Cut the Crap, Friedman!
First of all, I want to welcome back James Outman who went 2-4 . He could have sulked when he got sent back to OKC after finishing #3 in the NL ROY balloting… but he did not. He went to OKC and went about his business and here he is back in the Show. I love James Outman and his…
First of all, I want to welcome back James Outman who went 2-4 . He could have sulked when he got sent back to OKC after finishing #3 in the NL ROY balloting… but he did not. He went to OKC and went about his business and here he is back in the Show. I love James Outman and his story, his hustle, his grit, and it’s time for Dodger fans to realize his value. Quit including him in trades. He is a good defensive centerfielder (who will get better with experience) and should hit RHP very well. I do not believe he will ever hit LHP, but since RH Pitchers comprise about 70% of all pitchers, he should get 500 ABs and be a solid contributor. He should be a 30+ HR guy. Andy Pages should be his platoon partner.
The Dodgers did not start Miguel Vargas after he went 2-3 with an HR and BB on Friday, but he did pinch-hit in the 8th inning and hit another HR. I know you are tired of hearing me say that Miguel Vargas is an elite hitter, but Miguel Vargas is an elite hitter, and if Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes trade him, they are twin dumbasses! Vargas is stepping up and showing out. I hate to say “I told you so, but I told you so!
I have thought that Vargas needs to be the starter in LF, however, it is starting to look like Max Muncy could be out for the year as he has been shut down again. Obliques can be very unpredictable. Maybe Vargas needs to ramp up at 3B. He can play there. Outman and Pages should platoon in CF, and Teoscar should play RF. Heyward is injured and his not shown he deserves to be anything but a backup.
If the Dodgers can get Bo Bichette, then they should do it. Mookie moves to 2B. He is not going back to the outfield… ever! This might be the lineup:
- Ohtani DH
- Betts 2B
- Freeman 1B
- Hernandez RF
- Smith C
- Outman/Pages CF
- Vargas 3B
- Bichette SS
- LF – Pick someone
Yes, he did not hit well with broken fingers last year, and PROGRESS IS NOT LINEAR, YOU JACKASSES! But, if you trade Miguel Vargas, it will be on the level of trading Yordan Alvarez… only when he was ready to go to the Show. Put him in the lineup and let him play, you morons!
One thing I want to point out is that the Dodgers, under RVS, re-tooled Will Smith’s swing and turned him from a defense-first catcher into an elite hitter. Think about that the next time you want to diss on RVS. Also. Clayton Kershaw is progressing rapidly and Buehler, Grove and Graterol are not far behind.
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Discussion (91)
Disagree, not disagreeable
The more I think about it Mark, the more I like your proposed future positions/line-up.
…if only AF can swing a Bichette/Lux deal.
Old friend Michael Bush is hitting .264 with a .360 OB%. He has 15 doubles and 10 HR with a .809 OPS and is striking out at a 38% clip.
I hope everyone is enjoying the Yankees struggles as much as me! i don’t have a second favorite team, but if i did it would be the orioles. …. if aaron boone doesn’t win this year, he should be gone. My daughter in-law is from new hampshire, so her family are big red sox fans . Can’t pull for them as long as trash can cora is there ! He and Hinch should not be managers! …. Anyone know what happened to Gabe Kapler? probably bodybuilding somewhere! lol…….Shelton does a really good job with the pirates. ….. Counsell might regret leaving milwaukee! ….. Toronto will probably be in the market for a new manager this offseason. ……..Feel bad for Kotsay in Oakland. no chance of winning ever. ……. Same for Ron Washington in anaheim, probably won’t be back next season. …….if yankees do fire Boonie, would Lovello of the snakes be an option? …. If the rangers don’t make the playoffs does Bochy retire again? ….. What is wrong with Bud Black?? does he enjoy losing?? ……. Dave Martinez might be the most underrated manager in baseball! …. Joe Torre is my “most”. overated manager of all time. Didn’t win crap till he got to new york. Checkbook Joe. …. Tommy Lasorda wasn’t the greatest x&o’s manager , but his passion for baseball was unmatched!! …. Bear, would Kirk Gibson have made a good manager? ……. finally., i’ve come to appreciate Doc as a players manager. He really seems to care about his players. History will be his judge not us. Another world championship and he’ll be forever revered in LA. Without another one, not so much . i hope he’s not remembered as “checkbook “ Dave, the one who only won the shortened season championship. That wouldn’t be fair.
Gage is NOT on the 26 mam roster but on the 40 man roster. Varland will be reassigned to Oklahoma City from the 26 man roster, Nick Ramirez will be DFA, then Wrobleski will be added to to the 40 man roster and 26 man active roster. Simple!
We will have a shortened bullpen today will the addition of a sixth starter and the workload of high leveraged relievers the last two nights.
The Dodgers will have to clear a spot for Wrobleski on the 40-man roster. I’m guessing Nick Ramirez is the odd man out. Someone also has to go on the 26-man roster. Will it be Varland or Gage?
Vargas has to sit today! Kiki needs some “run” in left field! Biggio needs some “run”. at 3rd! Taylor needs some “run” at 2nd! Now I’m completely full of crap, but, would it shock anyone? Vargas needs a shot somewhere. After watching Taylor’s tee ball swing last night, Lux’s. lackadaisical swing night after night, kiki usually going ofer the week, isn’t it ridiculous to keep Vargas on the bench? He has played 3rd, 2nd, and left, so why does Taylor play against right handed pitchers but not Vargas. Taylor ,Kiki, and Biggio. can’t hit my 10 year old grandson!! I’m not jumping on the vargas bandwagon. But the guy deserves a chance ! He gives more quality at bats per game than the aforementioned 3 combined. …. Now i’m in total agreement with you Mark on Bichette. A change of scenery for him probably cures his hitting woes. Include Lux in a package and do it! i’m sure Bichette can slide over to 3rd occasionally and Rojas at shortstop. Rojas becomes the super utility player taylor and kiki were supposed to be. …. Maybe Outman and Pages make a good platoon, i don’t know. But if Vargas is to man 3rd, a big bat for left field is needed. …. Is the rookie pitching today? i haven’t seen a move to bring him up yet. …. Bear, Doc still has 7 hours to think about sitting Will Smith!! ……. Paxton scares the crap out of me on the mound!! His fastball is good, but if they don’t chase it , he probably walks 5 a game! Everyone healthy, he’s either traded or possibly bullpen. i’m not sure he would be effective out of the bullpen. Maybe a long guy , or hell , use an opener and get him through the first inning. ….. The dodgers are 9 games up on the Friars in the loss column , and10 on the snakes.
Why give up our young guns for a bunch of TJ’s waiting to happen. Hard no on any starter. We will be loaded come October.
Book em
Ram, that’s a brilliant take. Goes right along with mine about the FO slow playing Miguel.
Robert and Bichette. Sorry Bear.
Ohtani DH
Freeman 1B
Betts 2B
Smith C
Teoscar LF
Robert CF
Bichette SS
Outman/Pages RF
Vargas 3B
Book em
Yamamoto (shoulder) will begin playing catch next week, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Yamamoto has been shut down from throwing since being diagnosed with a right rotator cuff strain June 16 but will resume a throwing program in the coming days. The 25-year-old is no longer feeling pain in his shoulder and seems to be on track for an August return”.
Maybe Vargas needs to ramp up at 3B. He can play there. Outman and Pages should platoon in CF, and Teoscar should play RF. Heyward is injured and his not shown he deserves to be anything but a backup.
—-
Scratch the “maybe”. Vargas has to be in the lineup every day . Pencil him in in LF and give him some occasional starts at 3b or 2b. He can play both positions adequately. Can make a defensive substitution late in close games if his defense really should hurt the team there..
Fully agree on Outman. On days when he is in CF Pages can play RF and Vargas 3b/2b.
Supposing Mookie and MM can come back for the stretch run Dodgers need one more high average/high OBP bat to strengthen the bench.
