Well, the Dodgers’ view certainly changed last night as they swept the Braves and took sole possession of first place (How sweet it is). However, predictably, just like a group of old women in the beauty shop gossiping about something they have no knowledge of, many of you were castigating Dave Roberts for taking out Max Scherzer, bringing in the Bazooka, drawing air, and being the winningest manager in baseball.
As if on cue, many of you started salivating like Pavlov’s Dog with your old biddy gossiping. Badger said it so well: “Again all the questioning and judging without first knowing the facts. What I saw was a smiling, jovial Scherzer on the bench. I too wondered why he left an inning early but I figured there was a reason. Doc had faith in his club. I’d suggest we follow his lead.” Some of you need to seek help immediately… seriously!
Max Scherzer was laughing and talking in the dugout after Doc took him out. Maybe he could have stayed in, but it is vitally important a manager balance the will to win with the desire to keep everyone healthy. “Well, Koufax would have never come out!” Yeah, and his damn arm fell off! Baseball has changed and athletes are more highly conditioned than ever. They can accomplish some amazing things, but they are also closer to injury than ever before for one big reason: They have human bodies! Bodies break and a modern manager has to manage that way.
I suppose some of the IL stints could be avoided but the Dodgers are going to err on the side of caution due to their depth. Even if nothing was bothering Scherzer, if Doc wanted to take him out, I would have no issue with it. I really don’t get your irrational hatred (or maybe it is jealousy) of Dave Roberts. It’s a puzzle to me.
Now the Dodgers get a well-deserved day off before they go to San Francisco to play their final games of the season with the Midgets. I am certain many of you are eagerly waiting for any move Dave Roberts makes in that series so that you can finally take total leave of your senses and die of the big one!
There is not much to say except that “Here we are.” Let’s stay here. The view is much better than from second place. Let me remind you that this will not be easy. This is going to be a Wild Ride! Buckle up your seat belt but smell;l the rare air!
Brusdar Graterol
I am beginning to think The Bazooka may never be what we want. His pitches are flat and straight. I can identify with that. I have never been able to throw a curveball or a slider. I have tried. I have taught my sons how to do it, but back in the day when I could still throw, my pitches were flat and straight. I went to a Cincinnati Reds Tryout Camp when I was 19 (in 1973) and they were there with their Jugs Radar Gun which was a new thing at the time. I had warmed up on the sideline and they asked me to throw 3 fastballs. The first one was 97. The second read 00 and the third was 97. Then they asked to see my curveball and I said “I don’t have one.” They said, “Come back when you do son.” They had no interest. It was several years later that I found out the “00” meant I probably hit 100 MPH… but I digress.
… and no, Joe Kelly is not off my playoff roster, but the Bazooka might be.
Bluto’s Blogosphere
Bluto was kind enough to give us this from around the web (lot’s of good stuff here):
FanGraphs calls Will Smith the best catcher in baseball. They say why (and more) here:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/will-smiths-unconventional-success/
Future Dodgers sez:
RHP Carlos Duran has been promoted from Low-A Rancho to High-A Great Lakes. The big 6’7” righty had 109/24 K/BB and a 5.25 ERA in 73.2 innings for Rancho this year. Duran just turned 20––he was Rancho’s youngest pitcher, and he’ll be the youngest pitcher on Great Lakes’ roster.
The ERA seems bad, yes, but Duran’s been the victim of a higher than average BABIP and HR/FB rate, which is reflected in his lower FIP (4.23) and xFIP (3.67).
Kevin Goldstein Chat:
Question: What are teams doing to try to advance the state of the art in hitting development?
Kevin Goldstein: Dodgers, Yankees, Astros come to mind….
Question: What do you think the top 3 requisite skills for a successful manager are? And who do you think will be the next best manager? Either first-time manager or overlooked
Kevin Goldstein: Ability to maintain the clubhouse in the sense on generating consistent effort and getting the best performance out of their players. Will Venable comes to mind as a future mgr.
Question: Your reaction to the Dodgers deciding to not send out Julio Urias, Walker Buehler and Max Scherzer on four days of rest after their previous starts were on four days of rest?
