WAR, what is it? Simply a tool used to judge a player’s value to the franchise. It stands for Wins Above Replacement. WAR simply meaning how many wins this player is better than the guy who has replaced him. No Dodger in team history has a WAR higher than Kershaw’s 71.8. That was almost 72 games better than his replacements. There are currently 31 players who finished with a WAR over 100. The 32nd player on the list is Albert Pujols who sits at 99.5. Undoubtedly, the last several years have served to keep Tio Albert from finishing above 100.
Babe Ruth is the all-time leader at a whopping 183.1. That was almost 20 games higher than # 2 Walter Johnson. The highest WAR of this era is Barry Bonds at 162.7. He is ahead of Willie Mays by 6.6 WAR. Mays and Aaron lost some WAR with final seasons with different teams and being used occasionally. Roger Clemens is the highest-rated pitcher of this generation coming in with a 139.2 WAR.
So let’s get to it.
# 24. Pedro Guerrero 32.7. Pedro spent 11 years with LA. Batting .309 with 171 HRs and 585 RBI’s. He played some outfield and 3rd and 1st base. He was Co-MVP in the 1981 World Series.
# 23 Bob Welch 32.9 Welch spent 10 years in LA, starting and relieving. He had a 115-86 record and an ERA of 3.14. His battle with Reggie Jackson in the 1978 World Series was classic. He won a Cy Young later with the A’s.
# 22 Brickyard Kennedy 33.4 Kennedy pitched for Brooklyn from 1892 through 1901. He had a 177-149 record with a 3.98 ERA. Kennedy walked more hitters than he struck out. 751 K’s 1130 walks.
# 21 Jeff Pfeffer 33.4 Pfeffer spent 9 years with the Dodgers posting a 113-80 mark with a 2.31 ERA. He had 157 complete games, 25 shutouts, and 8 saves.
# 20 Carl Furillo 34.7 Carl was with the Dodgers his entire career spanning 15 years. He finished with a .299 average. 191 HR’s and 1058 RBI’s He had a cannon for an arm, and his nickname was The Reading Rifle. He hit the single that ended up scoring Gil Hodges in the second playoff game in 1959 sending the Dodgers to the World Series. Carl was released in 1960 while he was injured. He sued the Dodgers and settled out of court for 30,000$. He never worked in baseball again.
# 19 Dixie Walker 35.1 Walker played 9 of his 18 major league seasons with the Dodgers. He joined them in 1939 as a mid-season waiver claim from the Tigers. He batted .311 in his time with the team and finished at .309 for his career. Walker famously was against Negro’s playing with whites and led the group of players petitioning the Dodger players to not play with Robinson. Rickey traded Walker, Vic Lombardi, and Hal Gregg to the Pirates for Billy Cox, Preacher Roe, and Gene Mauch. All three had signed the petition.
# 18 Roy Campanella 35.6 Campy joined the Dodgers in 1948 and played 10 seasons for the Dodgers. MLB recently added his Negro league stats to his ledger and his adjusted WAR is 41.7 He played 8 seasons for the Baltimore Elite Giants starting when he was 15. He hit .323 in those 8 seasons. He hit 242 HR’s for the Dodgers, which was good enough for 4th on their all-time list, and won 3 MVP awards.
# 17 Steve Garvey 36.6 Garvey, a converted 3rd baseman, became the Dodger’s most consistent hitter during his time in LA. He won the MVP award in 1974, his first full season at the position. He won 4 gold gloves and played 14 seasons for the Dodgers finishing his tenure in LA with .301 BA and 211 HRs.
# 16 Fernando Valenzuela 36.8 In 1980 Valenzuela appeared in 10 games in relief going 2-0. The next season, on opening day, Jerry Ruess could not make his scheduled start, and the rookie filled in. What followed was amazing. The kid won his first 8 starts, 5 of them shutouts, and Fernandomania was born. He went on to win 13 games in the strike-shortened season, winning the Cy Young and the Rookie of the Year award and helped the Dodgers win the 1981 World Series. Fernando pitched 11 years in LA going 141-116. He had 107 complete games and threw a no-hitter.
# 15 Jim Gilliam 40.8 Jim, Jr. Gilliam was a career Dodger. He joined the team and was the 1953 Rookie of the Year. He was very versatile playing 3rd, 2nd, and the outfield. He came out of retirement twice to help the Dodgers win pennants. 1965 and 66. He stayed with the team as a coach until his untimely death in October 1978, just prior to the Dodgers playing the World Series against the Yankees. They dedicated the series in his memory. His # 19 was retired after his passing. He is the only Dodger with a retired number that is not in the Hall of Fame. Gilliam’s adjusted WAR with his Negro League stats added is 45.0
# 14 Gil Hodges 43.3 Gil joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 for good after playing in 1 game for them in 1943 then spent the next 2 years in the Navy. He played 16 years for the Dodgers, belting 361 HR’s good for second all-time for the Dodgers, and driving in 1254. He won the first 3 gold gloves awarded in the NL. Scored the winning run in the playoffs with the Braves in 1959. He played in 7 World Series winning 2 rings. He earned another managing the Miracle Mets to the 1969 title. He died of a heart attack at age 47 while playing golf.
