The Dodgers’ Rotation is going to look something like this starting today, as Shohei Ohtani and Ben Casparius join the rotation with Emmet Sheehan right behind them.
- Yamamoto
- Ohtani
- Sheehan
- May
- Kershaw
- Casparius
The immediate effect is that this is going to tax the bullpen even more, as Ohtani, Casparius, and Sheehan are in no way “built up.” However, it is a necessary step. Wrobleski, Dreyer, Sauer, Banda, and others will be taxed in the short term. They may even work in Little, Miller, and others. Roki Sasaki is shut down, and it’s unclear whether we will see him later this year. The move to the six-man rotation was necessary for Yamamoto, who is much more effective with extra rest, and Ohtani, but it may help every starter go an extra inning or two. This we shall see.
Shohei Ohtani will allegedly open tonight. It would be great if he could go two or three innings, but anything over one inning is a plus. I would think that following him with Wrobleski would be a good plan, but what do I know? It’s going to be fun to see. Remember, MLB now has the “Ohtani Rule: “If Ohtani starts the game as both pitcher and DH, and then is removed as a pitcher, he can stay in the game as the DH without the team losing the DH spot.“
So, Ohtani will start the game as the DH and Pitcher, and when he comes out of the game as a pitcher, he will still be the DH. Very cool! This is what we have all been waiting for, and the Dodgers just got a whole lot stronger.
The Rafael Devers Debacle
I am not going to beat this dead horse very long, but I feel the same way about Rafael Devers that I did about Manny Ramirez. They are both supremely talented superstar hitters who are selfish, bad human beings. Manny beat up a 60+ year old team employee and was despised by many of his teammates. Rafael Devers is a highly productive, homegrown slugger who was signed through 2033, and the Red Sox traded him because they felt they were better without him. It’s called addition by subtraction.
Now, it is possible that he changes his stripes and becomes an unselfish teammate, but it is highly unlikely. In my experience, people like this do not change. Maybe he will… but my guess is that he will mess up the Giants team chemistry after an initial honeymoon period. Here’s what I said about Manny: “I would rather lose without him than win with him!” I feel the same way about Devers, and I am glad he is a Giant!
Discussion (41)
Disagree, not disagreeable
When I see Pages, I think this is how Miguel Vargas was supposed to develop, and it looks like if not this season, then next season it could be Vargas’ season!
Love seeing Pages thrive. I always hoped he was a mature Puig, which, with Teos’s guidance, he has blossomed. Sadly, Puig was victim to MLBs quick trigger just like Bauer’s, and banned from baseball without being convicted. If Vinny is watching, he is still rooting for his wild horse.
Just like they did by changing the AS game from Atlanta to Denver, MLB stuck their nose into politics, but let the Astros off without punishment for the trash can cheating scandal. MLB should stay out of it and so should Kiki and the Dodgers. Players get paid to play baseball, fans pay their salaries to enjoy the game. For those three precious hours we should not have to think of the world’s troubles and politics of the day.
Ohtani did ok for the first inning in two years hitting 100. Impressive start. And I wrote off. Kershaw 2 years ago and thankfully, he is proving me wrong. May he have a few more great years. He will know when it is time to hang em up.
Ohtoni got screwed by the ump on the check swing to Machado and should have been the second out in the inning. Very impressed with the velocity and 2 strikes on every hitter he faced. Have to remember he hasn’t been on the mound since 2023 and the rust showed. His ability and intensity will be fine as the season goes along. Nedd him to be ready at full strength and healthy for October baseball. He has ACE written all over him.
Solid win against our current rivals and biggest threat.
Ohtani wasn’t great on the mound. But he was on the mound. Hopefully he’ll feel fine and be back out there for a couple of innings soon.
Yates and Scott continue to be solid. Arm barn looks a lot better with Yates and Kopech in it.
Would have liked to have gotten more than 11 outs out of Casparius. Just 15 batters faced and 62 pitches.
Oh well
10 more to go
This is what I said before the series for the pitching plan
16: Ohtani & Sauer
17: Casparius
18: Sheehan
19: Yamamoto
20: Kershaw
21: May
22: Ohtani & Sauer
23: OFF
Casparius going today changes that
Sheehan tomorrow? Sauer? Wrobleski?
Woohoo – MVPages and Ohtani
Ok. Control off, but all soft contact. A better throw gets Tatis
Ok
Not the amazing start we all wanted, but another step in the process.
