’d hit their curves
There was joy, and there was nerves
Remember when
Remember when we thought the wins would always come
But the team was changed, disassembled, rearranged
Although they tried they usually fell apart
For 30 years they broke our hearts
Remember when
Remember when the sound of Vinny’s voice
Was the music we danced to week to week
Brought back the hope, we were sure they would win this year
The players vowed they’d give their all
Remember when
Remember when thirty years seemed so far away
Now lookin’ back, it seems like 50 if a day
But here we are, knowing this year will be the year
when we win it all again
Remember when
Remember when we first loved the Dodgers very day
Players have come and some then move away
It’s been so long, but we won’t be sad, we’ll still be glad
For all the joy we’ve had
Being Dodger fans for all these years, remember when
Remember when
Discussion (83)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Me too
I am convinced that some Dodger announcers, Dodger players, and Dodger management read this blog and the comments. I obviously have no proof of that. Why wouldn’t they read it? You could get a pretty good feel for the mood of the fans at any given time by reading the comments here. Not to mention there are some really savvy baseball fans here. The idea that you can’t express (with a little emotion) your frustration or disappointment in a certain player , on a team that you identify with and want to win, in the ups and downs of a season, how much fun would that be? You tell me who needs to grow up here.
“When a player they dislike does poorly, they blast him, but when he hits a 3-run HR, they are silent! Grow the hell up!”
That sound like you about Will Smith. Everyone knows you think Ruiz is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Therefor you hate Smith
Watching the Rockies on their telecast is a painful experience as I have told you before. But once in a while they slip up and actually give you a pertinent fact. Today I found out for instance something I did not know, and it was pretty amazing. We all know the Dodgers run differential is the best in baseball. Drew Goodman today said that the Dodgers over the last seven years have a run differential of over 1000. The closest team to them is the Indians who are more than 200 runs behind. Wow. That I did not know and it floored me. I am sorry to see Hunter Pence DFA’d by the Giants. But when a veteran like he is can only muster a .096 batting average, the writing is on the wall. I fully expect that once Colorado is eliminated from playoff contention, which surprisingly they are at this point the 8 seed based on winning percentage, that old friend Matt Kemp will get the ol heave-ho. Matt is hitting .250 in 56 at bats with 2 homers and 11 RBI’s. He has struck out 17 times and has 9 walks. His OBP is .357 and his OPS 747. His slugging is under .400. A couple of good signs, Muncy was 2-3. Kike’s homer went to right center. He did not pull the ball, and they only struck out twice. Betts and Beaty.
Winning is no surprise. The Dodgers have been a winning franchise for a long time. We are SUPPOSED to win. We are favored every flippin night. We will carry this to the playoffs and NOBODY will be surprised.
But do we finish with a W?
Until then this is fun. Being more or less in lockdown I have this to look forward to until that last game.
Oh, and go Lakers.
I really have a hard time with people saying “mistakes have been made.”
You think? Everyone makes mistakes.
When I hear that, it seems to come from a place much deeper… and sinister!
AF has built a model organization with a highly touted farm system and a deep 40 man roster. Mistakes have been made but I would take our current team and system and say we are built for now and in.the future. We are the enviable franchise. Well , at least for the regular season. We get injuries and we can fill the void. We have guys not playing well and we have people step up. So, why can we not produce in the playoffs.
Part of it is that it comes down to talent. You need some star power and they need to produce. We now have 2 mvps in the lineup, plus seager,turner(best post season player), and some game changers like muncy, Pederson. You need someone to get hot and provide crucial hits. Aside from turner we haven’t had that.
You need a hot pitcher like hershiser. Buehler may be that guy. You can’t win with one pitcher but Strasbourg led the way last year while Corbin was huge plus scherzer. Their stars played like stars example Soto, Rendon, and then Kendrick played over his head.
Throughout the year these teams don’t have the depth we have. But, in a short series the Nationals rotation had better talent than us and they produced. Their pitching went all in and they got the big hits. Quality pitching is supposed to stop quality hitting. The other teams have pitched to our weaknesses and executed their plan. Our staff cannot seem to do that.