# 13 Orel Hershiser 44.4 Orel spent 13 years with the team, posting a 135-107 mark with a 3.12 ERA. Cy Young in 1988. 65 complete games, 24 shutouts, and 5 saves. He won a silver slugger award in 1993. Played in 3 All-Star games and won 3 gold gloves. Never the same pitcher after an injury in 1990. He did have 5 productive years after leaving LA ending up with 204 wins and 150 losses. In his last season, he came back to LA and went 1-5.
# 12 Nap Rucker 47.1 Rucker spent his entire 10-year career with Brooklyn. He joined the team in 1907 and won in double figures the next 7 seasons. He finished with a 131-131 mark and was done at age 31. His career ERA was 2.42. He had 186 complete games, 38 shutouts, and 14 saves. A lefty, Rucker threw the first no-hitter by a Dodger lefty ever on September 5th, 1908 against Boston.
# 11 Ron Cey 47.7 Cey became the regular Dodger third baseman in 1973. For the next 10 seasons as a Dodger, he averaged 20 plus HR’s a year and 80 plus RBI’s, He was solid defensively and part of the record-setting infield of Garvey, Lopes, and Russell. Nicknamed “The Penguin” for the way he ran the bases, he was part of 4 pennant winners and 1 World Series champ. He finished with 228 HR’s in LA, and 842 RBI’s. He finished his career with Oakland after 4 years with the Cubs. Cey now works for the Dodgers.
# 10 Don Sutton 48.8 Sutton joined the starting rotation of Drysdale, Koufax, and Osteen in 1966. Over the next 15 years, he won in double figures every season winning 230 games. The most by a pitcher in Dodger history. He never won a Cy Young, only won 20 once, but consistency was his game. He left as a free agent after the 1980 season, missing the Championship year by one. He came back at the end of his career and won 3 more in LA bringing his total to 233 as a Dodger, and 324 overall. Elected to the Hall in 1998. Don passed away earlier this season.
#9 Sandy Koufax 48.9 Sandy was signed as a bonus baby in 1954. So in 1955 and 56, he had to stay with the team under the rule that said players receiving X amount of dollars had to stay on the MLB roster for 2 years. He was seldom used the first two seasons and got into 32 games his third year. In 1958 he moved into the rotation in their first year in LA and went 11-11. He was pretty wild in those days and walked almost as many as he struck out. He went 8-6 in 59, but one of those performances was an 18 K game against the Giants in August. He lost his only World Series start, 1-0. In 1961, he put it all together with a little help from the backup catcher, Norm Sherry, who in a B game in spring, told Sandy to not try and throw every ball so hard and basically just play catch. He had a strong game, and after that, The Left Arm of God as he was called, was the best pitcher in the majors until he retired after the 66 World Series. 3 Cy Youngs, an MVP in 63. 6 All-Star games, 4 no-hitters including a perfect game on September 9th, 1965. 4 World Series rings. A record strikeout season was later broken by Nolan Ryan, 382. Election to the Hall in 1972 on the first ballot. Dodger legend and personally, the best pitcher I ever saw. Hands down.
# 8 Willie Davis 54.6 “The 3 Dog”. One of the fastest players to ever don a Dodger uni. Called up in 1960, he became a regular in 1961. For the next 13 seasons, he was the CF for the Dodgers. Part of 2 Champion teams and a pennant winner in 66. He is best remembered for his defense and speed. He had one terrible game in the 66 series where he committed 3 errors. But that was usually not the case. He finished with a .279 average for LA with 154 HR’s, 849 RBI’s, and 335 steals.
# 7 Dazzy Vance 59.1 Vance joined the Dodgers at age 31 in 1922. At that point, he had no wins and 8 losses in parts of 4 seasons in the bigs. His last was a 2 inning stint with the Yankees in 1918. In 11 of the next 12 seasons, he finished in double figures in wins, winning only 9 in 1926. He finished with 190 wins as a Dodger, the all-time leader until Drysdale passed him in the ’60s. 190-131 with a 3.17 ERA, 213 complete games, 29 shutouts 8 saves, and 1918 K’s.
