It was reported that immediately after the game last night a San Francisco Giants fan tried to blow up a LA Dodger fan’s car. He was not successful, however, as he kept burning his lips on the exhaust pipe.
Well, if you are only going to get 5 hits, make sure most of them are Home Runs and the Dodgers did that last night. The bullpen again came through BIG TIME last night. The Dodgers are now TOP FIVE is the NL in Bullpen ERA. The “bullpen fear-mongers” reportedly have little to say.
The Dodgers have the second best record in all of baseball. It is amazing that the Giants have the best record. I think it is all
… but it is what it is! I do think a crash is imminent!
I do not expect Andrew Friedman to be active at the trade deadline. By “active” I mean making a lot of trades. I could see maybe one, but he is still learning that the more prospects you horde, the better the chances of finding good ones. Mookie Betts helped the Dodgers win a World Series last year, but I have to ask: “Mookie Betts or Mike Trout: Which contract will be the biggest boat anchor in the future?”
There is no doubt Mookie is a better player than Alex Verdugo, but how about in three years? Seven years? Jeter Downs is struggling at AAA (.239 BA), as has Conner Wong (.148 at AAA). Ten-year deals can come back and bite you. Trout is on the DL and will 30 in August. I see this ending badly for the Angels who may be forced to “give Trout away” at some point!
Did you know that new Angel Scott Schebler is older than Mike Trout?
Class Act
Dodger News and Notes
- Scott Alexander pitched a clean inning with 1 strikeout at OKC and according to Doc is probably going to be activated July 2nd or 3rd.
- JoJo Gray has now thrown live BP and simulated games at OKC. I think the plan THIS season for Gary is to get him to be able to throw a couple of innings and bring him up to the Show. If healthy, his stuff will play well out of the pen.
- Corey Seager’s rehab has “plateaued” and he still feels pain in his wrist when he swings. He is running, throwing, and fielding, so all you can do is hurry up and wait. It sounds like it might be a few more weeks…
- Corey Knebel is still recovering from a severely strained lat (so severe that surgery was contemplated) and the best timetable for him is late in the season. He is playing catch as we speak…
- The Bazooka also pitched a scoreless inning last night.
- Kevin Quackenbush got his 10th save at OKC last night and is still unscored upon in 18 appearances. He has been around and is 32-years-old, but that is worth watching.
- Tsutsugo was 0-5. He has a Mack-Truck Sized Hole in his swing!
- Kaybear took 3 walks last night – when you can’t find a pitch to hit – you walk!
Discussion (35)
Disagree, not disagreeable
What a rollercoaster the Baseball season is.
Best sport bar none.
Cody makes a hell of a difference defensively.
That Belli catch . . .
Kenley was just messin with us! Love that slider!!!!!!! Not a bad month for Mr Jansen!
I feel better now 1.5 games behind as opposed to a possible 5.5 games behind.
Let’s make our move in July with the easy schedule and take first place.
Joseph Kelly. Where have you been?!!!!!!!! Best bullpen in baseball!!!!!!! Carrying that lame offense once again! Right Eric?
Buehler breaks the streak! No hr’s no hr’s!!!!!!!!!!!! Thx Garvin!
Buehler really helps himself with his sacrifice bunts. If only the guy hitting behind him could deliver a clutch hit or two. Cody still not squaring up those center cut fastballs
From Rosenthal:
A looming Dodgers ‘problem’
The Dodgers soon might face one of their typical first-world problems — too many good players at a position of scarcity in the industry: catcher.
Will Smith is an offensive standout who has 33 homers and an .897 OPS in 156 career games, and under the current CBA he is not eligible for arbitration until 2023. Keibert Ruiz, who will be 23 in July, is three years younger than Smith, a switch-hitter with freaky contact skills who is tearing up Triple A. Then there is Austin Barnes, 31, a valued backup who has been with the club since 2015. Oh, and don’t forget Diego Cartaya, who is only 19, but at 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds might be the next Salvador Pérez.
Some Dodgers officials believe Ruiz ultimately might be even better than Smith, but the team must decide the best way to maximize the younger player’s value. Would it be in a job share with Smith, prompting a trade of Barnes? Or would it be through a trade of Ruiz for perhaps a top starting pitcher?
Another option, assuming the players and owners agree on a new CBA that includes a universal DH: Move Smith to third base, where he played 58 games in the minors, then make Justin Turner the primary DH and Ruiz and Barnes the primary catchers. That arrangement might last only one season, as Barnes is eligible for free agency after 2022. But with Turner’s defense at third in decline, it might be the best way for the Dodgers to get the most of what they have.
Brandon Lewis debuted with the Loons tonight. Left-hander Franklin De La Paz was also promoted from Rancho Cucamonga.
