Are the Dodgers Doomed?
NOTE: We are running two blogs today. This one and the MiLB Blog by Jeff.
The six losses in a row were embarrassing, but last night's game was more than embarrassing. It was humiliating! The Dodgers were 11-0 against Merrill Kelley, who allowed nearly six runs a game against them. Last night, he held them to one run. Then the Dodgers got two runs off Taylor Clarke, who makes $1.5 million, and Brandyn Garcia, who makes the MLM minimum. After Roki Sasaki pitched a solid game, giving up just 2 runs in 6 innings, Edguardo Henriquez (MLB Minimum guy too) shut down the D-Backs in the 7th inning... with the Dodgers clinging to a 3-2 lead.
In the 8th inning, Tanner Scott ($16 million) needed 24 pitches to retire the side with bases loaded. Then, Edwin Diaz (best known for cockfighting and his 11.00 ERA) and his $14 million salary came in and promptly gave up a 2-run home run to win the game for Kevin Ginkel ($2.7 million). For one, I am ashamed to be a Dodger fan. The Dodgers were beaten like rented mules! Seven losses in a row is pathetic.
I liked what Andrew Friedman did in Tampa Bay... he did more with less. When he came to LA, he started out doing the same thing, but over the last few years, the Dodgers have become "pigs" and pigs get slaughtered. Andrew Friedman is now doing less with more! Here is how the Dodgers rank against every other team in baseball with the Luxury Tax included:
The Dodgers' payroll and Luxury Tax are more than double what the D-Backs happen to be. Maybe you would enjoy watching the Lions and the Christians in ancient times in an arena, but I'm not into that. The Dodgers are pigs and pigs get slaughtered. Let's look at what they are paying certain players:
Mookie Betts .233 BA/.682 OPS - $30.4 Million
Kyle Tucker .244 BA/.719 OPS - $57.1 Million
Teoscar Hernandez .252 BA/.727 OPS - $19.9 Million
Blake Snell - 0-1/12.00 ERA on IL - $31.3 Million
Tyler Glasnow - 3 Wins, on IL - $27.3 Million
Edwin Diaz - 1-1/11.00 ERA - $21.1 Million
You have to be a certified moron to pay that amount of money to the above-listed players and get such awful production. I hate it! That's more than the annual payrolls of 16 teams! This is why we likely are not going to see a lot of baseball next year. This has to change. Even if the Dodgers were winning, I'd be embarrassed! But the fact that we are losing is also embarrassing, and it proves we are stupid. Come on, man!
Discussion (91)
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I give full credit to last night's win to AVF and his prognosticating skills! Good job dude! And honestly, I wouldn't hate on Diaz for cockfighting. It's cultural. Totally legal here where we live. In Puerto Rico not so much, although the local government tells the feds to f off in regards to it. Here's where AI says about that. "However, local government officials and industry participants have openly defied the federal ban, creating a major conflict between territorial practice and federal law." "Local Defiance: Puerto Rico's legislature and governors have maintained that cockfighting is an integral cultural tradition dating back to the 16th century. Local leaders have passed measures to try and keep the industry operating locally, and local police largely do not enforce the federal ban." And rather looking at the glass half empty, which is " pigs get slaughtered", I prefer the saying " pigs become bacon, yum! Yum". Cheers!
The Dodgers are ranked 28th in MLB in stolen bases and ranked 30th in MLB in hitting into double plays. An infusion of speed on the future roster would sure help when the overall offense is struggling.
Remember I said Friday,the Dodgers take two out of three from the Snakes this weekend. Wrobo comes up Big today. Bet it!
Anyone know why Sheehan,was taken out of his start last night after one plus innings at AAA Oklahoma City?
Been awhile since we got a W. Wasn't pretty but a win is a win. The DBacks had traffic on all night, they had 15 LOB and were 2-16 WRISP and only scored 1 run.
Heck of a play by Jack Dryer getting the double play that ended the game. You see pitchers butcher that play more times than not. Speaking of double plays I think I heard a stat that we lead the league in hitting to the most. Rally killers.
Non Baseball Question If you pull out all your hair will it grow back?
Hey guys is it just me or does that Great Big Dodger in the sky, on Mark’s artwork, look an awful lot like Bear. 😀
Congrats to the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers to end a 7 game losing streak. Hats off to the bullpen and to Jack Dwyer for his first save for '26. The Dodgers' sixty million dollar man, Kyle Tucker, came through with a HR to tie the game. I love watching Yamamoto pitch. A true professional. I'm interested in how many pitches he averaged in Japan pitching once a week. With the Dodgers three Japanese starters used to pitching once a week and the Dodgers trying to duplicate that with their six man rotation shouldn't the starters pitch count be higher?