A leadoff homer would be nice
Maybe Pages hit 116
Dude can throw
You can see that he absolutely loves to pitch!
100
99
I expected Ohtani to throw 116 MPH – Only 98. I am so disappointed! 😉
Go Dodgers!!!
Mark–I was hoping you could delete all these ‘off topic’ posts, including yours, and lets move on.
Go Dodgers!!! Looking forward to tonight’s game
Some ex Poster turns up posting under a new moniker, with an agenda, and immediately takes knows how to press various buttons (Politics) because he’s seen this story before. Mark gets involved , just as was the plan all along, and by tomorrow morning the LADT Closed sign will be up once again.
Facing Ohtani (et al)
RF Tatis jr
1B Arraez
3B Machado
LF Sheets
SS Bogaerts
2B Cronenworth
DH Brooks
CF Wade
C Maldonado
Not sure what to expect in this game
Hoping, first, Ohtani comes out healthy.
How much he might pitch? Little idea. An inning? Two? Three? I’d guess that’s about the limit
Who’s backing him up? Casparius? Then who goes tomorrow?
10:10 PM ET
Padres (39-31)
Dodgers (43-29)
SP Dylan Cease R
2-5 4.28 ERA
SP Shohei OhtonI
0-0 0.00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
CF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
2B Tommy Edman S
75° Wind 11 mph Out
So, long day of work….time to chill…what’s going on here at ol’ LADT water cooler today?
**scrolls up**
Oh…
Well, we had good run…
Devers now a Giant….LAD trollin’ SDP with an Ohtani start where he’ll presumably face Tatis Jr., Arreaz, Machado….big game 5 tonight in the 2025 NBA Finals proudly brought to you by The Paul George Foundation….
And don’t let this social and political dissension take away from the fact that The Who is at the Hollywood Bowl in September, and fuck it, I’m there!
Peace, brothers…
Friends, please accept my apology for starting this thread. It was a mistake. Thanks for your patience Mark, and thanks for asking for the ceasefire. Let’s all pull for otahni tonight and at least for a time forget the sad political divide in our great nation. CBeisbol, if you ever find yourself in Clemson SC, please let me know. I would love to buy you lunch. I’ll bet we find more common ground than you expect.
I am going to say this one time, and then we are going to stop talking about it:
I am a fan of Kike Hernandnez but not as a pitcher. He should never pitch again, and he is even worse at politics.
He is best suited to stick with baseball, and I am going to tell you why.
This past weekend, there were protests across the country, largely funded by left-wing organizations called “No Kings.” This protest is based upon Trump allegedly being the Deporter in Chief, which is one of the main things that he ran on when he was running for election. So, of course, he is going to deport people. All of a sudden, the Left is up in arms that these people are not getting due process. This is very disingenuous. Why?
Let me set the stage: Before Trump became President, whoever was running the country (and don’t say “Biden” or we will all know you are a fool), allowed somewhere between Nine and Twelve Million Illegal Immigrants into the country. ILLEGALLY!
As of this moment, Trump has deported less than 200,000. In the eight years that Barack Obama was President, the total removals from the country were 5.7 million. FIVE POINT SEVEN FREAKING MILLION!
My wife is an immigrant. I know lots of immigrants, and they all came in the right way. We have many immigrants who work for us, but I will not hire illegals. During Trump’s first term, they posted pictures of kids in cages, and it turned out those photos were taken under Obama’s watch.
I voted for Trump because I couldn’t vote for either “empty suit” that ran on the other ticket. I don’t agree with him on everything, but this immigration stuff is so disingenuous. Obama was the Deporter in Chief, and Trump can’t hold a candle to him. Where was the outrage then? The inflammatory rhetoric has to stop – I will not tolerate gaslighting! Now back to Dodger Baseball, and this is not a No Kings Site. I am the King!
Now let’s stop the politics.
let’s stick with baseball before Mark takes this wonderful place to be a dodger fan and contributor away from us! it’s his world, he just lets us borrow it everyday!
“I consider not standing for the anthem as a slap in the face to everyone who died ”
So?
