19 Games To Go – Do They Go to the Whip?

yes a sad day. sad in colorado too.

FYI,

I am slightly better today. My fever broke last night, but I still feel bad.

This is the fifth time I have had it. The second time, I ended up in the hospital for a week. The 3rd and 4th times were like going on vacation. This one is worse than the last two.

Great Dodgers win…

But what a sad sad sad day in America Yesterday.

Godspeed Mr. Kirk and Family. RIP

SD loses again

hope Deane enjoyed his time with the big club! i think he may have gotten 4 AB’S. seems like a great young man! But it’s good to see Tommy back! .. i called Emmit going 7 last night. tonight i say Snell also goes 7 with 10 K’s. my offensive pick? Andy and ohtani go deep!

10:10 PM ET

Rockies (40-105)

Dodgers (81-64)

SP Kyle Freeland L

4-14 5.10 ERA

SP Blake Snell L

3-4 3.19 ERA

Confirmed Lineup

DH S. Ohtani L

SS Mookie Betts R

C Will Smith R

1B F. Freeman L

RF T. Hernandez R

CF Tommy Edman S

2B Miguel Rojas R

LF Andy Pages R

3B E. Hernandez R

73° Wind 10 mph Out

News from Internet:

Davy Andrews writes about how Ohtani is the greatest leadoff hitter ever:

“The last fact is the most fun: As good as Ohtani has been as a leadoff hitter, he’s been even more generous to opposing leadoff batters…. Small sample size or not, he’s turned opposing leadoff hitters into a batter who’s better than Shohei Ohtani, and that’s only barely a thing.”

Three days. Three Homers for James Tibbs: Since being acquired from BOS in trade he’s slashing .241/.386/.420, with a 17 BB%

MLB.com’s Joe Trezza on Kendall George:

“”Going out there and being fearless and understanding that I am capable of doing this was really all I needed,” George told MLB Pipeline in a phone interview. “I just put my head down and kept running.”

Baseball America looks at AFL rosters ($$$$)

George, DePaula and Jang all get mentioned.

Jay Jaffe had a chat:

Guest: Is Tanner Scott cooked?

Jay Jaffe: The stuff is still good enough, and he’s getting batters to chase, but… it’s not working out in general. i think it’s very hard to live as just a two-pitch pitcher; he probably has to add a third offering to avoid falling into the same patterns.

A Different Guest: Is Shohei truly a unicorn? He may be doing it better than Babe Ruth, but he’s not unique in being a MLBer who has hit and pitched in significant quantities.

Jay Jaffe: Yes, he’s a unicorn. It’s not just that he did both well, it’s that he’s done them contemporaneously. Ruth’s double-duty days didn’t last very long, and he was doing it all pre-integration against farm boys who pumped gas or ran the general store in the offseason. Ohtani has been kept on a short leash because of his latest injury but he’s already had more seasons with 100 innings and 500 plate appearances than Ruth (3 to 1); you’d have to go down to 151 PA to get three seasons where Ruth pulled such double duty.

ProspectSavant interviews Paul Gervase

“I treat every baseball game the same. Like whether it was my major league debut, which obviously was a huge deal, or another game here in AAA… ”

Josh Norris picks 12 interesting AFL players to keep an eye on ($$$$$)

Jakob Wright, LHP Los Angeles Dodgers:

“At his best, Wright mixes mid-90s four-seam and sinking fastballs with a cutter, changeup and sweeper.”

Longenhagen Chat:

E. Sheehan: My buddy and I were discussing Kendall George‘s 70 speed grade in association with his recently breaking the 100 SB milestone (albeit in single-A).

He argued that writers might be wary about giving out 80 grades for fear that handing out too many might undermine the writer’s credibility. I countered that fear of objectivity was a slippery slope wherein 70 essentially becomes the new 80.

Does fear of over-hyping a player or skill set ever factor into your final analysis? And, in the case of George, what factors might separate a 70 grade from an 80?

Eric A Longenhagen: Does fear of over-hyping a player or skill set ever factor into your final analysis? Yes, for a number of reasons. And, in the case of George, what factors might separate a 70 grade from an 80?

