I don’t understand why it happens, but every time the Dodgers go on some kind of losing streak, the novice Dodger fans come out of the woodwork and proudly announce that Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts are the problems, and they proceed to solve all the problems by getting rid of players such as Muncy, Taylor, Peralta, Heyward, and others. It’s actually comical to see how little many of them are connected to reality. It reminds me very much of the song Fruitcakes by Jimmy Buffett.
That’s going to become my “go-to.” You are officially no longer morons or idiots. You are hereby designated Friutcakes. There’s a little bit of fruitcake in every one of us. Every year this happens and every year Andrew Friedman just shuts the naysayers’ mouths. This year is somewhat different because I cannot recall a season when so many Dodger hitter have rebuilt their swings or they are in the process of doing so. How many are there? Let’s count them:
- JD Martinez – He was injured last season and had to alter his swing to compensate for his elbow. He did not produce his normal power numbers, so he overhauled his swing… and is still in the process, The latest results look good. He has generally been a 1.000+ OPS guy. I’m happy with .900.
- David Peralta – David had 12 HR when he was traded from Arizona to Tampa Bay. He injured his back and did not hit another one, although he did hit 30 doubles. He had back surgery and is now healthy. He had his best season in Arizona when Robert Van Socyoc was with Arizona. That’s part of the reason he signed with the Dodgers. I think David will be a weapon against RHP.
- Max Muncy – His two HRs are a step in the right direction. I am very confident in Max as he puts his elbow injury in the rearview mirror. His defense is already getting better away from the Dodger Stadium grass. Max is a Giant Killer – he now has 23 HR against them
- Chris Taylor – CT3 is another player that had surgery on his elbow, and some of his sub-par performances can be traced to that. Chris has one of the more complicated swings, and while I am hopeful, I am not confident that he will rebound. However, I hope he does!
- Jason Heyward – The Dodgers totally overhauled his swing, and it is still a work in progress as they are bringing him on slowly. I am hopeful…
- Trayce Thompson – Three home runs in his opening game? That’s insane. His swing is not getting totally overhauled, but they are tweaking it so that he can be more successful against LHP.
That’s a lot of rebuilding swings. These guys won’t get forever, but they will get into May to get it worked out. I hope they all do, but it is unlikely. Mookie hasn’t had his swing overhauled, but he is also getting hot. When he is hot, the Dodgers win. Mookie is a huge catalyst for the team which is why I would love to see him hit .300 instead of .269… even if he had a slight dip in HR. In my opinion, he’s not a superstar, especially of you compare him to his own self in 2018, but he is damn good.
Lots of good happened last night and maybe yesterday was rock bottom – I ho[e it was. This is a different team than last year, but it is full of promise and there are a ton of rookies to look to. There is a lot of swing and miss, but when one guy goes hitless (JDM), the next guy is supposed to pick him up (Max).
Rants & Raves
- Instant Karma is great – I love it.
- I predict that you all are going to love David Peralta as much as his teammates do. Watch and see.
- Hopefully, Alex Vesdia learned something last night, and then Almonte and Jackson were nails.
- All of the Fruitcakes that showed up yesterday to blast the Dodgers will go back into their holes and wait for the next hiccup.
- Freddie Freeman has only 2 RBI, with an OPS of 1.081. How does that happen?
- Ryan Pepiot and his oblique strain sounds like he could be out a long time.
- Jimmy Nelson is allegedly close to a rehab assignment.
- Tony Gonsolin sounds like a May or even June return. I think they want to keep him fresh at the end of the season.
- It also sounds like Daniel Hudson will return in May. All of this bodes well.
- I read that some fans think Mike Grove’s value has declined. NOT TRUE! He is Ross Stripling. He is off to a rough start, but he has good stuff and is willing to take the ball whenever and wherever you ask him. I see a lot of Chicken Strip in him. Ultimately, he ends up in the bullpen.
- I don’t want to make too much of this, but Character Counts and I challenge anyone to name a “bad actor” on this 2023 Dodger team. There are some outstanding human beings on this team – highly respected and made of great stock.
- Miguel Rojas is still the Dodger’s starting SS, but CT3 will fill in (and he did a great job while Rojas was injured). I had suggested last winter that he was a better SS than Lux and I still believe it. CT3 will play LF against LHP as well.
- Jason Heyward is a worthy Right Fielder in place of Mookie.
- Trayce Thompson may be the odd man out.
Discussion (25)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I wouldn’t move him up because I wouldn’t want to put more pressure on him than he already has. He’ll get there in good time.
Farhan’s Former Dodgers Club played well, with Wood outpitching May and Joc getting a big hit. The current Dodgers were led toward futility by Freddie’s uncharacteristic 0-for5 day with 3Ks, and Taylor’s too-characteristic 3 Ks in 3 ABs.
Can we blame Roberts for this one? I’ll take a stab.