Kevin Goldstein: I’m fine with it. Marathon not a sprint.
Baseball America on 2B Busch:
Michael Busch, 2B, Double-A Tulsa (Dodgers)—Busch drove in a season-high five runs, doubled three times and homered once in a win over Springfield. The 23-year-old second baseman finished August with 21 RBIs, the most of any month this season, five homers and a .252/.328/.458 slash line.
Jay Jaffe Chat
Question: What’s your best guess as to what the Dodgers do with the Turner-Seager-Lux (mostly the former two) logjam at short? Is Seager going to be available, and if so, what does his injury record do to his value?
Jay Jaffe: I think it’s really tough to know how this is going to unfold especially because the Dodgers have to deal with their pitching free agents (Kershaw, Scherzer, and whatever is going on with Bauer) as well. Seager’s injuries do put a dent in his market value but the hand fracture was a fluke (broken bones happen but they’re not predictive of future broken bones). I’d wager the damage to his value is less than what Trevor Story’s mediocre season is doing to his value.
Question: Fun facts: Yordan Alvarez has a higher career wRC+ than Juan Soto, and is averaging exactly the same WAR/600 as Soto at 5.0. (Alvarez is a bit more than one year older, for whatever that’s worth.) Is Yordan Alvarez the one significant mistake the Dodgers have made since A.F. arrived?
Jay Jaffe: He’s a mistake (Josh Fields??), though I’m not sure how much playing time he would have gotten as a Dodger without the DH in 2019 and this year.
Friedman’s mistake in trading him pales in comparison to his signing of Trevor Bauer, which stands to cost the Dodgers a lot more than money. An all-time clinker that seriously damages my view of him as an executive.
Quesiton: Joey Votto said the other day that the current MIL starting rotation is the best group of starters he has ever faced in his career (comparing favorably to, for example, the Phillies’ staff of Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, and Hamels). But are the Brewers’ pitchers even the best staff currently in the majors? I’d take Scherzer, Kershaw, Buehler, and Urias, personally.
Jay Jaffe: Well, I’m not sure you can include Kershaw in that group right now given that he hasn’t started since July 3 and is at least a few weeks away from doing so again. If everybody’s healthy, they might have the upper hand. As for Votto’s response, it’s worth considering that he’s seen the Milwaukee rotation a lot more as an NL Central rival, so I can see why he’d feel that way.
Avatar Jay Jaffe: I don’t have an answer to that but that doesn’t mean the Dodgers shouldn’t have done better due diligence. His misogyny was well-documented via his online behavior but beyond that, if a reporter can find out about the sealed court records in Ohio, so can a sleuth working on behalf of a team.
Question: how sustainable long term are the giants’ gains/high performance this year? getting career years from guys aged ~32-36 just doesn’t scream long-term success, though their farm is on the rise… dodgers hegemony more at risk via giants or padres?
Jay Jaffe: I agree that the success of the Giants’ geezers doesn’t seem sustainable in the long term, and it may lead to a mistake here or there if they overinvest in those guys (two years at a time, like they did for Crawford, seems fine). Their system is suddenly very good (6th on THE BOARD, 5th via Baseball America’s midseason rankings) and they seem to have money to spend. Can they find or produce foundational players to build around like Tatis and Machado? I don’t know what the answer is here but I think it’s going to be fascinating to see how it plays out.
Baseball America sez it’s time to pay for minor leaguers housing:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/cooper-its-time-for-mlb-to-handle-minor-league-player-housing/
Prospects1500 has an, er, um interesting Top 50 prospect list:
BaseballAmerica on Eddys Leonard:
Eddys Leonard, 3B, High-A Great Lakes (Dodgers): Gonzales wasn’t the only player to have a three-home run day. Leonard went 4-for-5 with three home runs. Much like Yorke, Leonard has actually hit even better since he was promoted to High-A. Playing for Great Lakes, the 21-year-old is now hitting .348/.442/.674 with seven home runs in just 23 games since he was promoted.
Discussion (29)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Dodgers will not face ANY of SF’s front line starters. Season series tied at 8-8. Someone will come out of this in first place.