Right now our 1 and 2 matchup on paper but when the game starts they have to perform. We all know who hasn’t. But, our 3-4 guys have to be identified and produce. We do have the advantage of having a deep bullpen currently but Kelly and Baez need to get back and produce. Baez does not have a stellar playoff record or Kelly either except against us.
We have more star power this year in the field but one of the things I fear is when we get in crucial situations we strikeout too much. That has to change or same ole same ole. Our rotation has to be prepared to neutralize weaknesses of the opponent and then do it. We have the bullpen just perform.
It is beyond ridiculous how some fans operate.
When a player they dislike does poorly, they blast him, but when he hits a 3-run HR, they are silent! Grow the hell up!
I would love to see every Dodger batting .300 and every pitcher with a 0.00 ERA, but that is not realistic. A couple of weeks ago, many wanted to:
Trade Bellinger
Send Muncy to USC
Admit Kershaw is not an Ace
Austin Barnes should be released
Kike Hernandez is horrible
Fire Doc
Get a grip! Baseball is a game of ebbs and flows. The Dodgers are the best team in baseball and they have not come close to realizing their potential… yet.
I hear complaints about Julio Urias and unless you lack eyes, you can see how filthy his stuff is. Location is a product of repetition and (right or wrong), the Dodgers have limited his repetitions… until now. I mean, he has a a 2.74 ERA – Don’t let your reptile brain overrule your human eyes. He is going to be a force!
Everyone hates Kike Hernandez – They hated Justin Turner until he became a Dodger… at about the same age as Kike… except that he was never as good as Kike until he was better! I am not confident the Dodgers will retain Kike, but you may watch him become a star for another team.
Most everyone hated Yasmani Grandal, but he is still one of the Top 5 catchers in baseball… and I am OK that he is gone. Still….
Austin Barnes is a bum and Dave Roberts should be fired for playing him… Dumba$$$! I was guilty too.
The point is: The Dodgers are the best team in baseball. If they can get better at the trade deadline, then AF will do it, but he doesn’t have to do anything!
Alex Wood might be being showcased: He will get a start before the Trade Deadline and if he pitches well, the Dodgers may have another prospect or two.
Ross Stripling is one player that bothers me. His stuff is better this year than anytime in the past and yet, he is not nearly as good. That is troubling to me.
We need to sign a reliever at the deadline. Our bullpen gave up a run today! And I think a Mookie might have read that comment about Verdugo. Careful what you post here. We’re dealing with sensitive athletes!
Nothing to quibble about in this game or series, the Dodgers looked very impressive. It would have been great to have seen this team for a full season. Of course, the playoffs are never a sure thing, particularly that first three-game series. But if Bellinger can keep it going, this will be some lineup. And Betts is a phenomenal player. If he stays healthy, he will probably be the best Dodgers position player in history, surpassing my all-time favorite, Duke Snider, even though I did not get to see him in his prime.
Anyone want to raise the Dodgers’ grades?
This is the kind of offense I was expecting before the season started basically everyone contributing.
If Senzatela is the Rockies top starter and Stripling is our 6th, I would say the Dodgers are in good shape .
Wow, all MLB catchers this year are hitting a combined .227.
Stripling 718 career OPS against him with a 423 slugging percentage.
Gonsolin 517 career OPS against him.
Shouldn’t we be giving Strip a little slack? He is tied with Kersh with most team wins at 3. Third in strike outs.
But then there are most team home runs at 8. And most earned runs allowed in 16. And most hits at 28.
Well at least he is eating up the 2nd most innings at 25.2
I know, it’s San Francisco, but regardless of the rivalry, I think Pence deserved better treatment, it’s not like SF is fighting for a playoff spot, I can’t imagine the Dodgers doing that with Justin Turner for example…
End of an era: Giants designate Hunter Pence for assignment
https://sports.yahoo.com/end-of-an-era-giants-designate-hunter-pence-for-assignment-174735275.html
The San Francisco Giants are parting ways with a fan favorite Sunday. After making a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Giants designated veteran Hunter Pence for assignment.