Why sit the suddenly hot Max in favor of Taylor? So what if a lefty is pitching. Max the Giant Killer should stay in the lineup after a 3-hit, 2HR, 7 RBI performance. If Max has some ailment I don’t know about, well OK. But he did come in late as a pinch hitter. In a game like this, one AB can make all the difference.
Mookie’s critics will not that he didn’t get any hits–but ignore the fact he walked 3 times in front of Freddie. Odds are, Freddie would cash him in at least once. Oh well. Freddie left 5 runners on base, and Taylor left six.
The good news is that Outman continues to prove he belongs. Zero hits, but he collected another walk and did not strike out. His BB/K ratio is decent. Plus, he imitated Mookie by recording an outfield assist.
Take a look at that lineup.
Perhaps Roberts should tinker around the edges. Why not move Outman up?
Mookie
Freddie
Smith
Max
JDM
Outman
Vargas
Heyward/Peralta/Trayce
Rojas/Taylor
Headline: DODGERS DESERT MAY
Leave 8 RISP in loss to Creamsicles.
Joke wuestion: if Taylor doesn’t want to go an a DL stint, what can the Dodgers do?
BTW, we just saw how to handle a bloop hit to RF when you are on 1B courtesy of JDM. Textbook!
Doesn’t look like Dustin is throwing a complete game tonight!
“None of this matters. All of it counts.”
From the Athletic today, scribes describing the effort to get a good take on April games.
I’ve not heard enough of Mendoza, but in the brief snippets that I do hear, I don’t have too much of problem with her analysis. I’ll give a lot of credit to a female who can be an effective color commentator without the advantage of being around baseball her entire life or being in the boy’s club. Both she and Alanna Rizzo became competent – and respected – by being smart and putting in the effort to learn their craft.
Tampa Bay already 10-0 with a 58 run differential, and now leading the Sox 7-1 in the 9th. Are they actually for real? I think their top three starters are legit very good, McClanahan a budding ace, and Wander Franco is living up to all the hype he had as the consensus top prospect in baseball a couple of years ago. Maybe Arozarenna has now learned how to hit curveballs, because when he exploded on the scene in the playoffs in 2020, he was destroying every fastball that came his way. …. but I can’t describe them as “a pretty good team.” That’s just too much!
Holy smokes, Muncy needs a rest. Two bombs and 7 RBI, you get one.
I’d rather listen to Jessica’s laugh than Orel’s BBQ tips and all the non baseball malarkey that him and Joe clog the airway with. They don’t need to talk all the time.
Quite please occasionally .
I don’t mind the laugh, not a bit.
I would like to her Joe go solo.
Add me to the list of “no’s” on Mendoza. As Badger pointed out, she absolutely knows her stuff, but there comes a limit as to how much info you can spew between each pitch. I feel like I should bring a pad and pen to the telecast so I can take notes.
Not only that, this is the first time I’ve heard a play-by-play guy have to interrupt his color person to tell us what is happening in the game.
Monday has a great broadcast voice, but he’s another professor on the broadcasts. Bring a pad. There will be a test at the end of the 9th.
Nomar is my first choice. Has the perfect low-key approach and knowledge to meld with Joe.
Obviously each of us has our own opinion on this. I know you were all dying to hear mine.
9:45 PM ET
Dodgers (6-5)
Giants (4-6)
SP Dustin May R
1-0 .69 ERA 13IP 9K
SP Alex Wood L
0-0 3.00 ERA 3IP 3K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
DH J. Martinez R
CF T. Thompson R
2B M. Vargas R
3B Chris Taylor R
LF James Outman L
SS Miguel Rojas R
Clear-day
0% rain
57° Wind 23 mph Out
Mark wrote: “ I challenge anyone to name a “bad actor” on this 2023 Dodger team.”
100%!
This is why I didn’t blink an eye when we let Machado walk. As good as he is, he lacks character. Or at least did at the time.
I’ve said many times, AF learned this the hard way. Coming from cash strapped Tampa, he went on a massive spending spree in the international market when he came to the Dodgers. Lit fire to over $100m and got absolutely nothing for it.
Why? Because they were all head cases. One we paid $60m upfront for a 30 year old only to trade him to Atlanta for Matt Kemp. That was just before he beat his wife and hasn’t played in a pro game (anywhere) since. Another we dropped $30m (good ole Yadier) including penalties. After he was promoted to AA, I was told by a buddy who worked for the Quakes at the time that he was totally un-coachable. He didn’t think he should have to show up to the ballpark any day he wasn’t starting.
Expensive lessons. The last few years it’s been obvious that AF places a great deal of value in character. It’s an intangible that only those in the clubhouse will really get to see, so as fans we are often in the dark as to why some decisions are made. But I know this is a much larger factor in how AF constructs a roster than most fans realize.
Good piece in the Athletic about Muncy’s game last night. Before yesterday his ABs were torturous to watch. Apparently they were equally as torturous for him. A lot of this is in his head. Which explains the “lost” look on his face so many times this season. Also goes back to explain the change in his mechanics last year that he needed to compensate for his arm injury in 2021.