# 6 Zack Wheat 60.0 Wheat holds many of the Dodgers hitting records. He spent 18 seasons with Brooklyn. His BA was 317 with 131 HR and 1210 RBIs. He stole 203 bases and walked more than he struck out. He had a .819 career OPS and an OBP of .367. Zack was elected to the Hall by the veteran’s committee in 1959.
# 5 Jackie Robinson 61.8. Jackie’s story is well documented. His WAR was recently adjusted to 63.9 when his Negro league stats were added. ROY in 1947, Jackie was a main player for the Boys of Summer. He was elected to the Hall in 1962. He hit .311 as a Dodgers with an OBP of .409, and an OPS of .883.
# 4 Duke Snider 65.3 Edwin Donald Snider. Nicknamed Duke. In Brooklyn, they called him “The Duke of Flatbush” Born in Compton California, Duke joined the Dodgers in 1947 after a stint in the Navy. But he did not become a regular until 1949 when he hit .292 in 147 games with 23 HRs and 92 RBIs. Just a preview of what he would bring to the table in the ’50s. A graceful fielder, he drew comparisons with the other two CF’s in New York, Mays with the Giants, and some kid named Mantle with the Yankees. Always a hot debate in NY over who was better. For the next 12 years, Duke hit double-figure HR’s and had the most HR’s in the major in the ’50s. He hit 40 or more 5 straight seasons, 53-57. He drove in over 100 runs 6 times, leading the NL with 136 in 1955. He won the HR title in 1956 with 43. Finished top 10 in MVP voting 6 times, and was an all-star 8 times. Strangely, at least to me, he never won a gold glove, probably because of that Mays fellow. His power was diminished after he sustained a shoulder injury trying to throw a ball out of the Coliseum in LA. It was also affected by the massive dimensions of the field in right and center. Part of 2 Championship teams and 6 pennant winners. He finished with a .300 BA in his 16 years as a Dodger, 389 HR’s, still, the Dodger record, 1271 RBI’s and 11 HR’s in World Series play, including 4 in a series twice. 52 and 55. No Dodger has ever done that. Seager has the record for HR’s in a single series with 5 against the Braves last year, and Turner’s 12th postseason shot, a HR in the World Series gave him the team postseason record. Duke finished his career with 407. Hitting 4 for the Giants in 1964. Elected to the Hall in 1980.
# 3 Don Drysdale 67.1 Big D was one of the most intimidating pitchers ever. He joined the Dodgers in Brooklyn in 1956 and became a regular in the rotation the following year, winning 17 games their last season in Brooklyn. For the next 11 years, he was their workhorse. He won in double figures 12 of his 14 seasons as a Dodger. Winning 20 twice and a Cy Young in 1962 when he won 25. 8 all-star appearances, 209 wins, team leader until Sutton passed him. 2486 K’s, 167 complete games, 49 shutouts, and 6 saves. Elected to the Hall in 1984. Big D passed away while in Montreal in 1993 while working as a Dodger broadcaster. His # 53 was later retired.
# 2 Pee Wee Reese 68.5. Pee Wee joined the Dodgers in 1940 at the age of 21. He was installed as the starting SS the following year by manager Leo Durocher, who retired from playing actively. Except for a 3-year stretch, 43-45 when he was in the Pacific with the Navy, Pee Wee would be the Dodgers starting SS. He was a good fielder, had decent speed and some pop. He was the Captain, and his friendship with Jackie Robinson eased his way a little. In a much-publicized photo, he placed his arm around Jackie in Cincinnati where he was receiving death threats. Reese, being a Southerner, and embracing a black player had an impact on the team. Pee Wee played 18 seasons as a Dodger and was a coach in 1959 before he left and went into broadcasting. Elected to the Hall in 1984. His # 1 was retired later that year.
# 1 Clayton Kershaw 71.8 Kersh’s story is still being told, but he is an almost certain first-ballot Hall of Famer. 3 Cy Youngs, closing in on the career K lead. A no-hitter, and an MVP. 8 All-Star appearances. A career WHIP a tick over 1.000. Besides his 3 Cy Youngs, he has 6 top 10 finishes in the voting, and he finally got his ring. Kersh at 184 wins and counting. The team record of 233 does not seem doable. And he is out until September and no telling if they resign him this offseason. He is still one of the best LA has ever had.
There you have it, friends. The top 24 WAR for the Dodgers of all time. It will be hard for any player to break into this bunch unless they spend their entire career with the Dodgers.
Discussion (43)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Getting back to WAR…..I still don’t know anything about this number. I know it stands for wins above replacement but what does that mean? Bear said….” how many wins this player is better than the guy who has replaced him. ”
For example, to compute WAR for Justin Turner, soooooo, who is the guy who has replaced him?