“Retired Army Green Beret Nate Boyer is the man who first convinced Colin Kaepernick to kneel during the national anthem. ”
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/09/646115651/the-veteran-and-nfl-player-who-advised-kaepernick-to-take-a-knee
I also think there is nothing wrong with keeping political posts off this site. There are plenty of other pla ces to post your thoughts. I subscribe to a financial site where the moderator typically deletes posts ‘off topic’
God i hate politics!! i don’t give a sh-t about what a celebrity, an athlete, especially a politician thinks about anything anymore! i don’t turn right. i don’t turn left. i drive in the middle lane of life. i try to respect everyone else’s opinions though i might not agree with them. this is a place for supporting the Los Angeles Dodgers. not windbag politicians. My 2 cents on that crap. … And by the way. owners and GM’S have been known to acquire players to keep other teams from getting them. Sure some like AF. make moves to “up” other teams moves. George Steinbrenner acquired jose canseco so no one else could! didn’t work so good, but it did happen! …. Hopefully we can all enjoy a dodger victory tonight! should be interesting!
“Why should someone who is in the spotlight have more reason to voice an opinion than anyone else?”
Because people pay attention to them
No one cares what you (or I) say.
“shoot their mouth off”
Your bias is noted.
“so-called peaceful BS”
Your bias is noted
“Those clowns for the most part were not even born there.”
What are you talking about?
“If Kike wore a MAGA hat, you’d be appalled and you’d despise him and try to have him canceled. Be honest … if you can.”
LOL. Completely unhinged.
Do you think I despise Kershaw and am trying to have him cancelled because of what he wrote on his hat? How about Blake Treinen?
Or are you just making things up?
“If I said what I really thought, it would doubtless provoke a near violent reaction from you and people like you,”
Absolutely unhinged.
“for you, politics transcends everything. It is a religious crusade.”
Absolutely unhinged
CBeisbol, thanks for your thoughtful comments on the Kike question. Keep in mind, I was not saying Kike should not be allowed to comment, just that I wish he would not. Part of my reasoning is for his sake as I believe 50% of the population will now judge him negatively and probably write him off from this point forward. This is unfortunate as he is obviously a man of great joy and effervescence. This mentality has been nurtured in large part by partisan media on both sides that encourage us to jump to conclusions and make assumptions about anyone with a political viewpoint outside of their litmus test norm. I submit that we actually agree on far more than we disagree on. I seriously doubt, for example, that CBeisbol would be against arresting a rapist just because he also happens to be an immigrant. Conversely, I would not be in favor of putting someone in prison just because they were an immigrant. Perhaps hidden inside my pinstripe suit is an inner 1960’s hippie, but a little more love and a bit less judgement could do wonders for our country right about now. A beautiful summer of baseball and a Clayton Kershaw 12 to 6 curveball won’t hurt either.
“The Dodgers’ Rotation is going to look something like this starting today”
In order as best as I can tell.
16: Ohtani & Sauer
17: Casparius
18: Sheehan
19: Yamamoto
20: Kershaw
21: May
22: Ohtani & Sauer
23: OFF
That gives everyone 5 off days since their last appearance .
Wrobleski could go on 4 days to piggy back Sheehan.
They will need to take someone off the roster to add Sheehan.
PCA and Andy P have basically the same numbers, so pretty much the same player! So what do they need to? a left fielder? a long relief guy? Duran? probably not going to happen now. i’m not sure what AF will do. BUT , regardless of what some say, i do believe he counters the Giants move with something significant! He has to. not necessarily out of necessity, more out of “ now what you gonna do Buster?”. … i would like to see Dalton get some more at bats. we know he’s going to hit at this level. 3 at bats every 4 days might not be enough for him to get his timing down. Right now, kike and Conforto have restricted his ability to get more at bats. maybe they should just put kike on the il and keep him on ice till the playoffs! He’s just bored during the regular season! Conforto? don’t believe he’s going anywhere, but if he doesn’t get better, he could be left off the playoff roster during the postseason!
I appreciate all the X comments that Mark adds to his post, but Blake Harris gets a bit carried away in glazing Pages.
He’s having a terrific, potential all-star season…. but it’s pretty clear that Pete Crow-Armstrong, not Pages, will win the gold glove in CF. PCA might win the platinum.