The only good thing about a problem being in a players head is that it can resolve itself a lot quicker than a physical injury. Hopefully last night was just the medicine he needed.
https://theathletic.com/4400283/2023/04/11/dodgers-max-muncy-career-night/?source=user_shared_article
Last night I had to shut the voice off on the Dodger broadcast against SF. Can’t stand Jessica Mendoza’s annoying laugh after every other sentence that comes out of her mouth. I hope there are other commenters that will be assigned to work with Joe Davis during the season. Love the pitch clock and the shorter games especially when the Dodgers play on the West coast and being from the East coast.
Good morning. We beat SF and shut up those exceedingly annoying Beat LA chants. Top of the lineup did what they are supposed to do, generate runs. The bottom of the lineup looked like the Black hole of Calcutta. I would like to see more consistency up and down the lineup. Outman has three triples already. Kid could be the first Dodger in many years to have double figures in triples. Kudos to Vesia and Almonte for shutting down the Giants with three on the bases. Jackson’s afro reminds me of Oscar Gamble. It is a miracle he can get his cap on.
* I’m lacking a channel to watch Dodger baseball until I leave Arizona next week. I decided to not start an MLB package here, as I’m not around much longer. So, I didn’t see the game last night. Sorry I missed Max having a day.
I am watching the D-Backs and they shut out the Brewers last night. They are playing great and have embraced the running game. For now, they are no longer pushovers.
* I mentioned yesterday that I’m opposed to parting with big money this season to acquire players out of desperation. AF won’t do it anyway but many here certainly would. A big reason is our first priority is to sign Julio and it’s going to take 300 million as Mark says. I’m not interested in the Willie Addames or Bryan Reynolds of the world while we have talent that needs opportunities in our own organization and the money needs to go to Urias.
Signing Urias is a huge priority.
* I was the only guy who lamented giving up Jacob Amaya as I love his actions at SS. I had hoped he would hit. I just checked and he’s hitting a buck sixty in AAA for Miami.
* I have a nightmare last night the bradley took over for AF as GM.
I just checked in with Dodger East (Red Sox):
Alex Verdugo – .325
Justin Turner -.189
Conner Wong – .130
Kike Hedrnandez – 0.97
Chris Martin 0-1 1.50 ERA
Kenley Jansen – 1.67 ERA 2-2 in Saves
JT is getting $24 Mil over 2 Years – I predict this ends badly.
Taking my oldest grandson to Baltimore in July to watch dodgers. Hopefully Clayton will pitch in that series since he’s our favorite ! Haven’t seen tonight’s lineup, but assume it’s safe to say Muncy won’t start! Dustin tonight and Kershaw tomorrow, which means Barnes behind the dish! Let’s trash talk Barnes until he hits 3 bombs! Not sure trace will last through trade deadline, hate it because he seems like a super nice guy who is really good defensively. Go blue!
Muncy had a great game. But it was just ONE game. Trayce Thompson had an even better game this season already if you catch my drift.
Nice win but again we already seen this before . Score a lot of runs with Julio pitching like Cy Young.
Lets see where we are at the end of the week.
Good to see Vesia, Almonte and Jackson rebound from their poor performances last time out. W.e need our BP to be a strength
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
There is a great article in The Athletic today on the Yankees base-stealing prowess. Andrew Friedman may want to hurry up and try this. The Dodgers now need to get a base-stealing instructor.
https://theathletic.com/4399845/2023/04/11/the-pulse-yankees-steals/
I think the Yankees are onto something.
Also, here is a great piece on what has been ailing Max Muncy:
https://theathletic.com/4400283/2023/04/11/dodgers-max-muncy-career-night/
Interesting you highlighted those particular players Mark. On a night when the top of the order was 9-17, scoring enough to runs to beat the giants 3 times, the rest of that lineup looked like they were hitting against Bob Feller. That would include Martinez, Heyward, Peralta and Taylor who were 0 for 12 with 7 Ks. Yeah, altered swings. Squirrels all. They’ll run into one now and then. In the meantime, thank goodness we have Betts, Freeman, Smith and…. who’s that #4 hitter again?
Strange game. The top of the order was playing softball. The bottom was swinging iron bats. Oh, and Urias. He doesn’t pitch again until the weekend. Stand by. We may need to keep scoring like Mark’s Water Boys, an Indianapolis slow pitch softball team.
Julio Urias is a freaking stud. He was the main reason, in my opinion, that we were able to win the World Series thanks to his unbelievable bullpen finishes against both Atlanta and Tampa. I hope we do not let this guy walk…..straight to San Diego or San Francisco for sure.
Funny could have sworn I read this exact post yesterday….and the day before that…..
Andre Jacksons stuff looked great, if he can channel that he is going to be a major piece.
All of Max hits were to the left, left-center side, that’s a great sign.
Win today….
Urias CY, Dodger for life….