For all the flack that Yamamoto has taken, here he is with a 3-1 record with a 2.01 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Not bad for a guy who is just starting to pitch up to his capability. Knack went back to OKC so that the Dodgers could have a couple of fresh arms in the bullpen, and both Feyeriesen and Varland did their jobs last night. JP i not a…
Well, as much as I like Gavin Stone (and I like him a lot), I confess that I mostly saw him as a high-leverage bullpen piece… until yesterday. 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. OK, yes, he was a bit lucky, but he went seven innings and allowed one earned run ! WOW! JUST WOW! In my defense, I have never seen Gavin Stone throw a…
Mookie, Freddie, and Kike each had two hits. Mookie is smoking hot. Freddie is back over .300, and Kike is heating up. In his last 7 games, Kike is hitting .294 and appears to be in a platoon with Max Muncy. Pages and Outman platoon in CF, except when Pages play RF, and Lux and Rojas are in a platoon at 2B/SS. Many of you don’t like platoons and blame…
As we speak, Mookie Betts is listed as the Dodger’s starting shortstop, but against tough LHP he slides over to 2B, as Gavin Lux is deemed a liability against lefties and Miguel Rojas plays SS. Miguel still plays SS at a very high level and he does hit LHP better than RHP as a rule. This year, he is OPS’ing .818 against LHP and 1.000 against RHP, but obviously, that…
I took a lot of flack last season because of James Outman. Much of it came from Eric, who disappeared this year when the going got tough for James. Eric evidently can dish it out, but he can’t take it! I sometimes think he loves James Outman more than the Dodgers. He also seems to hate Miguel Vargas, but many of you do because you hate it when I am…
Quite often, that is the difference between success or failure for a pitcher or hitter: One Pitch – One Swing! Look at Bobby Miller yesterday. He struck out the side in the first inning and could not get out of the second inning after allowing five runs. One Pitch! Several Times! The Dodgers are 7-3, which is on pace to win 113 games, and some Dodger fans are losing their…
If Mookie Betts hits .520 this year, the Dodgers will have no worries. Actually, the TOP SIX of the Dodgers batting order are delivering at a rate that is scary. It’s the BOTTOM THREE that are also scary: Now, I did not make those numbers up, so don’t be hating on me. It is a concern, but it is early and there will be no knee-jerk reactions. I expected a…
Before I start talking about Opening Day, I want to talk about something that makes baseball so special. To me, it was never so evident as in the Freeway Series, although I saw flashes of it through the spring: Watching the youngsters and seeing the pure joy they experience is the best part of this game. Last year, it was Miguel Vargas, Bobby Miller, and James Outman (well, Bobby is…
A glass containing water to the half-way point is often used to point out the difference between optimists and pessimists: The optimist sees the glass as half full. They focus on what is there. “So much that can be done with half a glass of water.” The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. He sees that the glass used to be full and now half of its contents are gone. Soon it will…