For those of you fearing that two catchers aren’t enough in potential late inning pinch hit situations, we should call up Beaty. He’s our emergency backup third catcher. He can pinch hit, too.
I see nobody’s is betting on Bellinger.
Who here would trade Roberts for Kapler?
DODGERS SELECT ANDREW VASQUEZ
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Andrew Vasquez and optioned right-handed pitcher Ryan Meisinger to Triple-A. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred left-handed pitcher Scott Alexander to the 60-day injured list.
Vasquez, 27, was acquired on Tuesday in exchange for minor league catcher Stevie Berman. He appeared in 33 games for the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, going 4-0 with a 3.61 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 42.1 innings. The former Los Osos High School standout made his Major League debut in 2018, appearing in nine games, going 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA with the Minnesota Twins. His last Major League appearance came in 2019 and he is a combined 1-0 with a 10.80 ERA (6 ER/5.0 IP) and five strikeouts in 10 games. The Southern California native was originally drafted in the 32nd round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft by the Twins out of Westmont College.
Meisinger, 27, was claimed Tuesday from the Chicago Cubs and did not appear in a game with the Dodgers after being recalled on Wednesday. He went 0-0 with a 12.27 ERA (10 ER/7.1 IP) and six strikeouts in seven games for the Cubs. The right-hander has made stops in Baltimore (2018), St. Louis (2019) and Chicago (2021) and is a combined 2-1 with a 7.26 ERA (25 ER/31.0 IP) and 30 strikeouts. In 171 minor league games, spanning six seasons, he is a combined 14-13 with 23 saves in 24 chances and a 2.68 ERA (81 ER/ 272.0 IP). He was drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of Radford University.
Well, the Giants pulled back into a tie with the Dodgers today. I am certain someone will try and blame it on Roberts.
Bear, I recall the Dodgers going in to San Francisco in September of 1959. A 3 game series with the pennant at stake. We swept and went on from there.
It would be great if you could provide some details about that weekend.
Thanks
https://www.foxnews.com/us/san-francisco-pay-people-not-shoot-gun-crimes
Here is a link to what I was referring to
I rarely criticize Roberts. But last night I did. And that is on me. It was ill timed and I did not know the circumstances. But as a fan, in the moment, I was extremely pissed off when the lead was surrendered three hitters into Graterol’s appearance. It was a knee jerk reaction. Same reaction when he left Bellinger in to face a lefty when he said the day before that Bellinger would not be playing against lefty’s. And I felt that way because he had 2 RH bats on the bench. In hindsight, I should have waited until the game was over. But I am not going to apologize for my emotions getting the better of me. Had they lost, and I held that in, today would have been a miserable day.
Yeah it looks like Estrada put the nail in the coffin Daniel.
Seams SF Will win today.
It’s amazing people can be so critical of people criticizing the manager of a baseball team. That’s what fans do, That’s why they call them fans .” fanatics “
It’s just a sport it’s not life and death.
Second guessing has always been there in sport and always will, that’s part of what makes it fun
Interesting tidbit from the Milwaukee Giants game. Milwaukee’s got three sub 2.50 ERA pitchers, Woodruff, Peralta, and Burns
The last time that happened was 1985 with Hershiser, Welsh, and Valenzuela
Also Milwaukee was the only team to have three starters from their staff in the All-Star game this year
I have an assignment for anyone who really likes to dig into stats.
How many times this season has a catcher been pulled from the game for an injury. And while you’re at it, please break down the inning that it happened in each case.
To me, not using Will Smith in that situation last night because Barnes might get injured in the next couple of innings is absolutely……….. (Mark, please fill in one of your favorite words).
In that situation, what is most likely to happen, Belli getting a hit off a difficult southpaw, Barnes getting injured in the last couple innings, or Smith knocking in a run. I don’t think it’s even close.
Always make sure that you have someone on your team who has put on catching gear in the past and could stumble through a couple innings if need be. After that, especially in the late innings, use your catcher if he’s your best pinch hitting option in a close game in the last few innings.