Justin Yurchak three more hits in four at bats.
https://sports.yahoo.com/dodgers-trevor-bauer-accused-assault-woman-los-angeles-mlb-003347120.html
This bomb just dropped on Yahoo news, Bauer is under investigation for assault. Supposedly this happened earlier this year, and it is being investigated by the Pasadena Police department, and Bauer is cooperating with the authorities. It was first reported by TMZ. Bauer has denied the charges.
They said he had a banned substance, his manager and he maintained it was nothing but resin. MLB took his glove and it was supposedly swabbed and they found what they said was a banned substance, but did not clarify what it was.
Heater Santiago has been disciplined 10 games. He is appealing. MLB did not check his glove, their decision is based on what the umpires saw. Evidently he had rosin inside his glove. Does anyone ‘now why this is not allowed?
Luis Yanel Diaz, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Level & Affiliate: Complex Level Age: 21 Org Rank: 2HM FV: 35
Line: 3-for-4, 2 HR, K
Notes
I could have chosen one of several hitters who had multi-hit efforts in the Dodgers/Angels ACL game last night, a contest that featured 27 combined hits and some verbal sparring between the clubs after a Dodgers player admired a home run. It’s been two years since most of these young kids have played meaningful baseball and there was a lot of intensity in this one. Diaz is tooled out but this is his fourth season (fifth year) stuck down in rookie ball and the track record for players who spend even three years down here is very troubling. In short, don’t be surprised if Diaz puts up huge numbers early this year, as he’s much older and more physically gifted than the average complex-level prospect and needs his approach tested by full-season pitching.
Hey B&P, since it’s a scroll up aways, it’s likely you missed my response to your comment on my original post. I didn’t want you to miss it.
Here’s the chronology:
I posted about Mookie on first in the 5th, “Then with Muncy up it seemed like an ideal steal situation for a run and hit situation with Muncy’s eye. Muncy struck out on a low breaking ball that would have easily gotten Mookie a steal had he been going”
You replied with “I’m not sure Muncy is a great guy to hit and run with. You need a guy that makes a lot of contact out of the zone. With Muncy’s propensity to walk, go yard, or K, there isn’t much of a point to hit and run with him.”
You needed to read my original post more carefully before you critiqued it.
My reply to you was, “Muncy is actually perfect in that spot as I actually said “Run and Hit”, not Hit and Run where you want a contact guy at the plate. On a Run and Hit, the baserunner is attempting to steal and not dependent on contact. Muncy’s eye and ability to swing at strikes and take balls, is perfect for a Run and Hit. It gets the runner started to either steal, beat a double play ground ball or get to third easily on a base hit. Doesn’t matter as Doc doesn’t do either.”
You responded to something I didn’t say.
Thanks
I just bought that 4th of July hat that Bear doesn’t like. I had to get the snapback as 7 1/2 wasn’t in stock and his orders are still impacted. I thought about buying it the day that Bear was complaining about it from the Dodgers site, but they pissed me off when all my World Series gear arrived months after I ordered them.
Mike at Sports Addict is a great guy, but he’s also an Angels fan. He said he’s going to tune into the Home Run Derby to watch Ohtani, but will probably boycott the game due to the hasty move. The price at his shop is around break even when considering that a single hat doesn’t qualify for free shipping on MLB.com. I’m sure I could have ordered my preferred pro-fit from the site, but I’d rather give my local shop my money. He also has a rewards program where you get a free hat after purchasing 10. Only 7 left!
Tonight’s winning lineup:
RF Mookie
1B Max
3B Justin
CF Cody
C Will
2B Chris
SS Gavin
LF AJ
P Walker
I’m not too concerned about Corey’s injury. At this point, why rush to bring him back before the All-Star game? Might as well be cautious. Maybe counting stats lead to smaller contract offers by other teams. Can rehab while others are off for the break. The schedule before the break isn’t overwhelming as the “Resurgent Nats” cleaned up within their weak division. 3 games against the Rockies in Colorado to get right, then back at Dodger Stadium to play the Giants.
Food for thought. In 2018, Belli hit lefties to a tune of .226/.305/.376/.681 in 187 ABs and was platooned. Last year Mookie hit .200/.313/.218/.531 against lefties and this year he’s hitting ,222/.352/.403.755 in 127 combined ABs. Why no platoon?
Jimmy Nelson: 24 IP 12 H 39 K
Freeman now #1 in All Star voting. Pure BS, Muncy is having a much better year than Freddie. Simply a popularity contest anymore. Trout leading outfield vote getter and he is not expected back until August.