Who is the guy who has replaced Cody Bellinger?
Who is the guy who replaced Clayton Kershaw?
So, after you tell me the guy who replaced these men, how do you arrive at a number?
And then, what does that number mean? I know the higher the better, but I still haven’t quite grasped how you even get the number, so first things first.
Maybe if somebody walked me through an example, that would make it real for me. So, who someone like to walk me through Justin Turner’s WAR? Baseball reference says it’s 3.2. So what does this mean? I doubt anyone will see this because it’s late, so I guess I’m probably talking to myself.
Thanks,
TM
5 games out of first now. I doubt the Dodgers will catch the Giants. Get Mookie well even if it takes an extended stay on the IL.
Will be a one game WC game vs Padres or Reds in all likelyhood.
Lets hope Walker or Max -whoever gets the ball- has an outstanding game to get us into the divisional round. And then roast the Giants.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was a tough loss, and as expected the Giants beat the Rockies. Padres got beat again. Playing with a short bench limits Roberts options. With Turner unavailable, and them having 14 pitchers on the roster, they have only 3 on the bench. So after using Beaty, only McKinney and Smith were available. I totally dislike playing with a short bench. It limits your options. Lux has been on the IL a lot longer than 10 days. None of the guys at AAA has shown enough at the MLB level to be of any help, at least they have not shown that yet. Players are going to have to step up their game. They are going to be playing a team that is in a real fight for first place. They are going to be playing for their playoff life. The Dodgers have to be hungrier than the Mets.
And what great careers Bonds and Clemens had. Whatever effect you think the steroids had
If he goes on the IL it will be retroactive to the day he was injured. He’s hurt. That has nothing to do with the manager. Only a porpoise can field his position without a functioning groin housing group.
wOBA = (0.690×uBB + 0.722×HBP + 0.888×1B + 1.271×2B + 1.616×3B +
2.101×HR) / (AB + BB – IBB + SF + HBP)
You buy them books, you send them to school.
The geeks use EVERY stat people, including OPS, but most feel wOBA is a more comprehensive stat.
I don’t understand the objections you guys have to WAR. The formulas used to create it are very popular with baseball stat geeks. These guys know what they’re doing. Years of R&D have gone into these algorithms and the guys that use them successfully make big bucks. Looking at who wins more games I gotta say these formulas are working just fine. So, don’t like them if you choose, but the people running baseball do like them and analytics is here to stay.
Why didn’t Turner PH in the 9th with the bases loaded? Why are we playing with a short bench? McKinney is not the guy you want up in a key situation and this not the first time we end up with some bozo hitting with the game on the line. Based on our past history, I am guessing Turner will be put on the IL so why has it taken 4 days to make that decision? If he is somehow able to play tomorrow, I would really be pissed he couldn’t pinch hit today. We can’t afford to play short handed….our 4 starting pitchers…Scherzer, Urias, Bueller. Price would be better options to PH than McKinney. Same old story we do not put our players in the best position to be successful…and that falls back to our POS manager!
I do not feel that any single statistic captures the true essence of what a player is.
WAR is a tool. So is OPS. I also value OPS+
How about a stat combining the following:
Baseball-Reference WAR
Fangraphs WAR
OPS
OPS+
The higher the number, the better!
They got lucky getting those two runners on against Kennedy. Both of those ball 4 calls were strikes, but the ump missed them. Then a passed ball, and Smith gets plunked. That was the bad luck part right there. McKinney has not hit a ball hard since he got here.
It was a heartbreaker today, but you can’t complain too much when you take 2-3 on the road from a 1st place team. We had a couple of deep drives and an upper deck Belli Bomb that was way foul. The difference in the game was an inning with some walks and a seeing eye grounder and a Harper bomb off a pitcher’s pitch. Tip the cap and move on. Hopefully they get some good rest before playing the Mets tomorrow.
Another scheduling screw up. The Phillies stay home and the Dodgers travel from Philly to NY a mere 97 miles so there was no need to play a day game today.
I really like the way Mitch White is pitching. The difference between him being solid and really good is just confidence and putting time and distance from his injuries that hampered his minor league career.
Beaty with a hole in his glove, or McKinny with a hole in his bat? Much ado about nothing. Neither player is clearly better than the other. If you could mush them together, you would have a solid 4th outfielder.
There’s never a good reason to have Albert bat so high in the lineup. Just leave him down low, it takes a miracle to score him once he gets on base. I love it when he runs into one, but he’s not the butter and eggs man, he’s the icing on the cake or the cherry on top.