Pence, 37, will be placed on waivers following the move. If no team picks him up or trades for him, Pence will either be released or sent to the team’s alternate site. In 56 plate appearances, Pence is hitting just .096/.161/.250.
The team made the move after acquiring infielder Daniel Robertson from the Rays. That, combined with Sam Coonrod being reinstated from the 10-day Injured List, resulted in Pence being designated for assignment.
Hunter Pence is a fan favorite in San Francisco
While Pence has struggled in 2020, he’s been a major contributor to the Giants in the past. Pence was acquired by the team at the trade deadline in 2012, and won two championships with the Giants. During his tenure in San Francisco, Pence hit .265/.322/.429, with 95 home runs.
Pence endeared himself to Giants fans after embracing trolling from opposing fans who made signs claiming Pence couldn’t parallel park and didn’t like bacon. Giants fans came to Pence’s defense, countering those good-natured trolls with positive Pence signs.
Is this the end of the road for Hunter Pence?
Given Pence’s age and struggles this season, the DFA could mark the end of Pence’s career. If this is it for Pence, the 14-year veteran accomplished quite a bit in the majors. On top of winning two World Series championships, Pence made the All-Star team four times in his career.
Though this season has been rough, Pence looked rejuvenated last year. Pence hit .297/.358/.552 over 83 games with the Texas Rangers in 2019. He spent the previous offseason completely reworking his swing, and it seemed to pay off in a big way.
If Pence can recapture that magic, he could still be a useful player for a team down the stretch in 2020. If not, Pence could have a tough time catching on with another club when he hits the free agent market following the 2020 season.
We are most fortunate to have 3 young team controlled starting pitchers as good as the 3 we have are. Gray and White are in the wings too.
I think Kiké walks, and Joc does as well. Joc’s 36 home runs are sexy but his play amounted to 3 fWAR. That is as much as we will ever get out of him, in fact as he ages and gets even heavier it will probably be less. Time to look for a replacement. Kiké has put up 3 WAR only once in his careeer. He’s 29 next year. I have no idea what the organizational plan is but win it all or not this year I think some turnover is going to happen.
Today:
Mookie
Seager
CT3 (LF)
Belly
Joc (DH)
Muncy (3b)
Kike (2b)
Beaty (1b)
Smith
Strip
The reason we all love McKinstry (myself included) and are hard on Kike is because Kike is here and Mac is at SC. When McKinstry inherits Kike’s role next year, he’d better produce or the LADT Gang will ride him out of town on a rail.
Each of the commenters here, all having played major league baseball, know how easy it is and we simply can’t understand why these guys ever have a bad game, let alone a bad season. Granted these guys are making good money to have us rip them to shreds, so there is that at least.
Nice report 2D2. A lot of thoughtful work went into your analysis. I think you are a hard grader.
* I must be watching a different game than some folks. I think May has been great in his role. What does this 22 year old have to do to solidify a spot in the rotation without him being questioned? I feel the same about Gonsolin and I haven’t been shy in wondering how he could be at USC and Gonzales is up with the team. Both Gonzo and May have earned being in the rotation.
* May has quality stuff but still needs a change up. When he masters that, he will move to the next level. I would personally like him to throw more of those 98mph heat seekers that move to his arm side. I think he has fallen in love with that 93 cutter. If I throw 99, you’d see that a lot.
* Glad I lost my bet on when Muncy would hit a baseball to the left side of 2nd. The line was 2025 and I had the over. Seriously, it was good to see. Apparently he has watched lots of video and extra BP. It seems simple but it’s not to stay back, inside out swing on balance (don’t over swing), let the ball travel and hit it where it’s pitched. Trust your hands. He did it in the 2nd but was back in the pull mode in the 4th. His hips were so early and open on that outside pitch resulting in another pulled ground ball. Damn if he could stay closed and go with the pitch.
* This is precisely why the Dodgers struggle with left handed pitching. Everybody knows that against a lefty, especially a softer thrower. Hitters from both sides have to think opposite field. If you try to pull these guys, you’ll be frustrated all day.*
* was Treinen pitch around the pinch hitting Kemp in the 7th or just wild? If he was pitching around him, just put his ass on 1st and don’t risk the wild pitch that scored the run.
* I think Kike gets too much criticism. When he walks next year that will open a spot for the more popular McKinstry.
* I’d prefer CT3 at 2nd base.
* The awkward interview of the year was when Alana asked Will Smith what he thinks of K-Bear. He’s a great kid and answered as you (and Alana) would expect. But I would have liked this unexpected answer by Will:
“you know Alana, Kelbert is my main competition at catcher for many years to come and I think he couldn’t throw out the trash. His swing has holes. He’s untested and I can’t wait to see him back at USC so I don’t have to worry about him.” I guess that wouldn’t be the company answer.
Very nice assessment of the team 2d2,Stripling pitching today and he probably needs a strong game or he could find himself back in the pen.
The 27 Yankees considered the best team to ever play had a record of 110-44 with Ruth and Gehrig. I think if you do the math back of the envelope
(21-8 X 5=105-40)
it is about the same record.
We’re 21-8 and have the best record in baseball but we should have won 30 games by now!
Great mid season report 2d2!
I agree with most of the player grades. The grades for the team I would give an A- because they have the best record in baseball and look like they can and are improving. The grade for manager I would give an A+.
Doc has been doing an outstanding job of keeping this team together considering all the factors in regards to the COVID protocols. He has arguably only 2 top 10 players in the league. (Betts and Kersh)
He has done this by mixing and matching. He has gotten the most out of starting pitchers and carefully using the bullpen so not to overextend the relievers. He has rested regular players and got playing time for the bench. I believe there has not been 2 line up cards that are identical. Doc would get my vote for Manager of the year.
I think one thing a more than a few of us forget is that the expectations we have for this team are very high. If they do not play up to the standards most of us feel are where they should be, fans get antsy. Criticizing is the one things fans do best. We are all, for the most part, arm chair managers, and we think we know better. At least many times I have. Added to that the frustration of more than 30 years without that World Champion banner flying over Dodger Stadium adds to the fans angst. Losing to the Asstros aside, it has not been great fun. We expect this team to win. Anything less will be a let down for a vast majority of the fans. One side note. A Mike Trout rookie baseball card, 2009 Bowman chrome baseball prospects signed card sold for 3, 936,000 simolians. Passing the Honus Wagner T-106 which sold for 3,120,000.00. Lot of bucks for a piece of cardboard!
I wouldn’t be so hard on Urias. He’s 2-0 with a 2.74 ERA. In his 5 starts the team is 3-2. He may be frustrating to watch but the kid has talent and is working hard to put it all together.
I think Kiké would be perfect for this team if he could maintain an OPS+ over 100. He cannot. He’s done it 3 times in his 7 year career but not since ‘18. He’s at 85 now. I like him, but for his job as utility he’s got to be a more productive hitter. He can do that one of two ways, hit for a higher overage and OBP (currently .249/.278) or hit for a higher OPS (currently .278/.400). The Dodgers like OPS. Heck, everyone likes OPS now. He does his job defensively but it would be most beneficial if he could go Ben Zobrist on the league (14 year career 114 OPS+ with a stretch from age 27-35 where he was over 120 eight times). Kiké needs to hit. If he can’t, he needs to be replaced.
Both Joc and Enrique are in the their “walk year” and playing for a multi-year big dollar contract. They might get that, but it won’t be with the Dodgers. I’ve seen enough to know Enrique and Joc have reached their peak as MLB ball players and are no longer ascending.
Too many K’s, not enough contact and more recently some lack of hustle by Joc points to both of them being allowed to walk. McKinstry and Lux will be on the roster next year and can quite easily match or exceed the offensive production of Joc and Enrique. CT3 needs to start somewhere every day. He is a gamer who epitomizes the hungry and gritty ball player that fans adore. Count me as a big fan of CT3.