For those of you who enjoy Bauer, be sure to check out his Vlog (video blog) on Youtube. Lots of inside stuff on his workouts, interactions with fans, game day stuff, etc. Something that no other player has done before, to my knowledge.
Interesting piece in The Athletic today about how the Dodgers found that after he returned from the IL, McKinstry was closing his eyes at the point where the bat made contact with the ball when he was hitting. Ever since that was pointed out to him, he’s been hitting like the Zmac we saw earlier in the season.
New Rule #1 when hitting: Open your eyes
I know we’ve been giving Lux a hard time including myself but Wilmer Franco is hitting .136 so far. It’s a tough transition to big league ball, so I’m personally making Lux’s runway a bit longer! But Gavin, lay down a bunt once in a while!
* Sometimes I listen to our opponent’s broadcast team the first game in a series to get other insights and take a break from Orel and Joe. It’s easy with the Giants as I really like Mike Krakow as an announcer. Duane Kuiper is sadly undergoing chemo so I miss him with Kruk. Not a fan of Jon Miller or Dave Fleming. Kruk had an interesting observation during one of the TSA checks of Bauer. He noticed that they checked his fingers which oddly isn’t done much, as they check gloves, hats and belts, but not fingers, the obvious thing they should check first. He mentioned that Bauer is a target as they took extra time on Bauer. Interestingly, Kruk wasn’t happy about it.
* Kruk was also justifiably hard on horseshit Angel Hernandez behind the plate. He pointed out how Angel has a different zone every inning and loves to ring guys up late on pitches that have been balls all night, always with 2 strikes. How does Angel keep his job?
* I think last night’s lineup is Doc’s best.
* Another shut out for the bullpen. (so did the Giant’s pen) We successful danced around the raindrops again last night. The Giants were 0 for 13 W/ RISP with 11 LOB. Bauer stranded 7 alone.
* The Dodgers and Doc seem reluctant to run Mookie. I mentioned it a while back and Cassidy pointed out that he may have other issues going on that I don’t know about and that’s absolutely true. But more and more, Mookie seems to be protecting something on the bases. Lately Doc has stolen with Lux and Belli but seldom Mookie. Last night in the 5th, Mookie’s ball to center looked like an easy double but he didn’t stretch it. Then with Muncy up it seemed like an ideal steal situation of a run and hit situation with Muncy’s eye. Muncy struck out on a low breaking ball that would have easily gotten Mookie a steal had he been going.This is pure speculation as he seems to be fine running defensively but isn’t pushing it on the base paths. I’m good with him staying healthy but It just seems odd to me.
* Another chance to go 2 for 1 in the standings tonight.
Did anyone see the interview with Trevor Bauer during the game the other night, the one where he discussed the MLB’s shape-shifting policy on applying sticky stuff to baseballs? He is one articulate guy! I nominate him to take over as commissioner effective immediately! His main points is that pitchers need something to get a decent grip on the ball, so why not have some agreed upon substances that are allowed, and others that are banned? And then checked on compliance in a uniform, standardized way ( like in the dugout on a routine basis), rather than leaving it up to the the umpiring crews’ judgement of when to enforce the rule and when not. Seems very reasonable to me.
Did anyone see the interview with Trevor Bauer during the game the other night, the one where he discussed the MLB’s shape-shifting policy on applying sticky stuff to baseballs? He is one articulate guy! I nominate him to take over as commissioner effective immediately! His main point is that pitchers need something to get a decent grip on the ball, so why not have some agreed upon substances that are allowed, and others that are banned? And then check on compliance in a uniform, standardized way (like in the dugout on a routine basis), rather than leaving it up to the the umpiring crews’ judgement of when to enforce the rule and when not. Seems very reasonable to me.
Jays and Marlins making a trade, Cimber and Dickerson going to Toronto, Panik and a minor league pitcher to the Fish.
Those kinds of games give you grey hairs, but it was a win, so I will take it. They won the long ball battle last night, but the Giants pen also did a great job shutting them down after they chased Scalafani. He is 0-2 against them this season. Gausman will be a harder nut to crack. He has deGrom type numbers this season. All those guys on one year deals. All the debate about Roberts managing skills is meaningless. He is here for the long haul, so get used to it. Also, Roberts was a part time player for sure, but it is not like he was not a valuable piece on the teams he played for. He had no power, but his OBP was .342. He stole over 200 bases in his 10 year career. And in post season, he hit .321 with 9 hits in 30 at bats. And we all know how his stolen base ignited the Sox series win over the Yankees. He has exactly the managerial style that the ownership and front office wants. He is good at communicating with his players, and that is his strength. We all question is in game management, and use of the pen. His constant tinkering with the lineups. But that is the way things are now. The Dodgers game plans are heavily match up oriented. That is why you see him pull a pitcher when he seems to be cruising. I think there are times he has been outmanaged, especially in the post season, but his teams win. And they get themselves in a position to play and compete in the playoffs, and after all, isn’t that what everyone wants??? Playoff baseball is a crapshoot. We all know that, or at least we should. Now, you have more chances to fail. Look at last year, they were one loss away from being eliminated and not going to the World Series. But they came back and won. Some luck was involved no doubt. But in 2019 when they were clearly the class of the league, they lost in the first round. Baseball is a hard game to play. It takes a lot of skill to turn around a 100 MPH fastball. It takes more skill than any of us here on this site have. It is so very easy to sit one the sidelines and criticize those who get paid to play the game we love for the team we love. I have been guilty of that oh so many times. And it is also frustrating. But, in the end, no matter what happens this year, next year we will be back rooting for them again, if there is a season next year. That’s up to MLB, and the MLBPA to make happen.