I’m glad the Bauer legal team is taking a hard line. I saw a Tucker interview that he had with a “fixer” recently. The “fixer” said that celebrities often get themselves into a situation where people what to put them in an awkward position in order to leverage them out of $$. He said they were looking to get an “annuity” from their leveraged celebrity. The guy said it was his job to “convince” them to take another path and that they didn’t want to do what they were planning. He said that pro athletes were common as clients. Apparently this kind of stuff happens all the time. You know Bauer was warned about this kind of thing, but let the little head do the thinking.
I’m wondering if the MLB investigation and PPD investigation is just waiting for the hearing on the restraining order to see if Bauer does anything stupid to incriminate himself. If this lefty women justice ultimately rules in his favor, I can see this wrapping up. He’s been out close to 45 days now. It’s time to move on. One more administrative leave to get him through the court case, then be done with it with timed served.
WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again!
It’s really quite arbitrary. Baseball Reference and Fangraphs have differing WAR calculations and the formula is just so convoluted. If teams value it as much as Badger thinks, Marcus Semien should get at least 5 years at 30M/year this offseason. I’m not holding my breath.
We’ll go as far as this offense will carry us. Shame to waste this bullpen effort! We have to do better than McKinney at the end of our bengh
Great article Bear! Thank you for posting, I found it very informative. I’m still not sure how WAR is actually determined, but like Badger wrote, I know it is used by front offices quite a bit in evaluating players.
I was, however, surprised that Jim Gilliam was so high on the WAR list. Mind you, I thought he was a very good player and he was one of my favorites when I was was young. Very workmanlike and solid. But, I did not expect to see that there was only 2.5 WAR difference between he and Gil Hodges. At first blush, I would have thought that Hodges was the far superior player.
Despite the loss today, I would think that even Eric would agree that the bullpen pitched very well. That has to be encouraging moving forward.
Besides Albert, our bench is tertrible. No help from Oklahoma City. AF did not address the weakness at the deadline., A weak bench contributes to all those one run and extra inning l osses.Tough game to lose today.
The really good teams find ways to win close games. The Dodgers find ways to lose them. Now 21 one run losses and 12 losses in extra innings. Three losses to Giants immediately come to mind: when Pujols was robbed and the back to back blown saves by Kenley. Flip those games and the Dodgers are in first.
The feast or famine trend on offense continues. Only 3 hits today against average pitchers and two of those hits were infield bleeders.
Good performance by White and the bullpen today as two runs allowed should get you a win in that ballpark.
Looks more and more like a wild card game is in the future. They are still capable of running the table as a wild card but it cuts the probability of winning the World Series in half.
Hopefully they can get to full strength by the playoffs as they have the most talented roster in baseball.
Winning two out of three against a hot team (8 in a row) on the road with so many rain delays, and two bullpen games…..not bad at all.
Sure, we only got 3 hits today but I’m sure the bodies of the players on both teams were exhausted. They had to play last night, ended late, get up in near 100° heat to play another game. Both teams were spent. This, both pitching staffs dominated. Their’s was one pitch better….the HR by the great one, Bryce Harper! No disgrace in losing especially when a guy like Harper does his thing.
I quit playing tennis on consecutive days for that reason….my body needed a day to recover. So, we shouldn’t hold this loss over their heads.
As for the Giants probably going 5 up….so what? Let them….they deserve their first place by the way they have played and for them beating us like they have. I’m not as concerned about coming in first as I am concerned about fielding a healthy and full team.
If we can get Mookie, Bauer, Clayton, Duffy, JT, and possibly even Lux (can’t believe I’m saying this)….I don’t care who we play. Even one game….if we can’t beat SD or Phillies, or Mets, or Braves in one game, winner take all, then we don’t deserve to win this year. Football is one game….so why not baseball, for this wild card game?
Get healthy and come back renewed…that’s the goal!
TM
Disappointing game. But if they can win 4 out of 5 the rest of the way, they will be in good shape. They cannot control what the Giants do. They do need some pop off of the bench. And yeah, I think I would have hit JT there for one at bat. McKinney has brought nothing offensively. I would have even rather seen Lux up in that situation. Now on to New York. Urias, Butane and Mad Max against the Metropolitans.
McKinney with bases loaded? Please …!!!
Rats. McKinney is not the guy you want up there but we were given 5 outs to get it done. We didn’t deserve a W today.
I can’t believe they can’t get JT into the game right here.
Phillies pen has been pretty good today. Chris Davis retires. Never lived up to that huge contract he got from the Orioles. Beware GM’s. Going to watch the Field of Dreams game. Should be pretty cool. It is that or go to the movies to see Jungle Cruise.
I have seen nothing from McKinney. I like Beaty better but Doc
likes the defense only approach I disagree.
As I mentioned yesterday with the emergence of Bickford and Vesia the bullpen is getting better.