Hallelujah. A win even though the offensive strategy in the 10th inning was odd. Why not have Edman bunt Tucker to 3B with one out? Diaz did look good after the back-to-back triples. We need some offense in the worst way.
HA! Diaz gets the 'Win'
Seriously, he put Diaz in again. I would trust Dreyer before Diaz right now. Moronic.
Yikes
Luke Fox is back.
AA LHP to keep an eye on. I think Jeff likes him.
Using the mute button again!!
08/07/26 Los Angeles Dodgers sent C Chuckie Robinson outright to Oklahoma City Comets.
One week in a 6 month season doesn’t mean much. I still like our chances against anyone else.
Don’t panic. It’s just that our Dodgers are a bunch of good guys and they’re all hurt that everyone is blaming them for ruining baseball. So they let the other teams win a few meaningless summer games to quiet the uproar. But come October our bullies will return and squash all the hopes and dreams of those less fortunate. In AF we trust
The "let's-be-pigs" Dodgers are guilty of hubris? Say it ain't so! The Tucker contract is Exhibit A, but first l'll circle back to one of my familiar gripes. A common refrain in LADT posts concerns how Andrew Friedman is savvy guy who doesn't like to overpay when he's doing his deals. AF himself says he'd rather avoid midseason deals because the price is higher than deals made over the winter. And it's true he's made some smooth moves, like trading one marginal ML Dodger for two prospects, or turning a promising-but-block prospect like Michael Busch into Hope and Ferris. As has been noted, Skubal came to the Dodgers for "half of Busch" (meaning Hope) and Matt Beatty (meaning River Ryan) and a third-round pick. Smooth. Not an overpay. But where was the restraint when Tucker was offered that massive, record-breaking contract? It just doesn't compute. And did the Dodgers actually save $$ by signing Edwin Diaz and Tanner Scott to fat contracts in the winter as opposed to trading for top relievers in midseason? I have my doubts. The beauty about the midseason deals is that management should know precisely what the team needs for the home stretch and playoffs--as do the rivals. Why not pay a bit extra for that? The trade for Mookie and the subsequent long-term contract was brilliant. Mookie has been an important contributor to three WS titles. Somebody around here likes to remind us that he predicted that the Mookie contract may not age well. Bold! I'd be more impressed if anybody saw Mookie playing SS in their crystal ball. Before he joined the Dodgers, Shohei singled out Mookie as one the players he most admires in the game. Perhaps we can also agree that the old "Nohtani" camp on LADT has been proven wrong, wrong, wrong... I'll confess to my own misgivings about the Yamamoto deal. Could Yamamoto really be that good? It just seemed too gluttonous, too piggish--and that maybe a smaller deal for Shota Imanaga would be better. But all Yamamoto did was become the ace and WS MVP... were really a couple of deals I wish had never been done. When AF signed Conforto, I shrugged. But in time it became clear that Conforto contract blocked internal options like Outman and Ward. We'll never know how a little more faith in farm talent would have played out. Maybe poorly, maybe not. But a midseason deal could have provided a remedy. But could the Tucker contract be like the Conforto contract on steroids? Top dollar for mediocre performance--on both offense and defense. Are we going to see three more years like this? Will Tucker block the progress of Sirota, de Paula, Tibbs, Davalan and others? Mark has suggested that Tucker be platooned with Teo--and, based on their performances, it could come to that. Of course we are all hoping that Tucker turns it all around and lives up to that contract. But if he doesn't, should we blame Tucker? Or the guy who decided to sign the giant check?
8:10 PM ET
Dodgers (69-47) Diamondbacks (62-55)
SP Y. Yamamoto R 11-7 2.76 ERA SP Brandon Pfaadt 6-1 3.66 ERA Confirmed Lineup DH S. Ohtani L CF Andy Pages R 1B F. Freeman L 3B Max Muncy L SS Mookie Betts R RF Kyle Tucker L 2B Tommy Edman S LF T.Hernandez R C Hunter Feduccia L
In Domed Stadium LINE LAD -201
Tough matchup tonight
The Dodgers have the Trump curse! That's what they get for going to the White House to see Trump and give him a WS ring and jersey! Everything that Trump touches goes to Shit!