2D2, I can not imagine the time and work it took you to do this analysis. Thank you. I love stats, other than not fully understanding all of the baseball ones. But the grades were extremely interesting and I agreed with them, especially the grades of Taylor, Gonsolin, Pollock and Ferguson. So, I second SoCalBum’s “spot on!”
I would like to give an extra “shout out” to a player I think deserves it. Pollock has been so good in fielding, hitting and speed on the bases, let alone his ethics and character which are terrific as a team player.
And, Remember When is also one of my favorite Country songs along with Alan Jackson as an artist. I sang along with it as I read it with your words. Good job.
About Kike and Pollock. I like Kike. He is a energetic fun guy to watch….when he is cheering his team on in the dugout. He is sometimes spectacular in the field. He made a great diving stop and throw to get Tapia the other night. At the plate, there are times when he has been a steady hitter, then he falls in love with the long ball and his swing is messed up for weeks. His value comes from his ability to play so many positions. He is the last hitter, next to Joc, I want at the plate in a clutch situation. But sorry, his act is getting old. He has twice been given the starting second base job, and twice has lost it. I do not know if it is some sort of mental block or what. It is frustrating simply because I think with a little more discipline at the plate, he could be an everyday player. He is another of those guys who if he was more consistent, he would be out there almost every game. As for Pollock, AJ’s game suffers from a couple of things. First is of course the injury history. When healthy he has been a very good productive player. Decent defense, a bat with occasional thunder, and when he was younger, speed. Second, he totally dissapeared in the playoffs last year and the fans immediately turned on him. Forgetting that Pollock was about as steady as anyone the last 1 1/2 months of the season and was one of the teams better hitters. The entire offense went to sleep against DC’s aces, not just AJ. So I disagree he was a total bust. He only played 86 games but he had 15 homers and 47 ribbies. He stole 5 bases and was caught once. So was he as bad as everyone said? No, once he was healthy, he contributed to the team. This year, with what looks like the loss of some weight, and being healthy, he has performed well. I think we are seeing the player AJ has always been when healthy. A solid ballplayer.
Appreciate the post, it takes time to do this.
I will say that the difference between this years team and last years is the bullpen. Last year loss after loss could be attributed to the bullpen. Thus far, they have been above average without blowing game after game.
Surprisingly good so far has to be pollock who was a total bust last year. Gonsolin has been superb. I think May has been consistent if not spectacular. He has kept us in every game. Rios has raised some expectations. Betts has been as advertised but not surprisingly so.
Kershaw has been good as expected(too many hr), kershaw, Gonsolin, and May have held the starting pitching together. Very disappointed in Buehler and Urias, Buehler will get it together. Urias is a huge question mark. Stripling and wood are mediocre with expected highs and lows. Urias could leap up the chart but very disappointing now.
Bellinger, kike, and Beaty uninspiring to date. Kike and Beaty are average players so they won’t change much but could do more. Bellinger is due to break out and I expect he will. His big challenge will be the playoffs.
Muncy, Pederson awful so far. Both should come around and will be needed.
Catchers, average Barnes has alternated between awful and playing over his head. Too many strikeouts but he is who he is just weak offensively. Smith should be the starter and has the most upside. The running game is killing us. One base is 2 for the opponents. It takes p and c to stop this.
Finally, injuries to Kelly and Baez will hamper the bullpen. It will force treinen and graterol to throw more innings. We need the depth in the bullpen to keep us fresh in critical innings.
I ask the simple question – can we improve. The answer to that question is – yes.
