Could the Dodgers Stand Pat?
Gavin Stone’s last outing was a resounding success. Ryan Pepiot FINALLY went two innings in his 2023 debut. They will ramp him up over the next two weeks. Even Noah Syndergaard showed signs of life last night as he went five innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs while…
Gavin Stone’s last outing was a resounding success. Ryan Pepiot FINALLY went two innings in his 2023 debut. They will ramp him up over the next two weeks. Even Noah Syndergaard showed signs of life last night as he went five innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out six and walking nary a batter. Add in Clayton Kershaw, and in early August, Pepiot, Syndergaard, and Kershaw will be back. Of course, all some of you will remember is how bad Thor was before he went on the IL, but just remember that past performance is not indicative of future prospects. Add in the prospect that Striker Buehler could be back in September, and I think the rumors of trading for starters will fly out the window.
Urias and Gonsolin both pitched very well in their last two starts, and while it is easy to believe that Gonsolin’s arm is hanging on by a tendon, that may not be the case at all – in fact, if it were the case, he would not be pitching. If his UCL is “frayed,” it would be felony stupid to allow him to pitch. I think Doc took him out so that he could build on this start. He also pitched well in his last start… except for two bad pitches. I think that this is enough starting pitching:
- Urias
- Gonsolin
- Kershaw
- Sheehan
- Pepiot
- Miller
- Grove
- Syndergaard
In fact, when everyone is back in August, Grove, Sheehan, and Pepiot will move to the pen or back to AAA. It depends upon who is hot, but all three could be bulk-inning eaters. Also, Alec Gamboa, who struck out the side in his first AAA appearance, is chomping at the bit to get the call. He is a lefty who was another converted starter, and he has flourished in the bullpen. He had Tommy John in 2017 and also missed 2018. Gamboa has 5-pitches that include a 2-seam/4-seam split with his fastball. His fastball sits 93-94, and he hits 96 with his 4-seamer. He needs to be added to the 40-man roster or be lost to Rule 5 this winter… and he would get snatched in a heartbeat.
I suppose that it is possible the Dodgers could trade for Nolan Aernado if he becomes available, but at this minute, I would say the chances of that are slim and none. The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence and above the septic tank! Devin Mann also deserves a “look-see.” Jake Marisnick is an elite CF’er and will platoon with James Outman.
Mookie Betts is Playing Like a Superstar
.287 BA/.983 OPS, 27 HR, 64 RBI – MVP if not for Acuna, Jr.
Nick Frasso
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Discussion (185)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Since I absolutely suck at predictions, I will just sit back and see what happens at the deadline. I have a wish list that I doubt will come to fruition.
I think you will see old friend Rich Hill back in Blue to bolster the staff and wont cost much at all.
Marcus Stroman has an opt out option after this season. I would guess he takes advantage of his good year and tries the open market. He would be a good potential trade target. I think the Cubs would like some young, controllable pitching.
I still think Urias/Kershaw/Gonsolin as your top three with Miller and Pepiot rounding out the starting five is a pretty decent rotation.
What the Dodgers need is some help in their relief corps. I haven’t heard much about Blake Treinen, but apparently he’s been throwing since April. Still no guarantee he pitches this year. I’ve heard nothing about Jimmy Nelson. Even Buehler, presuming he makes it back, is not going to be stretched out to start, so he could be a viable bullpen piece.
Mark Leiter Jr. is another Cub. He’s under contract till 27, but he’s already 32. He’s having a decent year and can pitch multiple innings. He’s not a closer so won’t be closer expensive like a Bednar, although, because he’s cheap, there’s no real incentive for the Cubs to trade him.
Kyle Hendricks is in the final year of his contract. He hasn’t pitched terribly. The Dodgers would likely have to pay some of his 13 mil salary, so resetting the CBT is out of the question.
Trade rumors heating up everywhere. There is one out there that the Astros are very interested in Bellinger.