Nice outing by White. Getting out of that jam allowing only 1 run was huge. Got tagged by Harper, but it was a good pitch. Vesia fast becoming the go to lefty out of the pen. Replay blew it on Turner’s ground ball. Millers foot came off of the bag. At least they are into the Phillies bullpen now. They have beaten them the last two games.
And Seager has played some nice defense since he’s been back. I would love to see Corey back as a forever Dodger! White is starting to look pretty comfortable out there. He’s got the stuff to be a rotation piece.
I always liked Bryce Harper.
Not as much as I like Rich Hill, but Harper and Tatis may be among my new favorites on “other” teams.
First of all thank you Bear
It used to be my favorite part of the day was my coffee a cigarette and the morning newspaper. I quit smoking 20 years ago, and newspapers are now irreverent. Now it’s just my gourmet coffee and LADT.!!
I don’t want to jinx him but Mitch Whites breaking stuff is nasty
I haven’t read the article yet but wanted to first share these few thoughts after last nights game with y’all :
1. I now officially resign my position as president of the trade/send down/platoon Cody Bellinger fan club
2. Way to go Cody….keep making me regret having my doubts…I have no problem eating crow for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Thank you, Sir.
3. Also, while never publicly putting down Mr Pollock, I also have never publicly appreciated or thanked him. Thank you, Sir!
4. Our bullpen….wow, just amazing. Even the guys who I was closing my eyes over when they came in are now causing me to open them back up. These first two games in Philly were just amazing. Thank you, Sirs.
5. Trevor Bauer….I want him back ASAP. Nuff said.
6. Kershaw….I think giving him this month off is just what he will need to be beastly in the playoffs, so let him rest up and get stronger again.
7. Max Muncy….before Trea Turner he was my favorite Dodgers player, but lately catching pop ups have become not so routine. Even still, no one is perfect, and his 23 HRs clearly are appreciated and of course, lead the team. Thank you, Sir.
8. Mookie….my expectations have gone wayyyyy down now because I think Mookie is suffering a lot more than we know. I hope for the best, but am now very concerned about this injury not being able to heal without proper rest (months, not days).
9. Let’s just win and sweep these guys today. Go Big Blue!
TM
I’m trying to figure out why, whoever fills out the lineup card, thought it would be a good idea to bat Albert 3rd in today’s lineup. With lefty opener starting this game, are they planning an early exit with Beaty taking over with a short bench? Then you’re stuck with Beaty in the 3 hole the rest of the way.
As more information is released in the Bauer saga, the court of public opinion is shifting slowly but surely. Mismanagement by Manfred’s office is just giving the players union more ammunition ahead of the CBA negotiations. MLB likes to pretend to do their own independent investigation, but we all can see that’s a bunch of poppycock. MLB, PPD and the courts are all looking for someone else to blink first instead of doing their own jobs.
Quack’s tenure was very short-lived. A third of an inning and gone. That reminds me of d’Arnaud’s stay with the Dodgers, all of 1 AB.
Everyone acts like there is no discussion as to who the better defensive shortstop is between Seager and Turner. If you look at the numbers, Corey’s fielding percentage is better, way less errors and range factor numbers are very close. In the last couple of games, I saw Corey show range up the middle and in the hole with perfect throws on both plays. He also has a better fielding percentage than Lux and Taylor at the position.
What the over under on a rain delay today?
The Cubs have released Jake Arrieta, putting him on unconditional release waivers. Wonder if AF is interested. He’s been getting rocked lately but with all the Stars that have left the Cubs there can’t be much motivation left. At one time he was one of the best in the game and it doesn’t take long to fall from the top.
LA Times
DODGERS
Trevor Bauer case: ‘No settlements or cash offers,’ his attorneys say
Trevor Bauer and his attorneys would like to make one thing perfectly clear: The Dodgers pitcher does not plan to discuss a financial settlement with the woman who has accused him of sexual assault.
“No settlements or cash offers have or ever will be made,” Bauer attorneys Shawn Holley and Jon Fetterolf wrote in a court filing Tuesday.
A Los Angeles Superior Court hearing is set to start Monday over whether a temporary restraining order against Bauer should remain in effect. In the court filing, Bauer’s attorneys argued the order should be lifted and said the woman had provided no legitimate reason to be granted protection from him.
Rather, his attorneys wrote, the woman pursued the matter “to generate publicity, try to end [Bauer’s] baseball career, and gain a monetary settlement.”
Bauer’s career remains on hold, amid separate investigations by the Pasadena Police Department and Major League Baseball.
Pasadena police have said Bauer is under investigation for felony assault. He has not been arrested or charged with a crime. Legal analysts have noted that, under a potential settlement, the woman could agree not to testify against Bauer in any criminal proceeding.