Sunday scores
Oklahoma City 7, Albuquerque 5
Springfield 6, Tulsa 4 (completion of suspended game)
Springfield 7, Tulsa 1
Wisconsin 10, Great Lakes 4
Rancho Cucamonga 4, Inland Empire 2
The week ahead
Oklahoma City vs. Round Rock (Rangers)
Tulsa vs. Midland (A’s)
Great Lakes vs. Peoria (Cardinals)
Rancho Cucamonga vs. Lake Elsinore (Padres)
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, daily standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
I thought Yates might have attacked the home plate umpire after the home run last night! balls and strikes were awful the whole series. Now that being said, 4 walks, 2 hit by pitch in 6 innings? Not to mention that a couple of swing and miss were on pitches chased out of the strike zone that would have been ball 4. Dusttin May is eating some innings, but he’s definitely not impressive at the moment. … Vesia and Scott seem to have fixed whatever their issues were! Both looked fresh and dominant! Yates looked good, but even after the missed call 3rd strike, the long ball came back to bite him. understand him being p-ssed off, but he’s the one that grooved the pitch. …. Devers? so Buster is going to all out to play with the dodgers! Looks like Wilmer will be the casualty when it comes to playing time. Good luck Buster! you’ll need it! Think AF might up 1 him? wouldn’t be surprised at all! …. Now i’m not a manager, but maybe it’s time to leave Andy in the 5 hole! Doc sometimes drops him as low as 7. Heck, when Will is out, i would bat him cleanup! … great fathers day! Clayton sure loves being a father! Congratulations To him and his family on the news!
Kiki has issued some pretty strong and public statements against the ICE actions in LA. I’m curious to know how Dan n Pasadena feels about not just this issue but the propriety of professional athletes taking public political stances. Personally, if I were a pro player I would not comment in the belief that sports are a refuge and bring us together in spite of our differences. Last week I ran into a super nice guy at the Waffle House that was from a completely world than mine. He had on a Dodger cap in my small South Carolina town and we struck up a wonderful 30 minute conversation that never would have happened otherwise. Without the cap I would have walked right by his tattoos and piercings and he would have never noticed me in my suit and wingtips. I love how sports soften our diversity. I know players have opinions and the right to express them. I just wish we could have this little oasis from the polarity of our modern political environment. I love Kiki, and still will, just like I love comments by Dan in Pasadena even though I know he is of a very different political persuasion than I. But I kinda wish I did not know it.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Sasaki (shoulder) halted his throwing program a few days ago, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
“Per Ardaya, Roberts noted that Sasaki is “pain-free” and isn’t dealing with any sort of setback with his shoulder that will warrant further testing, but the rookie right-hander indicated that he doesn’t feel comfortable yet throwing at full intensity. Initially placed on the injured list May 13 due to a right shoulder impingement, Sasaki resumed throwing two weeks later but hadn’t advanced beyond playing catch before he shut himself down. At this stage, Sasaki doesn’t look like he’ll have enough time to get stretched back out and return from the IL before the All-Star break, and if he’s unable to resume throwing early on in the second half, his availability for the remainder of the season would be in serious jeopardy. Sasaki went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 24:22 K:BB in 34.1 innings over his eight starts before being shelved”.
Out for the 4 game Dodger series.
The Padres placed Jackson Merrill (concussion) on the 7-day injured list Sunday.
Merrill will be out for at least the next week after he was diagnosed with the concussion upon taking a hard tag to the head in Saturday’s 8-7 loss to the Diamondbacks
Well I can answer my own question. He can Pitch and DH at the same time. It’s a rule known as the Ohtani rule.
Can Ohtani Pitch and DH at the same time? Or does he have to wait until he’s done pitching to be entered into the game at the DH position?
Devers brings a cancerous attitude to the Bay area.
Was anyone else as completely disgusted with that home plate umpire last night as I was??
DODGER MINOR LEAGUE STANDINGS 6/16/2025
Oklahoma City AAA 41-28 1st place 3.5 games ahead
Tulsa AA 24-39 5th place( last place) 14 games behind
Great Lakes A+ 32-31 4th place11 games behind
Rancho Cucamongo A 38-25 1st place 5 games ahead(clinched 1st half)
ACL Dodgers Rookie 15-17 4th place 3.5 game behind
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, daily standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
I agree Manny & Devers were/are very talented players with deeply selfish personalities. Teams are much better off without players who “contaminate” team chemistry. Yeah, teams have won that hated each other but most know it’s dramatically better to have a “one for all” culture. Which the Dodgers DO have and Dave is a big part of why they do.
BTW, I include Manny Machado in that group though his problem is he’s a childish punk perhaps more than he’s selfish. If he were not like he is I believe the Dodgers would have signed him to an extension. He was a (very) talented Bandaid.
Back to back series wins vs SD and SF….
NOW
WE GO
Cheers to big Dodgers fan JJ Spaun for winning our Nations Open Championship. Heart of a champion!!!