If you have a hankering. You can watch the Milwaukee versus Giants game on YouTube for free
Dodger Killer SF Wimer Flores was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring Thursday and will miss the weekend series.
Why all the talk about why Scherzer was taken out of the game so early? It is not our problem, we are not managers, we are not even team partners nor do we belong to the office, they know what they are doing, or they do not know and will pay the consequences. We’re just fans, we don’t know many things, but please can’t you enjoy a damn game without having something to criticize? The Dodgers won, but it seems like it doesn’t matter …. According to you, which manager would have done the right thing last night? Who wouldn’t have been wrong? According to me, bad decisions lead to losses, so the worst manager would be the one with the most losses, and as far as I remember, the Dodgers have the best record, and if that means Roberts is the worst, I don’t want to imagine how they would want to kill the managers from other teams …. With the exception of those whores from SD…
Things certainly look much better for the Dodgers than they did two weeks ago! At least a tie for first going into the big series with San Francisco. A lineup which now looks much like we had anticipated it to be. Some aren’t hitting as well right now, but the lineup top to bottom is very dangerous. And Pollock is much better than he seemed to me to be for much of last year, and the first part of this year; he is getting clutch hits, and playing very well in the outfield.
The Scherzer and Turner deal was superb, and that is why we had to make it, even if we gave up Ruiz and Gray. We apparently are not getting Bauer back, and Kershaw is still very iffy, so Scherzer has been immensely important. The bullpen is better than it was, and we will hope that it is effective in the playoffs. I still am not as confident as if we had Hader, or McGee, whom we did have, but hopefully it will be enough.
Obviously, it is immensely important to win the division. That would mean we would play the Wild Card game winner, no easy task if it is the Giants; but then we would get Milwaukee, which is probably our most dangerous foe in the playoffs, with a home advantage. if we were to be the Wild Card team, we would have to face Milwaukee in best of five (it is absurd that the Division Series are not best of seven) as the road team.
The one negative right now , besides a short starting staff, is Bellinger, who very well may be not nearly as good as his early seasons showed. But we always hope that he will somehow fix things, because he is a great centerfielder, and has all this power, when he make s good contact, which is unfortunately rare enough.
As to Roberts, I think Counsell and Kapler and Cash are better, but others may disagree. We’ll likely see one or two of those matchups in the playoffs.
I will miss Seager, if indeed he leaves. I would want to see us keep all of the free agents except Jansen, who admittedly has looked good in his last few games, and to sign Trea Turner. But it is o course unlikely that we could do all of that. If we signed Turner, we could probably afford to let Taylor leave, though we would miss him, too. Versatile and smart players are always important, and we have a few of those.
* Badger, I think you’re on to something with Graterol learning a change and backing off some to get some movement. Even with a change up he needs fastball movement. He can experiment with some grip changes, finger pressure and position, moving his thumb, moving the ball out on his finger tips more. There are plenty of things to try that make a good winter project.
* I agree that Alanna would have been like a dog on a pot roast finding out why Scherzer was pulled.
*Through all of the second guessing, assumptions and questions about who should pinch hit and who should pitch, last night was a great baseball game. Two teams competing at a playoff level. We are playing some exciting baseball. I’m really enjoying the ride. More when we win but this stretch is really good stuff.
Ok I’m not going to feel bad about wondering why Sherzer was taken out early, even some of the Dodger announcers were. The Dodgers always take their time relaying information on a players injury status, turns out he had a tight hamstring. Also, on the heat of a pennant race and you see your main horse get taken out early with no explanation, of course your going to wonder.
Another GREAT GREAT win last night against the poor Atlanta Braves. I’m sure they are leaving discouraged again. Oh well, I actually do feel for their fans….maybe it’s because I live around many of them here in Atlanta.
What can you say about Mad Max that has not already been said? I guess we picked him up because we lost Bauer and Kershaw was injured. I wonder if we would have went all in had we still had Bauer. What do you guys think? I think so, but not sure….
It was great seeing us score runs with little seeing eyes ground balls instead of the big HR. That had to hurt them even more. As for Graterol, it is beginning to look like he needs to work on that fast ball. It seems good opposing hitters are hitting it more. And again, Barnes plays his one time a week and makes his presence felt. I don’t think Scherzer pitching even greater is coincidental to Barnes being his catcher. I think Barnes just happens to be a very gifted catcher who handles the pitchers beautifully. No disrespect to Wonderful William meant at all.
First place…wow…we have been swimming upstream for months and we finally made it. Thank you Milwaukee Brewers. You guys are very formidable…I hope you beat the Astros before we do. On to San Francisco where I hope we don’t leave our hearts.
TM
When Scherzer was pulled last night I really missed Alanna, pre-pandemic. She would have poked around and told us exactly what the story was. Obviously Joe and Orel didn’t have a clue but had no way of finding out.
When Max was removed, my thought was to take a look into the dugout when they next had a shot over there and see what Scherzer looked like. If Doc had just gone up to him and told him that 6 innings and 76 pitches was just fine and he could relax and watch the rest of the game, we would have seen a shot of Max going crazy, destoying water coolers and choking out his manager. When I saw Max moving around and talking to his teammates I assumed that he had pulled himself but that it wasn’t anything serious. Voila! Suspicions confirmed.
Max has already told Doc not to touch him during games. You think Roberts would dare pull him when he was pitching so well and had only thrown 76 pitches? The answer is no. Without Max having told him that he was done, if Doc had pulled him under those circumstances it would have been enough for him to decide not to re-sign here next year. Max is in control, and Doc knows that.
Mark/Bear,
There’s another mistake I made. This one isn’t writing JFC. It’s in the part of today’s post.
Could you please change FROM:
Question: Genuine question regarding your view of AF being damaged by the Bauer signing: What was the extent of the dodgers FO’s knowledge of all the despicable stuff he was up to?
Jay Jaffe: I’m skeptical, but maybe he just needs a change of scenery. Not really sure what happened given the collection of tools he had.
TO
Question: Genuine question regarding your view of AF being damaged by the Bauer signing: What was the extent of the dodgers FO’s knowledge of all the despicable stuff he was up to?
Avatar Jay Jaffe: I don’t have an answer to that but that doesn’t mean the Dodgers shouldn’t have done better due diligence. His misogyny was well-documented via his online behavior but beyond that, if a reporter can find out about the sealed court records in Ohio, so can a sleuth working on behalf of a team.
I’m thrilled to be wrong!
Just before the trade deadline I suggested the Dodgers keep their powder dry and not trade their valuable assets, the team seemed to be snake bitten (injuries, Bauer, etc). Then AF pulls off the trade with the Nationals! I clearly see why I’m not the guy to make these calls! Max and Trea have ignited the Blue Crew. Never been so happy to be so wrong!
I would think most managers would prefer not having their resting catcher as the go to pinch hitter off the bench. Once he’s used in that capacity, you no longer have him as a catcher.
Graterol needs a grip change. If that 100 mph pitch was spinning three things would happen – it would slow down to 97, it would move 7-9”, it would be more difficult to hit. Scherzer should him how to throw a change. His is one of the best I’ve seen.
Bluto, your Blogosphere posts are excellent. LADT has to have the most informative and thorough home team minor league coverage in baseball. I glad Mark included it today from yesterday’s post.
The article on Will Smith was interesting. He became my favorite player in 2020. He never seems to be afraid of the big moment. It’s awesome to see him come up with so many clutch HR’s and base hits. He can be frustrating at times with his catching technique and his taking first pitch, right down the middle strikes. But, it works for him and his overall approach has been successful.
I to was ready to launch my remote against the fireplace with the Scherzer removal. I was already thinking of my post for tomorrow’s LADT. Then I heard a voice (it sounded like Mark) on my shoulder telling me not to be a moron and wait for the facts to be presented. So, I did. Winning the game helped ease the disgust and anger. I didn’t hear Doc’s explanation until this morning and it was all good. Max’s communication with the coaching staff that was relayed to Roberts which dictated his decision. Roberts’ disposition was confident during the press conference as opposed to the anguish he shows when he has made one of his gut decisions that backfired. Anyway, it’s all good.
It looks like the Giants may have hit the wall offensively and their starting pitching is crumbling. Hopefully, by the time they get it figured out the season will be over and the Dodgers will win another division title.
A slight correction on the Baseball America clip. Eddys Leonard is 20, not 21. He will turn 21 on November 10th. It doesn’t make much difference. Just sounds better to be 20 at the High-A level.
With Duran I think the Loons now have four 20-year-old players.
It sure feels good to be in 1st place where we belong. It’s quite fitting being September 1, right as we enter the stretch run and right before we begin our final series against the hated ones in their yard. I sure hope we keep this streak going and I’m a huge Brewers fan tonight.
Thank God Scherzer’s hammy was tight, I thought Doc was just being a moron again.
Graterol was the hero a couple of nights ago getting out of a big jam and now he’s a skunk for allowing a home run to a good team. I guess Vesia and Bickford won’t have a post season roster spot either?
Scherzer must be really happy to be a Dodger and in a pennant race. In six starts since coming over, he’s given up 5 runs total.
So, Bellinger sits again against a lefty and Doc pinch hits for him when a righty is not pitching well in order to get a stud lefty into the game? Why not go with Will Smith right then with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd in a clutch spot late in the game where Will seems to flourish? You would make the opposing manager have to choose between leaving in a reliever that just gave up a walk and a single, or go with the fresh arm against the split. Predictably Doc makes the decision easy for Snitker and Belli faces a very good lefty defeating the purpose of sitting him against lefties. Then, he doesn’t do his usual double switch to get his best defensive center fielder into the game late and close.
Barnes does just enough to be one of the best 2nd string catchers in the game. A huge homer last night breaks up the monotony of his usual “Barrels are Overrated” fist hits. But, most of his offense seems to come when it’s drastically needed.
People have made a lot of assumptions during the long season. Kenley can’t pitch back to back or go multiple innings. Dodgers suck against teams >500. Can’t win close games, can’t come back. This team is squashing all of those assumptions lately. Another one run win last night against a 1st place team, the team is rolling. As I’ve said all along, health is the key factor with all of the Dodgers shortcomings.
Seager is making plays day in and day out and making it look really easy. I think this is why the defensive rankings hate him so much. He doesn’t look flashy, so the degree of difficulty never looks very difficult even when it is. He has a rocket of an arm and makes a lot of plays that other can’t. He seldom dives for anything, but his long lanky body gets to a lot of balls that smaller guys have to dive for. I’m also suspicious that all the shifting doesn’t help when he often is forced to play on the second base side of the bag. I really hope they find a way to bring him back into the fold next year.
I’m really excited for the upcoming series. I hope like hell that the Brewers complete the sweep, but it might be sweeter if we come into their yard tied for the top spot. We have the best record in baseball today to go along with the best run differential. Enjoy it!
San Diego is .5 games back in the Wild Card race right behind the Reds. San Diego gets the Astros next while the Reds face off against the Tigers. Oh, how I want to see the Padres fail.
Good stuuf, Bluto. Thank you. That new 1500 was definitely strange. IIRC, Pages was #1 . . .
Cassidy, you said late on the last post that if Bellinger would have been pulled, and Pujols brought up, he would have to face a RH pitcher. Wrong. Matzek was just coming into the game and he would have to face 3 hitters. Since Bellinger was announced, he could be pulled back and either Smith or Pujols hit for him. We all over reacted because we did not know that Max had a tight hammy. Neither Orel or Joe or anyone else said anything about it. After I watched Roberts presser after the game, he said he did not find out about it until the 5th inning and he was told by the pitching coach. It turned out ok, but I doubt anyone in the ball park knew about it because they booed Bazooka like crazy and Vesia too after the Braves dingers. The Brewers starter, former Dodger Brett Anderson, had to leave the game after the second inning as he was hit by a line drive by Crawford. It hit him right in the shoulder. Lorenzo Cain helped them seal the win with a HR in the 9th. Giants starting staff is beat up. Gausman pitched tonight, Cueto is dealing with a sore arm, and Wood is on the Covid IL> Cueto was put on the 10 day IL, so he will not face LA this weekend. Price, Urias and Buehler going for LA.