And the Beat Goes on

I got toasted awhile back for mentioning a move to 3rd. for Seager, but I still see it happening… Best SS in baseball in a period where I can’t remember so many good/great SS’s roaming the diamonds??? Maybe so, Maybe not… Lets just say were blessed…

Arrenado @ 3B… Yikes…Hate to see Turner escape, but the $$$ rule…

OK I put down my pipe!!! You get Turner a 1B mitt for Christmas and tell him to lightly oil and maybe the next couple ST’s a few games played there… The Kid to the OF etc. I gotta go, it’s wearing off…

Mark, now I suppose you are going to play “The Day the Music Died”???? 🙂

Hard to complain. They can start a new streak tomorrow. As for tonight’s game, I thought there were some bad AB’s. Puig had a nice game, but a bad K when he didn’t move the runners over. Don’t get me going on Kike’s AB. Swinging out of his shoes and came nowhere close to hitting the ball. We need a base runner in the 9th and Joc is swinging 1st pitch. I know we are all content with Puig hitting 8th, but he owns Atlanta’s pitcher. He’s now 7 for 12 I believe. Puig should have been hitting 5th and Forsythe 8th tonight.

As for Baez, he got beat on a slider. On a positive note, he’s throwing more sliders this year and at times it has looked good. He picked a bad moment to hang one. His real sin was walking the previous batter with two outs. I for one didn’t think Flowers hit it that well. It seems like RF in that park is like the Launching Pad all over again in Atlanta. I would have preferred to see Morrow in there though. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game, but really looking forward to Friday’s.

Losing sucks!

In three years, it is possible Seager will move to 3rd… if the Dodgers have a good SS at the ready, However, I do not think it is likely. I believe he is the best SS in baseball… overall. He only has 8 errors this year after 18 last year and has improved both his fielding percentage and range factor. I see no reason to move him unless you get Ozzie Smith. Why?

Oh dear

Baez gives up a HR

Still not happy with him in the 8th.

7th innings only.

Forsythe showing he belongs.

Great heads up play.

I understand that most are happy with Seager at shortstop, but there have been a handful of occasions since the all star break where he has not made good defensive plays at short. Just sayin. He booted a ball vs the braves just now that led directly to giving up a run.

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I think he’s pretty solid, but in the long run, he needs to check his ego and consider a move to 3b. Just my 2 cents. I can take criticism since I know most would disagree.

Hell of a #2 starter the Dodgers have.

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Or is he the #4 starter?

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My response about Taylor regressing is in moderation, but it can be inferred by looking at some of his metrics (esp BABIP)

Rich Hill is my favourite Dodger

I was actually going to go off on a rant about that, but I am trapped on a Board Meeting Conference Call for the next two hours.

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The conference call is for The Gift of Water – if you want to do a good deed, donate:

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RICH HILL NAMED NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill has been voted the National League Pitcher of the Month for July announced earlier today on MLB Network.

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In five July starts, Hill registered a 4-0 record with a 1.45 ERA and an impressive 40:5 strikeout-to walk ratio en route to claiming his second career monthly award, last winning the AL Pitcher of the Month Award for the Oakland Athletics in May 2016. The left-hander allowed just 19 hits and two home runs across 31.0 innings of work. Rich is the second Dodgers hurler to earn monthly honors this season, following Alex Wood’s award-winning month of May. Among qualified NL starters, Hill finished the period tied for first in wins, second in strikeouts and third in ERA.

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In his first outing of the month on July 1st against the San Diego Padres, Hill tossed 7.0 innings of shutout ball with a season-best 11 strikeouts, limiting the Padres to just four hits and one walk on only 92 pitches. The impressive start was his first scoreless outing on the season after logging five such starts last year between Oakland and Los Angeles. On July 6th against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium, Hill notched nine strikeouts without issuing a walk over 7.0 frames. The 13-year-veteran limited the opposition to just two hits and one earned run. Over the course of his dominant month, Hill did not allow more than two runs in any start and reached the 5.0-inning mark in each outing. Across his last seven starts dating back to June 21st, Rich has compiled a 6-1 record with a 1.88 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 43.0 innings pitched. During his hot stretch on the mound, the University of Michigan product held opponents to a .175 batting average on just 27 hits. An integral part of the pitching staff, Hill has helped the Dodgers enter play today with the lowest team ERA (3.08) in the Majors.

