Tomorrow They Rest!

I’m not shy about my opinions.

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Urias: Ace at best, #2 at worst!

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Alvarez: Ace at best, Pedro Baez at worst!

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I would not trade Urias, but I would trade Alvarez in the right deal. He’s too far away.

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I would not trade Mitch White or Walker Buehler either.

1. Cody Leads the team in HR. He has 50 AB’s less than the person in 2nd place.

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2. Cody leads the team in RBI, tied with a person who has 50 more AB’s.

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3. Cody leads the team in Slugging %

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4. Cody is 3rd in OPS.

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So, who better on the team to hit cleanup?

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I like Joc as a person, but I predicted he was a 4th or 5th outfielder when he was a prospect. He fooled me for a while, but …

So most are ready to give up on Joc and simultaneously make Bellinger the cleanup hitter. I am not ready to do either.

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… AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, my friend said that the Dodgers were shopping Joc and Kenta and that the Yanks were interested in Forsythe. Let’s just say that the Yanks were interested in all three. What if they traded prospects and Gardner and the Dodgers flipped the prospects for Ozuna? This is merely conjecture…

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By the way, those are Blue Toes!

Bluto, this is in response to you from above. I do tend to get wordy and sometimes my thoughts do not come across as I want them to…….Mark had indicated that he had it on good authority that both Maeda and Pederson were being targeted by the Yankees, and that there was discussion that the Dodgers could receive Clint Frazier and Chance Adams in return. You responded, “Why would the Dodgers even think to trade Maeda and Pederson when both values have cratered and are at a low. It’s the total antithesis of how the Front Office maximizes value.”

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I obviously was not clear in my response to your statement. I was trying to understand whether you were making a determination that there is no way that Maeda or Pederson’s maximum value could be determined at this time, and that any trade talk should be tempered until their on-field performance improved… or whether you thought that the value being returned is not commensurate with what your estimation of the true value of Maeda and Joc is. I still do not know.

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If your statement was due to the former, okay. Maybe Pederson’s 2nd half 2017 emulates his second half of 2016, and that his value increases greatly. But what if his second half emulates his first half 2017, and his May to September 2015. Clint Frazier then becomes a pipe dream. Will Maeda emulate his April & June 2016 months, or his May, July-September 2016 and 2017 to date? Apparently you believe that both Pederson and Maeda’s on the field performance will improve. Okay by me. I was chastised for making similar statements about Alex Wood. Determining the point of optimum value is not a science. It’s also a feel. As you said, “Why would the Dodgers even think to trade Maeda and Pederson when both values have cratered and are at a low. It’s the total antithesis of how the Front Office maximizes value.” Maybe the FO does think that they would be getting maximum value with Frazier and Adams. You may not agree with that, but you seem to agree that the FO does have a basis for determining optimum value. You just would not agree with the FO’s determination if this trade were made.

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If you were basing your comment on the return, then I am not sure that you are correct about not getting at least fair value. Clint Frazier and Chance Adams are top level prospects in a top level farm system. How an Andrew Miller comment got inserted, was because Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield were the return to the Yankees for Andrew Miller. Therefore, it seems to reason (albeit to me) that if the Yankees were willing to move Frazier (the key player), and Chance Adams (comparable to Justus Sheffield), they would want comparable ML value to what they had with Andrew Miller. Andrew Miller was nothing more than a base line for value for Frazier and Adams.

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I have never stated that I am in favor of trading Joc or Maeda, nor have I said that I would be against it. I have stated all along that to me the only untouchables on the ML roster were Kershaw, Seager, Bellinger, Jansen, and probably JT. IMO, Walker Buehler is the only untouchable prospect at this time. Everybody else is tradeable as long as the return is fair. The only reason that the Yankees would even be discussing Frazier and Adams, is if they value Pederson and Maeda more than what you think others are valuing them at, because Frazier and Adams are not cratered value.

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I also stated that if this trade was by itself the only trade to be made, I would be against it. I want to win this year, and if Joc and Maeda can be traded individually or part of a package, I would want players that help them get to the WS this year. Frazier and Adams cannot do that, unless they were also traded for a player(s) that can get them there.

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As far as Logan Forsythe, Mark mentioned that the Yankees were interested. All I was trying to say was that the Yankees interest seems understandable. The Yankees have never been comfortable with Headley at 3rd. To them Forsythe seems to be an upgrade. I did not just pull Forsythe’s name out thin air.

I wonder how many HR Clayton has given up on the first pitch of an AB?

I agree with Mark and Dodger patch!

Kershaw has been allowed to stay in games a few times past the seventh inning, and he has given up at least one run in those last two innings, more often then not, this year.

And we actually don’t know that Kershaw would have made it through the eighth inning yesterday, without giving up a run, either.

Kershaw has already given up 13 HRs this year, and he has only given up 15 HRs in a season, in his career, up to now.

So Kershaw is giving up HRs, at a faster rate this year.

The truth is that Kershaw hasn’t been that good, past the seventh this year, or in the post season, either.

And because this, maybe Kershaw needs to do something different this year, to take care of himself, so he will be stronger, in the post season this year, if we go.

But it is obvious that Kershaw is not ready to take care of himself, so Roberts is making sure that Kershaw takes care of himself, and keeping the team in mind, at the same time.

And maybe all of this will be better for Kershaw in the post season, as well, as for the team in the long run.

There has been to many times in the post season, that Kershaw has been allowed to continue to pitch.

And we either got lucky, and won, or we lost, because Kershaw, was allowed to stay in the game to long.

The team and the win, is what is important, not Kershaw’s ego or allowing Kershaw, to get that monkey off his back, in the post season.

And maybe by taking Kershaw out of that game yesterday, Roberts won’t hesitate, to take Kershaw out, when he sees fit, the rest of the season, to protect Kershaw, and the team.

And this may help Roberts make better decisions in the post season, and help Kershaw do better in the post season, too.

And if Kershaw has a good post season, the team will probably have a pretty good post season.

Because Kershaw has been part of the problem, in the post season.

I didn’t second guess. I said it at the time it happened. No way I pull Kershaw until after Harper has hit. He has owned Harper and ;the Dodgers have two off days coming up. Kershaw can get an extra day of rest. It looked like Kershaw forced his way into the batter’s box and it took both Honey and Doc to get him out of the game. While I agree Baez has been better this year(I have to explain that to my son every time he comes in), he was lucky yesterday. Gave up a double that Taylor played into a triple and the ball he snagged at the mound was a smash too.

I tend to agree with you on Joc, but he hasn’t exactly had a lot of AB’s. I had a hard time believing the step back drill against live pitchers was going to work when I saw it in Spring Training. I can see them trying to move Joc and Maeda. Joc may need to re-establish some value. Maeda has 7 years left at only $3million a year guaranteed. When someone mentioned trading Ryu a couple of weeks back, it seemed to me that Maeda would be more coveted in a deal with a small market team or cheap owner.

It’s certainly not looking good for FG. He also hasn’t had very many AB’s, but with the emergence of Taylor, I could see Forsythe sliding into Franklin’s spot against lefties until a deal is made.

Here’s the real kicker on Joc verses Cody. Joc has 200 AB’s against LH pitching and is hitting .178 in those AB’s. Cody has 35 AB’s against Lefties and is hitting .278.

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Joc can’t hit LH pitching. He’s a platoon player. Cody evidently can although the sample is small.

Given the Braintrust’s proclivity to sign the old and infirm as starting pitchers, the only way that it works is to have lots of them. For that reason, I for one would be surprised to see Maeda traded. I hav.e less trouble believing either Forsythe or Pederson going, but with a caveat or 2.

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It makes sense to lose Forsythe if Taylor moves to 2B permanently. It makes sense to lose Joc if they also trade for a RH outfield bat.

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Incidentally, Dylan Hernandez of the Times wrote this this morning:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-kershaw-strasburg-hernandez-20170607-story.html

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I have found him to be pretty accurate in the past and I wonder if he has some insight into Kershaw’s mindset that we don’t know about.

Willie Calhoun has played 240 games in the minor leagues. 239 of those were at 2B. Last night, marks the first time he played another position; LF!

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Why now? Is this the beginning of his transition?

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I also see that Mitch White may miss 6 weeks with a broken toe.

If they could pry Haniger away from Seattle, that would be great. They do need pitching. I just do not see Seattle ever letting Seager go. It would take too many prospects to get Seager. Haniger is another story.

I make up plenty of trades. The Alvarez/Ozuna one being of that ilk. The info about Maeda and Pederson is not BS, but that doesn’t mean it will happen either. Puig and McCarthy for Braun was talked about, but never happened. I’d say Puig’s value was pretty low at the time, but GM’s like to “fix” guys. I personally think Pederson and Madea have a lot of value. Pederson is young and controllable and starters with team-friendly contracts don;t grow on trees. Maeda pitched 8.1 innings a few weeks, so if he passes a physical, I think a lot of teams would be interested.

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However, I have a friend who is very well connected in baseball. I don’t talk to him a lot during the season because he is traveling, but I called him yesterday and talked for about 30 seconds before he had to take another call.

