Change is Here!

There is a lot to unpack about last night’s game, but to blame Dave Roberts for putting in his closer in the 10th inning is just plain silly. If Blake Treinen did his job, Kenley would not have been needed in the 10th. Before last night’s game, Kenley Jansen had given up 1 run and 2 hits in his 11 appearances in May! Even after last night’s debacle, his ERA for May is 1.50. Now, I get that he is not good at holding runners on 2B and in fact, does not like it when a runner is there, but until last night, he was one of the Top Closers in baseball and the manager HAS to put him in to see if he can handle it. If he continually shows he cannot, then AF will have to get another closer who can (or a co-closer).

Kenley is still a work in progress in that he is no longer a “cutter machine” throwing nothing but cutters. He is still damn good, but walks too many – way too many batters. That comes back to bite you. Can he complete his “re-invention” or is this the “finished product?” I don’t know, but what I do know is that he has looked absolutely filthy at times (most of the time, except for the BB). If he can do it 11 out of 12 times, as he did in May, I guess I can live with an occasional meltdown. BTW, Uceta and White acquitted themselves well last night, and it would have been a different ballgame had Albert put 1 more MPH on that robbed HR.

More troubling to me is Blake Treinen, who look awesome and then suddenly is removed from his body by the invasion of the body snatchers and he pitches like the Cowardly Lion. I guess it is what it is. It is quite common for relief pitchers to have up and down years or even up and down parts of seasons. Craig Kimbrel, who has not been good since 2018, is now “lights out” again. Andrew Friedman has to resources to go out and get him if needed, but that time is not imminent!

When many Dodger fans look at Sheldon Noisy, they see a guy who needs to be back at AAA…. and he probably does, but I also see a guy that I believe will be a solid major league player for years to come. Matt Beaty went back to AAA and came back with a new (or renewed) sense of how to hit. Noisy can play all over and I believe his hit tool will play up, but right about now, he should play every day at AAA.

We know that Zach McKinstry and Cody Bellinger will be back tonight (at least that was the plan). Andrew Friedman seldom listens to me, but here is what I would do for tonight’s game:

• McKinstry and Bellinger replace Neuse and Peters, who are optioned to OKC.
• If Tsutsugo accepts an assignment to AAA, I believe the Dodgers can send him down to work on his swing (correct me if I am wrong). Either that or they can cut bait with him, but I believe he is worth a shot.
• The final move tonight is to call up 29-year-old, Rangel Ravelo, who is hitting .397 (1.240 OPS) at OKC. He has worked his butt off to make himself into a hitter and his RH bat would play well for the Dodgers. He deserves an opportunity and the Dodgers need his bat… or at least they need to see if his bat will play up at the MLB level. He is one of those guys who “got it” later in his career. This is his 12th year in the minors or playing overseas. He has about 85 MLB AB’s and could be a steal. Give him a shot, Andrew!

The Dodgers would have to clear a roster spot to activate Ravelo, since he is not on the 40 man roster. I could see a trade involving Reks or Raley (they are the same guy) to clear a spot!

Injury Updates

• Bazooka Graterol, Scott Alexander, and Jimmy Nelson could be back by next weekend, barring any setbacks as they are all throwing now. Adding those three the bullpen changes a lot!
• Tony Gonsolin is another week to 10 days away, but when he comes back as the 5th starter, the bullpen will be much stronger.

Dodgers Minor League Report

All four teams won last night!

• OKC BOXSCORE – Tony Gonsolin pitched 3.2 innings. Next time they hope he can go 4 or 5 and if so, he will be called up. Nunez got the win, striking out 3 in 1.1 IP and Kevin Quackenbush got his third save and is unscored upon this season. Ravelo, Raley, and Estevez all had 2 hits and Souza, Jr. hit his 2nd HR.
• TULSA BOXSCORE – Donovan Casey played CF (Kendall played RF) and was 4-5 , hitting his first HR. Aaron Noda hit his 7th HR and was 2-4. Mike Busch was 1-3, while Kody Hoese continues to struggle (.158). Andre Jackson started and went 5 innings, allowing 2 Hits and 1 Run to go with 7 K’s.
• GL BOXSCORE – Clayton Beeter started and struck out the side in the first. That was his only inning. 6′ 8″ Cameron Gibbens has a 0.71 ERA and has struck out 27 batters in 12 innings. He looks like a man among boys (Literally). He should move up soon.
• RC BOXSCORE – Jake Vogel was 2-5 with 2 RBI and 2 Runs. He also had a triple. Diego Cartaya looks like he should be at AA or AAA, as he was 2-4.

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou