Freak Show!
Move On, There s Nothing to See Here! Hyun-jin Ryu gave us 7 runs, EARNED RUNS! in 4 innings pitched. That s all you need to know. When the best pitcher in baseball gives up runs like Donald Trump gives up insults, you know that something is amiss. The thing that is amiss is that batter enhancing, pitcher killing Coors Field. That s why I say to never sign a player who has
Move On, There’s Nothing to See Here!
Hyun-jin Ryu gave us 7 runs, EARNED RUNS! …in 4 innings pitched. That’s all you need to know. When the best pitcher in baseball gives up runs like Donald Trump gives up insults, you know that something is amiss. The thing that is amiss is that batter enhancing, pitcher killing Coors Field.
That’s why I say to never sign a player who has played most of his career at Coors. Their stats will be greatly inflated. Of course, there are exceptions. DJLM comes to mind, but Yankee Stadium is also a hitters park. The Dodgers pitching staff which had the best ERA in baseball at a little over 3.20 a game has averaged giving up 11 a game at Coors! That’s what Coors does. It destroys a pitchers stuff… and confidence and makes every hitter think they are Babe Ruth.
I am convinced that the Rockies have the biggest home field advantage of any team in baseball because their hitters have figured out how to maximize the altitude. The fielders have discovered how to best play the outfield to their advantage and the pitchers who pitch half their games their have discovered the Holy Grail of “survival.”
It’s a freak show. It’s not a baseball stadium – it’s a launching pad! It’s a freaking joke, is what it is! The best pitcher in baseball who has a career ERA of 2.42 , has a career 4.57 ERA at Coors Field and he goes today. He has a 10-4 record there so, he’s probably the Dodgers best hope for a series split.
What I worry about it the “Coors Factor” getting into a players head and the “carryover effect” to their next game(s). It’s a good thing cannabis is legal there because the team needs to go out and smoke ’em if they got ’em! To blazes with that Drug Policy. If it’s legal, why not? “You can’t suspend me. I only smoke in Colorado, California and Illinois, Mr. Commissioner – it’s legal there!” Yeah, that will work!
Rants and Raves
- Joc is an inch better at 1B. You have to look close to see the improvement… very close! He ain’t going back to LF… at least right now.
- Floro, Kelly and Ryu were all beat like Rented Mules but Buttercup and Shaggy looked like studs – Go Figure!
- After two game is AAA, Gavin Lux is OPS’ing 1.524 – I think he’s adapting! This Farm System is chock full of players! Will Smith has shown he is a worthy choice as are Garlick and Beaty.
- Stick a fork in Brock Stewart – he’s done! Well done… as in toast! 7 more ER last night!
- There is no way AF will trade Kaybear for Vasquez! The Pirates will have to take a different package.
Water for Cannabis from US Water Systems on Vimeo.
MT’s Minor League Lowdown
This is going to be quick:
- DSL Dodgers Bautista lost 5-3 and Luis Yan went 2-4, which was exactly half their hits.
- DSL Dodger Shoemaker won 9-8 as Hector Martinez, Luis Izturis and Julio Enrique all had 2 hits. Izturis hit his 3rd HR.
- AZL Dodgers Mota lost 10-3, but Romer Cuadrado and Alex DeJesus both had two hits. Cartaya too the collar.
- The Ogden Raptors won 8-4 as Andy Pages hit his 3rd HR. Yurchak, Littell, and Vranesh all had 2 hits. Alfredo Tavarez went 4.1 innings and allowed 1 earned run. Melvin Jiminez pitched 2.2 innings and allowed ZERO hits and 3 runs while striking out 7 and walking 2. He included a wild pitch, but to allow 3 runs on no hits is quite the accomplishment.
- The Great Lakes Loons lost 8-7, as Feduccia and McClain had 2 hits and Matt Cogen had 3. Most of the Loons pitchers were roughed up, including Ortiz, Willeman, and Zuniga.