Lux IMHO got a tough break from the official scorer yesterday. Should not have been Ruled an error on Adames after the 3b made a diving try and distracted him. But htat is the way it goes when you are slumping.
Ferris is coming on like a house on fire lately. Great game at GL yesterday. Gives the Dodgers another trading chip if they want to.
Wrobleski today in his MLB debut. Exciting young pitcher with an electric left arm.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
As much as I hate to say it, and they annoy the Hell out of me big time, Padres are staring to sneak up a bit.
Padres blew a game tonight they should have won. Score, 4-4 in the top of the 10th. D-Backs scored 3 to take a 7-4 lead. The new D-Backs pitcher, Vieira, could not get anyone out. Cronenworth was the ghost runner on second. Machado walked. Solano then doubled scoring Cronenworth. Merrill was up and walked. Castellanos, who had an ERA over 10, came in to relieve. Bases loaded no outs. Castellanos struck out Johnson, then he struck out Kim. Higashioka came up and flied out to center field. They lose 7-5, Dodgers pick up a game on the Padres and the Giants who lost to Cleveland on Harrison’s return to the rotation. Dodgers 7.5 in front again with 7 games left before the All-Star break. The only Padre with an OPS above .800?????? Profar. D-Backs have four such players.
Well, I’m not trading Outman or Vargas. That would be crazy. Then again, I’m not the decision maker. Both will end up as regulars. Let ’em play. Every Pundit is saying the Dodgers will pursue an outfielder, a pitcher and maybe a bullpen piece. Maybe they will. They really favor experience.
They don’t need to make a move, but they will. They’ve put a ton of money in this team in an attempt to win a World Series or two or three. They won’t hold back. Let it rip. But don’t get nervous. Friedman won’t trade the farm.
I like your lineup above Mark I just think Bichette is going to be too expensive for AF. The only thing I would do is leave Teoscar in left and play Outman in center and Pages in right every day I think both would be eventually hit same sided pitching. Also Heyward, Kike and Taylor can give games off against tough pitchers.
My first thoughts were that Arozarena and Eflin would be perfect AF targets. I’ve gone away from that and I believe that DeJong and Fedde will be on his radar. If AF got DeJong I could see more of a job share with Rojas this year and extend both for 2025 to keep short open for Freeland in 2026. As far as Fedde is concerned there are too many ifs with the rotation. If Glasnow, Stone and Paxton don’t wear down. If Miller, Buehler, Yamamoto and Kershaw can come back and stay healthy. If Wrobeleski and Knack can get and continue to get mlb hitters out.
I have faith AF is going to make moves at the deadline that will suprise most of us. I just don’t see a blockbuster. I think the blockbusters were the offseason additions
This may be why Vargas is now taking grounders at 3B, per Ardaya:
Max Muncy is no longer swinging a bat, Dave Roberts said today. Oblique issue hasn’t progressed. Anything rotational still gives him some discomfort.
Why mess with Vargas’ mind and further delay his progress by making him switch gears (again) to re-learn (the more difficult) 3B all over again. Dumb. Stop yo-yo-ing this young man around. Enough already! Stick him in LF to sink or swim there!
As for the growing uncertainty over Max’s health — AF must obtain another infielder–maybe a UT guy to play multiple positions–who can hit better than Lux/Taylor/Kiki. It’s gotta be done.
I mean at this point it’s just downright idiotic to be giving CT3, Lux, or Biggio any meaningful at bats over Miguel Vargas.
If Vargas doesn’t start tomorrow, it better be because he was just traded; otherwise no reason to let him watch much lesser hitters continue to get at bats over him.
“Cut the Crap, Friedman!”
Start with Biggio. Then bring up Lipcius.
I would love to be wrong about Outman.
Vargas is gonna have to make the front office have no choice but to play him.The last 2 games will do that.Maybe he will get a shot at third.
I agree with you Eric about Rooker. .270 average, 17 bombs, 50 driven in. Dodgerdad, not to worry, Roberts already said Smith was going to catch all three games this weekend.
Eric,
You know that I really love you and your passion for the Dodgers. I am glad you are here.
Give Teo 3y/$80m right now?