It’s all about my stopwatch, basically. If you’re a lefty hitter and I’ve got you in the 4.1 area, you’re a 70 and not an 80

Alec: It looks like their prospect ratings are pretty similar, so with both debuting this year do you have greater confidence in Luis Mey or Edgardo Henriquez establishing themselves as a legitimate bullpen threat?

Eric A Longenhagen: Edgardo’s strikes have been semi better lately while Mey’s have backed up (and imo his conditioning has slipped)

A look at how the Dodgers are working to develop Will Klein:

Baseball America looks at the 10 best performing Minor League FBs ($$$$$)

Aidan Foeller, RHP, Dodgers

Strike Rate: 62.2%

In-Zone Rate: 49.4%

Whiff Rate: 37.8%

“Foeller, an 11th-rounder out of Southern Illinois last year, is the latest in low-cost, high-upside arms lurking in the Dodgers’ system….”

Baseball America Hot Sheet ($$$$$)

DePaula and Quintero mentioned:

“there are just two players in the minor leagues this year who are 20 years old or younger and have 15 or more doubles, 10 or more homers, 80 or more walks and 30 or more stolen bases. The kicker? They both hit in the top third of the Great Lakes lineup…”

As expected the Dodgers activated IF/OF Tommy Edman and optioned OF Justin Dean.

Dodgers assigned to playing in the 2025 Arizona Fall League

Josue De Paula OF 20 Double-A Tulsa

Kendall George CF 20 High-A Great Lakes

Logan Wagner 3B/2B 21 High-A Great Lakes

Justin Chambers LHP 19 Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

Hyun-Seok Jang RHP 21 Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

Alex Makarewich RHP 23 High-A Great Lakes

Jakob Wright LHP 22 Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

Payton Martin RHP 21 High-A Great Lakes

Was last night just a case of the Dodgers playing the team with the worst record in baseball? Or is it really a sign of resurgence? We are hopeful for the later but the next 2 weeks will tell the tale. They are getting healthy at the right time. Mookie is hitting like Mookie. But lots of guys still aren’t hitting.

And who do you really trust with a 1 run lead coming out of the bullpen? I can’t think of anyone.

I suspect that the front office knew the toll that last years push to the title placed on the bullpen. It’s no coincidence that Phillips, Kopech, and Treinen have missed most of the season. So that’s why they signed Yates and Scott. It’s just that neither guy has been that guy. So – they can’t rely on Scott, Yates, Treinen, Kopech and Phillips is out. That leaves Vesia and who exactly?

you need to stay away from those hospitals! you get sick every time you go to one!!

the dodgers have as good or better starters as almost every team in baseball. Blake Snell needs to get back on track tonight. Not that he’s been bad, but not really as sharp as his last couple of starts. Will Roberts put Edman right in the fire tonight? Lefty on the mound for colorado so conforto sits! Maybe i’m a little crazy, but last night’s lineup gave me a confidence boost! Simply put. the dodgers need to finish off the rox tonight and get ready for the Giants. i assume clayton, yamamoto, and ohtani are going for the dodgers this weekend. i would also assume robbie ray and logan webb will be part of the giants rotation. Giants are playing good baseball and they are hungry, Dodgers need to step it up!

I now have COVID-19 for a world record 5th time.

Beating up on the woeful Rockies given the team’s recent lethargy against other weak teams is a relatively minor accomplishment. Good to see however. The starting pitching has been superb against the weak Colorado lineup, let’s buckle up and see how it goes for the rest of the season when the Phillies, Giants and Mariners are on the schedule.

The trade with Boston for Dustin May for two quality outfielders looks even better:

“Dustin May, a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 6) with right elbow neuritis. The Red Sox made this move on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, just before his scheduled start against the Athletics. Connelly Early was called up from Triple-A Worcester to take May’s spot in the rotation.

May first experienced soreness and numbness in his forearm during a game of catch and an MRI revealed no structural damage. He described the IL stint as precautionary, hoping to be ready for a potential playoff run as there are only three weeks left in the regular season.