The only thing that is needed is a SP since Gonsolin is not ready yet and Urias is going to get tired, I do not think he can finish the season strong, so I think the most viable will be a starter, but I do not see any other clear necessity for the team.
And I have a question: Does anyone know what Betts average is when Bauer is on the mound? Last night hit HR and then a hit, but before last night? I have the impression that he was 2 of 160 AB or something like that!
How about some props for Will Smith last night picking all those wild throws from Treinen in the 8th inning last night. He could have easily missed any or all of them but dug them out.
Jansen made Posey look bad.
Really nice to see our pitchers work out of so many tough spots. Yeah, I guess you might rather they not get in said spots in the first place, but we have not won many of these types of games & it seems important to me to have winning experiences in them for the end of the season & playoffs. I also do not care if Bauer gives up homers, as long as he keeps giving up a couple solos. Once guys get in scoring position, he goes pretty much lights out.
5 in a row tonight? GO BLUE.
Corey Seager’s wrist is a problem. Will he return in mid-July or August? Beyond that, how will this impact his free agency?
I’m guessing the Giants will continue to play well as long as the pitching holds out and they avoid injuries. The last ride of an aging roster.
As to Mookie, he’ll be really good until the last couple of years of the contract, but his marketing value will remain high. He’ll go into the Hall of Fame as a Dodger.
Looking at it based only on the present and the immediate future I’d still make that deal.
Giving Mark his due that outfielder in Cincinnati is having a pretty good year.
So what will the Dodgers pursue at the trade deadline? They seem pretty set, players just have to perform. But the bullpen can always be upgraded. A starter? Depends on who is out there and the cost. If he’s traded, Max Scherzer would be an upgrade, but costly. Would you give up Kaybear, Mark?
It’s time to see more of K-Bear. With all of the phantom IL stints, I can’t understand why they can’t find one for Barnes.
Kenley sure set them down last night. Geesh, he’s really nasty when he throws more than one pitch.
Treinen has the worst luck. He gives up more ground balls through the shift-hole than anyone.
Did BALCO reopen? Crawford is doing his best Brady Anderson impression with 17 big flys already, his career high is 21.
Justin Viele is the Giants hitting coach. Previously, he was a minor league hitting coach for the Dodgers.
There’s a silver lining for the Giant’s success this year…if you’re a Dodgers fan. Cueto, Posey, Gausman, Belt, Posey, Crawford, DeScalfani, Solano, Wood are all free agents after the season. Could you imagine the prospect haul if they were sellers? They’re gonna look like the D-Backs next year.
I sure hope Quackenbush gets a callup at some point. I just like his name.
7-1 Bueller takes on 8-1 Gausman on another warm summer night at Chavez Ravine. It’s home run weather and the Dodgers are just 14 homers from the lead.
Is anyone excited about an Astros v. Dodgers World Series rematch? This time, no trashcans. Or, how about a Red Sox v. Dodgers rematch? I sure hope it isn’t a Rays v. Dodgers rematch.
We are just about a month away from the Trade Deadline with no clear needs. Although, I wouldn’t mind checking in with the Nats on Mad Max.
In the past 5-6 years the Dodgers have been prone to go on winning and losing streaks. It is many of the same players and the same manager. I have done a lot of coaching and I know that sometimes it happens.
But the pattern concerns me. Is it because they have had swing and miss players like Pederson, Bellinger etc? Or is it more probable it comes from the manager?
I know the manager doesn’t hit or field, I’m just asking for the opinion of others why a team would be prone to occasional losing streaks over the years.
What are the opinions of some of you?
Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Jim Ray Hart, Jesus Alou, Bobby Bonds, Jim Davenport, Tito Fuentes and Tom Haller. With a lineup like that and a one two punch of Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry, no wonder the Gigantes are in first place.