More text messages released involving Trevor Bauer and woman accusing him of sexual assault
Aug. 3, 2021
The league first put Bauer on leave July 2, three days after the temporary restraining order was granted. The leave has been extended four times, most recently through Friday, and is likely to be extended again.
In her request for the temporary restraining order, the woman said she was choked and lost consciousness during two sexual encounters with Bauer and was hit in the face on the second occasion.
In Tuesday’s court filing, Bauer’s attorneys wrote that the accuser did not request the temporary restraining order until about six weeks after the last sexual encounter and about a month after her last text message with Bauer, indicating the accuser “did not see an imminent concern about hearing from or seeing [him].” during that time and undermines the credibility of her allegations.”
The filing included a text message from the accuser on the night before she obtained the temporary restraining order, saying “This is his last MLB start,” and another text in which she said her attorneys thought Bauer might “try to settle with me[,] offer me major cash then make me sign [a non-disclosure agreement].” (Not working out that way is it)
The filing also included a text from the woman to a cousin the day after the second encounter: “It was consensual but like didn[’]t expect two black eyesl? Like he def took it too far don’t you think lol.” (It was consensual… but….)
In her request for the temporary restraining order, the woman wrote: “I agreed to have consensual sex, however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next. I did not agree to be sexually assaulted.” (Well, yeah, you kinda did.)
Parentheticals are mine.
Who knows where this is bullsh*t will end up but these two people deserve each other.
Another grand slam Bear.
I must admit I am not a WAR fan as a baseball statistic. However, with all stats I am pleased Duke rates highly and I love it that Pee Wee is No. 2.
My concern with WAR is that I simply don’t understand how wins against replacement can be accurately calculated unless all of the variables are the same in any comparison. That is, hitting against the same pitcher in the same park with the same weather conditions, etc. The same with pitching with the same conditions including the same defense and the same umpire. If the variables are different, which they are in so many ways, I simply don’t understand how one player can be determined to have more wins against replacementvalue than the one to which he is being compared. I can see by simple stats that one player would wins more games but determining it in decimal points is beyond me.
I like visible stats such as on base percentage and inherited runners stranded. I am more fond of WHIP as a pitcher stat than ERA as I see ERA somewhat of a team stat reliiant more on the defense and managing strategy such as the shift.
I expect my problem with WAR is my lack of knowledge regarding it and my hesitancy to research it more.
Another great article Bear. You keep pumping them out one after the other!
Wasn’t able to see all of last night’s game, saw it up until the rain delay due to catching a fast moving flu bug.
It was so bad that I went to the Doctor , which I never do and only go for my yearly physical as I hate seeing Doctor’s. Turns out it was just a bad flu bug but they did test me for Covid since it was a Covid symptom and the test came back negative which I was thankful for. I was able to go for my daily 3 mile walk today so I was able to sweat what ever evilness entered my body out some more.
Ready for the game tonight in Dyersville Iowa between Yankees and White Sox. Have to root for the Sox though. Still can’t believe there is an actual MLB game in this small town area. I played many a game and years in the Dyersville/Dubuque Iowa are and even more in the Southwest Wisconsin and Northern Illinois area so this will be fun for me to watch tonight. I hope some of you watch as well. Wasn’t able to get any tickets though so I will be watching on TV and Mark didn’t send me any corporate tickets, just kidding, haha.
The game is not on the actual field that was filmed in the movie Field of Dreams, they actually built another field next to it with better MLB spec’s and I did read where they may even have another future MLB game there down the road.
I agree Andrew Vincent Forte about Sunday night’s game in New York and then having to fly 3 timezones across the U.S., what a joke, shook my head when I saw that.
I agree BulldogsAndPenguins about MLB role in keeping Bauer on Administrative leave. At some point make a decision, they made one in Marcelle Ozuna’s and Starlin Castro’s case. I could be wrong as it may still be up to the local authorities but some one make a decision and let’s move on.
Today’s 1PM East Coast time starting lineup:
2B Trea Turner R
3B Max Muncy L
1B A. Pujols R
LF AJ Pollock R
SS Corey Seager L
RF Chris Taylor R
CF C. Bellinger L
C A. Barnes R
P Mitch White R
And to think that Vance did all that after the age of 31! Wow!
DODGERS RECALL RHP MITCH WHITE
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled right-handed pitcher Mitch White and designated right-handed pitcher Kevin Quackenbush for assignment.