David Vassegh @THEREAL_DV Tarik Skubal goes on Monday. #Dodgers Blake Snell will start on Tuesday vs #Royals
Will Klien has bone chips in his elbow. No decision as to what the plans are. Even with the nanoneedle, the earliest he could return would be the playoffs.
The last double was by Alex Call August 2 against Boston. The last triple was by Tommy Edman July 22 against Philadelphia.
I think it is healthy to vent and rant. Does it mean that anyone who doesvent, does not believe the team can win, or that they are just frustrated. Right now the team looks old, slow, and tired? They just do. Many assume that they will break out of it and go to the whip when it matters. Maybe, maybe not. Does that mean that we can expect Mookie, Teo, and Tucker to become consistent producers? Can we expect Will Smith to come back playing at his elite level? Are Díaz, Scott, Vesia, and Phillips all just going through a phase, but will turn it around at the right time? Is Kiké just going to go through the motions until the playoffs? Will his playoffs more mirror 2025 or 2021 (with Boston)?
Many here just expect the Dodgers to turn it on for the playoffs. I do expect the pitching to get better when Snell and Glasnow make it back, but I am not nearly as optimistic with the bats. While many do not think Snell and Glasnow will make it back, they are sure that Teo, Tucker, and Mookie will become worthy of their paychecks.
I would expect more from Shohei, but not from Pages. When it mattered most, he disappeared. Max had a terrific start to the season. But in his last 15 games, Max is slashing .176/.250/.431/.681 with 22 K in 56 PA, a 39.3% K rate. It looks like his once fantastic plate discipline has been taken over by a Teoscar clone. Does he turn it back around, or is father time catching him in that race now?
Everyone points to the full season batting metrics. In the beginning of the season when legs were fresh and body strong, they were hitting a ton. But as the season grinds, the trends show a different picture. Since July 1, the team has played 30 games and are 13-17.
• BA .251 (12th in MLB), OBP .314 (18th in MLB), SLG .395 (19th in MLB), OPS .709 (20th in MLB) • Runs – 126 (21st in MLB) • HR – 32 (23rd in MLB) • wRC+ - 94 (20th in MLB)
Pitching since July 1:
• Runs Against – 150 (8th most in MLB) • ERA – 4.66 (24th in MLB) • FIP – 4.87 (28th in MLB) • SIERA – 3.92 (19th in MLB)
• Run differential – (-24)
Their defense is good, but it too is regressing.
They now look like a WC team, and if the playoffs were today, they would face the Snakes or Cubs. If they got through them, I doubt they can go 7-1 against the Phillies and Brewers as they did last season.
I know they did it the last 2 years. But they did not the three previous years. They lost to the Braves in the NLCS 4-2, the Padres in the NLDS 3-1, and Arizona 3-0.
What this team needs to do is look in the mirror and not look for anyone else to step up and take over. They need to do it individually and collectively. If that means hitting behind a runner to get the runner to third with less than 2 outs, that is what they must do. Then not hit a pop up or K. Quit hitting into DP where they lead all of MLB. They do not like to bunt because it is giving up an out. Better one out with runners moved up than 2 outs.
BTW I do believe the Dodgers are more than capable of turning it around, and I like their pitching for the playoffs, but it is far from a sure thing. And I have no problem questioning the current results.
I’m taking your post as tongue in cheek, Mark. Yes, the Dodgers have an outlandish payroll. Yes, they are monumentally underperforming. Yes, it’s early August. Yes, they will win the division by ten games and have the 2nd best record in the league.
No, it’s not the end of the world.
I'm a little slow but I think your article is a little tongue and cheek. Right Mark? Please say right. Book em
The lower payroll owners can build an interesting team using early draft picks. They could edge towards competitive if they didn't lose those picks to free agency. But that's how big payroll owners are able to also have access to those elite picks, eventually.
The process starts with owners who want to amuse themselves with ownership and pinch pennies and ends with ego driven multi-buillionaire against multi-buillionaire.
I'm being overly harsh.
Maybe.
Saturday Dodger Affliates' Schedule 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Isaac Ayon) at Dayton (JP Ortiz) 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Aidan Foeller) at Corpus Christi (Andrew Taylor) 5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Emmet Sheehan) at Salt Lake (Joel Hurtado) 6:45 p.m.: Ontario (TBA) at Lake Elsinore (TBA)