Do You Get It?

No, I don’t think you do! Here we are again, talking about the Absolutely Horrible Dodger bullpen (well I don’t think it’s horrid, but some of you do). Already there is talk that the Dodgers won’t win, that the bullpen is just terrible (should be “blown up”) and fans are planning what relievers the Dodger should add in the offseason. I thought it would be interesting to look back at last offseason and see who the most sought after relievers were (by Dodger fans) and how they are doing now:

• Edwin Diaz – 2018: 57 Saves/0.79 WHIP/1.96 ERA | 2019: Beyond Horrible
• Craig Kimbrel – 2018: 5 BS/0.99 WHIP/2.74 ERA | 2019: Absolute Doo-Doo
• Felipe Vasquez – 2018: 5 BS/1.24 WHIP/2.70 ERA | 2019: In Jail!
• Blake Treinen – 2018: 5 BS/0.83 WHIP/0.78 ERA | 2019: Trashed!
• Brad Hand – 2018: 7 BS/1.11 WHIP/2.75 ERA | 2019: 5 BS/1.26 WHIP/3.36 ERA

Lots of fans also wanted Adam Ottavino and he has blown 7 out of 9 save opportunities this year. 7 out of 9! Otherwise, he looks pretty good. Just don’t put him in a save opportunity. Brad Hand might be the best of the bunch, but he’s not much of an upgrade over Kenley. The rest would have been downgrades. Every fan looks at who is good right now and wants to trade for them, but what you are looking at is ancient history which has absolutely nothing to do with TODAY!

If the Dodgers has traded for or signed Diaz, Kimbrel. Vasquez, Treiman or even Hand, they would have been hornswoggled! They would have given up prospects who may have been better THIS YEAR than that group. What helped the Red Sox win the World Series last year? Two relievers who are not doing well this year (Eovaldi and Kelly) and starters in the bullpen. You don’t remember that because it doesn’t fit your narrative.

I have a high-powered law firm that represents US Water Systems, Inc. and when I have a consultation with them, my attorney (Craig) often says: “Why do you bother consulting with us – you only listen to 25% of what we say?” I tell him: “Because I want to understand the risks, but 75% of what you tell me will never happen.” Learn from that! Lawyers are important, but they don’t know what will happen – they look for risks and possible problems… most of which actually never happens. No offense intended to any lawyers and no lawyers were harmed in the production of this blog.

The Washington Nationals went out to buy a bullpen this year and ended up with the following players:

• Doolittle – 4.11 ERA/6 BS
• Barraclough – 6.66 ERA (Yikes!) 0-2 in Saves
• Strickland – 4.76 ERA
• Sipp – 4.71 ERA
• Hudson – 2-4 in SO
• Rainey – 4.76 ERA/0-3 in SO
• Suero – 4.71 ERA/1-6 in SO
• Guerra – 4.74 ERA
• Fedde – 5.52 ERA
• Grace – 6.65 ERA

There are a whole bunch more including Rosenthal, but I will die of old age before I finish telling you about all of them. They were felony stupid in thinking that they could buy or trade for a good bullpen. Grow your own or steal a few! That’s how you do it. Some of the best relievers were either “homegrown” or bought off the “bone pile.”

Today’s “Flavor of the Week” is tomorrow’s garbage. Get the guy before he is that guy. That’s how you do it. Many of you are trying to get the guy after he is the guy and may not be that guy again. Some of those guys you wanted just won’t ever be that guy again. Diaz and Treinen may be good again, but they will never be what they once were.

Theo was duped or deluded into signing Kimbrel. He blew another game last night. Theo Epstein built the Cubs the right way and then deviated from what made him successful as he signed Heyward, Darvish, and Kimbrel. Straight-up dope-fiend moves! Maybe you are delusional too and think you can beat the system. Good luck with that. Blind Squirrels do find nuts occasionally, but most starve!

The Dodgers have a plethora of young pitchers in their pipeline. Someone said this yesterday: ” I would take SF 3 titles any day over Atlanta’s 15 straight division titles; even if it meant being not good for a lot of the other 12 years.” I have to say “maybe, maybe not”. Here’s the thing: If it were guaranteed upfront, then I would do it, but it’s not guaranteed – there are no guarantees!

I can tell you this for a certainty: Andrew Friedman will not blow up the bullpen and bring in some big-name relievers. Why? because he is not stupid! That is the highway to hell.

I hate being on that road! Those of you who think this team is not worthy, are not worthy of being Dodger fans! BANG! There I said it. You have no clue. You never know what will happen in the playoffs, but I have a sneaking feeling that Julio Urias will be a huge part of it. “Not a closer?” I’m delusional… or crazy? Like a fox…

For the record, I think Julio Urias has a shot at being a Cy Young Award Winner in the next few years, but right about now, he is in the pen and you never underestimate the great ones. They can adapt! Watch and learn! Look at the bullpen rankings today:

• Bullpen ERA – Dodgers are 7th
• Bullpen BAA – Dodgers are 2nd
• Bullpen WHIP – Dodgers are 1st
• Bullpen HR – Dodgers are 24th
• Blown Saves – Dodgers are 3rd

Remember that Meada and Urias were considered starters and will now be in the bullpen. This ain’t the same bullpen you have seen most of the season…

The Dodgers are not limping into the playoffs and they are not holding auditions for the playoff roster (that’s metaphorical). They are just fine. 75% (or more) of what you fear will never happen. You should be enjoying this epic run, but many of you are miserable. The Huffington Post wrote this:

Five hundred years ago, Michel de Montaigne said: “My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened.” Now there’s a study that proves it. This study looked into how many of our imagined calamities never materialize. In this study, subjects were asked to write down their worries over an extended period of time and then identify which of their imagined misfortunes did not actually happen. Lo and behold, it turns out that 85 percent of what subjects worried about never happened, and with the 15 percent that did happen, 79 percent of subjects discovered either they could handle the difficulty better than expected, or the difficulty taught them a lesson worth learning. This means that 97 percent of what you worry over is not much more than a fearful mind punishing you with exaggerations and misperceptions.

Montaigne’s quote has made people laugh for five centuries, but worry is no joke. The stress it generates causes serious problems. The stress hormones that worry dumps into your brain have been linked to shrinking brain mass, lowering your IQ, being prone to heart disease, cancer and premature aging, predicting martial problems, family dysfunction and clinical depression, and making seniors more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s.

“Shrinking brain mass and low IQ” – now I understand. Lighten up, people. Enjoy this epic run… it will be epic! Don’t worry, be happy!

The Glendale Desert Dogs lost for the second day in a row, 10-3. Omar Estevez hit 2nd and played SS but was 0-3. Devin Mann hit cleanup and was the DH. He was 1-3 which was a double. Devin also had a walk. Mitch White pitched 0.2 innings and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs to go with 2 walks. His ERA sits at a nifty 27.00. It’s bound to get better…