White, 25, will be recalled for the sixth time this season and make his second career start this afternoon. On the season, he is 0-0 with a 3.75 ERA (10 ER/24.0 IP) and 25 strikeouts in 15 games for the Dodgers. The former second rounder out of Santa Clara University is 1-0 with a 3.33 ERA (10 ER/27.0 IP) in 17 career MLB games. In five minor league seasons with the Dodgers, he is a combined 15-15 with a 3.84 ERA and 339 strikeouts in 83 games (72 starts).
Quackenbush, 32, appeared in one game for the Dodgers, allowing one run in 0.1 innings of work. He was 1-5 with a 0.61 ERA (2 ER/29.1 IP) with 30 strikeouts in 30 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to being called up. In his Major League career, spanning five years in San Diego (2014-2017) , Cincinnati (2018) and Los Angeles (2021), he is 13-15 with a 4.41 ERA (102 ER/208.0 IP) with 187 strikeouts. He was acquired by the Dodgers as a minor league free agent on May 5, 2021.
I am now placing all my pessimism on the Giants for the last month and a half. I’m only optimistic for the Blue crew. Belli is hitting again and Kenley hasn’t blown a save in over a week now. And Roberts is a genius- because the bullpen is performing. If only I would have started earlier! And great write up Bear. What an addition to a great group of writers- and you too Mark. Thank you guys for making this such an incredible site!
Dodgers Designate Kevin Quackenbush For Assignment
By Steve Adams | August 12, 2021 at 9:31am CDT
The Dodgers have recalled righty Mitch White from Triple-A Oklahoma City and opened a spot on the roster by designating right-hander Kevin Quackenbush for assignment, tweets Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
The Dodger Bullpen just pulled into 5th place in ERA for all of MLB… and they will go even higher.
The White Sox bullpen is 14th despite getting Hendriks and Kimbrel and having Aaron Bummer. Remember what I told you about Kimbrel?
He had a 0.49 ERA with the Cubs and moved to the South Side of Chicago where his ERA sits at 5.79! I told you so!
Where are all the geniuses who know how to build bullpens? 😉
You learn something new every day. Thanks for a great article Bear, I had no idea that “The Duke” was from Compton, CA.Duke, DiMaggio and Mays, that must have caused a lot of arguments back in the day on the streets of NY.
I hope everyone is up bright and early today with brooms in hand. The yard needs to be swept.
Don’t worry Mark, K-Bear will figure it out.
I’m really happy for Belli, he’s looking like he’s having some fun again. He even moved up a couple spots in the lineup and delivered possibly his best game of the year with his bat and with a great catch to put a cherry on top.
No Eric, Price’s OPS went down to 771 overall and is 656 in his last month or so. Take out those first two games of the season and Price is having a very nice year.
I think Mark is onto something with all the soft tissue injuries this year. I can’t see how having a short season last year would be the culprit. It must be something else.
Damn, I’m rooting for Albert to keep moving up that all time homers list. He just barely missed one last night, but C’mon man, you got to do better than a single! Albert has made a grip of cash over his career. I hope he just wants to come back to the Dodgers next year in the same role on the cheap. Just 24 more! Can he get there? Maybe he should try the JT diet.
I’m expecting White to get the call up today. One of these days it’s going to click for him. He has the tools to be a solid starting pitcher.
Pollock is possibly the best pure hitter on the team right now. He’s doing it all with the bat and his numbers are remarkable similar to Mookie Betts. People still want to trade him?
Just three and a half hours until game time!
Just read where ESPN has changed the Dodger/Met game to a Sunday night game at 7PM East Coast time and after the game,the Dodgers have to fly back to California and face the Pirates on Monday night with no off day. Another stupid blunder in scheduling by MLB and ESPN in changing the time. It’s all about the f’n money and not about the players.When they have to fly coast to coast, there should be a day off.
Great information Bear. Kershaw a definite first ballot HOF er but not unanimous due to some bumps in the road in the playoffs and World Series with some biased writers. Hopefully Mitchell White can give us some quality innings and not have to tax the bullpen going into New York this weekend for this early East coast start time of 1PM.
Poor Kaybear is hitting .136 at Rochester. He wanted to be a Dodger so bad. He will get over this bump in the road.
Cody’s shoulder is getting stronger:
Corey Knebel says he is “full go.”
Man-o-man, Bear – that took some work! Great Job!
We have the Unofficial Dodger Historian here: Bear (Michael). With all due respect to Mark Langill…
We have the Official Dodgers Minor League Guru here: DC
We have the official Dodger Laureate here: AC (Jeff)
We have the Albert Pujols of Pinch-Hit Blogging in 2Demeter2 (Rob)
… and then you have me… Ouch!
BTW, that picture of Clayton with my son was taken in Clayton’s Rookie Year. Stephen (now it’s Steve) is now 22. Clayton gave him a signed ball and soon I plan to see if I can get a picture of them again.