A lot of good thoughts today. Now they play a very good Baltimore team and then the AL West leading Rangers. 1 1/2 up on SF with AZ falling into third place. Padres lost to the Phillies again and looked bad doing it. My take on Muncy is this. Max has a very good OPS. But, Muncy takes way too many good pitches and ends up swinging at balls he couldn’t hit with a railroad tie. When he does get hot, he can carry the team. Problem is he hasn’t been on a hot streak in quite a while and he has made the four hole and almost automatic out. Hard to watch. In the last 3 games, he is 1-11 with 5 strikeouts, They need more production more consistently than what he is doing. If you go back over his last 138 games though, he is hitting .210 with 33 homers and 92 driven in. But, in that time he has struck out 156 times in 485 at bats. Over 30% of the time.
Several pundits think the Giants will pay whatever they need to in order the get Ohtani and will open the war chest and pay him next year. I could see that. I could also see the Padres using Juan Soto and gutting the farm to get Shohei in one last desperate act. Preller could go for broke and think this might turn the Padres around. The Reds could try the same thing. Up until this weekend, they have been one of the hottest teams in baseball, and they have collateral to trade.
Moreno will not trade with the Dodgers even if their offer was double what others were… but of course, we know that AF would not do that either. Ohtani isn’t coming here this year, and this trade has the potential to wreck the Dodgers’ season. However, trading for him could wreck several seasons!
Eric Karros has made an interesting prediction re Ohtani:
“Who’s he going to be playing for?” Karros said on Saturday. “He’s going to be playing for the Giants. … That makes all the sense in the world. They have the wherewithal to do it, then they get him for a couple months to try to court him so they can sign him in free agency. … And you don’t think that the Angels wouldn’t want to trade him to San Francisco to spite the Dodgers? C’mon, this is drama.”
The “stick it to the Dodgers” angle is pretty good. And right now, the surging Giants have moved ahead of the D’backs, while the talented, underachieving Padres lurk beneath. Getting Ohtani would seem to makescompetitive sense
But who would the Giants deal? Their farm system is ranked 17th by mlb.com and 18th by Keith Law, while the Dodgers are ranked second. Moreno might want to “stick it to the Dodgers”–but would he also spite himself by taking a weaker offer? The Angels’ system is down at No. 28, which is why they may be interested in quantity as well as quality
Are Dodger Fans EVER happy? Oh that’s right, we need a WS win to be truly satisfied. Fourteen games above ,500?, Yeah but so- and so is not hitting,and needs to be traded. I say hats off to Doc and the Dodgers to be where they are in spite of losing May ,Bueler etc. and certain hitters not performing.
I thought that everyone would blame Roberts for the loss… but I was wrong. It’s Max Muncy’s fault!
The Dodgers had 4 hits. The following Dodgers had NO hits:
1. Freeman
2. Muncy
3. Martinez
4. Peralta
5. Marisinik
6. Outman
7. Barnes
8. Smith
But we need to get rid of Muncy?
Take some dumbass vaccine… please!
Oh, there is no such thing.
It sucks to be you!
Well, that was a tough one. Miller pitched well but couldn’t quite snag that comebacker. The bullpen was excellent against until Robertson lost to Robertson. The placed-runner puts a lot of pressure on the reliever.
Kudos to Outman, who picked up two walks and scored the Dodgers’ only run, with Mookie delivering the RBI.
Also, Mookie sure looks smooth at 2B, doesn’t he?
If Arenado becomes available the Dodgers should try to make that trade. Max (according to Sportrac) has a base salary of $10 million in 2024 with the Dodgers holding a club option with no buyout. Take on Arenado’s salary and let Max go at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
He should not be hitting fourth, he K’s far too often, he seems a bit out of shape (round is a shape isn’t it?). Say yes to Arenado.
It’s time to start pich hitting for Muncy, or drop him down in the line up. 1 hit and 1 RBI against a crappy team like the Mets is not acceptable when you’re in position, multiple times to do more.
So we faced Scherzer and Verlander. So even though they not what they once were, still showed they can get up for the big game. So Verlander had that freaky game with 6 walks and we beat him. But still just 3 hits total against the two of them. So OK we split the two games. But maybe a preview of what this lineup may do against a ‘playoff’ type pitcher.