This injury comes after May has been inconsistent in his time with the Red Sox, posting a 5.40 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, and 26:13 K:BB over 28.1 innings. He has a history of injuries throughout his career, including Tommy John surgery in 2021, and flexor tendon surgery and an esophageal tear in 2024, which kept him out for a significant portion of the 2024 season”.

didn’t want to bury Teo! i was one who screamed for the dodgers to resign him! it was good to see him take good swings, had 3 good ab’s! the home runs were great, but the overall at bats were the most impressive thing. he’s vital for the team to win! But, he can’t continue to swing wildly and chase non competitive pitches. the entire lineup had quality at bats last night. well almost (conforto). Could we start to see more from this lineup? Now it was the Rockies, but it sure felt like the 2024 dodgers! .. Emmit was great! Vesia was very good considering he had been on the dl for 10 days. Yates? same old same old! starting pitching has been fantastic! if the bullpen gets straightened out, it’s possible that they can be who they were supposed to be! …. Although one game doesn’t mean Teo is cured, it’s a great sign! Pages? dropped to the 8 hole. one good AB. like Doc showing him he still has work to do to be the player he needs to be. there’s a little attitude there. Hopefully Doc keeps his to the positive side. He seems to feed off Teo. He could learn a lot about how to handle himself on and off the field.

Based on the MLB playoff picture as of September 10, 2025, if the season ended today, the Los Angeles Dodgers would be the No. 3 seed in the National League. In the first round of the playoffs, the Wild Card Series, the Dodgers would face the No. 6 seed New York Mets. This would be a best-of-three series, with all games played at the Dodgers’ home stadium as the higher seed.

Yall wanted to bury Teo…..as Lee Corso would say….Not so fast my friend

We had this conversation years ago and more plate appearances matter. The leadoff spot gets the most PA over a season—typically ~15–25 more than the #2 spot and ~60–80 more than the #5–#6 spots. More PA = more chances to help. Rule of thumb

If your best hitter is also your highest-OBP table-setter and you’ve got depth behind him → Leadoff is great.

If your best hitter is a pure run-producer and the lineup behind him is thinner → Bat him #2 (often optimal) or #3.

However, the issue also is where in he most confortable?

While monitoring whether Sheehan will throw a no-hitter, Teo’s HR had me wondering about the Dodgers lineup, and it occured to me that AI might have an answer. (Does AF use AI? Inquiring non-artificial minds want to know.)

Understand that I mostly enjoy the forays into ChatGPT and other AI programs. A friend of mine who dabbles in songwriting asked Chat (I think it was Chat) to write lyrics based on the theme “too late for love in the style of Bob Dylan.”

Damn but AI delivered good faux Dylan.

Anyway, it occurred to me that maybe some AI program could be employed, as an experiment, to maximize the Dodgers lineup based on players’ performances in 2025.

Should Shohei really bat 1st or would he produce more runs in the middle of the lineup?

Should Mookie bat 2nd?

Should Teo continue to hit ahead of Pages?

Should Conforto be in the lineup at all?

I assume that perfecting a lineup might be a bit tougher than perfecting a song. But maybe not. I don’t know enoug h about the various AI programs and how, say, Statcast data could be funneled into such a project.

But wouldn’t it be fun?

10:10 PM ET

Rockies (40-104)

Dodgers (80-64)

SP German Marquez R

3-12 6.19 ERA

SP Emmet Sheehan R

5-3 3.59 ERA

Confirmed Lineup

DH S. Ohtani L

SS Mookie Betts R

1B F. Freeman L

C Will Smith R

3B Max Muncy L

RF T. Hernandez R

LF M. Conforto L

CF Andy Pages R

2B Miguel Rojas R

71° Wind 10 mph Out

UPDATE!!!!

09/09/25 Los Angeles Dodgers activated LHP Alex Vesia from the 15-day injured list.

09/09/25 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned RHP Ben Casparius to Oklahoma City Comets.

The Dodgers activated pitcher Alex Vesia off the injured list on September 9, 2025,and they optioned relief pitcher Justin Wrobleski to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

wasn’t meant to be! but the starting pitching is really starting to jell. i’m afraid Teo doesn’t get to a ball 95%. of right fielders in baseball catch. love the guy’s smile. we just have not seen it enough lately!

Many Dodgers fans are still saying that Pages should have caught the Home Run that broke up Yamamoto’s no-hitter.

Yeah, he would have caught it had he been a foot taller with a 65-inch vertical leap.

They are seeing with their hearts… not their eyes.