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Starting pitcher Aaron Nola (3-1, 1.32 ERA, 34.0 IP, 43 SO) of the Philadelphia Phillies also posted a strong month. In seven starts from June 22nd-July 26th, Nola recorded at least seven strikeouts in each start, becoming the first Phillies pitcher to do so since Curt Schilling in 1998 (March 31st-May 7th). The seventh overall selection in the 2014 MLB Draft logged at least 6.0 innings in each start during his excellent month, limiting the opposition to two runs-or-fewer in each outing. Others receiving votes for NL Pitcher of the Month included Hill’s Dodger teammate and three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw (3-0, 0.72 ERA, 1 CG, 33 SO); 2017 All-Star Zack Greinke (4-0, 2.12 ERA, 34.0 IP, 33 SO) of the Diamondbacks; Lance Lynn (3-1, 1.47 ERA, 36.2 IP, 24 SO) and Michael Wacha (4-1, 1.93 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO) of the St. Louis Cardinals; Brent Suter (2-0, 1.50 ERA, 30.0 IP, 25 SO) of the Milwaukee Brewers; Gio Gonzalez (2-3, 2.14 ERA, 42.0 IP, 37 SO) of the Washington Nationals; and Jhoulys Chacin (4-0, 2.51 ERA, 28.2 IP, 25

SO) of the Padres.

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In recognition of their Pitcher of the Month Awards, James Paxton and Rich Hill will each receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, for their accomplishments.

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Rich Hill is July Pitcher of the Month!

The Dodgers got their 75th win in their 106th game Tuesday, becoming the third team in the last 70 years to reach 75 wins in 106 decisions or fewer. Los Angeles is 40-6 since June 7, while every other team has at least 18 losses in that span. (Elias Sports Bureau)

Darvish activated. Ravin sent to OKC.

I’m more of a Sonny &Cher guy. LoCastro just promoted to OKC.

Ps – u actually usta dance to that Whispers song once upset n a time

So the question is out there…

Alvarez, Verdugo & Ferris for Trout?

I’m pulling the trigger on that one!

What’s new on Kershaw? When they traded Calhoun, they effectively picked up Forsythe’s option. I think he is fine at 2b and ok at 3b. Not everyone can hit .300. He and Seager look great together. In the minors is LoCastro working up through the system. He might be the future 2b. I can even see Farmer at 2b down the road. If you can play short stop, you can play 2b. I’m missing the angst that comes along with the giants’ rivalry. A’s-giants rivalry in Oakland strong. They are selling out in Oakland.

I have read numerous articles about the Darvish trade and they all say something like, “Darvish is going to make a great 1-2 punch with Kershaw.” It seems that the Dodgers already have a great 1-2 punch with Kershaw and Wood and Darvish would be number three (or four if you count Hill). Don’t understand why so many overlook Wood who has better numbers than Darvish and has been great all year.

I agree with you guys. Love it. Now if Stewart can go 7 scoreless innings.

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I worry about Taylor just a little. He is starting to struggle just a little. I am wondering if he neeeds a rest. His fly balls are warning track fly balls. He came back strong after the all star break.

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One more thing. Last night the first three batters ran the count to 3-2. It is forcing the pitcher to throw a lot of pitches. It also forces the pitcher to throw a pitch that is hitable.

Predicting the 25 man roster for the post-season is an interesting exercise, in part because we don’t know what the new guys will do and in part because the post-season roster is constructed differently, with some guys kept on mostly as pinch-runners or pinch-hitters and so forth.

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Here’s my attempt:

Position players (

1B/OF – Bellinger

1B – Gonzalez

2B/3B – Forsythe

2B – Utley

SS – Seager

3B – Turner

INF/OF – Hernandez

OF/INF – Taylor

OF – Puig

OF – Pederson

C – Grandal

C/INF – Barnes

C/INF – Farmer

Pitchers (12)

SP – Kershaw

SP – Darvish

SP – Wood

SP – Hill

RP – Jansen

RP – Baez

RP – Watson

RP – Morrow

RP – Fields

RP – Avilan

RP – Maeda

RP – Ryu

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I think the team only has room for 2 of the 5th starters in the pen as long men/emergency starters and goes with an 8 man pen. This gives them room for a 3rd catcher which allows them to use Barnes in other roles than backup catcher if they wish.

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An embarrassment of riches!

We were in 3rd place in the division when I quoted the song title ‘I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine’. Dodgers are writing a song called ‘I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Better Than Fantastic’