Got Bobby Miller off the hook, now win it.
Vargas at OKC today with 4 BBs plus a hit.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
Mookie is Spookie!
Wuaaa, Rojas!!!! Primer play!!!
What happened with Heyward??
Wow that may have been the fastest 3 innings I”ve ever seen.
That may have been 35 min max?
5:10 PMax M ET
Dodgers (53-38)
Mets (42-50)
SP Bobby Miller R
5-1 4.50 ERA
SP Scherzer R
8-3 4.31 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Martinez R
LF D. Peralta L
RF J. Heyward L
CF James Outman L
SS Miguel Rojas R
C A. Barnes RHo
Rain
65% Rain
81° Wind 10 mph R-L
I can’t find the Dodger – Mets game today at 2:00 on the MLB package. Any clues where to find this game besides Sports Net LA?
Betts
Freeman
Arenado
Smith
JD Martinez
Peralta/taylor
Heyward/taylor
Outman/merisnick
Rosario/Rojas
That looks like a world series lineup.
“If everything broke right…”
We can be sure that won’t happen, which is why a proven SP like Giolito or Stroman would really help. The IL list right now includes Kershaw, Buhler, May, with Pepiot and Syndergaard making rehab starts. If everything broke right, those 5 guys would be an excellent rotation!
If the Cards want to dump Arenado’s (not-so-exorbitant) salary, the Dodgers should be in the hunt. He’d be a big upgrade on offense and defense for years to come.
The only reason you’d even trade for a Giolito is if you wanted to make a push to win the division and, I suppose, to have a solid 4th starter for the playoffs. But really you only need three really sold starters to make a playoff run.
The Dodgers depth is a bit shaky, but conceivably, if everything broke right and Urias, Kershaw and Gonzo were pitching at a really high level, that’s all you’d need. … but everything has to break just right.
The Braves are loaded and everything is going right for them right now. And Anthopoulis has done a fantastic job locking up all of their young talent for the foreseeable future. In some ways his approach is smarter than even the Friedman Method, and that template was copied a little when Tampa Bay locked up Wander Franco for his peak years long term.
The Braves are set for a while, but, like the Dodgers last year, they can get bumped off in the playoffs.
Is it really that hot in the USA ?
Here in Germany t is one of the top stories in the 8 o´clock news . They are saying it has never been that hot in the South and a nation wide heat warning is in effect.
Hard to believe but here in Germany and europe the MSM are trying everything to seed panic about the supposed man made climate change.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* Joe Davis has to carry AJ Pierznyski. Here’s a national FOX guy who doesn’t do his homework. A Fact Checker can have a field day with this guy. Too many to mention but one glaring comment – “Max Muncy couldn’t care less about his batting average. He just wants to walk and hit homers”.
Read the Athletic article from July 14th, AJ.
* I don’t want to hear anymore about our Bull Pen being over taxed when we pull a starter at 65 pitches when he’s sailing along. Back to my same old question – are pitchers better off pitching or resting?
* I didn’t think this was Doc’s best game, despite the win. I have no idea why he didn’t send CT3 top 8, with Ottavino, who can’t hold runners and had 2 disengagement’s. He finally ran with 2 strikes. What do you need to see Doc? Get the guy in scoring position early in the count with 2 outs.
* Have you ever watched Will interact with the opponents during a game? He doesn’t. I don’t know if he talks to hitters but I bet he doesn’t. Guys are all different. Mookie is alll hugs and bullshit. He has fun playing and talks to everybody. Freeman is the Welcome Wagon at 1 st. And Will talks to nobody on the field. I kinda like his focus an intensity. No nonsense competitor.
* AJ was asking Joe in the 9th, why the Mets were not walking Muncy. I know why.
* In the ninth and post game, the Met fans and team looked like it was just after the JFK assignation. There are some unhappy campers in the stands and dugout. I wonder how much rope Buck has?
Looking forward to watching Bobby Miller today