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All he said was “They are shopping Pederson and Maeda and the Yankees have interest in Logan.” Over the years, he has given me a lot of transactions that never occurred, but it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t substance to them. You can believe it or not.

Maeda has a very team friendly contract and could appeal to a team like the Mariners who have had lots of injuries in their rotation. Put Joc and a high pitching prospect in the deal and try and pry away Mitch Haniger, RH OF slugger and former 1st round pick of the Brewers who got off to a hot start and is currently on the DL. If they are deadline sellers maybe go for Kyle Seager who can play all the infield positions and would make Cory happy.

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This offensive funk will pass, the roster will sort itself out and some dead wood will be pruned away. The team scuffled through a tough part of their schedule and have favorable inter league match ups ahead with the Indians and Angels plus the Reds twice, the Mets at home for 4 and the Rockies at home for 3. Rest up boys then time to make a move!

Congratulation to Keibert Ruiz (C), and RHSP Dustin May, just named to the Midwest League All-Star team.

Press Release:

“MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons will be represented by two members of this year’s team in the 2017 Midwest League All-Star Game to be held at Dow Diamond on June 19-20. Catcher Keibert Ruiz and pitcher Dustin May will be on the Eastern Division Roster for the two-day event.

Ruiz, 18, is the No. 20 prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system according to Baseball America and has been a mainstay in the Loons lineup hitting .291 with nine doubles and 14 RBI. The teenager has received rave reviews regarding is defensive prowess behind the dish, but Ruiz has heated up at the plate over the last month now ranking second among MWL catchers in batting average.

Drafted in the 3rd round by the Dodgers last summer, May has enjoyed a successful start to his affiliated professional career making 11 starts for the Loons going 3-2 with a 3.93 ERA. Tabbed as the Dodgers’ No. 11 prospect by Baseball America, the right-hander has an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio with 54 K and just eight walks.”

I can understand why the Dodgers would shop Joc. He is a 25 year old power hitting CF, with 3 arbitration years before he becomes a FA. From all indications he is a very good teammate. He would bang out 30-35 HRs with that short RF porch at Yankee Stadium. But I have no idea why he would appeal to the Yankees, unless Brett Gardner is being moved as part of a 3 team deal. Gardner is LH, so he would not make much sense for LAD. If not, that would be Gardner in LF, Ellsbury in CF, and Judge in RF. Hicks is the #4 OF. Ellsbury is out right now with concussion protocol. He went out 1 day after Joc. But he should be back before any trade is consummated, unless they have a neurological report indicating that he has more damage. It would only make sense if the Yankees believe that Ellsbury is going to be out for an extended period of time. With $68M+ guaranteed for three years ($63.5M for 2018-2020; $5 buyout for 2021), that will be a very tough contract to move.

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Maeda and Forsythe make more sense. The Yankees need another starter, and Forsythe could play 3rd for the Yankees. The Yankees have never been enamored with Chase Headley at 3rd. The Yanks also have Ronald Torreyes as their utility infielder.

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What the Yankees really need is a 1B. Heck, SVS would be better than Chris Carter.

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Maybe the Dodgers could put some package together to get Chasen Shreve and Jorge Mateo. It might be interesting to see if either the Yankees or Dodgers were to include a Sheffield, so that Justus and Jordan can be in the same organization.

Mark, I’m calling total bull.

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Why would the Dodgers even think to trade Maeda and Pederson when both values have cratered and are at a low. It’s the total antithesis of how the Front Office maximizes value.

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If you are going to make stuff up, have it based in reality.

Maeda, Pederson and Forsythe for Clint Frazier and Chance Adams (Yanks).

We do need to make a trade for an outfielder. Maeda, Joc and some farm kid should be enough. Joc just hasn’t got better in three years. There should be some improvement each year and we are not seeing it with Joc. I am not really happy with Puig either. However, he is better than Joc. Forsythe is really struggling. We just simplify are not hitting right now. It will come. They are taking a look at Eibner as a pitcher. They say he looks pretty good. It is the only way he will make in the majors. Jansen and Baez are converted position players.

I would trade those three to the Yankees for a package that included Chasen Shreve and others. It would lighten the Dodger load of excess players significantly.

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Still need to have another reliable bat in the lineup. It would be so nice to add a player like Trea Turner. Speed can add a fun element to each game. I wish players like him grew on trees.

By Clayton’s expressions when talking with Doc he did not seem at all pleased with being removed. And I still don’t know why they let him bat.

Maeda has trouble in the early going so having him come in to relieve doesn’t make much since.

Maeda, Joc, and Forsythe for ??? Interesting to speculate.