Depth, Depth and More Depth
Yu Darvish did not disappoint Friday night. I have to admit that I flat out did not want him (because he would most likely be a pure rental). But, Hawkeye Dodger and a couple of others, kept clamouring for him and then the Dodgers finally traded for him and the rest is history. Clayton Kershaw would be the Ace on any team in baseball. Yu Darvish would be the Ace
Yu Darvish did not disappoint Friday night. I have to admit that I flat out did not want him (because he would most likely be a pure rental). But, Hawkeye Dodger and a couple of others, kept clamouring for him and then the Dodgers finally traded for him and the rest is history.
- Clayton Kershaw would be the Ace on any team in baseball.
- Yu Darvish would be the Ace on just about any team that did not have Clayton… or Chris Sale.
- Rich Hill was the pitcher of the month in July and could be the Ace on several MLB teams.
- Alex Wood has Ace-Like stats.
Any MLB Player pretty much HAS to sign with the team that gives them the best offer (unless it’s not a big difference) because the Player’s Association pretty much demands it. Now, if a team offers Player-X a 5 year/$84 million deal and another offers a 5-year/$79 million deal, the player can pretty much go with the lower offer and forego $1 million a year. Think about that though – $5 million is a lot of dough. $5 million is more than most people make in two lifetimes… so that’s huge!
Barring something crazy, Yu Darvish will likely get a 5 to 6 year deal for $150 to $200 million after this season (especially if the Dodgers win it all). So before you get all happy and think the Dodgers might work a deal with Darvish – I don’t think so. If the Dodgers win it all, then he was worth it, but let’s face it folks: If the Dodgers would not pony up the money for Greinke, why would they do it for Darvish… especially when the farm is loaded with starting pitchers? I am hoping Darvish never gives up a run in his Dodger career, but it will be a short one. Some GM will give him a blank check and he will have to take it.
That said, I am now really glad he is a Dodger! I am going to continue to enjoy the run… and what a run it is! CT3, Seager, Bellinger, Turner and Puig are all getting the job done big time. When guys aren’t hitting, others are picking them up and when they aren’t hitting they are doing other little things to help the team. A team is more than the sum of the parts, so when someone says “It’s time to end the Forsythe experiment,” do they even begin to understand that Logan Forsythe has been a big part of a team that has the best winning streak in MLB since 1912?
I still hear people complain that Rich Hill doesn’t pitch deep enough into games, but he was the pitcher of the month in July when the Dodgers did most of their winning. You have to look at the totality of the circumstances. The Dodgers have the best ERA in baseball by close to a half run a game! The starting pitching is part of that equation, and in fact, the Dodgers starters have the best ERA in baseball… and the bullpen is only .03 of a run behind the Indians for the top spot in relievers. So, the pitching is pretty dang good and the Dodgers do not need to have pitchers pitchers go that deep into games. Darvish could have went another inning on Friday, but why?
By the way, the Dodgers Bullpen WHIP is 1.08 while the Indians is 1.17. Just sayin….
Here’s one thing that you can say for sure about this team: Character matters! Taylor, Utley, Gonzalez, Seager, Bellinger, Kershaw, Turner, Jansen, Hill, Forsythe, Wood, Jansen, Morrow are all High-Character, High-Integrity Guys (I’m sure I left someone out, my apologies). Even Yasiel Puig is fitting in and is maturing into a real asset for the team. Just leave him in the #8 hole and let him rack up the numbers. A #8 hitter who hits 30+ HR is sick. Don’t mess with success.
I heard today that when Bellinger was up for about 12-15 days and was expected to go back down to the minors, that A-Gon went to Dave Roberts and told him that Cody was a better option. I’m sure he knows that now too. Adrian will be back in a few days, but it will likely be a limited role. I think he has the right mindset and could be a killer pinch hitter. In the playoffs, it doesn’t seem likely that Utley, Gonzo and Ethier are all on the roster, but that would be an intimidating bench for RH pitchers. That leaves Barnes and Hernandez as RH options.
Will Brandon McCarthy be picked up on waivers? I say yes!
Ryu today – Let’s sweep the Mets! Sunday Night Baseball. I’ll miss Joe Davis – he’s First Class!
BTW, SpokeBob asked for this yesterday.
Ted Williams:
Cody Bellinger:
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Discussion (80)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Dude can run too!
Hyun-Jin FREAKING Ryu!
Great article on Framing, and how it can help Darvish:
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Open on www.beyondtheboxscore.comhttps://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2017/8/6/16100648/yu-darvish-dodgers-framing-catchers-yasmani-grandal-austin-barnes-jonathan-lucroy-decline-receivingDarren Daulton just died. Sad!
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Brain cancer.
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My ex-wife and oldest son’s mother succumbed to the same thing at age 37! My son was 8. He’s now 30 and still hasn’t gotten over it.
Some of it is magic;
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and some of it is tragic…
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but I’ve had a good life all the way.
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We were both with her when she died and it was awe-inspiring! It’s quite a story…
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He just can’t get past it. He’s a great son and is doing well in life but he can’t get over it.
It must have killed ESPN to praise the Dodgers. It was interesting to hear how much time they devoted to the Mets’ phenom (Rosario) who hasn’t done anything much yet. (He looks like a great glove – let’s see if he can hit.)
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The Dodgers are the Swiss Army Knife of baseball. I give the Braintrust full credit – they have created a roster of interchangeable parts. They have
3 first basemen (on the 25 man active roster) – Bellinger, Utley and Farmer
4 second basemen – Forsythe, Utley, Taylor, Barnes and Hernandez
3 shortstops – Seager, Hernandez and Taylor
4 thirdbasemen – Turner, Hernandez, Barnes and Taylor
3 catchers – Grandal, Barnes and Farmer
5 outfielders – Puig, Pederson, Taylor, Hernandez and Bellinger.
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They can mix and match depending on matchups and the hot hand. The computers tell them whom to play. It works, even though it offends my old school sensibilities.
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They have won 77% of their games since Bellinger came up 4/25. 77% of 162 is 125 wins.
It should be an interesting series with Arizona. Our starting pitchers should be Maeda, Wood and Darvish. Ryu looked great. So did Cingrani. I was glad Cingrani had a good outing. Playing on a new team, you want to make a good impression.