I‘ve seen every game, rerun several plays to get a better understanding of what actually happened and what a player might have been thinking. Our base running can improve and our fielding percentage can improve. dWAR by position is quite good, but we are 7th in fldg%., we are the league average in errors with 14, but second in DeEff. Wins Above Average by position is an interesting read. We are 1st as a team, but down the list at All P, SP, LF, CF. Not surprisingly, to me anyway, we are below league average in fldg. % at SS, 2B, 3B, LF and next to last at CS. LOB is still a little high. I think we’ve given up 10 unearned runs in 29 games. Hopefully we can improve on that. Last night’s dramatic “I didn’t see it” walk off would not have been necessary if not for the Seager error.
This team has it all. I think it just needs to clean it up some.
Why is May a regular and Gonsolin is not? I get That there are only so many spots in the rotation, but jeesh, this guy is earning it!
Pre-season/scouting evaluation?
Promised slot to everyone else?
What happens next year?
Kersh,Buehler, May, Price, Urias, Gonsolin, Grey?!
Wood only signed for one yr, Strip traded?, but still a crowded rotation. Do they trade pitching for a player to play 2nd or 3rd? Or for more prospects?
Only 3 of the 8 position groups get a B grade or better, and we have the best record in baseball. I’m not even saying I disagree with the grades, it’s just kind of wild. It’s probably a good illustration the importance of pitching and defense.
The bullpen and Seager have been our mid year MVP-A/B in my estimation. Betts gets consideration, but I’d give it to Seager for one reason alone. Since last October, I’ve had a difficult time erasing the visions of Seager chasing and whiffing over and over again against the Nationals. Bellinger was nearly as bad, and these are supposed to be the team’s offensive pillars over the next 5-10 years? Anyway, Seager’s play this year has managed to erase most of the Nationals series from my head and reaffirmed his status as a foundation piece. A couple more 11K performances from Kershaw, and I’ll forget about Rendon/Soto as well.
There’s some concern about our starting rotation in the post season. With the way the bullpen is throwing, this might be the most opportune time to introduce 2-3 young starters. We could duplicate what the Brewers did in 2018 and plan on hitting the bullpen by the 4th inning. If May or Urias or Gonsolin can’t get thru the first, we got Stripling and Wood as this year’s Kenta Maeda. If we had to do that every game, we’d probably end up like the Brewers. For every 3rd or 4th game, it doesn’t seem unreasonable. Provided the bullpen doesn’t start fading between now and then.
A spot on evaluation! The only grade I would change is the team grade which is an A in my opinion — best win-loss record in MLB and not yet running on all cylinders. The team is better than the sum of its parts. Team has one month of “regular” season games to clean-up the current issues. Regarding Roberts – I think the rule requiring relievers a three batter minimum has been a significant help to his bullpen decisions. I do think that Roberts and his coaching staff should be credited with creating some scoring opportunities, hitters starting to use the whole field, and pitchers becoming more aggressive attacking the strike zone.
I agree with your assessment, 2D2. That raises the question, how is it that we have the best record in MLB, and a run differential that is twice as large as any other team? In fact, our predicted record, based on the run differential, would be slightly better than our actual record. And predictive models like FiveThirtyEight give us the greatest chance to win the WS. How to explain it? It reminds me of the famous quote from Winston Churchill about democracy: it’s the worst political system, except for all of the others. We’re the worst team, except for all of the others! There is another explanation: without Mookie’s insanely high WAR, and the stellar pitching we’d have a much worse record – still above average for the league, but not the outstanding one we have now. However, our runs scored is still the highest in MLB, slightly ahead of.San Diego. I have a theory about all of this: You can’t compare performance in corona times to non-conrona times. This team has enormous talent. However, their performance, like that of other teams, has been affected by adjustment to covid-weirdness. It’s like students who take their classes online during quarantine, and get poorer grades than they usually do. Runs scored are down across the league. Some of the recent improvement in our performance could be attributable to getting used to playing in these new and strange circumstances. And some could just be regression to the mean. As the Dodgers play more games, their performance “regresses” (in the statistical sense) to their true level, which is fantastically high. Imagine giving all the players an extra half grade to add to the ones 2D2 gave. Then you’d get a better idea of how this team should perform over the long run, and as they adjust to the new circumstances. If we see them play at that level, they will be hard to stop.