- Rancho Cucamonga won 5-2 as Andre Jackson pitched 5.1 sting innings (3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K’s). Jeter Downs drove in his 50th run with his 13th Big Fly. Deacon Liput finally hist his first home run.
- The Tulsa Drillers won 2-1 as Ruiz was 1-2 with 2 BB and an RBI. Edwin Uceta went six terrific innings and gave up 3 hits and 1 ER as he struck out 8. Sheffield struck out the side in the 9th for his 4th save. His ERA sits at 0.61. I’m thinking that he might just bypass AAA. The PCL is dangerous for some pitchers.
- OKC lost 9-7 (what else is new?). What is old is Brock getting beat like a rented mule. What is new is Gavin Lux hitting leadoff (1-2 with 2 runs scored and 2 BB) and DJ Peters hitting cleanup (3-5 with 3 RBI). Joe hit a 2-run HR.
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Discussion (89)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Call me crazy, but don’t call me late for dinner… I still think of a middle defense of Barnes, Dozier, Seager and AJ Pollock (now maybe Verdugo)… Oh well, ours is not to wonder why…
This spin the wheel IF is driving me crazy…
Although I now see glimpses of Eddie Murray in Joc… It could be my U.S. Water system used on my cannabis indica plants…
P.S. 5 will get you 10 I get a comments closed..
And the championship you don’t win!
Watching Ruiz being an offensive force for 10 years for another team will be painful after enjoying Vasquez for the next 3+ years. The Pirates are weak throughout their system at the catcher position. It’s a win win trade but maybe it should be expanded to include other players.
Catcher Bill Sudakis played third base a few times as has Russell Martin.
Regie Smith and Pedro Guerrero played third base although they were right fielders.
Bill Russell converted to short stop in the major leagues with prior experience only in the outfield.
Davey Lopes converted to second base from the outfield.
Barnes and Will Smith play infield and catcher.
The Dodgers have a history of converting players to new positions. This is who the Dodgers are. Watching it is part of being a Dodger fan, like it or not.
Pederson is doing better than anyone of us could have expected and we could agree that his play at first is a pleasant surprise or just concentrate on the plays his lack of experience have shown that he isn’t yet a good first baseman. He is better than Murphy and probably better than Cecil Fielder was.
There is only one truth, which is that there is no such thing as a sure thing, and that everything is unknown. Including Ruiz in a Vasquez deal would be a calculated gamble. It could backfire, or it could bring a championship to LA.
What’s not unknown is Floro, Alexander, Ferguson, Garcia, Kelly…… Sign Vazquez or wait till 2020!
All I want is for the Dodgers to be at peak performance come playoff time.
I don’t know whether or not the Dodgers should include Ruiz in a deal for Felipe Vasquez, but I tend to think they should if that’s what’s necessary. I’ve never seen Ruiz, but I have seen Vasquez. I also take into consideration that the Dodgers have a bunch of young promising catchers, and that Vasquez, although not a sure thing, is an extremely dominant lefthander, and the perfect complement to Kenley Jansen. And he has a friendly long term contract.
There is plenty of blame to go around. The 18 straight game stretch is almost over, they went 9-2 on the home part but lost Hill and have been 2-4 on the road part since and have not played well. Call it what you want but they get through tomorrow’s game, get a needed day off, come home for 6 against the Snakes and Pads then the All Star break-when help will come from AJ, Freese, Cory and Alex. That’s what they are doing, taking a look at different guys, resting the weary and injured and seeing what the rotation will look like and also deadline deals. They are not concerned about a game here and there in June with a big lead and it shows sometimes.
Why haven’t the Dodgers brought up Lux? Could it be that they know more than any of us? Maybe they would like him to get some experience at AAA before exposing him to big league pitching.
Joc at 1B makes perfect sense to me. If he doesn’t begin to show progress, the Dodgers will end the experiment without hesitation. But it’s going to take a lot more reps at 1B before the Dodgers reach any definitive conclusions. Joc could turn out to be a bust at 1B, or the light could suddenly go on when we least expect it.
As for the Dodgers looking horrible these last couple of games, I think it’s more than a bit early to start worrying. The Dodgers will not go undefeated the rest of the way, so we can expect an occasional bump in the road.
Let’s see how many ways we can blame Joc for this loss.
Now that RVS has solved the CT3 offensive funk can he work double time on Keekay and Barnes? Their AB’s are a blackhole in the line-up. I look forward to after the break seeing Seager at SS, CT3 at 2B, Muncy at 1B and AJ and Joc with the LF platoon.
Would also like to see Smith as the everyday catcher.
Lest fans forget, it has been Joc in a LF platoon that has gotten us to the WS the past 2 years and will probably continue for a third season. No way are they going to trade a guy who will hit 30HR’s or sit him. Get used to it. Power is the Dodgers’ game. Joc is a Dodger. It is Pollock who needs to prove himself to this team, at this point. Verdugo and Belli are locks in the OF. Muncy back to 1B and either they find a full time 2Baseman, or it’s Kike and Taylor. Nothing else makes sense. Muncy plays an adequate 1B, better than anywhere else! The FO or Doc are weakening this team by trying to plug minor leaguers into the 1B position or someone like Joc who just doesn’t fit there. A much better solution to Corey’s absence would have been bringing up Lux or Castro to fill in while Corey heals. Taylor could have moved to 2B and Kike platooning with Joc and Taylor. Why shake up a perfectly good team with a major infield shift that has done nothing to shore up the defense. Very bad decision making on Doc and the FO.
The wrong park to give teams extra outs.
What are you doing Belli, why are you throwing the ball? Rios’ first hit and you do not want him to have his ball !!
Nice play by Joc in LF.
Pollock is no longer good at CF, his negative DWAR proves it, and he will never be good at CF, in no way can he play on Verdugo and in no way should he play on Pederson that possibly ends with 35 + HR, now as the it is already here, they will have to find a place for him and it is in LF in platoon with Joc. Maybe in October Pollock can be very useful, but it really is not necessary. Pollock is a good player, but the number of years of his contract is absurd.
Bottom of the 7th
17-12 NYY
Are they playing at Coors Field?
As it stands right i now f we were lucky to make to the World Series against the Yankees, we are over matched with our lineup vs theirs, their bullpen vs ours,and the left hand pitching they have vs our lineup. As we all know Kershaw stinks in the World Series. Mr Friedman,acquire Wheeler from the Mets and Vasquez from the Pirates or we will go home empty handed in the Fall. You have the assets,players in the minors and the money to get it done. Don’t let us down.
OK, get prepared for the trip. Study this:
There will be a test later!
I will take good old fashioned fish and chips with malt vinegar of course and lots of serviettes eh?
Watford – very generous of you to offer to put us all up in 2020. I took a quick count and so far there are 37 confirmed, 22 maybe, and of course that number will probably get larger by 2020.
I assume your offer also includes a hearty English breakfast? 🙂
Watford – Try reddit.com and follow cues..
How about this, boys and girls:
Edwin Rios, Mitch White, Scott Alexander, JT Chargois, Gerardo Carrillo, and Joc Pederson to the White Sox for Jose Abreu, Aaron Bummer and Alex Colome.
Colome and Bummer add depth and strength to the pen.
Lineup:
1. Verdugo CF
2. Seager SS
3. Turner 3B
4. Bellinger RF
5. Abreu 1B
6. Muncy 2B
7. Pollock LF
8. Whoever (it doesn’t matter) C
AC….you are correct as usual. Blaming the park for the loss and runs made it more palatible for me. Just an emotional response although I still do not like the park and hope we do not have to play there for a while. As far as the infielders and Joc in particular goes, I was in my demented state, blaming the balls they give us to play with, not the players. Oh well, today is a new day.
Go Blue. DBM
Mom, we must laugh occasionally at MT’s expense… For instance Joc P. is his cuddly bear like Rudolf Nereyev Grandal… By August JP will be in the top 3 defensive 1B and by 2020 possibly a 5th. face at Mt. Rushmore…